Indie comedies sadly still don’t get the attention or financial success they deserve, while trash like The Hangover Part III earns over $360 million worldwide. Even so, films like these do seem to be getting much more in the way of awards attention, especially as actors sick of big budget blockbusters begin to gravitate towards them.

When it comes to Indie comedies, there are literally dozens of superb additions which have been added to the genre since the beginning of the 21st Century, but we’ve somehow managed to narrow down our selections to just six of the best. Have we missed any of your favourites? Be sure to let us know in the comment section below!

6. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was Shane Black’s first movie in the director’s chair after writing the likes of Lethal Weapon and The Last Action Hero, and it would also serve as a comeback of sorts for Robert Downey Jr.; a comeback which would culminate in him becoming one of Hollywood’s highest paid action stars thank to the Iron Man and Avengers franchises. He would also reteam with Black eight years later for the $1 billion box office hit, Iron Man 3.

When Downey Jr.’s crook and private investigator Perry van Shrike (Val Kilmer) witness a body being dumped, they’re then forced to form an unlikely partnership in order to solve the crime and avoid being killed. It’s a sharp and clever comedy which finds a good balance of humour and drama, while the tongue in cheek satire blends well with the other elements in order to deliver an effective and memorable homage to pulp-noir genre.

5. (500) Days of Summer

500 Days of Summer

These days, Marc Webb’s name is synonymous with that of Spider-Man, but the director’s first low-budget effort is arguably still his best film. Telling the story of Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his new-found love Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel), the film adopts a non-linear narrative to reveal how their relationship both came together and fell apart.

The two leads are superb, but it’s the way that Webb shoots the movie which really helps to distinguish it. Regardless of whether it’s the scene where the screen is split to show how one of Tom’s evenings with Summer goes to how he actually expected it to or him breaking into a musical number after spending the night with her early on in their relationship, (500) Days of Summer is  packed full of the kind of unique visuals which resulted in Webb being handed the keys to Sony’s biggest franchise. Oh, and the soundtrack? Pure perfection.

4. 50/50

50 50

Another fantastic Joseph Gordon-Levitt effort (it would have been easy to fill this entire list with his movies, particularly his superb directorial debut Don Jon), Jonathan Levine’s 50/50 tackles the sensitive subject of cancer, while still managing to find a nice balance of comedy and drama. Seth Rogen’s seemingly insensitive best friend to the recently diagnosed lead proves to be one of his best performances yet, particularly when it is later revealed that he’s been spending all his time reading up on Adam’s condition.

It’s that which delivers the majority of laughs, but his budding relationship with his therapist (Anna Kendrick) and the reaction of his mother (Anjelica Huston) give the comedy an awful lot of heart as well. The scene in which a distraught Adam breaks down in his car as he comes to terms with having to undergo a risky operation is just incredible work from Levitt.