The 10 best political comedies to distract you from real-life politics

The Age

25-04-2025

Public interest lawyer Bill McKay (played by Robert Redford) is convinced to run for office after being told he has no chance of winning against three-term California Senator Crocker Jarmon. However, his emboldened truth-telling earns him more support than expected, which leads his campaign advisors to water down his leftist messaging.
It's a classic underdog story that pokes fun at the performative nature of most modern-day politics.
Bob Roberts (1992)
Similar to The Candidate, Bob Roberts also has an unlikely candidate (played by Tim Robbins) running for a political position, but this person isn't an idealist go-getter – he's a rich folk singer willing to get dirty to win.
There are smear campaigns, assassination attempts, drug-trafficking schemes and far-right folk songs. It's a messy yet fair satire of what money can do to politics, and how easily the masses can be swept up by lies – if they're juicy enough. The film's tagline says it all: 'Vote now. Ask questions later'.
Dave (1993)
The President of the United States cannot be in two places at once, as much as they may wish they could. In Dave, they 'solve' that problem.
The White House Chief of Staff decides to find a body-double for the president to stand in for a photoshoot. Small business owner Dave (Kevin Kline) is the perfect man for the job, but after the president suffers a debilitating stroke, they secretly decide to keep him on full-time, even keeping the truth from the First Lady (Sigourney Weaver).
Given the US president is one of the most photographed people on earth, this is beyond far-fetched, yet it still leaves you wishing we had more Daves in politics.
Wag the Dog (1997)
Politics is no stranger to a sex scandal, but it's not every day that one is covered up with a fake war in Albania.
That's the hook of Wag the Dog, a satirical comedy about a fictional US president who becomes embroiled in a sex scandal ahead of an election. To distract voters, he enlists the help of a spin doctor (Robert De Niro) and Hollywood producer (Dustin Hoffman) to fabricate a war in the Balkan region.
What makes this film even more of a standout is that it was released less than a month before the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal broke in 1998. Later that year, the US government launched missile strikes against Afghanistan and Sudan, broadcasting footage of it on national television. The phrase 'art imitates life' never felt so pertinent.
Election (1999)
School politics can be just as cut-throat as official politics. This becomes blatantly clear in Alexander Payne's Election, in which a school teacher (Matthew Broderick) becomes far too involved in the school president election, encouraging a popular athlete to run against conniving honour-roll student Tracy (Reese Witherspoon).
Beyond a vote-stealing scandal which may hit a little too close to home for some, it's a reminder of how well politics can simultaneously entertain and infuriate the public – even in a small-town high school. While it isn't the film for which Witherspoon won an Oscar, it still has to be one of her most iconic roles.
Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Speaking of school politics, who could forget Jon Heder's iconic 'vote for Pedro' dance, aka the best election campaign tactic known to man?
Awkward teen Napoleon is an outcast at school, and when the new kid Pedro arrives, they bond over a campaign to make the latter class president. Aside from its genius dialogue (special mention must be made of 'Tina, you fat lard, come get some dinner'), this film is odd in the best kind of way, and an ode to the misfits who so often aren't given a platform of power.
Idiocracy (2006)
While not directly a political film, Idiocracy depicts a future in which world leaders have led us seriously astray.
Two people agree to take part in a military hibernation experiment, but are soon forgotten, leaving them trapped in stasis until 2505. When they come to, society's average intelligence has plummeted so low that they're now the smartest people in the world.
The fact that Terry Crews plays a muscled-up president named Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho should be enticing enough, but the film's disturbingly prophetic messaging around mass corporatisation and the weakening of critical thought locks it in.
The Death of Stalin (2017)
A refreshing departure from US politics, The Death of Stalin features the death of the Russian dictator, leaving his cronies to battle over who will become the next Soviet leader.
It pokes fun at the infighting so common within real-life politics – bickering that occasionally gets in the way of proper legislative progress. This is backed up by an all-star cast, including Jason Isaacs, Steve Buscemi and Jeffrey Tambor, all of whom play bumbling, indecisive and incompetent politicians with the highest degree of aplomb.
Rumours (2024)
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World politics has never looked as grim as in Rumours, Guy Maddin's black comedy that questions how our most powerful leaders resolve the world's most severe global crises.
In the film, these leaders are summoned to draft a provisional statement regarding an unknown emergency, but it becomes quickly apparent than none of them have the competence to fix anything. Instead, sexual squabbles, zombies and giant brains (yes, this is a strange film) distract them from the end-goal.
It's a surreal reality in which image is prioritised over substance and real change – sound familiar?