Movies like The Cowboy (1985)
The best movies like The Cowboy (1985) are Clear History (2013), There Once Was a Cop (1972) and Guardian Angels (1995). If The Cowboy hooked you with its comedy, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLouis C.K.: Hilarious (2010)7.8/10 from 321 votes
- NewestRicky Gervais: Mortality (2025)Released 2025
- In FrenchThere Once Was a Cop (1972)Also in French
Clear History (2013)
Nathan Flomm, in order to avoid the humiliation of having missed out on a hugely successful business, assumes a new identity on Martha's Vineyard. He plots revenge when his former business partner moves to the same town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThere Once Was a Cop (1972)
Campana, a commissar at the drugs bureau of Paris police gets an undercover job in Nice to catch an Italian-French mafia boss. As he slips into the identity of a gangster's brother, who was already killed, he has to play the role of a loving husband with child - something that is not so easy for a confirmed single like Campana. Unfortunately American killers chase behind the Nice mafia clan too, in order to get control of French drug trades to USA.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGuardian Angels (1995)
A sleazy Paris nightclub owner and ex-detective flies to Hong Kong to rescue the young son of a friend murdered by the Chinese mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRicky Gervais: Mortality (2025)
Ricky Gervais tackles life, death and the state of the world in a brutally honest special that spares no topic, even his own mortality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDave Chappelle: Killin' Them Softly (2000)
Dave Chappelle returns for a stand-up to D.C. and riffs on politics, police, race relations, drugs, Sesame Street and more.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAccident Man (2018)
Mike Fallon, the Accident Man, is a stone cold killer. When a loved one is murdered by his own crew, Fallon is forced to avenge the one person who actually meant something to him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPsych 2: Lassie Come Home (2020)
After Santa Barbara Police Chief Carlton Lassiter is ambushed and left for dead, Shawn and Gus return to help him and find themselves embroiled in a case involving the personal, the professional – and even the supernatural.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs (2023)
In a rowdy stand-up set, Shane Gillis riffs on his girlfriend's Navy SEAL ex, touring George Washington's house and being bullied by an Australian Goth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Takedown (2022)
Ousmane Diakité and François Monge are two cops with very different styles, backgrounds and careers. The unlikely pair are reunited once again for a new investigation that takes them across France. What seemed to be a simple drug deal turns out to be a much bigger criminal case wrapped in danger and unexpected comedy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones (2019)
Dave Chappelle takes on gun culture, the opioid crisis and the tidal wave of celebrity scandals in this defiant stand-up special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShaft (2019)
JJ, aka John Shaft Jr., may be a cyber security expert with a degree from MIT, but to uncover the truth behind his best friend’s untimely death, he needs an education only his dad can provide. Absent throughout JJ’s youth, the legendary locked-and-loaded John Shaft agrees to help his progeny navigate Harlem’s heroin-infested underbelly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCop or Hood (1979)
When the local police inspector was found dead in a prostitute's house, police division commissioner Stan Borowitz is sent to investigate the situation. Posing as the prostitute's long-lost brother "Antonio Cerruti," he discovers a mare's nest of police corruption. In fact, in this comedy thriller the whole town is corrupt. If they were closely examined, Stan's methods for pursuing this investigation might embarrass the police. For instance, he drives into a criminal's house in a fancy, expensive race car. In another incident, he callously blows up a casino owned by Musard , one of the town's crime bosses. On that occasion, he first forces Musard to remove his clothes, and the poor criminal watches his casino explode from across the square while standing naked in a phone booth. Meanwhile, Stan seduces the lovely Edmonde.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLouis C.K.: Hilarious (2010)
In this unique and dynamic live concert experience, Louis C.K.'s exploration of life after 40 destroys politically correct images of modern life with thoughts we have all had...but would rarely admit to.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisL'Opération Corned Beef (1991)
The unsanctioned efforts of a covert unit to gather evidence about illegal arms shipments with the unwitting help of an embassy employee.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiller Bean Forever (2008)
When things go bad in Beantown, top assassin Killer Bean is called to clean-up the mess. Detective Cromwell finds himself in the middle between Killer Bean and mob boss Cappuccino.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLouis C.K. 2017 (2017)
Louis C.K. muses on religion, eternal love, giving dogs drugs, email fights, teachers and more in a live performance from Washington, D.C.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBuffet Froid (1979)
Alphonse Tram is unwittingly involved in several murders despite having no memory of committing the crimes. His confusion lead him to confess to his neighbour, Inspector Morvandieu. Alphonse and Morvandieu become the axis around which murders occur.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDuplex (2003)
When a young couple buys their dream home, they have no idea what the sweet little old lady upstairs is going to put them through!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInspector Blunder (1980)
A detective, fresh out of the academy (lowest mark in class), gets the assignment to bodyguard a spoiled rich girl reporter. She's been interviewed on TV and has questioned the virility of a mobster who kidnaps her later.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPop Redemption (2013)
A black metal band it is about to split up. In their way to one last gig at Hellfest festival an accidental death triggers numerous misadventures to four metalheads.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like this
Like The Cowboy and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Cowboy?
The closest matches to The Cowboy are Clear History (2013), There Once Was a Cop (1972) and Guardian Angels (1995). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Cowboy?
Start with Clear History (2013), the closest match to The Cowboy.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Cowboy?
Louis C.K.: Hilarious (2010), rated 7.8/10 by 321 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Cowboy?
Ricky Gervais: Mortality (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like The Cowboy?
Yes: There Once Was a Cop (1972), Guardian Angels (1995) and The Takedown (2022).
How are movies similar to The Cowboy chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Cowboy, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.