19 Funny Movies to Stream on Hulu If You Need a Laugh Right Now

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With all that’s going on, at least we have our streaming services to distract and comfort us. With the COVID-19 crisis keeping many of us at home, Hulu’s movie selection has been an absolute blessing. Whether you’re in the mood for the ‘80s classics you grew up with, snark-filled action comedies, or cheesy rom-coms, Hulu has just the cure for your social-distancing blues. Here are some hilarious flicks that are currently streaming. 

“Big Time Adolescence,” starring Pete Davidson and Griffin Gluck, is a coming-of-age comedy about a teenager named Monroe who befriends college drop-out Zeke. Zeke shows Monroe “the ropes” which means selling drugs at a high school party, encouraging him to get a tattoo on his chest that says “tongue daddy,” and getting into all kinds of hilarious, illegal shenanigans. 

No comedy roundup is complete without a Seth Rogen and James Franco-led flick, right? “The Interview” follows two tabloid producers who get invited to spend time with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un (played by the ever-brilliant Randall Park). The CIA takes this as an opportunity to instruct the producers to assassinate him. Obviously, hilarity ensues. 

In “American Ultra,” Jesse Eisenberg plays a former government agent named Mike who lost all memory of his identity and now spends his days smoking weed with his girlfriend, Phoebe (Kristen Stewart). One day, a CIA agent (Connie Britton) comes into the store and gives Mike a coded warning that tells him he’s about to be eliminated, since he’s a threat. This somehow activates all his training and he morphs back into his assassin self, expertly killing any dangerous operative who comes close. “American Ultra” reminds us that we desperately need more Jesse and Kristen movies in our lives.

After getting unfairly passed over for a big-time promotion at her sports agency because her boss believes a man can do the job better, Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson), goes to a mystic for help. After getting served a cup of jasmine tea and bunch of drugs, Ali goes and parties at a club where she hits her head and passes out. Waking up at the hospital, Ali realizes she can now hear only men’s inner thoughts. She uses her new telepathic powers to get ahead and squash all the dudes who’ve ever walked all over her. 

It’s cheesy. It’s set in Ireland. And it stars Amy Adams who plays a woman named Anna who will stop at nothing until she proposes to her boyfriend (Adam Scott) on February 29. On her way to Dublin, Anna’s plane flies into terrible turbulence and needs to make an emergency landing in Wales. From there, she ends up in a small village where she meets a guy named Declan (Matthew Goode) who offers to take her to Dublin. The two get really close and Anna has to make a big decision when she finally arrives to her destination.

Looking for a classic comedy? “National Lampoon’s Vacation” will totally satisfy those needs. In it, the Griswolds take on the U.S. and drive all the way from the Chicago suburbs to Walley World, which is located in Southern California. Since it’s the Griswolds, they run into many bumps along the road. Literally. “National Lampoon’s Vacation” is campy, silly, and at times even a little outdated, but it’s a comedy go-to for a reason. 

Another coming-of-age movie, “Booksmart” follows two straight-A student best friends (Amy and Molly) who realize their fellow classmates who spent the entire four years of high school partying all got into Ivy League colleges. This especially enrages Molly, and she decides that she and Amy need to spend their last night as seniors partying hard. One of the best scenes involve karaoke singing to “You Oughta Know” (you’ll know what I’m talking about when you watch it). 

Watching a spy comedy is always a good idea, and especially if it’s a spy comedy that stars Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon, who play best friends and roommates Audrey and Morgan. To make recently dumped Audrey feel better, Morgan encourages her to burn all of Audrey’s ex’s things. Audrey texts him that she’s about to do so, and he responds that he’s coming back, and to please not burn his things. Turns out, Audrey’s ex works for the CIA and after he sends those texts, he goes missing. Audrey and Morgan become embroiled in a bunch of epic spy stuff. The whole movie feels like an SNL skit in the best possible way.

Will Smith makes all of our mid-2000s rom-com dreams come true when he plays Alex “Hitch” Hitchens, a “date doctor” who teaches dudes how to get the gals they like. Sure, it’s heteronormative and probably a bit problematic by 2020 standards, but it means well! In the movie, Hitch teaches a shlumpy guy named Alex with no game (Kevin James) and meanwhile learns he’s actually not so smooth himself when he finds himself head-over-heels for Sara (Eva Mendes). 

Starring Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick, “A Simple Favor” is a dark comedy about a mysterious and elegant blond woman named Emily who befriends Stephanie, a widow and single mom who runs a lifestyle vlog. One day, Emily asks Stephanie to watch her son while she runs a work errand, and vanishes. Except she doesn’t really vanish, of course. Stephanie, who believes Emily is dead, starts an affair with Emily’s husband and moves in. That’s when things start getting really twisted.

The classic story of a man and woman who are best friends forever until the man gets engaged and the woman realizes he’s actually the love of her life, “My Best Friend’s Wedding” is Julia Roberts at her finest (dare I say, this is even a way better movie than “Pretty Woman?” Whatever, I said it). 

In “No Strings Attached,” Emma (Natalie Portman) and Adam (Ashton Kutcher) are just really good friends…who have sex. That’s it, no strings attached. Things get complicated when the two start developing feelings for each other, but no matter how hard they try to keep things purely sexual, emotions end up getting in the way.

Lucky for us, not only is “Bridget Jones’s Diary” streaming on Hulu, but so are the sequels (“Bridget Jones’s Diary: The Edge of Reason” and “Bridget Jones’s Baby”). One of the funniest, most feel-good movies ever is “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” a story about a hot mess (Renee Zellweger) who falls in love with her skeezy boss (Hugh Grant) who ends up cheating on her. Fortunately for Bridget, true love seems to have been in her life all this time: Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), a childhood friend. 

Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal star in the classic rom-com that explores the idea that men and women can never be just friends because sex will always get in the way. Over the span of many years, Harry and Sally, who meet in New York while Sally is in college and Harry just graduated, figure out their love lives and eventually that they (spoiler alert) have feelings for each other. 

A couple (Adam Scott and Taylor Schilling) who have just moved to Los Angeles from Seattle meet a charismatic, quintessentially LA guy named Kurt (Jason Scwartzman). He ends up inviting them over for a “parents pizza night,” which turns R-rated really, really quickly. Described as a “sex comedy,” “The Overnight” is definitely a wild (and hilarious) ride.

Margot Robbie plays the titular Tonya Harding in “I, Tonya,” which follows the real-life story of a professional figure skater who was involved in having rival Nancy Kerrigan’s knee bashed in so Tonya had a shot at the 1994 Winter Olympics. Margot Robbie humanizes the long vilified Tonya Harding and makes us feel for her troubled upbringing. While the story itself isn’t exactly funny, the performances from Margot, Sebastian Stan (her husband), Allison Janney (her mother) will make you chuckle.

You can actually find most of Tyler Perry’s Madea movies on Hulu, including “Madea Goes to Jail,” “Madea’s Big Happy Family,” “Madea’s Witness Protection,” and more. Madea movie marathon? Yes please. Madea, created and played by Tyler Perry, is the all-mighty Black matriarch who is tough, a little bit crazy, and loves her friends. “A Madea Family Funeral” is about a family reunion that quickly turns into a funeral-planning party.

Aubrey Plaza plays a loner named Ingrid who’s obsessed with social media. After her sick mother passes away and leaves her a small inheritance, Ingrid leaves her past behind and moves to Los Angeles, where she becomes enamored by effortlessly cool, Clare V clutch-carrying influencer Taylor Sloane (played by Elizabeth Olsen). In order to get close to her, Ingrid steals her dog and pretends to “find” it, bringing it back to her. The two become friends but Ingrid slowly but surely gets caught in a web of lies. 

“Heathers” is just so very. A dark comedy with a body count, it’s about popular girl Veronica Sawyer who has had enough of her cruel best friends. When she befriends J.D.(Christian Slater), a bad boy with a penchant for murder, the two realize that they can take out all the people who have ever wronged them and never face any consequences. 

This post originally appeared on Kitchn. See it here: 19 Funny Movies on Hulu to Get Your Mind Off Things