If you’re disappointed in the comedy offerings coming out of Hollywood these days, you’re not alone.
The Naked Gun (2025) was the first genuinely great comedy movie in ages. There are so few genuinely funny comedy movies made in recent years that you might have already forgotten about the ones that are actually good.
But there are some shining stars amidst a sea of garbage, and Watch With Us is here to guide you to them,
We’ve put together a list of four great recent comedy movies that you’d do well to remember — and revisit.
‘Hubie Halloween’ (2020)
Good-natured but dimwitted Hubie Dubois (Adam Sandler) is Salem, Massachusetts’ resident community volunteer, but frequently finds himself the butt of bullying and practical jokes due to his annoying behavior and personality. Despite this, Hubie maintains his positivity and devotion to his hometown, especially as his favorite holiday, Halloween, rounds the bend in the historic city. But when a criminal starts kidnapping the citizens of Salem on Halloween Night, it’s up to Hubie to use his intimate town knowledge and multi-faceted “Swiss Army Thermos” to catch the culprit — much to the chagrin of local police sergeant Steve Downey (Kevin James).
After Sandler blew the world away with his performance as Howard Ratner in Uncut Gems, he got right back down to business, portraying an eccentric goofball with a stupid voice in Hubie Halloween. While the film might not convert any Sandler naysayers, it’s an incredibly charming, entertaining and silly movie that fully embraces “Halloween Vibes” (thus being a must-watch for the holiday). The film also has some surprisingly decadent production design, going all-out on the spooky decor and garish lighting to bring some color to a Netflix original for once.
‘Bad Trip’ (2021)
This prank movie starring Eric André, Lil Rel Howery and Tiffany Haddish follows André’s character Chris, a small-town Florida car-washer who encounters his high school crush, Maria (Michaela Conlin), by chance. After an embarrassing incident in which his car vacuum sucks all his clothes off, Maria leaves without him getting her number. One year later, Chris runs into Maria, who tells him she works in New York City and gives him her phone number. Accompanied by his friend Bud (Howery), Chris decides to road trip to New York to get the girl of his dreams — while also being pursued by Bud’s mentally unstable sister, Trina (Haddish).
Bad Trip takes the hidden camera prank comedy of something like Jackass and manages to give it an entire, feature-length narrative, and it actually works. André — who broke out with his late-night variety show The Eric André Show, which frequently employed hidden camera pranks and stunts — is at the top of his game in this fantastic comedy, showcasing plenty of pranks that oscillate between the funniest thing you’ve ever seen and the grossest thing you’ve ever seen. But André manages to elevate the movie even further by giving it a surprising sense of heart.
‘Never Goin’ Back’ (2018)
Best friends and high school dropouts Angela (Maia Mitchell) and Jessie (Camila Morrone) spend their humdrum days in South Texas working as waitresses and wishing for something better. Angela decides to surprise Jessie with a trip to Galveston for Jessie’s birthday, though the girls have to put their rent money towards the trip and work extra hours to make up for it. But when Jessie’s older brother and both girls’ roommate, Dustin (Joel Allen), loses their money in a failed drug sale, they find themselves wrapped up in an increasingly chaotic and absurd series of events in order to get their money back.
Never Goin’ Back is the female-fronted stoner comedy you never knew you needed. While the plot isn’t the densest thing you’ll ever see, the film has a particularly buoyant and free-wheeling tone that makes the ridiculous journey you take with these characters still feel satisfying. The authentic chemistry between Mitchell and Morrone also helps to elevate the material, and the two young actresses sport a totally effortless command of comedic dialogue. Overall, Never Goin’ Back is both a solidly funny film and a warm-hearted coming-of-age movie.
‘The Beach Bum’ (2019)
Moondog (Matthew McConaughey) is a substance-abusing poet from the Florida Keys whose only mission in life is to have a good time — even though he’s also a father and husband. While his daughter, Heather (Stefania LaVie Owen), just wishes her dad would grow up, his wife, Minnie (Isla Fisher), manages to love Moondog for exactly who he is. But when a close personal tragedy strikes, Moondog’s relaxed lifestyle is suddenly upended. In addition to finishing writing the novel he’s been struggling to get through, he also battles sobriety and winning his daughter’s respect.
A pair of classic comedy movies has come home to Hulu, and they’re both better than many of the modern comedies in theaters. There’s Something About Mary may be pushing 30, but this is one gross-out rom-com that never seems to get old. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Enter your email […]
This synopsis actually makes The Beach Bum sound like it has more of a plot than it really does. In reality, the film is a hedonistic, shaggy-dog mosaic of cacophonous and indulgent pleasures with the occasional sharp relief of reality — the good times have to come to an end eventually, after all. McConaughey is given the role he was born to play in Moondog, and his performance is altogether deeply hilarious, totally natural and charmingly chaotic. The film is ultimately an utterly unique experience, couched by some brilliant visuals and a sweet-natured message.