Every person’s definition of funny is a little different, which is why it’s cool that Netflix has an impressive variety of movies representing a very broad genre. If you’re looking for something to make you laugh, you can choose a smart, critically-acclaimed classic or a brainless comedy that critics hated.
High-minded satire or expertly timed farts: many of the best comedies blend highbrow and lowbrow (think Monty Python), but, at the end of the day, the best comedy is the one that makes you laugh the most.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)
Has the Ghostbusters franchise seen better days? Probably, but there’s still some life left in the spirited series, and this latest installment blends the characters from the ’80s era of the series (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and Annie Potts) with the new generation introduced in Afterlife (Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace). After that previous film’s excursion into rural Oklahoma, a return to a more familiar New York City environs is welcome.
Bad Trip (2021)
I’m not a fan of hidden camera-style comedy, which often feels mean-spirited and superior in mocking people for the crime of not being in on the joke. Bad Trip, with Eric André, Lil Rel Howery, and Tiffany Haddish, makes a couple of innovations to the form: it adds an overarching narrative and, more importantly, it approaches everything with heart. In one of the best sequences, André’s Chris gets some love advice from an older guy on a bench that inspires him to burst into song, a musical moment that takes him across the street and into a nearby mall—the kind of thing that happens a million times in the movies, but here the startled, annoyed, and confused reactions make perfect sense. The movie even ends with footage of the pranked people learning that their in a movie, and their delight is funny in and of itself.
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
The movie that made Eddie Murphy an international superstar stands up today as one of the best examples of the 1980s action comedy subgenre. Murphy plays Detroit cop Axel Foley, out of his depth (at first) when he finds himself pursuing a case in sunny California and teaming up with Judge Reinhold. And what a soundtrack! Netflix also has the decent first sequel, as well as this year’s surprisingly good legacy followup, Axel F.
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
This charming, bitchy blockbuster stars Constance Wu as Rachel Chu, an NYU professor from a poor family, who learns (a bit late in the game) that her boyfriend Nick (Henry Golding) is the heir to a massive Singaporean real estate empire. She’s suddenly thrown into a world of obscene wealth and treated like a gold digger, forced to face off against Nick’s impenetrable mother (Michelle Yeoh).
We Have a Ghost (2023)
Christopher Landon, writer/director behind innovative comedy-horror movies like Happy Death Day and Freaky (and the next Scream movie), helms this similarly fun but more family-friendly entry. Anthony Mackie is in the lead as Frank Presley, who, with his family, buys a cheap fixer-upper, only for his son Kevin (Jahi Winston) to discover a ghost (played by David Harbour) unliving in the attic. So far, familiar territory, but Kevin wants to help their new ghost while dad only wants to make money—and so, their ghost goes viral.
Sausage Party (2016)
Frank (Seth Rogen) the sausage, Brenda (Kristen Wiig) the hot dog bun, Teresa Taco (Salma Hayek), and Sammy Bagel Jr. (Edward Norton) can’t wait to be chosen from the grocery store shelves by a loving family. Until they learn the horrible truth. It’s nearly 90 minutes of raunchy jokes and goofy food puns, but it’s also weirdly sweet? If you like this, it got a followup TV series this year, but you’ll have to subscribe to Prime Video to watch it.
Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday (2016)
This genuinely sweet Pee-Wee movie wound up being Paul Reubens’s swan song for the indelible character. If we have to say goodbye, there couldn’t be a send-off than a movie that begins with a joyous, Rube Goldberg-inspired intro that wouldn’t feel out of place in the Playhouse, and sends Pee-Wee off on a journey across an America that could only exist in Reubens’ imagination. With Joe Manganiello as his companion and quasi-romantic interest, it also feels like a real exploration of the character that never loses its sense of whimsy and fun.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
This bit of inspired silliness from the Python gang is also one of the most thoroughly quotable comedies in cinematic history, even if the quotes in question make zero sense out of context (“Ni!,” “I got better!” “Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!”). Not that they make much sense in the loosely medieval world of the film, either. But that’s part of the fun of this bit of anarchy from the U.K.
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998)
One of Bollywood’s most beloved rom-coms. Shah Rukh Khan’s Rahul Khanna has had little on his mind but taking care of his daughter, Anjali, for the eight years since her mother died. Anjali’s mom left behind letters for her daughter, one to be read each year on her birthday, and when she comes to the final one, learns that her dad was very nearly in a relationship with a different woman when he was in college. Naturally (under romantic comedy rules), Anjali decides that her dad needs a girlfriend and that she’s going to hook him up with his old potential flame. The second half of the film gets a bit more serious, but the goofy complications of the earlier part of the film are frequently very funny in the way that only ‘90s rom-coms can be.
Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)
I couldn’t choose between the pure goofiness of Monty Python and the Holy Grail or this bolder, more political followup, so I’ve included them both. Where Grail took a couple of shots at the feudal system, Life of Brian takes shots at organized Christianity from the days of the birth of Christ (the titular Brian was born in the stable next door, and frequently finds himself mixed up with Jesus). The movie, smartly, doesn’t make fun of Jesus himself, instead skewering centuries of tortured interpretations of a fairly simple message, and our desire to be told what to do. All that, plus an extended riff on a character named Biggus Dickus.
Back to the Future (1985)
A tightly constructed and rather weird time travel comedy about a kid who goes back in time and gets hit on by his own mom becomes an epic bit of sci-fi silliness in the hands of director Robert Zemeckis and writer Bob Gale. Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd are a cinematic pairing for the ages. It’s a movie that’s as funny as it is rewatchable.
Do Revenge (2022)
Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke star in this dark teen comedy, loosely based on Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train, that also takes aim at the teen comedies of yore. Think Scream, but for fans of She’s All That and Mean Girls. That’s a lot of references, I know, but the movie is filled with them—mostly for the better. And even still, the comedy is biting enough that it stands on its own among classics of the “high school is hell” genre.
Dolemite is My Name (2019)
Eddie Murphy gives one of the best performances of his career in this take on real-life comedian Rudy Ray Moore from Hustle & Flow director Craig Brewer. Moore was a stand-up (also a singer, actor, producer, and rap pioneer) who decided to take his popular pimp character Dolemite to the big screen, leading to a trilogy of Blaxploitation classics. The film has a ton of fun with the stereotypical elements of Moore’s biography and the era trappings, positioning Moore as a more savvy Ed Wood of the 1970s.
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)
While nothing can top actual Eurovision for laughs, thrills, and pure joy, given that we have to wait a full year between competitions, The Story of Fire Saga is a goofy and fun way to fill the time. Rachel McAdams and Will Ferrell star as plucky Icelandic best friends, and leads of the band Fire Saga, who have dreams of taking home the prize for their country—even though people back home only want to hear them the traditional Ja Ja Ding Dong. The original music is wacky and fun, in the best spirit of Eurovision.
Glass Onion (2022)
After crafting a superb mystery-comedy in Knives Out, writer-director Ryan Johnson returned with this sequel that almost tops the original, and certainly outdoes it in size and scope. Daniel Craig is back as slow-talking, quick-thinking detective Benoit Blanc, this time taken to the island of a billionaire and faced with, as expected, multiple murders to solve. Like the original, the movie balances zippy pacing and entertainingly over-the-top characters with some wildly on-point social satire. The supporting cast collects the entire A-list, and two cameos mark the final screen performances of Steven Sondheim and Angela Lansbury.
Bad Boys (1995)
The action-comedy franchise lives on with the latest entry in the Bad Boys series, Ride or Die. In the meantime, Netflix has the 1995 original (and the first sequel). Martin Lawrence and Will Smith have chemistry for the ages (which is why we’re getting new movies almost 30 years later), even if the Michael Bay of it all places explosions over everything else. The recent movies are actually a bit better than the originals, so if you like this one, you might as well keep going.
Serial Mom (1994)
Writer/director John Waters might have been in his respectable era here (following up Hairspray and Cry-Baby), but that’s not saying much. Kathleen Turner plays Beverly Sutphin, a sweet suburban mom who’s secretly a foul-mouthed serial killer with a cause. In Waters’ twisted world, we’re meant to see her as the hero of the story—and we pretty much do. A beautifully subversive picket-fence parody.
Unfrosted (2024)
Critics were split right down the middle on this one, with some absolutely hating it while others gave it near raves (it’s been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie…so there’s that). Some of your reaction might have to do with your tolerance for Jerry Seinfeld, who directed, produced, co-wrote, and stars in the movie as Bob Cabana, a rough analogue for the real-life William Post—the guy who lead the team that created the Pop Tart. It’s a sharp and brightly colored satire that takes a heavily fictionalized look at the corporate conflict between various cereal companies all trying to create toaster pastries at once. So what is the deal with Pop Tarts?
Hit Man (2024)
Glen Powell (who co-wrote this dark comedy alongside director Richard Linklater) stars as Gary Johnson, a withdrawn New Orleans professor who’s roped into a side gig at which he’s surprisingly good: impersonating hired assassins to help out the police. People looking to hire a killer come to Gary believing that he’s a hit man, only to find that they’ve been entrapped. Things get complicated when he’s approached by Madison (Adria Arjona), a woman with an abusive jerk of a husband she wants bumped off. Suddenly not so clear as to whose side he’s on.
Anyone But You (2023)
This loose spin on Much Ado About Nothing stars Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell as a couple who meet, initially hit it off —and then immediately piss each other off, such that neither really wants to see the other again. Until, of course, they need wedding dates (that old thing!) and find themselves surrounded by scheming friends who plot to get them back together. It’s not wildly out there as rom-com premises go, but it’s briskly directed and boasts strong chemistry between the leads.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)
The heart of this Netflix animated movie is the relationship between aspiring college-bound filmmaker Kate Mitchell and her technophobic father Rick, which explodes into intra-family conflict at the outset and quickly spirals into global warfare against a rogue AI—which honestly seems less silly now than it did just a couple of years ago. With the rest of the family caught in the middle, Kate and Rick are forced to find middle ground while the world falls apart around them. Stellar voice performances from Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, and Maya Rudolph ground the movie in such a way that the mile-a-minute plot and outrageously funny situations still feel somehow real.
Wendell & Wild (2022)
Wendell and Wild are a couple of demons (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele) who meet their match in Kat (Lyric Ross), a punk-loving teen with few friends other than Raúl (Sam Zelaya), a sweet trans boy who’s also a talented artist trying to expose the injustices of their town’s messed-up prison system. From The Nightmare Before Christmas/Coraline director Henry Selick, the movie expands upon the spooky possibilities of those earlier films, crafting something both scarier and funnier, with playful jokes ranging from a possessed stuffed-animal named Bearzebub, a hair cream for balding men that can raise the dead, and a worm in a candy apple that’s responsible for numerous deaths.
You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (2023)
Adam and a whole lot of his fellow Sandlers appear in this movie from the YA bestseller by Fiona Rosenbloom. Whether that knowledge appeals to you or not, the elder Sandler takes a backseat here playing a dorky dad in favor of Sunny Sandler’s Stacy, and her best friend Lydia (Samantha Lorraine). It’s a solid teen comedy that gets plenty of laughs out of the awkward messiness of growing up.
They Cloned Tyrone (2023)
Stylish, funny, and very fast-moving, this genre mashup spins plenty of plates, and mostly manages to keep them from crashing down. John Bodega stars as Fontaine, a drug dealer in a world just this side of our own (there’s definitely some Blaxsploitation influence in the dress styles). Following a showdown with one-time Pimp of the Year Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx), Fontaine is shot dead before waking up in his own bed with nothing, seemingly, having changed. Teaming up with Slick Charles and sex worker Yo Yo (Teyonah Parris), he leads the three of them into an unlikely web of scientific conspiracy. It shouldn’t work, but the stellar cast and assured direction from Juel Taylor sell it.
The Archies (2023)
The Archie gang has proven itself to be remarkably adaptable: from a wholesome family-friendly comic, to zombie horror, to whatever the hell you’d classify Riverdale as. So this bubbly, ’60s-set Indian version doesn’t even feel like that much of a stretch. The movie’s Riverdale is a harmonious Anglo-Indian enclave, home to Archie Andrews (Agastya Nanda), rich Veronica (Suhana Khan), and bookish Betty (Khushi Kapoor), all recreating a version of that time-tested love triangle. It’s cute, funny, and sincere, with plenty of very charming musical numbers.
