Movies like Waves (1998)
The best movies like Waves (1998) are The Matchmaker's Playbook (2018), Holiday Date (2019) and It Was Always You (2021). If Waves hooked you with its romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGabriel's Rapture: Part I (2021)7.8/10 from 200 votes
- NewestBoys on Film 24: Happy Endings (2024)Released 2024
The Matchmaker's Playbook (2018)
After a career-ending accident, former NFL recruit Ian Hunter is back on campus, and he's putting his extensive skills with women to work as one of the masterminds behind a successful and secretive dating service. But when Blake Olson requests the services of Wingmen, Inc., Ian may have landed his most hopeless client yet. As Blake begins the transformation from hot mess to smokin' hot, Ian realizes he's in danger of breaking his cardinal rule....
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHoliday Date (2019)
When Brooke’s boyfriend, Ethan, breaks up with her just before the holidays, she agrees to go home with Joel, an actor who will pose as her boyfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIt Was Always You (2021)
Elizabeth's engagement plans are thrown into disarray when her fiancée's free-spirited brother David returns home. David's unexpected influence prompts Elizabeth to question her life decisions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFrequencies (2013)
The story of the forbidden relationship between a 'low born' boy and a 'high born' girl in an alternate reality where every person's relationships and life worth are determined by their innate 'frequencies'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWere the World Mine (2008)
If you had a love-potion, who would you make fall madly in love with you? Timothy, prone to escaping his dismal high school reality through dazzling musical daydreams, gets to answer that question in a very real way. After his eccentric teacher casts him as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, he stumbles upon a recipe hidden within the script to create the play's magical, purple love-pansy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds (2006)
How far would you go to get the person of your dreams? With the help of Gwen and Tiffani, Kyle pretends to be heterosexual in order to land Troy, the new guy (and nude model) who's turning the heads of both men and women. He soon finds himself joining the campus ex-gay support group and nabbing a girlfriend! Kyle's ex-boyfriend Marc is horrified at the plan and decides to pursue the confused Troy with his own tactic -- being his "out" gay self. Who will win Troy first?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Gift to Remember (2017)
After colliding with a pedestrian on her bicycle who loses his memory following the accident, Darcy Archer becomes determined to help the handsome guy figure out who he is. In the process, she finds out a lot more about who she is, what she wants from life, and how this too-good-to-be-true guy might just be the man she’s been waiting to bump into all her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011)
Bella Swan and Edward Cullen's honeymoon phase is abruptly disrupted by betrayals and unforeseen tragedies that endanger their world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOnce Upon a Prince (2018)
Susanna gladly accepts help one day from handsome stranger Nate at her parents’ garden store in small-town Georgia. Sparks between them fly, but when a photo of them gets leaked to the press, Susanna is in for the shock of her life when Nate is called back home by his mother… For his coronation as the King Nathaniel of Cambria!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParis, Wine & Romance (2019)
Isabella is the ambitious new owner of her family’s Oregon winery whose dream of becoming world-renowned takes a big step forward when she enters a prestigious wine competition in Paris. Upon arrival, Isabella meets her biggest competitor, Jacques, from one of the world’s foremost winemaking families. Impressed by Isabella and her expertise in wine, a budding romance develops between them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret of Moonacre (2009)
When 13 year old Maria Merryweather's father dies, leaving her orphaned and homeless, she is forced to leave her luxurious London life to go and live with Sir Benjamin, an eccentric uncle she didn't know she had, at the mysterious Moonacre Manor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSecret Millionaire (2018)
When a bored millionaire (Steve Lund) is mistaken for a parking attendant by a beautiful girl (Siobhan Williams) who is protesting against his family’s intention of closing a local park, he uses the misunderstanding to get to know her better.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGabriel's Rapture: Part III (2022)
In the sixth installment of the Gabriel's Inferno series, Julia deals with the aftermath of Gabriel's departure, while Gabriel goes on a journey of self-discovery. Will they reunite and be able to repair what is broken?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBlush (2021)
When a horticulturalist-astronaut crashes onto a desolate planet, he encounters an ethereal visitor and discovers the joy of building a new life—realizing the universe has delivered something astonishing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll of My Heart: Inn Love (2017)
Brian and Jenny are preparing for the grand opening of their bed and breakfast, Emily's Country Inn, when a big storm hits Buck County. Brian agrees to go back to Wall Street to boost their funds, while Jenny scrambles to keep the opening on track.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGay Purr-ee (1962)
Mewsette is a starry-eyed cat who grows weary of life on a French farm and heads for the excitement of 1890s Paris. Her tomcat suitor, Jaune-Tom, and his furry cohort, Robespierre, chase after Mewsette, but she's already fallen under the spell of a feline modeling-school racket run by Madame Rubens-Chatte and her slimy assistant, Meowrice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGabriel's Rapture: Part I (2021)
In the fourth instalment of the Gabriel's Inferno series, Professor Gabriel Emerson has embarked on a passionate, yet clandestine affair with his former student Julia Mitchell, but when they return from their romantic holiday in Italy, their happiness is threatened. Will Gabriel succumb to Dante's fate?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Godwink Christmas: Meant For Love (2019)
Multiple coincidences and a chance meeting bring together Alice and Jack, two strangers from very different family backgrounds, for an unexpected Christmastime courtship filled with personal revelations, misread signals, and a very real health scare that will either destroy or strengthen the budding romance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTurkey Drop (2019)
Lucy Jacobs, a freshman university student, returns home to her small town for Thanksgiving break and suspects she's about to get turkey dropped— aka dumped by her high school sweetheart. To avoid a Turkey Day travesty, Lucy gets out of her comfort zone, proving she's not the same play-it-safe girl she once was.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRainbow Boys (2008)
The film tells the bittersweet love life of a group of young men who could not be more different from each other: Ryuji is a teenager passionate about rugby, Akira is a beautiful and popular kabuki actor, and Yutaro is the son of a yakuza leader. Their paths come across after they fall in love with the aspiring actor Makoto Hayakawa
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Labyrinth of Passion (1982)
An array of outrageous people, including a desperate nymphomaniac and a terrorist with an acute sense of smell, seek love and happiness in Madrid.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Thing About Harry (2020)
Two high school enemies, uber-jock Harry and out-and-proud Sam, are forced to share a car ride to their Missouri hometown for a friend's engagement party on Valentine's Day. Things take a turn when Sam learns Harry has come out.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBoys on Film 24: Happy Endings (2024)
Let BOYS ON FILM move, inspire and uplift you with this stunning collection of 11 new gay short films, marking the final physical edition of the series. The 11 short films are: We Collide (2023); Firsts (2022); Sea Sparkles [Noctilucas] (2022); Aloof [מנגד] (2020); The Rev (2021); Prelude [Preludio] (2019); Beautiful Stranger (2021); You Like That (2023); Thursday, Friday, Saturday [Jeudi, vendredi, samedi] (2021); The Unknown Man [L'homme inconnu] (2021); S.A.M. (2020).
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
The Wedding Banquet (1993)
A Taiwanese-American man is happily settled in New York with his American boyfriend. He plans a marriage of convenience to a Chinese woman in order to keep his parents off his back and to get the woman a green card. Chaos follows when his parents arrive in New York for the wedding.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSomething Like Summer (2017)
Something Like Summer traces the tumultuous relationship of Ben and Tim, secret high school sweethearts who grow over the years into both adulthood enemies and complicated friends.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisSipping (2015)
Santiago and Jared , two teenagers of opposite personality spend an afternoon together looking for ways to overcome their differences. After an act that begins as a game their senses will find the space to coincide.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Fag (2019)
Thomas, a 17-year-old high school student, finds himself attracted to Esteban, another boy from his school. The rumor of Thomas's homosexuality is spreading fast, and he begins to suffer the gaze of others.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Wild Awakening (2016)
Toni and Emma are brother and sister who owns a stable farm. Ramon and his son, Aaron works for them. Toni is openly gay and loves to party, Emma has a crush on Aaron who is a closeted gay who is afraid that his father might find out, but his father also has a secret.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
The Apple Tree (2012)
When Gabe and Jonathan fall in love in the 1940s, they decide to spend their life together in secret. But when Jonathan unexpectedly passes away years later, Gabe is faced with the fact that many Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender elders face when they move into retirement homes...he must return into the closet.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Like Waves and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Waves?
The closest matches to Waves are The Matchmaker's Playbook (2018), Holiday Date (2019) and It Was Always You (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Waves?
Start with The Matchmaker's Playbook (2018), the closest match to Waves.
What is the highest-rated movie like Waves?
Gabriel's Rapture: Part I (2021), rated 7.8/10 by 200 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Waves?
Boys on Film 24: Happy Endings (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like Waves?
The closest matches are in other languages.
How are movies similar to Waves chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Waves, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.