Movies like The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box) (2026)
The best movies like The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box) (2026) are Güeros (2014), Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958) and Therapy Done Right (2026). If The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box) hooked you with its comedy and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInstructions Not Included (2013)7.7/10 from 990 votes
- NewestTherapy Done Right (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishGüeros (2014)Also in Spanish
Güeros (2014)
Set amidst the 1999 student strikes in Mexico City, this coming-of-age tale finds two brothers venturing through the city in a sentimental search for an aging legendary musician. Shot in black-and-white, Güeros brims with youthful exuberance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChase a Crooked Shadow (1958)
A woman who lives in Spain has trouble convincing anybody that a complete stranger has taken her dead brother's identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTherapy Done Right (2026)
A psychoanalyst who's lost faith in traditional therapy crosses every boundary to help a blocked novelist in this cutting Argentine dark comedy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPeel (2019)
After his father takes his two brothers and high tails it, Peel is forced to grow up in a state of arrested development. Once his mother dies, he must forge his own path and attempts to find his lost brethren.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSunshine Cleaning (2009)
A single mother and her slacker sister find an unexpected way to turn their lives around in this off-beat dramatic comedy. In order to raise the tuition to send her young son to private school the mom starts an unusual business – a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Vast of Night (2019)
At the dawn of the space-race, two radio-obsessed teens discover a strange frequency over the airwaves in what becomes the most important night of their lives and in the history of their small town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWelcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008)
When a celebrated TV show host returns to his hometown in the South, his family is there to remind him that going home is no vacation!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dad Quest (2025)
When a father-son duo learns that they may not be biologically related, the two embark on a wild adventure through Mexico to find the truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAgnes of God (1985)
When a dead newborn is found, wrapped in bloody sheets, in the bedroom wastebasket of a young novice, psychiatrist Martha Livingston is called in to determine if the seemingly innocent novice, who knows nothing of sex or birth, is competent enough to stand trial for the murder of the baby.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChloe and Theo (2015)
A young woman, Chloe, living by her wits on the streets of New York City, has a chance meeting with a wise Inuit Eskimo, Theo, who was sent to New York by his elders to provide a message to the people of the world – We either change our destructive was or be destroyed by them. Chloe, who has been searching for something to believe in, becomes inspired by Theo and , with the help of a kind lawyer, Monica, the three of them present Theo’s story to the United Nations in hopes of creating a better future for all of us.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisRemember (2015)
With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand-written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person responsible for the death of his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInstructions Not Included (2013)
Valentin is Acapulco's resident playboy, until a former fling leaves a baby on his doorstep and him heading with her out of Mexico.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSix Pack (1982)
Stopping briefly in a small Texas town, an itinerant race car driver finds that his stock car, on a trailer behind his motor home, has just been quickly and expertly stripped. He chases down the miscreants, who turn out to be six orphan children. He has no recourse to the law, for the corrupt local sheriff takes most of the proceeds of their thievery in exchange for not putting them in an orphanage. They are charming rogues who are in turn charmed by him. Disliking their arrangement with the sheriff, they stow away with him, and he finds himself becoming a reluctant stepfather. Thanks to their enthusiasm and incredible mechanical know-how, he begins to make a name for himself on the racing circuit. But the sheriff doesn't take kindly to losing his extra income...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBottle Rocket (1996)
Upon his release from a mental hospital following a nervous breakdown, the directionless Anthony joins his friend Dignan, who seems far less sane than the former. Dignan has hatched a harebrained scheme for an as-yet-unspecified crime spree that somehow involves his former boss, the (supposedly) legendary Mr. Henry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBenny & Joon (1993)
A mentally ill young woman finds love with an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Caveman's Valentine (2001)
Romulus, a misunderstood musician turned recluse hiding from personal demons in a New York City cave, finds the frozen body of a young drifter in a tree. The authorities, including his police officer daughter, claim the death is accidental. Romulus is convinced the man was murdered by a prominent art photographer but how can he prove he's right when everyone thinks he's insane?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & mystery
SnoozefestMovies like thisCrimes of the Heart (1986)
Three sisters try to come to grips with the meaning of their mother's suicide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNon Negotiable (2024)
Hostage negotiator Alan Bender is called to rescue the president from a kidnapping, only to find himself also mediating to save his wife and marriage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLitus (2019)
A group of friends reunited after the suicide of one of them must face all the secret and lies between them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGarage Sale Mystery: A Case Of Murder (2017)
Jenn buys an old reel-to-reel recorder at a garage sale only to find that it includes the sound of a man pleading for his life. When the former owner of the recorder, a retired therapist, is found murdered in a patient’s apartment, Jenn’s investigation leads to other patients whose love lives are more entangled than she was first led to believe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Matador (2005)
The life of Danny Wright, a salesman forever on the road, veers into dangerous and surreal territory when he wanders into a Mexican bar and meets a mysterious stranger, Julian, who's very likely a hit man. Their meeting sets off a chain of events that will change their lives forever, as Wright is suddenly thrust into a far-from-mundane existence that he takes to surprisingly well … once he gets acclimated to it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSession 9 (2001)
Tensions rise within an asbestos cleaning crew as they work in an abandoned mental hospital with a horrific past that seems to be coming back.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoodwinked! (2005)
Little Red Riding Hood: A classic story, but there's more to every tale than meets the eye. Before you judge a book by its cover, you've got to flip through the pages. In the re-telling of this classic fable, the story begins at the end of the tale and winds its way back. Chief Grizzly and Detective Bill Stork investigate a domestic disturbance at Granny's cottage, involving a karate-kicking Red Riding Hood, a sarcastic wolf and an oafish Woodsman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBaby Boom (1987)
J.C. Wiatt is a talented and ambitious New York City career woman who is married to her job and working towards partner at her firm. She has a live-in relationship with Steven, a successful investment broker who, along with J.C., agreed children aren't part of the plan. J.C.'s life takes an unexpected turn when a distant relative dies and the will appoints her the caretaker of their baby girl, Elizabeth. The baby's sudden arrival causes Steven to leave, breaking off their relationship. Juggling power lunches and powdered formula, she is soon forced off the fast track by a conniving colleague and a bigoted boss. But she won't stay down for long. She'll prove to the world that a woman can have it all and on her own terms too!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Big Man (1970)
Jack Crabb, looking back from extreme old age, tells of his life being raised by Indians and fighting with General Custer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Summer Tale (2000)
The summer of '58, the year Sweden almost won the world championship in soccer over Brazil, Yngve Johansson accepts two children to live with him during the summer, as told through the eyes of a young boy. His name is Mårten, and the other child's name is Annika. She is a rough girl, with many problems. The three of them do not get along, and Yngve is a true dictator to the children's eyes. However, when the children discover that their new guardian has a crush on their teacher (Cecilia Nilsson), they do what they can to bring the two together. Soon enough, the three will discover that they have a lot more in common than they previously imagined, and together they can make their lives worth living again. This is a sweet story about life in Sweden in the mid 1900's. It is about family, love, hate, innocent friendship that we all can relate to, and much, much more...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMan on Fire (2004)
Jaded ex-CIA operative John Creasy reluctantly accepts a job as the bodyguard for a 10-year-old girl in Mexico City. They clash at first, but eventually bond, and when she's kidnapped he's consumed by fury and will stop at nothing to save her life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHal (TBA)
Shaped by early hardship, journalist Hal Donaldson believes his voice is his path forward. When he meets Doree, a gifted musician, their relationship becomes the foundation that steadies him as his career takes him to places marked by deep suffering. As Hal witnesses crisis and inequality firsthand, the line between observing and acting begins to blur. Confronted with the limits of telling stories alone, he is drawn toward a calling that requires more than words — setting in motion the events that lead to the creation of Convoy of Hope.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)
The Baker brood moves to Chicago after patriarch Tom gets a job coaching football at Northwestern University, forcing his writer wife, Kate, and the couple's 12 children to make a major adjustment. The transition works well until work demands pull the parents away from home, leaving the kids bored -- and increasingly mischievous.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Cinderella Story (2004)
Routinely exploited by her wicked stepmother, the downtrodden Samantha Montgomery is excited about the prospect of meeting her Internet beau at the school's Halloween dance.
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 The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box)?
The closest matches to The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box) are Güeros (2014), Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958) and Therapy Done Right (2026). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box)?
Start with Güeros (2014), the closest match to The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box)?
Instructions Not Included (2013), rated 7.7/10 by 990 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box)?
Therapy Done Right (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box)?
Yes: Güeros (2014), Therapy Done Right (2026) and The Dad Quest (2025).
How are movies similar to The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box) chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box), then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.