The 10 Best Comedies to Stream on Netflix Right Now

If you’ve worn out all your favorite comedies, there’s hope: Netflix has an impressive selection of classics and contemporary hits, including a handful of originals. Check out 10 of the funniest movies currently on the service.

1. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Eddie Murphy cemented his superstar status with this action-comedy about a Detroit cop who outwits the Beverly Hills criminals who killed his friend. Sylvester Stallone was originally attached to a far less comedic version of the film.

2. The Addams Family (1991)

Barry Sonnenfeld directs this big-budget adaptation of the popular Charles Addams comic characters, a macabre family that clashes with more polite society. Anthony Hopkins considered the role of Uncle Fester before opting to make The Silence of the Lambs (1991) instead.

3. My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)

Julia Roberts tries to sabotage the nuptials of friend Dermot Mulroney so she can snatch him up instead in this romantic comedy hit. Director P.J. Hogan also made Muriel's Wedding (1994).

4. Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)

John Cusack (Better Off Dead) heads back to the '80s in this time-travel tale about friends who revisit their heyday thanks to a hot tub. Writer Josh Heald later co-created Cobra Kai.

5. The Nice Guys (2016)

Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling make an unlikely buddy pairing in this comedy written and directed by Shane Black. In 1970s Los Angeles, the two detectives bumble through a seedy underworld to find a missing girl. Black originally wrote it as a television pilot before deciding it worked better as a feature film.

6. The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)

The ever-reliable Paul Rudd stars in this amiable indie film about a writer who takes on a side hustle as a caregiver for a teen (Craig Roberts) with muscular dystrophy. Naturally, lessons are learned, but it’s also a prime example of the affability that’s made Rudd one of the more pleasant screen actors of the past two decades. The film is based on author Jonathan Evison’s 2012 book The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving.

7. Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

En route to turning Thor into the comedic lunkhead he was always meant to be in Ragnarok, writer-director Taika Waititi crafted this sweetly irreverent story about a Tupac-obsessed orphan (Julian Dennison) who teams up with his reluctant foster father (Sam Neill) to evade the cops after an overzealous child welfare worker (Rachel House) decides he is in imminent danger. Waititi’s idiosyncratic humor and irresistible sentimentality are both vividly on display in this affecting, woefully under-appreciated comedy that’s based on the 2005 book Wild Pork and Watercress by Barry Crump.

8. Always Be My Maybe (2019)

Ali Wong was already an accomplished stand-up, but this romantic comedy cemented her irresistible charms as she plays a celebrity chef reconnecting as an adult with her childhood crush (played by Randall Park). The Asian-led cast and crew give the film a wonderfully unique perspective, even as those details underscore the universality of its ultimate truths. Meanwhile, Keanu Reeves plays himself as a love interest for Wong’s character: He agreed to the role because he’s a fan of Wong’s stand-up.

9. Dolemite Is My Name (2019)

Eddie Murphy returned to form with this funny and moving biopic of Rudy Ray Moore, a struggling stand-up comic in the 1970s who finds his big break as Dolemite, a butt-kicking alter ego that became the subject of Moore’s low-budget film debut. Murphy met Moore several times before Moore’s passing. Murphy once said that Moore wanted to go on a comedy tour with him.

10. The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)

The minds behind 2019’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse have another winningly irreverent animated film on tap. The slightly dysfunctional Mitchell family has to contend with technology gone awry—but to save the human race, they’ll have to interrupt their vacation. The movie was such a critical hit that Netflix decided to offer it as a limited theatrical release six months after it began streaming.

A version of this story ran in 2020; it has been updated for 2023.