Last Updated: March 1st
As captivating as an Oscar-winning drama can be, sometimes you just want to watch a dumb, goofy comedy with actors doing dumb, goofy things. Slapstick comedies don’t often get the critical acclaim that other movie genres receive, but the form has been popular with American audiences ever since the vaudeville days and new movies like The Boss continue to carry on the screwball tradition. If you’re looking for some outlandish pratfalls and raunchy humor, then look no further, because Netflix has you covered with a range of slapstick covering the spectrum from dumb to really dumb. So here are the 10 best slapstick comedy movies on Netflix streaming right now.
Related: The 25 Best Comedy Movies On Netflix Right Now
Tommy Boy (1995)
The crown jewel of the late Chris Farley’s short film career, Tommy Boy was hated by film critics upon its release, but managed to do well at the box office and only become more endearing as the years went by. In trademark Farley fashion, the SNL alum plays a bumbling manchild who must team up with the sarcastic Richard (David Spade) to save his dead father’s auto parts factory from being sold by his evil step mother (Bo Derek). Farley is nothing short of fantastic when it comes to creating a whirlwind of physical comedy on-screen and the movie moves along at a quick pace, never letting too much time to pass before the next pratfall. And if you’re in the mood for more Chris Farley, his almost as good Tommy Boy follow-up Black Sheep is available for streaming, as well.
Bad Grandpa (2013)
Taken from a Jackass prank where Johnny Knoxville and Spike Jonze would dress up as old people and proceed to cause chaos, Bad Grandpa takes the premise and injects it with even more mayhem. The 90-minute hidden camera prank made it clear to the audience that it’s Knoxville in costume before the movie even hit theaters, but the folks Knoxville encounters on camera while playing elderly and foul-mouthed Irving Zisman are none the wiser. The movie manages to squeeze in a few somewhat sweet moments between Irving and his young grandson, Billy (Jackson Nicoll), but for the most part is a string of hilarious and almost uncomfortable over-the-top pranks. The movie managed to snag an Oscar nomination for Best Achievement in Makeup and Hair Styling, and its beauty pageant scene might be one of the best hidden camera gags ever.
Spy Hard (1996)
Any slapstick comedy list wouldn’t be complete without at least one Leslie Nielsen entry. While Nielsen’s more popular titles like Airplane! and Naked Gun might no longer be available on instant Netflix, Spy Hard still delivers some solid laughs. Taking on the spy movie genre, Nielsen stars as the bumbling Dick Steele — how’s that for innuendo? — with the movie parodying everything from James Bond films to the action blockbusters of the day like True Lies. If anything, it’s worth a watch simply for the fact that Andy Griffith plays an evil genius with robot arms.
Road Trip (2000)
If historians ever need a movie for a time capsule with a cast that perfectly embodies the year 2000, there is no better movie than Road Trip. Seriously, Tom Green, Breckin Meyer, Sean William Scott, Amy Smart, DJ Qualls; Road Trip is the year 2000 in the form of a crass slapstick comedy. If you haven’t seen the college comedy, it follows a guy’s attempt to retrieve a sex tape sent to his girlfriend by hitting the road to get there before the VHS arrives. Aside from the fact that people just Snapchat sex vids now instead of VHS, the movie holds up pretty well. Even Tom Green’s forced “look how weird I am” schtick manages to remain surprisingly fresh.
Ernest Saves Christmas (1988)
If you’ve never seen an Ernest movie, Jim Varney’s dimwitted janitor might leave you shaking your head as to how seven movies were made around the character. If you grew up in the generation where Ernest movies were a part of your childhood, then the nonsense comedies probably touch upon a bit of nostalgia. As we’ve documented on this site, the movies didn’t exactly get better as they went along. Fortunately, though, Ernest Saves Christmas was one of the earlier films and managed to turn in a funny and stupid — but stupid in a good way — story. The idea of Ernest taking a runaway under his wing and finding himself in charge of saving Christmas because Santa’s locked up in a Florida jail isn’t highbrow stuff, but the movie delivers a solid dose of Varney’s trademark physical comedy.
Big Daddy (1999)
The year 2000 brought a lot of things with it and one of those was Little Nicky, the movie that many would argue began Adam Sandler’s spiral of crappola that would eventually produce the worst Adam Sandler movie — Jack and Jill. Big Daddy was the the last movie Adam Sandler made in the 1990s and to this day remains one of his better efforts. If you haven’t seen it since 1999, Sandler plays a 30-something slacker who gets stuck with his buddy’s (Jon Stewart) kid after he skips town. Cameos by Rob Schneider and Steve Buscemi provide some of the movies best laughs and the film is probably one of the few slapstick comedies that can deliver both gross-out and sweet moments.
Blazing Saddles (1974)
There’s no debating it, Blazing Saddles is an American film treasure and one of director Mel Brooks greatest films. What makes Blazing Saddles such a standout in terms of American comedy films — besides being hilarious — is it functions as somewhat of a an artifact from a more politically incorrect era that no longer exist. While envelope-pushing satires are still being made, it’s unlikely that a comedy script as edgy and controversial as Saddles would ever make it to production today. If it’s been awhile since you’ve watched Bart (Clevon Little) and Jim (Gene Wilder) clean up the wild west, do yourself a solid and throw it on. All the quotable lines are just as good as you remember them.
Heavyweights (1995)
I’ll admit that I don’t think I’ve seen Heavyweights since it came out, but I remember enjoying it 20 years ago. Camp movies seem to fall into one of two categories: terrible (Camp Nowhere) and not great, but pretty good (Meatballs). Heavyweights, a movie about a fat camp for boys taken over by a tyrannical fitness buff falls onto the good side of that spectrum. Much of this is thanks to Ben Stiller’s performance as Tony Perkis, the hater of all sugary foods and inventor of the PerkiSystem. Stiller copied his character to almost a T in Dodgeball, but the script, co-written by Judd Apatow, has enough humor and heart to keep your attention.
Jackass Number 3.5 (2011)
Jackass Number 3.5 might not have quite the initial shock that came with watching men shoot paintballs at their privates in the first two films, but it’s equally as cringe-inducing. No plot or storyline, just one painful slapstick stunt after the other that leaves the viewer belly laughing and questioning John Knoxville’s sanity. If you didn’t have an interest in seeing either of the first two movies, the third one definitely won’t persuade you either. But if watching a grown man ride a toilet down a skateboard ramp sounds like solid entertainment, then you can’t go wrong with putting this in your instant queue.
Caddyshack (1980)
The movie that showed America SNL stars could go on to box office success, Caddyshack is one of the most-beloved comedies of the last 50 years. The film revolves around a young caddy spending his summer working at the local country club, but the real stars are the debaucherous clientele and employees he encounters. The movie marked Harold Ramis’ first feature film and would propel Bill Murray and Chevy Chase into the realm of 80s comedy superstars. If you’ve never seen the movie or it’s simply been awhile, now’s the time to get reacquainted with the movie’s many hilarious moments.
