There are few genres that Netflix handles better than comedy. It helps that the other studios have been willing to lend out many of their classic comedy movies, like Fletch and Twins, which are recent arrivals on Netflix. February is a little light on more recent comedies, but Netflix is also streaming The Interview and Bruce Almighty, neither of which are old enough to be considered classics yet.
Currently, Netflix has a very ’80s-heavy lineup of comedies, including Beverly Hills Cop and The Blues Brothers. But 2023’s breakout comedy, No Hard Feelings, does offer a more contemporary option. And that’s just the beginning of the best comedies on Netflix right now. You can find the rest of the comedy movies below.
We’ve also curated guides to the best comedies on Hulu, the best romantic comedies on Netflix, and the best rom-coms on Hulu if you’re looking for additional recommendations.
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Bruce Almighty2003 -
The Interview2014
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Fletch1985
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Twins1988
Bruce Almighty (2003) new
Bruce Almighty sold audiences on a simple premise: Jim Carrey with the powers of God. The story itself is a bit more complex. Bruce Nolan (Carrey) does have a lot of fun using the powers on loan from God (Morgan Freeman). He even uses his divinity to make his dreams come true and goes from a minor TV reporter to a star news anchor.
The lesson that Bruce has to learn is that even the powers of God can’t do everything. For example, Bruce can’t stop his girlfriend, Grace Connelly (likable Friends star Jennifer Aniston), from leaving him when he emotionally hurts her. Even a small fraction of the prayers asking God for help threaten to overwhelm Bruce. That’s when the heart of the story starts to reveal Bruce’s true character and what he needs to do next.
The Interview (2014) new
Seth Rogen co-directed and co-stars in The Interview as Aaron Rapaport, the producer of a successful talk show hosted by his friend, Dave Skylark (James Franco). To legitimize their show as a news program, the duo hatches a plan to interview North Korean President Kim Jong Un (Blue Eye Samurai‘s Randall Park), who is apparently a big fan of Dave’s work.
Before they get to North Korea, CIA Agent Lacey (Lizzy Caplan) enlists Dave and Aaron in a plot to assassinate Kim to prevent any more nuclear escalations from his country. Once they get there, Dave and Aaron start to rethink going through with the assassination, especially when Kim is eager to befriend Dave. Aaron and Dave also discover that getting out of North Korea is going to be a lot harder than they planned.
Fletch (1985) new
Outside of Clark Griswold in the Vacation movies, Chevy Chase’s most iconic movie role is Irwin “Fletch” Fletcher, the investigative reporter and comedic master of disguise in the Fletch films. The first Fletch opens with the title character undercover as a junkie when he’s approached by an executive, Alan Stanwyk (Tim Matheson), who offers Fletch $50,000 to kill him and stage his death as an accident rather than an assisted suicide to avoid a painful death from bone cancer.
Fletch is immediately suspicious, and he begins putting his drug investigation on the back burner so he can get a closer look at Stanwyk’s finances. Fletch also makes some serious enemies along the way, including the LAPD’s Police Chief Jerry Karlin (Joe Don Baker), who threatens to kill Fletch if he publishes his report.
Twins (1988) new
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito play the title characters in Twins, and even their respective characters, Julius and Vincent Benedict, have trouble believing it. Decades earlier, their mother, Mary Ann Benedict (Bonnie Bartlett), was part of a science experiment, and she was led to believe that none of her children survived.
After tracking Vincent down in the present, Julius has to convince him that they really are brothers while protecting his sibling from vicious criminals who are out to kill him. If they survive that, maybe they can even reunite with their mother.
School of Rock (2003)
It’s been over two decades since School of Rock hit theaters, and it’s still one of Jack Black’s best movies. The story follows Dewey Finn (Black), a musically talented slacker who is facing eviction from his roommate, Ned Schneebly (Mike White), and Ned’s bossy girlfriend, Patty Di Marco (Sarah Silverman). Clearly, the responsible thing for Dewey to do is to steal Ned’s identity so he can land a substitute teaching gig.
As a teacher, Dewey’s a bust. But Dewey does have an eye for musical talent, and he realizes that many of the kids in his class could become a real band under his tutelage. Despite some initial reluctance, Dewey’s class agrees to take on his passion project while exploring their own musical ambitions.
Blazing Saddles (1974)
It’s hard to believe that critics trashed Blazing Saddles when it premiered almost 50 years ago. But it has since gone on to become one Mel Brooks’ most beloved comedies. Slim Pickens, a veteran of several actual Westerns, plays Taggart, the man hired by Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman) to force the residents of Rock Ridge from their soon-to-be-valuable land. To create chaos and hasten their departure, Lamarr even tricks the governor into hiring a Black man named Bart (Cleavon Little) to be the town’s new sheriff.
The joke turns out to be on the bad guys, as Sheriff Bart proves to be adept at overcoming the townspeople’s prejudice against him while gaining allies like Jim, aka the Waco Kid (Gene Wilder), Lili Von Shtupp (Madeline Kahn), and even an ex-henchman named Mongo (Alex Karras). And when we say that the battle to save Rock Ridge can’t be contained by this movie, it’s not an exaggeration! Blazing Saddles just gets wilder as it goes along.
The Blues Brothers (1980)
Saturday Night Live movies don’t get any better than The Blues Brothers. How many other SNL films could have assembled actual music legends like Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, and Cab Calloway in supporting roles where all of them get showstopping numbers? The story follows “Joliet” Jake Blues (John Belushi) and his brother, Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd), as they are divinely inspired to save the Catholic orphanage they grew up in.
Unfortunately, the Blues Brothers don’t quite have a handle on walking the righteous path while getting their band back together. Jake and Elwood also have a unique talent for angering everyone they come across, from the police to vengeful rednecks.
Neighbors (2014)
Neighbors features Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne as Mac and Kelly Radner, a pair of recent parents who are dismayed when a fraternity, Delta Psi Beta, moves in next door. At first, Delta Psi Beta President Teddy Sanders (Zac Efron) is very friendly to the couple, and he even promises to keep the noise down if they promise in return to call him instead of calling the police when things get too rowdy.
When the Radners go back on their word, Teddy becomes vengeful and starts mercilessly hazing them. Mac and Kelly also escalate the conflict by trying to get Delta Psi Beta thrown out of their school.
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Saturday Night Live’s Eddie Murphy exploded onto the big screen in Beverly Hills Cop, the action comedy that helped make him a movie star. Murphy plays Axel Foley, a reckless detective in the Detroit Police Department who reunites with his old friend, Michael “Mikey” Tandino (James Russo), shortly before Mikey is murdered.
Against the orders of his superior, Foley pretends to go on vacation by traveling to Beverly Hills to bring Mikey’s killers to justice. Los Angeles cops Detective William “Billy” Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Sergeant John Taggart (John Ashton) were supposed to be following Foley and keeping him out of the way. Instead, Foley ropes them into temporarily working alongside him to take down the bad guys.
The Other Guys (2010)
Most of the action comedies in Hollywood would be about super cops like Detective P.K. Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) and Detective Christopher Danson (Dwayne Johnson). The Other Guys turns this trope on its head by shifting the focus away from the cops portrayed by megastars and instead focuses on two losers on the police force: Detective Allen “Gator” Gamble (Elf actor Will Ferrell) and Detective Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg).
When Gamble and Hoitz uncover a conspiracy, they finally realize their chance to be heroes and win the respect of their fellow officers. However, they are badly outgunned and outmaneuvered by the bad guys. If Gamble and Hoitz want to redeem themselves, they will have to stick together.
No Hard Feelings (2023)
What kind of woman answers a Craigslist ad promising money from wealthy parents in return for dating their awkward son? Why, that would be Jennifer Lawrence’s character in No Hard Feelings. Lawrence plays Maddie Barker, a woman in her early 30s who is on the verge of losing everything she has, including her home and her car.
Unfortunately for Maddie, dating 19-year-old Percy Becker (newcomer Andrew Barth Feldman) may be next to impossible. He seems impervious to her charms and even afraid of intimacy. For Maddie, it’s just a job, but she also hasn’t thought about what will happen if Percy ever learns the reason she pursued him.
Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
It’s a rare movie that has a title that gets right to the point of its high concept. There is indeed a Hot Tub Time Machine in this film, but this is more of a comedy than a sci-fi story. In the aftermath of a suicide attempt by Lou Dorchen (Rob Corddry), his friends Adam Yates (John Cusack) and Nick Webber-Agnew (Craig Robinson), decide to take him to the Colorado resort where they vacationed decades earlier. Adam’s nephew, Jacob Yates (Clark Duke), also accompanies them.
Once the group accidentally turns a hot tub into a time machine, everyone except Jacob finds themselves back in their 1986 bodies. And while the guys realize that history has to be maintained, the temptation to fix their past mistakes may prove to be too difficult to resist.
The House Bunny (2008)
Anna Faris stars in The House Bunny as Shelly Darlingson, an aspiring Playboy centerfold who is unexpectedly evicted from the Playboy Mansion. Desperate to find a new place for herself, Shelly ends up getting hired as the new house mother of Zeta Alpha Zeta, a sorority of awkward students including Natalie Sandler (Emma Stone), Mona Rita (Kat Dennings), Harmony Bowels (Katharine McPhee), Carrie Mae Staten (Dana Goodman), and Joanne Davis (Rumer Willis).
While Shelly teaches the girls how to attract guys by appearing more superficial, she has a hard time landing Oliver Hauser (Colin Hanks), a man she really wants to impress. That’s why Shelly has a lot to learn from the Zetas as well.
Fatherhood (2021)
The Polka King (2017)
Between Two Ferns: The Movie (2019)
Metal Lords (2022)
Vampires vs. the Bronx (2020)
A Futile and Stupid Gesture (2018)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Dolemite Is My Name (2019)
Life of Brian (1979)
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Can’t find what you want on Netflix? Fortunately, we’ve also rounded up the best comedies on Amazon Prime Video and the best comedies on Hulu.
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