There’s so much going on during the holiday season, from Thanksgiving prep to buying holiday gifts and gearing up for the end of the year. So, when you have time to sit, relax, and watch a movie, you probably want something lighthearted and fun. That’s where comedies come in.
There are three comedies on Prime Video you need to watch in November that you probably didn’t even know were available as part of your standard Amazon Prime subscription. Two of them are classics from the ’80s and ’90s that are must-watches if you’ve never seen them — and even if you have. The third is a stand-up special from one of the best comedians of his generation.
Mars Attacks! (1996)
Jack Nicholson plays a dual role in this hilarious Tim Burton comic sci-fi movie with an incredible supporting cast that includes Glenn Close, Annette Bening, then-current James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox — the list goes on. The movie is about aliens from Mars that are heading toward Earth and the various reactions as society and the government plan for their arrival.
Nicholson plays President James Dale, as well as Art Land, the owner of a casino. Using computer animation to create the Martians, Mars Attacks! isn’t as visually captivating as movies made in subsequent decades with the most current VFX technology. The movie also received mixed reviews. But Mars Attacks! has become a cult classic and the all-star cast list, many at the height of their careers at the time, makes it worth the watch.
Stream Mars Attacks! on Prime Video.
UHF (1989)
If you love “Weird Al” Yankovic, UHF is exactly what you might think it would be like — a movie interpretation of the same stylings Yankovic delivers in his music. He stars as George Newman, a dreamer who winds up managing a low-budget TV station. Somehow, the strange programming he runs on the station attracts big audiences, thanks in part to the janitor-turned-children’s TV host Stanley (Michael Richardson), who is part of the lineup.
UHF didn’t get the attention it deserved when it was released, largely due to coming out in theaters at the same time as several blockbuster movies like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Ghostbusters II, Batman, and Dead Poets Society. However, it has since become a cult classic, especially since hard copies are tough to find nowadays. That’s even more reason to stream it while you can.
Stream UHF on Prime Video.
George Carlin: You Are All Diseased (2003)
George Carlin was one of the best, most influential stand-up comedians of his generation. This stand-up special was recorded for HBO in 1999, nearly a decade before his death in 2008. Hhis 12th HBO special, George Carlin: You Are All Diseased, was taped in front of a live studio audience and features some of the seasoned comedian’s best material.
True to his style, no topics are off limits, from airport security to germs, cigars, children, parenting, religion, and more. This special isn’t for the politically correct, but if you want to see stand-up from one of the men who has influenced many comedians who have hit the scene since, George Carlin: You Are All Diseased is a master class in how it’s done.
Stream George Carlin: You Are All Diseased on Prime Video.
