Comedy is an art that’s difficult to get right, especially when the premise is ridiculous. Here are five movies that get it right.

There’s a lot of different types of comedy out there, but my favorite by far is also the most difficult to love: ridiculous comedy. Among its companions, romantic comedy, action comedy, or NSFW comedy (I don’t know if this actually has a name, but I’m referring to every Seth Rogen or Jonah Hill movie ever made), it sometimes seems stupid or incomprehensible, but it’s by far the type of comedy with the most heart.

Ridiculous comedy starts off from a premise that is in itself ridiculous, embraces it wholeheartedly, and builds from there. You need to be able to see it with a certain degree of detachment from reality, and be willing to commit to seeing it through. You need to be able to “yes, and…” the film.

You might have started some of this movies and walked away confused, or caught glimpses of it and never understood their appeal. Well, here are five worthy members of this genre, all vastly different from each other, but all of which are guaranteed to give you the best laugh of your life if you give them a chance.

‘Nacho Libre’

Ridiculous premise: A monk in Mexico dreams of becoming a lucha libre luchador.

Starring the king of ridiculous comedy, Jack Black, Nacho Libre goes all out with colorful fights, memorable characters, and a cross-cultural sense of humor that makes everything twice as funny. Nacho’s story reflects the hero’s journey with a passion that feels heroic, even when the characters are talking nonsense.

But most importantly, Nacho Libre has heart, which elevates a story about a luchador monk in a way that’s actually heartwarming, and makes you completely disregard any plotholes regarding the church and lucha libre.

‘Shaolin Soccer’

Ridiculous premise: A group of friends uses their deep kung fu expertise to create the best soccer team that ever existed.

This Chinese movie is one of a kind, and excellent whether you watch it dubbed or subbed. From the start, it exposes you to the exaggerated version of reality where kung fu is a superpower, and by the time you get to the flashmob scene, you’re just taking everything in stride.

The mix of martial arts and soccer in this film is so over-the-top that it’s exhilarating to watch, and the humor in the dialogue, which is always absolutely earnest and completely oblivious of itself, is excellent no matter what language you’re watching in. And of course, the characters are so charming that you can’t help but love them as they face Team Evil — probably the most ridiculous evil soccer team ever depicted.

‘Zoolander’

Ridiculous premise: A male model is brainwashed into becoming an assassin.

Zoolander doesn’t take itself seriously, and doesn’t expect you to take it seriously either. Not even its own characters take it seriously — except for the male models, of course, who are clueless, and singlehandedly uphold all the ridiculousness in this film with such passion that you just lean back and enjoy the show. Peak ridiculous is Mugatu, into which Will Farrell just pours all insanity… and you’re immersed in a silly world of fashion that we all hope doesn’t really exist.

Though with time it’s become somewhat problematic, and relies heavily on mocking gender roles while not exactly addressing them as false, Zoolander is a carefully-crafted ridiculous laugh, which will continue to be remembered as one of Ben Stiller’s best works.

Let’s pretend Zoolander 2 never happened (although the trailers were funny).

‘What We Do in the Shadows’

Ridiculous premise: Vampires exist. They open up their home to a documentary crew to give a glimpse of their daily (nightly?) life.

Hands down, best mockumentary ever. What We Do in the Shadows is the documentary you never thought would exist, but which probably answers every silly question you’ve ever had about vampires. Oh, and it doesn’t take place in Transylvania, or England, or anywhere you’re expecting — it takes place in New Zealand.

These happy-go-lucky vampires live surprisingly exciting lives, considering their relatively normal night-to-night schedule, and the special effects and gags are so skillfully done that you’re already fully immersed seconds in. By the time the werewolves appear, you’ll be hoping for a sequel. (Don’t worry, there’s a show!)

‘Early Man’

Ridiculous premise: A group of people in the Stone Age find themselves having to defeat the Bronze Age. Naturally, they compete through soccer.

Early Man is a stop-motion animation film in the style of Chicken Run or Wallace and Grommit, which already partly prepares you for a different type of humor than you’d expect from a Disney film, but doesn’t quite prepare you for the series of excellent jokes that come from a bunch of cavemen learning how to play soccer at the turn of the age.

It’s a family film, but it takes an adult audience to fully appreciate just how ridiculously great this movie is, with very committed worldbuilding and a cast of captivating characters that genuinely make you root for the most improbable soccer team ever.