Goodbye, Halloween, and say hello to the holiday season. Hulu is preparing for the next two months by adding a collection of holiday rom-coms and Christmas movies. One of those movies is Elf, the 2003 family comedy starring Will Ferrell. Elf, The Polar Express, and Christmas Vacation arrive on Hulu around Thanksgiving.
Until then, you’ll have to manage with Hulu’s current selection — a fun mix of well-known classics and underrated gems. One of our picks for November is Jingle All the Way, an entertaining Christmas adventure featuring one of the 1980s biggest action stars. Our other two recommendations — one comedy and one drama — are not holiday films.
We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Jingle All the Way (1996)
Ta-ta, Turbo Man. Arnold Schwarzenegger played the Terminator, fought a predator, and slayed Thulsa Doom. Yet, his toughest task was finding an action figure in Jingle All the Way. Workaholic father Howard Langston (Howard Langston) constantly lets down his wife, Liz (Rita Wilson), and young son, Jamie (Jake Lloyd).
After missing Jamie’s karate class, Howard plans to buy him a Turbo Man action figure for Christmas. The only problem is the toy has been sold out for weeks. It’s Christmas Eve, and Howard still has no Turbo Man. While scouring the city’s toy stores, Howard encounters Myron Larabee (Sinbad), another rival father looking for Turbo Man. The clock’s ticking, and Howard must deliver or face the consequences of disappointing his son on the year’s biggest holiday.
Watch Jingle All the Way on Hulu.
Grown Ups (2010)
Every Hollywood star with enough power and recognition should emulate Adam Sandler’s moviemaking strategy. Invite your friends to a summer location, have a few laughs, and make a movie. Sandler recruited his Saturday Night Live buddies to be in Grown Ups, a 2010 comedy about a group of childhood pals reuniting as adults for one summer weekend.
After the death of their junior high basketball coach, five friends — Lenny Feder (Sandler), Eric Lamonsoff (Kevin James), Kurt McKenzie (Chris Rock), Marcus Higgins (David Spade), and Rob Hilliard (Rob Schneider) — travel to their hometown for their coach’s funeral. Lenny, who became a Hollywood talent agent, rents a lake house for the guys and their families to stay at over the Fourth of July weekend. Despite their time apart, the guys pick up where they left off, ragging on each other and reminiscing about the old days. Don’t listen to the critics. Embrace the silliness and hijinks of Grown Ups.
Watch Grown Ups on Hulu.
The Beach (2000)
Leonardo DiCaprio became an international superstar in 1997’s Titanic. Five years later, DiCaprio changed his image from a young heartthrob to a serious actor in 2002’s Gangs of New York. In between those films, DiCaprio starred in 2000’s The Beach, one of the weirdest, yet most important roles in his filmography. It’s the bridge between his past and future, and ultimately, The Beach proved DiCaprio could carry a movie on his name alone.
Danny Boyle’s The Beach follows Richard (DiCaprio), a young American traveler in Bankgkok who comes across a secret map to an uninhabited island. Along with French couple, Françoise (Virginie Ledoyen) and Étienne (Guillaume Canet), Richard successfully makes it to the hidden paradise, where they are accepted into the tight-knit community. Unfortunately, paradise isn’t meant to last forever, and Richard slowly uncovers the island’s dark secrets.
Watch The Beach on Hulu.
