Few things are as life-affirming as a big ol' belly laugh, the kind that reverberates off the walls of a movie theater when you're watching a great comedy. And, thankfully, the top streaming services around, like Amazon's Prime Video, are packed with such cackle-inducing flicks, whether you're into relatable coming-of-age charmers or girls' trips gone hilariously wrong.
With all of the streaming options floating these days, it can seem daunting to narrow things down when all you want is a good laugh. Helpfully, Tom's Guide is here to offer up three uproariously great but woefully overlooked comedies that are packed with all of the slapstick silliness and over-the-top shenanigans you're after.
'Ricky Stanicky'
Like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Dave Bautista, John Cena has parlayed a very successful pro-wrestling career into full-blown movie stardom, particularly in the comedy genre. And one of the athlete-turned-actor's funniest performances is in the Peter Farrelly-directed "Ricky Stanicky," which sees three childhood best friends — played by Zac Efron, Andrew Santino, and Jermaine Fowler — hire a washed-up actor named Rod (Cena) to portray the imaginary Ricky Stanicky, a persona they've used over the years as a handy alibi for their immature behavior.
Not only does Rod really commit to the bit, but so does Cena, who hits hammily great heights here and proves that he's always willing to lay it all on the mat for a laugh.
Watch on Prime Video
'Totally Killer'
In this 2023 slasher comedy from Nahnatchka Khan ("Always Be My Maybe"), Kiernan Shipka stars as Jamie Hughes, a 17-year-old who travels back in time to 1987 to prevent the future death of her mother (Julie Bowen) at the hands of the infamous "Sweet Sixteen Killer."
Despite the gruesome logline, the film gets many of its laughs from the culture clash of Gen Z Jamie navigating the problematic attitudes and shocking throwback behaviors of her Eighties counterparts, including her own teenage mother (played by Olivia Holt), who Jamie is horrified to find out was quite the mean girl back in the day.
"It’s a refreshing approach to the decade at a time when so many stories embrace the ’80s as a magical wonderland of nostalgia and glamor, and watching Jamie turn into a scold that reminds her of her own mother makes for some welcome character comedy," wrote Matthew Jackson for The A.V. Club. The movie's mixture of sci-fi time travel, self-aware comedy and blood-splattered gore was a winning one for critics; the film has a healthy 86% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Watch on Prime Video
'Snack Shack'
If you're after a "Superbad" kind of vibe, this semi-autobiographical 2024 flick from writer-director Adam Carter should be up your alley: We're transported back to early-'90s Nebraska City, where inseparable BFFs AJ Carter and Moose Miller (played by Conor Sherry and Gabriel LaBelle, respectively) work the snack shack at the local pool after the boys' various get-rich schemes — gambling on dog races, selling home-brewed beer — fail to take over.
However, both their summer of teenage hedonism and their lifelong friendship take an unexpected turn when a beguiling new lifeguard named Brooke (Mika Abdalla) enters their world and leaves both friends wrestling with their feelings for her.
While the script was dinged for its "lack of originality," critics praised the "deftly directed" comedy for being "witty and charming enough to largely transcend" that nostalgia-piece familiarity, with plenty of youthfully crass moments to keep you laughing.
Watch on Prime Video
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