19 Best Comedy Movies on Netflix
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 September 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
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
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
Adventureland
What makes Adventureland work so well is the fact that it’s dripping in honesty. Director Greg Mottola ripped details from this “lazy summer/coming of age” movie from his own life during his tenure at the titular amusement park with Mottola’s passion being clear here. Not the most complicated of plots, the story follows James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg), who is stuck working at Adventureland, and by proxy, closer to Em (Kristen Stewart).
The film thrives on Eisenberg and Stewart’s chemistry, and Ryan Reynolds is even there in rare form playing a truly despicable character (not to mention a strong supporting cast featuring the likes of Bill Hader, Kristen Stewart, Martin Starr, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse). Adventureland banks on smaller character moments, romantic fumbles, and jaded nostalgia, all amounting to a satisfying comedy that will deeply connect for some.
– Daniel Kurland
Shrek
A sizable portion of the Internet is probably only aware of the character of Shrek as a weird one-size-fits-all meme. He’s like a big green Rick Astley or Chuck Norris. The animated movie that bears his name, however, remains just a legitimately hilarious film.
Shrek came around in 2001, shortly after Pixar made digital animation a big thing. Shrek was kind of like a family-friendly Deadpool, a movie that lightly satirized its genre (fairytales instead of superhero movies) while presenting a legitimately funny and entertaining take on it.
This is a movie in which the main villain’s name is designed to sound like “Lord Fuckwad” and it’s immediately implied he has a tiny penis. Watch or rewatch Shrek, please.
– Alec Bojalad
In Bruges
In Bruges‘ genre is hard to nail down. Is it an action-thriller? A drama? A comedy? Well whatever it is, it sure is enjoyable…and funny.
In Bruges comes from Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri director Martin McDonagh. Two hitmen, Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are sent to quaint Bruges, Belgium after a hit gone wrong to cool down and await further orders. While there Ray hates the quiet town while Ken is captivated by it. The two ingratiate themselves with the quirky orders until one of them receives an order that he cannot possibly follow.
– Alec Bojalad
Ibiza
Ibiza is your classic “woman flies to Barcelona for a work event and then decides to divert her path to the island Ibiza to fall in love with The King in the North” romantic comedy. Gillian Jacobs (Britta on Community, Gary Marshall’s wife on Comedy Bang! Bang!) stars as Harper, who brings her two best friends Nikki (Vanessa Bayer), and Leah (Phoebe Robinson) on her work trip to Barcelona.
While there Leah and Nikki (mostly Leah) convince her to ditch work and fly to Ibiza. There Harper reluctantly falls in love with a DJ (Game of Thrones’ sexiest Stark Richard Madden). Ibiza is a largely conventional story of throwing risk to the win in pursuit of a life-well lived. It’s also a very funny film, thanks to its cast of mostly bit players who are granted an opportunity to shine.
– Alec Bojalad
Happy Gilmore
As a child of the ’90s, it’s sometimes jarring for me to view the Rotten Tomatoes entries of early Adam Sandler films and discover they’re not all 100%. So yes, Sandler movies have always been a touch obnoxious but this early effort remains one of his least…and least obnoxious.
Sandler stars as the titular Gilmore, an amateur hockey player with no skills other than a strong slapshot. After he exhibits the ability to drive a golf ball more than 400 yards he reluctantly begins training to become a professional golfer. He discovers his new skill just in time as his beloved grandmother must give up her house unless she finds $270,000 in unpaid back taxes.
Happy Gimore is a weird, utterly ludicrous film that features fatal alligator bites, Subway endorsements, and Shooter freaking McGavin
– Alec Bojalad
Clerks
Hold on, now wait just a minute. I know what you’re thinking: a Kevin Smith movie?! Well kids gather around. A long, long time ago, in a decade far, far away (the 1990s), Kevin Smith wasn’t a podcaster who occasionally made the odd awful horror movie with at least one member of the Johnny Depp family. Nay, once upon a time, he was one of the most creative and refreshing comedic voices coming out of independent cinema, putting an expletive-laden chorus and refrain to young Gen-X pain.
And among his several quality ’90s comedies remains the one that started it all, the mythical film that he made by maxing out his own (and his parents’) credit cards to pay for the $28,000 passion project, which was shot on black and white 16mm film. Thank Alanis Morissette for that, because this movie is a triumph of whining, low expectations, and written dialogue giving self-loathing slackers more credit than they’re due. And if you don’t believe me, or have never seen it, I’ll give you the advice that forced even Harvey Weinstein to stick around during his second attempt to watch it at Sundance: Don’t leave until you hear the number “36.” Or should that be “37?”
– David Crow
Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day is such an awesome movie. Anyone who lists it among their favorite films ever is definitely a person worth getting to know. Bill Murray stars as Phil, a journalist who descends upon the small hamlet of Punxsutawney Pennsylvania for Groundhog Day, the day in which groundhog Punxsutawney Phil determines how much longer winter will last by whether he sees his shadow or not.
What starts out as a normal, boring assignment becomes an adventure that transcends space and time as Phil (the person, not the groundhog) mysteriously begins to live the same day over and over and over again. Groundhog Day features such a brilliant concept, a brilliant cast and brilliant humor. It’s the type of uncategorizable, purely fun and interesting movies that cinema always needs.
– Alec Bojalad
The Emperor’s New Groove
Animated Disney movies take on a certain format. You likely know it by heart at this point. Protagonist suffers great calaminty. Protagonist overcomes calamity and learns an important lesson. Many songs are sung in the process. The Emperor’s New Groove takes that basic format and then replaces the multitude of songs with actual, honest-to-goodness hilarious jokes.
Pound for pound, The Emperor’s New Groove is one of the funniest Disney movies ever made. The story of Emperor Kuzco’s unfortunate circumstance (in this case being turned into a llama) is funny enough on its own but then Patrick Warburton’s Kronk sends it into hilarious new heights. This may be an unexpected choice for best comedy on Netflix but come on: Kronk speaks fluent squirrel.
– Alec Bojalad
Role Models
Role Models is a movie populated with likeable actors, playing unlikeable characters, doing likeable things.
Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott star as Wheeler and Danny, two adult energy drink salesman stuck in a rut. After an incident involving a tow truck and a Minotaur, Wheeler and Danny are forced to endure 150 hours of community service. Even worse that community service involves being “role models” to two children (played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Bobbe’J. Thompson). Ugh kids. The worst.
Role Models comes from director David Wain, who along with his Wet Hot American Summer/State/Stella buddy Michael Showalter has directed some exemplary comedies in recent years.
– Alec Bojalad
