Movies like Imaginary Lover (1989)
The best movies like Imaginary Lover (1989) are American Dreamer (2022), After the Ball (2015) and Taking Care of Business (1990). If Imaginary Lover hooked you with its comedy, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedLouis C.K.: Oh My God (2013)7.6/10 from 229 votes
- NewestLouis C.K.: Ridiculous (2026)Released 2026
American Dreamer (2022)
In this winsome comedy, an entitled Economics professor pursues a tactic to buy an ailing widow’s mansion for nothing, but he quickly realizes that his seemingly foolproof strategy won’t be as easy as he thought.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisAfter the Ball (2015)
After the Ball, a retail fairy tale set in the world of fashion. Kate's dream is to design for couturier houses. Although she is a bright new talent, Kate can't get a job. No one trusts the daughter of Lee Kassell, a retail guru who markets clothes "inspired" by the very designers Kate wants to work for. Who wants a spy among the sequins and stilettos? Reluctantly, Kate joins the family business where she must navigate around her duplicitous stepmother and two wicked stepsisters. But with the help of a prince of a guy in the shoe department her godmother's vintage clothes and a shocking switch of identities, Kate exposes the evil trio, saves her father's company -- and proves that everyone can wear a fabulous dress.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTaking Care of Business (1990)
An uptight advertising exec has his entire life in a filofax organizer which mistakenly ends up in the hands of a friendly convict who poses as him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLouis C.K.: Ridiculous (2026)
From a bee getting shot in New York City to paying strangers to take his aging father, Louis C.K. unleashes the ridiculous thoughts in his mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGabriel Iglesias: I'm Sorry for What I Said When I Was Hungry (2016)
Hawaiian-shirt enthusiast Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias finds the laughs in racist gift baskets, Prius-driving cops and all-female taco trucks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrain Donors (1992)
Three manic idiots—a lawyer, a cab driver and a handyman—team up to run a ballet company to fulfil the will of a millionaire. Stooge-like antics result as the trio try to outwit the rich widow and her scheming big-shot lawyer, who also wants to run the ballet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill (2020)
Jerry Seinfeld takes the stage in New York and tackles talking vs. texting, bad buffets vs. so-called "great" restaurants and the magic of Pop Tarts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Distinguished Gentleman (1992)
A Florida con man uses the recent death of the long time Congressman from his district, who he just happens to share a last name with, to get elected to his version of paradise, the U.S. Congress, where the money flows from lobbyists.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFun with Dick and Jane (1977)
When an upwardly mobile couple find themselves unemployed and in debt, they turn to armed robbery in desperation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThunderstruck (2012)
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBabes (2024)
After getting pregnant from a one-night stand, a single woman leans on her married best friend and mother of two to guide her through gestation and beyond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoonwalkers (2015)
What if Apollo 11 never actually made it? What if, in reality, Stanley Kubrick secretly shot the famous images of the moon landing in a studio, working for the US administration? This is the premise of a totally plausible conspiracy theory that takes us to swinging sixties London, where a stubborn CIA agent will never find Kubrick but is forced to team up with a lousy manager of a seedy rock band to develop the biggest con of all time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnuvahood (2011)
Kenneth (who likes to call himself Kay) begins to realise he's just another wannabe bad boy... even less than a loser in fact. After quitting his job at Laimsbury's, Kay vows to become a respected gangster... or cry trying. A pulls-no-punches, coming-of-age story, centering on one directionless hopeless "shotter", who finds his true worth in the face of urban adversity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe F**k-It List (2020)
After a prank blows up a studious high school senior's life, he shares a list of certain things he wishes he'd done differently — and maybe still can.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDylan Moran: Like, Totally (2006)
Dylan Moran returns with an all-new stand-up show. Unpredictable, startling, bizarre, elegiac, but above all brilliant and hilariously funny, Moran is a master of comedy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLouis C.K.: Oh My God (2013)
Filmed at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, AZ on February 15th and 16th, 2013, Oh My God is Louis C.K.'s fifth stand-up special, his first for HBO since 2007's Shameless, and his first since winning a Emmy Award for writing on his acclaimed show on FX, Louie. Performed in the round in front of a live audience, he discusses such topics as the food chain, animals, divorce, strange anecdotes, broken morality, murder and mortality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHard to Die (1990)
While doing the inventory for a lingerie outlet in a high rise office building, five attractive women are terrorized by a series of bizarre killings. They suspect that the strange janitor, who witnessed another series of killings six months previously, is at the bottom of the whole thing. Little do they know the real horror that they face in the end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOscar (1991)
Angelo "Snaps" Provolone made his dying father a promise on his deathbed: he would leave the world of crime and become an honest businessman. Despite having no experience in making money in a legal fashion, Snaps sets about to keep his promise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDave Chappelle: The Dreamer (2023)
From his onstage tackle to the slap heard round the world, Dave Chappelle lets loose in this freewheeling and unfiltered stand-up comedy special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRicky Gervais: Armageddon (2023)
Ricky Gervais dishes out controversial takes on political correctness and oversensitivity in a taboo-busting comedy special about the end of humanity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Imaginary Lover?
The closest matches to Imaginary Lover are American Dreamer (2022), After the Ball (2015) and Taking Care of Business (1990). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Imaginary Lover?
Start with American Dreamer (2022), the closest match to Imaginary Lover.
What is the highest-rated movie like Imaginary Lover?
Louis C.K.: Oh My God (2013), rated 7.6/10 by 229 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Imaginary Lover?
Louis C.K.: Ridiculous (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Imaginary Lover chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Imaginary Lover, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.



















