Movies like The Best Things in Life Are Free (1956)
The best movies like The Best Things in Life Are Free (1956) are The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (2020), Love Me or Leave Me (1955) and The Glenn Miller Story (1954). If The Best Things in Life Are Free hooked you with its music, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGhosts (1997)8.1/10 from 305 votes
- NewestApple Music Live: Lady Gaga MAYHEM Requiem (2026)Released 2026
The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (2020)
The story of the triumphs and hurdles of brothers Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb, otherwise known as the Bee Gees. The iconic trio, who found early fame in the 1960s, went on to write over 1,000 songs and have 20 No. 1 hits throughout their career, transcending more than five decades of changing tastes and styles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove Me or Leave Me (1955)
A fictionalized account of the career of jazz singer Ruth Etting and her tempestuous marriage to gangster Marty Snyder, who helped propel her to stardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Glenn Miller Story (1954)
A vibrant tribute to one of America's legendary bandleaders, charting Glenn Miller's rise from obscurity and poverty to fame and wealth in the early 1940s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
A film of the life of the renowned musical composer, playwright, actor, dancer and singer George M. Cohan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Great Ziegfeld (1936)
At the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, sideshow barker Florenz Ziegfeld turns the tables on his more-successful neighbor Billings, and also steals his girlfriend. This pattern repeats throughout their lives, as Ziegfeld makes and loses many fortunes putting on ever-bigger, more spectacular shows
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wrecking Crew (2008)
A celebration of the musical work of a group of session musicians known as "The Wrecking Crew." a band that provided back-up instrumentals to such legendary recording artists as Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, and Bing Crosby.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Big Store (1941)
A detective is hired to protect the life of a singer, who has recently inherited a department store, from the store's crooked manager.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wiz Live! (2015)
Winner of 7 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, The Wiz was a massive Broadway hit which spawned a dismal feature film starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. Executive Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron have assembled a Tony-winning creative team, the imaginative Cirque du Soleil Theatrical and a diverse cast of showstoppers designed to create an eye-popping new take on the musical unlike anything ever seen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLes Misérables: 25th Anniversary in Concert (2010)
This concert, recorded to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the landmark musical Les Miserables, gathers the casts of the show's 2010 original production at the Queen's Theatre, the 1985 original production by the London company, and the 2010 production at the Barbican together for one performance. Together with talents like Michael Ball, Hadley Fraser, and John Owen-Jones, the performers present the play's musical numbers in a semi-theatrical style, fully costumed and with all the emotion of the musical's heyday.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBeyond the Sea (2004)
Based on the life and career of legendary entertainer, Bobby Darin, the biopic moves back and forth between his childhood and adulthood, to tell the tale of his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFootlight Parade (1933)
A fledgling producer finds himself at odds with his workers, financiers and his greedy ex-wife when he tries to produce live musicals for movie-going audiences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Happy (1949)
The Marx Brothers help young Broadway hopefuls when they get mixed up with gangsters due to a tin of sardines containing Romanoff diamonds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
SnoozefestMovies like thisGhosts (1997)
In the town of Normal Valley, an eccentric magician named Maestro entertains the local children every day in his spooky mansion. One stormy night, the town's mayor leads a group of angry citizens to the mansion in an attempt to run Maestro out of town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisApple Music Live: Lady Gaga MAYHEM Requiem (2026)
For Apple Music Live, Gaga presents MAYHEM Requiem, a celebration and musical reimagining of MAYHEM.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Song Is Born (1948)
The story of seven scholars in search of an expert to teach them about swing music. They seem to have found the perfect candidate in winsome nightclub singer Honey Swanson. But Honey's gangster boyfriend doesn't want to give her up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Waltz (1978)
Martin Scorsese's documentary intertwines footage from The Band's incredible farewell tour with probing backstage interviews and featured performances by Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, and other rock legends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEnd of the Century: The Story of the Ramones (2003)
A years-in-the-making documentary on the legendary punk band the Ramones. Through a mixture of archival footage, archival and new interviews with all members of the band's various lineups, and new interviews with a number of their contemporaries, the film traces the peaks and valleys the band experienced over the course of its 20-plus year career before disbanding in 1995.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrigadoon (1954)
Americans Jeff and Tommy, hunting in Scotland, stumble upon a village - Brigadoon. They soon learn that the town appears once every 100 years in order to preserve its peace and special beauty. The citizens go to bed at night and when they wake up, it's 100 years later. Tommy falls in love with a beautiful young woman, Fiona, and is torn between staying or going back to his hectic life in New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHigh Strung Free Dance (2018)
Zander Raines, a dazzling and tempestuous young choreographer, gives the break of a lifetime to two hopeful artists when he casts a stunning contemporary dancer, Barlow, and innovative pianist, Charlie, in New York’s most-anticipated new Broadway show: Free Dance. But the move throws off the show’s delicate creative balance when Charlie falls hard for Barlow, while Zander embraces her as his muse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisToo Late Blues (1961)
Ghost is an ideological musician and leader of a jazz band who would rather play his blues in the park to the birds than compromise himself. His peripatetic performances lead him to cross paths with a singer, while his masculinity is thrown into question following a violent brawl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOctet (TBA)
Eight internet-obsessed people meet in a church basement and lock their phones in a box. They follow the octet as they struggle with digital dependency, charting their compulsions using only the analog vibrancy of their own voices.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Barbara ou ma plus belle histoire d'amour (1973)
In the early 70s, Barbara discovered herself backstage on her French tour. The artist plays with intimacy and camera glances. Between concerts, she talks to herself and the men in her life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Snow Lotus (2008)
A Tibetan girl, who’d be a bride, could sing the traditional folk song Ganglamedo magically and elegantly. Her name was the same as the name of the song. But she disappeared in the night of her wedding. 60 years later, An Yu, a singer of Han nationality, became hot for singing Ganglamedo. But she lost her voice in a performance and then she disappeared, too. Is Ganglamedo a beautiful curse?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Judy (2019)
Thirty years after starring in 'The Wizard of Oz', beloved actress and singer Judy Garland arrives in London to perform sold-out shows at the Talk of the Town nightclub. While there, she reminisces with friends and fans and begins a whirlwind romance with musician Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be fifth husband.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBikini Beach (1964)
A millionaire sets out to prove his theory that his pet chimpanzee is as intelligent as the teenagers who hang out on the local beach, where he is intending to build a retirement home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
The Little Black Fish (2025)
The Little Black Fish tells the tale of a small, inquisitive fish who dares to question the limitations of her world—the stream where generations of fish have lived without exploring beyond. Driven by curiosity and a thirst for truth, she embarks on a brave journey beyond the known waters, encountering various creatures, dangers, and wonders. Her journey becomes a powerful metaphor for resistance, growth, and the importance of independent thought.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Not Far From Heaven (1987)
A folk musical about a musician named Šimaľ, who goes to heaven after death. He gradually discovers that the other world is actually just a mirror image of the earthly world and that he can only find true paradise in his native land.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
The Portrait (2018)
A musical tale about two impoverished sisters' anguish over whether or not to sell the final masterpiece of their recluse father days before the second world war, in Manila.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Lili Elbe (2023)
The painter Lili Elbe was the first person to have gender confirmation surgery in the 1930s. The homonymous opera is a glimpse into the life of Lili Elbe and her wife Gerda Wegener (also a famous painter) through Lili's transition at a time when such surgery was still completely uncharted territory.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth: Malibu Timmy (1995)
Timmy and his friends go to the beach, but there is just one problem: Timmy cannot swim, and neither can Waxie! Timmy then imagines himself as a lifeguard, and his friends are competing in a surfing competition against the notorious cheater Goon Doggy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Best Things in Life Are Free?
The closest matches to The Best Things in Life Are Free are The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (2020), Love Me or Leave Me (1955) and The Glenn Miller Story (1954). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Best Things in Life Are Free?
Start with The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (2020), the closest match to The Best Things in Life Are Free.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Best Things in Life Are Free?
Ghosts (1997), rated 8.1/10 by 305 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Best Things in Life Are Free?
Apple Music Live: Lady Gaga MAYHEM Requiem (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Best Things in Life Are Free?
Yes: The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (2020), Love Me or Leave Me (1955) and The Glenn Miller Story (1954).
How are movies similar to The Best Things in Life Are Free chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Best Things in Life Are Free, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.