Last Updated on September 6, 2024
Melissa McCarthy is an amazing comedian, producer and writer. If you are a fan of this versatile actress, then you are in for a treat. We hand-selected the best comedies for you, some of which she co-wrote. We also wanted to showcase her top noteworthy dramas – one of which gave McCarthy an Academy Award nomination (Can You Ever Forgive Me).
1. St. Vincent (2014)
IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
Vincent MacKenna has a lot to be grumpy about. His Alzheimer’s-stricken wife no longer recognizes him and his bank account is always empty. Things seem to get worse when his new neighbor, Maggie, played by McCarthy, moves in and accidentally drops a tree on his car.
But soon, Vincent begins to babysit Maggie’s son, Oliver, taking the boy to bars, race tracks and teaching him how to stand up to bullies. When Vincent’s finances force him to steal, his friendship with Maggie and Oliver seems to be over. However, after a string of tragedies follow, he discovers that he is very much a part of their family.
2. Spy (2015)
IMDB Rating: 7/10
Susan Cooper is a desk-bound CIA operative who finally gets her chance to go out into the field. Because she is so unknown and underestimated on sight, her reluctant boss orders Susan to track down Rayna Boyanov, who not only knows the identities of all the best agents but is also suspected of having planted a nuclear bomb somewhere.
Susan (Melissa McCarthy) also teams up with the uber-macho and expert field agent Rick Ford (Stratham) who has zero confidence in her ability to crack the case. However, Susan manages to infiltrate Rayna’s inner circle with hilarious antics.
3. Ghostbusters (2016)
IMDB Rating: 6.9/10
Long ago, when in high school, Abby Yates and Erin Gilbert once investigated the paranormal. When they are fired from their jobs as adults – due to their connection to the supernatural – they decide to start their own ghosthunting company. They soon draw in two more members, genius inventor Jillian and Patty Tolan, who started out as a witness to the ghostly activity that is on the rise in the city.
The Ghostbusters team soon realizes that the ghostly plague is being caused by a man called Rowan, who soon turns into their arch-nemesis. But when he electrocutes himself and all seems over, Rowan returns as a powerful ghost that is hell-bent on possessing the Ghostbusters and opening an apocalyptic porthole.
4. Can You Ever Forgive Me?
IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
Based on a remarkable true story, McCarthy plays Lee Israel, a writer who is struggling to make a living from her craft. Her first book had failed, she struggles with alcohol and her agent is not interested in her idea of writing a biography on comedian Fanny Brice.
While doing research on Brice in the library, Lee discovers two typewritten letters from the artist. After she sells one to a collector, Lee is disappointed by the low price due to the bland content of the letter – so she fakes a post scrip on the second and earns a substantial amount. This gives Lee an idea for a forgery scheme that lifts her out of her financial troubles but puts her squarely in the crosshairs of the FBI.
5. Bridesmaids (2011)
IMDB Rating: 6.8/10
Annie is at a low point. Her sort-of boyfriend is only interested in a casual affair, her bakery failed and she is slowly losing her best friend, Lillian, to a rich clique. But when Lillian asks Annie to be her maid of honor at her upcoming wedding, she sees it as a chance to make amends.
But Annie is a bit of a klutz and no matter what she does, she continues to help the bridal party downhill. The hilarious fumbling heroine also has to deal with sabotage from one of Lillian’s rich friends and a new love interest also complicates her life.
6. Identity Thief (2013)
IMDB Rating: 5.7/10
Sandy Patterson is an honest father and worker when he is suddenly treated like a criminal. Petrol attendants cut up his “overdrawn” credit cards and at one point, he is arrested for missing a court date. Sandy is relieved when the police realize that a woman called Diana had stolen his identity and racked up enormous debt in Florida. However, when the cops tell him they cannot do anything unless the criminal is in Denver, where Sandy lives, he decides to fetch her.
But when they meet, Diana proves to be a feisty opponent and she’s also being tailed by mobsters and a vicious skiptracer, all of whom are bent on getting her, putting Sandy in action-packed and hilarious situations.
7. The Boss (2016)
IMDB Rating: 5.4/10
Michelle Darnell is driven by her orphanage-reared childhood to make as much money as possible. But at the peak of her business success, Darnell is arrested for insider trading and sent to federal prison. When she is released, Darnell has nothing and leans on her ex-assistant, Claire, for a place to stay.
But Darnell’s drive for money soon clashes with Claire’s life, especially when her ex-boss realizes that Claire’s daughter is involved in selling Girl Scout cookies – something that Darnell is convinced can make a ton of money.
8. Life of the Party (2018)
IMDB Rating: 5.6/10
After Deanna drops her daughter off at college, she looks forward to a trip with a husband that can help them to reconnect. Instead, he tells her that he wants a divorce because he has fallen in love with someone else. Devastated, Deanna talks to her parents who mentions that she should never have given up on her college degree because her husband expected it.
Deanna decides to go back to school and join her daughter at college. The results are about as funny as you can expect as she deals with students who hate her age, love her personality, and a new love interest is also the son of the woman who stole her husband.
9. The Happytime Murders (2018)
IMDB Rating: 5.4/10
In a world where humans and puppets live together, Phil Phillips becomes the first puppet cop with the LAPD. But after he shoots an innocent bystander by accident, he is kicked off the force and all puppets are banned from the force.
When two puppets are murdered, Phil is reunited with his old Detective partner, Connie Edwards. As more murders occur, they realize that the victims are all from the cast of The Happytime Gang. The duo has to go underground after Connie is also fired and they follow clues that lead them to the killer, someone who has an ax to grind with Phil.
Please note that while the movie contains “muppets” this is definitely not a movie for kids!
10. Thunder Force (2021)
IMDB Rating: 4.4/10
In 1983, life changed forever when the world was radiated by cosmic rays and gave all sociopaths superpowers. These so-called miscreants are unstoppable and the rest of the population live in constant fear of being attacked by them.
In 2024, Lydia visits her estranged friend Emily, a geneticist whose parents were killed by miscreants. Emily is on the verge of giving normal humans superpowers but Lydia, played by McCarthy, accidentally gives herself the powers when she putters about in Emily’s laboratory. The story follows the friends as they mend their broken bond while they also struggle to come to grips with being superheroes themselves and their different approaches to the miscreant problem.
