It’s always good to have a laugh, but it’s even better to have continuous laughter for about 90 minutes or so. That’s the role that comedy movies play in our lives. These films can be very cathartic in a time that is decidedly unfunny. When you’re watching these flicks, it’s like your problems can melt away for as long as you’re watching the screen and laughing along with the jokes. At least that’s what we want out of the good and even great comedies. We’d be remiss if we implied that all comedies are created equal. Fortunately, Hulu subscribers have access to a library of comedies that mixes in some classics with modern hits. If you’re in the mood for a movie that tickles your funny bone, this is the best place to start.
Hulu isn’t the only platform with laughs on demand. Lucky for you, we’ve also put together guides to the best comedies on Netflix and the best comedies on Amazon Prime Video.
Jennifer’s Body (2009)
The horrible Rotten Tomatoes score for Jennifer’s Body is largely based on the reviews for the film from when it came out. However, in recent years, fans and critics have come around to this movie and acknowledged it as a classic horror-comedy. Megan Fox stars as Jennifer Check, a popular high school student who is in the wrong place at the wrong time. After a band tries to sacrifice Jennifer to the devil, she reemerges as a woman possessed … literally! At first, only Anita “Needy” Lesnicki (Amanda Seyfried) realizes that her friend is acting strangely. But as Jennifer’s appetites become more and more monstrous, it will be up to Needy to stop her before it’s too late.
Rotten Tomatoes: 45%
Stars: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, J.K. Simmons, Amy Sedaris
Director: Karyn Kusama
Rating: R
Runtime: 102 minutes
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The Mask (1994)
Long before superhero movies became ubiquitous, The Mask took an indie comic book and transformed it into a wild comedy with Jim Carrey in the leading role. Carrey was a perfect fit as both the hapless Stanley Ipkiss and his cartoon-like alter ego, The Mask. When Stanley finds an ancient and magical mask, it allows him to unlock a previously unseen side of his personality. The Mask also openly woos Tina Carlyle (Cameron Diaz), the girlfriend of the local crime boss, Dorian Tyrell (Peter Greene). Soon enough, the cops come after The Mask, and he’ll have to pull out all of his tricks to stay one step ahead of the law and the mob.
Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
Stars: Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz, Peter Riegert, Peter Greene, Amy Yasbeck, Richard Jeni
Director: Chuck Russell
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 101 minutes
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Tragedy Girls (2017)
How far would you go for fame in the age of social media? In Tragedy Girls, McKayla Hooper (Alexandra Shipp) and Sadie Cunningham (Brianna Hildebrand) are the co-writers and co-owners of a true-crime blog that is hurting for followers. So much so that the girls actually catch a serial killer, Lowell Orson Lehmann (Kevin Durand), and decide to continue the killings themselves just to drive up their readership. Unfortunately for the duo, their initial kills don’t attract the kind of attention that they want. They also find themselves going up against local firefighter, Albert “Big Al” Hill (Craig Robinson), as well as Sheriff Blane Welch (Timothy V. Murphy). And when things get tough, these girls come out stabbing.
Rotten Tomatoes: 83%
Stars: Alexandra Shipp, Brianna Hildebrand, Josh Hutcherson, Craig Robinson, Kevin Durand
Director: Tyler MacIntyre
Rating: R
Runtime: 98 minutes
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Villains (2019)
In Villains, Maika Monroe and Bill Skarsgård headline the film as Jules and Mickey, a wannabe modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. However, the duo finds their amorality challenged when they discover a young girl, Sweetiepie (Blake Baumgartner), chained in a basement. The homeowners, George (Jeffrey Donovan) and his wife, Gloria (Kyra Sedgwick), try to bribe Mickey and Jules into forgetting what they saw. When they refuse, the battle of wills between the two couples becomes increasingly heated in this offbeat black comedy.
Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
Stars: Bill Skarsgård, Maika Monroe, Blake Baumgartner, Jeffrey Donovan, Kyra Sedgwick
Director: Dan Berk, Robert Olsen
Rating: R
Runtime: 88 minutes
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Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)
Thirty years after their excellent adventure, Bill and Ted (Keanu Reeves and Alex Winters) are back to save the world once again! When the ruler for the future tells Bill and Ted they must compose a new song to save life on Earth, the Wyld Stallyns reunite for the good of humankind. But … they’re still kinda lazy. So instead of writing it, they decide to travel through time to steal it from their older selves. Meanwhile, their daughters devise their own musical scheme to help their fathers on the adventure.
Rotten Tomatoes: 82%
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winters, Samara Weaving
Director: Dean Parisot
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 91 minutes
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Dear White People (2014)
This provocative comedy about being Black in a white world centers around a college campus culture war. When the staff of a humor magazine stages an offensive Halloween party, the school is torn asunder into a mosaic of infuriated backlash, well-intentioned handwringing, and whataboutism that elegantly showcases the disappointing and frustrating spinning-in-place of the fight for social justice in America. It’s a heavy topic discussed with a light stroke and caustic satire.
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
Stars: Tyler James Williams, Tessa Thompson, Kyle Gallner
Director: Justin Simien
Rating: R
Runtime: 106 minutes
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Caddyshack (1980)
The greatest golf comedy ever made is still eminently quotable. Blue-collar, down-on-his-luck teen Danny Noonan (Michael O’Keefe) works as a caddy at the upscale, snobby Bushwood Country Club to raise money for college. When he finds out about a college scholarship reserved for caddies, Noonan volunteers to caddy for one of the club’s most prominent, influential, and obnoxious members. But while he plays the politics game, he’s drawn to the club’s new-age golf pro, Ty Webb (Chevy Chase), who is absolutely everything that Bushwood stands against.
Rotten Tomatoes: 73%
Stars: Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray
Director: Harold Ramis
Rating: R
Runtime: 98 minutes
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Beetlejuice (1988)
One of the wackier, weirder comedies of the ’80s, Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice strikes a great balance between raucous, supernatural weirdness and provocative storytelling. Barbara and Adam Maitland die in a car accident, only to find themselves stuck haunting their country home, unable to leave. When a horrible new couple buys the home and moves in with their teenage daughter, Lydia (Winona Ryder), the Matilands try to scare them away without success. But in their haunting, they attract Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), a meddlesome spirit whose offer to help becomes increasingly dangerous for the Maitlands and Lydia alike.
Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
Stars: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: PG
Runtime: 92 minutes
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Colossal (2016)
Anne Hathaway is a giant monster in Colossal. That’s not an exaggeration. Hathaway plays Gloria, a woman who is really hitting a rough patch in her life. Gloria moves back to her hometown and works in a bar despite struggling with alcoholism. Somehow, during her blackout periods, Gloria manifests a giant monster in South Korea. Once she accepts that this is really happening, Gloria realizes that she can control the monster, especially if she cleans up her life. Unfortunately for Gloria, she’s not the only one manifesting monsters on the other side of the world. And her life is only going to get more complicated.
Rotten Tomatoes: 81%
Stars: Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis, Dan Stevens, Austin Stowell, Tim Blake Nelson
Director: Nacho Vigalondo
Rating: R
Runtime: 110 minutes
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Kick-Ass (2010)
Chloë Grace Moretz really stole the movie in Kick-Ass, even though she didn’t play the title character. Instead, Moretz portrayed Hit-Girl, the foul-mouthed prepubescent daughter of Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage), a former cop turned costumed vigilante with a vendetta against mob boss Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong). Poor Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) walks into the middle of this mess when he decides to become a superhero called Kick-Ass. However, Kick-Ass soon realizes that he is in way over his head after running into Hit-Girl and Big Daddy. But by then, it’s far too late for Kick-Ass to walk away.
Rotten Tomatoes: 76%
Stars: Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloë Grace Moretz, Mark Strong, Nicolas Cage
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Rating: R
Runtime: 117 minutes
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Young Adult (2012)
Young Adult is a bit of a misnomer for this film since Charlize Theron’s Mavis Gary is pushing 40 and very much not a mature or well-adjusted adult. Mavis comes to believe that she made a mistake by not maintaining her romance with Buddy Slade (Patrick Wilson), her high school boyfriend. That’s why Mavis impulsively decides to return to her hometown and win back Buddy’s heart, regardless of his happy marriage to Beth (Elizabeth Reaser). Mavis’ former classmate, Matt Freehauf (Patton Oswalt), tries to dissuade Mavis from her insane plan. However, Mavis is a force of nature, especially when it comes to destroying herself.
Rotten Tomatoes: 80%
Stars: Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser
Director: Jason Reitman
Rating: R
Runtime: 94 minutes
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I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)
Jim Carrey delivers one of his best performances as Steven Russell, a man’s man who becomes a cop, gets married, and starts a family, as is expected of him. But after a terrible car accident, he realizes it’s finally time to come out of the closet and be true to himself. So he moves to Florida and finances a lavish lifestyle with bad checks and credit cards before winding up in prison. There, he meets Phillip (Ewan McGregor), a quiet inmate who quickly becomes the love of Steven’s life. Determined to build the perfect life with Phillip, Steven immediately embarks on another crime spree.
Rotten Tomatoes: 71%
Stars: Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Leslie Mann
Director: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
Rating: R
Runtime: 98 minutes
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The Beach Bum (2019)
From writer-director Harmony Korine (Spring Breakers), The Beach Bum stars Matthew McConaughey as Moondog, a drug-and-alcohol-loving poet and beach squatter occupying the sands of the Florida Keys. Moondog’s one goal in life is to finish his novel, a literary homage to his daughter (Stefania LaVie Owen). While those around him think Moondog peaked long ago, the nomadic wanderer seeks to prove otherwise. He’ll just have to let go of his beer and bud long enough to issue a coherent statement. Harmony Korine has a penchant for the bizarre, a cinematic touchstone that is completely on display in his latest feature, albeit toned down from other films in the auteur’s catalog.
Rotten Tomatoes: 56%
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Snoop Dogg, Isla Fisher
Director: Harmony Korine
Rating: R
Runtime: 95 minutes
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Palm Springs (2020)
Nyles (Andy Samberg) isn’t having the greatest day. At his friends’ wedding, the man finds his girlfriend cheating on him. Retreating into the desert with the drunken maid of honor, Sarah (Cristin Milioti), Nyles is pierced by a crossbow arrow. Reeling from the pain, he crawls to a strange aura inside a nearby cave. Sarah follows, only to discover that the brilliant lights are a mysterious vortex that traps those who enter in an endless time loop. As Nyles and Sarah are forced to relive the same November day over and over, the two form a bond that begins platonically but eventually becomes something more. An elevated time-travel comedy, Palm Springs is more than just a Groundhog Day homage, adding existentialist ponderings and R-rated hijinks to the time-loop flick formula.
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
Stars: Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, J.K. Simmons
Director: Max Barbakow
Rating: R
Runtime: 90 minutes
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Scrooged (1988)
It may be early for Christmas movies, but it’s never too early for Bill Murray movies! In Scrooged, Murray stars as Frank Cross, a very Scrooge-like TV producer who is ironically forcing his staff to work Christmas Eve to put on a production of A Christmas Carol. Because Frank puts so much emphasis on his television career, he spurns Claire Phillips (Karen Allen), the love of his life. However, a literal ghost from Frank’s past warns him that three more spirits are on their way, and they’re going to try to scare him back into the holiday spirit, even if it kills him.
Rotten Tomatoes: 71%
Stars: Bill Murray, Karen Allen, John Forsythe, Bobcat Goldthwait
Director: Richard Donner
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 100 minutes
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Big Time Adolescence (2020)
Big Time Adolescence premiered at Sundance in 2019, where Hulu picked it up and rebranded it as a Hulu Original in 2020. Griffin Gluck stars as Mo, a teenager with an unusual best friend in this coming-of-age comedy. Mo has a promising future ahead of him, but he has one big problem: He worships his college-dropout, drug-dealing older best friend Zeke (Pete Davidson). While Mo’s hard-working dad tries to steer him onto the right path, he’s not the kind of guy to force his son to stop seeing his best friend, creating a precarious balancing act of maturity. Davidson gives a refreshingly clever performance in this comedy and has a great rapport with Gluck.
Rotten Tomatoes: 85%
Stars: Pete Davidson, Griffin Gluck, Jon Cryer
Director: Jason Orley
Rating: R
Runtime: 90 minutes
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Parasite (2019)
Sweeping the Academy Awards and giving director Bong Joon-ho some serious clout in Hollywood, this black comedy is almost universally liked by anyone who watches it. Set in South Korea, it tells the tale of a poor family who concocts a clever plan to work for a wealthy family, each by recommending one another for different jobs within the home, even though they aren’t the least bit qualified. The film took home four Oscars, including those for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film. If nothing else, it’s worth checking out just to see what all the fuss is about.
Rotten Tomatoes: 99%
Stars: Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik
Director: Bong Joon-ho
Rating: R
Runtime: 132 minutes
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The Art of Self-Defense (2019)
If you’re looking for a feel-good martial arts flick, this isn’t the movie for you. If anything, The Art of Self-Defense is the anti-Karate Kid. Jesse Eisenberg headlines this darkly comedic story as an accountant named Casey Davies. After getting assaulted by a gang, Casey joins a local karate dojo under the instruction of Sensei (Alessandro Nivola). He also befriends Anna (Imogen Poots), the only female student in Sensei’s dojo. Casey gradually comes under Sensei’s wing, and he embraces his inner toxic masculinity … with devastating results on his personal life. All of Casey’s new instincts are wrong, and they lead him to some wild places.
Rotten Tomatoes: 84%
Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Alessandro Nivola, Imogen Poots
Director: Riley Stearns
Rating: R
Runtime: 104 minutes
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Sorry to Bother You (2018)
Marking the directorial debut for Boots Riley, this absurdist black comedy features elements of sci-fi and magic. The film follows Cassius (Lakeith Stanfield), a young, Black telemarketer who fakes an accent to make him sound white in an effort to do better at his job. Riley drew from his own experience of having worked as a telemarketer in his youth and finding success in doing the same thing. In the film, however, as Cassius enjoys greater success, he uncovers a corporate conspiracy and faces a crisis of conscience: What’s more important, making money and being successful or speaking out against the dirty dealings of the company for which he works?
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Stars: Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler
Director: Boots Riley
Rating: R
Runtime: 112 minutes
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Vice (2018)
Christian Bale stars as former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney in this satirical comedy-drama about Cheney’s journey to the White House. Released on Christmas Day, views were split about the film, which received eight Academy Award nominations. While some pundits criticized the film, making it one of the worst-reviewed films to ever be nominated in the Best Picture category at the Academy Awards, others applauded Bale’s transformation and the film’s ability to present truths in a humorous way. It’s one of those films you just need to watch to decide for yourself.
Rotten Tomatoes: 66%
Stars: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carell
Director: Adam McKay
Rating: R
Runtime: 132 minutes
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Booksmart (2019)
One of the most acclaimed comedies of 2019, Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut provides an unflinching, hilarious look at coming-of-age from a female perspective. Molly Davison (Beanie Feldstein in a Golden Globe-nominated performance) and Amy Antsler (Kaitlyn Dever) are determined to finally party and have the night of their lives as their high-school careers come to a close and their paths diverge ahead of college. The jokes come often and come packed with social commentary and witticisms, and despite being geared toward a younger audience, there are elements any film fan can enjoy. It’s essentially the flip side of Superbad, and proves Wilde is just as proficient behind the camera as in front of it.
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Stars: Beanie Feldstein, Kaitlyn Dever
Director: Olivia Wilde
Rating: R
Runtime: 102 minutes
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