The 20 best romantic comedy movies on Hulu
If you’re looking to have a rom-com-a-thon, these 20 movies on Hulu are simply too good to pass up.
Love is a wonderful, unpredictable thing. There are plenty of films that paint the road to happily ever after as a linear one, but we all know that's rarely how real life shakes out. Still, there's something extra special about a movie that can laugh at the awkwardness of dating and the chaos of relationships. Whether you're craving something raucous like The Proposal or something surprisingly sweet like Palm Springs, here are the 20 best rom-coms on Hulu.
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Heath Ledger, Allison Janney, and Julia Stiles in '10 Things I Hate About You'The 20th century ended on a high — at least as far as rom coms are concerned. 10 Things I Hate About You is a film that EW’s critic describes as “the cheekiest 'literary' update yet — a post-riot grrrl gloss on The Taming of the Shrew.” Starring some of the hottest, young talent of the late-‘90s, 10 Things I Hate About You reimagines Shakespeare’s beloved play as a high school love story. Cameron James (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) falls in love with Bianca (Larisa Oleynik), but learns she isn’t allowed to date until her older sister, Kat (Julia Stiles), does. After Cameron manages to convince the high school bad boy (Heath Ledger) to woo Kat, Padua High School finds itself overrun with hormones and hijinks. A classic rom com with a killer soundtrack, 10 Things I Hate About You is the only film to answer the question of what would happen if Shakespeare went to high school in Seattle. —Ilana Gordon
Where to watch 10 Things I Hate About You: Hulu
EW grade: N/A (read the review)
Director: Gil Junger
Cast: Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik
Related content: Watch Julia Stiles get emotional as she reenacts iconic 10 Things I Hate About You scene
13 Going on 30 (2004)
Columbia/ Everett
Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner in '13 Going on 30'Jennifer Garner launches a full-scale charm offensive in 13 Going on 30, a fantasy romantic comedy about Jenna Rink, a 13-year-old who wishes to be grown up after a disastrous birthday party. A cross between Big and The Devil Wears Prada, the film follows Jenna from her childhood home to her New York City luxury apartment and dream job at a magazine. As the teen in a 30-year-old's body attempts to understand what has happened to her in the last 17 years, she must reevaluate whether growing up was everything she had hoped for. One of the purest and most rewatchable rom-coms from the early aughts, 13 Going on 30 represents some of the best the genre has to offer and is a joy to watch regardless of your age. —I.G.
Where to watch 13 Going on 30: Hulu
EW grade: A– (read the review)
Director: Gary Winick
Cast: Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer, Andy Serkis
Related content: Jennifer Garner remembers late director Gary Winick
50 First Dates (2004)
Six years after Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore teamed up for The Wedding Singer, the two connected on screen for a second time, playing opposite each other in this daffy romantic comedy. Following a commitment-phobic veterinarian (Sandler) who falls in love with an artist suffering from short-term amnesia (Barrymore), 50 First Dates hones in on and heightens the game of finding the girl you can’t stop thinking about — and dealing with the reality that she’ll never remember meeting you. Set on the island of Oahu — a location so consistently beautiful that it alone negates the idea of time passing — this premise-driven comedy finds emotional resonance amidst all the silly gags. Barrymore and Sandler have just as much chemistry together as they did in their first film together, leading to what EW’s critic describes as, “an agreeably deranged romance with a geeks-in-paradise Hawaiian setting.” —I.G.
Where to watch 50 First Dates: Hulu
EW grade: N/A (read the review)
Director: Peter Segal
Cast: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, Rob Schneider, Sean Astin, Dan Aykroyd
Related content: 50 First Dates wasn't originally set in Hawaii — and had a completely different ending
(500) Days of Summer (2009)
Fox Searchlight
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zoey Deschanel in '(500) Days of Summer'While the movie's intro explicitly states that (500) Days of Summer is not a love story, it is a story of love lost and found. Five hundred days refers to the length of the relationship between Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel) and Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), two young co-workers who begin dating but find their attitudes toward love and relationships to be incompatible. Structured in a non-linear fashion and employing plenty of devices that poke fun at the nature of dating and how we remember relationships, (500) Days of Summer isn't a typical rom-com — although it does include one of the ultimate examples of the "manic pixie dream girl". A fun watch featuring some solid acting by the film's two leads, EW's critic calls it a "Gen-Y Annie Hall made by a new-style Wes Anderson who uses his cleverness for humanity instead of postmodern superiority." —I.G.
Where to watch (500) Days of Summer: Hulu
EW grade: A (read the review)
Director: Marc Webb
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Geoffrey Arend, Chloë Grace Moretz, Matthew Gray Gubler
Related content: The untold story of the (500) Days of Summer dance sequence
Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
This coming-of-age soccer movie (or rather football in England, where it’s set) catapulted Keira Knightley to movie star status, but it’s Bend It Like Beckham’s cultural perspective and commentary that truly make it special. The story follows Jess Bhamra (Parminder Nagra), a teen girl obsessed with soccer (and with David Beckham, who gave the film permission to use his name because he wanted to promote girls’ soccer). Feeling suffocated by her strict Indian parents and their hope that she’ll someday become a homemaker and devoted wife, Jess secretly joins a soccer team and must juggle responsibilities for both her family and her coach (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). The film resonates with anyone who knows the acute angst of pretending around those they love to be someone they’re not. The result is director Gurinder Chadha’s supremely watchable sports film about gender, culture, sexuality, diversity, and love — and it’s a touching one to boot. —I.G.
Where to watch Bend It Like Beckham: Hulu
EW grade: A (read the review)
Director: Gurinder Chadha
Cast: Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anupam Kher, Juliet Stevenson, Shaznay Lewis, Archie Panjabi
Related content: How Bend It Like Beckham bent the rules and became a girl power classic
Crush (2022)
Paige Evans' (Rowan Blanchard) only experience with love is her passion for art, but when she's forced to join the high school track team to evade suspension, she gets a lucky chance to hang out with her secret crush, Gabby (Love, Victor's Isabella Ferreira). But no matter how fast Paige runs toward the affection of Miller High's It Girl, her feelings for another teammate — Gabby's sister, AJ (Auli'i Cravalho) — swiftly catch up to her. With its charming storytelling and abundance of drama (both on and off screen), Crush is an LGBTQ+ rom-com that captures the beauty of queer joy and first love.—James Mercadante
Director: Sammi Cohen
Cast: Rowan Blanchard, Auli'i Cravalho, Isabella Ferreira, Tyler Alvarez, Teala Dunn, Michelle Buteau, Megan Mullally
Related content: Moana star Auli'i Cravalho reflects on coming out: 'It is so joyful’
The Family Stone (2005)
There’s no place like home during the holidays — unless you’re introducing your family to a new significant other. In the holiday dramedy The Family Stone, Everett Stone (Dermot Mulroney) brings his uptight girlfriend Meredith (Sarah Jessica Parker) to his parents’ beautiful New England house to spend Christmas with his liberal, upper-class family. After struggling to win over Everett’s parents and adult siblings, Meredith invites her sister Julie (Claire Danes) to join her for moral support, and a game of romantic musical chairs ensues. An ensemble comedy led by Diane Keaton, who shines as the matriarch tasked with difficult personal issues, The Family Stone is a funny, endearing, underrated holiday classic. EW’s critic writes, “It dramatizes the attractive traps of bohemian-bourgeois aspirations (and snobbism) and, with a light comedic touch, also holds its ground as an old-fashioned and even sweet story about love — and the swapping of perfectly wrapped presents.” —I.G.
Where to watch The Family Stone: Hulu
EW grade: N/A (read the review)
Director: Thomas Bezucha
Cast: Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Dermot Mulroney, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson, Brian White, Elizabeth Reaser
Related content: A holiday diamond in the rough: An oral history of The Family Stone
Fire Island (2022)
Jeong Park Searchlight Pictures/20th Century Studios
Bowen Yang and Joel Kim Booster in 'Fire Island'A group of queer besties looks forward to their trip to Fire Island every year, but when they discover it may be their last, they double down on their goal of a hardcore week of partying. Inspired by Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice, Fire Island finds Noah (Joel Kim Booster, who also wrote the screenplay) committed to helping his friend Howie (Bowen Yang) get some action, but he quickly finds that playing matchmaker is a thankless task — especially under the seemingly judgmental eye of a new acquaintance (Conrad Ricamora in the Mr. Darcy-equivalent role). EW's critic says it best: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a very small swimsuit must be in want of a rom-com to call his own; Fire Island sets the stage, messy and sweet, and lets its freak flag fly." —Angela Andaloro
Where to watch Fire Island: Hulu
EW grade: B (read the review)
Director: Andrew Ahn
Cast: Joel Kim Booster, Bowen Yang, Margaret Cho, Conrad Ricamora, James Scully, Matt Rogers, Tomas Matos, Torian Miller, Nick Adams, Zane Phillips
Related content: The rise of the gay rom-com: Fire Island's Joel Kim Booster & Bros' Billy Eichner redefine the genre
Garden State (2004)
Zach Braff's Garden State — the story of a struggling young actor's return home to New Jersey after the death of his mother — is not a perfect movie. Written by Braff during a period of depression and inspired by his own feelings of numbness, the film interrogates themes like mental illness, medication, growing up, and falling in love, sometimes nailing the sentiments and other times falling short. In spite of its deficits, however, the romantic comedy was a sleeper hit when it premiered in 2004, a reception attributable to the film's excellent soundtrack, objectively sick cast, and resonance with a young generation staring down the barrel of adulthood. Starring Braff as Andy, the film's protagonist, and Natalie Portman as his eccentric and compulsively dishonest love interest, the film is often compared to The Graduate (1967), but remains a singular romantic comedy that demands an emotional reaction from its audience. —I.G.
Where to watch Garden State: Hulu
EW grade: N/A (read the review)
Director: Zach Braff
Cast: Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Ian Holm, Jean Smart, Jackie Hoffman, Ann Dowd, Method Man, Jim Parsons
Related content: Zach Braff reflects on writing Garden State's 'manic pixie dream girl': 'I was a very depressed young man'
Happiest Season (2020)
Abby Holland (Kristen Stewart) and Harper Caldwell (Mackenzie Davis) are happy in their relationship nearly a year in. So happy, in fact, that Abby's ready to pop the question during their cozy holiday with Harper's family. She's in for a surprise, however, when she realizes her soon-to-be fiancé hasn't come out to her conservative parents. Now, Abby must navigate the delicate secrets of the Caldwell family if she wants to fight for the woman she loves. Marking Hulu's first LGBTQ+ holiday rom-com, Happiest Season isn't perfect (much like familial relationships) but it gleams with a festive cheer that's enjoyable to stream all year round. —A.A.
Where to watch Happiest Season: Hulu
EW grade: B+ (read the review)
Director: Clea DuVall
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, Alison Brie, Dan Levy, Aubrey Plaza, Mary Holland, Mary Steenburgen, Victor Garber, Ana Gasteyer, Jake McDorman, Sarayu Blue
Related content: Kristen Stewart on making the Yuletide super-gay in Happiest Season
The Hating Game (2021)
The two CEOs at this publishing company would be useless without their faithful assistants — who happen to hate each other's guts. Lucy (Lucy Hale) believes in bringing great fashion and an even better attitude to the office, but much to her dismay, her co-worker Joshua (Austin Stowell) has an opposite approach. And their cutthroat competitiveness only intensifies when an enticing managing editor position opens up. Based on Sally Thorne's best-selling romance novel of the same name, The Hating Game may lean into the predictable enemies-to-lovers trope, but that doesn't make it any less charming. —A.A.
Where to watch The Hating Game: Hulu
Director: Peter Hutchings
Cast: Lucy Hale, Austin Stowell, Kathryn Boswell, Damon Daunno, Sakina Jaffrey, Corbin Bernsen
Related content: The best comedy movies on Hulu
Juno (2007)
In Diablo Cody's Oscar-winning screenplay, quirky and loquacious 16-year-old Juno MacGuff becomes the talk of small-town Minnesota when she finds herself pregnant by track runner (and orange Tic Tac lover) Paulie Bleeker. Juno's razor-sharp dialogue — delivered by dry humor virtuosos Elliot Page and Michael Cera — infuses the film with a cozy and blithe feel, while its poignant moments beautifully capture raw humanity on screen. And Jennifer Garner's stand-out performance as half of the seemingly perfect couple looking to adopt Juno's baby leaves no heart untouched. —J.M.
EW grade: A– (read the review)
Director: Jason Reitman
Cast: Elliot Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, J.K. Simmons, Olivia Thirlby, Rainn Wilson
Related content: Juno cast reunites to remember a 'preggo' eggo and 'pork swords' at the Oscars
Love & Other Drugs (2010)
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation/Courtesy Everett Collection
Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal in 'Love & Other Drugs'Five years after playing a married couple in the cowboy drama Brokeback Mountain, Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway reunite to play opposite each other in Love & Other Drugs. A romantic comedy that lets it all hang out — both physically and emotionally — the film follows a pharmaceutical sales representative (Gyllenhaal) who falls in love with a free spirit afflicted with an incurable disease (Hathaway). Based on Jamie Reidy's 2005 non-fiction book Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman, the film traffics in ideas about love, sex, sickness, health, medical ethics, and the brokenness of America’s healthcare system. Generally known for his more dramatic roles, Gyllenhaal gets a chance to show off his comedic chops through his character, the ethically dubious ne’er-do-well Jamie, and his and Hathaway’s chemistry is more alive than it was in Brokeback Mountain. The film’s nudity and sex scenes are intimate and effective, but side effects include discomfort when watching with the whole family. —I.G.
Where to watch Love & Other Drugs: Hulu
EW grade: N/A (read the review)
Director: Edward Zwick
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, Josh Gad, Gabriel Macht
Related content: Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal: Naked truths
Palm Springs (2020)
This sci-fi-meets-rom-com flick stars Andy Samberg as Nyles, who's on his way to celebrate his buddies Tala and Abe on their wedding day. The only problem? He's headed there again and again after getting stuck in a time loop in the desert, and things only get wilder when the maid of honor/sister of the bride, Sarah (Cristin Milioti), gets stuck there with him. This unexpected take on the romance genre is chock full of nihilism and existential dread as the pair desperately seeks a return to normalcy, but it all works because of the excellent cast. EW's critic notably praises the two leads, as "Samberg nimbly walks the line between slacker cartoon and actual frustrated human… But it's Milioti who feels most like the revelation here; as great as she's been in brief turns on shows like Black Mirror and 30 Rock, she shines when given the chance to lead." —A.A.
Where to watch Palm Springs: Hulu
EW grade: B+ (read the review)
Director: Max Barbakow
Cast: Andy Samberg, Cristin Milioti, J.K. Simmons, Camila Mendes, Tyler Hoechlin, Meredith Hagner, Peter Gallagher, Dale Dickey
Related content: Palm Springs star Cristin Milioti has found herself in her own time loop — and an awards race
The Proposal (2009)
Where there's smoke, there's fire...and The Proposal certainly brings the heat. Aspiring editor Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) reluctantly serves as a personal assistant to dictatorial Margaret (Sandra Bullock), a Canadian executive editor-in-chief at a prominent New York City publishing house. When Margaret's U.S. visa application is denied — putting her at risk of deportation — she designs a plan to keep her life in the States by proposing a fake engagement to Andrew, promising him a promotion in return. The (un)happy couple then travels to Andrew's hometown in Sitka, Alaska, where Margaret meets her fake fiancé's family and learns a side to him she never expected. Reynolds and Bullock's undeniable chemistry effortlessly leaps off the screen, while the supporting ensemble (Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson, the one-and-only Betty White) adds an extra layer of warmth to this tale set in the Last Frontier. —J.M.
EW grade: B+ (read the review)
Director: Anne Fletcher
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Malin Åkerman, Craig T. Nelson, Mary Steenburgen, Betty White, Oscar Nuñez, Denis O'Hare, Michael Nouri
Related content: Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock serenade The Proposal costar Betty White on her 98th birthday
Rye Lane (2023)
Raine Allen-Miller's 2023 directorial debut refutes the notion that rom-coms have lost their sparkle, capturing the genre's trademark magic of grand gestures and love at first sight while injecting new life into it. When lovesick Dom (David Jonsson) cries in a gender-neutral bathroom stall, he's interrupted when an outgoing stranger named Yas (Vivian Oparah) overhears his faint sobs. The two embark on a day-long journey roaming the streets of South London's Rye Lane, bonding over their failed relationships and scheming chaos against their exes. Similar to the story's dynamic pacing, Oparah and Jonsson radiate effervescence, as they seamlessly bounce off each other's energy while the mise-en-scène bursts with a kaleidoscope of experimental camerawork. —J.M.
Director: Raine Allen-Miller
Cast: David Jonsson, Vivian Oparah, Poppy Allen-Quarmby, Simon Manyonda, Karene Peter, Benjamin Sarpong-Broni, Malcolm Atabroh
Related content: Stars strike a pose at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival
Pretty Woman (1990)
Buena Vista/Getty
Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in 'Pretty Woman'If you haven't yet seen this '90s classic...big mistake! Big! Huge! Garry Marshall's Golden Globe-nominated flick spins a modern Cinderella story starring the then-rising star Julia Roberts as the unpolished, down-on-her-luck escort Vivian and Richard Gere as leverage buyout executive Edward, who offers her a taste of the high life in exchange for her company at social gatherings. While it's undeniably a product of its time, steeped in outdated gender stereotypes and degrading convictions of sex work, the film was groundbreaking during its initial release, and its enduring charm lies in the palpable chemistry between Gere and Roberts. Even EW's critic, who notoriously panned it with a D grade, had a change of heart 20 years later, bumping it to a B — acknowledging its message that "you can be a feminist and a seductress, a hooker and a princess, all at the same time" and how it "marked Pretty Woman as the rare Hollywood movie that doesn’t just channel the culture but changes it." —J.M.
Where to watch Pretty Woman: Hulu
EW grade: D (read the review)
Director: Garry Marshall
Cast: Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, Ralph Bellamy, Jason Alexander, Héctor Elizondo, Laura San Giacomo, Alex Hyde-White
Related content: Julia Roberts says Richard Gere's Pretty Woman character is dead now
Sleeping With Other People (2015)
Cheaters never prosper, except in Sleeping With Other People, a rom-com about two intimacy-challenged serial cheaters who find salvation in each other. After losing their virginities to one another in college, Jake and Lainey (Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie) reconnect after 12 years apart and — despite their admitted sexual attraction and chemistry — decide to just be friends. But when their platonic relationship becomes complicated by their romantic feelings, the two struggle not to let their past mistakes define their future. A modern, dirtier, more drug-filled version of When Harry Met Sally, Sleeping With Other People is, as EW’s critic writes, “a smart, flawed movie about smart, flawed people.” Written and directed by Leslye Headland (Bachelorette), if you’re going to watch one movie where the main characters show up at a children’s birthday high on MDMA, let it be this one. —I.G.
Where to watch Sleeping With Other People: Hulu
EW grade: B+ (read the review)
Director: Leslye Headland
Cast: Jason Sudeikis, Alison Brie, Amanda Peet, Adam Scott, Natasha Lyonne, Jason Mantzoukas
Related content: The 10 best Jason Sudeikis movies and TV shows, ranked
Together Together
A delightful subversion of the single woman having a baby by herself trope, Together Together stars Ed Helms as Matt, a single fortysomething with a deep desire to be a dad — even if he has to do it alone. Matt hires Anna (Patti Harrison), a twentysomething single woman looking to finance her education to be his gestational surrogate, and as her pregnancy progresses, the two learn to navigate the platonic boundaries they’ve set for themselves. Unwilling to engage with typical romantic comedy tropes, Together Together doesn’t provide easy answers to hard questions, but the movie manages to find resolution and hope, even as it explores murky subject matter. Helms and Harrison are terrific and their supporting cast features some of the best — and most underrated — comic actors working today. Released during the pandemic, Together Together flew under the radar at the box office, but the film is well-deserving of a bigger fan club. —I.G.
Where to watch Together Together: Hulu
EW grade: B+ (read the review)
Director: Nikole Beckwith
Cast: Ed Helms, Patti Harrison
Related content: Patti Harrison and Ed Helms spark a friendship over a surrogacy in Together Together trailer
The Worst Person in the World (2021)
A Norwegian romantic comedy that enraptured critics and festival viewers alike, The Worst Person in the World tells the story of Julie (Renate Reinsve) over four years of her life in Oslo as she struggles to make sense of her career, love life, and the gap between who she is and who she wants to be. A refreshing look at life during the painful transition between a person’s late-20s and early-30s when life’s stakes seem higher than ever, EW’s critic writes that The Worst Person in the World “vibrates with real life, a film so fresh and untethered to rom-com cliché it might actually reshape the idea of what movies like this can be.” Reinsve is phenomenal in the role of Julie and it’s thanks to her performance, the film’s wistful and compassionate script, and Joachim Trier’s masterful direction that The Worst Person in the World is considered one of the best movies of 2021. —I.G.
Where to watch The Worst Person in the World: Hulu
EW grade: A (read the review)
Director: Joachim Trier
Cast: Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum
Related content: The most shocking snubs and surprises of the 2022 Oscar nominations
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