Netflix is having a comedy refresh this month, as several of the best comedies on the streamer are going out the door. Bruce Almighty, School of Rock, Blazing Saddles, The Blues Brothers, Neighbors, and Beverly Hills Cop are all leaving Netflix at the end of March.
Fortunately, Netflix’s comedy movie lineup remains strong. Earlier this month, Netflix added Step Brothers, Animal House, Dumb and Dumber, and The Disaster Artist. Those films, plus the rest of our picks for the best comedies on Netflix right now, should keep you laughing all the way through March until we get a fresh lineup of movies in April.
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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Step Brothers2008
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Animal House1978
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Dumb and Dumber1994
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The Disaster Artist2017
Step Brothers (2008) new
Is it typecasting to feature Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as manchildren? If so, Step Brothers made it work. Ferrell and Reilly respectively play Brennan Huff and Dale Doback, a pair of nearly 40-year-old men who have never moved out of their parent’s houses and started their own lives. When their parents, Nancy Huff (Mary Steenburgen) and Robert Doback (Richard Jenkins), get married, Brennan and Dale become step-brothers.
Although the duo initially hate each other, Dale and Brennan eventually forge their own bond. Regardless, their lack of maturity or filter soon threatens the marriage of their parents, which may finally force Brennan and Dale to face the consequences of their arrested development.
Animal House (1978) new
The late John Belushi’s comedic brilliance was on full display in Animal House. Belushi’s character, John “Bluto” Blutarsky, was chaos personified, and he was completely over-the-top. Yet some of the funniest moments in the movie came from Belushi’s facial expressions, which perfectly conveyed what was on Bluto’s mind. Belushi’s simple raise of an eyebrow is still hilarious 46 years later.
Animal House takes place in the early ‘60s, as Bluto, Eric “Otter” Stratton (Tim Matheson), Larry “Pinto” Kroger (Tom Hulce), and the rest of the misfits in Delta House are close to being kicked out of Faber College. Instead of trying to save themselves at all costs, Delta House doubles down on pranks and even wilder antics. And the result is one of the funniest movies that came out of the ‘70s.
Dumb and Dumber (1994) new
Jim Carrey was already well on his way to becoming a movie star when Dumb and Dumber hit theaters, but this film wouldn’t have worked without Jeff Daniels as his co-star. Carrey and Daniels play lifelong friends, Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne, neither of whom is particularly bright. While working as a limo driver, Lloyd becomes infatuated with a rich woman, Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly), which is why he retrieves her briefcase in an airport that she left as a ransom for the men who kidnapped her husband.
Soon after, Lloyd tricks Harry into taking a trip to Colorado, where the former plans to return the briefcase to Mary and romantically pursue her. What neither of them realize is that the kidnappers are furious about the missed ransom drop, and they’re willing to kill Harry and Lloyd to get the money.
The Disaster Artist (2017) new
If you’ve never seen The Room, it may be difficult to follow The Disaster Artist or to fully appreciate that the real Tommy Wiseau is about as close to being a living cartoon as humanly possible. In this fictionalized version of The Room’s production, Tommy (James Franco) befriends a young actor, Greg Sestero (Dave Franco), and they eventually move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in Hollywood.
Tommy impulsively decides to make his own movie, co-starring himself and Greg. However, Tommy is so inept that his attempt to create drama and tension results in an unintentionally hilarious film that still plays to midnight crowds to this day.
The Interview (2014)
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)
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)
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.
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.
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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