495 Best Funny Movies to Watch (Page 26)

Staff & contributors

If you’re in need of cherring up with some side-splitting hilarity, we can help. Here’s a mixed bag of the funniest movies and shows to stream right now, from dark comedies to witty satire and beyond.

, 1999

Starting with Columbia Picture’s intro syncing into a rave, director Doug Liman’s sophomore feature Go instantly establishes its ecstatic energy– both in the hyper happy and drug-fuelled way– that made it a cult classic. All in one night, the dark crime comedy culminates in a wild Christmas Eve in three separate storylines: one with dissatisfied checkout girl Ronna, who needs fast cash, another with her drug dealer co-worker Simon going to Vegas, and the last with soap opera actors Adam and Zack, who want to get high while staying out of trouble. The cast is excellent, with witty quips and the twenty-something ennui of that generation, and each decision their characters make to feel good all turns Christmas Eve into a truly awful, yet terribly entertaining ride. While some of the humor is definitely dated, Go captures the insane chaotic energy just right before the new millennium.

Genre: Comedy, Crime, Thriller

Actor: AlgeRita Wynn, Breckin Meyer, Courtland Mead, D. Danny Warhol, Dana Schick, Desmond Askew, J. Karen Thomas, J.E. Freeman, James Duval, Jane Krakowski, Jay Mohr, Jay Paulson, Jimmy Shubert, Jodi Bianca Wise, Josh Paddock, Katharine Towne, Katie Holmes, Manu Intiraymi, Melissa McCarthy, Natasha Melnick, Nathan Bexton, Nikki Fritz, Rita Bland, Robert Peters, Sarah Polley, Scott Wolf, Sean Everett, Suzanne Krull, Tane McClure, Taye Diggs, Timothy Olyphant, Tony Denman, William Fichtner, Willie Amakye

Director: Doug Liman

Rating: R

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The humor, oh the humor! It's a breath of fresh air to be laughing with a Woody Allen film and not at it. He is so good at capturing the cheekiness in meet-cutes, secrecies, and lies, all powdered with exaggerated Frenchness. Forgive my surprised tone, but Coup de Chance surpasses all expectations in the way it turns a rather banal plot into an entertaining game of cat and mouse, without overstepping the boundaries of good taste. In developing a story about female infidelity (or all infidelity, for that matter), one can be overly moralistic just to squeeze out laughs and empathy from the viewer, but Allen refrains from all those cheap tricks. His script is tight and at times ridiculously funny. Whether or not you get behind Fanny and her convoluted ways of seeking happiness, Coup de Chance will offer you plenty of instances to better understand the character in a constellation of other people, who are equally affected by her decisions. In a way, the film is a comedy of ethics as well — something the American director hasn't successfully done in a long, long while.

Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller

Actor: Anne Loiret, Arnaud Viard, Benoît Forgeard, Bruno Gouery, Christophe Kourotchkine, Constance Dollé, Elsa Zylberstein, Emilie Incerti-Formentini, Éric Frey, Grégory Gadebois, Guillaume de Tonquédec, Isabelle De Hertogh, Jamel Elgharbi, Jeanne Bournaud, Juliette Plumecocq-Mech, Lou de Laâge, Melvil Poupaud, Naidra Ayadi, Niels Schneider, Philippe Uchan, Sâm Mirhosseini, Samantha Fuller, Sara Martins, Valérie Lemercier, William Nadylam

Director: Woody Allen

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As the 1970s brought about the civil rights movement, as well as the abandonment of the American Hays Code, the blaxploitation genre (portmanteau of “Black” and “exploitation”) became popular, with black artists reclaiming their image, albeit with B-films centered around themes of violence, drugs, and sex. Black Dynamite is an homage and parody to the genre, with low budget mistakes, over-the-top dialogue, and Super 16 shooting all combining in the most hilarious of ways through the smooth timing of leading man (and co-writer) Michael Jai White. It’s silly, and stereotypical, but all the jokes poke fun from a clear love and nostalgia of the genre.

Genre: Action, Comedy

Actor: Arsenio Hall, Baron Vaughn, Bokeem Woodbine, Buddy Lewis, Byron Minns, Cedric Yarbrough, Charlotte Stokely, Charmane Star, Chris Spencer, Damion Poitier, Darrel Heath, Irwin Keyes, John Salley, JR, Kevin Chapman, Kym Whitley, Michael Jai White, Miguel A. Núñez, Miguel A. Núñez, Jr., Mike Starr, Mykelti Williamson, Nicole Ari Parker, Nicole Sullivan, Obba Babatundé, Phil Morris, Richard Edson, Roger Yuan, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Stacy Adams, Tommy Davidson, Tucker Smallwood, William Bassett

Director: Scott Sanders

Rating: R

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If you like and remember the small budget New Hollywood comedies that bases its humor on witty, philosophical dialogue, you will like Barcelona. It’s about two white-collared American guys who move to the titular city for work, but while the film is entirely in English, the jokes’ punchlines form as a result of the clear contrast between what they believe of their homeland, and what the city believes of them. To be fair to these guys, the film makes clear some of it stems from the unease and disorientation they feel in a new city, which anyone, American guy or not, would likely feel in a new place. But in other scenes, the small talk, the reactions, and the silly ways Ted and Fred act reveal a certain bemusement towards earnest American idealism. Barcelona won’t work for everyone, but this comedy of manners paints a picture of a generation lost in the wider world around them.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Àngels Bassas, Chris Eigeman, Debbon Ayer, Hellena Taylor, Jack Gilpin, Mira Sorvino, Pep Munné, Pere Ponce, Taylor Nichols, Thomas Gibson, Tushka Bergen

Director: Whit Stillman

Rating: PG-13

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With elaborate sets, musical numbers, and an ensemble cast, Aachar and Co doesn’t feel like a regular budget-bound debut feature. In fact, director Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy, who also stars as Suma, pulls off this family drama with a whimsical yet period-accurate, Wes Anderson-esque style. This style keeps the film’s nostalgic and lighthearted tone, even as the siblings’ journeys, most especially that of Suma, go into darker times. As the family cycles through each of their weddings and funerals, Aachar and Co comments on the societal changes that shifted the lives of Indian women in the 1960s. The resulting film is just as bittersweet and nostalgic as the mango preserves the family makes.

Genre: Comedy, Family, Music

Actor: Anirudh Acharya, Harshil Koushik, Mandara Battalahalli, Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy, Sudha Belawadi

Director: Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy

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Is this the most thrilling head-scratcher we’ve seen in a while? No. Is it a rousing take on the feminist cause? Not really. But what Wicked Little Letters lacks in intrigue and relevance, it more than makes up for in entertainment value. Not that anyone needs convincing, but here Colman and Buckley further prove why they’re some of the most in-demand actors right now. They’re raw and fiery and hilarious, energizing every scene with their limitless energy. They make the film a breeze to watch, so if you’re looking to pass the time with enjoyable performances, Wicked Little Letters makes for a solidly entertaining watch.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Mystery

Actor: Adam Treasure, Alisha Weir, Anjana Vasan, Cyril Nri, Edward Judge, Eileen Atkins, Gemma Jones, Grant Crookes, Hugh Skinner, Ian Drysdale, Jamie Chapman, Jason Watkins, Jenny Galloway, Jessie Buckley, Joanna Scanlan, Jonny Sweet, Laura June Hudson, Lolly Adefope, Malachi Kirby, Olivia Colman, Paul Chahidi, Richard Goulding, Susie Fairfax, Tim Key, Tim McMullan, Timothy Spall

Director: Thea Sharrock

Rating: R

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Although this adaptation of the 1960s TV show feels like four episodes of material crammed into a feature runtime, Shin Ultraman really does squeeze as much as it can out of every scene, sometimes to the point of exhaustion. Not only are the action scenes as ridiculous as they should be—still imitating the clunkiness and the theatricality of classic Japanese tokusatsu—but even sequences of exposition are made to feel urgent and breathless by breakneck comedic editing and by placing the camera in the weirdest positions for the quickest shots. And somehow, Shin Ultraman still doesn't feel like it's making fun of its source material. It's an honest-to-goodness sci-fi superhero movie that's much more insightful about the nature of international crises than Hollywood tends to be.

Genre: Action, Science Fiction

Actor: Akari Hayami, Bin Furuya, Daiki Arioka, Hajime Yamazaki, Hideaki Anno, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Issey Takahashi, Keishi Nagatsuka, Kenjiro Tsuda, Koichi Yamadera, Kōji Yamamoto, Kyūsaku Shimada, Masami Nagasawa, Ryo Iwamatsu, Soko Wada, Takumi Saitoh, Tetsushi Tanaka, Toru Masuoka, Yutaka Takenouchi

Director: Shinji Higuchi

Rating: NR

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, 2023

Held back by awkward and uninspired musical numbers but otherwise a surprisingly funny and sweet animated comedy, Leo gets a lot of mileage out of being simply weirder than many of its direct-to-streaming contemporaries. As the titular lizard works through his cynicism by spending his last days helping others with their early years (a premise heartwarming enough to stand on its own), the film expresses itself through plenty of cutaway jokes and throwaway lines, excellent physical comedy, and a few particularly bizarre character designs. Everything is played in good fun though, and the movie's witty, easygoing personality allows it to overcome any limitations from its admittedly ordinary animation.

Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family, Music

Actor: Adam Sandler, Alex Quijano, Allison Strong, Andre Robinson, Andrew Morgado, Ashley Lambert, Ava Acres, Bill Burr, Blake Clark, Bryant Tardy, Carson Minniear, Cecily Strong, Chase Fein, Chris Kattan, Chris Titone, David Michie, David Wachtenheim, Heidi Gardner, Jackie Sandler, Janie Haddad Tompkins, Jaquita Ta'le, Jason Alexander, Jason Griffith, Jo Koy, Joel Marsh Garland, John Farley, Jonathan Loughran, Kelly Stables, Nicholas Turturro, Nick Swardson, Nikki Castillo, Noah Robbins, Paul Brittain, Ranjani Brow, Rob Schneider, Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel, Rose Abdoo, Ryan Bartley, Ryun Yu, Sadie Sandler, Scott Menville, Sheila Carrasco, Shelby Young, Sonya Leslie, Stephanie Hsu, Sunita Param, Sunny Sandler, Terence Mathews

Director: David Wachtenheim, Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel

Rating: PG

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Making a film is sort of a miracle– to make one can sometimes come into fruition through a lucky combination of connections, creativity and circumstances all perfectly aligning as if by fate. But making a film takes cash to do it. In the Soup is an independent comedy centered on an aspiring auteur meeting an eccentric, creative gangster that’s willing to do everything (including crime) to fund it. The film does mostly depend on conversations between characters, witty repartee and Steve Buscemi’s voice-over, but it does capture the importance of patrons in the artistic process, how silly some lofty artistic aspirations can be, and to never forget the human side of the filmmaking process, not just the solitary brainstorming.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Carol Kane, Debi Mazar, Elizabeth Bracco, Jennifer Beals, Jim Jarmusch, Michael J. Anderson, Pat Moya, Paul Herman, Richard Boes, Rockets Redglare, Ruth Maleczech, Sam Rockwell, Seymour Cassel, Stanley Tucci, Steve Buscemi, Steven Randazzo, Sully Boyar, Will Patton

Director: Alexandre Rockwell

Rating: R

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