Comedies are fun to watch any time of the year. Through the month of December as you prep for the holidays, you might be looking for a respite from the constant stream of holiday movies. Thankfully, there are lots of funny movies that have absolutely nothing to do with Christmas.
If you’re not sure where to start, we’re here to help with three comedies on Amazon Prime Video you need to watch in December before they’re gone.
Need more recommendations? Then check out the best new movies to stream this week, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Tropic Thunder (2008)
It’s easy to forget that not only is Tropic Thunder downright hilarious, it also earned Robert Downey Jr. an Oscar nomination for his role. (He would later win for Oppenheimer.) The setting is a movie shoot about the Vietnam War, and the story follows the entitled group of actors playing the characters. When they are dropped in the middle of the jungle to prep for filming and their director accidentally dies, however, they are forced to actually survive in harrowing real-life circumstances. Can their acting skills actually help them?
Serving as a parody of the war film genre and poking fun at arrogant Hollywood personalities and the concept of method acting, the ensemble cast unite to form a ridiculous group who believe they’re far more capable than the really are. Chief among them is Kirk Lazarus (Downey Jr.), an Australian method actor who had his skin pigment darkened (social commentary on underrepresented and unfair castings in Hollywood) to play the character he refuses to break from.
Also starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Nick Nolte, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Bill Hader, Matthew McConaughey, and Tom Cruise in an almost unrecognizable role, Tropic Thunder is a feast for the Hollywood eyes with its long list of celebrity cameos, and jolly good fun for a laugh.
Stream Tropic Thunder on Amazon Prime Video.
My Old Ass (2024)
The new sci-fi comedy drama My Old Ass stars newcomer Maisy Stella as Elliott and Aubrey Plaza as Elliott’s older self. Young Elliott sees herself decades from now during a drug-induced hallucination while taking mushrooms on a camping trip with friends. At just 18, Elliott is beside herself, meeting a version of her at 39 and learning where her life has gone. Before departing, the elder Elliott adds her name to the teenager’s phone under “My Old Ass.” When teenage Elliott later meets a boy named Chad (Percy Hynes White), the one person her older self warned her to steer clear of, Elliott reluctantly reaches out to her older self for guidance.
The twist is one you won’t see coming, injecting a darker tone with the comedy of the script. My Old Ass has received overwhelmingly positive reviews with a 90% Rotten Tomatoes critics score. It’s a fresh take on a coming-of-age story with a trippy look at how every action affects the trajectory of your life. Stella may be new to the scene, but her performance in this film suggests there could be bigger things on the horizon for this young actor.
Stream My Old Ass on Amazon Prime Video.
Snack Shack (2024)
Another new coming-of-age comedy, Snack Shack is set in the ‘90s and centers around two scheming 14-year-olds, A.J. (Conor Sherry) and Moose (Saturday Night‘s Gabrielle LaBelle), who, when their latest money-making scam is thwarted, have to find actual jobs. Rather than work at the snack shack at the local community pool, they decide to bid to buy it, using A.J.’s college savings, much to the chagrin of A.J.’s parents. He swears, however, that they will make enough to put the money back in no time. But when a beautiful girl comes between them, along with other challenges and conflicts in running the business, it risks everything.
The story is loosely based on the real-life experiences of writer and director Adam Carter Rehmeier. Receiving generally positive reviews, JD Duran of InSession Film calls Snack Shack one of his “favorite overlooked movies of the year” while Decider’s John Serba says the “good-natured warmth of the characters and performances saves the day.”
Stream Snack Shack on Amazon Prime Video.