The Jerk (1979)
The Immature Movie: Steve Martin gives a masterclass in childish clowning as the simpleton who believes he was raised a poor black child. Deliberately daft, and all the funnier for it.
Crudest Moment: The running gag of a dog named “shithead” shouldn’t be particularly funny, and yet it raises a guilty chuckle every time.
Mental Age: Martin’s character might be a hopeless naïf, but the comedy here is sharp as a knife. Dumb, without dumbing-down.
Little Man (2006)
The Immature Movie: Yet another entry for the family Wayans with this somewhat disturbing tale of a midget thief masquerading as a child. Creepy.
Crudest Moment: When Kerry Washington tells her husband that last night’s sexual escapades were out of this world, only for the baby to look at the camera with a knowing grin. So, that’s a rape we’re laughing at then, yes? Okay…
Mental Age: A raft of snarky sex jokes put this squarely in the teen bracket. Who else would laugh at a “baby” getting a rectal probe?
Year One (2009)
The Immature Movie: Jack Black and Michael Cera wander round the ancient world in search of humour. Instead, they find Vinnie Jones.
Crudest Moment: Poor old Cera gets the brunt of it, pissing in his own face for comic effect. Oh dear.
Mental Age: 14s and under. Sample joke: “Best thing about Sodom? The sodomy.” Brilliant.
Big (1988)
The Immature Movie: In contrast to many of the films on this list, Big is a glorious celebration of childishness. Generating a string of gentle laughs from its body-swap set-up, it proves that immaturity doesn’t always translate to a torrent of low-rent dick jokes.
Crudest Moment: Crudity takes a back seat to childish wonder, the Chopsticks scene summing up the frenzied excitement of being a kid in a toy store.
Mental Age: Hanks’ character is 13-year-old, but you don’t have to be a kid to get a kick out of this one.
Scary Movie 2 (2001)
The Immature Movie: The Wayans brothers return for another round of half-assed spoofery, minus the moderate wit that made the first film tolerable. One for James Woods to scrub off the CV…
Crudest Moment: When Chris Elliott uses his withered hand to stuff the turkey, basting it with spit before dry-humping it. As you do.
Mental Age: Someone young enough not to realise that Scream was itself a parody might get a kick out of this…
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
The Immature Movie: All of the Austin Powers movies are fairly immature, with their constant innuendo and slapstick humour, but the second one stands out in particular thanks to the introduction of a large, Scottish individual…
Crudest Moment: Every scene in which Fat Bastard appears, particularly the one in which he starts carping on about turtle-heads…
Mental Age: Early twenties. Savvy enough to appreciate the Bond spoofery, but immature enough to savour a good fart joke.
Little Nicky (2000)
The Immature Movie: Adam Sandler cranks the gurning up to eleven as Satan’s youngest son Nicky in this broadest of broad comedies. If you enjoy laughing at the handicapped, this is the film for you!
Crudest Moment: Quentin Tarantino’s blind preacher falls down a flight of stairs. Then he walks into a lamppost. Then crashes through a window. Those blind people, eh? When will they learn?
Mental Age: Sandler’s character seems to have the mental age of a small child, and that’s exactly where the movie pitches its jokes!
Me, Myself & Irene (2000)
The Immature Movie: The Farrellys present a well-researched and compassionate portrayal of split-personality disorder. Or something like that…
Crudest Moment: Jim Carrey hits a career high point by taking a dump on his neighbour’s lawn. Why won’t anybody take this man seriously?
Mental Age: Mental illness is funny! Or so we thought when we were 8.
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999)
The Immature Movie: Rob Schneider whores himself around a set of unusual clients, from the freakishly tall to the freakishly fat. All bases are covered for a juvenile laugh riot.
Crudest Moment: A woman with a pituitary gland disorder is greeted with shouts of, “That’s a huge bitch!” Nice.
Mental Age: 15. Just before you start to grow out the old playground point-and-laugh routine.
Van Wilder: Party Liaison (2002)
The Immature Movie: Ryan Reynolds stars as the campus playboy who can’t bring himself to leave college. Something of a guilty pleasure, Reynolds’ charm manages to keep the laughs ticking along nicely.
Crudest Moment: Donuts filled with dog semen. Need we say more?
Mental Age: The sort of thing you could easily find yourself chuckling along to at university after a night on the tiles…
