Summary
- Netflix’s original comedy movies offer a wide variety of genres and themes, from off-beat anthologies to romantic comedies to family-friendly films. There is something for everyone.
- The streaming service has successfully mixed smaller low budget movies with high-budget films, providing a range of options for viewers.
- While not all comedies will appeal to every subscriber, Netflix’s original comedy movies showcase both little-known actors and big-name stars, making for a diverse and impressive lineup.
The best Netflix original comedy movies run the gamut from off-beat anthologies to romantic comedies to those aimed at children. Movies like The Ballad of Buster Scruggs show that Netflix is willing to splurge on independent comedies just as they are moderately budgeted rom-coms. Some of the movies feature little-known working actors while others feature box office heavyweights like Ryan Reynolds and Dwayne Johnson. In other words, Netflix’s variety of original comedy films is impressive.
While not every comedy is going to appeal to every Netflix subscriber, the beauty of the streaming service is that there is, quite literally, something for everyone. Netflix has done a great job at mixing up smaller low budget movies with movies that could have been theatrical blockbusters. As a result, there are some of both types of movies among the best Netflix original comedy movies.
When We First Met (2018)
In When We First Met, Workaholics and Pitch Perfect star Adam DeVine plays Noah Ashby, a guy who meets Avery Martin (Alexandra Daddario) the woman of his dreams, only to have those feelings go unreciprocated. Thanks to a magical photo booth, Ashby gets chance after chance to finally win the girl’s hand. When We First Met didn’t receive rave reviews but it was praised for its breezy tone and the capable lead performance from DeVine. While Daddario is better known for her dramatic roles, she’s no slouch in the comedy department either, making for a fun pairing in this time-loop comedy.
Deidra & Laney Rob A Train (2017)
Though Ashleigh Murray is best known for her role as Josie as part of Josie and the Pussycats in Riverdale, she’s got quite a collection of comedies and dramas under her belt, including Deidra & Laney Rob A Train. Murray is the titular Deidra and Rachel Crow is her sister Laney. The two team up to rob trains to support their family when their mother ends up in jail. A darker and more off-beat Netflix original comedy, the movie soars because of the bond between the two sisters. It’s their relationship that carries the movie.
Dumplin’ (2018)
Based on a young adult novel of the same name, Dumplin’ is more of a dramedy than strictly a comedy. It follows a young woman whose mother has always been involved in beauty pageants, so she hates them on principle. When she and her friend enter one anyway, however, she begins to gain a new perspective. The movie is a coming-of-age story that features lessons about judgment and celebrating differences. Dumplin’ makes for one of the best young adult Netflix original comedies.
The Polka King (2017)
Even if the writing is spotty, the presence of Jack Black is usually enough to make a movie entertaining. He’s got the charm and the on-screen presence to really sell just about any project, and that’s true for The Polka King as well. The movie tells the story of polka band leader Jan Lewan, but Black does it with his own particular style of comedy, and it works very well. The movie as a whole isn’t as captivating as some of the other comedies that Netflix has to offer, but Black’s performance makes it worth it.
Moxie (2021)
Following a 16-year-old girl who starts publishing a DIY newspaper to call out the rampant sexism in her high school, Netflix’s quotable Moxie is produced, directed by, and stars Saturday Night Live‘s Amy Poehler. Moxie was met with a warm response, but there were some accusations of it embracing the problematic “white savior” trope. Even still, it found a way to embrace a difficult topic and still be a warm, watchable movie, and Poehler’s guiding sensibilities go far toward making that happen.\
A Futile And Stupid Gesture (2018)
A Futile and Stupid Gesture is an earnest, compassionate, and wildly funny look at the early days of National Lampoon Magazine. Much of the time is spent with Will Forte’s hilarious yet tragic Doug Kenney, one of the magazine’s two core founders. Alongside him is partner Henry Beard (Domhnall Gleeson), and stars of National Lampoon‘s stage show Chevy Chase (Joel McHale), Gilda Radner (Jackie Tohn, GLOW), and Bill Murray (Jon Daly). The film received a fair amount of praise if not also some criticism when it came to its jumbled focus. But just about everyone who enjoyed the film liked seeing comedic actors of today portray the individuals they found inspiring.
Little Evil (2017)
Little Evil is a parody of horror movies that depict children as villains. In this case, Gary (Adam Scott) starts to think his new stepson (Owen Atlas) might be the actual devil. The concept might not be original, but the movie makes the idea more humorous than horrifying, creating a fresh take on it. Evangeline Lilly as Gary’s wife, who just believes that other people are responsible for the evil in her son’s life, has great chemistry with both Scott and Atlas, making for a great fit.
The Out-Laws (2023)
What makes The Out-Laws so fun is its stacked cast of talent. Adam Devine stars as a bank manager who is about to marry a woman (Nina Dobrev) whose parents (Ellen Barkin and Pierce Brosnan) he suspects are actually notorious bank robbers. The mystery unravels while Devine provides most of the comedy and Brosnan provides most of the charm. Yes, the story is relatively predictable, but the comedy of errors while a bank robbery is being performed is worth the watch of the movie alone.
We Can Be Heroes (2020)
From Robert Rodriguez, this is one of the best Netflix original comedy movies that is also family-friendly. The movie begs the question of what happens when all the world’s superheroes are kidnapped by villains. The answer is that their kids shoulder the burden of rescuing their parents and saving the world. We Can Be Heroes might not have earned the best critical reviews, but it was a hit with audiences who were excited to see the return of Lava Girl (Taylor Dooley) as a grown-up hero with a family of her own. We Can Be Heroes is also one of Netflix’s most-watched movies ever.
Murder Mystery (2019)
Many were skeptical that Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler would have any chemistry in Murder Mystery. The skeptics, however, were wrong. The two play a convincing married couple who have become complacent in their relationship and strive to improve it with the honeymoon they never had. Murder Mystery takes a lot of inspiration from mysteries like those of Agatha Christie’s novels where the mystery is confined to a small setting with a known pool of suspects, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously. That’s part of what makes it so fun. The movie did so well for Netflix that it earned a sequel.
Win It All (2017)
Though this dramedy is a bit more serious in tone than most of Netflix’s best original comedies, part of what sells it as a comedy is Jake Johnson. TV fans will know Johnson from New Girl, but here, Johnson co-wrote the script about a recovering gambling addict and plays the lead. His charm and his timing allow him to really bring the movie to life. The audience might even get frustrated with the character’s decisions, but Johnson makes the character inherently likable, making the movie worthy of a rewatch even.
The Mitchells Vs The Machines (2021)
Originally poised to be a theatrical release, Sony sold the distribution rights for The Mitchells vs The Machines to Netflix when its release date fell during theatrical shut-downs. The movie features a family that has been at odds bonding when they have to join forces against robots and automated machinery to save the day. It’s heartfelt and funny and also appeals to adults as much as it does children.
The Fundamentals Of Caring (2016)
The Fundamentals of Caring follows Paul Rudd’s Ben, a grieving, out-of-work writer in the middle of an ugly divorce. To cope with his pain, Ben enrolls in a caregiving class and is swiftly hired to care for Trevor (Craig Roberts), an 18-year-old young man living with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. While on the road, the duo encounters Dot (Selena Gomez), a drifter for whom the young man begins to develop feelings. This Netflix original comedy definitely leans into the more dramatic side, but the chemistry among the cast allows for subtle humor in the cathartic dramatic moments.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
The sequel to Knives Out had a production deal through Netflix and a limited theatrical release, making it one of Netflix’s few hybrid-release movies. Though it’s a whodunnit, it works as a satire of the mystery genre, combining familiar tropes found in serial mysteries and allowing Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) to parody Sherlock Holmes to an extent. The characters in the movie are all modern stereotypes and are all viable suspects, making the twists harder to unravel as well.
Set It Up (2018)
Romantic comedies are often looked down on in the comedy genre, but they provide some of the best entertainment that Netflix has to offer. Set It Up is one of their modern rom-com offerings featuring a pair of assistants who decide to set their bosses up so that they can have a little more free time. Along the way, they fall for one another. While the movie features a lot of rom-com conventions, the characters have depth, fantastic chemistry, and a great sense of humor.
The Incredible Jessica James (2017)
The Incredible Jessica James follows Jessica Williams’ eponymous lead character, an NYC-based playwright on the mend after her long-term relationship hits a brick wall. Bolstered by an excellent supporting cast including Chris O’Dowd and Lakeith Stanfield, The Incredible Jessica James received the majority of its praise for the work done by the incredibly talented Williams in the lead role. Some praise was also given for its subversion of tropes that have proven well-worn after decades of break-up-themed romantic comedies.
Vampires Vs. The Bronx (2020)
If The Goonies was a horror movie instead of a treasure hunt, audiences might have ended up with something like Vampires vs The Bronx. The Netflix original blends comedy and horror in a way that fits perfectly, but it’s the friendships and bonds between the central kids of the story that really make the movie work. There’s also a good balance of social commentary with the action, making it clear that there’s a bigger story to tell without sacrificing any entertainment value.
Do Revenge (2022)
This dark comedy, as its name implies, is about a hefty dose of revenge. Set at an elite high school, two students team up to get revenge on their classmates who wrong them. Of course, because it’s a revenge comedy, there’s a twist that is hard to see coming. The cast is stacked with young talent like Maya Hawke and Camilla Mendes who are pitch-perfect in their roles, making it one of the best recent Netflix original comedy movies.
Red Notice (2021)
When it comes to action movies on streaming services, the vast majority of them are dramas. Red Notice is not, which is part of what makes it stand out. The likes of Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne Johnson, and Gal Gadot in the lead roles also make it stand out. Johnson stars as a special agent on the trail of a thief, who then has to team up with the thief to clear his own name. It’s funny, fast-paced, and worthy of the sequel that is in development.
The Meyerowitz Stories: New & Selected (2017)
Widely seen as one of Ben Stiller’s best movies, Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories: New & Selected features the Zoolander star as one of two siblings (the other played by Adam Sandler) who have never had anything in common. However, one thing they do have in common is that their lives are lived in the shadow of their father (Dustin Hoffman). One of Baumbach’s best movies just as it is one of Stiller’s, The Meyerowitz Stories was given near-universal praise and, at the time of its release, was widely seen as the best Netflix original film to date.
