The 19 Best Comedies to Stream on Hulu Now

Booksmart

Booksmart centers our eccentric main characters, Amy and Molly, who decide on the night before graduation to attend their first—and only— high school party. As dedicated, straight A students, they are devastated to realize that their classmates managed to have fun and get into good colleges, and they’re ready to learn how it's done. A.O. Scott of The New York Times lauds it as “punctuated with moments of brilliant conceptual whimsy.” 

Available on: Hulu 

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Offbeat and charming, Hunt for the Wilderpeople follows a city-raised kid and his survivalist foster parent as they navigate the New Zealand bush in an attempt to evade a national manhunt. Film critic April Wolfe of LA Weekly described the film as "one of the most sincere and funny portraits of family life to come along in a while."

Available on: Hulu

I, Tonya

Based on one of the most scandalous events in sports history, I, Tonya finds the humor hidden in Harding's tragic story. According to film critic Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post, "the film softens the bouts of cruelty with an abiding sense of humane, if absurdist, comedy, smoothing out the tonal shifts that may have you gasping in horror one minute and laughing the next."

Available on: Hulu

Parasite

In this Oscar-winning tragicomedy, Parasite follows the Kim family as their son, Ki-woo, gets an opportunity to tutor the daughter of the wealthy Park family and dissect the class differences between the two families. The film discusses class discrimination as the Kims attempt to climb the social ladder at the Parks’ expense. Mark Kermode of The Guardian says, “Parasite really is the kind of remarkable experience that makes modern movie-going such a joy.”

Available on: Hulu

Heathers

A cult classic of the '80s, Heathers stars Winona Ryder as a disillusioned "It Girl" and Christian Slater as her dangerous, motorcycle-riding boyfriend, and they both wreak havoc on their high school classmates. The surprisingly thoughtful film is a "super-smart black comedy about high school politics and teenage suicide," says Variety.

Available on: Hulu

Palm Springs

The perfect film for describing the relentlessness of 2020, Palm Springs is a comedy written in a similar vein to Groundhog Day, where main character Nyles (Andy Sandberg) is numbly reliving his friend’s wedding night over and over. But things get interesting when Sarah, the sister of the bride, suddenly becomes stuck in the warp alongside him. Joshua Rivera of The Verge says, “While Palm Springs is a fun rom-com, it’s a story haunted by the idea that we’d secretly be tempted by a world where nothing really matters, to absolve ourselves of responsibility.”

Available on: Hulu 

Girls Just Want To Have Fun

This classic '80s chick flick is a time capsule movie that's a fun spoof on the MTV generation. For a tacky good time, follow two high school girls and their arch-rival as they vie for a spot in the most popular dance contest. Vulture credits the film for setting the template for all other dance movies to follow. Plus, you'll get to witness Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt in some early iconic roles.

Available on: Hulu

Up in the Air

This star-studded film directed by Jason Reitman won a lot of Oscar buzz. The story is set within the modern tragedy of commonplace corporate layoffs with Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) as the "Termination Facilitator". While mentoring a young, bright-eyed newcomer (Anna Kendrick), Bingham meets a fellow road warrior (Vera Farmiga) who makes a lasting impression on him. Rotten Tomatoes quips, "Jason Reitman delivers a smart blend of humor and emotion with just enough edge for mainstream audiences."

Available on: Hulu

Their Finest

Set in World War II London, the British ministry needs to boost morale and decides to make propaganda films. Realizing they could use a female perspective, they hire Catrin Cole (played by Gemma Arterton) who rises to the occasion. Expect a witty and captivating dramedy with an underlying feminist message. Wall Street Journal raves, "Their Finest is one of the smartest, funniest and most surprising movies I’ve seen in years."

Available on: Hulu

Sorry to Bother You

This bold and deftly entertaining satire succeeds on many levels. Rolling Stone says, "Boots Riley’s brilliant, take-no-prisoners comedy skewers social norms, racial strife and the media." The plot centers around a telemarketer named Cassius Green who discovers his key to success at work is to use his "white voice." You can already see where this is heading, but hold onto your seat. Things get weird—in a good way.

Available on: Hulu

Support the Girls

This quietly feminist movie unfolds over the course of an eventful day at a Hooters-style restaurant full of scantily clad waitresses. Though the set-up sounds perfect for a raunch-com, it quickly veers towards a deeply witty and heartfelt comedy about empathy. Vox agrees: "Starting out as a workplace comedy featuring a sparkling female ensemble, the movie—set mostly over a single day—morphs into an affecting, startlingly insightful depiction of the bone-weary work of being a woman in a man’s world."

Available on: Hulu

Ingrid Goes West

This dark comedy hits close to home for many of us who fall into the modern day social media trap of enviously scrolling through the glamorous, perfect lives of influencers. Aubrey Plaza and Elizabeth Olsen star in this frighteningly entertaining movie about a woman who sets out to stalk her favorite Instagram influencer— and fake her way into becoming best friends. Roger and Ebert agree, "This is a daring comedy with a very sharp bite".

Available on: Hulu

The Year of Spectacular Men

The very unspectacular Izzy Klein is a recent college graduate who can’t seem to kiss the right frog and have him materialize into a prince—let alone text her back. A light and easy watch, Bob Mondello of NPR describes the flick as “A nice corrective to the sort of comedies it most resembles, those '80s rom coms that joked about romance novel conventions without actually challenging them.” 

Available on: Hulu

Friends With Kids

Another classic star-studded comedy, Friends With Kids follows main character Julie, who is beginning to become fearful that her childbearing years are coming to a close. But her best friend Jason thinks up the perfect solution: get her pregnant—platonically, of course. Nothing could go wrong, right? NPR calls it a “marvelous movie,” and we’d have to agree.  

Available on: Hulu

The Hustle

Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson remake the age-old “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” in this chaotic comedy. The pair become the best con-artists on the French Riviera, teaming up to fool and exploit wealthy men. Variety notes, “Hathaway and Wilson, who spend most of the movie trying to outfox each other, inject their roles with outsize personality.” 

Available on: Hulu 

A Simple Favor

In this thriller-meets-comedy, Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively play the best of frenemies, upholding the charade until one of them unexpectedly goes missing. Besides its status as an entertaining watch, Jon Frosch from The Hollywood Reporter notes, “A Simple Favor also tosses around a worthwhile idea or two about contemporary female identity — how women are pigeonholed into roles that stifle their complexity.”

Available on: Hulu 

Force Majeure

This sharp marital drama by Ruben Ostlund centers around an average family who goes on a ski vacation only to have an avalanche nearly ruin the trip, though the bigger question is whether it will ruin the marriage. New York Times raves, "This brilliant, viciously amusing takedown of bourgeois complacency, gender stereotypes and assumptions and the illusion of security rubs your face in human frailty."

Available on: Hulu

The Wedding Planner

If you love a cheesy rom-com, this is the pick for you. J-Lo and Matthew McConaughey team up in this classic to prove magic happens when you least expect it. Mary (Lopez) was always too busy planning weddings to find the man of her dreams— until he is the groom at her recent client’s wedding. According to IMDB, “When it comes to love, you can never plan what's going to happen.”

Available on: Hulu

The Spy Who Dumped Me

Best friends Audrey (Mila Kunis) and Morgan (Kate McKinnon) are living an average life in Los Angeles, until Audrey receives word that her spy ex-boyfriend is in grave danger and desperately needs her help, despite having dumped her to focus on his career. But of course, the pair step in to save the day. Richard Brody of The New Yorker states, “The movie places McKinnon’s comedic gift on display throughout, with bursts of verbal invention.” 

Available on: Hulu