No need to worry if you missed these comedy movies in theaters because now you can laugh out loud at them from the comfort of your home with Max. Whether you’re craving a heartwarming rom-com like My Big Fat Greek Wedding or seeking a cultural phenomenon like Barbie, we’ve got you covered.
You can just read on for Theplayfusion handpicked list of the 10 best comedy movies streaming on Max.
10. 50/50 (2011)
If you’re looking for a lighthearted, romantic romp, 50/50 is not the movie for you. Guaranteed to make you ugly cry and call your loved ones, this black comedy about falling in love in the middle of cancer treatment is beautifully written and acted and has a lot to say about maternal, platonic, and romantic relationships.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars opposite Seth Rogen, who also executive produces. (The script is based on screenwriter Will Reiser’s actual cancer battle, and the character of Kyle who Rogen plays is based on Rogen, who is real-life friends with Reiser.)
9. Baby Mama (2008)
Pairing Tina Fey and Amy Poehler together has yet to fail us, as this 2008 odd-couple comedy proved. Fey plays Kate, a career woman who decides she wants to be a mother at age 37, only to discover that her chances of becoming pregnant are minimal.
She opts to find a surrogate, Angie (Poehler), whose brash personality contrasts with Kate’s conscientiousness.
8. Barbie (2023)
In the summer of ’23, pink was no longer just a color it was a ubiquitous lifestyle that eventually led to a paint shortage. With more than $1 billion in ticket sales (for which the Golden Globes pretty much handed the film its first-ever box-office award), Greta Gerwig’s eight-time Oscar-nominated blockbuster brought the beloved toy to the silver screen.
Much like the doll’s polished surface, the film’s premise promises silly, campy fun with Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) becoming sentient and trying to revert to blissful ignorance in her Dreamhouse.
But what seems like an escapist adventure blooms into a poignant narrative rich with existential ruminations on mortality and womanhood.
7. Celeste & Jesse Forever (2012)
Ending a relationship is easier than falling out of love. In Celeste and Jesse Forever, the titular characters (Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg) are high-school sweethearts who have made the decision to divorce but haven’t yet figured out how to move on.
Celeste is a high-achieving career woman looking for something more, but when Jesse gets involved with another woman, she’s left to sort through her complicated feelings and starts to second-guess whether breaking up was the right move after all.
A rom-com that is less about escapism and aspirational love than it is about the hard slog of digging through and understanding intimate realities, Celeste and Jesse Forever are smart, funny, grounded, and energized by the couple’s incredible chemistry.
6. The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Meryl Streep may not have won an Oscar for her role as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada, but the film does bear the distinction of being one of her most quotable works.
An adaptation of the 2003 novel by the same name which was based on the author’s experiences working as an assistant at Vogue the movie tells the story of Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), an aspiring writer who accepts a job working for the demanding editor in chief at one of the most distinguished fashion magazines in New York City.
5. Dicks: The Musical (2023)
When penning their off-Broadway sensation F—–g Identical Twins, which would later blossom into A24’s first-ever produced musical, it’s safe to say that real-life pals Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson probably took a look at silly screwball classics like Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) and Dumb and Dumber (1994) and said, “We should write one, but make it really gay!”
Directed by Seinfeld staff writer Larry Charles, this off-the-walls caper follows two narcissistic businessmen who stumble upon the shock of their lives: They’ve met their “identical” twin. This then calls for Parent Trap-esque mischief as they scheme to reunite their procreators (Nathan Lane, Megan Mullally) and reignite their once-hot, now-dried-up spark.
You’ll either absolutely love Sharp and Jackson’s irreverent, off-center humor or find yourself haunted by visions of Lane baby-birding sewer boys in your dreams, but that’s the beauty of Dicks: The Musical it’s an experience that unapologetically tattoos itself in your mind forever.
4. I, Tonya (2017)
Those who survived the ’90s might assert that few stories were more captivating during that decade than the rivalry between U.S. Olympic ice skating team contenders Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding. Those people didn’t know that, 23 years later, a film adaptation of 1994’s biggest criminal sporting controversy would prove almost if not more riveting.
Shot in a mockumentary style, I, Tonya stars Margot Robbie as Tonya Harding; Allison Janney as her mother, LaVona Golden; and Sebastian Stan as Tonya’s husband at that time, Jeff Gillooly.
3. Lady Bird (2017)
Lady Bird may tell a specific story of an independent-minded girl growing up in early-2000s Sacramento, but its themes are achingly universal. Writer-director Greta Gerwig centers the emotional journey of Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan), a high school senior who has a strained relationship with her mother and a tumultuous love life.
While longing to escape the hometown she finds restricting, she is inevitably reminded of how Sacramento has shaped and defined her.
2. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Rarely is mental health explored on screen in a nuanced, vibrant, joyful way, but that’s exactly the tone director David O. Russell nails in Silver Linings Playbook. Pat and Tiffany (Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence) are both dealing with personal issues and recovering from losing their romantic partners.
Unmoored and filterless, they meet and agree to help each other out Tiffany promises to assist Pat in winning back his ex-wife, and in turn, he agrees to be her partner in a dance competition.
As they rehearse together and struggle to sort through their woes, they uncover coping mechanisms that allow them to not only live but find the beauty in their respective challenges.
1. Zola (2020)
In 2015, a viral Twitter thread held the internet’s attention hostage for an entire afternoon. Five years later, Zola a film based on one harrowing trip to Florida as experienced by Zola (Taylour Paige), a waitress and part-time exotic dancer leaped social media to the big screen in a dark comedy directed by Janicza Bravo.
The film, like the story on which it’s based, is unhinged, terrifying, and impossible to tear yourself away from.
