Funny movies to watch on amazon prime

Stream 'The Big Sick,' 'Heathers,' or one of these other hilarious movies if you're looking to laugh.

'Fargo' | 20th Century Fox

'Fargo' | 20th Century Fox

Sometimes you need a good laugh. But you know what's not funny? Scrolling through a streaming service trying to find something to entice the giggles out of you. Never fear. Thrillist Entertainment is here to help. Here are our favorite comedies currently available on Amazon Prime. Some of them are dark, some of them are purely silly, all of them are worth watching whenever you're looking for a little humor in your life.

ALSO READ: Our curated guides to the funniest movies on Netflix and the best comedy TV shows of 2021

The Big Sick (2017) 

Kumail Nanjiani and writer Emily Gordon adapted their real-life meet cute, and an encounter with illness that landed Emily in the hospital just months afterward, into this moving, melancholy rom-com—like Terms of Endearment for the Apatow era. Fans of the comedian's stand-up or work as Silicon Valley's Dinesh will go nuts for The Big Sick's steady stream of laughs. But when the couple's life takes a turn for the worse, and Kumail's Pakistani heritage pressurizes the situation with demands of arranged marriage, Nanjiani's fans will cling to the jokes like a life preserver. Anchored by his sensitive performance, and bolstered by Ray Romano and Holly Hunter as Emily's fretting, foulmouthed parents, The Big Sick is a reminder that fate is fickle, self-determination is fickler, and we all deserve a good laugh-cry once in awhile.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2021)

Tasked with playing the hits and capturing a feeling of surprise, comedy sequels have a uniquely difficult set of challenges. Luckily, the quasi-documentary style of Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, along with the movie's reliance on elaborate Jackass-esque stunts, gives it a slight edge over more conventional (and bloated) Hollywood sequels like Anchorman 2 or Zoolander 2. If you like stuff like this, you just want to see what new trouble Cohen, joined by the equally mischievous Maria Bakalova as his daughter, gets into and who they piss off along the way. Even with more conventional scripted gags and some pandering political messaging, which comes across as self-important when presented in such a fundamentally misanthropic setting, the movie nailed a handful of show-stopping, skin-crawling set-pieces. Once you're done with that, Amazon also had Borat on hand for a rewatch.

Fargo (1996)

The Coen brothers' 1996 classic has stood the test of time (and inspired the anthology TV show of the same name) for a reason. Stacked with a star-studded cast and infused with a dark sense of humor, this homespun murder story, about Jerry Lundegaard's (William H. Macy) clumsy crime goof, won't disappoint. It more than deserved the Oscars it received for best screenplay and best actress in a lead role—Frances McDormand, don'tcha know? If you've never seen it, ya gotta.

Funny Girl (1968) 

She has 36 expressions, sweet as pie to tough as leather, and you'll see them all in Funny Girl, the movie that made Barbra Streisand a superstar. (Though she was well on her way to that when the film was initially released in 1968.) Babs plays Fanny Brice, another trailblazing comedian, and belts songs like "Don't Rain on My Parade" and "People." You'll be laughing and swooning. 

Heathers (1989)

The darkest of dark teen comedies is a cult classic for a reason. Winona Ryder plays Veronica Sawyer, a quasi member of her high school's most feared clique, the Heathers, who rule with nastiness. When Veronica meets the new student, the alluring bad boy J.D. (Christian Slater), well, to paraphrase Daniel Waters' endlessly quotable script: Her teen angst starts developing a body count. Heathers is meaner than most teen movies, and it benefits from how ruthless it is. Ultimately, it's the story of a girl learning to stand on her own, but the gruesome ride is what gets her there.

His Girl Friday (1940)

If you're feeling the modern romantic-comedy's slump like we are, there's no better cure than revisiting (or discovering) His Girl Friday, Howard Hawks' newsroom screwball farce. Known for its whip-cracking banter—the dialogue has been timed at 240 words per minute, while average human speech is typically only 100-150—the movie has a sweet, beautiful glow to it now. Watching Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell trade witty barbs has a startling poignancy: Newspapers and movie romances like this weren't built to last forever.

Hollywood Shuffle (1987)

In the mid-'80s, Robert Townsend and Keenen Ivory Wayans were lamenting the dearth of quality roles for Black actors. Tired of auditioning to play slaves, pimps, and other stereotypes, they decided to write a movie about the industry's racial limitations. Out came Hollywood Shuffle, a hilarious satire in which Townsend plays Bobby Taylor, an aspiring actor who's told he really needs to be more of an "Eddie Murphy type." At a brisk 78 minutes, Shuffle is a feat of creativity, using fantasy sequences to depict Bobby's wildest dreams or confirm his worst showbiz fears. Made on a shoestring budget, it was a modest hit back in 1987, opening the door for Townsend to direct The Five Heartbeats and co-create The Parent 'Hood. Bobby Taylor would be proud.

Love & Friendship (2016) 

Whit Stillman's Love & Friendship is arguably the funniest Jane Austen adaptation ever made. Based on a lesser known epistolary novel, this zippy delight stars Kate Beckinsale in her best-ever role as the widowed Lady Susan Vernon who is constantly plotting matches for herself and her daughter. It's a comedy of manners that's both sexy and silly.

The Princess Bride (1987)

Rob Reiner's adaptation of William Goldman's novel, with a screenplay by Goldman, is as beloved as it is for very good reason. The immensely quotable film is not only very funny—thank you Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal, and Carol Kane—but also sweepingly romantic. You probably have heard what this one is about. A boy (Fred Savage) is home sick from school and his grandpa (Peter Falk) comes to read him a story. At first he's groaning about the "kissing parts," but soon he's captivated by the tale of love and revenge featuring Buttercup (Robin Wright), Westley (Cary Elwes), and, of course, Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin). You know the lines already, queue it up and recite them on your millionth rewatch.

What If (2014)

When everyone was asking where the rom com went this adorable example was right under their noses. Zoe Kazan and Daniel Radcliffe have crackling chemistry as the central pair who are friends but destined to be more, but Adam Driver and Mackenzie Davis steal the movie as their sidekicks.

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