RLJE Films
Last Updated: August 14th
Hulu’s giving Netflix a run for its money in the laughs department.
The streaming platform has tons of great TV shows, but did you know some comedy gems are also hidden over there? There are some cult classics starring icons like Bill Murray and Chevy Chase, but there are also some new wave hits, sci-fi satires starring Anne Hathaway, an outrageous biopic with Margot Robbie, and Boots Riley’s directorial debut. Whatever your tastes, there’s something to split your sides … like, in a good way.
Related: The Best Comedies On Amazon Prime Right Now
Neon
Run Time: 120 min | IMDb: 7.5/10
As flashy and over-the-top as the sequin-spandex numbers that graced the ice back in the ’80s, I, Tonya manages to straddle a thin line. It’s both a biopic of one of the most notorious female athletes in the history of figure skating and a raucous comedy intent on mocking everything troubling about American culture at the time. Margot Robbie is brilliant in her role – playing a woman tortured by talent and her inability to capitalize on it – and you can literally hear Allison Janney chewing every scene she’s in as Harding’s narcissistic, chain-smoking mother. Plus that parrot bit is as funny as you could hope.
Lionsgate
Run Time: 117 min | IMDb: 7.7/10
Matthew Vaughn prefaces his wildly successful Kingsman run with this raunchy, raucous action comedy about a comic book nerd who decides to emulate his fictional heroes by becoming a superhero, despite having no training or talent for fighting. Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as Dave, a high-school nobody whose DIY vigilante-ways land him in trouble with mob bosses and drug dealers and all kinds of nefarious foes. He ends up partnering a father-daughter pair of heroes, Big Daddy (a ridiculously entertaining Nic Cage) and Hit-Girl (a kickass Chloe Grace Moretz). It’s a bizarre, funny, action-packed mess. You’ll love it.
Annapurna Pictures
Run Time: 132 min | IMDb: 7.2/10
Adam McKay’s controversial biopic lands on Hulu with its impressive cast of Oscar-winners including Christian Bale, who undergoes a mind-blowing transformation to play former Vice President Dick Cheney. The film follows the build-up to Cheney’s White House appointment, as he gains power first as a Washington insider, then as the man pulling the strings of the Bush administrations. Amy Adams plays his supportive, just as morally compromised wife, Lynne, with Sam Rockwell turning in a hilarious performance as Bush himself.
Dreamworks/Netflix
Run Time: 90 min | IMDb: 7.9/10
We know what you’re thinking. Shrek? Really? An animated comedy about an ugly green ogre who rescues a princess, befriends a donkey, and saves a kingdom. Look, it’s a common misconception that Shrek was only for kids. Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz all voiced characters in the film, and there were plenty of mature jokes that probably flew right over the kiddos’ heads. Torturing a sweet Gingerbread Man, interspecies hookups, and a show-stopping song and dance number to wrap things up makes this a family-friendly comedy that the adults won’t snooze through.
annapurna
Run Time: 111 min | IMDb: 7/10
Boots Riley’s directorial debut comes courtesy of this dark, absurdist comedy that manages to weave themes of class and capitalism into a bonkers tale about a telemarketer living in Oakland who figures out a way to use his “white voice” to make sales. As he moves up the ladder, selling while hiding his identity, he’s pulled into a conspiracy that forces him to choose between cashing in at humanity’s expense or joining his friends in a rebellion against the system. Lakeith Stanfield gives a riveting turn as Cassius Green, Cash, the kid at the center of this bizarre story, and Tessa Thompson gives a commendable performance as Cash’s radical feminist girlfriend, Detroit.
Columbia
Run Time: 113 min | IMDb: 7.6/10
Jonah Hill and Michael Cera play a couple of best friends in search of a good time in this raunchy high school comedy from pals Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Seth (Hill) and Evan (Cera) hope to close out their senior year by getting wasted and getting laid with a blow-out to end all blow-outs. Their mission to get booze for the party, impress their crushes, and have a memorable night is derailed rather quickly thanks to fake IDs, a couple of incompetent cops, bar fights, and their own bickering. It’s a gross, over-the-top, and surprisingly poignant look at friendship and what happens when we outgrow people.
RLJE Films
Run Time: 99 min | IMDb: 6.6/10
Pen15‘s Maya Erskine and ‘ Jack Quaid star in this modern rom-com about a pair of friends who agree to suffer a summer of wedding invites together. Alice and Ben have been pals since college but when their mutuals start getting hitched, and they’re left without dates to the happy nuptials, they make a pact to be each others’ “plus one.” What begins as a chance to score free booze and food quickly spirals into a neverending series of interactions that remind them how lonely they both are and force them to confront their hidden attraction.
New Line Cinema
Run Time: 97 min | IMDb: 6.6/10
This quintessential ’90s comedy ticks all the boxes. It’s got murder, beauty queens, and just enough catfighting to keep things interesting. Denise Richards and Kirsten Dunst star as a couple of contestants in a pageant that quickly goes off the rails when one girl is found dead, and the rest of the women are considered suspects.
Universal Pictures/Netflix
Run Time: 108 min | IMDb: 7/10
Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro star in this comedy about that dreaded of all marriage rituals: the meeting of the in-laws. Stiller plays Greg Focker, a male nurse who desperately wants to impress his girlfriend’s parents before he proposes. They spend a weekend with the family where Greg quickly realizes that his soon-to-be-father-in-law Jack (De Niro) is going to be a problem. As the weekend progresses and Greg has some hilarious mishaps that fail to win Jack over, secrets about the family and Greg come to light.
MGM
Run Time: 96 min | IMDb: 7.1/10
Mel Brooks’ hilarious space odyssey has become something of a cult classic over the decades. It’s a parody of George Lucas’ Star Wars trilogy, so it follows the same plot: a rogue pilot, and his sidekick must rescue a princess and save the galaxy, but instead of Startroopers, the bad guys are known as Space Balls and everyone is hopelessly out of their depth playing hero (and villain).
Columbia
Run Time: 89 min | IMDb: 5.7/10
Joel Gallen directs this irreverent early aughts comedy that mocks some of the most beloved rom-coms from the ’80s and ’90s. Chris Evans plays the obligatory jock who falls in love with the nerdy girl, places a bet to turn her beautiful, then eventually falls for her and tries to win her hand. Chyler Leigh plays the ugly duckling who just needed her glasses removed to discover her dormant beauty. Add in a few cliched lines from flicks like She’s All That, Pretty In Pink, and American Pie and you’ve got a hilariously raunchy, fearlessly self-deprecating comedy that stands the test of time.
Neon
Run Time: 109 min | IMDb: 6.2/10
A decidedly unusual twist on the giant monster movie, Nacho Vigolando’s Colossal follows Gloria (Anne Hathaway), an unemployed writer who moves back to her hometown after her boyfriend Tim (Dan Stevens) breaks up with her. After moving into her childhood home, Gloria’s heavy drinking starts to take a toll on her before she starts to realize that she may have a significant connection with a towering monster that spontaneously appears over Seoul, South Korea.
Paramount
Run Time: 93 min | IMDb: 7.6/10
John Hughes directs this comedy classic starring icons Steve Martin and John Candy. Martin plays Neal Page, a marketing executive trying to make it home for Christmas who gets sidetracked at every turn by a traveling salesman named Del (Candy). The two are forced to travel together because of blizzards and car fires and all kinds of hilarious mishaps, but they eventually reach their destination with an understanding and a reluctant friendship.
New World Pictures
Run Time: 103 min | IMDb: 7.3/10
One for the outsiders, Heathers is the darkest of the ’80s teen comedies. While your “teen-angst bulls*t” may not have had a body count, everyone can relate to the constant pressure to be popular that plagues high school hallways. Winona Ryder proves herself to be the ultimate cool girl as Veronica, who takes matters into her own hands in order to destroy a toxic clique. Cynical and more than a little cruel, Heathers changed the game for teen films forever. While Mean Girls may be its spiritual successor, Heathers remains the one Queen Bee to rule them all.
MGM
Run Time: 114 min | IMDb: 6.9/10
Kingpin is the kind of movie that could only be made in the ’90s. The absurdist comedy stars Woody Harrelson as a washed up pro-bowler who lost his arm in a fight. Years later, he’s given the chance to face off against his nemesis by coaching a talented Amish kid who happens to be a bowling prodigy. The two have to navigate crime bosses and groupies with ulterior motives to compete in a tournament with a cash prize of $1 million. Harrelson is terrific as always but just check your brain at the door with this one.
