25 Funniest Comedies on Netflix Canada You Need to Watch
Updated: Mar. 01, 2023From teen satires to buddy cop parodies, these comedy movies on Netflix are guaranteed to make you laugh out loud.
Glass Onion (2022)
The improbably accented Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) returns to Netflix for another wildly entertaining whodunnit. Set at the height of the pandemic, the world’s greatest detective is invited to the murder mystery-themed party of billionaire tech entrepreneur Miles Bron (Edward Norton), which—you guessed it—devolves into an actual murder mystery. Like 2019’s Knives Out, Glass Onion derives much of its humour from its motley crew of privileged characters (played by the likes of Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn and Dave Bautista). And just as Ana de Armas stole the show in the original, singer-actor Janelle Monáe practically demands a round of applause every time she shows up on-screen in Glass Onion.
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Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2007)
Aptly described by American film critic Mick LaSalle as a “romantic-comedy for guys,” Forgetting Sarah Marshall is equal parts break-up movie, raunch fest and Hollywood satire. After being dumped by his celebrity girlfriend (Kristen Bell), Peter (Jason Segel) decides to drown his sorrows at a Hawaiian resort, only to run into his ex and her new rock star beau (Russell Brand). Skewering male habits without devolving into “bro” territory, Forgetting Sarah Marshall—unlike most Judd Apatow productions—has aged remarkably well, and is easily one of the best comedies on Netflix Canada.
Kajillionaire (2020)
In the mood for the most idiosyncratic comedy on Netflix Canada? Look no further than Kajillionaire, the latest from one-of-a-kind filmmaker Miranda July. The Dynes aren’t your average family unit—mom Theresa (Debra Winger), dad Robert (Richard Jenkins) and 26-year-old daughter Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood) are con artists, pulling everything from insurance scams to returning “lost” (read: stolen) items to their wealthy owners in exchange for rewards. Old Dolio seems destined to follow her parents forever, until she meets Melanie (Gina Rodriguez), a mysterious woman with her own deceptive streak.
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Step Brothers (2008)
Having a parent remarry sucks—just ask Brendan Huff (Will Ferrell) and Dale Doback (John C. Reilly), two exceptionally immature men whose single parents (Mary Steenburgen and Richard Jenkins) have just tied the knot. Forced to carry on under the same roof, the new siblings clash until they’re forced to find work or face independent living. Stunted emotional growth has never been so hilarious.
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The Phantom of the Open (2022)
“Practice is the road to perfection” is an adage that history’s most revered athletes would surely agree with—and so does Maurice Flitcroft (Mark Rylance). After a surreal late-night revelation, the mild-mannered husband, father and crane operator from Cumbria suddenly takes up the famously snobby sport of golf—which he’s terrible at—and becomes hellbent on competing in the 1976 British Open. The best part? It’s all true. Director Craig Roberts’s retro aesthetic frames Flitcroft and company’s zany antics wonderfully, and the result is one of the best—and funniest—golf movies ever made.
Shrek (2001)
Irritable ogre Shrek (Mike Myers) loves his solitude more than anything in the world. Peace and quiet is destroyed, however, when his humble abode is invaded by a motley crew of famous fairy tale characters, all banished from their magical kingdom by the evil Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow). Boasting impressive voice work and a surprisingly irreverent script, Shrek is perfect viewing for children and adults alike.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
In the ultra-competitive, often petty world of NASCAR, Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell, who also co-wrote the film) reigns supreme. With his best pal Cal Naughton Jr. (John C. Reilly) as the second driver on his team, Bobby is poised to be the next Dale Earnhardt—until a talented French Formula One Driver (Sacha Baron Cohen) derails the duo’s plans and threatens to take the crown for himself. Equal parts spoof and love letter to the popular sport, Talladega Nights is above all a celebration of friendship, determination and yes, speed.
Happy Gilmore (1996)
Adam Sandler may have earned critical plaudits for 2002’s Punch-Drunk Love and 2019’s Uncut Gems, but Happy Gilmore is still his most “Adam Sandler” film to date. The title character, a failed hockey player equipped with nothing more than a violent temper and a powerful slapshot, enters a professional golf tournament in the hopes of saving his grandmother from foreclosure. Sandler shines in the kind of role he perfected—the mentally unstable man-child—but Gilmore’s real ace is Chubbs Peterson, a one-handed former pro who takes a shine to Happy. Plus: there’s Bob Barker in one of the funniest cameos in movie history.
Late Night (2019)
The “diversity hire” may not be go-to subject matter for mainstream comedies, but 2019’s Late Night tackles the concept head-on—to hilarious effect. In an attempt to revamp her once-popular late night talk show, Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson) hires Molly Patel (Mindy Kaling), the show’s first Indian-American writer in a staff room full of white men. Slowly but surely, Molly’s ideas prove to be a hit with audiences, while Katherine is forced to deal with an unexpected personal crisis. An insightful and superbly acted flick.
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The King of Staten Island (2020)
Breakout Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson and writer-director Judd Apatow prove to be an inspired combo in this heartfelt comedy-drama. Loosely based on Davidson’s own life, The King of Staten Island follows Scott Carlin, an aimless 24-year-old high school dropout who dreams of becoming a tattoo artist. But when his mother (Marisa Tomei) begins dating a firefighter (Bill Burr), Scott is forced to come to terms with his father’s passing—and his own feelings towards Kelsey (Bel Powley), his on-and-off girlfriend.
Red (2010)
After starring in some of the greatest action movies ever made, it’s only fair that Bruce Willis would return to the genre that first made him a star—for laughs, of course. He does just that in 2010’s Red, playing Frank Moses, a retired CIA black ops agent who now spends his days sweet-talking a call centre employee (Mary Louise Parker). But after learning that a hit squad is out to eliminate him, Moses is forced to call his old pals—Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren and Succession’s Brian Cox—out of retirement.
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Emma (2020)
No actor had a better 2020 than Anya Taylor-Joy—eight months before she captured the world’s attention in Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit, the British star led the best silver screen version of Jane Austen’s Emma to date. (Clueless, a loose adaptation, doesn’t count.) Handsome, clever and rich, the titular Ms. Woodhouse spends her days meddling in the romantic lives of her friends and neighbours, while stumbling in her own pursuit of Mr. Knightley (Johnny Flynn). First-time director Autumn de Wilde employs her considerable talents as a photographer to offer a candy-coloured view of Regency-era England, while screenwriter Eleanor Catton (who penned 2013’s Man Booker Prize-winning The Luminaries) expertly captures Austen’s unique comedy of manners.
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Colin Quinn: The New York Story (2016)
Its status as a live recording of an Off-Broadway show may disqualify it as a “movie,” but Colin Quinn: The New York Story is simply too funny to ignore. In just one hour, Quinn, a hardened, fast-talking Brooklyn native long known as a “comedian’s comedian,” condenses New York City’s 350-year history into a series of smart, hilarious vignettes centered on its immigrant populations. From the Irish, Italians and Jews (the latter of whom, Quinn quips, were the “only immigrant group that wanted to be checked for tuberculosis at Ellis Island”) to Puerto Ricans, Asians and Eastern Europeans, Quinn explores how the city’s diverse roots led to that famous “New York attitude”: no-nonsense, opinionated and perpetually in a rush.
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Rose Island (2020)
The 1960s was a tumultuous time for young Europeans who were sick and tired of the status quo—add Giorgio Rosa (Elio Germano), an idealistic engineer in Italy, to the list. His solution? To build a platform on the Adriatic Sea and call it home for him and other like-minded individuals. (Unsurprisingly, the Italian government is not a fan of Rosa’s island paradise and tries to thwart his plans.) Based on a true story, this whimsical comedy proves that truth really is stranger—and funnier—than fiction.
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The Meyerowitz Stories (2017)
Meet Harold (Dustin Hoffman): sculptor, retired art professor and father to three dysfunctional children: unemployed Danny (Adam Sandler), financial advisor Matthew (Ben Stiller) and project manager Jean (Elizabeth Marvel). In the lead-up to a retrospective of Harold’s work at the MoMA, the siblings reunite—to disastrous results. The laughs in The Meyerowitz Stories are plenty—and pop up in unexpected ways.
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Always Be My Maybe (2019)
Everyone assumed childhood friends Sasha (Ali Wong) and Marcus (Randall Park) would wind up together—except for Sasha and Marcus, that is. Fifteen years after graduating high school, she’s a celebrity chef and he’s a struggling musician. Will the two reconnect and find their happily-ever-after? Always Be My Maybe cleverly subverts Hollywood’s Asian stereotypes—and co-stars a never-better Keanu Reeves playing a fictionalized version of himself.
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The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
There’s been no shortage of revisionist films made about the Old West, but The Ballad of Buster Scruggs may be the funniest. This anthology film tells six tales about the frontier: a self-mythologizing gunslinger (Tim Blake Nelson), a down-on-his-luck cowboy (James Franco), a cold-blooded talent manager (Liam Neeson), a grizzled prospector (Tom Waits), a young woman travelling across the Prairies (Zoe Kazan), and a group of stagecoach passengers on an otherworldly journey.
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Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)
Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman) is no stranger to living on the sidelines: after all, the Bethlehem native was born in the stable next door to the baby Jesus. Adulthood is equally uneventful for him—until, through a silly sequence of events, he’s mistaken for the actual Messiah. The rest of the Python gang—John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam—shine in roles as varied as religious fanatics and ex-lepers. Life of Brian’s show-stopping musical number, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” may be the happiest song ever written about death.
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The Intouchables (2011)
While interviewing candidates to be his new live-in caregiver, the wealthy but grouchy quadriplegic Philippe (François Cluzet) meets Driss (Omar Sy of Lupin), a happy-go-lucky ex-con with a troubled home life. After concluding that Driss was the only applicant to treat him like a normal person, Philippe decides to hire him; the two later develop a close bond as Driss encourages his patient to begin life anew. Funny, inspiring and proudly unsubtle, The Intouchables overcomes its familiar beats thanks to the amazing chemistry between its two leads.
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Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
A remake of the famous but forgettable 1960 film of the same name, Ocean’s Eleven is a perfect example of big-budget Hollywood filmmaking done right. Boasting one of the finest casts—George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon and Andy Garcia, among others—ever assembled, this slick action-comedy about one group’s plan to simultaneously rob the Bellagio, the Mirage and the MGM Grand casinos in Las Vegas is a joy to watch from beginning to end.
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21 Jump Street (2012)
After an arrest gone bad, bike cops Morton Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Greg Jenko (Channing Tatum) are given new identities and sent undercover to Sagan High School. Their mission? Find the source of a new synthetic drug. Soon, however, the pair are torn between catching the drug operation’s mastermind and living out their high school dreams.
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Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
If Looney Tunes was rated-R, the result would be Kung Fu Hustle. Set in Guangzhou, China, in the 1940s, this action-comedy follows Sing (Stephen Chow), a village idiot who wants to become a member of the dangerous Axe Gang. The only area not under the gang’s rule is Pig Sty Alley: a slum whose landlords happen to be legendary kung fu masters in disguise.
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3 Idiots (2009)
After clashing with an oppressive mentor at an Indian engineering college, the brilliant Rancho (Aamir Khan) disappears without a trace. Ten years later, his old buddies, Farhan (R. Madhavan) and Raju (Sharman Joshi), embark on a quest to find him, reminiscing about paths not taken. Silly and unabashedly sentimental, 3 Idiots is a hilarious critique of India’s education system.
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Dolemite Is My Name (2019)
In this Golden Globe-nominated Netflix original, Eddie Murphy portrays real-life Rudy Ray Moore, a comedy and rap pioneer who proved doubters wrong when his hilarious kung-fu fighting alter ego, Dolemite, became a 1970s Blaxploitation smash.
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Tallulah (2016)
Tallulah (Elliot Page) is having a rough go of things: she’s just been dumped by her boyfriend, lives in a rundown van and steals credit cards to make ends meet. Things, however, go from bad to worse for Tallulah when she impulsively decides to kidnap a neglectful mother’s toddler and meet Margo (Allison Janney), her ex’s mom. Downward spirals have never been so darkly funny—and so deeply moving—as in Tallulah.
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