So you’re home sick with the flu. That stinks. But there are two pieces of good news. First, your local FastMed Urgent Care clinic can provide treatment to make you feel better and lower your level of contagion. Secondly, you’ve finally got an excuse to lounge around the house streaming Netflix comedy movies while everyone else is toiling away back at the office. Laughter is the best medicine, after all (well, maybe medicine is the best medicine. But laughter is a close second!).
Here are ten comedies streaming on Netflix right now that will make your flu just a bit more bearable.
Zoolander
Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, and Will Ferrell in a parody of the male modeling industry. This movie is basically the exact formula for comedy gold.
Flu Connection: After working in a coal mine, Zoolander claims to have “the black lung.” Coughing is a flu symptom, too.
Clue
Yup – it’s a movie based on the board game! It’s fun to ask whodunit, and even more fun to go along for the hilarious ride.
Flu Connection: Symptoms like sore throat, fever, and congestion are clues that you might have the flu! Also, you’ll spend time trying to figure out who passed the flu on to you.
Amelie
A French film that’s worth reading every subtitle, this comedy will not only make you laugh, it will also make you feel all warm inside. And that won’t just be because you have the flu.
Flu connection: The flu knows no language barrier. Here’s Google’s flu data for France.
In the Loop
Political satire at its most profane, this movie is not safe for work, children, or sensitive grandparents. But if you’re home alone with the flu, crank up the volume and laugh your way back to health.
Flu connection: Flu symptoms can last a week or more, a frustrating experience that could leave you swearing. But you can swear off the flu this year by getting your flu shot!
Jim Gaffigan: Mr. Universe
If you’ve got kids in the house and are looking for a more family-friendly option, you won’t get funnier than Jim Gaffigan’s stand-up comedy.
Flu connection: If you’d protect them from curse words, don’t you want to protect them from the flu? Get your children vaccinated.
love actually
You can watch this movie two ways: with authentic enjoyment at seeing insecure characters navigate romantic entanglements, or with unceasing mockery of the ridiculousness of the situation. Burn off the flu with smiles or sarcasm – the choice is yours!
Flu connection: Just as these connected characters share the love, so to can you share the flu with people you’re connected with. If you have the flu, stay home!
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Even though you probably won’t enjoy your real sick day as much as Ferris enjoys his fake one, at least you can live vicariously through the titular character.
Flu connection: Like Ferris, you should take a day off if you have the flu. Unlike Ferris, you shouldn’t spend your day gallivanting around town.
Happy Gilmore
This movie helps define the “stupid-funny” comedy subgenre, and it’s perfect for an achy, congested flu day when you don’t want to think too much. Come for the jokes, stay for the inspirational Kevin Nealon speech about energy flow.
Flu connection: Muscle aches and soreness are what Happy Gilmore probably experienced after fighting Bob Barker. They are also symptoms of the flu.
Some Like It Hot
Regarded as one of the best American comedies of all time, watching this film will increase your cultural literacy. And it doesn’t hurt that it’s still hilarious over fifty years after it came out.
Fever connection: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that “not everyone with flu will have a fever.” If you do have a fever, however, you will definitely not like it hot.
Anything from Mystery Science Theater
Puppet robots on a space station make fun of bad movies. What else can you possibly ask for?
Flu connection: If you think you have the flu, don’t treat it like a mystery. Use science! Your local FastMed Urgent Care clinic can do a quick, non-invasive test to determine if you have the flu.
P.S. – If you’ve managed to avoid the flu so far this season, there’s still time to amp up your body’s defenses by getting a flu shot at your local FastMed Urgent Care clinic.