7 Best Comedies on Amazon Prime: Get A Shortlist of 20th Centaury Comedy Movies!

By Aarush Sharma On Jun 10, 2022

Amazon Prime Instant Video is the most difficult streaming service to use. If you miss Netflix’s early streaming days, when it featured a big selection of movies from all decades available for immediate viewing, you’ll definitely enjoy Amazon Prime.

The volume is out of control. There’s so much to watch here that even with the official Prime Video applications, locating it may be a pain.

You’ll find a lot of TV shows, including a few Amazon originals, as well as thousands of other stuff you’ve probably never heard of before or afterward.

However, there is a vast collection of amusing films, including some of the most well-known and influential comedies ever filmed. That’s what we’re here to talk about today: Amazon Prime Video’s top comedies.

1. A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

This ensemble play demonstrates what can happen when four talented comic performers (John Cleese, Michael Palin, Kevin Kline, and Jamie Lee Curtis) are given a script (authored by Cleese) that puts them all on an equal footing.

The result is a masterwork of sharply delivered, character-driven humor that continues to reward new and returning viewers despite being difficult on old ladies, fish, and terriers.

(The picture also defied the Academy’s usual aversion to comedies, garnering Kevin Kline a well-deserved Best Supporting Actor award for his portrayal of Otto.)

2. The General (1926)

A Southern railroad engineer (“The Great Stone Face” Buster Keaton) is forced to pursue his two loves across enemy lines after Yankee spies steal his train and kidnap his lady.

The General is undoubtedly the best silent comedy ever made—if not the best comedy ever made—despite a few Charlie Chaplin films giving it a run for its money.

The film, which was produced at the zenith of Buster Keaton’s illustrious career, did not receive critical or box-office success upon its initial release, but it has aged magnificently.

It’s a visual spectacular that blends romance, adventure, action (chases, fires, explosions), and comedy into a cohesive silent masterpiece.

3. Heathers (1989)

Heathers is a hilarious glimpse into the festering core of the teenage id, all sunglasses and cigarettes, and jail bait and misunderstood kitsch, as much an homage to ’80s teen romps—care of stalwarts like John Hughes and Cameron Crowe—as it is an attempt to push that genre to its near tasteless extremes.

Heathers embraces its style as an essential keystone to filmmaking, recognizing that even the most bloated melodrama can be sold through a well-manicured image.

Like any coming-of-age teen soap opera, much of the film’s appeal is in its vaunting of style over substance—coining whole ways of speaking, dressing, and posturing for an impressionable generation brought up on Hollywood tropes—but Heathers embraces its style as an essential keystone to filmmaking J.D.

(Christian Slater) pulling out a revolver on some school bullies in the lunchroom, or Veronica (Winona Ryder) passively lighting her cigarette with the flames licking from her former boyfriend’s explosion.

Heathers is a filmmaker’s (teen) picture, therefore it’s understandable that writer Daniel Waters wanted Stanley Kubrick to direct his script.

4. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (1976)

Steve Zissou (Bill Murray), a once-famous oceanographer and explorer, is now barely able to function. He is quiet, but his feelings are strong.

And, like a classic Pixies song, Murray plays the sad wash-up throughout The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: Zissou has a chilly, utterly subdued state of being towards the insanity around him, until his frustrations burst to the surface with a brilliantly cutting line like, “Son of a bitch, I am sick of these dolphins,” as he has so many roles in this late phase of his career.

Even during large action moments, like when the Zissou team saves Jeff Goldblum’s Allistair Hennessey (“Steven, are you saving me?”), Murray’s enigmatic propensity for holding his characters’ emotions close to their hearts creates adequate contrast between sardonic humor and something sincerer. Murray’s response is deadpan brilliance, with a tortured half-smile and a barely-there head cock).

It’s possible that Anderson aided Murray in his transition from his always talking, wisecracking comedic personalities in classics like Ghostbusters or Caddyshack, and The Life Aquatic is unquestionably the most fruitful of his and Anderson’s collaborations, in my humble opinion.

5. Spaceballs (1987)

Initially regarded as one of writer/director Mel Brooks’ poorer works, this affectionate parody of the sci-fi/fantasy genre (particularly, Star Wars) has wormed its way into the hearts of a new generation of fans who are seeing it for the first time at home.

If terms like “May the Schwartz be with you,” “Ludicrous Speed,” and “Mawg” are unfamiliar to you, it’s time to watch this film and see what all the commotion is about.

6. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

Writer/director Nora Ephron’s Sleepless in Seattle is essentially a huge love letter to 1957’s An Affair to Remember.

Annie (Meg Ryan) watches the film before writing to Sam (Tom Hanks) on Valentine’s Day, urging him to meet her at the top of the Empire State Building, as Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr attempted in their film.

The music from An Affair to Remember swells as they eventually meet on the observation deck, establishing the tone for anyone who enjoys good rom-com.

7. UHF (1989)

UHF would most likely be near the bottom of any ranking of these 40 films based on the quality of their filmmaking.

This is the epitome of a star vehicle, so much so that it was directed by the star’s manager, who has never before or subsequently directed another film. “Weird Al” Yankovic is the star, and UHF’s vignette-like approach to parody makes it a film analog to Yankovic’s albums.

Few films on this (or any other) list include as many laughs as this one. It’s like a Zucker Abrahams Zucker film with more breathing room, thanks to a manic performance by a pre-Seinfeld Michael Richards and some of Yankovic’s greatest music.