If you’re going to have a main villain in a comedy, he’s got to be outrageous, absurd, and extremely funny without appearing like he’s trying to be.  He’s also got to be unlikeable but at the same time someone who is easy to laugh with (or at).  Quite often, a villain in a comedy is even funnier than the protagonist, and more likely than not is a helluva lot more fun to play, too.  A decent amount of comedic movie villains fit this description, so after the jump, take a look at what I thought were twelve of the best (in no particular order):

Shooter McGavin - Happy Gilmore

Shooter is a prick in every sense of the word.  He will do whatever it takes to win and enjoys seeing his opponents suffer.  In fact, Shooter bought Happy Gimore’s grandmother’s house just so he could do whatever he wanted with it to spite Happy.  Which is a pretty awesome move, actually, if you’re into that sort of thing.  If Shooter isn’t the center of attention, he becomes frustrated and lashes out (”I was too busy winning”) and fires caddies as often as he breathes.  My favorite Shooter moments in Happy Gilmore are when he dedicates his play in the final tournament to Chubbs (he did call it first, after all) and when he tells Happy that he eats pieces of sh*t for breakfast.

Stan Gable - Revenge of the Nerds

The leader of the Alpha Betas and the president of the Greek Council, Gable is a preppy douchebag with a penchant for picking on the weak.  He’ll do jerkish things just for the sake of being a jerk, like pouring a beer on the head of one of his fraternity brothers who was doing push-ups for apparently no reason whatsoever.  Still, that’s nothing compared to how Gable tormented the Tri Lambs throughout Revenge of the Nerds: orchestrating the placement of swine in their fraternity house comes to mind.  Stan Gable was played by Ted McGinley, who was the tits as Jefferson on Married…with Children.  He’s jus terrific at playing a pompous prick.

Dr. Evil - The Austin Powers Movies

Mike Myers must have realized how great Dr. Evil was after the first Austin Powers movie, because the villain’s scenes seem to be doubled in the sequels.  Dr. Evil is always good for laughs when he doesn’t understand the world’s modernization (like when he demanded a ransom of a mere one million dollars), but he’s at his best when he’s trying to be cool, using slang or dancing and rapping with Mini-Me.  He didn’t go to six years of evil medical school to be called “mister,” thank you very much.

Jacobim Mugatu - Zoolander

Just looking at Mugatu should be enough to evoke a laugh, but practically everything he says in Zoolander is funny.  Whether it’s claiming to be a hot little potato, informing someone that Hansel is so hot right now, or telling one of his models to lose five pounds immediately or to get out of his building like now, Mugatu’s look and diva attitude - along with his diabolical scheming - make him one of the best comedic movie villains.  I’m definitely in the mood to watch Zoolander right now.

Dean Vernon Wormer - Animal House

If I’m not mistaken, I think the above picture of Deam Wormer is from the ending scene of Animal House where Delta House ruins the town’s parade and Wormer exclaims, “I hate those guys.”  And he definitely did hate the Deltas - it wasn’t enough to put them on double secret probation or expell them from school; Wormer went the extra mile and notified the local draft board that they were all eligible for service.  Talk about a dick move.  Dean Wormer, played by John Vernon (who unfortunately passed in 2005), is the epitome of the villainous dean.  Piven was great in Old School, but he’s not even close to the level of assholishness were Dean Wormer resided.  Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.

Judge Smails - Caddyshack

Of all of Bushwood’s members, Judge Smails is by far the biggest jerk.  He’s very rich and - as he’s a comedic movie villain - naturally looks down on others who are less well-off.  Smails’ biggest prick move in Caddyshack is tough to identify, but I think it’s probably when he throws his putter in disgust after missing a putt.  His putter hits a woman standing on a deck, and Smails has no problem letting Danny Noonan take the blame for his blunder, even chastising Noonan in front of the woman.  It’s either that or when he threatens to revoke Danny’s scholarship for playing in place of Al.  No matter how you look at it, though, Smails is a dick of the highest magnitude.

Edward Rooney - Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Blustering Ed Rooney has a deep and intense hatred for Ferris Bueller, but his incompetence and rage prevent him from ever catching his school’s most popular student.  Jeffrey Jones plays it straight as Rooney the entire movie (but not in real life! Zing!), making him one of those comedic movie villains who we’re constantly laughing at, not with.  Even his plan to catch Ferris and Cameron in a lie by demanding to see Sloane’s dead grandmother’s body backfires, and he snivels and grovels to Cameron on the telephone when he mistakenly thinks he’s talking to Sloane’s father.  Personally, the Rooney-Cameron exchange is one of my favorite parts of the movie.

Ernie McCracken - Kingpin

I’ve said it before - Bill Murray is funny in just about anything, and his role as “Big Ern” is no exception.  Ernie McCracken is vintage Murray: a smug, confident, sarcastic bowler who knows how to push buttons so well that he can get an Amish guy to take a swing at him.  “Was I talking out loud?  Was I?  Sorry.  Good Luck.”  Even if Murray’s appearance were normal, McCracken would have made this article, but the ridiculous hair more than sealed the deal.

Greg Tolan - Just One of the Guys

William Zabka is best known as the villain Johnny in The Karate Kid, but that movie wasn’t a comedy.  He was also one of the villains in Back to School, but his character as Chas didn’t have as big an impact- nor was he as much of a douche - as Greg Talon did in Just One of the Guys.  Talon is a classic bully with a hot girlfriend and out to make the lives of the weak as miserable as possible.  One of Talon’s favorite activities is to put on his gloves and then lift a cafeteria table, spilling food all over the poor kids who happened to be sitting there.  Nice move.  Really, Zabka defines bully, and this article just wouldn’t be complete without him.

Lois Einhorn/Ray Finkle - Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

Look, I love Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind, but I miss the old Jim Carrey.  You know, the guy who would pretend to literally talk out of his ass and make goofy faces every thirty seconds.  Of course, Carrey is the true star of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, but the character of Lois Einhorn -layed by Sean Young - helps quite a bit.  Lois isn’t necessarily very funny and I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to call her a ball-busting bitch, but the reason she is such a memorable comedic movie villain is because, well, she isn’t a she at all.  Say hello to Mr. Happy!

Prince Humperdinck - The Princess Bride

Heir to the throne of Florin, Prince Humperdinck is a manipulative, controlling, and cowardly man.  Oh, he lies to chicks, too, but hey, who doesn’t?  I mean, she’s not gonna go on a second date with me if I don’t tell her that I have a steady job and am disease free, right?  Anyway, back to Humperdinck.  He tortured Wesley to within an inch of his life, yet was completely psyched out after hearing what a nearly paralyzed Wesley would do to him.  Humperdinck is so amusing mainly because of what an unbelievable puss he really is.  Plus, that name.  Humperdinck!  

Dark Helmet - Spaceballs

God, I love Dark Helmet.  Just looking at the above picture of him playing with his dolls cracks me up.  Helmet the bumbling second-in-command on Planet Spaceball, and his subordinates fear him because of his extensive mastery of the Schwartz.  His oversized helmet, thick glasses, and out-of-place tie make him a walking joke, but like a lot of the villains in this article, it’s his quotable lines that make him so memorable.  My personal favorite?  “I bet she gives great helmet.”

So there you have it, twelve of the best comedic movie villains.  I considered adding Chet from Weird Science, but he wasn’t as villainous, in my opinion, as the rest of the guys on here.  Eric from Billy Madison would have been great, too, but I didn’t want to put more than one Adam Sandler movie up here and Shooter is a much funnier villain than Eric.  Who would you have added?  Hit me up!

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