Rory Doherty’s mega-list of the best comedies on Netflix will find your sense of humour and get it stimulated. Scroll for an instant hit of that funny feeling!
Always Be My Maybe (2019)
Watch on NetflixThis Netflix Original snuck into the platform just as the stardom of its two leads was rising—and packed in a meta, one-liner-packed guest appearance from Keanu Reeves just as everyone online decided he was the nicest person ever. But this romcom belongs to Randall Park and Ali Wong, who play a pair of friends afraid of commitment and losing their closeness in equal measure—giving us laughs and a sweet tale of identity along the way.
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Watch on NetflixThis isn’t Eddie Murphy’s first film, or even his first cop comedy (that honour goes to the much rougher 48 Hrs) but it’s hard to imagine a better breakout hit than this electric ode to the cultural divides in America. Murphy stars as Axel Foley, a Detroit cop who takes umbrage with the hands-off approach to criminal investigation he finds on a visit to LA. Murphy owns every minute of screen time he’s given, which wisely is a lot.
Dolemite is My Name (2019)
Watch on NetflixIt’s hard to pitch Dolemite is My Name without explaining a few things first. Basically, a Black stand-up called Rudy Ray Moore started a series of Blaxploitation spoof films with his kung-fu kicking, wise-cracking character Dolemite.
In addition to this, Eddie Murphy’s career has been flatlining for many years. But put him in a lightly fictionalised biopic of how the Dolemite movies were stitched together by an unlikely gang of characters, and you’ve got a wildly entertaining story about a genre unknown to most people—plus the best Eddie Murphy performance in decades.
Don’t Look Up (2021)
Watch on NetflixThe satire may be as blunt as it comes, but Adam McKay’s all-star warning siren manages to toe the line between feeling utterly absurd and completely believable. As a meteor is inbound for Earth, McKay brings out performances from his titanically A-list cast that can feel both understated and delirious. It may not show us anything we don’t already know, but the end of the world is undeniably a fun ride.
Four Lions (2010)
Watch on NetflixChris Morris is no stranger to controversy, having made his name in cult circles with the outrage-baiting news satire Brass Eye, but even his biggest defenders would have been taken aback at the announcement that his feature film debut would be a Islamic extremist comedy. Thankfully, he delivered—with a cast including Riz Ahmed and Kayvan Novak (What We Do In the Shadows) and a whip smart script, Morris delivered one of the funniest British films in memory.
The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)
Watch on NetflixThis road trip film between a carer (Paul Rudd) and the young paraplegic (Craig Roberts) he has to look after is an exercise in British snark testing the patience of one of the nicest guys in Hollywood. Of course, Craig Roberts is playing an American and Paul Rudd is acting like an emotionally closeted asshole, but their conflicting styles of comedy is what drives this easy-going Sundance dramedy to stirring and funny results. Hopefully that climax will, ahem, relieve you.
Ghostbusters (1984)
Watch on NetflixIf you want to watch a Ghostbusters film, who ya gonna call? No film except the original, a perfect storm of wacko supernatural ideas (from Dan Aykroyd), sharp-as-nails joke writing (Harold Ramis), excellent direction (the late Ivan Reitman), and whatever the hell Bill Murray is doing. It meshes timely Reaganist, small business satire with some excellent gross-out 80s creature effects—a recipe for a stone cold comedy classic.
Glass Onion (2022)
Watch on NetflixMaking a lucrative jump to Netflix, playful storyteller Rian Johnson continued the case files of the absurdly-southern-accented Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig, having more fun than any actor in history), now jumping to the private Greek hideaway of a fintech billionaire (Edward Norton) where there’s no shortage of thick-skulled, privileged characters to laugh at. Some of the funniest jokes aren’t lines, but mystery plot reveals that are just so knowingly, impossibly silly it’s remarkable.
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)
Watch on NetflixA uniquely fresh comedy, Good Luck to You pairs rising star Daryl McCormack and certified gold Emma Thompson in a series of meetings between a widow and a young sex worker, Leo Grande. Through sparkling banter, taboos are prodded and broken, aided by the film and Leo’s blasé attitude towards sex—and Thompson’s character being hopelessly out of her depth. It’s a touching, empathetic dramedy with a firm understanding of the comedic potential of modern sex work.
Kicking and Screaming (1995)
Watch on NetflixNoah Baumbach may not be best known for broad, winking comedy, but his debut feature feels reminiscent of the clever self-aware gags that fill his latest work, Barbie. It’s a cutesy, wry story of college graduates who keep clinging to their alma mater in fear of having to be a real grown-up, and thanks to a cast of 90s indie gems like Eric Stoltz and Parker Posey, it easily amuses.
Matilda: The Musical (2022)
Watch on NetflixTim Minchin proved that there was still gold to be mined from classic stories that already had beloved adaptations with his West End stage version of Roald Dahl’s classic kids tale. It was inevitable the musical would make it to cinema screens at some point, but no-one expected it would take a decade. It was worth the wait: all of Minchin’s lyrical wittiness and the show’s encouragement of hilarious kid performances makes it into this exhilarating and enthusiastic film.
Paddington (2014)
Watch on NetflixOften overshadowed by its sequel below, Paddington did a stellar job of planting the loveable bear from Peru into an overwhelming modern world. It carries on the Muppets‘ tradition of people largely treating a talking animal like normal, helped by a delicate voice performance by Ben Whishaw, and a human cast having lots of light fun.
Paddington 2 (2017)
Watch on NetflixIt’s been praised to the point of exhaustion, but the homesick bear cub’s sequel deserves to be remembered as one of the finest British films in recent memory. In a meta piece of casting, Hugh Grant launched his renaissance as a villainous washed-up actor whose schemes land Paddington in prison. But Paddington’s effervescent loveliness is contagious, and while he’s causing sweeping prison reform, his host family the Browns fight for their lodger’s freedom. Whether it’s from laughter or emotion, tears will be shed.
Plus One (2019)
Watch on NetflixWe’re having a bit of a resurgence to bang average rom-coms, so you’ll be extra relieved there was a truly brilliant one within the last few years. Two streaming talents, Jack Quaid and Maya Erskine, pair up as snappy, quippy friends (with incredible chemistry!) who agree to attend a summer’s worth of weddings as each other’s plus one, and in the process realise…well, you know the rest. What you won’t expect is how laugh-a-minute their misadventures will be.
Private Life (2018)
Watch on NetflixI hope you like your comedies bone dry, because Tamara Jenkins’ films don’t come any other way. Kathryn Hahn and Paul Giamatti are a well-to-do New York creative couple who cannot conceive, and are beyond frustrated at the financial, bureaucratic, and emotional strains of the alternative processes. None of the characters—including the young woman they want for their surrogate—are heightened to the point of unbelievability, helping you get hooked by the drama amidst the laughter.
The Squid and the Whale (2005)
Watch on NetflixNoah Baumbach has never made a film that wasn’t on some level a comedy, and this oh-so-dry portrait of a divorce (before his magnum opus, Marriage Story, told a similar story from an older perspective) is packed with satirical, absurd, and blackly comic laughs. Jesse Eisenberg and Jeff Daniels make a great double-act as neurotic, pretentious, and hyper-critical father and son, both of them make for great fodder to laugh at but also to pity.
Submarine (2010)
Watch on NetflixCharming and singular British debuts are a dime a dozen these days: back in 2010, standouts like Submarine were much more unique. Comedian Richard Ayoade imbued a lot of his unique absurdist deadpan into this seaside coming-of-age film (starring Craig Roberts, who went on to be a comedic director himself). Less belly laughs, more charming titters—but they are well-earned and frequent.
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Watch on NetflixThe best comedies don’t just make us howl with laughter, they implicate us in what we’re laughing about. So goes Scorsese’s three-hour saga of unregulated Wall Street crime; it’s such a frenetically edited and hilariously performed ordeal of moral rot that you eventually find yourself considering why we’re hard-coded to find these crimes exciting and amusing in the first place. Never has Leo more strongly made the case that he is, at heart, a comedian.
This guide is regularly updated to reflect changes in Netflix’s catalogue. For a list of capsule reviews that have been removed from this page because they are no longer available on the platform, visit here.
