Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Actor: Chae Jong-hyeop, Fumi Nikaido, Hiroya Shimizu, Mizuki Yamashita, Narumi Yui, Shiraku Tatekawa, Taishi Nakagawa, Tetta Sugimoto
Director: Akiko Katō, Okamoto Shingo, Ryôsuke Fukuda
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.
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Actor: Chae Jong-hyeop, Fumi Nikaido, Hiroya Shimizu, Mizuki Yamashita, Narumi Yui, Shiraku Tatekawa, Taishi Nakagawa, Tetta Sugimoto
Director: Akiko Katō, Okamoto Shingo, Ryôsuke Fukuda
Steven Soderbergh’s second TV show of 2023 — which was only announced a few days before its release — is a hopeful dystopian one. Command Z, which comprises eight short episodes totaling 90 minutes, is so named for Apple’s “undo” shortcut because that’s exactly the purpose of the show’s time-travel mission. In 2053, a tech billionaire (Michael Cera) who uploaded his consciousness to the cloud before dying on his way to Mars recruits three employees to make a few tweaks in the past to divert Earth off the course that led it to its nightmarish current state. The idea is that, by implanting themselves in the minds of those nearest to potential change-makers — like the daughter of a Big Oil CEO or a politician’s aide — they can convince their targets to take action and prevent the city-high sea levels and Hazmat-requiring pollution of 2053.
Though frequently humorous in its satirical vision of the future, Command Z doesn’t mess around, virtually breaking the fourth wall at every opportunity to prod us to do something. If the tone isn’t quite as polished as it could be — or if the production value sometimes feels slapdash — it’s all befitting of the urgency of the message it’s begging us to heed before it’s too late.
Command Z is available to stream here for a one-time fee of $7.99 that is donated in full to Children's Aid and the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research.
Genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Actor: Alexandra Socha, Ben Livingston, Catherine Curtin, Elisa de La Roche, James Naughton, Jared Reinfeldt, Jiehae Park, JJ Maley, John Ellison Conlee, Karen Huie, Kevin Pollak, Laura Seay, Liev Schreiber, Michael Cera, Mike Birbiglia, Mike Houston, Monique Moses, Nhumi Threadgill, Roy Wood Jr., Stavros Halkias, Will Brill, Zoe Winters
In the sea of adult animation, Captain Fall floats in on a crime-packed cruise ship under the charge of the most unqualified man, Jonathan Fall. Although there are unsavory characters, the show never goes into the childish crass humor employed by many of its contemporaries. It also doesn't shy away from grotesque violence and pokes fun at the dangerous and exploitative things rich people willingly pay for. It's not all cynical though, as we mostly follow an earnest captain who just wants his parents' love. Captain Fall is a watchable crime-comedy that balances out its cartoonish parts with the impending countdown to expose this crime ring.
Genre: Animation, Comedy
Actor: Adam Devine, Alejandro Edda, Anthony Carrigan, Christopher Meloni, Jason Ritter
After the critical and commercial success of Concrete Utopia, it makes sense for Lotte Entertainment to turn it into a franchise. Badland Hunters is a more action-focused spinoff, with that dystopian world looking like a wild, wild Seoul and Ma Dong-seok as its lone ranger. Compared to its predecessor, the commentary is scant, the plot is thin, and the only thing that connects it is the apartment. But even with the B-movie mad scientist plot, long-time stunt coordinator Heo Myung-haeng makes his directorial debut wildly entertaining, with solid action that doesn’t depend too much on CGI. Human reptiles aside, Badland Hunters is just so fun to watch.
Genre: Action, Drama, Science Fiction
Actor: Ahn Ji-hye, Ahn Seong-bong, Hong Yi-joo, Jang Young-nam, Jeong Gi-seop, Jung Young-ju, Kim Young-sun, Lee Han-joo, Lee Hee-jun, Lee Jun-young, Ma Dong-seok, Park Hyo-joon, Park Ji-hoon, Roh Jeong-eui, Seong Byeong-suk
Director: Heo Myeong-haeng
Genre: Comedy
Actor: Adam Herschman, Antonia Gentry, Arianna Rivas, Audrey Trullinger, Chelsea Handler, Emery Kelly, John Michael Higgins, Jordan Buhat, JT Neal, Julia Lester, Kenny Ridwan, Kiel Kennedy, Leonardo Cecchi, Patty Guggenheim, Shea Buckner, Terry Hu, Zión Moreno
Director: Kim O. Nguyen
In depictions of organized crime, we’re used to the stone-cold crime boss, and the conflicted, unwilling crime lord, but Miss Shampoo presents a new version of the gangster– one that’s fallen head over heels in love. The film plays out in hilarious ways, with the humor expected from writer-director Giddens Ko, and Daniel Hong and Vivian Sung are able to inject some heart into their performances with surprising chemistry. That being said, the film is clearly more interested in mocking organized crime, so the film feels more skewed towards Tai rather than Fen. It’s still really entertaining, though Miss Shampoo had so much more it could have shown, had it focused equally on Fen’s perspective.
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Romance
Actor: Bai Jing Yi, Bruce He, Chih-ju Lin, Chu Chung-heng, Duan Chun-hao, Duncan Chow, Duncan Lai, Honduras, Hong Yu Hong, Hsia Teng Hung, Hsin-Ling Chung, Kai Ko, Ke-Li Miao, Kent Tsai, Mei-Man Jin, Teng-Hung Hsia, Tsai Chang-Hsien, Tzu-Chien Kuo, Vivian Sung, Wei-min Ying
Director: Giddens Ko
There's a laidback quality to It's Great to Be Here that makes the three-episode stand-up series a good introduction to Michelle Wolf's brand of comedy, but it also means there isn't anything particularly groundbreaking or powerful here. The miniseries format also doesn't do the show many favors, with each episode trailing off abruptly—when a single, longer compilation of Wolf's routines could've probably carried more momentum. Still, the comedian remains as insightful and as ruthless as ever, mostly taking aim at the grey area that white women like herself live in between liberal feminist empowerment and entitled white privilege. She doesn't take herself too seriously and doesn't make an exception of herself, which is a great tool to have.
Genre: Comedy
Actor: Michelle Wolf
The concept of Maaveeran is downright brilliant. As the timid comic strip writer is forced to be as brave as the hero he created, there’s something here that encourages its audience to listen to the yearnings already inside them. It allows for some cartoonish comedy that comes across as earnest. However, there's a certain hesitancy in the writing that makes the film’s second half a letdown. The film sticks too long to its protagonist’s cowardice that there’s so little time to wrap everything up. It’s still entertaining till the end, but a better sense of pacing would have kept the first half’s riveting comedy, and would have made a better case for being a hero.
Genre: Action, Drama
Actor: 'Jeeva' Ravi, Aditi Shankar, Balaji Sakthivel, Dhileban, Madhan Kumar Dhakshinamoorthy, Monisha Blessy, Mysskin, Ravi Teja, Saritha, Semmalar Annam, Sivakarthikeyan, Sunil Varma, Suresh Chakravarthy, Vijay Sethupathi, Yogi Babu
Director: Madonne Ashwin
Genre: Animation, Comedy
Actor: Carl Tart, Charlie Bushnell, J. Smith-Cameron, Mike Judge, Zach Woods
Those looking for a nature documentary or cultural deep dive into the ways that sharks really behave and have been perceived throughout human history are likely to be disappointed by this. Sharksploitation only occasionally takes a greater interest in the actual animals that have become staple movie monsters since 1975's Jaws—which makes all of the doc's numerous examples lack a greater connective tissue. But with all that said, it's rare to find what's essentially a catalog of other movies be so amusing just in how it geeks out over its subject matter. Sharksploitation is, at the end of the day, a sincere celebration of B-movies and ripoffs that sheds light on a much weirder but no less passionate side of the film industry. As easy as it is to make fun of the Sharknados of the world, there's a different kind of creativity that goes into films like this. It's a blessing that they don't take themselves so seriously.
Genre: Documentary
Actor: Carl Gottlieb, Chris Kentis, Joe Dante, Johannes Roberts, Roger Corman
Director: Stephen Scarlata
Genre: Comedy
Actor: Emmanuelle Bercot, Gustave Kervern, Jonathan Cohen, Ramzy Bedia, Raphaël Quenard
Director: David Caviglioli, Hugo Benamozig
We’ve all heard of journalists digging up random things to generate headlines, but never to this extent. Obituary follows a freelance obituarist, paid per article, who generates more work through killing. It’s an interesting premise, and Siobhán Cullen excellently portrays Elvira Clancy, with a specific, but believable obsession of death that keeps her interested in her work, but concerns her dad, who pushes her to bereavement counseling. On top of it all, a cute colleague of hers is onto who’s behind the crimes. Elvira is a unique character, one that has potential, but the show’s other characters, the lack of consistency between each episode, and the way information is relayed keeps the series from being totally hilarious and emotionally resonant.
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Actor: Danielle Galligan, David Ganly, Michael Smiley, Ronan Raftery, Siobhán Cullen
Where’s Wanda? is a playful seesaw of odd comedy and crime/mystery. Its humor is over the top awkward, and it feels like it goes out of its way to test your limits for cringe. Wanda (Lea Drinda), in particular, is someone you can be naturally drawn to with an endearing but elusive presence, and they give you just enough per episode to care that she’s gone. The jumping timeline takes the scenic route at times, but if that scene involves the chemistry of the Klatts (Heike Makatsch and Axel Stein), I wouldn't mind at all. Altogether a lovably magnetic comedy you just can’t look away from.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Axel Stein, Devid Striesow, Heike Makatsch, Joachim Krol, Kostja Ullmann, Lea Drinda, Leo Simon, Nikeata Thompson, Palina Rojinski
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Actor: Adam Basil, Arian Nik, Bharat Mistri, Bobby Naderi, Dan Li, David Witts, Derek Siow, Don Gilet, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Enzo Cilenti, Georgia Goodman, Jason Statham, Jay Rincon, Jemma Redgrave, Jeremy Irons, Jonathan Cohen, Josh Hutcherson, Kevin Golding, Kojo Attah, Li Dan, Martin Gordon, Megan Le, Michael Epp, Minnie Driver, Peter Brooke, Phil Hodges, Phylicia Rashād, Rebecca Hazlewood, Reza Diako, Rocci Williams, Sophia Feliciano, Sunny Dhillon, Taylor James, Valentina Novakovic
Director: David Ayer
As the first original Filipino film on Prime Video, Ten Little Mistresses can often feel stuck as an entertaining pitch for a film rather than a fully fleshed out story. Like many mystery-comedies, this is a movie that relies on its star power and its big twists over any convincing narrative or thematic ideas. But oddly enough, the sooner you accept this, the easier the film goes down. As a loud and proud example of camp comedy, even its most ridiculous and incongruous elements feel like an authentic expression of Filipino humor; it never tries to pander to a Western audience that might be expecting something more familiar to their sensibilities. And with a cast this dedicated to out-chewing the scenery from each other, it's hard not to get swept up in the insanity of it all.
Genre: Comedy, Mystery
Actor: Adrianna So, Agot Isidro, Angie Castrence, Arci Muñoz, Carmi Martin, Cherry Pie Picache, Christian Bables, Dolly Dulu, Donna Cariaga, Eugene Domingo, Iana Bernardez, John Arcilla, Kate Alejandrino, Kris Bernal, Pokwang, Sharlene San Pedro
Director: Jun Robles Lana