The 10 Best Comedies You Can Stream Right Now, From Spinal Tap to Superbad

March 20, 2019 | Story | No Comments

Comedy is a funny thing: A joke that makes one person howl with laughter can just as easily fall flat with whoever’s sitting next to them. But whether you prefer highbrow laughs to scatological humor (or vice versa), there are true genre gems that cater to all kinds of comedy connoisseurs. So which ones should you be watching right now? Here are the funniest films you can currently find on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll laugh again.

Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985)

While future generations might find it strange that mid-‘80s audiences fell in love with a film about a bow-tied man-boy who meets an array of wild characters as he travels the country in search of his stolen bicycle, today the film remains a classic—both as a comedy and a road movie. PG-rated James Bond kind of stuff. It also birthed Pee-wee’s Playhouse, the brilliantly bizarre and creative Saturday morning series that premiered in 1986, and marked the feature directorial debut of Tim Burton, who would go on to turn outcasts into heroes with movies like Beetlejuice (1988), Edward Scissorhands (1990), and Ed Wood (1994). If you’re jonesing for more Pee-wee, check out Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, which Netflix premiered last year.

Where to stream it: Netflix

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Jeffrey Lebowski may not be a common name, but there are at least two of them in Joel and Ethan Coen’s version of Los Angeles—one of them a millionaire whose much younger wife (played by Tara Reid, which reminds you that this was the 1990s) gets kidnapped, the other one, well, The Dude. Jeff Bridges plays the White Russian-guzzling slacker—aka His Dudeness, Duder, or El Duderino (“if, you know, you’re not into the whole brevity thing”)—who is enlisted to help the other Lebowski get to the bottom of his trophy wife’s disappearance. Though the movie was a major box office flop at the time of its release, it has since transcended the motion picture medium to become a pop culture institution, with an annual festival dedicated to all things Lebowski that attracts thousands of fans from around the world.

Where to stream it: Amazon

Step Brothers (2008)

In his one-and-a-half star review of Step Brothers, Roger Ebert wrote that the film "has a premise that might have produced a good time at the movies, but when I left, I felt a little unclean." With all due respect to Ebert: He’s wrong. Brennan Huff (Will Ferrell) and Dale Doback (John C. Reilly) are two 40-year-old layabouts who both still live at home with their respective parents, eating cereal and watching Cops. When Brennan’s mom (Mary Steenburgen) and Dale’s dad (Richard Jenkins) get married, it becomes one big dysfunctional family. Though there is a basic plot, the movie is really a showcase for the rapid-fire comedic chemistry between Ferrell and Reilly. One warning, though: You’ll never hear Montell Jordan in the same way again.

Where to stream it: Amazon

Young Frankenstein (1974)

Decades before films like Scary Movie, Meet the Spartans, and Star Worlds Episode XXXIVE=MC2: The Force Awakens the Last Jedi Who Went Rogue were tainting the definition of what a spoof movie is supposed to be, Mel Brooks was perfecting the parody equation with projects like Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. In the latter, Gene Wilder plays Dr. Frederick “That’s Fronkensteen” Frankenstein, who is desperately trying to disassociate himself from his infamous family (he is the grandson of Victor Frankenstein). But when he’s forced to visit Transylvania after inheriting the family estate, he realizes that mad science just may be in the DNA. That Brooks released Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein just 10 months apart is a testament to both his prolificacy and versatility. Also: If you don’t laugh at Wilder and Peter Boyle (as the Monster) performing “Puttin’ on Ritz,” you need to check your pulse.

Where to stream it: Netflix

Best in Show (2000)

Christopher Guest may not have invented the mockumentary, but he is undoubtedly Hollywood’s foremost practitioner of the form. And he has a knack for choosing to focus on subjects that could never sustain a 90-minute runtime if they were anything but a parody. Case in point: Best in Show, a painfully accurate dive into the surreal world of show dogs and the people who love and judge them. The film features Guest’s regular ensemble of actors, including Eugene Levy, who co-wrote the film and plays the two-left-footed pet parent of a Norwich Terrier named Winky. Catherine O’Hara, Parker Posey, Michael Hitchcock, Michael McKean, and Guest himself play fellow dog owners, though it might be Fred Willard who steals the movie with his never-ending “color” commentary on what he’s witnessing in the ring.

Where to stream it: Netflix

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)

Truth be told, there are probably two types of comedy fans: Those who love Will Ferrell movies and those who do not. Considering that this is the second Ferrell film on this list—though, more importantly, the second Ferrell/John C. Reilly joint—it’s obvious that we’re falling on the pro-Ferrell side. Much like Step Brothers, Talladega Nights paints Ferrell and Reilly in a Tom and Jerry kind of scenario, where they alternate between being best friends and mortal enemies. Ricky Bobby (Ferrell) has dreamt of being a racecar driver all his life, and finally gets the chance while working as part of the pit crew for Nascar superstar Terry Cheveaux (Adam McKay). Suddenly, Ricky Bobby becomes an overnight racing sensation and he and his best friend Cal Naughton Jr. (Reilly) bask in their newfound fame. But when a horrible accident ruins Ricky Bobby’s career, Cal decides it’s his turn to climb into the driver’s seat. For some reason, Reilly’s background as a dramatic actor makes his comedic roles even funnier, with their chemistry landing somewhere between Bogie and Bacall and Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski.

Where to stream it: Amazon, Hulu

Clueless (1995)

Before a generation of youngsters actually began trying to keep up with the Kardashians, movie audiences were laughing at the vapidity of Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone), a shallow-but-well-meaning Beverly Hills teen who frequently puts the happiness of others before her own. A loose adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, the film—which was written and directed by Amy Heckerling, who also helmed 1982’s groundbreaking Fast Times at Ridgemont High—had a significant impact on mid-'90s culture, and proved that teen films weren't all dumb. (As if!)

Where to stream it: Amazon, Hulu

Hot Fuzz (2007)

The second film in what has become known as Edgar Wright’s Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy is both a play on the uber-intense action films of the 1980s and 1990s, and a worthy addition to that catalog (despite its release date). Simon Pegg plays police constable Nicholas Angel, a member of London’s Metropolitan Police Service whose extreme dedication to the job makes his colleagues look bad. To neutralize his do-goodery (and save their reputations) they transfer him to the picturesque village of Sandford, where a missing swan is about as hardcore as the town gets. But when a couple of locals are murdered, Angel suspects that this storybook place has got some hidden secrets, and enlists the help of his bumbling, action-movie-loving partner Danny Butterman (Nick Frost) to get to the bottom of it—escaped swans be damned!

Where to stream it: Netflix

Superbad (2007)

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg turned their semi-autobiographical script about an epic night in two high school best friends’ lives into one of the highest-grossing comedies of 2007. Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) are on the brink of graduating from high school and going their separate ways for college. When Seth’s dream girl, Jules (Emma Stone), invites him to a party at her place, he doesn’t hesitate to say yes—and promises that he’ll bring some booze with him. When their friend Fogell, aka McLovin’ (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), tries to procure alcohol using the world’s worst fake ID, he finds himself in the middle of a liquor store robbery and becomes a key witness for police officers Michaels and Slater (Rogen and Bill Hader). Directed by Greg Mottola and produced by Judd Apatow, the movie has a few gross-out moments—but it’s more cringe-worthy for how realistically it represents the high school experience, which only becomes funny in hindsight.

Where to stream it: Amazon

This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

In the more than 30 years since its release, many well-known musicians have gone on record to say that This Is Spinal Tap plays more like a real documentary than a fake one. Directed by Rob Reiner, the film set the standard for all mockumentaries that followed—including the work of Christopher Guest, who co-wrote the script and plays Nigel Tufnel, one part of the fictional British rock band the film follows on a never-ending series of mishaps and public embarrassments as they mount an American tour. The jokes are unforgettable, but part of what makes This Is Spinal Tap truly timeless is the music, which is pretty good if you just ignore the lyrics.

Where to stream it: Amazon, Netflix