Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
WeirdThe 17 Best Comedies On Netflix
By Jade Budowski
@jadebudowski
Published
March 13, 2018, 9:00 p.m. ET
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Photos: NETFLIX ; Illustration: Dillen Phelps
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Blind Date
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
This French-language romantic comedy pairs together an endearing odd couple as neighbors - a dedicated pianist and a man who needs silence to work - and lets things play out how they may. While it doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel, the palpable chemistry between the two leads makes every moment of their screen time together a total treat.
[Stream Blind Date]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
This French-language romantic comedy pairs together an endearing odd couple as neighbors - a dedicated pianist and a man who needs silence to work - and lets things play out how they may. While it doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel, the palpable chemistry between the two leads makes every moment of their screen time together a total treat.
[Stream Blind Date]
Photo: Everett Collection
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Don't Think Twice
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%
Keegan-Michael Key, Chris Gethard, Gillian Jacobs, and a slew of other top comedians star alongside Mike Birbiglia in this fresh, candid take on what happens when one member of a friend group achieves success and the rest of the gang is forced to reevaluate things. A heartfelt exploration of the friendship, humanity, and the reality of dreams in the world of comedy, this Birbiglia-penned flick is a home run.
[Stream Don't Think Twice]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%
Keegan-Michael Key, Chris Gethard, Gillian Jacobs, and a slew of other top comedians star alongside Mike Birbiglia in this fresh, candid take on what happens when one member of a friend group achieves success and the rest of the gang is forced to reevaluate things. A heartfelt exploration of the friendship, humanity, and the reality of dreams in the world of comedy, this Birbiglia-penned flick is a home run.
[Stream Don't Think Twice]
Photo: Everett Collection
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Paddington
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%
Ben Whishaw voices the eponymous Paddington, a Peruvian bear (with a love of marmalade sandwiches) who travels to London to find a new home - and does, albeit with some reluctant family members. While h tries to get settled however, a villainous figure (played by a perfectly evil Nicole Kidman) has something else in mind. Fun and clever for viewers of any age, this adorable flick will crack you up and warm your heart in equal measure.
[Stream Paddington]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%
Ben Whishaw voices the eponymous Paddington, a Peruvian bear (with a love of marmalade sandwiches) who travels to London to find a new home - and does, albeit with some reluctant family members. While h tries to get settled however, a villainous figure (played by a perfectly evil Nicole Kidman) has something else in mind. Fun and clever for viewers of any age, this adorable flick will crack you up and warm your heart in equal measure.
[Stream Paddington]
Photo: Everett Collection
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Tangerine
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%
Directed by The Florida Project's Sean Baker, this iPhone-shot dramedy follows Sin-Dee, a transgender sex worker recently out after a 28-day prison sentence hellbent on finding the pimp who cheated on her and broke her heart. Smart, funny, and groundbreaking, Tangerine will surprise you in more ways than one.
[Stream Tangerine]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%
Directed by The Florida Project's Sean Baker, this iPhone-shot dramedy follows Sin-Dee, a transgender sex worker recently out after a 28-day prison sentence hellbent on finding the pimp who cheated on her and broke her heart. Smart, funny, and groundbreaking, Tangerine will surprise you in more ways than one.
[Stream Tangerine]
Photo: Everett Collection
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To All The Boys I've Loved Before
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
Netflix's biggest summer hit is an enchanting throwback to the romcoms of yesteryear. Lana Condor stars as Lara Jean Covey, a sweet romantic girl terrified of getting too close to her crushes. When the private love letters she wrote to each of her five major crushes get out, she finds herself embroiled in a "fake" romance with the school heartthrob Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) that may not be as fake as Lara Jean thinks.
[Stream To All The Boys I've Loved Before on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
Netflix's biggest summer hit is an enchanting throwback to the romcoms of yesteryear. Lana Condor stars as Lara Jean Covey, a sweet romantic girl terrified of getting too close to her crushes. When the private love letters she wrote to each of her five major crushes get out, she finds herself embroiled in a "fake" romance with the school heartthrob Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) that may not be as fake as Lara Jean thinks.
[Stream To All The Boys I've Loved Before on Netflix]
Photo: Netflix
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Groundhog Day
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
This bonkers modern classic stars Bill Murray as a curmudgeon-y weather guy who finds a new lease on life when he's forced to relive Groundhog Day over and over again. Groundhog Day is a zany look at how we discover what really matters in life.
[Stream Groundhog Day on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
This bonkers modern classic stars Bill Murray as a curmudgeon-y weather guy who finds a new lease on life when he's forced to relive Groundhog Day over and over again. Groundhog Day is a zany look at how we discover what really matters in life.
[Stream Groundhog Day on Netflix]
Photo: Everett Collection
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Antz
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
Z, a neurotic worker ant, finds himself an unexpected hero after a wacky series of events and winds up breaking from his totalitarian society - and falling for his princess - in the process. The animated comedy poses the eternal question: Antz or A Bug's Life? We won't make you answer now, but they're both formidable, funny contenders.
[Stream Antz]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
Z, a neurotic worker ant, finds himself an unexpected hero after a wacky series of events and winds up breaking from his totalitarian society - and falling for his princess - in the process. The animated comedy poses the eternal question: Antz or A Bug's Life? We won't make you answer now, but they're both formidable, funny contenders.
[Stream Antz]
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Heathers
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%
This teaming up of a reluctant good girl and straight-up sociopath is one that is way more fun to watch than it should be. Starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater as masochistic teenagers with a taste for murder, the off-beat, twisted dark comedy became a true cult classic after its 1988 release - and it's not hard to see why.
[Stream Heathers]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%
This teaming up of a reluctant good girl and straight-up sociopath is one that is way more fun to watch than it should be. Starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater as masochistic teenagers with a taste for murder, the off-beat, twisted dark comedy became a true cult classic after its 1988 release - and it's not hard to see why.
[Stream Heathers]
Photo: Everett Collection
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Marguerite
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%
Set in Paris in the 1920s, this French film (which tells the same story as Florence Foster Jenkins) follows Marguerite Dumont, a wealthy woman with a love of music and the opera. While she cannot sing to save her life, she loves to sing for her friends, and with her husband, they continue to allow her to live out her fantasy of performance. Things change, however, when she begins performing in front of real audiences, and the rest is history.
[Stream Marguerite]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%
Set in Paris in the 1920s, this French film (which tells the same story as Florence Foster Jenkins) follows Marguerite Dumont, a wealthy woman with a love of music and the opera. While she cannot sing to save her life, she loves to sing for her friends, and with her husband, they continue to allow her to live out her fantasy of performance. Things change, however, when she begins performing in front of real audiences, and the rest is history.
[Stream Marguerite]
Photo: Everett Collection
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Moana
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
Disney's animated triumph tells the story of the eponymous Moana, the young daughter of the chief of a Polynesian tribe who sets out with legendary demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) to become a master wayfinder and save her island's people. Beautifully animated and stocked with songs you won't be able to get out of your head for weeks (thanks to Lin-Manuel Miranda), this sweeping adventure film is fun for the whole family.
[Stream Moana]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%
Disney's animated triumph tells the story of the eponymous Moana, the young daughter of the chief of a Polynesian tribe who sets out with legendary demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) to become a master wayfinder and save her island's people. Beautifully animated and stocked with songs you won't be able to get out of your head for weeks (thanks to Lin-Manuel Miranda), this sweeping adventure film is fun for the whole family.
[Stream Moana]
Photo: Everett Collection
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Donald Cried
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
This darkly funny flick follows Peter, a young Wall Street guy who returns home to Rhode Island after his grandmother passes - and becomes stranded after losing his wallet. Without anywhere else to turn, he enlists the help of his long lost childhood friend Donald, an eccentric fellow whose companionship evolves from a simple favor to a deep dive into their past. This bizarre twist on the buddy comedy and family reunion drama will surprise you in more ways than one.
[Stream Donald Cried]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
This darkly funny flick follows Peter, a young Wall Street guy who returns home to Rhode Island after his grandmother passes - and becomes stranded after losing his wallet. Without anywhere else to turn, he enlists the help of his long lost childhood friend Donald, an eccentric fellow whose companionship evolves from a simple favor to a deep dive into their past. This bizarre twist on the buddy comedy and family reunion drama will surprise you in more ways than one.
[Stream Donald Cried]
Photo: Everett Collection
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The Truman Show
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
Featuring Jim Carrey in one of the best performances of his career, this fantasy dramedy follows an insurance salesman who discovers his entire life is actually a television show. Funny, gut-wrenching, and stunningly performed, there's a reason we're still watching The Truman Show.
[Stream The Truman Show]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
Featuring Jim Carrey in one of the best performances of his career, this fantasy dramedy follows an insurance salesman who discovers his entire life is actually a television show. Funny, gut-wrenching, and stunningly performed, there's a reason we're still watching The Truman Show.
[Stream The Truman Show]
Photo: Everett Collection
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She's Gotta Have It
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%
Written and directed by Spike Lee, this innovative, sexy comedy follows Nola Darling, a woman carrying on 3 simultaneous sexual relationships with men who all want them to commit monogomously to them. As Nola, her partners, and her friends tell her story, she resists being "owned" by any one man.
[Stream She's Gotta Have It]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%
Written and directed by Spike Lee, this innovative, sexy comedy follows Nola Darling, a woman carrying on 3 simultaneous sexual relationships with men who all want them to commit monogomously to them. As Nola, her partners, and her friends tell her story, she resists being "owned" by any one man.
[Stream She's Gotta Have It]
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The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%
Though it's a dark comedy, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) is still a comedy. Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller co-star as brothers in this bittersweet look at the way family relationships break down, and come back together.
[Stream The Meyerowitz Stories on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%
Though it's a dark comedy, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) is still a comedy. Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller co-star as brothers in this bittersweet look at the way family relationships break down, and come back together.
[Stream The Meyerowitz Stories on Netflix]
Photo: Netflix
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Frances Ha
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%
Noah Baumbach's black-and-white indie flick starring (and written by) Lady Bird writer/director Greta Gerwig is true-to-life funny in unexpected ways. This Brooklyn-based twenty-something (Gerwig) is caught off guard when her best friend decides to move out of their apartment and relocate to Tribeca. If you're a fan of the cringe-comedy of Girls, this might be right up your alley.
[Stream Frances Ha]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%
Noah Baumbach's black-and-white indie flick starring (and written by) Lady Bird writer/director Greta Gerwig is true-to-life funny in unexpected ways. This Brooklyn-based twenty-something (Gerwig) is caught off guard when her best friend decides to move out of their apartment and relocate to Tribeca. If you're a fan of the cringe-comedy of Girls, this might be right up your alley.
[Stream Frances Ha]
Photo: Everett Collection
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Thor: Ragnarok
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%
New Zealand auteur Taika Waititi brought his giddy genius to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, imagining a galaxy where Jeff Goldblum could be the grandmaster and Asgardians could make serious jokes about flying through "the Devil's Anus." When his vengeful long-lost sister Hela conquers Asgard, Thor is flung to the far-reaches of space where he'll have to fight to survive.
[Stream Thor: Ragnarok on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%
New Zealand auteur Taika Waititi brought his giddy genius to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, imagining a galaxy where Jeff Goldblum could be the grandmaster and Asgardians could make serious jokes about flying through "the Devil's Anus." When his vengeful long-lost sister Hela conquers Asgard, Thor is flung to the far-reaches of space where he'll have to fight to survive.
[Stream Thor: Ragnarok on Netflix]
Photo: Everett Collection
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Hot Fuzz
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%
Edgar Wright's Hot Fuzz is a tightly wound love letter to the thriller genre starring Simon Pegg as a talented cop sent out to the middle of nowhere where he soon suspects that not everything is at it appears.The film satirizes hallmarks of the police thriller, imagining brooding villains, shadow organizations, and vast conspiracies in the heart of a seemingly sleepy English town.
[Stream Hot Fuzz on Netflix]
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%
Edgar Wright's Hot Fuzz is a tightly wound love letter to the thriller genre starring Simon Pegg as a talented cop sent out to the middle of nowhere where he soon suspects that not everything is at it appears.The film satirizes hallmarks of the police thriller, imagining brooding villains, shadow organizations, and vast conspiracies in the heart of a seemingly sleepy English town.
[Stream Hot Fuzz on Netflix]
Photo: Everett Collection
