Movies like Death and Life Madalena (2026)
The best movies like Death and Life Madalena (2026) are Real Women Have Curves (2002), All About Nina (2018) and Code 3 (2025). If Death and Life Madalena 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 ratedCode 3 (2025)7.1/10 from 376 votes
- NewestHidden Enemy (2026)Released 2026
Real Women Have Curves (2002)
In East Los Angeles, an 18-year-old struggles between her ambitions of going to college and the desires of her domineering mother for her to get married, have children, and oversee the small, rundown family-owned textile factory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll About Nina (2018)
Nina Geld's passion and talent have made her a rising star in the comedy scene, but she's an emotional mess offstage. When a new professional opportunity coincides with a romantic one, she is forced to confront her own deeply troubled past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCode 3 (2025)
A burned-out paramedic tries to survive his last 24 hours on the job while training a new recruit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCQ (2001)
A young filmmaker in 1960s Paris juggles directing a cheesy sci-fi debacle, directing his own personal art film, coping with his crumbling relationship with his girlfriend, and a new-found infatuation with the sci-fi film's starlet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisUncorked (2020)
Elijah must balance his dream of becoming a master sommelier with his father's expectations that he carry on the family's Memphis BBQ joint.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTyler Perry's Madea on the Run - The Play (2017)
In trouble with the local authorities, Mabel Simmons, notoriously known as Madea, is on the run from the law. With no place to turn, she moves in with her friend Bam who is recovering from surgery. Unbeknownst to Bam however, Madea is only using the "concerned friend" gag as a way to hide out from the police.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBetter Start Running (2018)
An eclectic band of misfits becomes an unlikely family as they take a wild journey in the name of love while on the run from an overzealous FBI duo who want them dead or alive - preferably dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like this10,000 Saints (2015)
A sweeping multigenerational story set against the backdrop of the raw, roaring New York City of the late 1980s; adoption, teen pregnancy, drugs, hardcore punk rock, the unbridled optimism and reckless stupidity of the young—and old—are all major elements in this heart-aching tale of the son of diehard hippies and his strange odyssey through the extremes of late 20th century youth culture.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPalindromes (2005)
Aviva is thirteen, awkward and sensitive. Her mother Joyce is warm and loving, as is her father, Steve, a regular guy who does have a fierce temper from time to time. The film revolves around her family, friends and neighbors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKodachrome (2017)
Matt Ryder is convinced to drive his estranged and dying father Benjamin Ryder cross country to deliver four old rolls of Kodachrome film to the last lab in the world that can develop them before it shuts down for good. Along with Ben's nurse Zooey, the three navigate a world changing from analogue to digital while trying to put the past behind them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBastard Out of Carolina (1996)
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIron Jawed Angels (2004)
Defiant young activists take the women's suffrage movement by storm, putting their lives at risk to help American women win the right to vote.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Safety of Objects (2002)
In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Bear (2020)
At a remote lake house in the Adirondack Mountains, a couple entertains an out-of-town guest looking for inspiration in her filmmaking. The group quickly falls into a calculated game of desire, manipulation, and jealousy, unaware of how dangerously intertwined their lives will soon become.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rain People (1969)
When a housewife finds out she is pregnant, she runs out of town looking for freedom to reevaluate her life decisions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBruised (2021)
Jackie Justice is a mixed martial arts fighter who leaves the sport in disgrace. Down on her luck and simmering with rage and regret years after the fight, she's coaxed into a brutal underground fight by her manager and boyfriend Desi and grabs the attention of a fight league promoter who promises Jackie a life back in the Octagon. But the road to redemption becomes unexpectedly personal when Manny - the son she gave up as an infant - shows up at her doorstep. A triumphant story of a fighter who reclaims her power, in and out of the ring, when everyone has counted her out
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Short History of the Long Road (2019)
Nola grew up living in a van with her father, Clint—two nomads against the world. When tragedy strikes, Nola must confront the reality of life on the road alone, learning to own her grief, her past, and her new destination.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Poker House (2008)
Agnes and her two sisters struggle through a day in a home overrun by gamblers, thieves, and johns.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGood Luck (2014)
After several behavior problems, teenager John is admitted to a psychiatric clinic by his family. There he meets Judith, for who he soon falls in love. The problem is that she does not have long to live and they know it. This shall not prevent the emergence of a great romance in the clinic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFor Keeps (1988)
Young high school couple Darcy Elliot and Stan Bobrucz are one year from graduation, with promising futures ahead of them. But their paths take a drastic turn when Darcy becomes pregnant. Unwilling to go through an abortion or an adoption — despite their parents' pleas — Darcy and Stan decide to sacrifice their college experiences and degrees in order to keep and raise the baby. After a quick marriage, the two realize it won't be as easy as they thought.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Snapper (1993)
Sharon Curley is a 20-year-old living with her parents and many brothers and sisters in Dublin. When she gets pregnant and refuses to name the father, she becomes the talk of the town.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSwim Fishy (TBA)
Clea, a newly pregnant thirty-something struggling to get her life together, who reluctantly joins her tightly wound sister Frannie on a road trip to visit her estranged parents. When Clea brings along her free-spirited friend Abel to lighten the mood, clashing personalities and a string of chaotic detours force the trio to confront old wounds and buried truths on a journey that becomes an unexpected reckoning.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Tripping (2024)
A pregnant high schooler is forced to go on a road trip with her lesbian mom in order to get an abortion at the nearest women's health clinic.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Charon (2021)
"Charon" follows a restaurant owner (Jason Shidiskis) and his wife (Liesl Cruz) going through their daily lives while expecting a child when the unexpected occurs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Private Property (2022)
Kathryn, a struggling actress and unfulfilled housewife, becomes friendly with her new gardener, Ben. He gives her the attention and sensitivity she craves; however, he is not who he seems.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Comeback Trail (2020)
Two movie producers who owe money to the mob set up their aging movie star for an insurance scam to try and save themselves. But they wind up getting more than they ever imagined.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisFather of the Bride Part II (1995)
Just when George Banks has recovered from his daughter's wedding, he receives the news that she's pregnant ... and that George's wife is expecting too. He was planning on selling their home, but that's a plan that—like George—will have to change with the arrival of both a grandchild and a kid of his own.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHidden Enemy (2026)
The happy marriage of Gadis and Andhika unravels when an intrusive friend named Suzi enters their lives and systematically destroys their domestic harmony.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Swimming with Sharks (1994)
Guy is a young film executive who's willing to do whatever it takes to make it in Hollywood. He begins working for famed producer Buddy Ackerman, a domineering, manipulative, coldhearted boss. When Guy also finds out that his cynical girlfriend, Dawn, has been using sex as a career move, he reaches his limit. Guy decides to exact revenge on Buddy by kidnapping him and subjecting him to cruel and unusual punishment.
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 Death and Life Madalena?
The closest matches to Death and Life Madalena are Real Women Have Curves (2002), All About Nina (2018) and Code 3 (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Death and Life Madalena?
Start with Real Women Have Curves (2002), the closest match to Death and Life Madalena.
What is the highest-rated movie like Death and Life Madalena?
Code 3 (2025), rated 7.1/10 by 376 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Death and Life Madalena?
Hidden Enemy (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Death and Life Madalena chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Death and Life Madalena, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.