comedies with good soundtracks
[Photos via Easy A/Screen Gems, Freaky Friday/Disney, She’s The Man/DreamWorks, The House Bunny/Sony]

10 nostalgic comedy movies with surprisingly good soundtracks

Hollywood doesn’t pump out movies like they used to. The 2000s belonged to Amanda Bynes as the leading lady in hilarious romantic comedies and every punk band who set the mood for an action montage in a funny film. Some movies are made even better by cameos such as Cannibal Corpse (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective) and blink-182 (American Pie).

While many movies today are still hilarious, some may agree that bands such as Good Charlotte and Bowling For Soup make the experience even more enjoyable. Here are 10 comedy movies from your past where punk, rock and emo music thrived on its soundtrack. 

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1. The Pacifier

Disney’s 2005 movie The Pacifier stars Vin Diesel as a Navy SEAL. His mission includes nannying a group of angsty teens and squirmy kiddos to save them from possible attackers searching for their father’s high-tech computer software. The film is family-friendly and funny. It’s also punk AF. It features “Everyday Super Hero” written by the kings of soundtracks, Smash Mouth. Good Charlotte’s “The Anthem” also makes an appearance, as well as Queen’s classic “We Will Rock You.” 

2. She’s The Man

Alongside leading man Channing Tatum, Bynes stars in She’s The Man as Viola Hastings. She pretends to be her twin brother Sebastian and goes out for his school’s soccer team as hers was cut. In a hilarious film modernizing Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, of course there’s an equally as hip and modern soundtrack. A whole scene is taken over by “4Ever” by the Veronicas, and the All-American Rejects pop in with “Move Along” and “Dirty Little Secret.” OK Go provide music for the final game of the movie with “Invincible” and O.A.R.’s “Love And Memories” can be heard in the background of the film. She’s The Man goes down in teen comedy history as being the most quotable movie. Just one question: Do you like cheese?

3. John Tucker Must Die

John Tucker, played by Jesse Metcalfe, is a cheater in this 2006 romantic comedy. A group of heartbroken girls convince the new girl Kate (Brittany Snow) to seduce John and ruin his life instead. Netflix’s You star Penn Badgley also plays a big role in this movie as the introverted cutie Scott. (Fortunately, he’s not quiet in the serial killer sort of way.) Honestly, this soundtrack is stacked. In true teen comedy fashion, the All-American Rejects make an appearance with “Dirty Little Secret.” Additionally, Cartel’s “Honestly,” the Click Five’s “Just The Girl” and the Cure’s “Close To Me” can all be heard. 

4. The House Bunny 

Anna Faris stars as Playboy bunny Shelley Darlingson in this 2008 comedy film alongside the likes of Emma Stone, Kat Dennings, Colin Hanks and even Tyson Ritter, lead singer of the All-American Rejects. After Shelley gets kicked out of the Playboy Mansion when she turns the old age of 27, she finds a home at a sorority house on a college campus, turning nerdy misfit sorority sisters into sexy queens. The soundtrack features a variety of genres from hip-hop all the way to punk served on a silver-screen platter by Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend.” Many alternative favorites such as Boys Like Girls’ “The Great Escape,” “I Wanna” by the All-American Rejects, “I’ll Run” by the Cab and “Shake It” by Metro Station can all be heard on this damn near perfect soundtrack. 

5. Hot Fuzz

The 2007 British crime-comedy Hot Fuzz has ultra dry jokes and pop culture references that will make viewers laugh-cry as well as a rocking soundtrack that will make music fans headbang during those intense montages. Simon Pegg, who plays the tight-laced cop Nicholas Angel, wrote and starred in this glorious zombie movie that lies in a trilogy with his other films, Shaun Of The Dead and The World’s End. (Don’t worry: You don’t have to watch them in order.) This soundtrack showcases the Fratellis with “Baby Fratelli” and “Solid Gold Easy Action.” Also, the movie shows a lot of love for British rock stars the Kinks and plays “Village Green” and “Village Green Preservation Society.” 

6. Freaky Friday 

Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis star in this Disney hit where a mother and daughter switch bodies and have to take on each other’s daily challenges. Lohan’s character Anna plays guitar in her band Pink Slip and crushes it at the end of the movie—in her mom’s body, of course. This soundtrack uniquely uses punk bands to cover well-known rock tunes to give the movie a much-needed edge. Simple Plan cover “Happy Together” by the Turtles, Bowling For Soup tackle “…Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears and Joey Ramone puts a punk spin on “What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong. Andrew W.K.’s “She Is Beautiful” makes its way into the movie, too. 

7. Sydney White

Bynes starred in another hilarious movie during the mid-2000s, Sydney White, loosely based on the classic tale Snow White And The Seven Dwarves. Sydney comes to college and doesn’t fit in with any sorority girls despite being a legacy, but she comes across a broken-down house with seven nerds living inside. The unlikely bunch rise to the top and take over the student government, creating equal rights for dweebs and popular kids alike. The soundtrack features some badass punk songs to fit this roller coaster of a film. The Veronicas can be heard in the film with “Revolution,” while Dashboard Confessional offer up their sappy love tune “Stolen.” 

8. Cheaper By The Dozen

Steve Martin’s Cheaper By The Dozen remake is a hilarious, family-friendly movie that follows a large family’s move to a new neighborhood with school and career adjustments and challenges. Though few people have a 14-person family, this film gives you a glimpse into what it’s like to raise a dozen kids varying in age. Appropriately, Simple Plan’s “I’m Just A Kid” fully encapsulates the scene where the teens are enduring absolute hell at school. “In Too Deep” by Sum 41 also encapsulates the feelings that come with taking on new responsibilities and social obligations. Both of these punk songs are perfect for any on-camera struggle, comedy or not. 

9. Easy A

Based on the novel many were forced to read in high school, Easy A is a modern The Scarlet Letter. Stone, Badgley and Bynes (Are you seeing a theme yet?) star in this comedy film. Stone plays Olive, a shy high school student who, due to fake rumors, becomes the class slut. Therefore, she dons a red A on her clothes like Hester Prynne from the novel. A movie based on classic literature deserves an equally classic soundtrack, right? Death Cab For Cutie’s hit “Transatlanticism” and Rooney’s “Go On” can be heard in the film. There’s also “Bad Reputation” written by Joan Jett and performed by the Dollyrots. 

10. Yours, Mine & Ours

2005’s Yours, Mine & Ours stars Dennis Quaid, Rene Russo and 18 kids. They really give Cheaper By The Dozen a run for its money. Two single parents move in together and hope their large families will get along and become one in no time. Instead, the children try to break up their parents to get back to the life they knew before. Aside from a good storyline, the movie features BFS with “Almost,” and the Click Five reappear with “Good Day.”