37 Of The Best Movies To Stream On Hulu In April
1.Another Round (2020)
The winner for Best International Film at this year's Academy Awards, Another Round tells the story of four middle-aged, disillusioned teachers in Copenhagen who decide to start consuming a small amount of alcohol throughout the day in order to see how it affects their social and professional lives. The entire cast is phenomenal, but Mads Mikkelsen steals the movie as Martin, a depressed man who rediscovers his zeal for life when he begins incorporating drinking into his daily life. What really makes the film work is its balance; while Another Round never shies away from the very real risks of drinking, at the same time, it manages to resist getting preachy as its main characters explore the pros and cons of alcohol consumption. This dark, funny, strange story walks that delicate line to the very end of the film, leaving it up to the viewer to decide what to make of these four friends' bizarre experiment.
Watch it on Hulu.
2.The Assistant (2019)
Years deep into the #MeToo movement, the entertainment industry is still figuring out how to effectively hold a mirror up to itself and tell stories about the pervasive culture of sexual harassment onscreen. The Assistant manages to do so by delivering a master class in "show, don't tell," as viewers get a front row seat into the devastating effects of systemic oppression women face in the workplace through the eyes of Jane (Julia Garner), a young and ambitious junior assistant working at a production company in New York. Even in the most mundane moments of her job, Jane experiences subtle yet potent sexism while persistent rumors float around the office about her unnamed and unseen boss using his position of power to sleep with young women. The understated tone of the movie quietly creates an almost horrorlike atmosphere as even a meeting between Jane and the company's head of HR (Matthew Macfadyen, best known as Tom on Succession) becomes a terrifying display of how powerless she is to fight against a system built to protect those in power.
Watch it on Hulu.
3.Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (2021)
Barb (Annie Mumolo) and Star (Kristen Wiig) leave their suburban existence behind for a getaway in beautiful Vista Del Mar. The two friends just want to ride an inflatable banana and enjoy some nice drinks by the pool, but they end up accidentally in the crosshairs of a bizarre evil plan that involves lethal mosquitoes. Wiig is as fantastic as ever, but it's a blast to watch Mumolo, a relative unknown who has mostly made a name for herself as a writer (including earning an Oscar nom for cowriting Bridesmaids with Wiig), deliver a breakout performance. The two are fantastic as the titular best pals, and their script is packed with goofy gags and absurd one-liners. As a result, Barb and Star is the type of movie that tragically doesn't really get made anymore: a comedy where the primary goal is to make the audience laugh as much as possible.
Watch it on Hulu.
4.Before Midnight (2013)
The final (?) chapter in the Before trilogy once again takes place nine years after the previous film and allows us to become spectators for a day in the life of Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Céline (Julie Delpy). The couple is now married with a pair of daughters but even though the chemistry between the two remains, it becomes clear that the honeymoon phase of their relationship is long gone. It's by far the least romantic and most tense of the three films, as director Richard Linklater takes an unapologetically honest look at how difficult it is to sustain love over time. Before Midnight almost works as a Rorschach test for the viewer, as your interpretation of the ambiguous ending might reveal your perspective on relationships as a whole. But no matter whether you find the film intensely pessimistic or oddly affirming of love, there's no question that the series remains one of the most fascinating examinations of romance to date.
Watch it on Hulu.
5.Black Swan (2010)
Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) is a ballerina who is obsessed with being the best. She is cast in the lead dual roles in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, but as she struggles to capture the dark and complicated performance of the Black Swan, her understudy, Lily (Mila Kunis), threatens to take the part from her. As Nina begins to lose her grip on reality, the viewer experiences her intense paranoia and slow descent into madness, thanks to director Darren Aronofsky's one-of-a-kind talent. The psychological thriller earned five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, with Portman winning an Oscar for her career-defining performance.
Watch it on Hulu.
6.*Brigsby Bear (2017)
James (Kyle Mooney) spent his entire life in a bunker, with his parents raising him to believe that they are living in a post-apocalypse where the outside world is literally a toxic wasteland. Until one day the police show up and reveal that James' parents aren't his parents at all; they are his captors, who kidnapped him as a baby and raised him under these circumstances so that he would never be found. James is reunited with his family but struggles to adjust to a world he's never known. To cope, he ends up trying to finish Brigsby Bear, a sci-fi kid's show that his fake parents created to keep him entertained. If you are familiar with Mooney's unique sense of humor, you won't be surprised that Brigsby Bear is filled with a lot of awkwardness, especially with James having no clue how to function as a member of society. But what may surprise you is the tenderness that is infused throughout the film, with James' desire to finish the show that defined his childhood being seen as a triumph rather than a punchline.
Watch it on Hulu.
7.Charlie's Angels (2000)
Reboots are notoriously difficult to pull off and Charlie's Angels is a franchise that seems to get remade over and over again. But this movie is unquestionably the best of the bunch, as it does not take itself too seriously, instead delivering an extremely fun viewing experience that does not have any of the pretension of later iterations. Action comedies almost never work but in this case, the balance between the two genres is effortlessly achieved. It certainly doesn't hurt that the titular angels are three megastars at the peak of their powers and Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore, and Cameron Diaz are all delivering truly fantastic performances, as well as working perfectly together as an unlikely trio of badass secret agents.
Watch it on Hulu.
8.Collective (2019)
Collective follows Romanian journalists as they uncover widespread corruption by the government's handling of healthcare. What really sets Collective apart from most modern documentaries is its confidence in not needing to use the genre's clichés to overexplain everything to the audience. There is no voiceover or dramatic score to try to manipulate you as a viewer; instead, you just get to see what is unfolding onscreen. Collective made less than $150,000 at the global box office, but it has received universal praise from critics, winning Best Documentary at the European Film Awards and London Film Critics Circle. It even became the first-ever Romanian film to earn a nomination at the Academy Awards.
Watch it on Hulu.
9.Crazy Heart (2009)
Otis "Bad" Blake (Jeff Bridges) was once a famous country star, but now he's forced to play at small bars around the country just to make ends meet. On top of that, he has four divorces, a son he hasn't seen in over 20 years, and a severe case of alcoholism. But that all changes once he meets Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a journalist who encourages him to get his life back on track. Think of it as a more grounded and less memeable prequel to A Star Is Born. Bridges gives one of the best performances of his career, which won him a long-overdue Oscar and reestablished him as one of the premier elder statesmen in cinema.
Watch it on Hulu.
10.*Crush (2022)
Paige (Rowan Blanchard) is a shy, artistic high schooler who joins the track team in hopes of getting closer to her crush, Gabriella (Isabella Ferreira). But she ends up getting trained by Gabriella's sister, AJ (Auli’i Cravalho), and starts to develop feelings for her as well. Typically, queer romances have either been aggressively ignored by high school movies or are forced to have a tragic undertone that almost always has a bummer ending. So, it's refreshing to see that Crush looks to be your standard coming-of-age high school rom-com with all of the standard tropes you know and love from the genre, except this time it's a lesbian character at the center.
Watch it on Hulu on April 29.
11.*Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
After learning that his wife, Alice (Nicole Kidman), considered leaving him for another man years earlier, Bill (Tom Cruise) embarks on a strange evening that culminates in him encountering a masked orgy that appears to be related to a secret society. From there, things continue to spin out of control, as the couple struggles to keep their relationship alive while Bill finds himself getting in over his head upon discovering the orgy was connected to a secret society. Eyes Wide Shut was the final film of Stanley Kubrick's career, and while it is far from a perfect movie, it remains a fascinating last chapter for one of the most legendary filmmakers of all time.
Watch it on Hulu.
12.Flee (2021)
As he is about to marry his husband, Amin Nawabi shares the story of how he fled his home in Afghanistan and became a refugee in Denmark. Since its debut at Sundance at the beginning of 2021, Flee has been deemed an "instant classic" by critics, and its animation style, themes, and representation of LGBTQ+ relationships have all been celebrated by viewers, including Parasite director Bong Joon-ho, who listed it as one of his favorite films from 2021. The animated docudrama was recently nominated for a trio of Academy Awards, including Best International Feature Film, Best Documentary Feature, and Best Animated Feature.
Watch it on Hulu.
13.Fresh (2022)
Like many of us, Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones) finds herself exhausted by the endless mediocrity of online dating so when she meets a seemingly great guy named Steve (Sebastian Stan) in the real world, she quickly falls for him. The two plan a romantic weekend getaway but things take a dark and unexpected turn that I won't spoil for you here. Fresh is a hilariously upsetting glimpse into the bizarre experience of modern dating, with Stan and Edgar-Jones both delivering great performances that help make it feel like one of the most innovative films made in a long time.
Watch it on Hulu.
14.Her Smell (2018)
The rise and fall of a musical artist is well-trodden territory in movies, but Her Smell gives a unique perspective on the genre by really diving into the complex and self-destructive nature of its lead, Becky Something (Elisabeth Moss). As a viewer, you'll find yourself simultaneously repulsed by Becky's selfish behavior and sympathizing with her struggle to maintain control of her constantly spiraling existence. And all credit for this nuanced character study should go to Moss, who has quietly established herself as one of the best actors of her generation and deserved an Oscar nomination for her performance here.
Watch it on Hulu.
15.Hitch (2005)
Hitch (Will Smith) is a "date doctor" who helps hapless men get the woman of their dreams with a few neat tricks and tips. But after he finds himself falling for Sara (Eva Mendez), Hitch discovers his usual moves don't work on her and he may actually have to try forging a genuine connection to win her over. Hitch is a pretty paint-by-numbers rom-com, but none of that matters when you have the effortless charm of Will Smith at your disposal, who manages to keep Hitch from feeling like too much of a scumbag or bitter incel type. The chemistry between him and Mendez is what carries the film, as their playfully combative banter is really masking both characters' struggles to let their guard down and give vulnerability a real shot.
Watch it on Hulu.
16.Hustlers (2019)
The mostly true story of a group of strippers who were able to con rich customers out of large amounts of money, Hustlers became a runaway success upon its release. The movie earned more than $150 million at the box office and received widespread critical acclaim. It even developed some serious Oscar buzz, and while it (along with Jennifer Lopez's incredible performance) ended up getting snubbed by the Academy Awards, Hustlers' cultural impact is undeniable at this point. Plus, it's just a really fun, well-made movie that you enjoy just as much the fifth time watching as you did the first time.
Watch it on Hulu.
17.I, Tonya (2017)
Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie) was a rising star in the world of figure skating in the early '90s, and in I, Tonya we get an up-close look at her meteoric rise and subsequent fall from grace. I, Tonya is by no means a completely accurate retelling of the rise and fall of Harding, and critics have complained that the film lets the titular skater off the hook when it comes to her role in the infamous attack on Nancy Kerrigan. But the film is not pretending to be a history lesson — it's a character study; and in that respect, it's a highly entertaining journey into the life of one of the most controversial figures in American sports. And the entire cast delivers Oscarworthy performances, with Allison Janney even winning a well-deserved Academy Award as Harding's casually abusive mother.
Watch it on Hulu.
18.I'm Your Man (2021)
Alma (Maren Eggert) agrees to participate in a three-week experiment where she will evaluate a robot named Tom (Dan Stevens), who is supposedly programmed to be her ideal man. At first, Alma is mostly amused by the idea but even as she finds herself growing closer to Tom as the trial progresses, she remains skeptical about the possibility of truly connecting with a person who isn't actually a person. I'm Your Man almost functions as a trojan horse of storytelling, as its clever premise and clever script draw you into a thoughtful and challenging story about loneliness, humanity, and whether any of us really know what we actually want in life.
Watch it on Hulu.
19.Jacinta (2020)
After spending most of the last decade of her life in and out of prison, 26-year-old Jacinta plans to get clean and become a better role model to her 10-year-old daughter. This harrowing documentary takes a brutally honest look at the struggles that addicts face in trying to get their lives back on track, and explores the unhealthy dynamics of the codependent relationship between Jacinta and her mom, Rosemary. Since its release, Jacinta has been unanimously praised by critics and generated lots of buzz along the film festival circuit.
Watch it on Hulu.
20.La La Land (2016)
What happens when a struggling actor and a struggling jazz musician cross paths in Los Angeles? Movie magic, baby! While it didn't actually end up winning Best Picture (to be fair, Moonlight totally deserved it), La La Land remains a remarkably entertaining movie and one of the best movie musicals of the 21st century. That's in no small part thanks to Emma Stone (who did end up winning an Oscar) and Ryan Gosling, who manage to effortlessly carry the movie with their dynamite chemistry and surprisingly great dance moves. Even if you find yourself (justifiably) rolling your eyes when Sebastian (Gosling) is explaining jazz to Mia (Stone), you'll find yourself tapping your toes during the outstanding musical numbers.
Watch it on Hulu.
21.Mass (2021)
Years after a school shooting, two sets of parents decide to meet at a church to privately sit down and talk. Jay (Jason Isaacs) and Gail (Martha Plimpton) Perry's son died in the shooting, while Richard (Reed Birney) and Linda (Ann Dowd) are the parents of the shooter, who also died. Other than a quick couple of scenes setting up the meeting, Mass is almost entirely these four having the most painful and difficult conversation you can imagine. The movie touches on the politics and larger cultural discussions around this issue but primarily focuses on the pain, confusion, and anger each one of these parents have experienced. As you might expect, the movie is incredibly tense at times, yet writer and director Fran Kranz resists giving easy answers or pointing fingers. Instead, Mass feels like one of the more honest explorations of one of the most upsetting realities that far too many parents have had to face over the last few decades.
Watch it on Hulu.
22.Moneyball (2011)
Sports movies tend to skew more toward the inspirational aspects of competition and overcoming adversity than the actual nuts and bolts it takes for a team to win. But Moneyball firmly favors the latter, as we see Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) embrace advanced stats in order to field a competitive team despite having one of the smallest payrolls in the league. Aaron Sorkin delivers one of his best scripts, effortlessly infusing his patented rapid-fire dialogue to keep discussions about sabermetrics from ever becoming dull or confusing for someone who knows nothing about baseball. Moneyball proved to be a success both financially (earning $110 million against a $50 million budget) and critically (it was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture), firmly establishing it as this century's best baseball movie.
Watch it on Hulu.
23.The Nice Guys (2016)
Shane Black is one of the defining voices of the buddy cop movie, and The Nice Guys is arguably his best take on the genre. Bumbling private eye Holland March (Ryan Gosling) reluctantly teams up with Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe), a brutish enforcer, to investigate the possible death of porn star Misty Mountains (Murielle Telio). But as in any good buddy cop movie, the actual plot takes a backseat to the chemistry between the lead duo, and Gosling and Crowe are sensational together. Gosling is the funniest he has ever been and delivers one of the best slapstick performances in recent memory. And Crowe has no problem keeping pace, giving his best performance since Master and Commander.
Watch it on Hulu.
24.Night of the Kings (2020)
A new prisoner arrives at La Maca, an infamous prison in the Ivory Coast that is run by inmates, and is selected to be the new "Roman," which requires him to tell a story to the prisoners. He begins to tell the story of the death of Zama King, a leader of the gang he belonged to, but he soon learns that he must keep telling the story until dawn or he will lose his life. Night of the Kings has received widespread critical acclaim since its release, winning the African American Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Film and the NAACP Image Awards 2021 for Outstanding International Motion Picture.
Watch it on Hulu.
25.Nomadland (2020)
You know those movies that your cinephile friends have been telling you to watch for months? Nomadland is probably at the top of that list, and after its big showing at the Oscars back in April, you have no more excuses for putting it off. And once you finally watch it, you’ll wonder why you didn’t see it sooner. Based on the 2017 nonfiction book of the same name, the film centers on Fern (Frances McDormand), who sells most of her possessions and takes to life on the road shortly after losing her job. McDormand won her third Oscar for her intimate portrayal of a woman trying to rediscover her place in the world, but what’s really impressive is how well the rest of the cast keeps up with her despite being composed almost entirely of "nonactors."
Watch it on Hulu.
26.Palm Springs (2020)
It's Nov. 9, and Nyles (Andy Samberg) is attending his cheating girlfriend's best friend's wedding for the thousandth (or possibly millionth) time, as he's been forced to relive the same day over and over. Nyles seems to have accepted his fate until sister of the bride Sarah (Cristin Milioti) ends up stuck in the same time loop. In lesser hands, this movie could easily feel unoriginal or trite, but Palm Springs proves to be a clever rom-com reimagining of Groundhog Day instead of a shameless rip-off. Having two people stuck in an endless time loop together instead of one poor schmuck trapped all alone may seem like a small change, but it turns out to give the movie its own vibe entirely. Palm Springs largely ignores the self-improvement aspect of Groundhog Day in favor of addressing the complex nature of human connection. And thanks to the dynamite chemistry between Samberg and Milioti, it totally works.
Watch it on Hulu.
27.Parasite (2019)
There's not much to say about Parasite that hasn't already been said in a million think pieces, but this is a rare film that not only justifies but somehow surpasses its own massive hype. But while much of the praise goes to Bong Joon-ho, who won Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars, the performances from the actors tend to get overlooked. The entire Kim family is outstanding, as all four actors manage to display the family's growing sense of desperation and bitterness as they try to survive their life in squalor. Park So-dam's performance as Kim Ki-jung is awardworthy, as she is able to bring in a layer of dark humor into the role while remaining entirely in character.
Watch it on Hulu.
28.Pig (2021)
Rob Feld (Nicolas Cage) lives a quiet life of reclusion as a truffle forager in the forests of Oregon until one day his beloved pig is kidnapped and he is forced to reenter society to retrieve his closest companion. This movie was marketed as "John Wick with a pig" but it turns out to be an entirely different journey, as Pig turns into an emotional exploration of Rob and what drove him away from the world where he was once heralded as a legend. Cage delivers one of the best performances of his legendary career, as he gives Rob a stoicism and gravitas that are really just covering up for the immense heartbreak and inner turmoil he is unable to escape.
Watch it on Hulu.
29.Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
If you're a sucker for once-in-a-lifetime love stories, you are going to love Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Set in France in the late 18th century, the film tells the story of Marianne (Noémie Merlant), a painter who is commissioned to paint a portrait of Hélo?se (Adèle Haenel), a young aristocrat set to marry a wealthy nobleman. Romance movies have a tendency to be melodramatic, but Portrait opts for a more subtle approach, allowing the tension to grow as Marianne and Hélo?se slowly gravitate toward each other. The film also makes no attempt to hide the lack of social freedom granted to women during this time period, which adds a certain level of tragedy to the love these two share.
Watch it on Hulu.
30.*Scooby-Doo (2002)
Years after the Mystery Gang broke up due to internal conflict, the members are all recruited to a popular horror-themed tropical island resort in order to investigate a mystery. The live-action take on the classic cartoon was mostly hated by critics at the time but has developed a bit of a cult following in the years since. While the film certainly has its issues — it's tough to ignore how weird Scooby looks — Scooby-Doo benefits from not taking itself too seriously, and the casting of the entire gang is undeniably perfect (especially Lillard's Oscar-worthy performance as Shaggy).
Watch it on Hulu.
31.*Shrek (2001)
I don't need to tell you what Shrek is about. Everyone knows what Shrek's about. Two decades later, this post-modern, irreverent takedown of fairy tales remains as culturally relevant as ever, with Shrek becoming a consistent source of meme-fodder and online discourse. But does the movie itself actually hold up? In a word, absolutely. The jokes are still hilarious, the soundtrack is still banger after banger, and the voice performances are among the best of this century. And even though the movie postures itself as the crude antithesis to Disney's saccharine sentimentality, Shrek secretly wears its heart on its sleeve, with a sweet message about self-acceptance hiding behind the fart jokes and pop culture references.
Watch it on Hulu.
32.*Shrek 2 (2004)
Despite Shrek' s enormous success by every conceivable metric, when a sequel was announced, it was hard not to wonder if it would prove to be a one-hit wonder. Thankfully, that was decidedly not the case, as Shrek 2 not only kept the magic of the original alive, it arguably surpassed it to become the best entry in the Shrek franchise. How did Dreamworks manage to pull this off? By understanding exactly what made the first Shrek work (lovable characters, dope soundtrack, pop culture galore), while also adding several fun, new elements that helped take the series to unprecedented heights. As a result, Shrek 2 was an all-out cultural juggernaut, becoming the highest grossing film of 2004 and holding the title of the highest-grossing animated film ever in the United States for over a decade.
Watch it on Hulu.
33.Spencer (2021)
Nearly 25 years after her tragic death, Princess Diana remains a cultural fixation, as her short but memorable life is still discussed by countless admirers to this day. Spencer is hardly the first Diana biopic, but it is undoubtedly the best, as it focuses on her decision to end her marriage to Prince Charles and leave the royal family. And Kristen Stewart does a fantastic job portraying the internal struggle that the Princess of Wales is facing during this trying time, rightfully earning the first Oscar nomination of her career. Whether you are a borderline Princess Diana historian or completely clueless to her story, you'll enjoy this intimate look into someone discovering that living a fairy tale isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Watch it on Hulu.
34.Summer of Soul (2021)
During the summer of 1969, Harlem hosted a six-week music festival to celebrate African American music and to promote Black pride in the larger culture. Nearly 300,000 people attended to watch some of the biggest names in music, including Nina Simone, B.B. King, Sly and the Family Stone, and Stevie Wonder, perform. And yet, it is rarely mentioned in pop culture. Why? That is the question that Questlove, who directed the documentary, is looking to answer, by showing footage from the festival that was restored. The result is what documentarian Mark Kermode called "the best music documentary I've ever seen" and earned Summer of Soul an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature.
Watch it on Hulu.
35.Together Together (2021)
Matt (Ed Helms) is a successful app developer who decides he wants to become a father as he approaches middle age. He selects Anna (Patti Harrison), a twentysomething working a coffee shop, as his surrogate, and as the pregnancy progresses, their relationship grows as well. The chemistry between Helms and Harrison is fantastic, as their odd-couple dynamic has a warm and hilarious intimacy. Since its debut at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, Together Together has received universal praise from critics, with Harrison being singled out for her breakout performance. The movie also features a killer supporting cast that includes Tig Notaro, Jo Firestone, Anna Konkle, and Julio Torres.
Watch it on Hulu.
36.*Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)
Every genre of film has a basic formula, but perhaps no genre is more mind-numbingly formulaic than the music biopic. And Walk Hard has a blast lampooning every single one of those tropes with the story of Dewey Cox, a fictional musician played perfectly by John C. Reilly. From his humble beginnings to his meteoric rise in the music industry to his eventual spiral into the world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, Cox experiences every up and down seen a million times in generic biopics about musicians. The movie is purposefully ridiculous and has fun infusing Cox into the well-trodden history of music, with an endless wave of stars stopping by to announce themselves as rock legends (the sequence where he meditates with the Beatles in India is especially funny). And if all of this wasn't enough to make you want to check out Walk Hard, you should know that the totally made-up discography of Dewey Cox is far better than it has any right to be.
Watch it on Hulu.
37.We Broke Up (2021)
Lori (Aya Cash) and Doug (William Jackson Harper) are forced to attend a wedding together just after they decide to call off their long-term relationship. It's a simple premise that allows the film to explore the complexities of a couple who no longer want to be together yet remain drawn to each other. We Broke Up has received mixed reviews from critics so far, but Cash's and Harper's performances have been praised. As the two effortlessly make the jump from television to the big screen, their natural chemistry brings a depth to the fractured relationship between Lori and Doug.
Watch it on Hulu.
* Denotes title has been newly added to Hulu for April.
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