IMDb is home to practically all the movie information that you could ever want, and with IMDb TV you can now watch a bevy of the best movies and shows via the internet movie database, including some of the best comedies around.
IMDb TV is a free, ad-supported (AVOD) streaming service. All you need is to create a free IMDb account and you can start watching all of their available titles through the website or on applicable streaming devices, smart TV and mobile devices.
Here’s a peek at some of the best comedies that are currently available on IMDb TV.
Accepted (2006)
[embedded content]
The college comedy is a time-honored tradition that goes back all the way to the Marx Brothers with Horse Feathers. Accepted fits right into the mold with its story of loveable losers who, after failing to get into any college, decide to create their own.
Playing like a more earnest version of Animal House, Accepted checks off many of the classic college comedy boxes — the free-spirited heroes vs. the uptight frat boys, wacky teachers and outrageous parties. We’ve seen it all before, but fresh-faced Justin Long and Jonah Hill help bring a sincere angle to the film.
Blake Lively, Lewis Black, Anthony Heald, Columbus Short, Maria Thyer and more co-star.
The Big Lebowski (1998)
[embedded content]
For as prevalent as The Big Lebowski has been in our culture over the last 20 or so years, it’s easy to forget that the film wasn’t a hit when it first came out in theaters. The Coen brothers’ comedy, thankfully, found its audience because it’s weird to think of a world without Jeff Bridges’ the Dude.
The plot of the movie follows the Dude, after being mistaken for a millionaire that shares the last name of Lebowski, getting involved in a missing person case. But what’s more important are the memorable performances from Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, John Turturro and others, in addition to some of the memorable sequences and lines the Coens concocted (“That rug really tied the room together”).
The Dude abides.
But I’m a Cheerleader (2000)
[embedded content]
Groups of people always find the movies and shows that speak to them, and that’s exactly what happened with Jamie Babbit’s But I’m a Cheerleader. Not loved by critics when released, the LGBTQ+ community, and others, have rediscovered it over the years and turned it into a cult classic.
The story follows a high school cheerleader who is sent to conversion therapy after her parents and friends begin to suspect that she is a lesbian. But I’m a Cheerleader stars an incredible cast featuring Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, Cathy Moriarty, Michelle Williams, RuPaul and Melanie Lynskey.
It’s Pride month, so there’s no better time to watch great LGBTQ+ movies and shows on IMDb TV and other streaming platforms.
Dear White People (2014)
[embedded content]
If you’re a fan of Tessa Thompson and you haven’t seen Dear White People, it should immediately go on your list as it was the role that really got her career kickstarted. Of course, there’s plenty more to enjoy in this socially relevant comedy.
Justin Simien made his feature film debut with this look at a premier college campus and how the issue of race is dealt with on multiple levels and by different individuals.
Dear White People would go on to have a Netflix TV adaptation, but it’s always worth checking out the original.
Dolemite (1975)
[embedded content]
Eddie Murphy gave us the story of Rudy Ray Moore, who created the popular Dolemite character of Blaxplotation films in the 1970s, with Netflix’s Dolemite Is My Name, but you can see the original Dolemite for yourself on IMDb TV.
Moore stars as the titular Dolemite, who after being released from prison teams up with his all-girl army of kung fu warriors to take on the criminals and corrupt police officers that framed him. D’Urville Martin, Jerry Jones and Lady Reed co-star.
The New York Times described Dolemite as “The Citizen Kane of kung-fu pimpin’ movies.” With that kind of description how can you not want to watch?
Grandma (2015)
[embedded content]
Lily Tomlin is a comedic legend, and her talents are on full display in Grandma, where she of course plays the foul-mouthed matriarch who needs to help her granddaughter deal with the consequences of an unplanned pregnancy.
Paul Weitz wrote and directed the 2015 comedy that also stars Julia Garner, Marcia Gay Harden, Judy Greer, Laverne Cox, John Cho, Nat Wolff and Sam Elliott.
Surprisingly, this was the last time we saw Lily Tomlin appear on-screen in a movie (she voiced Aunt May in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), though she has been busy with Grace and Frankie in recent years.
His Girl Friday (1940)
[embedded content]
If you think Aaron Sorkin’s characters talk fast, wait until you see Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell go a mile a minute in His Girl Friday.
Howard Hawks directed His Girl Friday, which sees Grant star as the editor of a newspaper who schemes to keep his ace reporter, and ex-wife (Russell), on staff instead of running off to remarry.
One of the all-time classic comedies should put to bed any complaints that old black-and-whtie movies are slow-paced and dull.
National Lampoon’s Van Wilder (2002)
[embedded content]
They say college is the best four years of your life, or seven if you’re Van Wilder. One of the first times that Ryan Reynolds showed off his patented charms for movie fans in National Lampoon's Van Wilder.
If you need to study up on the film, Reynolds’ Wilder refuses to graduate, instead choosing to revel in his college years as long as he can. Joining Reynolds for his campus antics are Kal Penn, Tara Reid, Paul Gleason and more.
The Sting (1973)
[embedded content]
Robert Redford and Paul Newman team up in The Sting, a classic crime caper that won Best Picture at the Academy Awards for 1973. The Sting is probably the most famous comedy/crime team-up movie before George Clooney and Brad Pitt brought their team together for Ocean’s 11.
The Sting, directed by George Roy Hill, takes place during the Great Depression and follows two grifters as they attempt to steal from a vicious crime boss, played by Robert Shaw.
The Sting won seven Oscars in total, including for Hill’s directing and the script by David S. Ward.
Submarine (2010)
[embedded content]
Quirky British indie film is a pretty well-established genre at this point. Richard Ayoade’s entry into it, Submarine, is one that is definitely worth checking out.
Following teenager Oliver Tate, Submarine has Oliver striving toward two objective’s, being a perfect boyfriend to his new girlfriend Joanna, and preventing anything from happening between his mother and an ex-lover who’s moved into the neighborhood.
Craig Roberts stars as Oliver, with Sally Hawkins, Paddy Considine, Noah Taylor and Yasmin Paige in support. There’s also a young Gemma Chan in the film if you can spot her.
Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
[embedded content]
Go to camp with Paul Rudd, Bradley Cooper, Amy Poehler, Michael Showalter, Janeane Garofalo, Elizabeth Banks, Christopher Meloni, Molly Shannon, David Hyde Pierce and a murderer’s row of other comedic actors that you know and love today.
Set on the last day of summer camp in 1981, Wet Hot American Summer is comedy of the absurd at its best, complete with a talking can of vegetables voiced by H. Jon Benjamin (Archer).
Whether it’s the cast or the jokes that don’t get any less funny as many times as you rewatch it, Wet Hot American Summer has endured for fans and the cast, who returned for two spinoffs on Netflix. It’s hard to top the original though.
