Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

3 comedies on Prime Video you need to watch in January

It’s a new year, so it’s time to return to watching random movies at home. Something uplifting is what the doctor ordered, and that means when you snuggle up on the couch to watch a good movie, you might want to stick with a comedy.

Amazon Prime Video has great comedies, and the three comedies on Prime Video you need to watch in January are all recently released brand-new movies with impressive casts.

Freelance (2023)

Freelance (2023) Official Trailer - John Cena, Alison Brie, Juan Pablo Raba, Christian Slater

John Cena has been making tons of movies alongside starring as Peacemaker in the Max series of the same name. Freelance is one of the latest, and while critics have panned the movie, fans of the wrestler-turned-actor are loving it, regardless of how corny it might be.

In the action comedy, he’s Mason Pettits, a medically discharged U.S. Army Special Forces member. Now, years later, he’s working as a lawyer but hates his job. When he is presented with the opportunity to work as personal security for a journalist named Claire (Spin Me Around‘s Alison Brie), he jumps. There’s one issue: he has to travel with her to interview the dictator Mason failed to assassinate.

As action-comedy tropes would suggest, Mason and Claire find themselves fighting villains and running for their lives on an adventure that turns out to be more than they expected. Interestingly, while Freelance has an abysmal 7% Rotten Tomatoes score, the audience score on the same review aggregator site is a respectable 77%. Bottom line: if you’re looking for a feel-good, fan-service movie and love Cena, Freelance will be right up your alley.

Stream Freelance on Prime Video. 

Role Play (2023)

Role Play - Official Trailer | Prime Video

The Flight Attendant‘s Kaley Cuoco has impressed since the end of The Big Bang Theory, showing that she can play more than just a sarcastic woman with great one-liners. Her performances in both The Flight Attendant and Based on a True Story gave her tremendous credibility, which translates to this action thriller in which she stars alongside David Oyelowo.

The title is in reference to what married couple Emma (Cuoco) and Dave (Oyelowo) decide to do to spice things up in the bedroom. But in doing so, Dave discovers that there’s more to Emma than meets the eye. She’s not just a garden-variety suburban mom; she’s also a secret assassin for hire. Corny? Yes. Totally fun? Yes. For light viewing to ease you back into those darker shows to come, Role Play will help you disconnect and turn your brain off for an hour and a half.

Stream Role Play on Prime Video.

Bottoms (2023)

BOTTOMS | Official Red Band Trailer

Created by Rachel Sennott, who had a recurring role in the failed series The Idol, Bottoms is a hilarious satirical teen comedy from last year. Two lesbian high school seniors PJ (Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edibiri) start their own fight club. At first, the purpose is to defend their actions when they purposely injured a mean quarterback, claiming it was practice for their feminist self-defense club. But they later realize a fight club is the perfect way to get the attention of the popular (and hot) cheerleaders.

Ironically, while the club is all about female empowerment, the ladies are only doing it to manipulate other women they want to bed. At its heart, however, Bottoms has a deeper message to deliver and accomplishes it in the most cleverly satirical way possible.

Stream Bottoms on Prime Video.

Christine Persaud
Christine has decades of experience in trade and consumer journalism. While she started her career writing exclusively about…
3 underrated Netflix movies you should watch this weekend (September 13-15)
netflix underrated movies watch september 13 15 2024 patrick bateman rolex

By now, you've probably seen, or at least heard about, the new fantasy comedy Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. The hit sequel starring Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder made bags full of money last weekend and is poised to make even more in the next few days.

But maybe watching a comedy about a demonic ghoul and a middle-aged goth girl isn't your thing? That's cool, no problem; Netflix has your back. The streamer has tons of movies to watch in its vast library, and we've picked three underrated gems that are worth streaming this weekend.

Read more
The best movies on Amazon Prime Video (September 2024)
Amy Adams in Nocturnal Animals.

Amazon Prime Video has a wide range of films for movie lovers of all ages, and that's very apparent in the second week of September. This week's new addition is Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, one of DreamWorks Animation's best animated movies in the past decade. It is primarily a family movie, but it's also one of the rare films to appeal to kids of all ages.

Our other Prime Video spotlight film of the week is Nocturnal Animals, a 2016 thriller starring Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal that blends two disparate narratives into one engrossing movie. It's a worthy addition to Prime Video, but suitable only for mature audiences. You can find more of the best movies on Amazon Prime Video below. Check back every Friday morning as we keep this list up-to-date with the latest films.

Read more
If you have to watch one Disney+ movie this September, stream this one
A gang of males walks down a street in West Side Story.

More than any other Hollywood studio, Disney is a brand unto itself. Thanks to its theme parks, cruises, and century of "magic," Disney has established itself in the minds of millions as the studio that turns dreams into reality. As the movie library on Disney+ continues to expand, though, it's easy to forget that Disney owns plenty of movies that aren't animated or about Tony Stark.

If you're looking for a movie worth watching on the service outside of Disney's bigger properties, then the 2021 reimagining of West Side Story is a great place to start. Directed by Steven Spielberg, the movie retains much of what makes the musical great while taking a few big swings of its own. Set on the west side of 1960s New York, the film tells the story of a doomed romance between two people on opposite sides of a gang war. Here are three reasons you should check it out.
Steven Spielberg was born to direct a musical
Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story" | Official Trailer | 20th Century Studios

Read more