This post is updated frequently as movies leave and enter Netflix. *New additions are indicated with an asterisk.
We could all use a laugh these days. As the world continues to depress people, turn to Netflix and find something to escape the news in their ever-rotating comedy section. There are a few originals that won’t be going anywhere, but what about the studio comedies that come and go from the streaming giant? How can you keep track of where to find laughter these days? We’re here to help with this always-updated list of the best comedies on Netflix right now.
The Addams Family
Year: 1989
Runtime: 1h 41m
Director: Joe Dante
Joe Dante rules. The ‘80s icon has a lot of beloved hits, but this 1989 comedy might be his most underrated. Tom Hanks stars in a film with a great set-up about an ordinary suburban homeowner who becomes convinced that his neighbors are ritualistic murderers. The ensemble includes Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Corey Feldman, Rick Ducommun, and Henry Gibson in a dark comedy with a truly twisted sense of humor.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Year: 2018
Runtime: 2h 13m
Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
The Coen brothers delivered one of their most inventive and enjoyable films in this anthology film that tells a series of stories with a Western theme. Tim Blake Nelson sets the stage beautifully with his opening bit about a singing cowboy, but there are a number of scene-stealers here including Harry Melling, Tom Waits, and Bill Heck. It’s one of the most underrated modern Westerns.
Blazing Saddles
Year: 1974
Runtime: 1h 32m
Director: Mel Brooks
The ultimate “could they make that movie anymore” conversation piece remains one of the funniest films ever made. Cleavon Little plays the new Sheriff in town as Brooks and his team skewer Western genre conventions and race relations in a way that’s unforgettably hysterical. It’s quite literally one of the funniest movies ever made.
The Blues Brothers
Year: 1980
Runtime: 2h 12m
Director: John Landis
One of the most beloved comedies of all time, this musical classic stars John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as Jake and Elwood Blues, characters they developed together on Saturday Night Live. The humor in John Landis’ classic has held up, but the music really holds it together, including appearances from James Brown, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker, and Chaka Khan.
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Year: 2020
Runtime: 2h 3m
Director: David Dobkin
Why did it take so long to satirize the wonderful, unapologetic excess of the Eurovision Song Contest? It was worth the wait because one of the funniest movies of 2020 starred Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams as a pair of hapless Icelandic singers who turn the international singing contest upside down. Unapologetically goofy, this movie is a great escape for viewers from any country.
Fletch
Year: 1985
Runtime: 1h 38m
Director: Michael Ritchie
One of Chevy Chase’s best screen performances came in this 1985 comedy based on the hit novels by Gregory McDonald. The character of a reporter nicknamed Fletch who gets drawn into an investigation after being asked to kill a millionaire is perfect for Chase, blending his physical comedy ability with that oversized ego.
Glass Onion
Year: 2022
Runtime: 2h 19m
Director: Rian Johnson
The writer/director of Knives Out returned in late 2022 with a sequel to that smash hit, exclusively on Netflix. Daniel Craig returns as Benoit Blanc, the casual crime solver who finds himself on a billionaire’s island in this latest comedy/mystery. Once again, Johnson assembles a murderer’s row of talent, including Kate Hudson, Janelle Monae, Ed Norton, Dave Bautista, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., and more. It’s smart, funny, and thoroughly entertaining.
Hot Tub Time Machine
Year: 2010
Runtime: 1h 38m
Director: Steve Pink
They can’t all be think pieces. Sometimes you just want a goofy movie with which to unwind after a long day at work or school. Hot Tub Time Machine should get the job done. John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, and Clark Duke star in a film about, well, it’s kind of right there in the title. Remarkably and defiantly silly, this was such a surprise hit that it even produced a sequel. Avoid that one, but revisit the original, a comedy that has held up surprisingly well.
Meet the Parents
Year: 2000
Runtime: 1h 47m
Director: Jay Roach
It’s hard to imagine a studio comedy becoming the phenomenon the way Meet the Parents did back in 2000 when it was heavily quoted everywhere and made over $300 million worldwide. It was a hit because of the clash of styles between the on-screen personas of Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro as the father-in-law from Hell.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Year: 2021
Runtime: 1h 53m
Directors: Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe
Originally planned for a theatrical release by Sony (with the much-worse title Connected), the studio sold this off to Netflix during the pandemic…and probably regretted that decision. One of the most critically and commercially beloved animated films of 2021, this is an incredibly smart and sweet family vacation movie, a comedy that’s as much about a tender relationship between a father and daughter as it is the fact that they end up having to save the world together.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Year: 1975
Runtime: 1h 29m
Directors: Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones
During a hiatus between the third and fourth seasons of Monty Python’s Family Circus, the gang of mega-talented comedians decided to make movie history. Inspired by the King Arthur legend, Holy Grail is a timeless comedy, the rare kind of film that will still be making people laugh hundreds of years from now. And while the Monty Python boys were already famous, this film took them to another level, cementing their place in movie history.
My Best Friend’s Wedding
Year: 1997
Runtime: 1h 44m
Director: P.J. Hogan
Julia Roberts might never have been more charming than she is in this comedy about a young woman who made a pact in college to marry her best friend, played by Dermot Mulroney. Not until her buddy gets engaged to someone else (the wonderful Cameron Diaz) does she realize she really loves him. A great blend of physical humor and memorable characters makes this one of the best rom-coms of the ‘90s. They really don’t make them like this anymore.
The Nice Guys
Year: 2016
Runtime: 1h 55m
Director: Shane Black
A bomb at the box office, this buddy comedy grows a more vocal fan base every time it drops on Netflix. It’s easy to see why — it’s a smart, funny, incredibly rewatchable comedy. The flick stars Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling as a pair of awkward allies who get caught up in the case of a missing girl (Margaret Qualley). The real star here — other than the excellent chemistry of the leads — is Shane Black’s razor-sharp dialogue. Watch this one so maybe they can get the budget together for a sequel before it’s too late.
No Hard Feelings
Year: 2023
Runtime: 1h 43m
Director: Gene Stupnitsky
Jennifer Lawrence is fearless in this raucous comedy about a woman who’s paid by a rich couple to “date” their son. The kind of movie that it feels like the Farrellys would have made 25 years ago, it’s the increasingly rare studio comedy that deserves a bit of attention. Some of it kind of comes apart, but it’s funny enough on a lazy Netflix weekend, and a reminder that Lawrence has killer comic timing.
The Other Guys
Year: 2010
Runtime: 1h 47m
Director: Adam McKay
One of the final films of the McKay/Ferrell partnership is also maybe the most underrated. Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg star in this buddy comedy about the two cops who almost never get to the save the day, but they’re forced into action when the legends at the precinct make a fatal mistake. The comedy timing between Wahlberg and Ferrell is some of the best of its era and this movie is much sharper than people remember.
Parenthood
Year: 1989
Runtime: 2h 3m
Director: Ron Howard
Long before the NBC series of the same name (not currently on Netflix), Ron Howard directed a family comedy inspired by the massive families of the producers, director, and writers. There’s really not much more to it than that simple premise, but it gets by on the likability of its large ensemble, which includes Steve Martin, Tom Hulce, Rick Moranis, Martha Plimpton, Joaquin Phoenix, Jason Robards, and a young Keanu Reeves.
*Pineapple Express
Year: 2008
Runtime: 1h 52m
Director: David Gordon Green
Seth Rogen gives one of his best performances as Dale Denton, an average guy who just wants to get high. He visits his dealer (played perfectly by James Franco) on the wrong night as the pair cross paths with hitmen and a police officer on the wrong side of the law. This is an incredibly funny movie, and you don’t need to be high to love it.
Sausage Party
Year: 2016
Runtime: 1h 28m
Director: Greg Tiernan, Conrad Vernon
It may look like it, but this one is not for kids. Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Jonah Hill, and the rest of the gang behind movies like This is the End collaborated on this goofy, raunchy animated comedy about, well, a sausage. When he’s not trying to place himself in a bun—if you know what I mean—he’s discovering that food that leaves the grocery store doesn’t have a happy fate. This is a perfect background noise comedy for after the bar.
School of Rock
Year: 2003
Runtime: 1h 49m
Director: Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater directed Jack Black to the best comedy of his career in this movie about a guitarist who becomes a substitute teacher at a prep school and teaches the stuck-up kids there how to rock. It’s a smart, funny family comedy with a huge heart and one of Black’s most truly wonderful performances.
Sleepless in Seattle
Year: 1993
Runtime: 1h 45m
Director: Nora Ephron
We could all use a little romance every now and then and movies don’t get much sweeter than this 1993 blockbuster that made Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan one of the most beloved movie couples of all time. Nora Ephron directs this story of a widower who moves to Seattle and tries to raise his 8-year-old son, and the Baltimore woman who hears his tragic tale and falls in love. Hopelessly romantic, it’s the kind of movie they don’t make that much anymore.
*Step Brothers
Year: 2008
Runtime: 1h 37m
Director: Adam McKay
The pinnacle of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s comedy career remains this modern classic, a movie that’s as rewatchable as anything you could possibly find on any streaming service. One of the reasons for that is the fearless joy with which Ferrell and John C. Reilly literally throw themselves into the roles of stepbrothers who start as enemies and end as family.
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