Last Updated: August 23rd
We take comedy very serious here at UPROXX which is why we made sure to craft a streaming recs list that has it all. From Will Ferrell-fronted action romps to stoner adventures, classic teen hijinks, and some more cerebral fare — there’s something here for everyone, as long as you’re looking to laugh.
Here are the best comedies streaming on Netflix right now.
Related: The Funniest Shows On Netflix Right Now
Bad Trip (2021)
Run Time: 86 min | IMDb: 6.6/10
Eric Andre borrows Sacha Baron Cohen’s schtick — combining scripted storytelling with secretly-filmed real-world pranks — to create this hybrid comedy masterpiece about two best friends on the road trip of their lives. Andre plays Chris while the always fantastic Lil Rel Howery plays his BFF Bud. The two head from Florida to New York (chased by Bud’s mentally unsound escaped convict of a sister played by Tiffany Haddish) while taking in America’s heartland by way of rodeo nights and unfortunately gorilla encounters at local zoos.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
Run Time: 108 min | IMDb: 6.6/10
Will Ferrell entire filmography could fill this list and we wouldn’t complain but there is something about this fast-paced buddy comedy that feels special. Maybe it’s the instantly iconic, always quotable one-liners — “If you’re not first, you’re last” — or the friendship between Ferrell’s Bobby and John C. Reilly’s Cal. Maybe it’s Sacha Baron Cohen’s Euro-trash villain or Amy Adam’s surprising turn as Bobby’s love interest Susan. Or maybe it’s just the over-the-top accents and constant references to “baby Jesus.” Whatever kind of Tom Cruise witchcraft is happening here, we can’t stop laughing.
Thunder Force (2021)
Run Time: 106 min | IMDb: 4.4/10
Melissa McCarthy is the queen of physical comedy and she throws all of her weight into this role, playing a woman who accidentally injects herself with a serum that grants her super-strength. She partners with Octavia Spencer, who plays a scientist, and her former friend, as the two take on a new crop of super villains — hopefully without making an even bigger mess of things.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Run Time: 91 min | IMDb: 8.3/10
Even if you’ve never seen any of the Monty Python films, you most certainly know of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It’s been quoted, memed, gif-ed, and idolized by comedy fans for generations. At its core, it’s a parody of the legends of King Arthur and his knights. It’s stocked with an impressive cast — John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, etc — and its full of eccentric characters, bizarre adventures, and gut-bustingly funny jokes. Think failed Trojan Rabbits, modern-day murder investigations, animated monsters, and musical numbers. Intellectual midgets everywhere will love it.
Pineapple Express (2008)
Run Time: 111 min | IMDb: 7/10
Seth Rogen and James Franco star in this comedy about a process server and his drug dealer who go on the run from a couple of hitmen. Rogen plays Dale, a 25-year-old slacker who witnesses a murder and is hunted (along with his drug dealer Saul, played by Franco) by a drug lord intent on silencing him before he can go to the police. The two get into all kinds of hijinks involving Asian mobsters, barn explosions, and nursing homes.
Superbad (2007)
Run Time: 113 min | IMDb: 7.6/10
Jonah Hill and Michael Cera play a couple of best friends in search of a good time in this raunchy high school comedy from pals Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Seth (Hill) and Evan (Cera) hope to close out their senior year by getting wasted and getting laid with a blow-out to end all blow-outs. Their mission to get booze for the party, impress their crushes, and have a memorable night is derailed rather quickly thanks to fake IDs, a couple of incompetent cops, bar fights, and their own bickering. It’s a gross, over-the-top, and surprisingly poignant look at friendship and what happens when we outgrow people.
Between Two Ferns: The Movie (2019)
Run Time: 82 min | IMDb: 6.1/10
Zach Galifianakis brings back his beloved comedy talk show, this time in movie form. The viral internet series that saw the funny-man sit down for awkward interviews with celebs and presidents was picked up by Funny or Die, and it seems that Will Ferrell wants the final ten episodes he’s owed, so Zach and his crew go on the road to have some rather hostile chats with people like Bradley Cooper, Keanu Reeves, and David Letterman.
Boogie Nights (1997)
Run Time: 155 min | IMDb: 7.9/10
Wunderkind Paul Thomas Anderson synthesized all his greatest influences — Scorsese’s hyperkinetic camerawork, Altman’s profound empathy for human suffering, Tarantino’s flair for sleazy L.A. dialogue — into something completely original in his breakout film. He wasn’t even out of his twenties, and Anderson conducted a flawless ensemble cast including Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Don Cheadle, and a headstrong kid named Mark Wahlberg in a sweeping statement on Hollywood, America, and cinema in general. At turns side-splittingly funny and unspeakably dark, teeming with life in every meticulously constructed frame, traversing two decades in the life of an industry at a pivotal moment of flux, Boogie Nights remains one of the greatest American films to come out of the ’90s.
Dolemite Is My Name (2019)
Run Time: 117 min | IMDb: 7.3/10
Eddie Murphy stages a bit of a comeback in this biopic about famed comedian, actor, showman Rudy Ray Moore, better known as Dolemite to fans of his raunchy comedy albums, stand-up tours, and blaxploitation films. Murphy plays Moore at the beginning of his career when he was just a record store clerk looking to break out in the business. He’s joined by a cast that includes Keegan-Michael Key, Ron Cephas Jones, Tituss Burgess, and others, but it’s Murphy who shines here, giving possibly the best performance of his career as a man who will stop at nothing to pursue his dream.
Election (1999)
Run Time: 103 min | IMDb: 7.3/10
Matthew Broderick plays a depressed high school teacher, who tries to manage his imploding marriage while facing off against a determined and cunning student in this dark comedy that features Reese Witherspoon in one of the best performances of her career. Witherspoon plays Tracy Flick, an overachieving student with dreams (of becoming the student body president) that are quickly dashed by the school’s popular jock. Tracy’s willing to go to extreme lengths to win the race, but when Broderick’s Mr. McAllister thinks to intervene, his own failing personal life is put on display.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
Run Time: 112 min | IMDb: 7.5/10
Edgar Wright’s 2010 action comedy about a hapless boy who must defeat evil ex-boyfriends in order to win the hand of the girl he loves is a fast-paced ride that bombards the senses. Michael Cera plays a loveable goof in the titular hero, a young man enamored with a woman named Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). In order to be with his lady love, Scott must fight her evil exes, six guys, one girl, who challenge him to truly strange contests. The film is a cinematic mash-up of Japanese anime and gamer culture, intended for the crowd who grew up on Nintendo and comic books, but it brings plenty of laughs all the same.
The Big Lebowski (1998)
Run Time: 117 min | IMDb: 8.1/10
The ’90s gave us some iconic characters, but Jeff Bridges as “The Dude” has to rank high on everyone’s list of beloved stoner types. Bridge’s bowling fanatic and overall slob’s mellow is seriously harshed when he becomes the victim of a case of mistaken identity and must recruit his bowling buddies (Steve Buscemi and John Goodman) to help him navigate kidnappings and cover-ups and the hangovers caused by too many White Russians.
Mr. Right (2015)
Run Time: 95 min | IMDb: 6.3/10
You’ve probably never heard of this rom-com starring Anna Kendrick and Sam Rockwell, which is a damn shame because the two have great chemistry on screen and the plot’s just quirky enough to feel refreshingly different from anything else on this list. Kendrick plays Martha, a woman reeling from a bad break-up and searching for direction in her life who meets Rockwell’s Francis, a hitman who targets his own employers and is on the run from a nasty government agent (and excellent Tim Roth). It’s weird, but in a fun way, ya know?
Legally Blonde (2001)
Run Time: 96 min | IMDb: 6.3/10
Reese Witherspoon is a certified icon, and she owes at least some of her popularity to this film about a privileged young woman who defies the odds in order to chase her unavailable ex-boyfriend. Witherspoon plays Elle Woods, a bubbly, air-headed blonde sorority girl who gets into Harvard (what, like it’s hard?) in order to impress a guy who dumped her. She ends up surprising herself, though, when she reaches the top of her class and is given the chance to serve on a high-profile case by her slimy professor and his well-meaning T.A. (Luke Wilson). Sure, this movie’s been quoted and meme-d twice over, but there’s no way you won’t have fun watching Witherspoon mine as much humor as she can from her dumb-blonde routine.
The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs (2019)
Run Time: 133 min | IMDb: 7.3/10
The Coen brothers are back with a slick new Western romp, one that serves as an ode to all of the tropes present in Hollywood’s best Wild West adaptations. Split into six parts, each story is loosely connected although thematically and tonally different. Tim Blake Nelson stars as the titular hero, a sharpshooting songster who takes part in the film’s opening musical portion. From there, we get stories of outlaws getting their due, prospectors mining for gold, ghostly hauntings, and wagon trails. Forget trying to follow the thread and simply enjoy the ride with this one.
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga (2020)
Run Time: 123 min | IMDb: 6.6/10
Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams take on the planet’s most-watched singing competition with this campy comedy about an Icelandic duo named Fire Saga, who are set on achieving glory on the world’s biggest stage. Ferrell and McAdams play Lars Erickssong and Sigrit Ericksdottir, artists chosen to represent their nation in the Eurovision Song Contest, a real competition that features musicians from all over the world, who are often performing in wild get-ups. Dan Stevens almost steals the show while Pierce Brosnan and Demi Lovato make appearances. We’re calling it now: “Volcano Man” is going to be a bop for the ages.
War Dogs (2016)
Run Time: 114 min | IMDb: 7.1/10
Jonah Hill and Miles Teller feed off each other’s crazy in this action-comedy loosely based on a true story. The two play bros David (Teller) and Effraim (Hill), who hustle their way into a million-dollar contract with the Pentagon, selling ill-gotten arms to the military and paling it up with militants overseas. It’s a wild ride, one that’s heavy on violence and a bit dizzying with its fast-paced dialogue, but Hill and Teller have great comedic chemistry throughout.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Run Time: 103 min | IMDb: 7.8/10
You can’t think of classic ’80s teen comedies and not include Matthew Broderick’s rebellious school comedy in those musings. Broderick brought Ferris Bueller, a smart-mouthed kid with a flair for the dramatic, to life in this beloved movie that also stars Alan Ruck and Jennifer Grey. Bueller goes to extreme lengths to skip school with his best friend and girlfriend, leading them on an adventure that includes a musical parade in the city and a brush with the law. Being bad never looked so fun.
Yes God Yes (2019)
Run Time: 78 min | IMDb: 6.1/10
Stranger Things star Natalia Dyer stars in this hormonally-charged teenage comedy, playing a young, naive high-schooler at a co-ed Catholic institution who goes through a kind of sexual awakening on a spiritual retreat. Dyer’s Alice is curious about sex, too curious for the priests teaching her morality classes at school and her judgemental classmates. When they all go on a three day retreat, Alice fields nasty rumors about her nonexistent sexual experience while pursuing an older boy and learning the truth about everyone else’s kinks. It’s the kind of buttoned-up, raunchy hornfest that you’d expect from a movie exploring how religion represses sexuality, and Dyer is hilarious in it.
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
Run Time: 95 min | IMDb: 6.6/10
Mike Meyers returns as the international man of mystery in this ’90s comedy with Heather Graham. Dr. Evil is back too and he’s stolen Austin Powers’ all-important mojo with a handy time-travel device, so he and Agent Felicity Shagwell (Graham) must travel back to the ’60s to recover it and stop Evil from ending the world. Jerry Springer, Mini-Me, and Fat Bastard all make an appearance but the draw is watching Meyers add a different look to the character as he struggles to find his sexy again.
Lady Bird (2017)
Run Time: 94 min | IMDb: 7.5/10
Greta Gerwig’s love letter to her hometown of Sacramento, California follows Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf as they navigate the often-frustrating relationship between mother and daughter. Ronan plays “Ladybird,” a young woman attending Catholic school who longs for the culture and change of scenery that New York City promises. Her mother, Metcalf, is overbearing and overprotective, and the family’s lack of money and social standing contributes to a rift between the two. Some hard truths are explored in this film, but watching Ronan manage teenage angst, first love, and everything in between will give you all kinds of nostalgia.
The Unauthorized Bash Brothers Experience (2019)
Run Time: 30 min | IMDb: 7/10
Andy Samberg and his Lonely Island crew have given us plenty of comedy gems over the years, but this may be one of their more inventive shorts. The group spoofs notorious baseball stars Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire in this visual rap album that imagines the brothers in their heyday. Think Beyonce’s Lemonade but, you know, sports.
Hunt For The Wilderpeople (2016)
Run Time: 101 min | IMDb: 7.9/10
A charming, unconventional story about what it means to be a family, Hunt for the Wilderpeople follows a juvenile delinquent named Ricky (Julian Dennison), who is adopted by a couple living on a farm in a remote region of New Zealand. After Ricky fakes his suicide and escapes into the bush, his (reluctantly) adopted father Hec (Sam Neill) goes looking for him, and after a series of mishaps, the two are forced to survive in the woods together for months.
Someone Great (2019)
Run Time: 92 min | IMDb: 6.2/10
Gina Rodriguez, Brittany Snow, and DeWanda Wise team up for this romantic comedy about a young woman’s final hurrah before leaving NYC. Rodriguez plays a journalist named Jenny who must pack up her life, leave her friends, and travel to the West Coast for an exciting job opportunity. Unfortunately for her, her boyfriend of nearly 10 years decides to call it quits, which leaves Jenny on the party warpath, determined to have one final night of fun before her big trip. Lakeith Stanfield also stars in this, and with Netflix’s pretty stellar rom-com track record lately, bet on this being a fun watch.
Hail, Caesar! (2016)
Run Time: 106 min | IMDb: 6.3/10
The Coen brothers give fans another ridiculous romp supported by a mind-blowing cast of A-listers — think George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton… really, we could go on. The film follows Brolin’s Eddie Mannix, a Hollywood fixer in the 1950s trying to uncover what happened to a major star who disappeared while filming an upcoming studio blockbuster. Hijinks ensue when nosy reporters and paranoid movie execs get involved.
The Incredible Jessica James (2017)
Run Time: 83 min | IMDb: 6.5/10
Anyone who caught Jessica Williams during her tenure on The Daily Show knows that she’s destined for greatness. Despite being so young, she had a confidence, a voice, and a commanding presence that you just can’t fake. The Incredible Jessica James is her first starring vehicle since her time as a correspondent, and it is a true testament to where she’s headed. In a clever look at the life of a struggling playwright who is getting over a breakup, The Incredible Jessica James allows Williams to unleash her fire in the most charming way possible, and she and Chris O’Dowd have an easy chemistry that makes you root for them to make it despite not having a thing in common. Having just come out last year, The Incredible Jessica James is still one of the best comedy movies Netflix has delivered.
The Long Dumb Road (2018)
Run Time: 90 min | IMDb: 6.1/10
Jason Mantzoukas plays the road trip buddy from hell in this adventure comedy from Hannah Fidell. Mantzoukas is an enraged car mechanic (and probably an alcoholic) who invites himself along when college-bound teenager Nat (Tony Revolori) offers him a ride into town. That small gesture of kindness backfires in a big way when Richard (Mantzoukas) hijacks the trip, struggling to manage his past mistakes and bleak outlook while Nat pursues his dream of photographing the original Americana.
The Forty-Year-Old-Version (2020)
Run Time: 123 min | IMDb: 7.1/10
Radha Blank writes, directs, and stars in this autobiographical comedy about her unconventional career. Once a promising young playwright, Blank’s trajectory to fame has stalled and in this film, she pokes fun at her failures, reinventing herself as a rapper and using the worlds of hip-hop and theater to find her true voice. It’s darkly funny at times but incredibly relatable and inspiring all the same.
Always Be My Maybe (2019)
Run Time: 101 min | IMDb: 6.8/10
Ali Wong and Randall Park star in the latest rom-com from Netflix. This time around, the plot follows two childhood sweethearts who’ve spent the last 15 years apart and try to reconnect when one moves back home. Wong plays a successful chef opening a new restaurant in San Francisco while Park plays her former best friend still living at home and working for his dad. Both have some growing up to do, but the film eschews classic romcom tropes for bits that are funnier and more poignant than your average lighthearted fare.
Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)
Run Time: 88 min | IMDb: 5.6/10
A lot of 90s comedies haven’t aged well and parts of this film fare better than others but you can thank Chris Farley and his willingness to leave it all out there for a laugh for the elements that still hit. Farley plays Haru, a white man adopted by an ancient sect of ninjas when he washes ashore as a baby. As a grown man, Haru is clumsy and a bit stupid, which prevents him from becoming a full-fledged warrior, but when a mysterious woman comes asking for his help, he’ll discover abilities he didn’t know he had.
Recent Changes Through August 2021
Removed: My Best Friend’s Wedding, Zombieland, Safety Not Guaranteed, John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch
Added: Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Talladega Nights, Pineapple Express