So you’re browsing through Netflix, looking for something to watch, but you’re in the mood for something light. Netflix’s massive library can be intimidating, especially when you’re looking for a good comedy amidst a sea of subpar entries in the genre. Not to fear, though, because we here at Collider have you covered. Below, we’ve curated a list of the very best comedies on Netflix right now. We’ve got everything from silly buddy comedies, big splashy commercial comedies, more esoteric indies, and even a couple of films that toe the line between comedy and drama. Surely you’ll find something to your liking, so scroll through our list of the best comedies on Netflix below and find that perfect pick.
And if you’re looking for a broader list of recommendations, check out our list of the best movies on Netflix right now.
Superbad
Director: Greg Mottola
Writers: Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg
Cast: Michael Cera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Emma Stone, Seth Rogen, and Bill Hader
Superbad was pretty much a coming-of-age classic as soon as it hit theaters in 2007, as writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, director Greg Mottola, and producer Judd Apatow crafted a high school comedy that was equal parts heart and humor. While the comedy is indeed R-rated, there’s a sweetness to the friendship between Michael Cera and Jonah Hill’s characters that elevates this above your average raunchy comedy. It’s as much a story about a kid being afraid he’s gonna lose his friend at college as it is a story about trying to score alcohol for a high school party, and the surprising twists and turns make it all that much more memorable. – Adam Chitwood
Can’t Hardly Wait
Directors/Writers: Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont
Cast: Ethan Embry, Lauren Ambrose, Seth Green, Peter Facinelli, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Charlie Korsmo, and Jenna Elfman
If you like your comedy with a hefty dose of nostalgia, the 1998 film Can’t Hardly Wait will do the trick. This is your standard 90s teen comedy, but there’s a certain charm to it that remains kinda timeless. Set on graduation day at a high school, it follows the stories of various teens tying up loose ends at a party before they head off to college. Ethan Embry is The Shy Guy who just wants to profess his love to his crush (Jennifer Love Hewitt), former childhood BFFs Lauren Ambrose and Seth Green get locked in a bathroom together and are no longer able to continue acting like strangers, and Charlie Korsmo gets absolutely wasted and sings “Paradise City.” And the soundtrack? Iconic. – Adam Chitwood
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Directors/Writers: Phil Lord and Chris Miller
Cast: Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Andy Samberg, Bruce Campbell, Mr. T, Benjamin Bratt, and Neil Patrick Harris
Before filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller upended convention with wildly entertaining films like The LEGO Movie and the Jump Street films, they wrote and directed the 2009 animated feature Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs—and it is delightful. The film is absolutely in the same vein of Lord and Miller’s other films; a mix of goofy humor, gloriously intricate jokes, inventive visuals, and most importantly genuine compassion. Bill Hader voices a wannabe scientist named Flint who lives in a tiny town called Swallow Falls, which is thrown into peril when one of Flint’s wild inventions starts turning water into food, at which point it literally starts raining all sorts of delicious—and gigantic—treats. It’s a great film for all ages really, and a terrifically science-positive story. – Adam Chitwood
50 First Dates
Director: Peter Segal
Writer: George Wing
Cast: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, and Dan Aykroyd
As far as Adam Sandler romcoms go, 50 First Dates is pretty great. Released in 2004, the film takes place in Hawaii and follows a veterinarian (Sandler) who crosses paths with a lovely young woman (Drew Barrymore) and has a pleasant day. But when he goes to follow up and ask her on a date the next day, she doesn’t remember who he is. As it turns out, she suffers from short-term memory loss and her memory resets every day. So he spends the rest of the film winning her over day after day to try and strike up a relationship. It’s honestly extremely sweet, and Barrymore and Sandler have great chemistry. – Adam Chitwood
Easy A
Director: Will Gluck
Writer: Bert V. Royal
Cast: Emma Stone, Dan Byrd, Penn Badgley, Amanda Bynes, Thomas Hayden Church, Lisa Kudrow, Cam Gigandet, Patricia Clarkson, and Stanley Tucci
If you’re looking for a teen romcom with wit and charm to spare, 2010’s Easy A is an excellent choice. The story is partially inspired by The Scarlet Letter as Emma Stone plays a charismatic high schooler named Olive who, on a whim, pretends to hook up with a classmate to help hide the fact that he’s gay. This leads to many other classmates coming to her asking her to lie about hooking up in exchange for gifts, leading to a sullied reputation that she embraces a la The Scarlet Letter. Stone is already a movie star in this early film from her career, and the film is surprisingly smart and engaging at every turn. It also features Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as two of the best movie parents in cinematic history. – Adam Chitwood
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Director/Writer: Taika Waititi
Cast: Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Rhys Darby, Rima Te Wiata, and Rachel House
If you’re in the mood for a whimsical comedy from Thor: Ragnarok writer/director Taika Waititi, you absolutely have to see Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Released in 2016, this New Zealand adventure movie follows a grumpy Sam Neill as he’s forced to team up with a foul-mouthed child when the two are the target of a manhunt throughout the New Zealand bush. It’s based on an existing book, but in tone and execution Hunt for the Wilderpeople oftentimes feels like an adaptation of a Roald Dahl book we never knew about. It’s delightful and whimsical and a little terrifying, with Waititi’s playful anarchy filling the whole thing out for good measure. This movie is guaranteed to put you in a good mood.
Pineapple Express
Director: David Gordon Green
Writers: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
Cast: Seth Rogen, James Franco, Danny McBride, Gary Cole, and Rosie Perez
Pineapple Express is an underrated movie. While Superbad gets all the acclaim, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg‘s next film is a tonal tightrope walk that is also just incredibly funny. Indeed, David Gordon Green’s take on the action-comedy is a delight through and through. The premise is essentially, “What if an 80s buddy action comedy, but both of the heroes are stoned the entire time?” Hilarity ensues as Seth Rogen and James Franco deliver a pair of top-notch performances as reluctant buddies, and Danny McBride absolutely steals the whole movie. – Adam Chitwood
Mr. Deeds
Director: Steven Brill
Writer: Tim Herlihy
Cast: Adam Sandler, Winona Ryder, Peter Gallagher, Jared Harris, Allen Covert, and John Turturro
Adam Sandler movies run the gamut from hilarious to terrible, and while Mr. Deeds is somewhere in between, it falls a bit closer to the “good, actually” side of the scale. A remake of a 1936 Frank Capra movie, Mr. Deeds stars Sandler as a young man running a pizzeria who discovers he’s the heir to a multibillionaire’s fortune. Winona Ryder plays a reporter for a tabloid TV show who’s tasked with getting close to the titular Mr. Deeds and getting close to him for a story. Their relationship quickly turns genuine, however, and she’s stuck between delivering for her employer and being true to her feelings. Deeds, meanwhile, struggles to acclimate to the lifestyles of the rich and famous. – Adam Chitwood
Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
Director: David Dobkin
Writers: Will Ferrell and Andrew Steele
Cast: Will Ferrell, Rachel McAdams, Pierce Brosnan, Dan Stevens, and Demi Lovato
If you think Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is just another “dumb Will Ferrell comedy,” think again. One of 2020’s most pleasant surprises, this musical comedy is surprisingly sweet and genuinely emotional – don’t be surprised if you find yourself welling up with tears by the end. The story follows a pair of lifelong friends and musicians from Iceland who are unexpectedly thrust into the Eurovision Song Contest, which tests their talents and their relationship to one another. Ferrell is hilarious as always, but it’s Rachel McAdams who steals the show here and proves yet again she’s one of the best comedic talents working right now. Oh and the songs? They’re spectacular. – Adam Chitwood
The Death of Stalin
Director: Armando Iannucci
Writers: Armando Iannucci, David Schneider, Ian Martin
Cast: Steve Buscemi, Jeffrey Tambor, Rupert Friend, Jason Isaacs, Simon Russell Beale, Michael Palin, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko, Paddy Considine
If you like your comedy as dark as human history, you’re in for a real treat with The Death of Stalin. A horrifying, hilarious, existentially terrifying treat. Veep and The Thick of It creator Armando Iannucci is Hollywood’s best working political satirist and with his 2017 feature, he hones in on the absurdity of totalitarianism with a razor-sharp comedic bent on the death of the Soviet Union’s infamous fascist leader, Joseph Stalin. And believe me when I say this movie is razor-sharp. Carried out in the fashion of Iannucci’s signature acerbic stylings, The Death of Stalin is the kind of movie you have to laugh at to keep from crying out in horror, because every absurd beat and bit is laced with terrible truth, laying bare the fragility of human life, nations, and ideas alike. There have been many attempts to capture the helpless, surreal experience of watching authoritarian, nationalist leaders around the world over the last 5 years, but The Death of Stalin might be the most cutting yet. Fortunately, Iannucci twists the knife right into your funny bone. – Haleigh Foutch
Lady Bird
Director/Writer: Greta Gerwig
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Beanie Feldstein, Lucas Hedges, Timothee Chalamet, and Stephen Henderson
Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut Lady Bird rules so incredibly hard, and is so tremendously funny. This is a coming-of-age story with soul, as Saoirse Ronan plays a young girl named Christine who struggles through her senior year at a Catholic high school—struggles with boys, struggles with friendships, struggles with money, and struggles with her parents. At heart this is a mother-daugther story, and while it gets intensely emotional, it’s also incredibly funny. Ronan is tremendous in the Oscar-worthy lead role, Beanie Feldstein is a hoot as her BFF, Timothee Chalamet nails the “pretentious cool guy” role, and Gerwig’s writing and direction are downright masterful. This is one of the best comedies of the last decade. – Adam Chitwood
The Disaster Artist
Director: James Franco
Writers: Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber
Cast: James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogen, Alison Brie, Ari Graynor, Josh Hutcherson, and Jackie Weaver
A film about the making of the infamously terrible movie The Room should not be this good nor this emotional, but here we are. The Disaster Artist is technically a chronicle of how Tommy Wiseau defied pretty much every cinematic convention (for the worst) to make his film The Room, and how the movie became a cult favorite for its absolutely bonkers construction and execution. James Franco is legitimately great both in front of and behind the camera here, as the film hones in on the friendship between Tommy and Greg Sestero (Dave Franco) serves as a surprisingly emotional foundation for this stranger-than-fiction story that is also very, very, very funny. – Adam Chitwood
Hail, Caesar!
Directors/Writers: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Cast: George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johansson, Jonah Hill, and Frances McDormand
This 2016 comedy from the Coen Brothers was a long time in the making, and while it earned solid reviews, it’s still somewhat underrated. Hail, Caesar! takes place in 1951 follows a day in the life of Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), a “fixer” for a movie studio called Capital Pictures who spends the day trying to stave off various scandals, put out fires, and track down a missing movie star. Chaos and shenanigans ensue, and George Clooney delivers one of his best comedic performance. This movie will also remind you that, whatever you think of Solo: A Star War Story, that Alden Ehrenreich can sure act. – Adam Chitwood
The Other Guys
Director: Adam McKay
Writers: Adam McKay and Chris Hency
Cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan, Ray Stevenson, Samuel L. Jackson, and Dwayne Johnson
The 2010 comedy The Other Guys may not be on the level of pitch-perfect hilarity of Adam McKay’s other films like Step Brothers or Anchorman, but it’s still good for a number of laughs and fascinating when viewed as a step-ladder to McKay’s more dramatic films like The Big Short and Vice. This movie is ostensibly an action movie in which “the other guys” are the stars—in this case a mild-mannered forensic accountant (Will Ferrell) and a hot-tempered detective who mistakenly shot Derek Jeter (Mark Wahlberg). The two become embroiled in a case involving corporate maleficence, with McKay blending his passion for politics with an incredibly silly comedy. There are a number of insane gags here that are great, like Ferrell’s character’s past as a pimp for McKay’s own cameo as Dirty Mike of Dirty Mike and the Boys. And again while not as satisfying as some of McKay’s other films, this one certainly isn’t bad. – Adam Chitwood
Dolemite Is My Name
Director: Craig Brewer
Writers: Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Wesley Snipes, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson, and Titus Burgess
Not only does the Netflix original comedy film Dolemite Is My Name give us the best Eddie Murphy performance in years, it’s also just a tremendously entertaining movie about creative expression. The movie is based on the true story of Rudy Ray Moore, a comedian who aimed to bring his hit standup character “Dolemite” to the masses by writing, producing, and starring in an extremely low-budget film. Not unlike Bowfinger, this movie is a hilarious behind-the-scenes story of one man’s creative passion coming to life against all odds. Murphy is explosive, Da’Vine Joy Randolph gives the definition of a breakthrough performance, and Wesley Snipes goes full To Wong Fu in an outrageous turn as the director of the Dolemite movie. This is an extremely entertaining comedy that is also incredibly inspiring. – Adam Chitwood
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Director: Edgar Wright
Writers: Michael Bacall & Edgar Wright
Cast: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Alison Pill, Mark Webber, Johnny Simmons, Ellen Wong, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, and Jason Schwartzman.
Edgar Wright’s adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s outstanding comic didn’t find much of an audience upon its release, but over the years it has grown into a cult classic. The movie follows Scott Pilgrim (Cera), a sweet if slightly selfish and misguided young man who falls for delivery girl Ramona Flowers (Winstead). He can only continue to date her if he defeats her seven evil exes. Scott’s comfortable with the video game framework, but the film is really about two people discovering they have to get over their own baggage if they’re going to find new love. Wright decorates the whole picture with video game tropes and fun little nods, but never loses sight of the core romantic story. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is funny, effervescent, and only gets better on repeat viewings. – Matt Goldberg
Always Be My Maybe
Director: Nahnatchka Khan
Writers: Ali Wong, Randall Park, and Michael Golamco
Cast: Ali Wong, Randall Park, Michelle Buteau, James Saito, Daniel Dae Kim, Karan Soni, and Keanu Reeves
Netflix brought the romcom back in a big way with 2018’s Set It Up, and the streaming service’s 2019 effort Always Be My Maybe is similarly charming and delightful. Co-written by and starring Randall Park and Ali Wong, the film follows a pair of teenaged best friends who have since drifted apart and are pushed together once more in adulthood, even though their lives have followed very different paths. Park and Wong are dynamite together, and the film takes time to breathe with some well-paced dramatic sequences. It’s also not lacking in scene-stealers, as Michelle Buteau is a hoot and Keanu Reeves once again proves his talent knows no bounds. – Adam Chitwood
Wine Country
Director: Amy Poehler
Writers: Emily Spivey and Liz Cackowski
Cast: Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Maya Rudolph, Paula Pell, Emily Spivey, Ana Gasteyer, Tina Fey, and Jason Schwartzman
If you’re looking for a breezy, easy watch, check out Wine Country. While Amy Poehler’s directorial debut may not be the most thematically satisfying or airtight comedy, it’s a solid effort packed with sufficient laughs and a solid dose of heart. The film is inspired by a real-life trip the cast members and real-life friends took to celebrate Dratch’s 50th birthday, during which their friendship was laid bare. The actors play only slightly exaggerated versions of themselves, so part of the fun is seeing what the dynamic between these SNL alums is really like. This is a really easy watch, especially if you’re looking for something to enjoy with friends (and wine) on a Friday or Saturday night in. – Adam Chitwood
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