The 22 best comedy movies on Netflix in August 2024
The streamer's funniest offerings include road trip movies, biopics, sci-fi chaos, and much more.
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Honestly, Netflix Original comedies likely could have filled this list alone, but where would the fun be in that? As such, we’ve pulled together a collection of classic comedies on the streamer, featuring a mix of the streaming giant’s own films, plus many more from outside studios, too.
Here are the 22 best comedy movies on Netflix right now.
A Simple Favor (2018)
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Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) is a single-mom blogger, the queen of domesticity, and the perfect PTA mom. When she meets Emily (Blake Lively), a fellow mother who’s a PR exec, the two women become fast friends. But when Emily subsequently goes missing, Stephanie decides to take it upon herself to solve the disappearance.
To say this is not an ordinary “missing person” case is an understatement. Beneath the bright, candy-colored, fashion-forward surfaces of A Simple Favor is a deceptively tangled tale of competing identities — mistaken, invented, hidden — that makes great, twisty use of its two stars’ very specific personas.
Where to watch A Simple Favor: Netflix
EW grade: B+ (read the review)
Director: Paul Feig
Cast: Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Linda Cardellini, Jean Smart
Related content: Anna Kendrick to reunite with Blake Lively and her fabulous pantsuits in A Simple Favor sequel
Bad Words (2013)
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When 40-year-old Guy Trilby (Jason Bateman) discovers a loophole in the rules of the Golden Quill Spelling Bee — an event not usually intended for adults — he enters the competition, much to the dismay of the other contestants’ parents.
This is a comedy you watch to see what imaginatively offensive thing Guy will say next — think Veep vibes, but with the barbs aimed at 12-year-olds and their parents. It also doubles as a breezy buddy movie, with young competitor Chaitanya (Rohan Chand) breaking down Guy’s bitter exterior to find the soft, nougaty center underneath.
Where to watch Bad Words: Netflix
EW grade: A- (read the review)
Director: Jason Bateman
Cast: Jason Bateman, Kathryn Hahn, Rohan Chand, Ben Falcone, Philip Baker Hall, Allison Janney
Related content: Bad Words Q&A: Jason Bateman picks on kids who aren’t his own size
Burn After Reading (2008)
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CIA lifer Osborne Cox (John Malkovich) thinks his memoir is dangerous and explosive. Meanwhile, his wife (Tilda Swinton) is secretly divorcing him and having an affair with Harry (George Clooney), a jovial U.S. marshal working on a top-secret project in his basement. Osborne’s memoir winds up in the hands of gym employees Chad (Brad Pitt) and Linda (Frances McDormand), who ineptly attempt to blackmail him… and then try to sell it to the Russians.
These people are all idiots, which is what makes this send-up of surveillance state paranoia so brilliant. The Coen brothers channel the characters’ delusional self-image into an artificially heightened faux-spy thriller in which every maneuver, and every secret, is more absurd and meaningless than the next. The eventual reveal of what Harry’s project is pretty much says it all.
Where to watch Burn After Reading: Netflix
EW grade: B (read the review)
Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Cast: George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, J.K. Simmons
Related content: The Coen brothers movies, ranked
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
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When Nick (Henry Golding) invites his girlfriend Rachel (Constance Wu) to Singapore to attend his best friend’s wedding, she discovers two things about Nick that she’s never known before: his family is positively loaded, and he’s considered one of the most eligible bachelors on the island. Suddenly, she becomes “the competition” — which is nothing compared to dealing with Nick’s mother (Michelle Yeoh).
Crazy Rich Asians was a triumphant comeback of the big-screen romantic comedy. It takes full advantage of the glamorous locations and director Jon M. Chu knows how to deploy its comic side characters — and, most importantly, how to use Yeoh as our heroine’s formidable opponent.
Where to watch Crazy Rich Asians: Netflix
EW grade: B (read the review)
Director: Jon M. Chu
Cast: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Gemma Chan, Lisa Lu, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong
Related content: Crazy Rich Asians being turned into Broadway musical with director Jon M. Chu
Dolemite Is My Name (2019)
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In this biopic written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (Ed Wood, Man on the Moon), Eddie Murphy plays Rudy Ray Moore, who works at a record store but knows he has something more to offer. Through sheer force of will — and a sharp ear for the raunchy, rough-edged poetry found on the streets and fringes — he transforms himself into a cult sensation, from his so-called “party records,” to live performances, to some of the most ridiculous and memorable blaxploitation films of the ’70s.
Murphy’s sheer charisma and star power make this movie land, but Wesley Snipes’ surprising comic chops are the secret sauce.
Where to watch Dolemite Is My Name: Netflix
EW grade: B+ (read the review)
Director: Craig Brewer
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Wesley Snipes, Keegan-Michael Key, Mike Epps, Craig Robinson, Tituss Burgess
Related content: Eddie Murphy is ready to make you laugh again: ‘I’m still me’
Don’t Look Up (2021)
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For all the disaster movies Hollywood has brought us over the years, it took Adam McKay to posit an all-too-realistic scenario in which a pair of scientists (Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence) become aware of impending doom, bring their intel to the government, and see their warning spun for political gain.
It’s a dark comedy, to be sure, but one that takes full advantage of its star power: as EW’s critic wrote, “[McKay’s] casting cup overruns almost casually with A-list guests, from a distinctly silly Ariana Grande cameo to a charming and markedly more substantial turn by Timothée Chalamet as a delinquent skateboarder with a thing for Kate's choppy bangs.”
Where to watch Don’t Look Up: Netflix
EW grade: B (read the review)
Director: Adam McKay
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Rob Morgan, Jonah Hill, Timothée Chalamet
Related content: How Meryl Streep became the U.S. president in Don’t Look Up
Dumb and Dumber (1994)
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Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) are a couple of idiots, but they’re best friends whose inseparability — and idiocy — leads them to find a suitcase full of cash and try to return it to the woman they think it belongs to (Lauren Holly), not realizing it’s ransom money connected to a kidnapping.
This is a lightning-in-a-bottle comedy, with Carrey just coming into his own as a generational comic presence and Daniels playing against type in an equally brilliant — which is to say, equally moronic — performance.
Where to watch Dumb and Dumber: Netflix
Director: Peter Farrelly
Cast: Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Lauren Holly, Karen Duffy, Mike Starr, Charles Rocket, Teri Garr, Harland Williams
Related content: Jeff Daniels explains why he really wanted to be in Dumb and Dumber with Jim Carrey
Eurovision: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)
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The Eurovision Song Contest is a competition that’s been beloved globally for decades… except in the U.S., where it’s virtually unknown. As such, many Americans missed the boat on this absurd yet sincere comedy. Lars (Will Ferrell) and Sigrit (Rachel McAdams) are longtime not-quite-sweethearts from Iceland who, as Fire Saga, are on a quest to win the competition.
In addition to being funny, Eurovision is also filled with quippy and catchy performances and songs, so expect some of the tunes to get stuck in your head.
Where to watch Eurovision: The Story of Fire Saga: Netflix
Director: David Dobkin
Cast: Will Ferrell, Rachel McAdams, Dan Stevens, Melissanthi Nahut, Mikael Persbrandt, Olafur Darri Olafsson
Related content: Best of 2020 (Behind the Scenes): How Eurovision’s ‘Jaja Ding Dong’ became the song we didn’t know we needed
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
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This is one of those films where it feels almost pointless to try to explain because you’re never going to sum it up well enough. Oh, sure, you can say that Michelle Yeoh stars as a Chinese American immigrant who discovers the existence of parallel universes while being audited by the IRS and must connect with alternate versions of herself in order to save the multiverse (and/or her relationship with her daughter). But does knowing that information really sell you on the movie? Just know that it’s an Oscar-winning piece of experimental sci-fi, comedy, martial arts, and family drama that’ll fascinate you — and by the end may well blow your mind completely.
Where to watch Everything Everywhere All at Once: Netflix
Director: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert
Cast: Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, James Hong, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jenny Slate
Related content: The cast of Everything Everywhere All at Once pulls no punches in EW’s Around the Table chat
Knocked Up (2007)
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When up-and-coming TV journalist Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) has a one-night stand with slacker Ben Stone (Seth Rogen), the resulting pregnancy wreaks havoc on both their lives. Alison has to decide if she wants to raise the baby on her own even, while Ben is uncertain if he’s ready to be a father at all.
As EW’s critic said, “The movie has an uncanny empathy not just for dorks who like pictures of naked boobs, but for the gender that comes equipped with those boobs, too.” Like Judd Apatow’s previous film, The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), this raunchy rom-com works because it’s every bit as committed to its boyish immaturity as it is to its authentic relationships.
Where to watch Knocked Up: Netflix
EW grade: A (read the review)
Director: Judd Apatow
Cast: Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill
Related content: Katherine Heigl really delivers in Knocked Up
The Lego Movie (2014)
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One of the funniest, cleverest, and most colorful films in recent memory, The Lego Movie revolves around Emmet (Chris Pratt), a typical Lego figure who is accidentally misidentified as being the savior of Lego World — and all while an actually worthy, ass-kicking heroine, Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) is right there, ready to save the world as if she’s prepared her whole life for it.
“The film’s comedy is very digressive, very free-associational,” wrote EW’s critic. “It’s fast and original, it’s conceptually audacious, it’s visually astonishing, and it’s 10 times more clever and smart and funny than it needed to be.”
Where to watch The Lego Movie: Netflix
EW grade: A (read the review)
Director: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Cast: Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Will Ferrell
Related content: Chris Pratt covers ‘Everything is Awesome’ as Parks and Recreation’s Andy Dwyer
Liar, Liar (1997)
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Jim Carrey stars as attorney Fletcher Reede, whose gifts for chicanery and dishonesty serve him well in the courtroom but have made a mess of his personal life, including his marriage to Audrey (Maura Tierney), and relationship with his son, Max (Justin Cooper). This comes back to bite him when Max uses his birthday wish to ask that his dad stop lying for 24 hours, and suddenly Fletcher finds that he literally cannot lie.
EW’s critic described the film as “at once witty and repetitive, inspired and exhausting.” Carrey’s importance is twofold: He has to single-handedly sell the comedy — in his trademark wildly physical fashion — and hit a genuinely dramatic register as one of those overworked ’90s dads who learns what’s important in life.
Where to watch Liar, Liar: Netflix
EW grade: B (read the review)
Director: Tom Shadyac
Cast: Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney, Justin Cooper, Cary Elwes, Anne Haney, Jennifer Tilly, Amanda Donohoe
Related content: I Love You Phillip Morris but we hate you Ace Ventura: PopWatch Rewind looks back on Jim Carrey’s career
Long Shot (2019)
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Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen) is a journalist with a nose for news and a gift for getting into trouble. When he runs into politician Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron), he puts two and two together and realizes she used to be his babysitter... and that he had a massive crush on her. Things get messier from there once Charlotte decides to run for president and impulsively brings Fred aboard her campaign as her speechwriter.
EW’s critic called Long Shot “one of the most outrageous adult comedies in a long time,” which it is, but it’s also a sweet romance and even a little bit timely.
Where to watch Long Shot: Netflix
EW grade: B (read the review)
Director: Jonathan Levine
Cast: Seth Rogen, Charlize Theron, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Andy Serkis, June Diane Raphael, Bob Odenkirk
Related content: Long Shot’s funniest star June Diane Raphael explains why the rom-com is cathartic
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005)
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Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie weren’t a couple yet when they played assassins tasked with killing each other in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, but after seeing these two on screen together, it’s not surprising they became one. The movie is awash with anxiety and anticipation, suspicion and curiosity, while the actors’ chemistry — both sexual and comic, romantic and adversarial — is reminiscent of Hollywood’s classic star system (but with more machine guns).
The movie is not just an explosively entertaining, twisty action flick, but a satirical examination of marriage, relationships, and compromise. Its premise proved successful enough to result in a recent TV incarnation, with Donald Glover and Maya Erskine finding a palpable chemistry of their own.
Where to watch Mr. and Mrs. Smith: Netflix
Director: Doug Liman
Cast: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Vince Vaughn, Kerry Washington, Adam Brody, Keith David
Related content: The inside scoop on Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
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After turning sketch comedy on its head through their acclaimed TV series, the British comedy group Monty Python finally made their way to the big screen with an original film inspired by Arthurian legend. It wasn’t a huge box office hit initially, but between midnight showings and home video, it’s now revered as one of the funniest films of all time, with references to shrubbery, elderberries, killer rabbits, limbless knights, and other seemingly random topics becoming pop culture punchlines of the highest order.
Where to watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Netflix
Director: Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones
Cast: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Carol Cleveland
Related content: Monty Python and the Holy Grail deleted animation scenes surface online
Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)
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Few movies have been quite as misunderstood by the religious right as Monty Python’s second film, which was declared to be blasphemous by people who’d never seen it. The story revolves around Brian (Graham Chapman), who was born one stable down — and on the same night — as Jesus, which later causes considerable confusion when people mistake Brian for the Messiah. As Roger Ebert once wrote, “In terms of actual disrespect shown to Biblical legend, such epics as Samson and Delilah and King of Kings are miles more hypocritical [than Brian].”
Where to watch Monty Python’s Life of Brian: Netflix
Director: Terry Jones
Cast: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin
Related content: Terry Jones, Monty Python co-founder, dies at 77
The Munsters (2022)
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There was a time in the 1960s when the so-called “monster kids,” i.e. fans of the Universal stable of horror icons, would regularly bicker back and forth about which was better: The Addams Family or The Munsters. For Rob Zombie, it was The Munsters, and he took his love of that sitcom, combined it with his cinematic sensibilities, and rebooted the franchise.
Zombie’s film offers the origin of the Transylvanian love story between Herman (Jeff Daniel Phillips), a Frankenstein’s monster, and Lily (Sheri Moon Zombie), a vampire. It’s a weird piece of work, but you can feel the love.
Where to watch The Munsters: Netflix
Director: Rob Zombie
Cast: Jeff Daniel Phillips, Sheri Moon Zombie, Daniel Roebuck, Richard Brake, Jorge Garcia, Sylvester McCoy
Related content: Rob Zombie movies, ranked
The Nutty Professor (1996)
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It sounded mildly intriguing on paper — a remake of the classic Jerry Lewis comedy, with Eddie Murphy taking on the title role(s) — but when Murphy utilized the skills of makeup master Rick Baker, this new incarnation of The Nutty Professor became something else altogether.
Not only does Murphy play Sherman Klump, the obese professor who takes an experimental weight-loss formula to transform into ladies’ man Buddy Love, but he also plays Sherman’s father, mother, grandmother, brother, and even the Richard Simmons parody Lance Perkins. It’s no exaggeration to call it one of the best comedies of the ’90s.
Where to watch The Nutty Professor: Netflix
EW grade: B+ (read the review)
Director: Tom Shadyac
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Jada Pinkett, James Coburn, Larry Miller, Dave Chappelle, Jamal Mixon
Related content: Jada Pinkett Smith passed out on The Nutty Professor set after taking a ‘bad batch of ecstasy’
The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)
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Zack (Zack Gottsagen), a young boy with Down syndrome, manages to elude the nurses at his facility and embark on a quest to live his dream and become a professional wrestler under the tutelage of the Salt Water Redneck (Thomas Haden Church). He’s joined by a new friend, Tyler (Shia LaBeouf), and eventually his former caretaker, Eleanor (Dakota Johnson).
Ostensibly a sort of modern-day take on Huckleberry Finn, it’s a heartwarming road trip movie, as you’d guess, but it’s also a quirky comedy that takes some turns you might not expect.
Where to watch The Peanut Butter Falcon: Netflix
Director: Tyler Nilson, Michael Schwartz
Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Dakota Johnson, John Hawkes, Bruce Dern, Zack Gottsagen, Jon Bernthal
Related content: Shia LaBeouf forms an adorable bond in sweet Peanut Butter Falcon trailer
Ride Along (2014)
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When high school security guard and wannabe cop Ben Barber (Kevin Hart) is on the cusp of asking his girlfriend Angela (Tika Sumpter) to marry him, he reaches out to her brother James (Ice Cube), an undercover police detective, to ask for his blessing. James, in turn, tells Ben that he has to go on a ride-along with him to prove his worth. And just like that, Ben is inadvertently involved in a dangerous undercover operation. While it might not be Hart’s funniest film, it’s fondly remembered as the one that successfully helped transform into a leading man.
Where to watch Ride Along: Netflix
Director: Tim Story
Cast: Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Tika Sumpter, John Leguizamo, Bryan Callen, Laurence Fishburne, Bruce McGill
Related content: Ride Along 3: Kevin Hart and Ice Cube sequel in the works, director says
Slap Shot (1977)
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There are plenty of baseball, basketball, and football comedies, but finding a hockey comedy is akin to finding a needle in a haystack: there just aren’t many of them. Even if there were, though, this one would probably still be considered one of the best. The film revolves around the Charlestown Chiefs, a minor-league club led by player/coach Reggie Dunlop (Paul Newman) that’s on the cusp of being sold.
Slap Shot is a lived-in piece of working-class Americana, which makes its weirdest oddball impulses — i.e. the iconic Hanson Brothers — feel like eccentric local flavor instead of wacky comic relief. Picture a cross between The Bad News Bears and Major League, strap some ice skates on that baby, and you’ve got this classic.
Where to watch Slap Shot: Netflix
Director: George Roy Hill
Cast: Paul Newman, Strother Martin, Michael Ontkean, Jennifer Warren, Lindsay Crouse
Related content: Slap Shot remake: Ugh, this can’t be good
Uncle Buck (1989)
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John Hughes and John Candy had a strong comedic bond. After they teamed for the modern classic Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), Hughes gave Candy a full solo spotlight in this low-key family classic. When Bob and Cindy have to leave town for a family emergency, they find themselves with limited options to watch their kids, forcing Cindy to begrudgingly call upon Bob’s brother, Buck (Candy), a lazy, slovenly bachelor who’s not exactly flush with parenting instincts. Despite this, he rises to the occasion, taking care of his nephew and two nieces to the best of his (limited) ability. It’s safe to say few, if any, actors other than Candy could’ve nailed Buck’s combination of disreputability, affability, and decency.
Where to watch Uncle Buck: Netflix
Director: John Hughes
Cast: John Candy, Jean Louisa Kelly, Jay Underwood, Macaulay Culkin, Gaby Hoffman, Amy Madigan, Laurie Metcalf
Related content: Tom Hanks, Dan Aykroyd, John Hughes remember John Candy in new documentary
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.
