ByBrian Tallerico,
a film critic with over 20 years of experience covering movies and TV.He is the president of the Chicago Film Critics Association, the co-producer of the Chicago Critics Film Festival, and managing editor of RogerEbert.com.
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.Photo: Warner Bros
This article is updated frequently as titles leave and enter Max. *New additions are indicated with an asterisk.
Who doesn’t need a laugh these days? Max (formerly HBO Max) has one of the richest and deepest catalogs of any of the streaming services, and so it naturally has the comedy you’re looking for tonight. From classic comedies starring iconic performers to movies that played in theaters recently, this rotating list of laugh generators should have something for everyone.
How We Pick Our Films
Critic Brian Tallerico watches and writes about movies and TV every day. To curate this list, he dives into Max’s comedy catalogue every month to surface laugh-out-loud funny titles — using his taste and a lifetime of cinema study as his guide, instead of whatever the algorithm happens to be pushing. After triple-checking to make sure they’re still available, he watches each and writes his recommendation. We highlight more than just the crowdpleasers: Comedy can be a venue to present interesting ideas, make an impact on cinema, and change our culture. Read on to find something to watch.
21 Jump Street
Year: 2012 Runtime: 1h 50m Director: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller made their live action directorial debuts with this 2012 buddy comedy that really has no right to be as funny as it is. Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum star in the adaptation of the ‘80s TV series but they turn it into a charming flick about perception, identity, and the best and worst of high school life. Note: The sequel is on Max too.
Year: 2011 Runtime: 1h 40m Director: Jonathan Levine
Will Reiser adapted his own story of battling cancer in a tender, genuine film that ended up being a sizable box office hit given its subject matter. People were attracted to the truth in Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s performance as a young man diagnosed with cancer, and how that diagnosis impacted his relationships, particularly one with a good friend, played by Seth Rogen.
It’s hard to overstate how much this Jean-Pierre Jeunet romantic comedy took over pop culture in 2001, becoming such an international hit that it grossed over $170 million worldwide and was nominated for Best Picture. The delightful Audrey Tautou stars as the title character, a waitress who works to better the lives of those around her but struggles to find her own happiness.
Believe it or not, this is the last movie to win both the Oscar for Best Actor (Jack Nicholson) and Best Actress (Helen Hunt). James L. Brooks’ romantic comedy is a perfect example of a movie that caught its cast at just the right moment, getting one of the last Nicholson performances that could be called charming and supporting it with great work from Hunt and Greg Kinnear. Some of it is a bit dated, but it catches just enough lightning in a bottle in terms of casting to justify another look.
It’s not very often one gets a sequel almost four decades after the original film, but that’s what’s happening in September 2024 with the release of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Clearly following closely on the imagery and storytelling from the original – including returning characters played by Catherine O’Hara, Winona Ryder, and, of course, Michael Keaton — the sequel demands you remember the first film. And it’s been a long time. Get to catching up.
Mike Nichols’ remake of the beloved La Cage aux Folles is a joyous comedy about acceptance and love that still works well today (which is not something you can about a lot of mid-‘90s comedies). Robin Williams and Nathan Lane are phenomenal as a gay couple forced to jump through hoops for their son’s new in-laws, played wonderfully by Gene Hackman and Dianne Wiest. It’s funny and smart from front to back.
Year: 1989 Runtime: 1h 30m Director: Stephen Herek
It’s really hard to dislike this charming time travel comedy about two underachieving buddies who travel through time for a school project. Keanu Reeves (Ted) and Alex Winter (Bill) are so wonderfully sweet and funny in a film that has held up better than most comedies of its era. Note: The also-excellent follow-up Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey is also on Max.
One of the biggest films of 2023 has already landed on Max in the form or Greta Gerwig’s daring blockbuster, a comedy that works both as a reminder of the power imagination and the fight for equality. Anyone who thinks this movie is anti-male isn’t paying any attention. The theme of the movie is that no one — not even Barbie nor Ken — should be defined by traditional roles. We should all be free to play however we want. It’s a wonderful film that will truly stand the test of time.
This Sundance hit unpacked racial and class issues at a fictional university called Winchester, launching not just a Netflix original series but the careers of Tessa Thompson, Teyonah Parris, and more. It’s a viciously smart movie with scenes that are alternately hysterical and razor sharp in their social commentary.
Nicolas Cage is wonderful in this twisted comedy, the story of an ordinary man thrust into an impossible spotlight. Cage plays Paul Matthews, an incredibly normal guy who ends up filtering into the dreams of others around the world. Suddenly famous, Paul doesn’t know exactly what to do as his reputation as a modern-day Freddy Krueger starts to shift. It doesn’t quite stick the landing, but it’s smart enough throughout to make that forgivable.
Year: 2008 Runtime: 1h 51m Director: Nicholas Stoller
Nicholas Stoller directed this charming 2008 rom-com that stars Jason Segel as a man desperately trying to get over a recent break-up with a celebrity girlfriend named Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). To move on, he goes to Hawaii for a vacation, and just so happens to run into Sarah and her new boy toy, played so memorably by Russell Brand that he actually got a spin-off of his own in Get Him to the Greek.
Year: 1995 Runtime: 1h 45m Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Look at me. Barry Sonnenfeld directed one of the best adaptations of an Elmore Leonard novel and anchored it with one of John Travolta’s best performances. Everyone remembers the comeback with Pulp Fiction, but Get Shorty really allows Travolta’s incredible ‘90s charisma to shine. It’s a perfectly calibrated comedy with phenomenal performances all around, including Rene Russo, Danny DeVito, Delroy Lindo, and Gene Hackman too.
Who could have ever guessed that the true(-ish) story of Tonya Harding would become an Oscar-winning dramedy? Margot Robbie does some of the best work of her career as the title character, who reclaims her own story through this odd, funny, and ultimately moving character study that won Allison Janney an Academy Award.
Year: 2014 Runtime: 2h 29m Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Is this the most divisive movie of Paul Thomas Anderson’s career? Watch it for yourself and see on which side of the debate you fall. Joaquin Phoenix rocks as Larry “Doc” Sportello in PTA’s adaptation of the great Thomas Pynchon’s 2009 novel of the same name. Doc is a private investigator in 1970 who gets caught up in the criminal underworld in Los Angeles, but that might make this sound like more of a traditional thriller or noir than it really is. It’s something distinctly special.
The Barbie director’s Best Picture nominee is one of the most personal and striking coming-of-age films in years. Saoirse Ronan stars as the titular character, a young Californian who longs for someplace cooler than her own hometown. It’s a heartfelt and very smart film, buoyed by great performances throughout, including Ronan, Tracy Letts, Timothee Chalamet, Lucas Hedges, Beanie Feldstein, and Laurie Metcalf, who was robbed of that Oscar.
A movie so funny that it can be watched any time of year, this family favorite was the second sequel to the comedy classic Vacation. Chevy Chase returns as Clark Griswold, who suffers a wave of setbacks around the Christmas holiday, from annoying relatives to problematic lights to a boss who ends up taking him for granted. There’s a reason this is the Vacation movie that has been the most watched since the franchise was popular, especially during the holiday season.
Long before the NBC series of the same name, Ron Howard directed a family comedy inspired by the massive families of the producers, director, and writers. There’s really not much more to it than that simple premise, but it gets by on the likability of its large ensemble, which includes Steve Martin, Tom Hulce, Rick Moranis, Martha Plimpton, Joaquin Phoenix, Jason Robards, and a young Keanu Reeves.
After a rough patch in the ‘80s, Robert Altman came roaring back with his scathing Hollywood satire written by Michael Tolkin. Tim Robbins does his best film work as a studio executive who can’t decide if his biggest problem is at work or the writer sending him death threats. Altman’s skill with improvisational comedy and knowledge of the Hollywood machine blend to make a simply perfect movie, one of the best of the ‘90s.
Year: 1952 Runtime: 1h 43m Director: Stanley Donen
Movies don’t get more delightful than this beloved classic about backstage drama on the advent of the talkie. Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Connor are as charming as charming can be, and the movie contains some of the best choreography of its era, and not just in the titular number. It’s joyous from front to back. Honestly, you have to be kind of a jerk not to like this movie.
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