14 Must-Watch Comedy Movies on Netflix Right Now (May 2026): ‘Ladies First’ and More

It’s a man’s world, and that’s just the way Damien Sachs (Sacha Baron Cohen) likes it. He’s a powerful CEO who doesn’t consider women his equals, and his power and position in life give his bad behavior a pass. But when he suffers a head injury that renders him unconscious, he wakes up to find himself in a world ruled by women. Even worse, his new boss is the employee, Alex (Rosamund Pike), whom he treated terribly in the real world. To survive in this sci-fi matriarchy, Damien will have to change his chauvinistic ways and do something he’s never done before — treat women with respect and sensitivity. 

If you like rom-coms with a sci-fi twist, Ladies First is for you. The comedic possibilities of Damien navigating his feminine-powered world are endless, and Baron Cohen has fun showcasing Damien’s horror at being considered “the weaker sex.” Pike’s Alex is the right woman to cut Damien down to size and show him the error of his ways. The battle of the sexes has always been a good source for comedies, and Ladies First is another entertaining entry in a subgenre that includes the 2000 Mel Gibson hit, What Women Want and its quasi-remake, What Men Want, starring Taraji P. Henson.

Ladies First will stream on May 22.

There’s always been something about Mary (Cameron Diaz), ever since high school. Even as an adult, Ted Stroehmann (Ben Stiller) is still in love with her, even though he hasn’t seen her in years. That’s why he hires a sleazy private investigator, Pat Healy (Matt Dillon), to find her. But Ted soon finds out that Mary has beguiled Pat as well, leading both men to try to woo her by any means possible. Ted thinks Mary is the perfect woman, and he’ll have to prove he’s worthy enough to win her heart. 

There’s Something About Mary is one of those comedies that, if you haven’t seen it, you’ve heard about it. If you fall in the latter category, I can assure you that it’s just as funny as its reputation suggests. From the opening sequence involving Ted zipping up his private parts to Mary’s inventive use of sperm as hair gel, the film is packed with enough laughs that will make your stomach hurt. Best of all is Diaz as the object of everyone’s affection, who is just as dirty as the men who pursue her. 

Great comedy movies don’t have to be crude or sarcastic — they can also be quiet, subtle and low-key charming. That’s the case with Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, a comedy that will make you smile from beginning to end. In 1950s England, cleaning lady Ada Harris (Lesley Manville) dreams of travelling to Paris to live out her fantasies. After receiving some money, she gets her chance, and soon, she’s buying a fancy dress at Christian Dior. But Mrs. Harris discovers her fancy new life can bring her a second chance at love as well. 

Like The Full Monty before it, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is a comedy that treats its English working-class characters with respect. Even when Mrs. Harris lives it up with the rich and fashionably dressed Paris, she never forgets where she came from. Mostly known for her dramatic work in Another Year and Phantom Thread, Manville shows a lighter side and proves she’s a skilled comedienne, too.

Great comedy movies don’t have to be crude or sarcastic — they can also be quiet, subtle and low-key charming. That’s the case with Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, a comedy that will make you smile from beginning to end. In 1950s England, cleaning lady Ada Harris (Lesley Manville) dreams of travelling to Paris to live out her fantasies. After receiving some money, she gets her chance, and soon, she’s buying a fancy dress at Christian Dior. But Mrs. Harris discovers her fancy new life can bring her a second chance at love as well. 

Like The Full Monty before it, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris is a comedy that treats its English working-class characters with respect. Even when Mrs. Harris lives it up with the rich and fashionably dressed Paris, she never forgets where she came from. Mostly known for her dramatic work in Another Year and Phantom Thread, Manville shows a lighter side and proves she’s a skilled comedienne, too.

Move over, J.Lo! There’s a new Anaconda movie, and Doug McCallister (Jack Black) and Ronald “Griff” Griffen Jr. (Paul Rudd) want to be the ones to make it. Griff and Doug pour everything they have into their low-budget reboot and take an excursion to the Amazon Rainforest to make it a reality.

This turns out to be a spectacularly bad idea because Doug and Griff are just unlucky enough to come across a real anaconda that’s already proven to be a killer. And if they aren’t careful, they’ll be the snake’s next victims.

Anaconda is streaming on Netflix.

It sure seems like there are a lot of comedy movies featuring Ben Stiller trying to find the right woman. Along Came Polly shakes up the formula a little by having Stiller’s character, Reuben Feffer, already on his honeymoon with his new wife, Lisa (Debra Messing). But when Lisa can’t resist cheating on him, Reuben finds himself back at square one.

Out of the blue, Ruben reconnects with Polly Prince (Jennifer Aniston), a woman he hasn’t seen since they were both children. As Reuben strikes up a romance with Polly, he quickly realizes that she may be too wild for him. She lives in the moment, and he’s risk-averse. That’s the kind of thing that might stop this relationship in its tracks.

Along Came Polly is streaming on Netflix.

Triangle of Sadness is a black comedy that shares some common elements with Parasite and Send Help. The film focuses on an influencer couple, Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean), as they take a luxury sailing trip alongside the filthy rich.

When the yacht sinks at sea, the rich passengers discover that the only person among them with any survival skills is Abigail (Dolly de Leon), one of the boat’s crew members. Suddenly, Abigail has all of the power over Carl, Yaya and the rest of the survivors, and she’ll do anything to keep it.

Triangle of Sadness is streaming on Netflix.

There aren’t many comedians who could have made Mrs. Doubtfire work as well as Robin Williams did. The late comedian’s manic energy is unmatched in this early ’90s flick, which features him as a struggling voice actor, Daniel Hillard. Daniel’s kids love him, but his wife, Miranda Hillard (Sally Field), has had enough of his antics.

With a divorce in progress and the courts keeping him away from his children, Daniel reinvents himself with a new drag persona, Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire, just to spend time with his kids. “Mrs. Doubtfire” turns out to be a great nanny, but that gives Daniel a front-row seat as another man, Stu Dunmeyer (Pierce Brosnan), romances his wife.

Mrs. Doubtfire is streaming on Netflix.

Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life is less of a movie and more of a collection of loosely themed comedy sketches. It’s an experience, rather than a fully fledged film, and also the final movie to feature Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin.

The movie actually does offer some alternative meanings of life as absolute absurdity unfolds in every sketch. But you’ll have to wait until the very end to get a fully sincere answer to the question.

Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life is streaming on Netflix.

Released nearly 30 years after the original, Happy Gilmore 2 checks in on the titular character after he saved his grandmother’s house and won the heart of Virginia Venit (Julie Bowen). 

Happy (Adam Sandler) and Virginia are now married with kids, with one daughter wanting to go to an expensive ballet school. Low on funds, Happy decides to do what he does best — golf and beating people up. Will that be enough to make his daughter’s dreams come true?

The sequel doubles down on everything that made the original such a sleeper hit to begin with: crude humor, a supporting cast full of great comedic actors Ben Stiller and Eric André and cameos from actual golf pros like Rory Mcllroy and John Daly. Those expecting Uncut Gems should look the other way as Happy Gilmore 2 is strictly for fans of Sandler’s ‘90s era comedies like Billy Madison and The Waterboy.

Happy Gilmore 2 is streaming on Netflix.

Nothing says “American mainstream comedy” like Saturday Night Live. But when the series first hit the airwaves, it was a counterculture experiment that everyone expected to flop. This film from Jason Reitman (Juno, Thank You For Smoking) tells the story of that first fateful show, when Lorne Michaels (played here by Gabriel LaBelle of The Fabelmans) managed to push through a successful 90 minutes of live comedy sketches on NBC. The show would go on to change the face of American entertainment, but it wasn’t an easy journey to get there. 

Just like the original cast of SNL, the cast of Saturday Night is populated mostly by newcomers, but their impressions of comedy legends like John Belushi (Matt Wood), Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt) and Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith) are impeccable and entertaining. The story is told in real time, 90 minutes before the start of the show, and the tension is palpable — but that’s what makes it all so funny.

Saturday Night is streaming on Netflix.

The earth is being threatened by an extremely dangerous natural phenomenon that mankind could, theoretically, stop. Yet somehow, it seems like no one in power is doing anything about it. This is the premise of Don’t Look Up, a climate change allegory from Anchorman director Adam McKay. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence play Dr. Randall Mindy and Kate Dibiasky, two astronomers who discover a cataclysmic, “planet-killer” comet hurtling towards Earth. They try to sound the alarm, only to find that getting the government to take action to protect its citizens is shockingly difficult.

The cast of Don’t Look Up is a laundry list of A-listers, from Meryl Streep as a clueless president to Timothée Chalamet as a young shoplifter who befriends Kate. As the crisis nears, Dr. Mindy becomes a celebrity while Dibiasky becomes a target for hate and derision. The more people talk about the comet, the further they seem to get away from doing anything about it. The whole story feels simultaneously fantastical, funny, and all too real. 

Don’t Look Up is streaming on Netflix.

Keke Palmer and SZA bring back the buddy comedy in a big way in this hilarious “day in the life” adventure flick. Dreux (Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA) are best friends and roommates, despite their very different outlooks on life. (Dreux is organized and type-A, while Alyssa is a free-spirited dreamer.) But their friendship is tested when Alyssa’s boyfriend steals their rent money on the day that it’s due. In danger of being evicted, the girls come up with ever-escalating schemes to raise the money in less than 12 hours.

Palmer is as spectacular as ever, and SZA brings surprising depth to her first-ever onscreen role. Their chemistry as besties is totally believable and entertaining. The supporting cast is full of fun cameos from stars like Katt Williams and Abbott Elementary‘s Janelle James. You’ll root for Alyssa and Dreux the moment you meet them, and you’ll laugh your way to the finish line of their desperate quest for that rent money. Don’t miss this roller coaster of a comedy!

One of Them Days is streaming on Netflix.

Camila Mendes (Riverdale) and Maya Hawke (Stranger Things) star in this dark comedy about two high school girls who team up to “do each other’s revenge” — in other words, each girl will take down the other girl’s sworn enemy. This hyper-stylized gumball of a movie is subversive and nasty, but it hides some intelligent commentary about grudges and female anger at its center.

Do Revenge feels like a tribute to ’80s and ’90s teen comedies like Heathers and Cruel Intentions (Sarah Michelle Gellar, who starred in that film, even appears as the Headmaster at the protagonists’ private school), but it has a distinctly 2020s aesthetic and philosophy. It’s a sharp satire whose many twists will leave you gasping from shock in between laughs.

Do Revenge is streaming on Netflix.

Have you ever had a boss completely take over your life? That’s the situation for Harper (Zoey Deutch) and Charlie (Glen Powell), who are assistants to extremely demanding executives. Harper works for Kirsten (Lucy Liu), a sharp-tempered sports journalist who demands perfection from her staff. Charlie works for Rick (Taye Diggs), a businessman with severe anger management issues. Realizing their bosses need a distraction so they can regain control of their own lives, Harper and Charlie manipulate Rick and Kirsten into falling in love. “When they’re boning, we’re free!,”  says Harper. Of course, the two assistants end up falling in love along the way.

Set It Up hearkens back to when big-budget rom-coms were commonplace and successful. Deutch and Powell have irrepressible chemistry together, and the situations they manufacture for their bosses are absurd in a way that feels endearing. It’s a perfect “watch on your couch with pizza” movie.

Set it Up is streaming on Netflix.