The 7 best movies you should be streaming on Hulu right now
The 7 best movies you should be streaming on Hulu right now
‘The Devil Wears Prada 2,’ ‘Solo Mio,’ and ‘Nosferatu’ lead a lineup with something for pretty much every mood.
Hulu’s connection to Disney means you get movie-lover-movies on the platform. Ones from 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures that are meant to be watched in crowded movie theaters with a tub of popcorn on your lap no human being could finish. And that will always be my favorite way to watch a film. But you also won’t see me complaining when those movies drop on Hulu, along with streaming-first comedies or dramas that never got big theatrical releases. All I’m trying to say is that their movie selection is great and that’s why it’s a perma-subscription in our house. So, here are my picks for the seven best movies to stream on Hulu right now.
Top 7 movies streaming on Hulu right now:
No. 7: ‘My Old Ass’ | Drama
With the success of Megan Park’s new show, “Sterling Point,” over on Prime Video, it’s the perfect time to go back and rewatch her last movie to see where her sensibility is coming from. “My Old Ass” follows 18-year-old Elliott (Maisy Stella), who takes mushrooms with her friends and somehow comes face-to-face with her 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza). Her older self gives her one major warning: stay away from a guy named Chad (Percy Hynes White), which gets complicated when Elliott meets him and starts falling for him anyway.
Tara and I watched this one at a summer screening at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. It had a special intro from Aubrey Plaza, who very much told us this was not her movie. It was Stella’s movie, and she’s right. Stella is great here, giving Elliott this warmth, humor, and vulnerability that makes this relatively small movie feel much bigger. So if you are loving “Sterling Point,” this is an automatic next watch.
My Old Ass
An 18th birthday mushroom trip brings free-spirited Elliott face-to-face with her wisecracking 39-year-old self. But when Elliott’s “old ass” starts handing out warnings about what her younger self should and shouldn’t do, Elliott realizes she has to rethink everything about family, love, and what’s becoming a transformative summer.
No. 6: ‘Nosferatu’ | Horror
I feel like as soon as I start getting Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios commercials served to me, I can start recommending horror movies in the lead-up to Halloween. So here we are with one of my favorites from the last few years: “Nosferatu.” Now, this isn’t usually my kind of movie. I’m not a hardcore horror guy, and I was legit nervous about seeing the movie after watching the trailer. But I read Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” about a decade ago, and I loved it. And I could always cover my eyes during the really super scary parts.
My honest opinion? This movie rocks. The cinematography and set design are incredible, the character work is awesome, and Bill Skarsgård disappears entirely into Count Orlok (renamed from Count Dracula). His voice work in particular is impressive and terrifying. If you’re looking for a super early Halloween movie to get you in the mood, watch it.
Nosferatu
A gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.
No. 5: ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ | Comedy
Sometimes you want a Robin Williams classic. “Mrs. Doubtfire” always works for me because at its core, it’s about a man desperate to spend time with his kids. You don’t really get more primal than that. You also don’t get funnier than this, watching Williams play the British nanny in a way few actors could. I still laugh when he throws the lime as hard as he can at the back of Pierce Brosnan’s head. The movie is emotional and funny, with an all-time performance that still works over 30 years later.
Mrs. Doubtfire
Loving but irresponsible dad Daniel Hillard, estranged from his exasperated spouse, is crushed by a court order allowing only weekly visits with his kids. When Daniel learns his ex needs a housekeeper, he gets the job — disguised as a British nanny. Soon he becomes not only his children’s best pal but the kind of parent he should have been from the start.
No. 4: ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come’ | Thriller
Tara and I saw “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come” in theaters because we both loved the first movie, and this is the tone I really like for my horror-thrillers. It’s intense but not genuinely scary, violent but in an over-the-top way, very funny, and fully aware of how insane it is to basically find an excuse to run the premise of the first movie back again, just bigger and better.
Samara Weaving is back as Grace, who barely survives the first movie before getting dragged into an even bigger battle that involves even more families trying to kill her. Kathryn Newton joins her as Grace’s estranged sister, which gives the movie a fun, chaotic buddy-comedy energy underneath all the gore. And it’s really their relationship that elevates the second movie above the first. You get everything you want (just bigger), but you also get a story about sisters trying to understand each other… while not dying.
Ready or Not: Here I Come
Moments after surviving an all-out attack from the Le Domas family, Grace discovers she’s reached the next level of the nightmarish game — and this time with her estranged sister Faith at her side. Grace has one chance to survive, keep her sister alive, and claim the High Seat of the Council that controls the world. Four rival families are hunting her for the throne, and whoever wins rules it all.
No. 3: ‘Solo Mio’ | Rom-com
The last time I saw Kevin James in a romantic comedy was “Hitch.” And he has a lot of sweetness in that movie. That was just a precursor, though, to him getting his real close-up in “Solo Mio.” Here he plays Matt Taylor, who heads to Rome to marry his fiancée Heather… except she leaves him at the altar. And of course, the honeymoon is already booked and paid for, so he does what we all wish we would do in the same circumstance and goes on it alone. That gives us plenty of beautiful locations to soak in, along with plenty of opportunities for Taylor to meet a local woman who turns his trip into something a little less depressing.
I’ve always liked James because he’s obviously really funny, but he also has a vulnerability underneath it that makes me cheer for him. And here I do, even though he’s playing a much softer version of the usually slapstick, self-deprecating character he’s known for. So if you want something with heart and a great performance, watch “Solo Mio.”
Solo Mio
After Matt’s dreams of a picturesque Italian wedding are shattered when his fiancée leaves him at the altar, he embarks on his planned honeymoon across Italy alone, immersing himself in the country’s vibrant culture, food, and beauty, meeting Gia along the way.
No. 2: ‘Busboys’ | Comedy
If you’re in the mood for a throwback comedy, throw “Busboys” on the list. David Spade and Theo Von play two broke, maybe-not-super-bright best friends who somehow convince themselves that waiting tables is going to solve their money problems. And apparently move them up the social-status ladder too… I guess? So they head toward the southern border, get jobs as busboys and start trying to work their way up to the real prize: becoming waiters.
You probably already know whether this is your thing. If you like Spade or Von, the vibe is pretty much exactly what you’d expect. Crude jokes, two idiots bouncing off each other, buddy-comedy chaos. The two of them also co-wrote the movie and financed much of it themselves, which I respect. At least they put their money where their jokes are and let the audience decide instead of studio executives.
Busboys
A pair of idiot friends believe that if they become waiters, all of their problems will be solved. They aren’t entirely wrong, but they aren’t entirely right.
No. 1: ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ | Dramedy
Sequels are scary. Sequels 20 years after the original? Terrifying. But you don’t have to be terrified with “The Devil Wears Prada 2” because it gets it right. Anne Hathaway’s Andy Sachs is older, more confident, and very much not the terrified assistant Miranda Priestly remembers… or doesn’t remember as the case seems to be. Emily Blunt is great again, Stanley Tucci hasn’t missed a beat, and Simone Ashley repeatedly telling Miranda, “You can’t say that,” after another wildly politically incorrect comment never stopped making me laugh.
What I liked more than I expected, though, is that the movie actually has something new to say. Runway is dealing with shrinking budgets, digital media, and a world where cheap content keeps winning, while everyone involved is still walking around in clothes that probably cost more than my car. And then the movie gets surprisingly emotional. The final conversation between Miranda and Andy, where Miranda tells her the truth about what it takes to make it and what she’s sacrificed to get there, genuinely got me. This could’ve been such an easy nostalgia cash grab. Instead, it’s funny, smart, moving, and feels like a sequel that actually earned the right to exist. Watch it.
The Devil Wears Prada 2
Andy Sachs returns to Runway as Miranda Priestly navigates a new media landscape and Runway’s position within. The duo reconnect with former assistant Emily Charlton, now the head of a luxury brand that possesses funding which could ensure Runway’s survival.