Movies like Shelly's Leg (2025)
The best movies like Shelly's Leg (2025) are The Last Repair Shop (2024), Welcome to Chechnya (2020) and Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2018). If Shelly's Leg hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWhat Is a Woman? (2022)6.9/10 from 287 votes
- NewestA Toxic Love Story (2026)Released 2026
The Last Repair Shop (2024)
In a warehouse in the heart of Los Angeles, a dwindling handful of devoted craftspeople maintain more than 80,000 student musical instruments, the largest remaining workshop in America of its kind. Meet four unforgettable characters whose broken-and-repaired lives have been dedicated to bringing so much more than music to the schoolchildren of this city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWelcome to Chechnya (2020)
This searing investigative work shadows a group of activists risking unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ program raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic. Unfettered access and a remarkable approach to protecting anonymity exposes this under-reported atrocity–and an extraordinary group of people confronting evil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisScotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2018)
A deliciously scandalous portrait of unsung Hollywood legend Scotty Bowers, whose bestselling memoir chronicled his decades spent as sexual procurer to the stars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAvatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022)
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPublic Speaking (2011)
Martin Scorsese’s portrait of writer and social commentator Fran Lebowitz, celebrated for her sharp wit and observations on modern life. Filmed at New York’s Waverly Inn and intercut with archival footage and interviews, the documentary captures Lebowitz’s distinctive worldview through her spontaneous monologues and public appearances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOrgasm Inc: The Story of OneTaste (2022)
A sexual wellness company gains fame and followers, then members come forward with shocking allegations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTongues Untied (1990)
Marlon Riggs, with assistance from other gay Black men, especially poet Essex Hemphill, celebrates Black men loving Black men as a revolutionary act. The film intercuts footage of Hemphill reciting his poetry, Riggs telling the story of his growing up, scenes of men in social intercourse and dance, and various comic riffs, including a visit to the "Institute of Snap!thology," where men take lessons in how to snap their fingers: the sling snap, the point snap, the diva snap.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDrew: The Man Behind the Poster (2013)
A documentary on legendary movie-poster artist Drew Struzan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Toxic Love Story (2026)
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHamilton's America (2016)
This documentary delves deeper into the creation of the Hamilton musical, revealing Lin-Manuel Miranda's process of absorbing and then adapting Hamilton's epic story into ground-breaking musical theater.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHarmontown (2014)
A comedic, brutally honest documentary following self-destructive TV writer Dan Harmon as he takes his live podcast on a national tour.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAvatar: Creating the World of Pandora (2010)
The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDisclosure (2020)
An investigation of how Hollywood's fabled stories have deeply influenced how Americans feel about transgender people, and how transgender people have been taught to feel about themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShawn Mendes: In Wonder (2020)
A portrait of singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes' life, chronicling the past few years of his rise and journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisStrip Down, Rise Up (2021)
The feature documentary follows women of all walks of life, all ages and ethnic backgrounds, as they shed trauma, body image shame, sexual abuse and other issues locked in their bodies, and embark on a journey to reclaim themselves. The film also gives a rare window into the world of Pole artistry and expression.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008)
Fueled by a raging libido, Wild Turkey, and superhuman doses of drugs, Thompson was a true "free lance, " goring sacred cows with impunity, hilarity, and a steel-eyed conviction for writing wrongs. Focusing on the good doctor's heyday, 1965 to 1975, the film includes clips of never-before-seen (nor heard) home movies, audiotapes, and passages from unpublished manuscripts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat Is a Woman? (2022)
Matt Walsh's controversial doc challenges radical gender ideology through provocative interviews and humor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince (1978)
Martin Scorsese spends an evening with larger-than-life raconteur Steven Prince—a former drug addict, road manager for Neil Diamond, and actor—as he recounts stories from his colorful life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGo Figure (2020)
Two-time Olympian and World Champion, the legendary Randy Gardner, explores his true identity through figure skating and his one man show. With his skating partner of over fifty years, Tai Babilonia, the pair experienced the heights of worldwide glory and devastating personal tragedy. Now that the intense glare of the public spotlight softens, he is free to finally reveal his untold magical and meaningful journey... on and off the ice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Women 50 Minutes (2007)
A representation of queer and feminist imagery that was mainly shot in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, remote and developing areas in southwest China, and metropolitan cities like Beijing from 2000 to 2004 to document the social changes in contemporary China. The director sympathetically and erotically represents a variety of women, including women as laborers, women as prayers, women in the ground, women in marriage, and women who lie on the funeral pyre with their dead husbands. Her camera juxtaposes the mountains and rivers in old times, the commercialized handicrafts as exposition, the capital exploitation of the elders’ living space, and the erotic freedom of the young people in a changing city.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Vanilla (2017)
Look around. Everything you see and touch can taste like vanilla.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Tri Me: The Siri Lindley Story (2025)
Featuring Tony Robbins and Melissa Ethridge, Tri Me follows two-time Triathlon World Champion, four-time Hall of Fame inductee, and world-renowned speaker and coach Siri Lindley as she faces the greatest challenge of her life: a terminal cancer diagnosis.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
It Gets Better (2012)
Inspired by the It Gets Better Project this documentary film follows the stories of three real-life subjects who are at unique impasses related to their identities as gay or transgender people.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Lady Like (2024)
In this rags to riches origin story, Lady Camden struggles to manage the demands of her freshly minted international fame, while Rex is forced to come to terms with the troubling childhood he left behind in Camden which drove him to so desperately seek joy, fantasy and escape through the performing arts.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Little Potato (2017)
Wes Hurley's autobiographical tale of growing up gay in Soviet Union Russia, only to escape with his mother, a mail order bride, to Seattle to face a whole new oppression in his new Christian fundamentalist American dad.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson (2026)
An intimate, arresting portrait of cyclist Moriah Wilson—raised by a fierce, loving family—whose singular drive becomes her superpower, carrying her to athletic brilliance and, devastatingly, toward a life cut short by murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAuntie (2014)
After the death of his parents, a gay man comes back to his village to live in his small world of happiness, dreams, sadness and loneliness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Falas de Orgulho (2021)
The journey of eight characters of different ages, regions, life trajectories and religions – and behind them, stories of overcoming difficulties, prejudice and self-acceptance, passing through themes transversal to the letters that form the acronym LGBTQIA+ – that culminate in the celebration of being able to be who you are and in the exaltation of these voices.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Shelly's Leg?
The closest matches to Shelly's Leg are The Last Repair Shop (2024), Welcome to Chechnya (2020) and Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Shelly's Leg?
Start with The Last Repair Shop (2024), the closest match to Shelly's Leg.
What is the highest-rated movie like Shelly's Leg?
What Is a Woman? (2022), rated 6.9/10 by 287 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Shelly's Leg?
A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Shelly's Leg?
Yes: The Last Repair Shop (2024), Welcome to Chechnya (2020) and Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2018).
How are movies similar to Shelly's Leg chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Shelly's Leg, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.