Browse Movies : 2004 : Comedy

The natural order of fairy tales is interrupted in the sequel to the Academy Award-winning blockbuster "Shrek". "Shrek 2" sends Shrek, Donkey and Princess Fiona on a whirlwind of new adventures with more fairy-tale favorites to lampoon along the way. After battling a fire-breathing dragon and the evil Lord Farquaad to win the hand of Princess Fiona, Shrek now faces his greatest challenge: the in-laws. Shrek and Princess Fiona return from their honeymoon to find an invitation to visit Fiona's parents, the King and Queen of the Kingdom of Far, Far Away. With Donkey along for the ride, the newlyweds set off. All of the citizens of Far, Far Away turn out to greet their returning Princess, and her parents happily anticipate the homecoming of their daughter and her new Prince. But no one could have prepared them for the sight of their new son-in-law, not to mention how much their little girl had...well...changed. Little did Shrek and Fiona know that their marriage had foiled all of her father's plans for her future...and his own. Now the King must enlist the help of a powerful Fairy Godmother, the handsome Prince Charming and that famed ogre killer Puss In Boots to put right his version of "happily ever after."

In "Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed", Scooby and the gang confront an anonymous masked villain who is plotting to take over the city of Coolsville by wreaking mayhem with a monster machine that creates Mystery Inc.'s classic foes like The Pterodactyl Ghost, The Black Knight Ghost and The 10,000 Volt Ghost. Meanwhile, the gang's detecting abilities are scrutinized by relentless reporter Heather Jasper-Howe (Alicia Silverstone), aided by museum curator Patrick Wisely (Seth Green) and thwarted by nasty Jeremiah Wickles (Peter Boyle).

Based on a true story, the tale of a cement truck driver named Danny, whose long awaited vacation is cancelled thanks to his scheming girlfriend, Trudy. Danny escapes his grim life in suburban Australia and blasts into the skies in a chair tied with helium balloons. A mighty thunderstorm blows him clean off the map, and spits him out far away over the lush green town of Clarence. In this new town, he rockets into the world of Glenda, the town's only parking cop. While the media back home becomes obsessed with the story of his disappearance, Danny gets to reinvent himself in this new town, and in his great adventure, he discovers a true soulmate in Glenda. Fate catches up with him eventually, as Danny's true identity is revealed and Trudy—now a tabloid celebrity--comes to the idyllic town to claim Danny and drag him back to Sydney. Danny, however, is a changed man; he's discovered what it means to be happy and has found a new self-worth. Saying farewell to Trudy, Danny makes a dynamic re-entry to the town of Clarence—determined to win Glenda back again and embrace his newfound zest for life.

Even the onboard navigation system has a meltdown on Nate Johnson (Cedric The Entertainer) and his family's cross-country trek to their annual family reunion/grudge match. Reluctantly along for the ride are Nate's wife (Vanessa Williams), who's only in it for the kids; their rapper-wannabe son (Bow Wow); their teenage daughter (Solange Knowles) who's fashioned herself as the next Lolita; and their youngest (Gabby Soleil), whose imaginary dog Nate just can't seem to keep track of. Can the Johnsons survive each other and all the obstacles the road throws at them to make it to Caruthersville, Missouri? Can they find Missouri?

Joanna (Nicole Kidman) and her husband (Matthew Broderick) move to the beautiful upper-class suburb of Stepford, where she soon starts to suspect something is strange and artificial about her new female neighbors. The wives living in the houses around them all seem to be too perfect, with bland, character-less personalities. Everyone that is, except her new friend Bobbie (Bette Midler), who as a cranky, sarcastic, non-exercising alcoholic still has some semblance of personality and independence. As Joanna and Bobbie investigate their neighbors further, they discover that there is indeed something artificial about them, something... robotic, the result of the husbands banding together to replace their human wives with cyborg copies who are subservient, sexually compliant and devoid of any distinguishing character traits. Will Joanna and Bobbie be the next ones replaced by perfect robotic clones?

Two ambitious, but unlucky, black FBI agents, Kevin and Marcus, go deep undercover as white high society debutantes, and infiltrate the sophisticated world of the Hamptons to investigate a kidnapping ring.

The story of Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks), a visitor to New York from Eastern Europe, whose homeland erupts in a fiery coup while he is in the air en route to America. Stranded at Kennedy Airport with a passport from nowhere, he is unauthorized to actually enter the United States and must improvise his days and nights in the terminal's international transit lounge until the war at home is over. As the weeks and months stretch on, Viktor finds the compressed universe of the terminal to be a richly complex world of absurdity, generosity, ambition, amusement, status, serendipity and even romance with a beautiful flight attendant named Amelia (Catherine Zeta-Jones). But Viktor has long worn out his welcome with airport official Frank Dixon, who considers him a bureaucratic glitch, a problem he cannot control but wants desperately to erase.

When Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff) returns to his hometown in New Jersey for the first time in 10 years to attend his mother's funeral, he is reconnected with the world he left behind, and meets a girl, Samantha (Natalie Portman), who may change his life forever. Having recently stopped taking the powerful antidepressants he had been prescribed for years, Largeman's journey of self-discovery prompted by his return causes him to have a more healthy rediscovery of himself, which includes confronting his psychologist father (Ian Holm) and helping Samantha through her own psychological issues.

"Good girl" Mary (Jena Malone) can't believe it when she gets pregnant by her newly-gay boyfriend. She also can't believe the actions of her popular, relentlessly devout best friend, Hilary Faye (Mandy Moore), who's looking after her wheelchair-bound brother Roland (Macaulay Culkin), attempting to convert adamantly Jewish Cassandra (Eva Amurri), and trying to snag cute newcomer Patrick (Patrick Fugit), a hip skateboarding missionary. By the time Mary's secret is revealed, Hilary Faye has gone to extremes to get the outsiders expelled from school, with spectacular results, and Mary is forced to decide what's worth believing in the first place. In this dark comedy, a young, talented cast comes together to get "Saved".

A small local gym is threatened with extinction by a gleaming sports and fitness palace unless a group of social rejects can rise to victory in the ultimate dodge ball competition.

Now that Greg Focker is in with his soon-to-be in-laws, Jack and Dina Byrnes, it looks like smooth sailing for him and his fiancée, Pam. But that's before Pam's parents meet Greg's parents, Bernie and Roz Focker. The hyper-relaxed Fockers and the tightly-wound Byrneses are woefully mismatched from the start, and no matter how hard Greg and Pam try, there is just no bringing their families together.

When a New York City teenager from Greenwich Village, Lola (Lindsay Lohan), is forced to move to the New Jersery suburb of Dellwood, she finds that in her new school, there is another girl, Carla Santini (Megan Fox), who already has claim to the title of most popular girl that Lola had at her old school. Aiming to oust Carla from her reign, Lola sets her sights on nabbing the lead role in the next big school play ("Pygmalion"), which Carla also hopes to star in. As the two girls engage in a war for popularity, Carla lashes back at Lola by obtaining tickets to the sold-out "farewell concert" of Lola's favorite band. Can Lola somehow sneak into the concert and quell Carla's latest scheme, and at the same time meet the band's English lead singer, Stu Wolff (Adam Garcia), whom she has such a crush on?

Terri Fletcher is a small town girl with big time dreams. Blessed with a naturally joyful singing voice, Terri has her sights set on attending the Bristol-Hillman Conservatory in Los Angeles--the most celebrated summer music program in the country. Although she has plenty of raw talent, her lofty aspirations are quickly dashed by her overbearing father, Simon, and the tragic loss of her beloved brother, Paul, who had secretly submitted a demo video of Terri that ultimately results in an acceptance letter to join the prestigious program. A despondent Terri resigns herself to staying home for the summer when her mother Frances and Aunt Nina intervene and covertly devise a plan to keep her from missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime. Upon her arrival in Los Angeles, Terri is quickly introduced to the ultra -competitive, high-stakes environment of the big city. Lacking any formal training, she struggles to make friends and to find her voice amongst the highly gifted group of musical students. Inspired by the mentoring lessons of Mr. Torvald, Terri pushes herself to master the intricate musical arrangements taught in the highly advanced program. As the students prepare for their final performance to determine the winner of the school's $10,000 academic scholarship, Terri partners with a fellow student, Jay. Resulting in a romantic bond with the rough-and-tumble musician. Leaving her fears and anxiety behind, Terri must learn to step into the spotlight and rediscover the artistic musical passion that burns inside of her.

Why just fly when you can soar with soul! After a humiliating experience on an airplane, Nashawn Wade sues the airline and is awarded a huge settlement. Determined to make good with the money, he creates the full-service airline of his dreams, complete with sexy stewardesses, funky music, a hot onboard dance club, and a bathroom attendant. Departing from all-new Terminal X in Los Angeles, "Soul Plane" gives "fly" a whole new meaning, taking its passengers on a maiden voyage full of comedy.

Life couldn't be sweeter for Garfield. Parked on a comfortable barcolounger in front of the TV, feasting on his favorite dish—lasagna—he's the master of his universe. That is, until his owner, Jon, takes in sweet but dimwitted pooch Odie, turning Garfield's perfect world upside down. Now, Garfield wants only one thing: Odie out of his home and life! But when the hapless pup disappears, Garfield, maybe for the first time in his life, feels responsible. With an uncharacteristic amount of energy and courage, Garfield manages to pull himself away from the TV, and spring into action. He's on a mission to save Odie....and get back to his beloved barcolounger!

Oscar is a fast-talking little fish who dreams big. But his big dreams land him in hot water when a great white lie turns him into an unlikely hero. At first, his fellow fish swallow Oscar's story hook, line and sinker and he is showered with fame and fortune. It's all going along swimmingly, until it starts to become clear that Oscar's tale about being the defender of the Reef is all wet. Oscar is finding out that being a hero comes at a Market Price when his lie threatens to make him the Catch of the Day. Now he has to tread water until he can get the scales to tip back in his favor again.

In "Spanglish", the beautifully observed comedy/drama from acclaimed multiple Oscar-winning writer/director/producer James L. Brooks ("As Good As It Gets", "Terms of Endearment"), Flor (Paz Vega), a beautiful, native Mexican woman becomes the housekeeper for the affluent, yet troubled, Clasky family (headed by Adam Sandler and Téa Leoni). The result is a wittily perceptive collision of cultures and values, and a refreshingly honest look at such life-altering commitments as marriage, parenting and devotion to family.

In "Starsky & Hutch", the origins of the charismatic crime-fighting duo David Starsky and Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson are explored when these undercover Bay City detectives are partnered for their very first assignment. Ben Stiller plays the tightly wound Detective David Starsky who is thrown together with Owen Wilson's easygoing Detective Ken Hutchinson on a high-stakes case. Platinum-selling rapper and actor Snoop Dogg plays their savvy street informant Huggy Bear. Vince Vaughn also joins the cast as Reese Feldman, a smooth-talking entrepreneur with an eye towards the future.

Upon hearing of her mother's death, jaded teenage loner Purslane Hominy Will (Scarlett Johansson) returns to New Orleans for the first time in years, ready to reclaim her childhood home. Expecting to find her late mother's house abandoned, Pursy is shocked to discover that it is inhabited by two of her mother's friends: Bobby Long (John Travolta), a former literature professor, and his young protégé, Lawson Pines (Gabriel Macht). These broken men, whose lives took a wrong turn years before, have been firmly rooted in the dilapidated house for years, encouraged only by Lawson's faltering ambitions to write a novel about Bobby Long's life. Having no intention of leaving, Pursy, Bobby Long and Lawson are all forced to live together. Yet as time passes, their tenuous, makeshift arrangement unearths a series of buried personal secrets that challenges their bonds, and reveals just how inextricably their lives are intertwined.

Will Ferrell stars as Ron Burgandy, the top-rated anchorman in San Diego in the '70s. When feminism marches into the newsroom in the form of ambitious newswoman Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), Ron is willing to play along at first-as long as Veronica stays in her place, covering cat fashion shows, cooking, and other "female" interests. But when Veronica refuses to settle for being eye candy and steps behind the news desk, it's more than a battle between two perfectly coiffed anchor-persons...it's war.