Romantic comedies are often dismissed as a genre as a whole for being cheesy, but there are plenty of romantic comedies that can take classic tropes, combine them with stellar performances, and end up with great movies, which is exactly what the best rom-coms on Hulu are able to do. Hulu offers a variety of romantic movies, and while a lot of the offerings on the streamer lean more toward the dramatic end of the genre, there is still a rom-com for everyone.

A good romantic comedy needs great chemistry in its main cast. It also can't be afraid to acknowledge the tropes of the genre and create something fresh with them. Hulu's best rom-coms do just that - especially in newer teen rom-coms like Crush. Hulu also offers some classics in their library movies, giving romantic comedy fans a chance to see what inspired these modern takes.

Beautiful Disaster (2023)

Directed By Roger Kumble

One of Hulu’s original romantic comedies of 2023, the movie is based on a book of the same name by Jamie McGuire. Virginia Gardner (Runaways) and Dylan Sprouse (My Fake Boyfriend) star as a pair of college students who seem like polar opposites.

She’s trying to leave her past behind and be the stereotypical good girl while he embraces his bad boy image. When the two make a bet, they find themselves growing closer. While the movie plays to relatively standard rom-com fare, it’s still one of the most enjoyable rom-coms of Hulu’s originals.

The Valet (2022)

Directed By Richard Wong

If there’s one trope prevalent in the best Hulu rom-coms, it’s fake dating. Here, the fake couple in question is a movie star (Samara Weaving) and a valet (Eugenio Derbez) that she’s photographed with when she’s actually having an affair with a wealthy married man. A scheme is hatched to allow the press to believe the star and the valet are dating, and the two gradually realize the lives they’ve been leading aren’t particularly healthy.

The movie uses a standard rom-com trope to create a story of growth and friendship instead of the traditional romance, and it’s a breath of fresh air in Hulu’s rom-coms.

The Hating Game (2021)

Directed By Peter Hutchings

Inspired by the novel by Sally Thorne, Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell star in this rom-com that is the perfect example of the enemies-to-lovers idea. Lucy (Hale) and Josh (Stowell) cannot stand one another and end up vying for the same promotion at their publishing company.

The more they compete, however, the more they get to know one another, and the more they discover they actually like one another. The chemistry of Hale and Stowell is what makes this mostly formulaic story one of Hulu’s best rom-coms.

Just My Luck (2006)

Directed By Donald Petrie

Just My Luck is one of the reasons that modern rom-com fans were so excited to see Lindsay Lohan in Netflix’s Falling For Christmas in 2023. Lohan grew up in family movies but was poised to enter the rom-com world with Just My Luck when it premiered in 2006.

Lohan stars in the movie as a young woman who lives the luckiest life. One kiss with a stranger at a masquerade ball, however, transfers her luck to him. Chris Pine as the unluckiest band manager in the world who suddenly finds everything going his way after one kiss helps to make the outlandish premise charming.

27 Dresses (2008)

Directed By Anne Fletcher

27 Dresses is just one of a string of rom-coms starring Katherine Heigl, but it’s certainly one of the most unique. It takes the idea of “always a bridesmaid, never a bride” to a great story idea. Heigl plays a woman who is the bridesmaid in the weddings of 27 friends and acquaintances because she’s such a people-pleaser that she makes the perfect addition to a wedding party.

When the woman finds that people pleasing is actually breaking her heart as she and her sister fall for the same guy, her life starts to spiral out of control. Add that to a reporter who publishes a story about her stints as a bridesmaid, and 27 Dresses is a near-perfect rom-com.

We Broke Up (2021)

Directed By Jeff Rosenberg

We Broke Up sees a long-time couple deciding to go their separate ways. Unlike other rom-coms with a similar premise, however, this couple isn’t so close that they continue to maintain their friendship and slide back into couply patterns following their decision.

Instead, they struggle to decide if they should try again when they’re both invited to a wedding. The performances of Aya Cash and William Jackson Harper as the pair in question make for a compelling watch.

Crush (2022)

Directed By Sammi Cohen

One of Hulu’s original movies, Crush is certainly a throwback to teen comedies of the late 1990s and early 2000s. While the movie still features plenty of stereotypes and tropes that classic teen movies have employed, it also paves the way for more representation in modern teen comedies.

The central love triangle is between three young women, providing a love story for out queer characters instead of a coming-out story. The week of its premiere in 2022, it was the top-streamed movie on Hulu, and it certainly deserved that top spot (via Media Play News).

How To Be Single (2016)

Directed By Christian Ditter

How To Be Single wasn’t a hit with critics when it first premiered, but the movie really works to turn the rom-com genre on its head. Each of the main characters fills a familiar rom-com role, but in new ways.

There's a single girl desperate to find the one (Allison Brie), the party girl not willing to settle down (Rebel Wilson), the independent woman who wants a family (Leslie Mann), and the woman struggling to get over her ex (Dakota Johnson). The journey of the movie isn’t really about each of them finding a happily ever after with a man, but examining how their lives as single women differ, and just what happily ever after might really mean for each of them.

Love And Other Drugs (2010)

Directed By Edward Zwick

The main reason that Love And Other Drugs isn’t the best rom-com on Hulu is that it veers more toward the dramatic end of the rom-com spectrum than the comedic. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a man who becomes a pharmaceutical rep and falls for Anne Hathaway’s Maggie, a woman with a serious medical condition.

The story chronicles the ups and downs of their relationship and the reality of what the downsides of her illness could look like. While both of the leads are charming, it’s not as light as Hulu’s other offerings.

What’s Your Number (2011)

Directed By Mark Mylod

Anna Faris is the lead in this delightful rom-com. She stars as a young woman who reads an article that makes her worry she might have already met “the one” and ed him by because of her large number of past partners. She’s inspired to track down all of her exes to see if there might still be a spark.

The man who lives across the hall (Chris Evans) helps her on her quest and the two bond over their disastrous relationships. It’s fun, funny, and has a slew of ing players that are so fun to watch like Ari Graynor, Chris Pratt, and Anthony Mackie.