Movies like Lizard Brain (2022)
The best movies like Lizard Brain (2022) are Smashed (2012), The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) and The Card (1952). If Lizard Brain hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Lizard Brain
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Pursuit of Happyness (2006)7.9/10 from 11,008 votes
- NewestWhalefall (2026)Released 2026
Smashed (2012)
Kate and Charlie like to have a good time. Their marriage thrives on a shared fondness for music, laughter… and getting smashed. When Kate’s partying spirals into hard-core asocial behavior, compromising her job as an elementary schoolteacher, something’s got to give. But change isn’t exactly a cakewalk. Sobriety means she will have to confront the lies she’s been spinning at work, her troubling relationship with her mother, and the nature of her bond with Charlie.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Card (1952)
A charming and ambitious young man finds many ways to raise himself through the ranks in business and social standing - some honest, some not quite so. If he can just manage to avoid a certain very predatory woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhalefall (2026)
Following the death of his father, Jay Gardiner goes diving off the central Coast of California in search of his remains, but is swallowed by a massive sperm whale. While trapped inside its belly with only one hour of oxygen left, Jay comes to realize that the hard-earned lessons his father imparted may be the key to his escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lost Valentine (2011)
A young and cynical female journalist learns love may transcend trials and time as she discovers a story that will change her life forever. When war separates lovers on their wedding anniversary Feb. 14, 1944 at LA Union Train Station, Navy pilot Neil Thomas makes a promise he isn't sure he can keep - to return to the train station safe by their next anniversary. For sixty years Caroline Thomas keeps her promise by waiting at the train station until her missing in action husband can finally keep his with the "lost valentine." The message and meaning shows romance and love can be real; worth fighting, and maybe even dying for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Street Cat Named Bob (2016)
James Bowen, a homeless busker and recovering drug addict, has his life transformed when he meets a stray ginger cat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisNext Goal Wins (2023)
Dutch coach Thomas Rongen attempts the nearly impossible task of turning the American Samoa soccer team from perennial losers into winners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFour Christmases and a Wedding (2017)
When event planner Chloe is hired to plan the local Christmas Festival, she is beyond thrilled to embrace the challenge. Professionally, everything is going great, but much to the dismay of her mother, Chloe confesses she has given up on ever finding Mr. Right. That all changes the night of the opening of the festival when she meets Evan. The two begin a whirlwind romance, but as Christmas Day nears, Chloe learns that Evan is being transferred overseas for work. What follows is three more Christmases where Chloe and Evan cross paths at the annual festival, but each year something - or someone - stands in the way of true love. Will a touch of Santa's magic on their fourth Christmas Eve finally bring them together?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBank of Dave (2023)
The true story of how Dave Fishwick, a working class man and self-made millionaire, fought to set up a community bank so that he could help the local businesses of Burnley not only survive, but thrive. In his bid to help his beloved community, he has to take on the elitist financial institutions of London and fight to receive the first, new banking license to be issued in over 100 years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Long Riders (1980)
The origins, exploits and the ultimate fate of the James gang is told in a sympathetic portrayal of the bank robbers made up of brothers who begin their legendary bank raids because of revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhen a Man Loves a Woman (1994)
An airline pilot and his wife are forced to face the consequences of her alcoholism when her addictions threaten her life and their daughter's safety. While the woman enters detox, her husband must face the truth of his enabling behavior.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeautiful Boy (2018)
After he and his first wife separate, journalist David Sheff struggles to help their teenage son, who goes from experimenting with drugs to becoming devastatingly addicted to methamphetamine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThink Like a Man (2012)
The balance of power in four couples’ relationships is upset when the women start using the advice in Steve Harvey’s book, Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man, to get more of what they want from their men. When the men realize that the women have gotten a hold of their relationship “playbook,” they decide that the best defense is a good offense and come up with a plan to use this information to their advantage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Way Back (2020)
A former basketball all-star, who has lost his wife and family foundation in a struggle with addiction, attempts to regain his soul and salvation by becoming the coach of a disparate ethnically mixed high school basketball team at his alma mater.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChristmas Under the Stars (2019)
When Nick is fired from his high-powered investment firm at Christmastime, he takes a job at a Christmas tree lot. There, he meets Julie, an astronomy teacher who’s always looked to the stars for hope. As the Christmas spirit washes over him—and he begins falling for Julie—the once self-centered Nick discovers the joy of helping others.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThis Means War (2012)
Two top CIA operatives wage an epic battle against one another after they discover they are dating the same woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGreenberg (2010)
Roger Greenberg, a failed musician now making a living as a carpenter in New York, returns to Los Angeles to house-sit for his brother. He's stranded there—since he doesn't drive—until his brother's assistant, Florence, comes to his rescue. She's as much a lost soul as he is, and the pair form a significant connection—giving Roger a much-needed reason to be happy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisKaren Kingsbury's Maggie's Christmas Miracle (2017)
Maggie, a single mom has to balance between her career and her son, Jordan. Jordan finds a tutor named Casey to help him at school, and Casey becomes like a father figure. Will the three of them find happiness and love once again?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWrite Before Christmas (2019)
A recently single Jessica sends Christmas cards to people who have impacted her life—the aunt who raised her, her younger brother in the military, a popstar who was part of the soundtrack of her life, the music teacher who inspired her, and the best friend who always tells the truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarley & Me (2008)
A newly married couple, in the process of starting a family, learn many of life's important lessons from their trouble-loving retriever, Marley. Packed with plenty of laughs to lighten the load, the film explores the highs and lows of marriage, maturity and confronting one's own mortality, as seen through the lens of family life with a dog.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like Lizard Brain and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Lizard Brain?
The closest matches to Lizard Brain are Smashed (2012), The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) and The Card (1952). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Lizard Brain?
Start with Smashed (2012), the closest match to Lizard Brain.
What is the highest-rated movie like Lizard Brain?
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), rated 7.9/10 by 11,008 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Lizard Brain?
Whalefall (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Lizard Brain chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Lizard Brain, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.