Amazon Prime Video is one of the few streamers that has a robust selection of older comedy movies that goes back several decades.
This month, one of the ’80s’ best comedies, A Fish Called Wanda, is back on Prime Video.
Prime Video has also recently added Game Night, a hilarious 2018 movie starring Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams.
The Watch With Us team has selected selected the 11 must-watch comedy movies on Amazon Prime Video right now. And there are even more comedies to find once you’re finished with these films.
Need more recommendations? Then check out the Great New Movies on Netflix, Max, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and More, the Best Movies on Amazon Prime Video Right Now, the Best Movies on Hulu Right Now and the Best Action Movies on Amazon Prime Video Right Now.
‘Game Night’ (2018)
Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams have terrific comedic chemistry as Max and Annie Davis in Game Night. The only thing this couple loves more than each other is their regular gaming events with their friends, Kevin (Lamorne Morris) and Michelle Sterling (Kylie Bunbury), as well as Ryan Huddle (Billy Magnussen) and his girlfriend, Sarah Darcy (Sharon Horgan).
When Max’s brother, Brooks Davis (Kyle Chandler), raises the stakes for the latest game night, the couples are unintentionally drawn into a very real criminal underworld. By the time any of them realize what’s going on, they’re already in way over their heads in danger.
Game Night is streaming on Prime Video.
‘A Fish Called Wanda’ (1988)
John Cleese cowrote and stars in A Fish Called Wanda as an ordinary lawyer, Archie Leach. Archie has no idea what he’s gotten himself into by defending a thief, George Thomason (Tom Georgeson), a man who was double-crossed by his former team. However, George beat the team to the punch by hiding their stolen diamonds.
To recover the diamonds, Wanda Gershwitz (Jamie Lee Curtis) seduces Archie, which only enrages her real lover, Otto West (Kevin Kline). Otto makes Archie’s life very complicated as he tries to keep him away from Wanda. The only other member of the team who may know where the diamonds are is Ken Pile (Michael Palin). But Otto has ways of making him talk.
A Fish Called Wanda is streaming on Prime Video.
‘The Little Hours’ (2017)
The Little Hours may be set in the 14th century, but it’s more concerned with laughs than historical accuracy. It’s very loosely based upon The Decameron and features Aubrey Plaza, Alison Brie and Kate Micucci as a trio of nuns whose carnal desires can’t be contained by the church.
To escape his brutal master, a young man named Massetto (Dave Franco) begins working for the convent while pretending to be deaf and mute. His presence gives the nuns someone to lust over when they aren’t giving in to temptation with each other.
The Little Hours is streaming on Prime Video.
‘Throw Mamma From the Train’ (1987)
Throw Mamma From the Train is a dark comedy that not only borrows some of the plot from Strangers on a Train, it features the Alfred Hitchcock movie as part of the plot. Billy Crystal stars as Larry Donner, a writer whose ex-wife has stolen his manuscript and used it become a successful author.
Larry’s student, Owen Lift (Danny DeVito), has his own issues with his incredibly abrasive mother, Mrs. Lift (Anne Ramsey). He also believes that Larry wanted someone to murder his ex-wife, so Owen goes through with it before telling him that he expects Mrs. Lift’s death in return. And she’s so awful that it’s really hard for either Larry or Owen to resist killing her.
Throw Mamma From the Train is streaming on Prime Video.
‘Animal House’ (1978)
Because Saturday Night Live alum John Belushi died when he was 33, he only had eight film credits to his name. Animal House may be the movie he’s best known for, and it’s still one of the all-time comedy classics nearly five decades later.
Belushi plays John “Bluto” Blutarsky, one of the beloved members of Delta Tau Chi House at Faber College in 1962. If you’ve ever heard the term “double secret probation,” it came from this movie because Bluto and the boys made an enemy out of Dean Vernon Wormer (John Vernon). He wants Delta house shut down at all costs, and the frat’s wild antics give him all the ammunition he would ever need.
Animal House is streaming on Prime Video.
‘The Fall Guy’ (2024)
Barbie’s Ryan Gosling dives into this adaptation of the ‘80s TV series The Fall Guy, which doesn’t share a lot in common with its predecessor besides its name. Instead, this action comedy goes its own way with Colt Seavers (Gosling), a stuntman who is so burnt out on Hollywood that he leaves the industry and his girlfriend, Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt), behind.
Over a year later, Colt is drawn back into Hollywood’s orbit on Jody’s first film as a director. She may not be happy to see Colt, but she needs his help. Her star, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), has gone missing, and if Colt can’t find him, then Jody’s movie may be dead in the water.
The Fall Guy is streaming on Prime Video.
‘American Fiction’ (2023)
The Batman’s Jeffrey Wright takes on a leading role in American Fiction as Dr. Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, an academic scholar and novelist. However, Monk’s books don’t sell very well, and he’s openly jealous of another writer, Sintara Golden (Issa Rae), whose highly successful books perpetuate several Black stereotypes.
In response, Monk writes his own Black literature satire, and he’s subsequently stunned when publishers can’t wait to sell it. Suddenly, Monk has all of the success he’s ever dreamed about, but he also has to take on the persona of a fake fugitive author while perpetuating the same stereotypes that Sintara uses in her books.
American Fiction is streaming on Prime Video.
‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ (1975)
Five decades ago, the Monty Python comedy group unleashed one of the all-time great comedy movies: Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin all play multiple roles in this hilarious take on Arthurian lore.
Not even King Arthur (Chapman) is immune to ridicule in this retelling. Arthur and his men are on a quest to find the Holy Grail, and they do some very silly things along the way. Arthur’s duel with the Black Knight (Cleese) is particularly quotable even after 50 years. This is a comedic masterpiece that few films have ever matched.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is streaming on Prime Video.
‘Life of Brian’ (1979)
Monty Python strikes again with Life of Brian, a spoof of Biblical proportions that centers on Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman), a man who had the misfortune of being born on the same day as Jesus (Kenneth Colley). At birth, Brian is mistaken for the messiah, and it’s a recurring theme throughout his life.
Brian’s infatuation with Judith Iscariot (Sue Jones-Davies) leads him into the revolutionary factions who want to break Judaea free from Roman rule. From there, Brian’s story becomes increasingly absurd, including his face-to-face meeting with Rome’s governor of Judaea, Pontius Pilate (Michael Palin). This movie is hysterically funny for reasons you’ll just have to see for yourself.
Life of Brian is streaming on Prime Video.
‘Three Amigos’ (1986)
Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short play silent movie stars in Three Amigos, a film Martin co-wrote with Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels and Randy Newman. When the stars of the fictitious Three Amigos films ask for a raise, Lucky Day (Martin), Dusty Bottoms (Chase) and Ned Nederlander (Short) suddenly find themselves out of work.
In Mexico, a young woman named Carmen (Patrice Martinez) sees the Three Amigos movies and assumes that the actors are real heroes. She summons them to take on the bandit El Guapo (Alfonso Arau) and his men. Unfortunately for the trio, they don’t realize they’re really in danger until after they’re staring down the bandits’ guns.
Three Amigos is streaming on Prime Video.
