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 toNetflixand find something to escape the news in their ever-rotating comedy section. There are a feworiginalsthat 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.
Anyone But You
Year:2023
Runtime:1h 43m
Director:Will Gluck
It took two people as undeniably beautiful as Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell to resurrect the rom-com. Loosely based onMuch Ado About Nothing,this massive hit made over $200 million worldwide on a budget that was a fraction of that number, reminding Hollywood that people will always want to see charming, gorgeous people hook up on screen.
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 onSaturday 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.
The Breakfast Club
Year:1985
Runtime:1h 37m
Director:John Hughes
Few films of the ‘80s are more influential to this day than John Hughes’ mega-popular collection of misfits, a comedy that has basically been remade almost every year since it came out. Look at any of the modern teen comedies and you can pick out the Judd Nelsons, Anthony Michael Halls, Molly Ringwalds, and Ally Sheedys. See where a subgenre basically changed forever.
Burn After Reading
Year:2008
Runtime:1h 35m
Director:Joel Coen
Joel and Ethan Coen followed their Best Picture winnerNo Country for Old Menwith one of their most cynical and hysterical movies, a comedy of errors about some incredibly stupid people. Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, George Clooney, Richard Jenkins, John Malkovich, and J.K. Simmons star in a movie that’s basically about, well, a bunch of total idiots. No one drops an f-bomb like John Malkovich.
*Dumb and Dumber
Year:1994
Runtime:1h 46m
Director:The Farrelly Brothers
Is this still Jim Carrey’s funniest performance? The superstar comedian is fearless in this Farrelly brothers comedy about two of the dumbest guys in the history of movies. With a spirit that recalls the physical comedy of classic comedy cinema merged with the gross-out humor of the ‘90s, this is a joyous laugh generator, the kind of movie that you can watch over and over again, laughing every single time.
The Edge of Seventeen
Year:2016
Runtime:1h 44m
Director:Kelly Fremon Craig
The wonderful Hailee Steinfeld stars in this excellent coming-of-age dramedy about a high school junior in the Portland suburbs who learns some tough lessons about relationships and the general idiocy of adults. Going through a crisis since the death of her father, Steinfeld’s Nadine struggles through her daily life in a way that’s genuine and hysterical. The movie also features fun supporting turns from Woody Harrelson and Haley Lu Richardson.
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.
Glass Onion
Year:2022
Runtime:2h 19m
Director:Rian Johnson
The writer/director ofKnives Outreturned 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.
Hit Man
Year:2024
Runtime:1h 55m
Director:Richard Linklater
Future superstar Glen Powell co-wrote and stars in this comedic gem that reminds one that movies can still be made for adults. With echoes of noir and the kind of sexy romantic dramedies that don’t get made much anymore, this is the story of an undercover cop named Gary (Powell) who talks a desperate young woman (Adria Arjona) out of having her husband murdered, setting in motion an unpredictable, funny, riveting series of events. This is one of the best films of 2024. (On Netflix June 7th.)
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 Machineshould 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.
*The Hudsucker Proxy
Year:1994
Runtime:1h 50m
Director:Joel Coen
This is a solid candidate for the most underrated film by the Coen brothers. Tim Robbins is delightful as the guy who basically invents the hula hoop after unexpectedly being made president of a company in a part of a scheme devised by its corporate director, played by the great Paul Newman. But the scene stealer here is Jennifer Jason Leigh, basically doing a Katherine Hepburn impression from her most timeless comedies. It works.
Knocked Up
Year:2007
Runtime:2h 9m
Director:Judd Apatow
Its gender politics seem shakier than when it came out, but Judd Apatow’s biggest hit still works because of the intelligence of its screenplay and commitment of its cast, especially Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl. The story of a man forced to grow up when his one-night stand gets pregnant errs a bit too much on the side of the male view, but one can’t deny the pure laughs-per-minute ratio. It’s fun to contrast this with the more recentLong Shotto see how much Rogen has changed (and how much he really hasn’t).
Liar Liar
Year:1997
Runtime:1h 26pm
Director:Tom Shadyac
One of Jim Carrey’s best movies is this 1997 smash-hit comedy about an attorney whose son makes a wish that dad won’t be able to lie for an entire day. As with a lot of Carrey’s ‘90s comedies, it’s not the premise as much as the performer, who throws himself into every awkward situation and every bit of physical comedy with his entire being.
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 titleConnected), 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 ofMonty Python’s Family Circus,the gang of mega-talented comedians decided to make movie history. Inspired by the King Arthur legend,Holy Grailis 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.
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 Nutty Professor
Year:1996
Runtime:1h 35m
Director:Tom Shadyac
Eddie Murphy gives one of his best comedy performances in an update of the 1963 Jerry Lewis classic that’s notorious for the veteran actor playing multiple roles in the same family. TheSNLvet’s primary role is as a scientist who discovers a potion that completely changes the way he looks. And then there are a few other characters too. The sequel is also on Netflix — double feature?
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.
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