A great summer comedy movie doesn’t necessarily have to be set during summer to fit into that category.
Sometimes it’s enough for a comedy to play so broadly that it successfully competes with the other films in the crowded summer landscape.
The Watch With Us team’s picks for the three must-watch comedy movies that are perfect to stream in the summer are a mixture of both.
Our first two choices are breezy summer comedies, while the third is an action comedy that still plays exceptionally well four decades after its release.
‘No Hard Feelings’ (2023)
No Hard Feelings is the perfect example of a summer comedy that was both released during the correct season and takes place during the summer. Jennifer Lawrence ended her big-screen hiatus by stepping into the role of Maddie Barker, a 30ish young woman whose life is coming apart.
Maddie is on the verge of losing her home and her car until she fields an unusual offer from Laird (Matthew Broderick) and Allison Becker (Laura Benanti). In return for dating their awkward college-bound son, Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), the Beckers will give Maddie the financial lifeline she needs. However, no one told Percy about this arrangement, and Maddie finds that he may be immune to her charms.
No Hard Feelings is streaming on Hulu.
‘Wet Hot American Summer’ (2001)
Wet Hot American Summer lampoons a lot of the ’80s sex comedies that ruled the summer four decades ago. Fortunately, you don’t need to be familiar with the earlier movies to appreciate the jokes in this film, or its intentionally cheesy tone.
This film also has a ridiculously stacked cast of performers who went on to become stars, including Bradley Cooper, Amy Poehler and Judah Friedlander, as well as established actors like Janeane Garofalo, Paul Rudd and David Hyde Pierce. Multiple love stories unfold in and around Camp Firewood as it prepares to shut down for the summer. That leads to a lot of comedic moments, but not everyone gets their happy ending.
Wet Hot American Summer is available to rent or buy on Prime Video.
‘Beverly Hills Cop’ (1984)
Beverly Hills Cop is such a great movie that three different sequels have attempted to recapture the magic in the last 41 years. But there’s nothing quite like the original, which firmly established Eddie Murphy as a movie star. Murphy plays Axel Foley, a detective in the Detroit Police Department who reunites with his old friend, Mickey (James Russo), shortly before the latter is murdered.
To find his friend’s killers, Axel defies his superiors and takes off to Beverly Hills on an unauthorized investigation. Two detectives, Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton), try to keep Axel out of trouble on the West Coast. That was always going to be a losing battle as Axel runs rings around them
Beverly Hills Cop is streaming on Paramount+.
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