There are so many good comedies to choose from on Netflix…
Are you looking for the best comedy movies to stream on Netflix right now? While the service often seems to be flooded with comedies, it’s not always clear which ones are funny and which will flat-out ruin your evening. And that’s where we come in with our monthly updates on the best new movies on Netflix. It’s time for our list of the latest funny flicks and great laughs that are just waiting to brighten up your life once you watch. After a hard week at school/work/whatever, everyone deserves a little laugh to lighten their mood!
We’ve scoured the vast expanse of the digital service (twice!) and come back with our picks for the best comedy movies on Netflix right now, including many of the top recent comedies from 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016, as well as many of the all-time greatest classics. Some of these movies are silly, some of these movies are dark, some are raunchy, some are witty, some are indie, some are pitch-black comedies, some are a bit of all of the above. Some of them are fun for the whole family, some make more sense for a drunken evening hanging out with your pals. No matter the case, these new releases in comedies that are on Netflix right now prove that the genre is a big and broad one and there’s something for everyone! So read on for the hottest and funniest new comedy movies on Netflix!
Oh, and when you’re done here, be sure to also check out our list of the 25 Best Comedies Ever and what’s new to Netflix this month.
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Or follow these links for the best of other genres:
The best sci-fi movies on Netflix
The best horror movies on Netflix
The best drama movies on Netflix
The best action movies on Netflix
The best horror TV shows on Netflix
The best anime series on Netflix
Please note: This list pertains to U.S. Netflix subscribers. Some titles may not currently be available on international platforms.
Best Comedy Movies on Netflix Right Now
The Austin Powers Series
With a new James Bond movie looming, why not relive the greatest Bond parody of them all? Netflix is home to all three Austin Powers movies, including 1997’s Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, 1999’s Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and 2002’s Austin Powers in Goldmember. All three films manage to spoof our favorite Bond tropes while also working as pretty entertaining spy/time-travel movies in their own right. These three movies feature Mike Myers at his comedic best, stealing the show as both hero and villain.
Chasing Amy
Arguably writer/director Kevin Smith’s best film, Chasing Amy is a nostalgia trip worth taking. Inspired by Smith’s own romantic travails, the film stars Ben Affleck as an indie comic book creator who falls head over heels for his lesbian friend (Joey Lauren Adams). The result is a romantic comedy that combines Smith’s raunchy sense of humor with a thoughtful exploration of late ’90s gender politics.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Few ’80s comedies are more iconic or hold up better than Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Matthew Broderick is at his charismatic best as the titular hero, a high schooler who goes to extreme lengths to ensure he and his friends can enjoy a day off from the high school grind. With plenty of fourth wall-bending humor and a top-notch soundtrack, this comedy has rightfully become the anthem for anyone who just wants to take it easy.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is every bit as weird and psychedelic as you’d expect from a film directed by Terry Gilliam and based on a Hunter S. Thompson novel. Johnny Depp delivers one of his career-best performances as Raoul Duke, a gonzo journalist who only occasionally remembers he’s been assigned to cover a motorcycle race amid a constant, drug-induced haze. Fortunately, there’s real depth to the film beneath all the wacky plot twists and bizarre imagery, enough to ensure it’s developed a healthy cult following over the years.
Step Brothers
Sherlock Holmes aside, the pairing of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly is usually a recipe for comedy gold. That’s certainly the case with this 2008 gem, which reunites the duo with writer/director Adam McKay. Ferrell and Reilly play a pair of overly sheltered man-children who find themselves becoming roommates and brothers when their parents (Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins) get hitched. We’re not sure that formula would have worked with any two other co-stars, but Ferrell and Reilly somehow manage to keep us invested in the plight of these two developmentally arrested weirdos.
Trainspotting
It’s tough to pin down Trainspotting to one genre. Is it a black comedy? A harrowing depiction of the ravages of drug abuse? A crime caper? How about a mix of all three? However you label it, Trainspotting is definitely essential viewing. It’s easily one of the best films in Danny Boyle’s eclectic career. It’s also the film that introduced the world to a pre-Star Wars Ewan McGregor. And thanks to this movie, we’ll never be able to stomach a traditional English breakfast ever again.
Stripes
Ghostbusters wasn’t the first time director Ivan Reitman and stars Bill Murray and Harold Ramis worked comedic magic together. 1981’s Stripes also proves what a winning team they can be, with Murray and Ramis starring as two losers who decide the solution to their problems is to join the army. The result is just as raunchy and irreverent as you’d expect, but the movie manages to keep you genuinely engaged with the two main characters to boot.
Superbad
Superbad has become one of the defining coming-of-age comedies of the 21st century, and for good reason. This movie’s crew includes big names like producer Judd Apatow and writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, but it really thrives on the strength of stars Michael Cera and Jonah Hill. Superbad is an uproariously funny look at two dorky high school graduates determined to finally lose their virginity, and a surprisingly heartfelt one at that.
50/50
50/50 toes the line between comedy and drama more than most movies co-starring Seth Rogen, but that’s what makes it such a welcome treat. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as an up-and-coming NPR journalist diagnosed with a life-threatening spinal tumor. Fortunately, there are plenty of laughs to be had during the course of his painful journey. Both Gordon-Levitt’s heartfelt and often intense performance and the endearing script from Will Reiser (who drew from his own battle with cancer) give 50/50 a crucial sense of authenticity.
Network
When it was first released, it might have been easy to dismiss Network as a ridiculously exaggerated look at the depths the news media will sink in pursuit of ratings. Nowadays? We’re almost hesitant to even call it a comedy. This eerily prescient satire stars Peter Finch as a newscaster driven over the edge by the endless pursuit of ratings. But when he threatens to commit suicide on-air, the network opts to capitalize on the spectacle rather than, you know, actually try to prevent a tragedy in the making.
Snatch
You might occasionally need subtitles, but director Guy Ritchie is at his best in this goofy yet complex crime movie. Snatch stars Jason Statham, Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Farina, Vinnie Jones, Jason Flemying and a nigh-incomprehensible Brad Pitt in a movie full of wacky plot twists, interconnected storylines and a truly unique sense of visual style.
National Lampoon’s Animal House
John Landis’ Animal House is gross in so many ways, and yet it’s still terrific. The tale of a bunch of also-rans who can’t get into the “cool” frat — and really, who would want that anyway — birthed so many iconic moments and jokes, while also giving us John Belushi’s unforgettable performance as historian and future senator Bluto. “Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?!” Nope, and it’s not over until you watch Animal House.
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Monty Python and the Holy Grail
One of the silliest, funniest, and most inspired comedies ever made. The British sketch comedy troupe Monty Python took aim at the history of Britain and its most beloved cultural icon, chopped all the limbs off, and made more than a few pointed remarks about just how ridiculous humanity was in the past (and, by extension, just how ridiculous it still is). Graham Chapman stars as Arthur, tasked with locating the Holy Grail, a quest that sends him and his idiot knights on one absurd and unforgettable mission after another, to accomplish tasks like buying shrubberies, ruining arranged weddings and not having sex.
The Lobster
This bizarre comedy from director Yorgos Lanthimos (The Favourite) stars Colin Farrell as a man who has to find a lifelong mate in 45 days… or he’ll be transformed into a lobster. It’s not even a unique problem: Everyone in this world has to find a romantic partner or risk being shuffled aside in The Lobster, which is a pretty damning take on a culture that enforces and judges based on unrealistic expectations for our social behavior and lifestyles. The whole movie plays like a Monty Python routine that got way out of hand, and that’s the whole point, showing just how absurd our values are once we take them to extremes.
Julie and Julia
The last film directed by comedy legend Nora Ephron is one of her very best, a light and inspirational story of two women connected by food and not much else. Amy Adams stars as Julie Powell, a young woman who turns her quest to prepare every recipe in Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking into a phenomenon, and Meryl Streep as Child, who overcame impressive obstacles on her path to becoming a world famous chef. Both the lead performances are wonderful, in a film that will inspire you to try harder and cook your own meals more often.
Sleeping With Other People
Leslye Headland’s overlooked but brilliantly written romantic comedy Sleeping With Other People stars Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie as people who decide that their sex drive has gotten them into trouble and decide to be platonic friends, even though they really, really, really want to get into bed together. Sudeikis and Brie have incredible chemistry, and the film’s sparkling dialogue is priceless.
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Burn After Reading
The Coen Brothers are famous for their Oscar-winning crime films (Fargo, No Country for Old Men) and their iconic comedies (The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona), but most of their lesser known films are very good too. Case in point: Burn After Reading, an acidic spy spoof about a pair of fitness trainers who stumble across what they think are top secret documents, and who set in motion a sequence of events that leads to murders and ruination. It’s a merciless satire of naive ambition, unexpected and surprisingly dark, and Brad Pitt gives what is probably his funniest performance.
Goon and Goon: Last of the Enforcers
Goon is one of the best sports comedies in years, and surprisingly enough so is the sequel. Seann William Scott stars as a hockey player who can’t skate, and can’t score goals, but can take and dish out a punch better than anyone in the league. When he’s not brawling inside the ring, he’s figuring out his place in a world where getting hit in the face isn’t considered a valuable skill. Everyone in the cast is a delight, but Seann William Scott in particular has never been better.
Heathers
It’s hard to imagine a comedy as dark as Heathers getting made today, at least without being labeled as a horror movie. Winona Ryder stars as a teenager who falls in with a charismatic rebel, played by Christian Slater, and together they kill the most popular girls in school and trick the community into thinking it’s a rash of suicides. The humor is so biting you might need a disinfectant, but it’s so danged daring – even to this day – that it stands out as one of the best teen comedies ever made.
So there you have it: what to watch on Netflix right now in the world of comedy movies. Check back here each month for new titles as Netflix adds them!
Note: This article is frequently amended to remove films no longer on Netflix, and to include more comedy films that are now available on the service.
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Source: IGN.com Best Comedy Movies on Netflix Right Now (January 2020)