The 14 Best Comedies You Can Watch On Netflix Right Now

There's room for criticism when it comes to the curation of Netflix's library. The popular streaming service seems to deny the existence of films released before 1970, for example, and as the company invests more and more money into original content, it has slowly begun to neglect other areas. 

But not comedy. Other genres aren't particularly well represented on the service, but comedy is alive and well on Netflix, with a multitude of different subgenres at the viewer's fingertips. Brutal satires and pitch black comedies; teen sex farces and sweet and charming rom-coms; big blockbuster hits and quirky arthouse favorites — Netflix has plenty of options for those nights when you want to watch a movie, especially one that's going to let you shut your brain off and laugh. If you're looking for something funny on Netflix, the following 14 films are your best options.

The early '00s produced more raunchy genre parodies than anyone knew what to do with. The first "Scary Movie" is obviously the gold standard of these films (there are a lot of real stinkers), poking fun at teen slashers like "Scream," but "Not Another Teen Movie" does the same for the teen movies of the John Hughes variety, and gets a lot less credit. 

That's a shame, because while it's a truly hodge-podge of a dozen different teen movies, "Not Another Teen Movie" manages to go for both the low-hanging fruit ("She's All That" features heavily) and some less obvious tropes (there's an entire subplot devoted to a guy who really wants to start a slow clap, but can't ever find the right moment). In a world of painfully bad parodies that clearly put the bare minimum of thought into what they're mocking, it's clear that "Not Another Teen Movie" has an affection for their source material. Also, it features a scene in which a young Chris Evans is clad only in whipped cream — we can all probably agree that's worth the price of admission alone.

In the entire pantheon of high school comedies, there are relatively few that address the unique awkwardness of growing up evangelical in the United States. In mainstream cinema, "Saved" is the only one that comes to mind. But then came Karen Maine's directorial debut "Yes, God, Yes," starring Natalia Dyer from "Stranger Things," and our prayers were answered. 

A perpetually horny teenage girl, Dyer's Alice has to learn how to navigate her own sexual curiosity while simultaneously attempting to overcome the years of shame and guilt drilled into her by her church. But when one of Alice's anonymous AOL chats gets racy and is discovered by her pastor, a whole new level of stress is introduced. Will they find out it was her? Is the fear of getting caught enough to stop her from giving in to temptation again? 

"Yes, God, Yes" captures the overwhelming experience of high school bible retreats, filled with teenagers so sexually repressed they're all about to explode if they so much as accidentally touch hands. Predictably, hilarity ensues.

"About Time" is one of the more gentle comedies on this list. In fact, it's often pretty sad. When Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) turns 21, his father lets him in on the family secret: All the men in their family have the ability to travel to specific points in their own timeline. All they have to do is go to a dark place, close their eyes, and think about where they want to travel. And boom! There they are. 

At first, Tim uses his powers for purely selfish reasons, trying to get a do-over after royally screwing up an encounter with a girl he's interested in. But as the years go by, Tim learns how to use his powers in a way that enriches his life without holding it hostage. "About Time" is a genuinely sweet, good-natured film completely reliant on the relationship between Tim and his loving father (played by Bill Nighy). Silly rom-com hijinks give way to moments of genuine poignancy, as Tim learns that there are limits to what his abilities can do, especially once he has a child — traveling back in time to before her birth puts her entire existence at risk. Director and writer Richard Curtis has always known how to make sentimental romances, and "About Time" is perhaps one of his very best.

There are precisely six words that make "Hail, Caesar!" one of the Coen brothers' most unexpectedly funny films: "Would that it were so simple." Set during Hollywood's Golden Age, "Hail, Caesar!" revolves around a taciturn and mysterious man, Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin), who works as a fixer for all the major studios. When a pretty young starlet ends up in the family way without a ring on her finger, Mannix is there to do damage control. When a handsome but empty-headed actor inadvertently gets caught up in a communist ring, Mannix handles things. 

The old studio system required a slavish devotion to the carefully constructed personas developed for the studio's stars, and even the smallest step out of line could cause serious problems. Although other Coen brothers films are better regarded, "Hail, Caesar!" stands out for its incredible ensemble cast. Arguably no directors have better understood how to use Channing Tatum's unique talents to the fullest — and if nothing else, the Coens are responsible for bringing us the cowboy Hobie Doyle, played by Alden Ehrenreich in one of his first major roles.

When you watch "Election," a film released relatively early in Reese Witherspoon's career, you begin to realize how few directors have ever used her effectively. On the surface, Witherspoon is a bubbly blonde, intelligent in her own way but generally more interested in embodying the role of the cinematic social butterfly. But, when pressed, Witherspoon can go so far beyond that stereotype, and her performance in "Election" is proof. 

In the film, Witherspoon plays Tracy Flick, a hyper-ambitious, Machiavellian high school student who is determined to become student body president by any means necessary. The darkness of the storyline (and there are parts where it gets pretty grim, especially the relationship between Tracy and the school's social studies teacher, played by Matthew Broderick) contrasts sharply with the light touch of Witherspoon's performance, all of which helps to make "Election" a biting satire of high school politics for the ages.

Come on, you guys. It's "The Big Lebowski." You might not have seen it, but you definitely know it. 

One of the Coen brothers' most beloved films (and for the Coens, a pair of filmmakers who don't have many stinkers on their filmography, that's saying something), "The Big Lebowski" stars Jeff Bridges as the Dude, an almost preternaturally laidback bowler who gets caught up in a case of mistaken identity when he is beaten up by some hoods looking for money owed to them by a different Jeffrey Lebowski. The Dude takes the beating in stride, but he can't forgive the criminals for defiling his rug, the one piece of décor that really pulled the whole room together. 

Sadly for our beleaguered hero, this is only the beginning of his problems. "The Big Lebowski" is another comedy that people love to quote, and it's not hard to see why; aside from Jeff Bridges, who creates one of the most iconic characters of the '90s, "The Big Lebowski" also happens to be a deceptively well-written film.

Born from the same satirical mind that brought us "Veep," "The Death of Stalin" is a farcical masterpiece directed by Armando Iannucci, a man who somehow intuitively understands the inherent ridiculousness of politics and power. After Stalin, the leader who ruled the Soviet Union with an iron fist in the years following World War II, suddenly dies, the various cronies and career bureaucrats who surrounded him are thrown into a tailspin. No one wants to take responsibility for anything, yet everyone wants to make themselves look as good as possible.

Stalin's potential successors stand around his dead body for ages, unsure of what to do, years of bureaucratic work stifling their ability to act without circumventing the chain of command. While feigning a deep sense of grief and the appropriate level of solemnity, each of Stalin's devoted counselors quickly and quietly lays the groundwork for a power grab. Their constant backstabbing is a pure delight, as is the tangled, often incoherent political world of shaky alliances and perceived slights that "The Death of Stalin" builds.