The Best Comedy Shorts of January 2025

Each month, many funny videos are posted to every corner of the internet — from the platform formerly known as Twitter, Instagram, Vimeo, TikTok, and sometimes other weird places we’ll have trouble embedding. Because you’re busy living your life, you might miss some of these funny videos and feel left out when others bring them up in conversation. Well, worry not! We’re here to make sure you’re not listening in on conversations but leading them … as long as those conversations are about funny internet videos. Here are our favorite comedy shorts of the month.

’98 Honda, by Niles Abston and Christian Banda

A long-awaited online premiere for us at this column (we highlighted a shorter clip several months ago), ’98 Honda is a hangout period (I guess!) comedy set in sunny 2004, where a drug dealer is asked to look after his girlfriend’s young cousin and take him to see Spider-Man 2 in theaters. Directed with warmth and detail by Christian Banda and anchored by writer, actor, and comedian Niles Abston’s (FX’s Dave) low-key charisma, ’98 Honda features a parade of memorable supporting characters that allows its cliffhanger ending — the short is a proof-of-concept for a feature — to genuinely surprise us.

“A Deli That Adds New Sandwiches to the Menu,” by Nicky Cass

Nicky Cass is back with a rumination on the culinary importance of the neighborhood deli. See, the uninitiated believe that delis are just places to grab your energy drinks and sandwiches. That couldn’t be more wrong. They’re a lab of innovation, where gastronomical delights like the Healthy Bastard and What’s That? Oh That’s My Ass are born and soon flushed with absolute vigor.

“Fantasy Football Punishment,” by Jeff Braun

Fantasy football has taken on a life of its own over the past 15 years. It’s more than a cultural phenomenon — it’s a way of existing in the world, complete with a shadow system of justice where law is meted out through harsh punishment for those who find themselves with the unenviable title of “loser.” This meta take on those harsh stakes made us laugh.

“The Guy Who Wrote the First Space Jam,” by Henrik Blix

What kind of mind could have come up with the combination of interstellar travel, NBA basketball, and the Looney Toons that comprises 1996 Space Jam? Can we ever fathom such a mind? Henrik Blix posits that we can, conjuring a chaotic avatar of ’90s screenwriting excess to do so. “Was I just in a car accident?” he says in between pitching batshit ideas only we know will actually make for a successful film. “Buddy, you’re gonna have to be a little more specific. Do you mean earlier this morning, or again later this morning?”

His Parents Never Taught Him, by Michael Rees and Haley Stiel

Two wildly different social circles collide in this acerbic short film by Michael Rees, which is co-written by Rees and co-star Haley Stiel. Aggressively passive best friends Liam and Kyle find their Airbnb has been double booked with a group of four young women who are using the same pool to “heal deep sisterly wounds” by being topless together and talking shit about their friend who bailed on the trip. The bitter comedy of their conflict gives way to something disarmingly sweet by the end of the short once we come to realize the actual purpose of this trip for Liam and Kyle. (Watch it here.)

“The Last Birthday,” by Lucie Bourdeu

We’re fairly certain that this is the first video we’ve featured from a French disability-rights organization. This PSA from the Valentin Haüy association sees adults learning at a 59th birthday party that if their vision problems aren’t diagnosed by age 60, under the current French law, they won’t receive the full medical benefits they’re entitled to. So they do what anyone would do and promptly start blinding themselves with any and all objects they can find. It’s funny enough that even subjects of the American health-care system can enjoy these characters’ plights, which is a huge accomplishment.

“Meet the Boys,” by Joe Cappa

It’s probably best to watch this parody music video for some context before taking in the fucked-up papier-mâché genius that this Meet the Boys short is trying to get across, but you certainly don’t have to. If you’re anything like us, you’ll immediately know how to luxuriate in this acid trip of a video that manages a production marvel while also being laugh-out-loud funny.

“Mexorcist (Part 2),” by Fernando Valenzuela

Juan got a raise, and the unthinkable happened: He began morphing into a Republican. Now, his dear friends and colleagues are here with a can of Modelo, a Mexican flag, and a whole lot of hope. With any luck, they’ll be able to knock that Trumpy blond wig off Juan’s head and save him once and for all.

“Secretary Doesn’t Understand What an Affair Is,” by Haley Hepworth

This is a quick and killer riff on seductive Mad Men secretaries from Haley Hepworth with a surprising yet inevitable chef’s kiss of an ending. Not a line is wasted, but specifically (and in a sly spin of the solo character monologue’s tendency to repeat information that was just said to them for the audience’s benefit), the secretary’s baffled cries of “Pure projection!? Lonely dullard!?” may well enter your personal lexicon permanently after this.

“Stronger,” by Boy Marinho

It’s Britney, bitch, and you’ve never seen her like this. Boy Marinho is an incredibly skilled dancer, yes, but it’s his painstaking attention to mimicry — impressive to such an extreme degree — that makes us wonder if, in fact, Ms. Spears is the impersonator here.

Like what you saw? Want to be in this monthly roundup? Show us your stuff! 

Luke Kelly-Clyne is Head of Studio at Hartbeat and a watcher of many web videos. Send him yours at @LKellyClyne.

Graham Techler has contributed writing to The New Yorker and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency. Send him your videos at @gr8h8m_t3chl3r.