Movies like Ishtar (1987)
The best movies like Ishtar (1987) are Spies Like Us (1985), Crocodile Dundee (1986) and Hopscotch (1980). If Ishtar hooked you with its comedy and adventure, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTop Secret! (1984)7.1/10 from 1,507 votes
- NewestJohnny English (2003)Released 2003
Spies Like Us (1985)
Two bumbling government employees think they are U.S. spies, only to discover that they are actually decoys for nuclear war.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrocodile Dundee (1986)
When a New York reporter plucks crocodile hunter Mick Dundee from the Australian Outback for a visit to the Big Apple, it's a clash of cultures and a recipe for good-natured comedy as naïve Dundee negotiates the concrete jungle. He proves that his instincts are quite useful in the city and adeptly handles everything from wily muggers to high-society snoots without breaking a sweat.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHopscotch (1980)
When CIA operative Miles Kendig deliberately lets KGB agent Yaskov get away, his boss threatens to retire him. Kendig beats him to it, however, destroying his own records and traveling to Austria where he begins work on a memoir that will expose all his former agency's covert practices. The CIA catches wind of the book and sends other agents after him, initiating a frenetic game of cat and mouse that spans the globe.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe In-Laws (1979)
In preparation for his daughter's wedding, dentist Sheldon Kornpett meets Vince Ricardo, the groom's father. Vince, a manic fellow who claims to be a government agent, then proceeds to drag Sheldon into a series of chases and misadventures from New York to Central America.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTop Secret! (1984)
Popular and dashing American singer Nick Rivers travels to East Germany to perform in a music festival. When he loses his heart to the gorgeous Hillary Flammond, he finds himself caught up in an underground resistance movement. Rivers joins forces with Agent Cedric and Flammond to attempt the rescue of her father, Dr. Paul, from the Germans, who have captured the scientist in hopes of coercing him into building a new naval mine.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Jewel of the Nile (1985)
Joan Wilder is thrust back into a world of murder, chases, foreign intrigue... and love. This time out she's duped by a duplicitous Arab dignitary who brings her to the Middle East, ostensibly to write a book about his life. Of course, he's up to no good, and Joan is just another pawn in his wicked game. But Jack Colton and his sidekick Ralph show up to help our intrepid heroine save the day.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Golden Child (1986)
After a Tibetan boy, the mystical Golden Child, is kidnapped by the evil Sardo Numspa, humankind's fate hangs in the balance. On the other side of the world in Los Angeles, the priestess Kee Nang seeks the Chosen One, who will save the boy from death. When Nang sees social worker Chandler Jarrell on television discussing his ability to find missing children, she solicits his expertise, despite his skepticism over being "chosen."
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Man Who Knew Too Little (1997)
An American gets a ticket for an audience participation game in London, then gets involved in a case of mistaken identity. As an international plot unravels around him, he thinks it's all part of the act.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRomancing the Stone (1984)
Though she can spin wild tales of passionate romance, novelist Joan Wilder has no life of her own. Then one day adventure comes her way in the form of a mysterious package. It turns out that the parcel is the ransom she'll need to free her abducted sister, so Joan flies to South America to hand it over. But she gets on the wrong bus and winds up hopelessly stranded in the jungle.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBird on a Wire (1990)
An FBI informant has kept his new identity secret for 15 years. Now an old flame has recognised him, and the bad guys are back for revenge.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHudson Hawk (1991)
Eddie Hawkins, called Hudson Hawk has just been released from ten years of prison and is planning to spend the rest of his life honestly. But then the crazy Mayflower couple blackmail him to steal some of the works of Leonardo da Vinci. If he refuses, they threaten to kill his friend Tommy.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisWho Finds a Friend Finds a Treasure (1981)
Alan gets a map to some war treasure which the Japanese army left behind on a small Pacific island at the end of World War II. But some gangsters try to steal the map from him and so he hides on Charlie's boat which just leaves the harbor. He manipulates the ship's compass so that Charlie is not aware that he is sailing to the treasure island. But when they step on the island, they discover that it is not as abandoned as they believed: there are some natives - and a Japanese soldier still defending the treasure
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStir Crazy (1980)
New Yorkers Skip Donahue and Harry Monroe have no jobs and no prospects, so they decide to flee the city and find work elsewhere, landing jobs wearing woodpecker costumes to promote the opening of a bank. When their feathery costumes are stolen and used in a bank robbery, they no longer have to worry about employment — they're sent to prison.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Drink the Water (1994)
Somewhere behind the early 1960s cold-war iron curtain, the Hollander family cause an international spying incident when Walter photographs a sunset in a sensitive region. In order to stay out of jail, the Hollanders take refuge in the American Embassy, which is temporarily being run by the absent Ambassador's diplomatically incompetent son, Axel.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisCrocodile Dundee II (1988)
Australian outback expert protects his New York love from gangsters who've followed her down under.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisAmerican Dreamer (1984)
American housewife Cathy Palmer loses her memory on a trip to Paris after being hit by a car. She wakes up in the hospital believing she's the fictional international spy, Rebecca Ryan.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & comedy
Captain Ron (1992)
When mild-mannered Martin Harvey finds out that he has inherited a vintage yacht, he decides to take his family on a Caribbean vacation to retrieve the vessel. Upon arriving on a small island and realizing that the ship is in rough shape, Martin and his family end up with more than they bargained for as the roguish Captain Ron signs on to sail the boat to Miami. It doesn't take long before Ron's anything-goes antics get the Harveys into plenty of trouble.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Crimson Permanent Assurance (1983)
A group of down-and-out accountants mutiny against their bosses and sail their office building onto the high seas in search of a pirate's life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLa Chèvre (1981)
When the boss' unlucky daughter is missing in South America, Campana is sent to watch the boss' most unlucky employee who is sent as a private detective in hopes he can duplicate the daughter's mistakes.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRat Race (2001)
In an ensemble film about easy money, greed, manipulation and bad driving, a Las Vegas casino tycoon entertains his wealthiest high rollers -- a group that will bet on anything -- by pitting six ordinary people against each other in a wild dash for $2 million jammed into a locker hundreds of miles away. The tycoon and his wealthy friends monitor each racer's every move to keep track of their favorites. The only rule in this race is that there are no rules.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNothing but Trouble (1991)
While attempting to seduce gorgeous lawyer Diane Lightson, wealthy gadabout Chris Thorne agrees to drive her to Atlantic City, N.J. But, when some reckless driving draws the attention of a deeply critical cop, they and the flamboyant "Brazillionaires" who tagged along end up in the court of a grotesque and vengeful judge, who has a special vendetta against the wealthy and erudite.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisYellowbeard (1983)
For years Yellowbeard had looted the Spanish Main, making men eat their lips and swallow their hearts. Caught and convicted for tax evasion, he's sentenced to 20 years in St. Victim's Prison for the Extremely Naughty. In a scheme to confiscate his fabulous treasure, the Royal Navy allows him to escape and follows him, where saucy tarts, lisping demigods and some awful puns and punishments await.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (1972)
A hapless orchestra player becomes an unwitting pawn of rival factions within the French secret service after he is chosen as a decoy by being identified as a super secret agent.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCondorman (1981)
Comic artist and writer Woody performs a simple courier operation for his friend Harry who works for the CIA. But when he successfully fends off hostile agents, he earns the respect of the beautiful Natalia, who requests his assistance for her defection. Woody uses this request as leverage to use the CIA's resources to bring his comic book creation, Condorman, to life to battle the evil Krokov.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisJohnny English (2003)
A lowly pencil pusher working for MI7, Johnny English is suddenly promoted to super spy after Agent One is assassinated and every other agent is blown up at his funeral. When a billionaire entrepreneur sponsors the exhibition of the Crown Jewels—and the valuable gems disappear on the opening night and on English's watch—the newly-designated agent must jump into action to find the thief and recover the missing gems.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this¡Three Amigos! (1986)
A trio of unemployed silent film actors are mistaken for real heroes by a small Mexican village in search of someone to stop a malevolent bandit.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVolunteers (1985)
After graduating from Yale in 1962, womanizing Lawrence flees a gambling debt that his rich dad won't pay and takes his roomie's place as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Thai Golden Triangle with two other PCVs. Will he survive two years?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisFletch (1985)
When investigative reporter Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher goes undercover to write a piece on the drug trade at a local beach, he's approached by wealthy businessman Alan Stanwyk, who offers him $50,000 to murder him. With sarcastic wit and a knack for disguises, Fletch sets out to uncover Stanwyk's story.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret of My Success (1987)
Brantley Foster, a well-educated kid from Kansas, has always dreamed of making it big in New York City, but once there, he learns that jobs - and girls - are hard to get. When he visits his uncle, Howard Prescott, who runs a multi-million-dollar company, he is given a job in the mail room.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParadise (1982)
After their caravan is attacked and their respective families butchered by Arab marauders, teenagers David and Sarah flee across the desert. But the desert is filled with danger from the elements, animals and the unwholesome appetite of the Jackal, a sheik who wants Sarah for himself. However, the desert also holds temptation and love. David and Sarah hide out in an oasis and build a life for themselves, discovering each other in new ways.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Ishtar?
The closest matches to Ishtar are Spies Like Us (1985), Crocodile Dundee (1986) and Hopscotch (1980). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Ishtar?
People who watched Ishtar most often go on to Spies Like Us (1985), Crocodile Dundee (1986) and Hopscotch (1980).
What is the highest-rated movie like Ishtar?
Top Secret! (1984), rated 7.1/10 by 1,507 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Ishtar?
Johnny English (2003) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Ishtar?
Yes: Spies Like Us (1985), Crocodile Dundee (1986) and Hopscotch (1980).
How are movies similar to Ishtar chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Ishtar, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.