12 Must-Watch Rom-Coms on HBO Max Right Now (July 2026): ‘The Drama’ and More

OK, hear me out – The Drama is actually a romantic comedy, it’s just not the traditional rom-com you would normally expect. At a dinner with some friends, engaged couple Emma (Zendaya) and Charlie (Robert Pattinson) play a game where they have to confess the worst thing they have ever done. Charlie’s admission that he cyberbullied a former classmate is bad enough, but Emma’s is far, far worse. In fact, her revelation completely upends their upcoming wedding and causes Charlie to question how much he really knows about his bride-to-be.

The Drama is a black comedy, a dark romance and scathing drama all rolled into one. But is it funny? Yes. Is the love story compelling and believable? Also yes. Zendaya and Pattinson have great chemistry as a couple who have to reconsider their love for each other after they’ve revealed all the skeletons in their closet. Is their love strong enough to withstand the truth? Maybe, maybe not, but it sure is entertaining to find out.

The Drama will start streaming on July 31.

Successful music producer Chris Brander (Ryan Reynolds) isn’t looking forward to returning to his hometown for the holidays. But when his client, ditzy pop star Samantha James (Anna Faris), inadvertently causes him to revisit a place he swore he’d never visit again, he’s forced to revisit several ghosts from the past. One of them is Jamie Palamino (Amy Smart), a former high school crush he still has feelings for. Is Chris brave enough to try to win Jamie’s heart? Or is she still that shy schoolboy who doesn’t think he’s worthy of her love?

Just Friends has a crazy good concept that anyone can relate to: what if you had a second chance at first love? Reynolds has always been his best when he plays an underdog, and Chris is one of his most endearing romantic sad-sack characters. As Chris’ sidekick, Faris is fantastic as an oblivious celebrity who just wants everyone to love her. As she’s proven in numerous Scary Movies and the underrated 2008 flick The House Bunny, no one can play dumb as smartly as she does.

In early July, Prime Video debuted its newest hit series, Elle, which looks back at the formative years of Legally Blonde’s lawyer heroine. Reviews have been mixed, so a better use of your time is to watch the 2001 original all over again. When her snobby fiancé breaks up with her because he doesn’t think she’s serious enough, Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) proves him wrong by acing her LSATs and enrolling in Harvard Law School, where he’s attending as a first-year student. A pariah at first due to her affinity for pink and seemingly superficial demeanor, Elle soon wins over her classmates and discovers a passion for the law she never knew she had.

Silly and frothy, Legally Blonde is the perfect rom-com for those who like a formulaic plot, charismatic stars and yes, even an unexpected musical number. Witherspoon is terrific as a Beverly Hills socialite who is less like Paris Hilton and more like Ruth Bader Ginsburg – with a better wardrobe, of course. 

Jennifer Lawrence‘s Maddie Barker is kind of robbing the cradle in No Hard Feelings while dating a guy, Percy Becker (Andrew Barth Feldman), who’s a little too young for her. At least he would be if Maddie really wanted him. In reality, Maddie was hired to court Percy by his parents, Laird (Matthew Broderick) and Allison Becker (Laura Benanti), to bring him out of his shell before he goes to college.

If Maddie’s financial situation hadn’t been so dire, she might have said no. Instead, she moves mountains trying to date the un-dateable Percy. But once Maddie wins his heart, she has to find a way not to crush Percy if he ever finds out why she dated him in the first place.

Crazy, Stupid, Love. features Steve Carell as Cal Weaver, a man who can’t deal with the fact that his wife, Emily (Julianne Moore), is leaving him for someone else. However, Cal makes a big change in his life when his new friend, Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling), teaches him how to pick up women.

What neither Cal or Jacob know is that the latter’s latest girlfriend, Hannah (Emma Stone), is Cal’s grown daughter. That throws their friendship into a spiral just as Cal decides he wants to win back Emily’s heart.

Crazy, Stupid, Love. is streaming on HBO Max.

Two decades ago, Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda had an epic generational clash in Monster-in Law. Lopez plays Charlotte “Charlie” Cantilini, a woman who is head-over-heels in love with Kevin Fields (Michael Vartan). But as the couple begins preparations to get married, Kevin’s mother, Viola Fields (Fonda), decides that Charlie isn’t good enough for her son.

Viola is going through a rough patch in her life, but that doesn’t excuse the Hell she unleashes on Charlie as she tries to break up the happy couple. There’s only room for one woman in Kevin’s life, and his mom is determined to do anything to make sure it isn’t Charlie.

Monster-in-Law is streaming on HBO Max.

Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn‘s Wedding Crashers is one of the duo’s most famous movies. In this comedy classic, they play divorce mediators John Beckwith (Wilson) and Jeremy Grey (Vaughn), a pair of best friends who have perfected the art of dropping in on other people’s weddings and picking up single women. This time, Jeremy has snagged Gloria Cleary (Isla Fisher), while John is very attracted to her sister, Claire (Rachel McAdams).

Unfortunately for John, Claire already has a boyfriend, Sack Lodge (Bradley Cooper), and he’s ruthless about keeping away any potential rivals. John and Jeremy are also using false identities, and their continued presence in the lives of the Cleary family threatens to expose their lies to the women they desire.

Wedding Crashers is streaming on HBO Max.

We live in very cynical times, and Lucy Mason (Dakota Johnson) has embraced that in Materialists. Lucy’s been a failure in love and as an actress, but she’s found her calling as a matchmaker who helps women find financially successful men to date and potentially marry. She’s so good at her job that a very wealthy man, Harry Castillo (Pedro Pascal), starts courting her himself. 

At the same time, Lucy reconnects with her ex-boyfriend, John Pitts (Chris Evans), a struggling actor who can’t give Lucy the life of luxury that she wants. That’s not a problem for Harry, but Lucy will eventually have to decide what’s really important to her: Love or money?

Materialists is streaming on HBO Max.

If you don’t remember seeing Starter for 10 in theaters nearly two decades ago, it’s probably because it wasn’t widely seen in America. But the film has a loaded cast including Benedict Cumberbatch, Dominic Cooper, James Corden, Rebecca Hall, Alice Eve and one of the first leading roles for James McAvoy.

McAvoy portrays Brian Jackson, a college student who is eager to take part in the TV quiz show University Challenge. Brian is so attracted to one of his teammates, Alice Harbinson (Eve), that he nearly gives up his opportunity on the team for her. After being rejected, Brian finds himself drawn to another student, Rebecca Epstein (Hall), but his lingering feelings for Alice may cause him to lose both women.

Starter for 10 is streaming on HBO Max.

Singing’ in the Rain wasn’t an immediate sensation in 1952, but it’s now widely regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made. The story takes place nearly a century ago in Hollywood, as silent pictures are about to go the way of the dodo. Movie star Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) is afraid his career will go with it.

Although Don is romantically linked by the press to his costar, Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), he falls head over heels for a novice actress, Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds). It’s the kind of love that just makes you want to sing in the rain, apparently. But if Lina has her way, she’ll keep Don and Kathy apart. The music is incredibly catchy, and that’s a big reason why this film feels timeless.

Singin’ in the Rain is streaming on HBO Max.

This Broadway adaptation of the Keri Russell romantic dramedy has even more delicious heart than the original. When diner waitress and master pie baker Jenna (Sara Bareilles, who also wrote the music for the show) finds herself pregnant, she decides to save up and enter a pie contest to escape her abusive husband Earl (Joe Tippett). Her best friends Dawn (Caitlin Houlahan) and Becky (Charity Angél Dawson) encourage her along the way. But things get a little more complicated when, much to her surprise, she ends up having an affair with her kind and understanding OB/GYN, Dr. Pomatter (Drew Gehling).

Jenna’s pregnancy helps her discover the strength she never imagined she had. The songs are irresistibly funny and catchy in one moment and heartbreakingly beautiful in the next. Waitress: The Musical will leave you hungry for more — and for a slice of pie.

Waitress: The Musical is streaming on HBO Max.

Toula (Nia Vardalos) is a shy, awkward woman who has always felt like an outsider in her loud, effusive Greek American family. When she falls in love with WASP-y teacher Ian (John Corbett), she struggles to get her family to accept him. Throughout the movie, she learns to stand up for herself and the man she loves, but she also learns to appreciate the rich culture that makes her family unique. It’s a heartwarming, hilarious story.

Despite being over twenty years old, My Big Fat Greek Wedding remains the highest-grossing rom-com of all time — and rightfully so. The script, written by lead actress Vardalos, is instantly quotable and emotionally resonant. More importantly, Toula and Ian’s romance is endlessly endearing. The movie spawned two sequels in 2016 and 2023, but the original remains the best of the bunch.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding is streaming on HBO Max.