The 16 best comedy movies on HBO Max right now

Barbie (2023)

In the summer of 2023, 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 in a big way. 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. From its hard-hitting soundtrack to its candy-colored mise-en-scène to its instantly quotable dialogue, Barbie is for everyone. —James Mercadante

Where to watch Barbie: HBO Max

EW grade: A–

Director: Greta Gerwig

Cast: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae

Companion (2025)

If you’re looking for a traditional romantic comedy, Companion is not your movie. The film introduces us to Josh and Iris (Jack Quaid and Sophie Thatcher), a couple headed to a lake house for a weekend away, which takes a turn when Iris learns she is Josh’s robot companion and wrests herself free from his control. A dark comedy, thriller, and sci-fi crime fusion, the script investigates issues around technology, masculinity, power dynamics, and relationships: think a darker and more toxically male spin on Spike Jonze’s Her (2013).

Quaid and Thatcher are both standouts in their TV ensembles — The Boys and Yellowjackets, respectively — and their opposing energies create a unique chemistry here. EW’s critic promises “[Drew] Hancock’s feature directorial debut is a hell of an invigorating revenge fantasy, made all the more satisfying by its own winking self-awareness.” —Ilana Gordon

Where to watch Companion: HBO Max

EW grade: B+

Director: Drew Hancock

Cast: Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillén,

Friendship (2025)

Making friends as an adult can be a nightmare, or so says the premise of Friendship, an A24 black comedy. Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd costar as two middle-aged men living in a fictional suburb whose newfound friendship goes awry, prompting one of them to suffer a mental breakdown. 

Robinson (I Think You Should Leave, The Chair Company) is the master of taking an awkward moment and heightening it to emotional realms never before seen in traditional human interaction, and in Friendship, he finds the line between cringe and dread and toes it expertly. A satirical dissertation on the dangers of the male loneliness epidemic, Friendship is one of 2025’s funniest comedies. —I.G.

Where to watch Friendship: HBO Max

Director: Andrew DeYoung

Cast: Tim Robinson, Kate Mara, Jack Dylan Grazer, Paul Rudd

Girls Trip (2017)

College friends reunite for a raucous good time in the raunchy comedy Girls Trip. Regina Hall, Tiffany Haddish, Queen Latifah, and Jada Pinkett Smith star as the four members of the “Flossy Posse,” a crew that was once inseparable, but is now grown up and living separate lives. 

To reconnect, up-and-coming media star Ryan (Regina Hall) invites her three buddies to join her during a work trip to the Essence Music Festival. Their New Orleans vacation goes sideways thanks to accusations of infidelity, group dysfunction, and too much absinthe. And while the film does occasionally veer into formulaic territory, EW’s critic promises “it executes that formula with flair, delivering a delightfully outrageous comedy of female friendship.” —I.G.

Where to watch Girls Trip: HBO Max

EW grade: B

Director: Malcolm D. Lee

Cast: Regina Hall, Tiffany Haddish, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith

The Great Dictator (1940)

Released in the fall of 1940, one year before the United States entered World War II, Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator is one of comedy’s best known political satires. In Chaplin’s first foray into movies with dialogue, the filmmaker plays both of the leading roles: an authoritarian dictator modeled after Hitler and a Jewish barber suffering from amnesia.

Filmed in black and white with a runtime lasting a little more than two hours, The Great Dictator ranks among the elite of Chaplin’s 81 films and is considered his most important satirical and cultural work. Many of Chaplin’s best movies are available to stream on HBO Max, but for those looking for an entry point to explore the genius’ filmography, The Great Dictator is a great place to start. —I.G.

Where to watch The Great Dictator: HBO Max

Director: Charlie Chaplin

Cast: Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie, Henry Daniell, Reginald Gardiner

House Party (2023)

When House Party premiered in 1990, it showcased a new generation of young, Black talent, and offered audiences what EW’s critic described as “the savviest and most aggressively entertaining teen movie to come along since Hairspray and the early days of John Hughes.” The 2023 remake — co-produced by LeBron James and written by Atlanta‘s Stephen Glover — isn’t as good as the original, but the movie about two house cleaners who throw a secret party in James’ house while he’s away at a retreat in India still makes for a solid watch. Come for the basketball and Illuminati jokes, stay for the meta storyline involving Kid Cudi. —I.G.

Where to watch House Party: HBO Max

Director: Calmatic

Cast: Tosin Cole, Jacob Latimore, Karen Obilom, D.C. Young Fly, Scott Mescudi

It’s Complicated (2009)

You can expect three things from a Nancy Meyers film: romance, comedy, and superior kitchens. The Meyers trifecta is on full display in It’s Complicated, where Meryl Streep stars as Jane Adler, a successful bakery owner whose amicable relationship with her ex-husband, Jake (Alec Baldwin), takes a detour back into the romantic after a decade apart. Steve Martin supports in the role of Jane’s other romantic interest, and Lake Bell appears as Jake’s younger wife.

A broad comedy distinguished by its excellent cast and focus on romanticizing the love and sex lives of middle-aged people, It’s Complicated keeps its story and message simple. It does so in such a homey aesthetic and well-executed style, though, that it still feels like a treat. —I.G.

Where to watch It’s Complicated: HBO Max

Director: Nancy Meyers

Cast: Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, John Krasinski, Lake Bell

The LEGO Batman Movie (2017)

Many legendary actors have taken on the iconic role of Batman over the years, but The LEGO Batman Movie reshapes this superhero in an unforgettable way. With a miniature plastic Joker scheming in Gotham City, it’s up to the animated Batman to swoop in and save the day. This Caped Crusader has defeated countless enemies, leaving his foe determined to prove himself as the Biggest Bad around. (After all, what’s a superhero without a supervillain?)

Though it’s based on a toy, this film appeals to all ages, with building blocks for success that include an engaging story, catchy musical numbers, an A-list voice cast, and the limitless world of LEGO. —Kelsie Calderon

Where to watch The LEGO Batman Movie: HBO Max

EW grade: B+

Director: Chris McKay

Cast: Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, Ralph Fiennes

The Lobster (2015)

An absurdist black comedy that satirizes our culture’s discomfort around uncoupled people, The Lobster asks what would happen if singles were given 45 days to find a mate, or be transformed into the animal of their choice. After David’s (Colin Farrell) wife leaves him, he’s taken to a hotel and instructed to find someone compatible. But when an incident involving a potential life partner forces him to flee into the woods to live with the loners, David discovers that it doesn’t matter where you are or who you’re with — falling in love is never easy. The Lobster is one of the most original romantic comedies, and will live in your brain rent-free for weeks after watching. —I.G.

Where to watch The Lobster: HBO Max

EW grade: A

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

Cast: Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Ben Whishaw, John C. Reilly, Olivia Colman

Mickey 17 (2025)

After dominating the 2020 awards circuit with Parasite, Bong Joon Ho returns with Mickey 17, a black comedy sci-fi film starring Robert Pattinson as multiple versions of the same character, Mickey Barnes. Set in the year 2054, the movie follows Mickey as he flees Earth — and his unpaid debts — to join a space colony. Mickey finds work as an “Expendable,” a worker who engages in dangerous tasks and is cloned every time he dies. But when Mickey is cloned prematurely, resulting in multiple Mickeys, both Mickeys find themselves in danger of extermination.

Pattinson continues to choose the weirdest roles in the most interesting projects, and in Mickey 17, he gets his money’s worth, which comes in the form of ample characters and death scenes. —I.G.

Where to watch Mickey 17: HBO Max

Director: Bong Joon Ho

Cast: Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo

Mountainhead (2025)

Four of the world’s richest men descend on a mansion atop a mountain for a casual weekend of playing poker, eating snacks, and talking smack about each other’s fortunes. The retreat takes a turn when AI-generated disinformation — distributed on one of the billionaire’s social media platforms — begins causing global turmoil. As the friends and business rivals debate their level of responsibility and decide on a course of action, the weekend descends into scheming, politicking, and violence.

Mountainhead is one of HBO’s best original films and comes courtesy of writer-director Jesse Armstrong, one of the premier satirists of our age, having lampooned the world of media excess during Succession’s four seasons. In Mountainhead, he exposes the cruelty and ego-driven mentality of the billionaire class, mercilessly mocking their shallow indulgences and cowardice. —I.G.

Where to watch Mountainhead: HBO Max

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Cast: Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith, Ramy Youssef

Multiple Maniacs (1970)

An important contribution to the queer cinema canon, Multiple Maniacs is a black comedy written, directed, and independently produced by John Waters (Pink Flamingos), and shot in his native Baltimore. The movie stars Waters’ childhood friend Divine in the role of Lady Divine, the owner of a traveling kink exhibition who enjoys robbing and murdering the exhibition’s customers.

Campy, gory, and riddled with sex and religious iconography, this black and white movie is considered one of Waters’ best and most provocative works. Trigger warning: The film does contain two instances of sexual abuse, one of which is perpetrated by a giant lobster and conceived of by Waters during an acid trip in Provincetown. Multiple Maniacs is definitely not a traditional comedy, but it is funny and fascinating cinema. —I.G.

Where to watch Multiple Maniacs: HBO Max

Director: John Waters

Cast: Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole, Cookie Mueller

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

Finding the perfect partner is one thing, but for Toula, winning your family’s approval is the real challenge. According to her clan, „Nice Greek girls are supposed to do three things in life: marry Greek boys, make Greek babies, and feed everyone until the day we die.“ At age 30 and still single while her siblings have already started their own Greek families, Toula unexpectedly falls fast and hard for Ian Miller. The only problem: He isn’t Greek. Despite the cultural clash, love knows no bounds — and Toula’s story is far from over. —K.C.

Where to watch My Big Fat Greek Wedding: HBO Max

Director: Joel Zwick

Cast: Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Michael Constantine, Lainie Kazan, Gia Carides

Tampopo (1985)

You’ve heard of spaghetti Westerns? Well, Tampopo is a ramen Western, a deliciously daffy movie about a feisty ramen shop owner (named Tampopo, played by Nobuko Miyamoto) and a mysterious Clint Eastwood-inspired noodle fanatic (Ken Watanabe). The film is a wild, funny, lustful, food-centric quest that fuses Western moviemaking styles with Japanese ideas.

Interesting side note: When Tampopo was released, ramen was still something most U.S. audiences thought of as the cheap stuff on grocery store shelves, making scenes about the quest for the „perfect noodle“ feel, well, maybe a bit silly to the general audience. Now, of course, things are much different — real ramen shops have popped up from coast to coast, and people have spent hours waiting for the perfect steamy bowl of tonkotsu broth and handmade noodles. —D.W.

Where to watch Tampopo: HBO Max

Director: Juzo Itami

Cast: Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Kōji Yakusho, Ken Watanabe, Rikiya Yasuoka

Tiny Furniture (2010)

Lena Dunham made a name for herself as a filmmaker in 2010 with her debut indie, Tiny Furniture. Written, directed by, and starring Dunham — as well as her mother and younger sibling, Cyrus Grace Dunham — this rom-com is one of the first to investigate millennial post-grad life from the perspective of an actual millennial. 

A definite forerunner to Girls, the film covers similar thematic territory and includes a few familiar faces. Dunham demonstrates an early understanding of her point of view, and whether you enjoy her particular brand of self-aware entitlement or not, the film stands up to critical analysis. EW’s critic writes, “ It’s a tiny tale of inertia, and it’s also the grand triumph of a young artist with a mature trust in her own unique voice.” —I.G.

Where to watch Tiny Furniture: HBO Max

EW grade: A

Director: Lena Dunham

Cast: Lena Dunham, Laurie Simmons, Cyrus Grace Dunham, David Call, Alex Karpovsky

Wedding Crashers (2005)

A bromantic comedy with more depth than meets the eye, Wedding Crashers tells the story of John (Owen Wilson) and Jeremy (Vince Vaughn), two D.C. mediators with little faith in the sacred bonds of matrimony. What they do believe in, however, is the power of the wedding reception to act as an accelerant for picking up women, which is why these two best friends have turned the act of crashing weddings into a seasonal sport.

But after John meets Claire (Rachel McAdams) at her sister’s wedding, he finds he’s willing to overlook traditional crashing etiquette to get closer. And while spending the weekend with Claire’s wealthy and powerful family at their Maryland compound, John and Jeremy are forced to reexamine their beliefs around love and marriage. —I.G. 

Where to watch Wedding Crashers: HBO Max

EW grade: A–

Director: David Dobkin

Cast: Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Bradley Cooper