Movies like Soul Man (1986)
The best movies like Soul Man (1986) are Accepted (2006), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972) and Work It (2020). If Soul Man hooked you with its comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWork It (2020)7.5/10 from 1,235 votes
- NewestSemester One (2026)Released 2026
Accepted (2006)
A high school slacker who's rejected by every school he applies to opts to create his own institution of higher learning, the South Harmon Institute of Technology, on a rundown piece of property near his hometown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNow You See Him, Now You Don't (1972)
Dexter Riley is a science student at Medfield College who inadvertently invents a liquid capable of rendering objects and people invisible. Before Dexter and his friends, Debbie and Richard Schuyler, can even enjoy their spectacular discovery, corrupt businessman A.J. Arno plots to get his greedy hands on it. Slapstick hijinks ensue as Dexter and his pals try to thwart the evil Arno before he can use the invisibility spray to rob a bank.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWork It (2020)
A brilliant but clumsy high school senior vows to get into her late father's alma mater by transforming herself and a misfit squad into dance champions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStep Sisters (2018)
Jamilah has her whole life figured out. She's the president of her black sorority, captain of their champion step dance crew, is student liaison to the college dean, and her next move is on to Harvard Law School. She's got it all, right? But when the hard-partying white girls from Sigma Beta Beta embarrass the school, Jamilah is ordered to come to the rescue. Her mission is to not only teach the rhythmically-challenged girls how to step dance, but to win the Steptacular, the most competitive of dance competitions. With the SBBs reputations and charter on the line, and Jamilah's dream of attending Harvard in jeopardy, these outcast screw-ups and their unlikely teacher stumble through one hilarious misstep after another. Cultures clash, romance blossoms, and sisterhood prevails as everyone steps out of their comfort zones.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Twelve Chairs (1970)
In 1920s Soviet Russia, a fallen aristocrat, a priest and a con artist search for a treasure of jewels hidden inside one of twelve dining chairs, lost during the revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSixteen Candles (1984)
With the occasion all but overshadowed by her sister's upcoming wedding, angst-ridden Samantha faces her 16th birthday with typical adolescent dread. Samantha pines for studly older boy Jake, but worries that her chastity will be a turnoff for the popular senior. Meanwhile, she must constantly rebuff the affections of nerdy Ted, who is unfortunately the only boy in school who seems to take an interest in her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaria in 'Is It College Yet?' (2002)
All vile things must come to an end, and for Daria Morgendorffer that means it's time to look beyond high school to college. Our little girl has grown up so fast. It's time for higher learning, lowered expectations, and a heavy dose of sarcasm. Life can't suck more after high school, can it?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSo Undercover (2012)
When the FBI hires her to go undercover at a college sorority, Molly Morris must transform herself from a tough, streetwise private investigator to a refined, sophisticated university girl to help protect the daughter of a one-time Mobster. With several suspects on her list, Molly unexpectedly discovers that not everyone is who they appear to be, including herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGood Kids (2016)
Four high school students look to redefine themselves after graduation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWish Upon a Star (1996)
A younger sister wishes to switch places with her popular older sister and the two bickering siblings awaken to find the wish has come true.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996)
When Ashtray moves to South Central L.A. to live with his father (who appears to be the same age he is) and grandmother (who likes to talk tough and smoke reefer), he falls in with his gang-banging cousin Loc Dog, who along with the requisite pistols and Uzi carries a thermo-nuclear warhead for self-defense. Will Ashtray be able to keep living the straight life?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChris Rock: Kill the Messenger (2008)
An HBO special edited from three performances from Chris Rock's 2008 comedy tour: London (dark suit, dark shirt), Johannesburg (black suit, white shirt) and New York (shiny jacket). Topics include the ongoing presidential campaign, the possibility of a black president, George W. Bush, gas prices, low-paid jobs, ringtones and bottled water, sex, relationships and the correct use of the n-word
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThunderstruck (2012)
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNapoleon Dynamite (2004)
A listless and alienated teenager decides to help his new friend win the class presidency in their small western high school, while he must deal with his bizarre family life back home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisImpractical Jokers: The Movie (2020)
The story of a humiliating high school mishap from 1992 that sends the Impractical Jokers on the road competing in hidden-camera challenges for the chance to turn back the clock and redeem three of the four Jokers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNew York Minute (2004)
Honors student Jane Ryan heads to Manhattan for a college-scholarship competition. Her rebellious twin Roxy tags along to crash a video shoot. But anything can happen – and does – in a romp involving a pursuing truant officer, a smuggler, hunkalicious guys, and the girls' realization that when the chips are down, a sister can be the best friend of all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGabriel Iglesias: I'm Sorry for What I Said When I Was Hungry (2016)
Hawaiian-shirt enthusiast Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias finds the laughs in racist gift baskets, Prius-driving cops and all-female taco trucks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDodgeBall: A True Underdog Story (2004)
When megalomaniacal White Goodman, the owner of a trendy, high-end fitness center, makes a move to take over the struggling local gym run by happy-go-lucky Pete La Fleur, there's only one way for La Fleur to fight back: dodgeball. Aided by a dodgeball guru and Goodman's attorney, La Fleur and his rag-tag team of underdogs launch a knock-down, drag-out battle in which the winner takes all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition (2024)
A young, aspiring hero and superhero fan inadvertently unleashes a powerful new villain looking to rid the world of the Avengers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Trouble with Angels (1966)
Mary and her friend, Rachel, are new students at St. Francis Academy, a boarding school run by the iron fist of Mother Superior. The immature teens grow bored and begin playing pranks on both the unsuspecting nuns and their unpleasant classmates, becoming a constant thorn in Mother Superior's side. However, as the years pass, Mary and Rachel slowly mature and begin to see the nuns in a different light.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrankenstein: The College Years (1991)
When professor Lippzigger dies, his favorite student Mark inherits the key to his secret laboratory. There he and his friend Jay find the hundreds of years old body of Frankenstein - and revive it. But where to go with him? They take him with them to their dorms. He's dumb as a brick, but makes it into their football team and becomes popular. If there only wasn't Prof. Loman, who wants to become famous with Lipp's inventions...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Hot Tamale (2006)
A road trip to Los Angeles inadvertently leads a young man from Wyoming into a wild maze of psychotic hit-men, racy women, jewel thieves and a salsa band.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj (2006)
Taj Mahal Badalandabad leaves Coolidge College behind for the halls of Camford University in England, where he looks to continue his education, and teach an uptight student how to make the most out of her academic career.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like this100 Girls (2000)
Matthew, a college freshman, meets his dream girl in a dorm elevator during a blackout. He never sees her face, but instantly falls in love. In the morning, the power is restored, but the "dream girl" has vanished. All Matthew knows is that she lives in an all-girls dorm. He sets out on a semester-long journey to find his mystery girl among a hundred female suspects. Could it be Wendy? Dora? Arlene? Patty? Cynthia? Or the 95 other girls, any of whom could have been in that elevator with Matthew.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisComing Attractions (TBA)
With college graduation on the horizon, two slacker film students begin to lament their past four years of complacency.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
White Men Can't Jump (1992)
Two street basketball hustlers try to con each other, then team up for a bigger score.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSemester One (2026)
A collection of home videos depicting the activities of a freshman in college and his friends
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992)
A tough police sergeant's mother comes to visit him, and promptly starts trying to fix up his life, much to his embarrassment. For his birthday she buys him a machine gun out of the back of a van, and begins to further interfere with his job and love life, eventually helping him with a case he's on.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisDown and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)
Beverly Hills couple Barbara and Dave Whiteman find their lives altered by the arrival of a vagrant who tries to drown himself in their swimming pool.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisFather of the Bride (1991)
George Banks is an ordinary, middle-class man whose 22 year-old daughter Annie has decided to marry a man from an upper-class family, but George can't think of what life would be like without his daughter. His wife tries to make him happy for Annie, but when the wedding takes place at their home and a foreign wedding planner takes over the ceremony, he becomes slightly insane.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Soul Man?
The closest matches to Soul Man are Accepted (2006), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972) and Work It (2020). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Soul Man?
Start with Accepted (2006), the closest match to Soul Man.
What is the highest-rated movie like Soul Man?
Work It (2020), rated 7.5/10 by 1,235 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Soul Man?
Semester One (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Soul Man?
Yes: Accepted (2006), Now You See Him, Now You Don't (1972) and Work It (2020).
How are movies similar to Soul Man chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Soul Man, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.