Underappreciated Comedy Movies You Need To Watch On Netflix

Gone are the days of endlessly searching the aisles of the video store for some undiscovered gem. Instead, it's all about endlessly scrolling through Netflix in search of something fresh and new to watch. No matter the method, it's hard to know what's good or not, or, in the case of a comedy, whether it's really funny or really stupid. So like Netflix's recommendation engine come to life, here are 10 overlooked comedies from the past few decades that are just as good as—if not better than—all those big, broad blockbusters.

Seann William Scott has been largely relegated to bully and sidekick roles, such as Stifler in American Pie and as Chester in Dude, Where's My Car?. In Goon, he's front, center, and often bloody as the star of this charming hockey comedy. Scott plays Doug, a dumb but good-natured guy who works as a bouncer but doesn't really know what to do with his life. Then he discovers he has a knack for being a hockey enforcer or "goon," the guy who violently body-checks opposing players. All the while, and despite the violence he gives and receives, Doug remains sweet and just there to have a good time. Goon was written by Superbad co-writer Evan Goldberg and Knocked Up star Jay Baruchel, who co-stars as Scott's best friend.

Adults often talk about how hard it is to make friends, what with work and family obligations. A new-to-Los Angeles couple (Taylor Schilling and Adam Scott) meet a young dad (Jason Schwartzman) at a park, who invites them over to meet his wife. Dinner soon turns into an all-night affair, and comedy of discomfort (and regret) of the highest order ensues as the couples learn way more about themselves—and each other—than they ever intended or wanted.

Usually, movies that are based on a true story are dramas — they seek to capture and retell actual, harrowing moments that happened in real life. But while stories of war and heroes lend themselves to serious movies, life isn't always serious; sometimes, it's absurd, such as the circumstances that led to the 1997 robbery of millions from Loomis Fargo, a company which operates armored trucks. As demonstrated by the events of Masterminds, it was not exactly the crime of the century. A ne'er-do-well named Steve (Owen Wilson) convinces his girlfriend Kelly (Kristen Wiig) to plan the heist by romancing David, a mild-mannered Loomis Fargo driver (Zach Galifianakis), into being their inside man and point man. David makes a ton of mistakes in the lead-up to the robbery, the robbery itself, and its aftermath, including poorly executed threats, bungled escapes, and masking his identity with the name of another guy connected to the robbery. All in all, it's a goofy crime caper where absolutely nothing goes right, which means it's okay to laugh.

This indie ensemble comedy might seem like a Bridesmaids knock-off, but while it's set in the lead-up to a wedding and concerns a small group of close-knit friends, it actually tells an uncomfortable story about people reckoning with the awful things they did in the past, and how that affected their present. Career woman Regan (Kirsten Dunst), functional drug addict Gena (Lizzy Caplan), and party girl Katie (Isla Fisher) reunite to attend the wedding of their old friend Becky (Rebel Wilson), and they're more than a little resentful that the one they used to horrendously call "Pigface" beat them to the altar. As the wedding draws closer, many embarrassing secrets about each other are shared, and the main cast also manages to get up to some cringe-inducing slapstick, such as when the three mean girls get drunk, accidentally destroy Becky's wedding dress, and then get blood all over it. But hey, this is a comedy about a wedding, so you can be sure that almost everything is patched up by the end.

Finally, a movie about a greedy, street-smart hustler that also involves polka and the pope. That's The Polka King, a true story that's so incredibly ridiculous that it's presented as a comedy. With his likability and Tenacious D-honed rock n' roll showmanship, Jack Black is perfectly cast as Jan Lewan, a polka band leader forced into hucksterism.

Perhaps Lewan's only real crime is a blind adherence to the American Dream...well, that and fraud. In addition to his band, Lewan runs a gift shop and a record label, only he can't quite pay the bills. After a chance meeting with an elderly couple who want to invest in his secretly failing enterprise, he starts selling securities with an impossibly good rate of return. The SEC learns about his illegal scheme almost immediately and orders him to shut it down. But he's already spent the money, so he just starts a new scheme, as well as some others, including leading European tours that include an audience with the pope. (How does he fulfill that promise? Bribing Vatican officials, of course.) His antics eventually involve millions of ill-gotten dollars, and the only way to go is down — spectacularly.