By any measure, the 2020s got off to a weird start that left movie theaters closed for over a year and audiences getting their comedy fix at home.
In some ways, the cinema experience hasn’t fully recovered from that. It’s also why comedies seem to have a bigger presence in streaming than they do in theaters.
A few of Watch With Us’ picks for the 10 best comedy movies of the 2020s barely even saw the inside of a theater at all.
But the good news is that the vast majority of these great comedies are available to stream on Netflix, Hulu, Disney+ and others at a moment’s notice.
10. ‘Free Guy’ (2021)
The main character in Free Guy – whose name is Guy (Ryan Reynolds) – has no idea why life in Free City is so over-the-top violent. As far as Guy knows, this is what life is supposed to be like. He doesn’t realize that he’s a non-playable character in an online computer game, and he’s not supposed to have any autonomy at all.
Regardless of his origin, Guy is so infatuated with a player, Millie Rusk (Jodie Comer), that he unknowingly breaks the game’s rules and becomes more like a player himself. Millie’s on a personal quest to prove that she created Free City, but it may take some convincing to get Guy to realize that he isn’t real in any conventional sense.
Free Guy is streaming on Disney+.
9. ‘No Hard Feelings’ (2023)
Jennifer Lawrence isn’t primarily known for her comedic skills, but she shows off her range in No Hard Feelings. Lawrence’s character, Maddie Barker, is caught in a severe financial bind that threatens to strip her of her home and her car. Maddie’s solution is a Hail Mary job offer from Laird (Matthew Broderick) and Allison Becker (Laura Benanti).
Jennifer Lawrence has had a big 2023, but perhaps nothing has been bigger than her incredible street style. Lawrence, 33, has been back in the spotlight with the hilarious comedy No Hard Feelings, which was released in June 2023 to critical acclaim for Lawrence playing a down-on-her-luck woman who accepts a Craigslist posting to date […]
If Maddie can successfully woo the Beckers’ son, Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), and help him become more confident, then she’ll get everything she needs to escape financial ruin. Percy doesn’t have any idea what his parents are doing, and he doesn’t properly respond to Maddie’s seduction attempts. If Maddie can’t figure out a way to date Percy, then she’ll be in even bigger trouble than she was before.
No Hard Feelings is streaming on Hulu.
8. ‘Joy Ride’ (2023)
Joy Ride has a delicate balancing act between its occasional gross-out moments and its more heartfelt side. The story follows Audrey Sullivan (Ashley Park), a young Chinese woman who was adopted by a Caucasian couple in America. She’s very successful as a lawyer, but doesn’t know much about her past.
When Audrey is given a chance for the promotion of a lifetime, the catch is that she needs to track down her birth parents in China. That leads to a wild trip through Asia with her best friend, Lolo Chen (Sherry Cola), Lolo’s cousin, Deadeye (Sabrina Wu) and Audrey’s now-famous former roommate, Kat Huang (Stephanie Hsu). The answers about Audrey’s heritage are waiting for her, and she’s not prepared for what she’ll find.
Joy Ride is available to rent or buy on Prime Video.
7. ‘Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar’ (2021)
SNL veteran Kristen Wiig has a dual role in Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar. Star (Wiig) and Barb (Annie Mumolo) are friends who are taking their first real vacation together in Florida. But they picked a really bad time, because a woman named Sharon Fisherman (Wiig) is trying to go full Bond villain by unleashing a mosquito plague of Biblical proportions.
Sharon’s henchman and frustrated lover, Edgar Pagét (Jamie Dornan), was supposed to help her enact the plan. Instead, Edgar starts spending time with Barb and Star and soon comes between the two friends with his romantic overtures. That’s only going to make Sharon even more eager to kill everyone.
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar is streaming on Hulu.
6. ‘Weird: The Al Yankovic Story’ (2022)
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story takes all of the music biopic tropes and turns them into a hilarious comedy that can only be described as “very loosely” inspired by the true story of Weird Al Yankovic. It completely fabricated parts of Yankovic’s life, and it doesn’t run away from the more ridiculous aspects of the story.
This wizard is getting weird. Daniel Radcliffe stars as the titular comedian in WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story, and the movie will live up to its title. The film is based off a short Al Yankovic made for Funny or Die in 2010, and the star-studded video poked fun at dramatic rock star biopics, exaggerating […]
Former Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe plays the young Weird Al as he develops his passion for creating parody songs. He also experiences a torrid love affair with Madonna (Evan Rachel Wood) – which never actually happened – as well as his rivalry with Michael Jackson over “Eat It” and “Beat It.” It’s completely silly and irresistible to watch.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is streaming on The Roku Channel.
5. ‘The French Dispatch’ (2021)
Wes Anderson once again brings together a massive cast for The French Dispatch, a series of loosely connected stories. The editor of The French Dispatch, Arthur Howitzer Jr. (Bill Murray), has died, and there’s one last issue of the magazine to put out before it ends.
Of the film’s three main stories, the most engaging is the first one, which features Benicio del Toro as Moses Rosenthaler. He’s an incarcerated artist of immense talent who finds his muse in a prison guard, Simone (Léa Seydoux). An imprisoned art dealer, Julien Cadazio (Adrien Brody), discovers Rosenthaler’s talent behind bars and makes him a sensation in the art world. However, getting Rosenthaler to work on anything else is a challenge even for Simone.
The French Dispatch is streaming on Fubo.
The comedy lineup on HBO and Max is a film lover’s delight because its library of movies goes back decades into the past. Most of the other streamers don’t have many movies made before 1980. That’s why it’s so refreshing to have the option to go back even further. Watch With Us’ selections for the […]
4. ‘Barbie’ (2023)
Barbie upended all expectations when it hit theaters in 2023 and became the biggest blockbuster of the year. Director Greta Gerwig’s clever script introduced Margot Robbie as Barbie, a living doll who is just one Barbie among many in Barbieland. Ryan Gosling co-stars as Ken, Barbie’s would-be boyfriend who can’t seem to get her to reciprocate his feelings.
Both Barbie and Ken soon find their way to the real world for different reasons. It’s a journey of self-discovery for Barbie, as she makes new friends and discovers her purpose. Ken, on the other hand, discovers a way to turn things upside down in Barbieland while placing all of the Kens on top of the proverbial food chain.
Barbie is streaming on Max.
3. ‘Palm Springs’ (2020)
Palm Springs shares a few things in common with Groundhog Day, but it also adds some new dimensions to its slightly sci-fi premise. Cristin Milioti stars as Sarah Wilder, a woman who hooks up with Nyles (Andy Samberg) at her sister’s wedding. After spending the night together, she sees Nyles get fatally wounded and falls into the same time loop that’s kept him trapped for a very long time.
Cliff Lipson/CBS How I Met Your Mother fans want everyone to remember that 2024 is the year Cristin Milioti‘s character, Tracy, died. After this year marked the 10-year anniversary since the show’s series premiere aired, some viewers used the opportunity to remind Us of another milestone moment. “10 years since the finale and this is […]
Now, Sarah is stuck with Nyles, which changes the whole dynamic of the loop. Unlike Nyles, she hasn’t given up on escaping from the endless loop. And with so much time to spend with each other, she and Nyles form a bond that may last forever — if they can’t break the loop.
Palm Springs is streaming on Hulu.
2. ‘Hit Man’ (2024)
Glen Powell co-wrote and starred in director Richard Linklater’s Hit Man, which gave the Twisters actor the unique opportunity to play several characters in one. Gary Johnson (Powell) is a college professor who discovers his calling as a police undercover operative. Gary comes up with elaborate personas while passing himself off as a hitman to his would-be clients. They get to go to jail, and Gary gets personal satisfaction from his work.
Gary jeopardizes this arrangement when he meets Madison Figueroa Masters (Adria Arjona), a woman who asks him to kill her abusive husband. Rather than hand Madison over to the cops, he befriends her and is openly attracted to her. That’s going to lead to friction with the police and even with Madison, if she learns who Gary really is.
Hit Man is streaming on Netflix.
Amazon Prime Video appears to have a very loose definition for what qualifies as a comedy movie. Some of Prime Video’s selections include films like Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Street Fighter that don’t really fit in with traditional comedy pics. Street Fighter is very funny, but largely by accident. Rather than focusing on those outlier titles, […]
1. ‘Licorice Pizza’ (2021)
Paul Thomas Anderson told a unique coming-of-age story in his comedy/drama Licorice Pizza. It was also more convincing because Anderson cast two newcomers, Cooper Hoffman and Alana Haim, in the leading roles of their first movie.
Hoffman plays Gary Valentine, a successful 15-year-old child actor who becomes infatuated with Alana Kane (Haim), a woman who is ten years older than he is. Alana should really know better than to encourage Gary, but she genuinely likes him even though she’s not looking for a romance with him. Regardless, they both find ways of making each other jealous and testing their bond when other potential romantic partners emerge.
Licorice Pizza is streaming on Tubi.
Led by Senior Editor and experienced critic Jason Struss, Watch With Us’ team of writers and editors sees almost every movie and TV show from the distant past to the present to determine what’s worth your time and money. Our countless hours of multimedia consumption — combined with years of experience in the entertainment industry — help us determine the best movies and TV shows you should be streaming right now.
To be considered “the best,” these films and series can be visually engaging, intellectually stimulating or simply just fun to watch, but the one trait they must have is that they are all, in some way, entertaining. We then check which platform they are streaming on and how you can access them as a subscriber. No algorithm nonsense or paid endorsements here — our recommendations are based purely on our love and interest for the films and shows we love.
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