Comedy fans have been served well by Netflix in July. The comedy section has one of the widest selections of movies that you can find on Netflix, including classic films like Uncle Buck and Serial Mom, and a more recent flick like Emma Stone’s Easy A. But the biggest addition of the month is Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, the long-awaited sequel to one of the greatest action-comedy franchises of all-time.
Netflix already added a great original comedy earlier this summer with Hit Man starring Glen Powell. That helps keep the best comedies on Netflix from being over reliant on movies from the past. And it also means that you’ve got a lot of great comedy options waiting for you below.
We’ve also curated guides to the best comedies on Hulu, the best romantic comedies on Netflix, and the best rom-coms on Hulu if you’re looking for additional recommendations.
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Uncle Buck1989
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Serial Mom1994
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Easy A2010
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024)
55%
6.5/10It only took 30 years, but the fourth Beverly Hills Cop movie has arrived on Netflix. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F brings Eddie Murphy back to one of his most iconic roles for the first time since 1994, as his reputation for causing trouble comes back to haunt him. Axel’s daughter, Jane Saunders (Taylour Paige), is estranged from him, but as soon as he hears that she’s in trouble, he’s on the first plane to Beverly Hills.
The actual Beverly Hills cops are less than happy to see Axel back in town. The lone exception is Jane’s ex-boyfriend, Detective Bobby Abbott (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). It’s a good thing too, because Axel needs someone to watch his back as he manages to alienate the city’s other cops in record time.
Uncle Buck (1989)
51%
7.1/10Uncle Buck is one of director John Hughes’ lesser-known comedies, but it does feature a good showcase for the late comedy legend John Candy in the title role. Candy plays Buck Russell, the unreliable brother of Bob Russell (Garrett M. Brown), who is called upon to watch his children after the latter and his wife, Cindy (Elaine Bromka), have to leave town for a family emergency.
Buck quickly bonds with Miles (Macaulay Culkin) and Maizy (Gaby Hoffmann), but the oldest daughter, Tia (Jean Louisa Kelly), is very resistant to his charms. By looking after his brother’s kids, Buck strains his relationship with his girlfriend, Chanice Kobolowski (Amy Madigan). And now, Buck needs to decide what he really wants out of life.
Serial Mom (1994)
64%
6.8/10John Waters’ Serial Mom doesn’t pretend to be anything that it isn’t. The name alone practically guarantees that this will be a campy comedy, and it is. Kathleen Turner stars as Beverly Sutphin, the mother of Chip (Matthew Lillard) and Misty (Ricki Lake), and the wife of Eugene Sutphin (Sam Waterston). Eugene’s not necessarily the brightest guy on the block, but even he’s noticed that anyone who has crossed his family ends up dead.
Beverly is soon the prime suspect in all of the killings, even as Eugene and their kids try to keep her from murdering their family friends. It seems like this town’s not big enough for a prolific serial killer with mental issues, but Beverly is going to fight to keep her family intact.
Easy A (2010)
73%
7.0/10Looking back at Easy A, it seems like the most-obvious thing ever that Emma Stone (Poor Things) was going to be a major star. She just effortlessly carries the movie as Olive Penderghast, a high school student who is unjustly maligned for sleeping with a guy in college. The irony is that Olive didn’t sleep with anyone, but she sees a chance to benefit from her new bad girl reputation.
Essentially, Olive accepts bribes in return for letting guys say that they slept with her. At first, it works out really well for her. But as time goes on, Olive’s rep is hurting her friendships and her chance to be with Todd (Penn Badgley). And none of the guys who Olive lied for are willing to admit the truth and help her out in return.
Hit Man (2024)
83%
7.4/10Everyone has a calling in life. In Richard Linklater’s Hit Man, Gary Johnson (Glen Powell) has found his as a fake assassin who is used by the police to nab people who want to hire him to commit murder. Gary uses this gig as an excuse to improv different hit man personas, and profile his would-be clients.
The one client who gives Gary pause is Maddy Masters (Adria Arjona), a woman who wants her husband dead so she can escape her domestic strife. Gary refuses to spring his trap on Maddy, much to the anger and confusion of his police contacts. Gary also has to stay in one of his fake personas as he starts courting Maddy, which is just an invitation for disaster.
A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)
44%
6.1/10Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane directed, co-wrote, and stars in A Million Ways To Die in the West. MacFarlane plays Albert Stark, a sheepherder whose refusal to fight in a duel causes him to lose his girlfriend, Louise (Amanda Seyfried). However, Albert’s good nature soon wins him a new love interest, Anna Barnes-Leatherwood (Charlize Theron).
When Albert is challenged to another duel, Anna takes a week to teach him how to shoot before fixing the contest in his favor. Unfortunately for both Anna and Albert, her husband is a notorious bandit named Clinch Leatherwood (Liam Neeson), who is out to kill any man who dares to get close to his wife. This movie also features comedic cameos featuring characters from other films. We won’t spoil their identities, but trust us, you won’t miss them.
The Breakfast Club (1985)
66%
7.8/10It’s hard for any movie to be any more ’80s than The Breakfast Club, which was one of the late John Hughes’ signature films. This movie, which helped birth the Brat Pack, focuses on a group of teenagers who are forced to attend Saturday detention. Under the glare of Vice Principal Richard Vernon (Paul Gleason), Andrew Clark (Emilio Estevez), Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald), Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall), Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy), and John Bender (Judd Nelson) attempt to pass the time.
As soon as Vernon leaves them alone, this unlikely group of students finds that they have a lot in common as they start to bond. Each of the kids has a coming of age arc over the course of the film. That may be why The Breakfast Club is so beloved nearly four decades after its release.
Dumb and Dumber To (2014)
36%
5.6/10There are idiots and there are complete idiots, but no idiots have ever been more complete than Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) are when they’re together. Plus, it’s hard not to admire the misspelled title of Dumb and Dumber To for its commitment to the bit. It’s also debatable about which of these numbskulls is actually stupider than the other one.
Twenty years after the first film, Lloyd learns that Harry needs a kidney transplant, and he may be able to get one from Penny Pinchelow (Rachel Melvin), a young woman who may be Harry’s daughter. Lloyd accompanies Harry on the trip to find Penny for purely selfish reasons, but even he couldn’t have expected them to stumble upon another murder plot. The target is Penny’s adoptive father, Dr. Bernard Pinchelow (Steve Tom), and if Lloyd and Harry aren’t careful, they’ll wind up dead too.
Liar Liar (1997)
70%
6.9/10Liar Liar is one of Jim Carrey’s high-concept comedies from the 1990s that let him beat himself up, literally, with his physical comedy. Carrey plays Fletcher Reede, an exceptional lawyer and a pretty terrible ex-husband to Audrey Reede (The Iron Claw‘s Maura Tierney), who keeps letting down their son, Max (Justin Cooper). After Fletcher skips Max’s birthday, his son makes a wish that his father could only tell the truth for 24 hours.
By the time Fletcher realizes that he’s been zapped by his son’s wish, he’s already knee-deep in one of the most important divorce cases of his career. Fletcher’s entire bag of tricks as a lawyer is his ability to bend the truth, and now, he has to win by being completely honest.
Beverly Hills Ninja (1997)
27%
5.6/10Beverly Hills Ninja was one of the last films made by Saturday Night Live legend Chris Farley, who once again elevated his brand of slapstick comedy in this flick. Farley plays Haru, the adoptive son of a ninja clan who fails to live up to predictions that he would become a great warrior.
Regardless, Haru does the best that he can when a woman named Sally Jones (Nicollette Sheridan) comes to the clan seeking help in stopping the illegal activities of Martin Tanley (Nathaniel Parker). Without asking permission, Haru travels to Beverly Hills to assist Sally, where he quickly befriends a local bellhop, Joey Washington (Chris Rock). Yet, Haru is in way over his head, even with his adoptive brother, Gobei (Robin Shou), attempting to watch his back in secret.
No Hard Feelings (2023)
59%
6.4/10What kind of woman answers a Craigslist ad promising money from wealthy parents in return for dating their awkward son? Why, that would be Jennifer Lawrence’s character in No Hard Feelings. Lawrence plays Maddie Barker, a woman in her early 30s who is on the verge of losing everything she has, including her home and her car.
Unfortunately for Maddie, dating 19-year-old Percy Becker (newcomer Andrew Barth Feldman) may be next to impossible. He seems impervious to her charms and even afraid of intimacy. For Maddie, it’s just a job, but she also hasn’t thought about what will happen if Percy ever learns the reason she pursued him.
Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
63%
6.4/10It’s a rare movie that has a title that gets right to the point of its high concept. There is indeed a Hot Tub Time Machine in this film, but this is more of a comedy than a sci-fi story. In the aftermath of a suicide attempt by Lou Dorchen (Rob Corddry), his friends Adam Yates (John Cusack) and Nick Webber-Agnew (Craig Robinson), decide to take him to the Colorado resort where they vacationed decades earlier. Adam’s nephew, Jacob Yates (Clark Duke), also accompanies them.
Once the group accidentally turns a hot tub into a time machine, everyone except Jacob finds themselves back in their 1986 bodies. And while the guys realize that history has to be maintained, the temptation to fix their past mistakes may prove to be too difficult to resist.
Fatherhood (2021)
53%
6.6/10The Polka King (2017)
65%
5.9/10Between Two Ferns: The Movie (2019)
59%
6.1/10Metal Lords (2022)
Vampires vs. the Bronx (2020)
76%
5.7/10A Futile and Stupid Gesture (2018)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
91%
8.2/10Dolemite Is My Name (2019)
76%
7.2/10Life of Brian (1979)
77%
8/10Related Topics: Netflix | Hulu | Amazon Prime | More Streaming Services
Can’t find what you want on Netflix? Fortunately, we’ve also rounded up the best comedies on Amazon Prime Video and the best comedies on Hulu.
