7 ‘Bro-Comedy’ Films That Couldn’t Be Made In Today’s Woke Era

Once upon a time, Hollywood gave us man-children who behaved badly for our amusement. They may have been adults, or close to it, but they raged against the real world with all their might.

And, best of all, they were hilarious. And some of today’s funniest stars brought them to life. Think Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell, Owen Wilson, and Paul Rudd.

Today, those bro-comedies are mostly gone. The woke mob won’t allow them, meaning the multiplex isn’t as funny a place as it once was.

We can still enjoy these pre-woke comedies via cable, Blu-ray, or streaming outlets. Why not revisit the following seven films to remember what outrageous comedy looked like?

“The 40-Year-Old Virgin” (2005)

After this celebrated romp, Director Judd Apatow’s career exploded, and justifiably so. Steve Carell stars as the title character, a grown man who never got comfortable around women. His well-meaning co-workers hope to end his dry romantic spell, but it might take the love of a single mom (Catherine Keener) to do the trick.

Apatow’s directorial career peaked with this hard-R affair, bursting with future stars (Seth Rogen! Paul Rudd! Jane Lynch!) and wildly inappropriate gags. Modern critics might assail it for “white privilege,” its lack of diversity, or a sequence involving a trans character played for yuks. And a funny scene where Rogen and Rudd explain why the other is “gay” couldn’t be performed today, even if it’s harmless and hysterical.

That’s just a shortlist of gags no longer acceptable on the big screen.

“Superbad” (2007)

You know this comedy couldn’t survive the woke censors since two of its own stars disowned elements of it. Co-star and co-writer Seth Rogen blasted his jokes as “blatantly homophobic,” while star Jonah Hill shredded the story’s “bro masculinity.”

That didn’t bother moviegoers, who made the comedy a blockbuster with a $121 million domestic haul.

Hill and Michael Cera play high schoolers trying to score booze for the big party. In between, they hope to shed their virginal status before college commences. Our heroes misbehave, bond with a nerdy pal who scores the greatest fake I.D. in movie history (“I am … McLovin”), and connect with their respective crushes despite their cruder than crude impulses.

“Role Models” (2008)

Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott star as energy drink pitchmen forced to become “Big Brothers” to two annoying lads. The title is ironic, of course, because no parent would want their child to emulate the lead characters here. No matter, since the boys in question need male authority figures in their life, flaws and all. These two will have to suffice.

Our “heroes” resist the gig initially, but they fear getting sexually assaulted in prison, so they do as they’re told – that’s a “gay panic” trope that triggers the Left. The foul-mouthed black child Scott’s character counsels might similarly set off cultural alarms.

“Role Models” is no sermon, but the absence of fathers gets a quiet, but powerful closeup.

“Get Him to the Greek” (2010)

Imagine getting to not only bond with your favorite rock star but indulge in rock star excess alongside him. It’s what Jonah Hill’s record executive does in “Greek,” the sequel-of-sorts to 2008’s “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” 

The rocker in question? Russell Brand’s Aldous Snow, a singer who never met an illegal substance he wouldn’t ingest or inject.

Hill and Brand bond in curious fashion since the record executive just wants to get his star to the gig on time, and that’s all. They still carouse in epic fashion, bed some lovely ladies, and make a nuisance of themselves. Remember when trashing a hotel room came with the rocker job description?

“Greek” wallows in every ounce of rock star excess, something now frowned upon in elite circles.

“Old School” (2003)

What 30-something male hasn’t looked back at their college days and thought, “boy, imagine living THAT life again.” It’s a fleeting impulse, one buried by adult responsibilities and a budding sense of maturity. The antiheroes of this comedy, though, give in to that outrageous impulse.

Stars Vince Vaughn, Luke Wilson, and Will Ferrell drink, fornicate, and more, and they do it all sans apology. At least until they realize this kind of hedonism can’t be maintained.

Like many films from its era, “Old School” would be deemed “too white” and lacking significant female characters. Plus, the film’s hazing rituals might be too much for modern scolds.

Throw in some cheating antics, an extended fat joke involving a heavyset gymnast, and co-ed oil wrestling, and you’ve got the kind of comedy unsuitable for most of today’s studios.

“I Love You, Man” (2009)

The Hollywood bromance hit its zenith with this wry tale of a dudebro missing something critical in his life. A fellow dudebro. Rashida Jones worries her perfect fiancé (Paul Rudd, again) doesn’t have a close male friend, and he doesn’t disagree. He stumbles into a soul mate, of sorts, in Jason Segel, someone who ascribes to the “carpe diem” lifestyle ethos.

Together, they slap that bass, bond over Rush songs, and spend time in Segel’s garage/man cave doing absolutely nothing of value.

The comedy celebrates what it means to be male, from the nerdy noodlings to embracing men, the larger cravings that drive the male species.

“Hall Pass” (2011)

What if your wife gave you a week to date whoever you want, or more, with zero strings attached? It’s the gimmick behind this comic farce, directed by the Farrelly Brothers of “There’s Something About Mary” fame.

Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis play the married men in question, and they start their week brimming with excitement. They can’t believe their good luck.

What the duo doesn’t realize is dating isn’t like what they remembered, and half the film is spent watching them drink with their buddies, not any single gals. Their luck eventually improves, while their wives turn the tables on them in ways no one expected.

The concept behind “Hall Pass” is so patriarchal that it wouldn’t survive a studio’s pitch meeting today, even if it has something intriguing to say about the male mind.

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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