20 Best Comedy Movies on Netflix Right Now
Editor’s Note: This post is updated monthly. Bookmark this page and come back every month to see what unknown classics are being added to Netflix.
Updated for February 2018
Sometimes you just gotta laugh. And your friendly neighborhood streaming services are always up to help.
Netflix in particular knows of your intense desire to laugh. Netflix knows everything about you. Netflix loves you. Do what Netflix tells you.
Whoops! Sorry about that. Blacked out for a moment. But anyway, here is our list of the best comedy movies on Netflix.
Heathers
This might be one of the best films of all time. Let’s also be honest, this is the original Mean Girls. Everything about this movie is terrible. The “Heathers Clique” is terrible, there’s bullies and guns. Basically, this movie amplifies everything that is wrong with high school and brings it to an absurdist level, which is exactly what you want, right?
The best thing about this movie is that at its worse, it’s a rom-com and at its best, it’s a horror flick. Heathers is incredibly dark. It gives most other dark comedies a run for their playing-it-safe money. J.D. and Veronica in the boiler room is one of those moments that will remain in the canon of unforgettable scenes in movie history.
– Daniella Bondar
Hot Fuzz
The action segment in Edgar Wright’s “Three Flavors Cornetto” Trilogy, Hot Fuzz is a genre-busting delight. Yes, Hot Fuzz is a very funny film, and yet another satisfying contribution from Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost, but it’s also one of the most intelligent action films that you’ll come across and a brilliant dissection of the genre.
It’s not surprising that Edgar Wright used over 100 action films for inspiration here. There is also plenty of buddy cop bliss to laugh at while watching Pegg’s Nicholas Angel get used to his new stomping grounds. The jokes come fast and aggressive, and it’s crazy that Wright and company have more ammunition for the action genre than they did with zombies in Shaun of the Dead.
Also, that turn towards the end when the film becomes all of the action films that it’s been making fun of the entire time is such a glorious, insane moment of cinema.
– Daniel Kurland
Wet Hot American Summer
Wet Hot American Summer is unrestrained madness disguised as a simple camp comedy. Convention is even stuck to for a fair bit, but once some campers head “to town,” all bets are off. If you’ve ever turned on Adult Swim, you’ve surely seen the bulk of the actors that fill up Camp Firewood, but it’s kind of inspiring to just watch these guys be idiots in their first real, big project. With the success of everyone in the cast now, it’s easy to see why Netflix ponied up on doing a prequel series for the show.
Elastic reality, instantly quotable lines, and an incredible cast. And with Netflix’s release of a sequel series being right around the corner, what better time to get reacquainted with this flick?
– Daniel Kurland
Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday
It blows my mind that Netflix’s recent Pee-Wee project could not only be so successful, but that it might even be a little more fantastical than the previous films before it. John Lee and Paul Rust step up to the plate as director and writer as they perfectly tap into Pee-Wee’s warped innocence.
Reuben’s iconic character is taken on a cross-country road trip, introducing him to many off kilter individuals, all of which underscore the idea that everyone has a little Pee-Wee in them. Plus, it’s got Joe Manganiello (your next Deathstroke) playing himself, acting as Pee-Wee’s best friend, and it’s sort of incredible.
– Daniel Kurland
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
When I was a kid, I routinely watched Who Framed Roger Rabbit? having no idea that it was a satire of film noir and Hollywood culture. To me, Roger Rabbit seemed no less legit a children’s cartoon character than say Bugs Bunny or Donald Duck. Therein lies the brilliance of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
It’s a hilariously dark and gritty detective noir piece in which the real world just happens to coincide with the animated world. But that animated world is so perfectly realized and realistic that after a few minutes into the movie, it barely feels strange or jarring at all to watch Bob Hoskins interact with literal cartoon characters.
– Alec Bojalad
Tropic Thunder
Tropic Thunder is the rare big budget comedy action film that works. Not only does it work, it’s one of the better satires of the previous decade. It achieves this because it’s object of satire is so easy. It essentially asks “Actors? A bit full of themselves, right?”
Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. all star as actors of various levels of success. Stiller is an action hero, Black has a comedy franchise about a farting family and Downey Jr. is the serious capital “A” actor. Together, they all descend into the Vietnam jungle to make an award-worthy Vietnam war movie. Things do not go well.
– Alec Bojalad
Don’t Think Twice
Our culture’s appetite for comedy has never been more voracious. Still we don’t get enough movies about the inner-workings of comedy as a profession and an industry as we deserve. Don’t Think Twice is one of the great exceptions. Don’t Think Twice is the second film from stand-up comedian and filmmaker Mike Birbiglia.
It features an amazing cast that includes Gillian Jacobs, Keegan Michael-Key and about a half-dozen other “hey, I know that actor(s).” It’s about members of a comedy troupe who are all vying or have vied for an appearance on an SNL-like comedy show. Don’t Think Twice is both funny and an uncomfortably realistic saga about the limitations of dreams.
– Alec Bojalad
Masterminds
Nothing says comedy moreso than Zach Galifianakis’ physical appearance in this movie. Galifianakis has always been good at utilizing his versatile head and facial hair to great comedic effect but they’ve never worked better than they do in Masterminds.
Beyond just the hair, Masterminds is a funny comedy featuring an even funnier cast. Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones and Owen Wilson all make appearances in this true story about a folksy robbery gone wrong.
– Alec Bojalad
Little Evil
Little Evil is one of the original movies that Netflix seems to excel at identifying and picking up. The premise is just so killer that you can’t conceive of why it’s taken so long to get here. What if The Omen were a comedy? Adam Scott stars as a man named Gary who loves his new wife Samantha (Evangeline Lily).
There just happens to be something a little weird about her son, Lucas. Namely that’s he’s clearly the son of the devil. Which would make sense as Samantha was in a cult in her wild younger years.
– Alec Bojalad
She’s Gotta Have It
Like many of Spike Lee’s films, calling She’s Gotta Have It a “comedy” seems a bit reductive. Still this comedy-drama is very much equal parts both. She’s Gotta Have It, Lee’s first film (and he actually co-stars as well) stars Tracy Camilla Johns as Nola, a young woman juggling three suitors.
She likes aspects of each of them but not any one of them entirely. The movie is about self-discover and autonomy – which may seem to be at odds with its comedy and romance movie aims but that’s the genius of Spike Lee. It all makes sense under his stewardship and Johns’ command of her character.
– Alec Bojalad
I Love You, Man
Sometime in the mid-00s we all became enamored with the concept of the “bromance.” Men didn’t quite know what to do with our intense emotional energy towards our friends so we decided to come up with a term to ironically distance ourselves from that energy.
A lot of the movies from this time are bad. I Love You, Man is not one of them. Paul Rudd stars as a man who on the eve of his wedding realizes that he’s not created any lasting male-friendships in his life. So his wife-to-be encourages him to go out and make some. In steps Jason Segel and his dog named Anwar Sedat.
Rudd and Segel’s chemistry is great and I Love You, Man is much more of a legitimately sweet, affecting movie than in had any right to be.
– Alec Bojalad
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Rick Bobby
Anchorman will always be seen as Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s movie comedy opus. That leaves its cousin Talladega Nights dangling out there on the edge of history. That’s not entirely fair as Talladega Nights is a fantastically funny film in its own right.
Ferrell stars as racecar driver Ricky Bobby who has created an entire empire around his ability to merely go fast. A crash created by his new French rival rattles Ricky to his core and he must work his way back to health and speed racin’.
– Alec Bojalad
Scary Movie
Scary Movie is hilariously dated at this point but that’s ok as it remains just plain hilarious. Director Keenan Ivory Wayans follows in the footsteps of parody-master David Zucker (ironic as he’d go on to direct Scary Movie 3 and 4) to craft a movie that takes certain mainstays of popular culture and mashes them into something ridiculous…or even just slightly more ridiculous than usual.
Scary Movie primarily spoofs Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer but not unlike Airplane!, the parody transcends those two movies and creates something entirely original while not being original at all. Does that make sense? Don’t worry about it. This is a funny movie.
– Alec Bojalad
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Here’s an interesting thing about youth. I was a touch young to see Ace Ventura in theaters when it came out but I remember the consensus amongst my friends and some of our various older peers being that this was the finest comedy in the history of comedy.
When I eventually saw it, I was of course convinced that it was indeed perfect. Then just as I researched this piece I discover that it has a disappointing 43% on Rotten Tomatoes. Ace Ventura, the story of a bizarre pet-only detective getting to the bottom of a Miami Dolphin-related case helped put Jim Carrey on the map as a movie comedy star.
Give it a watch and let me know whether me and my young friends or the critical community en masse were right.
– Alec Bojalad
Caddyshack
What can be written about this film that hasn’t already been said? The best comedies give life to quotes that go on to exist separately from the script that spawned them, and Caddyshack has that going for it, which is nice. It’s the film that cemented Harold Ramis as an ’80s comedy powerhouse, Bill Murray as one of the funniest people on the planet, and my everlasting love of Rodney Dangerfield.
Caddyshack is a time capsule back to when Chevy Chase was both arrogant and cool, when a solid poo gag only involved a well-placed candy bar, and when you could get a free bowl of soup with your ugly hat. It doesn’t hold up in every way, but the laughs it delivers are still more than worth the watch.
– Nick Harley
Wedding Crashers
“Modern comedy classic” is a high-bar to clear as the 21st century has brought with an insane amount of classic comedies. Still, Wedding Crashers clears that bar by any metric. Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn stars as the eponymous wedding crashers as they hop from wedding to wedding to bed single women.
Everything is hunky dory until they attend the wedding of the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (Christopher Walken) and catch some feelings for his daughters. You would too if they were Isla Fisher and Rachel McAdams.
– Alec Bojalad
Ocean’s Eleven
Ocean’s Eleven is one of the most purely, easily charming movies ever made. That’s not a surprise for a film that is just a flimsy excuse to gather together Hollywood’s most likeable bros to hang out.
What is surprising, however, is how well the Steven Soderbergh directed plot about a casino heist moves and twists along. Ocean’s Eleven was always a must watch when it popped up on cable and now there’s no need to wait through commercials. Just open up Amazon when you need a serene, funny movie-viewing experience.
– Alec Bojalad
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
In hindsight, Oscar winning Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line deserves more respect. Joaquin Phoenix was marvelous as Cash and the film was one of the more exciting and fair biopics in recent memory. Likewise, the Judd Apatow-produced satire of Walk the Line, Walk Hard deserves all the respect in the world.
This is a very funny movie. John C. Reilly stars as country musician Dewey Cox and the movie follows him through his life’s various trials and tribulations. There are drugs, lots of drugs. There are flacid penises, lots of flacid penises. And most importantly, there are so many sinks to tear out of the wall. Walk Hard is an underappreciated modern comedy classic.
– Alec Bojalad
American Pie
American Pie may as well be as old as a Charlie Chaplin silent film now. Look at that screenshot! Jason Biggs is holding a Hustler instead of downloading 9 terrabyte of internet pornograpy. But some things remain timeless. And the most timeless thing of all may indeed be all-consuming teenage horniness.
Biggs stars as Jim Levenstein, an awkward high school student. Together with his equally awkward friends Jim makes a pact that they will all lose their virginities by the end of their senior year. That’s a tale as old as time itself. Where American Pie separates itself from the pack, however, is its cheerful embrace of the abject grossness of being a teenager and trying to begin your sex life.
American Pie remains a disgusting, charming sex comedy classic.
– Alec Bojalad
Meet the Parents
“I have nipples, Greg, could you milk me?”
Comedy is good at revealing and exploiting universal fears for laughter. Meet the Parents takes a fear that we all must have and converts it to film. What if the love of your life’s father is an ex-CIA agent played by Robert De Niro? That’s the situation that poor Gaylord “Greg” Focker (Ben Stiller) finds himself in as he and his girlfriend Pam head to Long Island to meet her parents.
Pam’s father Jack puts Greg through a ringer of psychological torment including polygraph tests, ill-fated Volleyball games, and continual dismissal of his career as a nurse. Stiller and De Niro have excellent chemistry and Meet the Parents turns an easily-realized nightmare into a hilarious reality.
– Alec Bojalad
