11 Comedy Characters that Make for Great Halloween Costumes

11 Austin Powers

If you can find a colorful suit from the 1970s, a ruffly shirt, rimmed glasses, a brown wig and bad fake teeth, Austin Powers is a totally doable option. While the character was overexposed in the late 1990s and early aughts, he’s now appreciated for what he always was: a very funny character in some very funny comedies. 

The only thing you have to be aware of for this costume is that no one — and I mean literally no one — wants to hear your Austin Powers impression. I don’t care how great the temptation is to shout “Yeah, baby, yeah” in a mock-British accent, nothing will irritate people more than this. You’d honestly be better off dressing up as the Joker if you can’t deny that urge.

10 Alan from ‘The Hangover’

For bearded dudes still wishing it was the early aughts, all you need is sunglasses, a baby carrier and either a real baby or a baby doll to pull off Alan from The Hangover. With a doll, of course, you don’t need to feed them, and you don’t need to feel bad about giving them such a lame costume for their first Halloween. If you go for a real baby, just make sure it belongs to you, otherwise you may get into some legal trouble. 

9 Hans and Franz

If you’ve got some old, gross sweatpants, a weight belt and stuffing for all those uneven muscles, Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon’s SNL duo of Hans and Franz make for an easy costume. This is another case, though, where there needs to be at least two people doing it, as one person alone in such a sweat suit will probably be assumed to be Rocky Balboa.

8 The Flintstones

The Flintstones are such simple costumes that you can go store-bought or easily make your own with some basic fabrics: orange with black spots and a blue necktie for Fred, white with pearls for Wilma, brown for Barney and blue for Betty. You can even pull off Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm if you’ve got kids.

7 Lucy Ricardo

With Lucy, you’ve got two directions you can go with, provided you start with a red wig. If you’ve got period-appropriate 1950s clothes and the right shaped bottle, you can dress up as Lucy Selling Vitameatavegamin. If you’ve got 1950s cooking garb and a chef’s hat, you can go as Chocolate Factory Lucy, especially if you’ve got a friend who wants to dress up with you (just make sure they have a blonde wig). The latter costume is also especially good for trick-or-treating as you can constantly stuff your face with candy and claim it’s just part of the costume.

7 Ace Ventura

Speaking of Jim Carrey movies, Ace Ventura still works as a Halloween costume if you’ve got the hair for it. Besides a ton of hair spray, all you need is a Hawaiian shirt, and you’re basically there — though it may help to accessorize with some sort of stuffed animal, like a monkey or a bird. Just make sure that, unlike the Dumb and Dumber birds, this bird is alive, as Ace would never let harm come to an animal.

5 Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne

For two dudes spending Halloween together, the Dumb and Dumber guys are a strong choice. While not quite as plentiful as a Beetlejuice costume, there are store-bought versions of these costumes available online, complete with the top hat. You can also accessorize further with a cane, a dead owl or a dead parakeet. Man, they kill a lot of birds in that movie.

4 The Addams Family

Just about every member of the Addams Family makes for a good Halloween costume. Wednesday, Gomez and Uncle Fester are particularly strong choices as long as you’ve got the right accessories for each. Morticia, Pugsley, Grandmama and Lurch aren’t necessarily as recognizable on their own, but if you’re going to a Halloween party with relatives, the Addams Family is a solid comedic theme that isn’t too difficult to pull off — just don’t forget to bring a severed hand as Thing.

3 Groucho Marx

Even people unfamiliar with Marx, the wisecracking comedy icon, are familiar with his classic costume. Groucho glasses began as a novelty item in the 1940s when Groucho was one of the most famous people in the world along with his fellow Marx Brothers. Becoming a game-show host in the 1950s, Groucho retained his popularity until his death in the late 1970s. All the while, Groucho glasses have remained a symbol for comedy and a nice, low-effort Halloween costume.

2 Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice is both a Halloween staple and a very funny movie, so its titular character is a great choice for a comedic character costume. Those black-and-white striped suits are also readily available at your nearest Spirit Halloween, and if you want, you can have some fun going all-out with the hair and makeup. Sure, it’s not the most original costume, but as long as you avoid having three Beetlejuices in the same room, you should be free of any otherworldly mayhem.

1 The Target Lady

A red vest, a wig and a Target name tag is all you need to pull off Kristen Wiig’s beloved SNL character. Although Wiig left the show in 2012, she’s managed to keep the character alive whenever she returns to host and with a few actual Target ads. Just make sure you don’t actually go into Target while wearing your Target Lady outfit, lest you be mobbed with questions about why the self-checkout isn’t working.