Comedy movies carry a lot of advantages for their audiences. Although they aren’t prescribed as medicines, they can work wonders for your mental health. To tune it down a little bit, watching comedy movies relieves stress, brings joy, and serves as a great getaway from a mundane life. Of course, you can watch them even if your life isn’t mundane, and they will have the same effect, perhaps even better than usual, as they will only add to your already happiness-filled life.
So, here we bring you nine great comedy movies of different kinds, all of which are available for streaming on Peacock. Each of these movies, while being connected by humor, offers a different kind of comedy that is customized to complement the story, offering you a unique experience with each watch.
9. Better Watch Out (2016)
A horror comedy directed by Chris Peckover, ‘Better Watch Out’ stars Olivia DeJonge, Levi Miller, and Ed Oxenbould. It shows what happens when 17-year-old Ashley arrives at 12-year-old Luke Lerner’s suburban home to babysit him. Luke’s friend Garret also joins them. Luke has feelings for Ashley and plans to seduce her, but things take a dark turn when someone breaks into the house. Slowly, it is revealed that the intruder isn’t the criminal but one among the three already inside the house. Who is it? To find out, you can watch this movie here.
8. Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain (2023)
From director Paul Briganti comes a comedy-drama about three childhood friends, Ben, John, and Martin, who work at a store owned by Ben’s father. Fed up with their life, the guys decide to look for the treasure that the compass they found as kids might lead them to, one that is worth almost $100 million. In their quest to find the treasure, they come across a hawk with an attitude, a group of desperate rangers, and a hypocritical cult leader. Their experiences with these and what else lies in their path, along with the answer to whether they find the treasure or not, are what the movie shows hilariously.
The cast includes the New York City comedy troupe Please Don’t Destroy, which includes Martin Herlihy, John Higgins, and Ben Marshall, all of whom play fictional versions of themselves. We also have Conan O’Brien, Bowen Yang, Megan Stalter, and X Mayo. You can watch the movie here.
7. Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010)
This movie takes a dig at every “cabin in the woods” horror movie ever made, and rightfully so. We can assure you that you will be glad you saw this movie after the countless times you were subjected to the thought that any cabin in any forest has to be the home of either a serial killer or a psycho with an axe or a chainsaw or a sawed-off shotgun. ‘Tucker and Dale vs Evil’ shows a group of college students who arrive in the woods to party only to encounter two scary guys. But the truth is these two “scary” guys, namely Tucker (Alan Tudyk) and Dale (Tyler Labine), have also come to the woods to spend some quality time in their cabin but end up being misunderstood by the group. Clearly, they have also been subjected to the very thoughts mentioned above. What follows is how the vacations of both parties take a turn for the worse, and it taps into our sadistic side as we take joy in all the blood that is spilled as a result. Watch, and you will know what we mean. ‘Tucker and Dale vs Evil’ is directed by Eli Craig. You can stream the film here.
6. Welcome to Me (2015)
Kristen Wiig pulls off one of her most charming roles ever in ‘Welcome to Me,’ directed by Shira Piven, and proves that she is an actor of high caliber. The movie transcends the comedy genre as we meet Alice Klieg, who has borderline personality disorder. After winning $83 million in a lottery, she decides to put aside her meds and produce her own TV show where she speaks her heart out to the world, her inspiration being Oprah Winfrey herself. But while she is all set to reveal herself to the world, is the world prepared for her? ‘Welcome to Me’ is problematic not as a movie but as an experience that shows the absurd world as seen through Alice’s eyes while providing a fair share of laughter. You may watch the movie here.
5. The King of Staten Island (2020)
Starring Pete Davidson, Marisa Tomei, Bill Burr, and Steve Buscemi, ‘The King of Staten Island’ follows twenty-four-year-old high school dropout Scott Carlin who lives with his widowed mom and dreams of his a tattoo artist. Scott lost his father, who was a firefighter when he was seven but is still grappling with his death as well as dealing with Crohn’s disease and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). When her mother starts dating another guy, Ray, who is also a firefighter, he doesn’t like it at all. However, more time spent with Ray changes things for Scott, who also starts walking Ray’s children, Harold and Kelly, to school. This change that Scott undergoes is the film’s main aspect, which is showcased masterfully by director Judd Apatow. Davidson also co-wrote the script alongside Apatow and Dave Sirus. You can watch the film here.
4. Irresistible (2020)
Starring Mackenzie Davis, Rose Byrne, and Steve Carell, ‘Irresistible’ is a political comedy directed by Jon Stewart. It revolves around campaign consultant Gary Zimmer, a Democrat, who is heartbroken due to the defeat of the Democrats in the 2016 presidential elections. So he is looking for a new candidate to make a face out of and finds one in Marine veteran Col. Jack Hastings from the fictional town of Deerlaken in Wisconsin. Thus begins Zimmer’s work of convincing Hastings to run for mayor of the town and grab the national spotlight. A political satire, by all means, ‘Irresistible’ is a great watch. You can watch the movie here.
3. Vengeance (2022)
Written and directed by B. J. Novak, who also stars in the film, ‘Vengeance’ is a dark comedy that follows New York City journalist/podcaster Ben Manalowitz (Novak) who arrives at West Texas for the funeral of one of his numerous former flings Abilene “Abby” Shaw who apparently died of a drug overdose. However, Abby’s brother Ty believes that she was murdered. Now, it is up to him and Ben to avenge her death. While Ben is terrified of the idea, he decides to record everything and turn it into a podcast with the help of his producer, Eloise. As the plot proceeds, we find out that there’s more to Abby’s death. What follows is how Ben finds out what really happened to Abby, including how much she loved him. A true-to-form, dark and hard-hitting thriller, ‘Vengeance’ shows Novak’s brilliance as a writer and director. The rest of the cast includes Boyd Holbrook, Ashton Kutcher, and Issa Rae. You can watch the film here.
2. Strays (2023)
‘Strays’ is an R-rated photoreal dog comedy directed by Josh Greenbaum and follows Reggie (voiced by Will Ferrell), a gullible Border Terrier who is abandoned by his owner Doug (Will Forte) but finds himself three new friends in the form of Bug (voiced by Jamie Foxx), a Boston Terrier, Maggie (voiced by Isla Fisher), an Australian Shepherd and Hunter (voiced by Randall Park), a therapy Great Dane, all of whom are strays. The trio teaches Reggie the perks of being a stray dog, but when Reggie decides to get his revenge on Doug, the trio joins him on his mission. Their adventures and misadventures along the way are what follow. The movie is a must-watch, especially for dog lovers, who will love how authentically the dogs and their behavior are shown in the film. You can watch it here.
1. The Holdovers (2023)
Starring Paul Giamatti, Dominic Sessa, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph, ‘The Holdovers’ is a Christmas comedy-drama directed by Alexander Payne. It revolves around the two-week winter break at 1970s Barton Academy, which has a few unfortunate students within its premises because they have no place to go for the holidays. And the hateful professor Paul Hunham is responsible for them. What begins as a war between him and damaged troublesome 18-year-old student Angus Tully slowly turns into an unlikely bond when both find out about each other’s damaged parts and how they make them similar. Joining them is head cook Mary, who lost her son in the Vietnam War.
‘The Holdovers’ is one of the best movies to come out in recent times and even received numerous accolades at the Boston Society of Film Critics Awards, Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, National Board of Review, and Golden Globe Awards. At the Golden Globe Awards, Da’Vine Joy Randolph won for Best Supporting Actress, while Paul Giamatti won for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. You can watch ‘The Holdovers’ here.
