Movies like The Joke (1976)
The best movies like The Joke (1976) are The TV Set (2007), There's Something About Mary (1998) and Reversal of Fortune (1990). If The Joke hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)8.1/10 from 6,469 votes
- NewestJimmy Carr: Natural Born Killer (2024)Released 2024
The TV Set (2007)
As a writer named Mike struggles to shepherd his semi-autobiographical sitcom into development, his vision is slowly eroded by a domineering network executive named Lenny who favors trashy reality programming. The irony, of course, is that every crass suggestion Lenny makes improves the show's response from test audiences and brings the show a step closer to getting on the air.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThere's Something About Mary (1998)
For Ted, prom night went about as bad as it’s possible for any night to go. Thirteen years later, he finally gets another chance with his old prom date, only to run up against other suitors including the sleazy detective he hired to find her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReversal of Fortune (1990)
Wealthy Sunny von Bülow lies brain-dead, husband Claus guilty of attempted murder; but he says he's innocent and hires Alan Dershowitz for his appeal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Feel Pretty (2018)
A head injury causes a woman to develop an extraordinary amount of confidence and believe she's drop dead gorgeous.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Raven (1935)
A brilliant but deranged neurosurgeon becomes obsessively fixated on a judge's daughter. With the help of an escaped criminal whose face he has surgically deformed, the mad man lures her, her father, and her fiancé to his isolated, castle-like home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoc Hollywood (1991)
After leaving Washington D.C. hospital, plastic surgeon Ben Stone heads for California, where a lucrative practice in Beverly Hills awaits. After a car accident, he's sentenced to perform as the community's general practitioner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpontaneous (2020)
When students in their high school begin inexplicably exploding (literally), seniors Mara and Dylan struggle to survive in a world where each moment may be their last.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Card (1952)
A charming and ambitious young man finds many ways to raise himself through the ranks in business and social standing - some honest, some not quite so. If he can just manage to avoid a certain very predatory woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFunny People (2009)
Famous and wealthy funnyman George Simmons doesn't give much thought to how he treats people until a doctor delivers stunning health news, forcing George to reevaluate his priorities with a little help from aspiring stand-up comic Ira.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
After the insane General Jack D. Ripper initiates a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union, a war room full of politicians, generals and a Russian diplomat all frantically try to stop it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBlack Sheep (1996)
When dignified Albert Donnelly runs for Governor, his team moves to keep his slow-witted and klutzy younger brother, Mike, out of the eye of the media. To baby-sit Mike, the campaign assigns sarcastic Steve, who gets the experience of a lifetime when he tries to take Mike out of town during the election.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChoke (2008)
A sex-addicted con-man pays for his mother's hospital bills by playing on the sympathies of those who rescue him from choking to death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRichard Jewell (2019)
Richard Jewell thinks quick, works fast, and saves hundreds, perhaps thousands, of lives after a domestic terrorist plants several pipe bombs and they explode during a concert, only to be falsely suspected of the crime by sloppy FBI work and sensational media coverage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJimmy Carr: Natural Born Killer (2024)
Jimmy Carr refutes the idea that you can't joke about anything these days with his edgy takes on gun control, religion, cancel culture and consent.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPatch Adams (1998)
The true story of Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams, who in the 1970s found that humor is the best medicine, and was willing to do just anything to make his patients laugh—even if it meant risking his own career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLet's Make Love (1960)
When billionaire Jean-Marc Clement learns that he is to be satirized in an off-Broadway revue, he passes himself off as an actor playing him in order to get closer to the beautiful star of the show, Amanda Dell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEternal Beauty (2020)
When Jane is rejected by life, she spirals into a chaotic, schizophrenic world where love and normality collide with humorous consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)
Life's questions are 'answered' in a series of outrageous vignettes, beginning with a staid London insurance company which transforms before our eyes into a pirate ship. Then there's the National Health doctors who try to claim a healthy liver from a still-living donor. The world's most voracious glutton brings the art of vomiting to new heights before his spectacular demise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHeld Up (1999)
What should have been a romantic getaway turns into one hilarious debacle after another when Michael's woman dumps him in the desert where he gets carjacked by a teenager and he is taken hostage in a stickup at the local Sip and Zip.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisMr. Jealousy (1998)
After his first date at age 15 ended with the girl making out with another man at a party, aspiring writer Lester Grimm has treated all his girlfriends with jealousy and suspicion. While dating Ramona Ray, paranoia gets the best of him when he discovers that her most recent ex is successful novelist Dashiell Frank. Lester begins attending the same group therapy sessions as Dashiell to learn about Ramona's past with him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Joke?
The closest matches to The Joke are The TV Set (2007), There's Something About Mary (1998) and Reversal of Fortune (1990). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Joke?
Start with The TV Set (2007), the closest match to The Joke.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Joke?
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), rated 8.1/10 by 6,469 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Joke?
Jimmy Carr: Natural Born Killer (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Joke?
Yes: The TV Set (2007), There's Something About Mary (1998) and Reversal of Fortune (1990).
How are movies similar to The Joke chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Joke, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.