Movies like Playful Lovers (2022)
The best movies like Playful Lovers (2022) are King Cobra (2016), Heavy Traffic (1973) and The Krays (1990). If Playful Lovers hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSin City (2005)7.5/10 from 9,219 votes
- NewestSouth Park (Not Suitable for Children) (2023)Released 2023
King Cobra (2016)
It’s 2006, YouTube is in its infancy, and internet porn is still behind a paywall. Taking the stage name Brent Corrigan, a fresh-faced, wannabe adult video performer is molded into a star by Stephen, a closeted gay porn mogul who runs the skin flick empire Cobra Video from his seemingly ordinary suburban home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisHeavy Traffic (1973)
A white dropout struggles to become a cartoonist and filmmaker, drawing inspiration from the harsh, gritty world around him. Still sharing his rundown apartment with his middle-aged parents, an oafish slob of an Italian father and a ditzy nutcase of a Jewish mother, he's ridiculed and looked down upon by his friends, hypocrites who run with violent gangs and the Italian Mafia, and a shallow Black girl who makes her living downtown with the pimps and pushers. The cartoonist gets a chance to pitch a film idea to a movie mogul, but the story proves too outrageous: a far-future Earth, depleted by war and pollution, where a mutant antihero challenges and kills God.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Krays (1990)
Twins Ronnie and Reggie Kray are raised in east London, under the influence of their hateful but doting mother Violet. As they grow up, Ronnie's violent nature takes over, and Reggie follows his brother's lead. The two become notorious crime lords who rule over the East End club scene. But at the height of their power, the brothers veer into different lives, giving the older crime bosses a chance to reclaim what the Krays took from them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Overnight (2015)
Alex, Emily, and their son, RJ, are new to Los Angeles. A chance meeting at the park introduces them to the mysterious Kurt, Charlotte, and Max. A family “playdate” becomes increasingly interesting as the night goes on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisSin City (2005)
Welcome to Sin City. This town beckons to the tough, the corrupt, the brokenhearted. Some call it dark… Hard-boiled. Then there are those who call it home — Crooked cops, sexy dames, desperate vigilantes. Some are seeking revenge, others lust after redemption, and then there are those hoping for a little of both. A universe of unlikely and reluctant heroes still trying to do the right thing in a city that refuses to care.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSouth Park (Not Suitable for Children) (2023)
After it's discovered that a teacher at South Park Elementary has an OnlyFans page, Randy is compelled to take a closer look at the seedy underbelly of the world of online influencers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOrgazmo (1998)
A devout Mormon living in L.A. becomes a pornographic actor after his martial arts moves impress a big-time director.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCitizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV (2001)
A horrific explosion creates a dimensional portal between Tromaville and its dimensional mirror image, Amortville. While the Toxie is trapped in the mirror dimension, Tromaville comes under the control of his evil doppelganger, the Noxious Offender.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dirt (2019)
The story of Mötley Crüe and their rise from the Sunset Strip club scene of the early 1980s to superstardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShortbus (2006)
In post-9/11 New York City, an eclectic group of citizens find their lives entangled, personally, romantically, and sexually, at Shortbus, an underground Brooklyn salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisV/H/S/99 (2022)
A thirsty teenager's home video leads to a series of horrifying revelations, harkening back to the final punk rock analog days of VHS, while taking one giant leap forward into the hellish new millennium.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisOriginal Sin (2001)
A young man is plunged into a life of subterfuge, deceit and mistaken identity in pursuit of a femme fatale whose heart is never quite within his grasp.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMeet Monica Velour (2010)
For Tobe, a nerdy, horny, frizzy-haired cineaste who doesn't quite fit in with the average contemporary teen, the pinnacle of womanhood is Monica Velour, a soft-core actress who reached the zenith of her career in the 1980s. When Tobe learns that his love idol is headlining hundreds of miles away at the Gentlemen's Petting Zoo in Indiana, he drives off with carefree glory, filled with the hope of meeting her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisV/H/S/94 (2021)
After the discovery of a mysterious VHS tape, a brutish police SWAT team launches a high-intensity raid on a remote warehouse, only to discover a sinister cult compound whose collection of pre-recorded material uncovers a nightmarish conspiracy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Protector (1985)
Billy Wong is a New York City cop whose partner is gunned down during a robbery. Billy and his new partner, Danny Garoni, are working security at a fashion show when a wealthy man's daughter, Laura Shapiro, is kidnapped. The Federal authorities suspect that Laura's father is involved with Mr. Ko, a Hong Kong drug kingpin, so the NYC police commissioner sends the two cops to Hong Kong to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisYour Friends & Neighbors (1998)
Restless and unhappy, two couples get caught up in infidelity and deception. Barry is a sullen businessman married to Mary, a writer who is unsatisfied with their relationship. Mary begins an affair with Jerry, a smug theater professor and husband of her friend, Terri, who is also a writer. Adding to the adulterous mix are Cary, a callous doctor, and Cheri, an art-gallery assistant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisDaddy's Little Girl (2014)
After the police find Derek’s daughter brutally murdered on the beach, he vows to make the culprit suffer for his actions, even if that person is ‘part of the family.’ With careful research into the history of torture, Derek prepares himself and his basement for a week of brutal tactics that will make his daughter’s killer feel the pain that he has inflicted upon so many others. In a time when stranger danger is ever present, a single father learns that it’s the ones you trust most who have to be watched the closest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoltzius & the Pelican Company (2012)
Hendrik Goltzius, a late-16th-century Dutch printer and engraver of erotic prints, seduces the Margrave of Alsace into paying for a printing press to make and publish illustrated books.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWelcome to Chechnya (2020)
This searing investigative work shadows a group of activists risking unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ program raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic. Unfettered access and a remarkable approach to protecting anonymity exposes this under-reported atrocity–and an extraordinary group of people confronting evil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Living End (1992)
Two HIV-positive young men — a semi-employed film critic and a hot hustler — tear off on a cross-country crime spree.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisColumbia Laff Hour (1956)
A Columbia Pictures feature, featuring 4 unedited shorts, released between 1947-1956, featuring Shemp Howard.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Shadow Realm (2002)
Shadow Realm is a compilation of two episodes planned for the short-lived Fox Network television series Night Visions. Each episode contained two stories and were originally hosted by musician/actor/writer Henry Rollins. The Sci-Fi Channel acquired the rights to broadcast the episodes, including the last three unaired episodes and strung two of them together as an anthology movie. Title sequences and end credits were changed and the Henry Rollins introductions were removed from the final product.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
I'm a Porn Star (2013)
I'm a Porn Star follows the lives of guys in the neighborhood who are likely a lot more famous than you - at least on the Internet. There are an estimated 370 million pornographic websites on-line. Porn is now a thirteen BILLION dollar business. So who's doing all this moonlighting? Turns out -- probably some people you know.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The House That Shadows Built (1931)
A promotional documentary short celebrating the 20th anniversary of Paramount Pictures, complete with a studio history, interviews with stars, and clips from upcoming films–some of which never came to fruition.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Gonzo Presents Muppet Weird Stuff (1985)
Gonzo hosts this collection of some of the weirdest moments from The Muppet Show at his trailer home, assisted by Camilia and visited by Kermit The Frog.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Tales from the Darkside (1990)
A compilation of episodes from the classic '80s horror anthology TV series "Tales From The Darkside" for the VHS market.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Gurren Lagann The Movie: Childhood's End (2008)
Simon and Kamina live in an underground city monitored by the village chief. When Simon stumbles upon an artifact and beastmen invade from the surface, Simon and Kamina rebel against them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNeon Genesis Evangelion: Death and Rebirth (1997)
Originally a collection of clips from the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series, Death was created as a precursor to the re-worked ending of the series. Rebirth was intended as that re-worked ending, but after production overruns Rebirth became only the first half of the first part of The End of Evangelion, with some minor differences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Best of Mark Lowry & Bill Gaither Volume 1 (2004)
Mark Lowry is a very clever comedian, as well as an excellent singer, and this DVD focuses on his funny routines during the thirteen years he spent with the Gaither Vocal Band. The way it is presented, is that Mark and Bill Gaither are shown in a relaxed setting, as they sit and talk about the clips they show from the many Homecoming Series concerts around the country, as well as one in Ireland, and a short piece in England. It also includes some terrific music with the comedy, and my favorites are the two versions of "I'm Gonna Keep On", with Bill trying to sing the song while he is interrupted by bird calls and Mark's mischief; it's a terrific combination of wonderful music and harmonies, and at the same time totally hilarious. Well edited, this is a fast moving one hour and thirty-five minute show, interesting as well amusing, with often laugh-out-loud humor. Good clean fun is hard to come by, and Mark is one of the best at it. -Alejandra Vernon
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion I - Initiation (2017)
The world is at war. Lelouch Lamperouge, an exiled prince, encounters a strange girl known as C.C., who gifts him with a great power. With this ability, Lelouch can get anyone to do as he wills. But the power of Geass: is it a blessing…or a curse?
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Playful Lovers?
The closest matches to Playful Lovers are King Cobra (2016), Heavy Traffic (1973) and The Krays (1990). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Playful Lovers?
Start with King Cobra (2016), the closest match to Playful Lovers.
What is the highest-rated movie like Playful Lovers?
Sin City (2005), rated 7.5/10 by 9,219 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Playful Lovers?
South Park (Not Suitable for Children) (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Playful Lovers?
Yes: King Cobra (2016), Heavy Traffic (1973) and The Krays (1990).
How are movies similar to Playful Lovers chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Playful Lovers, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.