There’s a very simple test for determining whether a comedy is truly great: wait. If you laugh just as hard the second time you watch something—and are still chuckling by the 20th—you've got a winner. In fact, just knowing one particular movie is something you want to watch again and again is its own testament to the timelessness of a truly stellar comedy. So which ones should be watching and/or re-watching right now? Here are the funniest films you can currently find on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon. Settle in for a laugh riot.
In Mel Brooks' hilarious, fart-filled Western spoof, Cleavon Little plays Bart, the first black sheriff of an all-white frontier town. He was given the job by a corrupt state attorney general who wants to scare off the area's residents to make way for a new railroad, but with the help of the Waco Kid (Gene Wilder), Bart manages to foster a sense of community and bring the town together. The whole thing would be offensive if it wasn't so absurd, and thanks to a smart script (co-written by Richard Pryor) and some brilliant work by Little and Wilder, it manages to be both a comedy classic and a statement on race.
Where to stream it: Amazon, Netflix
Steve Martin shot to the top of the comedy A-list with his first starring role in The Jerk—and it's easy to see why. Martin plays dimwitted Navin R. Johnson, the adopted white son of a family of black sharecroppers (he has no idea that he’s adopted, or white) who, inspired by a song on the radio, sets off for St. Louis. The film follows the ups and downs of his journey, during which he stumbles into a variety of situations that both endanger his life and vastly improve it. Sort of like Forrest Gump. Only funny.
Where to stream it: Amazon
Like Star Wars or Jaws, Caddyshack is one of those movies that everyone has seen. And chances are good that if you channel-surfed enough right now, you’d be able to find it playing on at least one network. Directed and co-written by the late Harold Ramis, it's packed with ‘80s comedy giants all engaged in a clash of the classes (blue bloods versus nouveau riche) at an exclusive country club. Even if you’ve seen it 100 times before, *Caddyshack’*s the kind of film that you never tire of—and the same goes for its many quotable lines. Did somebody step on a duck?
Where to stream it: Amazon, Netflix
Long before the Wayans brothers cornered the market on movie parodies, Jim Abrahams and David and Jerry Zucker mastered the delicate art of the spoof, beginning with Airplane! A sendup of disaster flicks, the movie sees traumatized fighter-pilot-turned-cab-driver Ted Striker (Robert Hays) board a plane in the hopes of reconnecting with the love of his life, flight attendant Elaine Dickinson (Julie Hagerty). But trouble strikes when some bad fish turns the plane into a sick ward at 35,000 feet. With several passengers and all of the cockpit crew immobilized, it’s up to Ted, Elaine, and passenger Dr. Rumack (Leslie Nielsen) to land the plane and get everyone onboard the medical help they need. (If you like Airplane!, watch The Naked Gun next. And don’t call us Shirley.)
Where to stream it: Amazon
In the more than 30 years since its release, many well-known musicians have gone on record to say that This Is Spinal Tap plays more like a real documentary than a fake one. Directed by Rob Reiner, the film set the standard for all mockumentaries that followed—including the work of Christopher Guest, who co-wrote the script and plays Nigel Tufnel, one part of the fictional British rock band the film follows on a never-ending series of mishaps and public embarrassments as they mount an American tour. The jokes are unforgettable, but part of what makes *This Is *Spinal Tap truly timeless is the music, which is pretty good if you just ignore the lyrics.
Where to stream it: Amazon, Netflix
Before a generation of youngsters actually began trying to keep up with the Kardashians, movie audiences were laughing at the vapidity of Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone), a shallow-but-well-meaning Beverly Hills teen who frequently puts the happiness of others before her own. A loose adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, the film—which was written and directed by Amy Heckerling, who also helmed 1982’s groundbreaking Fast Times at Ridgemont High—had a significant impact on mid-'90s culture, and proved that teen films weren't all dumb. (As if!)
Where to stream it: Amazon, Hulu
In the latter part of the 1990s, brothers Bobby and Peter Farrelly emerged as the reigning kings of comedy thanks to There’s Something About Mary. Ben Stiller plays Ted Stroehmann, a Rhode Island teen who lands a date with his dream girl, Mary Jensen (Cameron Diaz), but then a painful collision between a zipper and Ted’s nether regions sends him to the hospital instead of the prom. Years later, Ted tracks Mary down and attempts to rekindle what they had. Gross-out comedies have a tendency to target the lowest common denominator. And while it’s an apropos category for Mary, the Farrellys managed to elevate the subgenre and give it a bit of heart too.
Where to stream it: Amazon
Though it starred Jennifer Aniston, one of TV’s biggest stars at the time, Mike Judge’s Office Space didn’t make much of an impact in theaters. Fortunately, there was DVD—which is where it found an audience. Ron Livingston plays Peter Gibbons, an unambitious programmer who discovers a bug in his company’s software that will make him rich with no effort at all. Fans of Silicon Valley (another Judge joint—we celebrate the man’s entire catalog) will appreciate the film’s subtle humor and its statement on the nature of the technology industry, where luck seems just as important as talent. Former TGI Friday's employees, meanwhile, will appreciate its many other pieces of flare.
Where to stream it: Amazon
Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen) is a journalist from Kazakhstan who is sent to make a “movie film” about life in America. Sadly, he does just that. To call it a mockumentary would be misleading, because Baron Cohen is one of the film’s only actors. The bulk of the people who appear onscreen are everyday—albeit unsuspecting—folks who Baron Cohen has set up to play into Borat’s story. (The scene in which Borat entertains the crowd at a rodeo is cringe-inducing, as is, well, most of the movie.) If ever the term “piss-your-pants-funny” were appropriate, this is it.
Where to stream it: Amazon
In his one-and-a-half star review of Step Brothers, Roger Ebert wrote that the film “has a premise that might have produced a good time at the movies, but when I left, I felt a little unclean.” With all due respect to Ebert: He’s wrong. Brennan Huff (Will Ferrell) and Dale Doback (John C. Reilly) are two 40-year-old layabouts who both still live at home with their respective parents, eating cereal and watching Cops. When Brennan’s mom (Mary Steenburgen) and Dale’s dad (Richard Jenkins) get married, it becomes one big dysfunctional family. Though there is a basic plot, the movie is really a showcase for the rapid-fire comedic chemistry between Ferrell and Reilly. One warning, though: You’ll never hear Montell Jordan in the same way again.
Where to stream it: Amazon
If there’s one mistake the creators of gross-out comedies tend to make again and again, it’s putting too much emphasis on the “gross” and not enough on the story. But Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, who co-wrote Bridesmaids, and Freaks and Geeks creator Paul Feig, who directed it, are too smart for that. It’s the tale of two best friends, Annie (Wiig) and Lillian (Maya Rudolph), who start to drift apart as they prepare for Lillian’s upcoming wedding. Rose Byrne plays a great straight woman to the practiced cast of female comedians (including Melissa McCarthy, Ellie Kemper, and Wendy McLendon-Covey), while Chris O’Dowd and Jon Hamm make great adversaries while vying for Wiig’s attention. This one's perfect for your next adult sleepover.
Where to stream it: Amazon
