You may have noticed that there are plenty of blockbusters in theaters, but not a lot of comedies beyond Barbie. And while Barbie will eventually have a home on Max, you’re going to have to wait a long time to see it streaming there.
The good news is that Max has plenty of comedies to keep you laughing all summer long and will inspire you to beat the heat by staying home. To help you make your pick, we’ve assembled this list of 5 comedy movies on Max that are perfect to watch this summer.
Ingrid Goes West (2017)
Ingrid Goes West came out in 2017, but it still feels very timely thanks to its savage takedown of the influencer culture. Ingrid (The White Lotus‘ Aubrey Plaza) is a very, very disturbed young woman who is obsessed with image, especially with an influencer named Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen). So much so, that Ingrid uproots her entire life to move to Los Angeles in order to befriend Taylor.
Of course, Ingrid can’t achieve this feat without lying and kidnapping Taylor’s dog. Unfortunately for Ingrid, her house of cards starts to fall apart when she encounters a bigger fraud than herself: Taylor’s drug-addict brother, Nicky Sloane (Billy Magnussen).
Watch Ingrid Goes West on Max.
Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)
Hot Shots! Part Deux turned 30 years old earlier this year, and it holds up well as a ruthless parody of the action flicks from the ’80s and ’90s. A young Charlie Sheen stars as Topper Harley, a disillusioned Navy war hero who is coaxed out of retirement by CIA agent Michelle Huddleston (Brenda Bakke) to rescue Colonel Denton Walters (Richard Crenna) from Saddam Hussein (Jerry Haleva).
On the surface, that sounds like any action movie. But this flick is closer in tone to The Naked Gun and the film is packed with ridiculous sight gags, including the now-famous scene in which Topper turns a chicken into a makeshift arrow. Additionally, Lloyd Bridges has a hilarious supporting turn as President Thomas “Tug” Benson.
Watch Hot Shots! Part Deux on Max.
The Art of Self-Defense (2019)
The Art of Self-Defense is kind of what The Karate Kid would be like if Daniel had been trained by Cobra Kai. In this dark comedy, Casey Davies (Jesse Eisenberg) is mugged by a gang, and he finds himself desperately in need of reclaiming his power.
Casey finds what he is looking for in a dojo run by Sensei (Alessandro Nivola), a man whose twisted philosophy causes Casey to reinvent himself in Sensei’s image as he joins his cult of personality in the dojo. To Casey’s horror, he realizes too late that Sensei is a psychopath, and he’s already got blackmail information on Casey himself.
Watch The Art of Self-Defense on Max.
Office Space (1999)
Mike Judge’s Office Space is the perennial workplace comedy that never seems to get old. With his company, Initech, facing a brutal round of layoffs, Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) consents to being hypnotized so that he won’t care what happens to his job. It works out almost too well for Peter, who finds himself filled with confidence, quickly promoted, and finally able to romantically pursue a waitress named Joanna (Jennifer Aniston).
When Peter’s friends, Michael Bolton (David Herman) and Samir Nagheenanajar (Ajay Naidu), are laid off, the trio devise a way to steal money from Initech without being detected. But this plan may be too good to be true. Stephen Root also has a key supporting role in this film as Milton Waddams, an employee who is verbally abused by his bosses until he finds a way to get back at everyone.
Watch Office Space on Max.
Pretty in Pink (1986)
John Hughes’ teen comedies ruled the ’80s, and Pretty in Pink is one of his best. Hughes and director Howard Deutch cast Molly Ringwald as Andie Walsh, a teenage girl who is ostracized at high school because she is poor.
Regardless, Andie has caught the eye of rich kid Blane McDonagh (Andrew McCarthy), and she returns his affection even though her best friend, Duckie (Jon Cryer), is clearly in love with her. But when Blane’s friends pressure him to dump Andie, their relationship may be over before it truly begins.
Watch Pretty in Pink on Max.
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