The 15 Best Comedies to Stream on Amazon Prime Right Now
Everyone has that moment when their parents stop being just their parents and start being a shade of "normal person." That's what Landline is about, as two sisters in the 90s discover their father's affair... and a few other crude details along the way.
Maybe it doesn't hit as hard as the original, but it's still fun catching up with King Akeem all these years later. Reprising their original roles, Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall returns all these years later for Coming 2 America where the two return to Queens, with a bit more of a royal claim than they had before.
Just when saying “My wife!” for the past fourteen years was starting to get old, envelope-pushing comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has reprised Borat Sagdiyev when we needed him most. While the mockumentary packs its signature over-the-top comedy, Cohen’s on-the-ground satire “reporting” brings a deeply analytical lens to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 election, and Trump’s America. Perhaps the most memorable of all, though, is the breakout performance from Maria Bakalova, who stars as Borat’s daughter Tutar whom Borat is determined to offer as a bride to Mike Pence.
The musical may be the first thing that comes to mind these days when you hear "Waitress," but it was inspired by the pitch-perfect film from the brilliant Adrienne Shelley. Starring Keri Russell, Waitress follows Jenna through the daily goings on of her small town, her love of baking, and the deep, insatiable desire to get out of town and pursue a life that might make her legitimately happy.
For anyone who has ever dared to be an athlete when it wasn't the most natural decision, this is your movie. The Paul Downs Colaizzo directorial debut follows Jillian Bell as Brittany, a party-hard young woman who decides to turn her life around after a pretty sobering doctor visit. What it leads her to is marathon training and one of the most grueling goals of her life: finishing in one piece.
Amazon has really stepped its game up over the years when it comes to original releases, and the result of that is a film like Being the Ricardos. From the brilliant, wordy mind of Aaron Sorkin, the film follows a week in the life of Lucille Ball. But it's not just any week—it just so happens to be a slightly fictionalized account of the week when the Red Scare nearly ended her entire career.
Fargo is a near-perfect black comedy from the Coen brothers. The film won star Frances McDormand an Oscar, but its relevance is hardly something that could be summed up in any award. Following a grisly crime in Minnesota, McDormand is joined by William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, and Peter Stormare in a film that is quintessentially 90s and required viewing for any film buff.
A lot of people know Bob Saget for his TV work, but if you want a whole new look at the comedian who left us far too soon, you have to watch Saget's stand up. America's dad knows how to toe the line of bawdy and gross out humor without ever crossing it, leaving two indelible legacies behind: one as a wholesome patriarch who ushered us through the 90s and one as a razor-sharp comedian who told jokes that undoubtedly made you blush.
Only such seasoned vets as Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson could make a classic rom-com feel this refreshing. In the most unlikely (and unsettling) of meet-cutes, Keaton and Nicholson star as Harry and Erica, two middle-aged people whose paths cross over a heart attack. More specifically, the heart attack that Harry has suffered while having sex with Erica’s twenty-something daughter. Boy meets girl, boy meets girl’s mom…you get the gist.
If you’re on the market for some time-tested, perennial punchlines, you can’t go wrong with heading back to the classics. And the 1940s screwball hit His Girl Friday might be as classic as comedies come. Starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, the film follows Walter, a news editor, as he attempts to revive his marriage with Hildy, his ex-wife and fellow journalist, by pursuing one final story together. As Hildy begins to uncover unexpected details about their subject, though, the story Walter had envisioned might be in need of a re-write.
In a deft balance of drama and comedy, Lulu Wang’s semi-autobiographical The Farewell is arguably one of the most memorable and moving dramedies of the past few years. With a stunning performance from Awkwafina at its core, the film moves through the decision process of a Chinese-American family who, upon learning that their grandmother is nearing her death, must decide whether or not to tell her about her diagnosis.
Another moving dramedy, Uncle Frank stars Paul Bettany as a gay literature professor living in New York in the 1970s. Upon receiving news that his father has passed, he must journey back to the less-than-accepting home in South Carolina he’d sought refuge from so many years ago. The somber journey is uplifted, though, by the unexpected company of his niece, played by Sophia Lillis, and boyfriend, played by Peter Macdissi.
This romantic comedy stars Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan as a couple whose rocky relationship is complicated by her sudden, potentially fatal illness—a premise based on Nanjiani and wife/co-writer Emily Gordon’s own story.
The '80s cult classic stars Robin Lively as a nerdy high school girl who pines for the hottest guy in her class. Luckily for her, she also learns that she's a descendent of the witches of Salem, and can harness her powers to make her crush fall for her, too.
Landline
Everyone has that moment when their parents stop being just their parents and start being a shade of "normal person." That's what Landline is about, as two sisters in the 90s discover their father's affair... and a few other crude details along the way.
Here are 25 great comedies to stream right now on Amazon Prime Video, from classics, to Saturday Night Live spin-offs, and recent box-office hits.
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