10 Most Controversial Comedies Of All Time

Comedy films are supposed to be funny. That's it. Not exactly a mind-blowing statement right off the bat, but it's something that needs to be said. Because not everybody gets that.

There should be no other expectations thrust upon a genre of entertainment that has the sole intention of making us laugh. And yet, too many times, audiences are taken aback when a comedy stretches the boundaries of good taste, and the resulting outrage over the film's questionable content can even overshadow that all-important question: Is the film actually funny?

It seems like there's at least one comedy every few years that gets the general public all riled up and invokes the wrath of various religious and political groups. Protests ensue, news segments are dedicated to said protests, movies are banned (or censored) as a result, but, more often than not, the controversy ends up drawing more people into the theaters to see what all the fuss is about anyway.

And while not all controversial comedies end up being worth the trouble, a number of films in the genre were eventually quite well-received and are now regarded as iconic bits of pop culture.

Proceed with caution as we venture back through the most controversial comedies of all time. Thick skin is highly recommended.

The movie responsible for helping Mandy Moore break free from her squeaky clean pop princess image and re-introducing the world to a fully-grown Macauley Culkin - who tried his damnedest to make you forget about those Home Alone movies - Saved! may actually be the most misunderstood satire on this entire list.

Because it seems most who opposed the film had grounded their criticisms in the simple idea that anyone dare make a movie about teenagers questioning their own beliefs. This in spite of the fact that literally every coming-of-age story - from The Breakfast Club to Dazed And Confused - is built on that very notion. And make no mistake, Saved! is a coming-of-age story, though it's being told through a more religious lens than most.

Granted, writer/director Brian Dannelly referred to his movie as "Mean Girls" meets "Passion Of The Christ", so maybe he was trying to stir the pot a little. And if that's the case, he certainly got his wish.

Ted Baehr, founder of the Christian Film & Television Commission, called the film "a sad, bigoted, anti-Christian movie that mocks the Christian Faith." Jerry Falwell, meanwhile, took it upon himself to publicly predict the movie would "crash and burn" at the box office. He also claimed, despite having never seen the film, that it was a "broadside from Hollywood liberals" that wouldn't have been tolerated by the public if its satire had been directed toward other groups.