Satire backdrop

Satire movies

Sharp comedy that targets society, politics, media, or workplace culture with irony and pointed exaggeration.

161. The Boss of It All

The Boss of It All
Comedy Satire
6.6
20061h 39minDenmark, France
Director: Lars von Trier

Overview

The owner of an Information Technology firm wants to sell his business for profit. The trouble is that when he started his firm he invented a nonexistent company president to hide behind when unpopular steps needed to be taken. When potential purchasers insist on negotiating with the "Boss" face to face the owner has to hire a failed actor to play the part.

Themes

Office politics, It-expert influence, Firm loyalty risk, Ownership bargaining, Information technology tension, Conflict over sale, Illusion of authority

Available on

MUBI
MUBI Amazon Channel
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

162. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Comedy Satire
7.4
20061h 24minUnited Kingdom, United States
Director: Larry Charles

Overview

Kazakh journalist Borat Sagdiyev travels to America to make a documentary. As he zigzags across the nation, Borat meets real people in real situations with hysterical consequences. His backwards behavior generates strong reactions around him exposing prejudices and hypocrisies in American culture.

Themes

Satire of cultural norms, Societal pressure to conform, Deception as social strategy, Performative identity dynamics, Media spectacle influence, Power and vulnerability

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Hulu
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

163. Stranger Than Fiction

Stranger Than Fiction
Drama Comedy Romance Fantasy Satire
7.5
20061h 53minUnited Kingdom, United States
Director: Marc Forster

Overview

Harold Crick is a lonely IRS agent whose mundane existence is transformed when he hears a mysterious voice narrating his life.

Themes

Writer's block and creation, Fate versus agency, Narrator influence on choices, Romance as distraction from duty, What if as driver, Author reader dynamic and conflict

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Peacock Premium
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

164. Idiocracy

Idiocracy
Comedy Science Fiction Adventure Satire Dystopian Sci-Fi
6.5
20061h 24minUnited States
Director: Mike Judge

Overview

To test its top-secret Human Hibernation Project, the Pentagon picks the most average Americans it can find - an Army private and a prostitute - and sends them to the year 2505 after a series of freak events. But when they arrive, they find a civilization so dumbed-down that they're the smartest people around.

Themes

Class inequality, Corporate influence on policy, Anti intellectualism, Mass media manipulation, Consumerism culture, Technocratic incompetence

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Hulu
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

165. Over the Hedge

Over the Hedge
Family Comedy Animation Family Animation Satire
6.7
20061h 24minUnited States
Director: Karey Kirkpatrick

Overview

A scheming raccoon fools a mismatched family of forest creatures into helping him repay a debt of food, by invading the new suburban sprawl that popped up while they were hibernating – and learns a lesson about family himself.

Themes

Resource scarcity dynamics, Suburban encroachment, Deception and scheming, Conflict with authority, Collective action under pressure, Group loyalty under stress

Available on

Netflix
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

166. The Caiman

The Caiman
Drama Comedy Satire Political Drama
6.7
20061h 52minItaly, France
Director: Nanni Moretti

Overview

Bruno Bonomo was a famous producer of B-movies in the ‘70s. After a long hiatus, Bonomo offers a screenplay to RAI centered on the figure of Italy’s prime minister and media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi, a subject so controversial that even the public television broadcaster refuses to produce it

Themes

Media influence via television, Private fortune through shell funds, Election influence through film, Domestic turmoil and separation, Political ambition and public scrutiny, Creative control vs funding pressure, Systemic corruption and legal risk

Available on

Disney Plus
Amazon Prime Video
Rakuten TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

167. The Producers

The Producers
Comedy Satire
6.3
20052h 14minUnited States
Director: Susan Stroman

Overview

A conniving Broadway producer and his meek accountant plan to profit from charming wealthy old biddies to invest in an overbudget production, and then put on a sure-fire disaster, so nobody will ask for their money back — and what's more disastrous than a tasteless musical celebrating Adolf Hitler.

Themes

Theatrical risk and satire, Economic ambition and deception, Audience manipulation through performance, Greed and backer influence, Trust under financial pressure, Art vs commerce

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

168. Fun with Dick and Jane

Fun with Dick and Jane
Comedy Crime Satire Heist
6.2
20051h 30minUnited States
Director: Dean Parisot

Overview

After Dick Harper loses his job at Globodyne in an Enron-esque collapse, he and his wife, Jane, turn to crime in order to handle the massive debt they now face. Two intelligent people, Dick and Jane actually get pretty good at robbing people and even enjoy it -- but they have second thoughts when they're reminded that crime can hurt innocent people. When the couple hears that Globodyne boss Jack McCallister actually swindled the company, they plot revenge.

Themes

Economic precarity, Deception and manipulation, Job loss consequences, Desperation-driven crime, Wealth insecurity, Restitution and blame

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

169. Breakfast on Pluto

Breakfast on Pluto
Drama Comedy Coming-of-Age Drama Satire
7.2
20052h 8minIreland, United Kingdom
Director: Neil Jordan

Overview

In the 1970s, a young transgender woman called “Kitten” leaves her small Irish town for London in search of love, acceptance, and her long-lost mother.

Themes

Search for belonging, Gender identity formation, Marginalized labor exploitation, Religious judgment vs mercy, Urban rural tension, Family rejection and resilience

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

170. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Comedy Crime Mystery Thriller Satire
7.5
20051h 42minUnited States
Director: Shane Black

Overview

A petty thief posing as an actor has one shot in Hollywood and a dead body on his hands. As the detective trains him for a role that looks more like a murder rap, every hour pulls him deeper into a real-life crime script he can't improvise his way out of.

Themes

Deception through misdirection, Thief masquerading as investigator, Neo-noir atmosphere, Series of murders motif, Whodunit structure, Los angeles setting

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.