Movies like The American Way (1987)
The best movies like The American Way (1987) are The Super (1991), Tropic Thunder (2008) and The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009). If The American Way hooked you with its comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedScooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy! (2006)7.4/10 from 318 votes
- NewestLouis C.K.: Ridiculous (2026)Released 2026
The Super (1991)
Louie Kritski is a heartless landlord who has been so negligent in keeping up his ghetto apartment that he is threatened with jail time. The judge gives him another option -- he must live in his rat-infested hell hole until he brings it up to liveable standards.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisTropic Thunder (2008)
A group of self-absorbed actors set out to make the most expensive war film ever. When budgets skyrocket and schedules fall far behind, the director tries to save the production by leading his cast into the jungles of Southeast Asia, where they inadvertently encounter real danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)
A reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady, a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S. Army's New Earth Army, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCatch-22 (1970)
A WWII military pilot makes a valiant effort to be certified insane in order to be excused from flying missions. But there's a catch.
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 thisI Love My Dad (2022)
A hopelessly estranged father catfishes his son in an attempt to reconnect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisAmazon Women on the Moon (1987)
Centered on a television station which features a 1950s-style sci-fi movie interspersed with a series of wild commercials, wacky shorts and weird specials, this lampoon of contemporary life and pop culture skewers some of the silliest spectacles ever created in the name of entertainment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisEddie Izzard: Definite Article (1996)
Eddie arrives on stage through a huge book which opens to reveal herself sitting at the top of a staircase. Then discusses Caesar dog food, 24 hour garages, Latin, and winds her way through James Bond gadgets, Einstein and Pavlov.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Roast of Tom Brady (2024)
Offensive lines. Full-contact comedy. Kevin Hart hosts this all-star roast of NFL legend Tom Brady.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWet Hot American Summer (2001)
It's the last day of Camp Firewood's season, but there's still time for the big talent show, a little romance… and for everyone to be wiped out by the piece of NASA's Skylab that's hurtling toward Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Mighty Wind (2003)
Three eclectic, never-quite-famous folk bands come together for the first time in decades following the death of their manager to put on an reunion concert in his honor, at the request of his son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Impostors (1998)
Wrongly accused of physically abusing a fellow actor, starving thespians Arthur and Maurice find themselves pursued by the law aboard a cruise ship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLiving in Oblivion (1995)
Low-budget independent filmmaker Nick Reve tries to keep everything together as his production is plagued with an insecure actress, a megalomaniac star, a pretentious beret-wearing director of photography, and lousy catering.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Climb (2020)
Kyle and Mike are best friends who share a close bond — until Mike sleeps with Kyle’s fiancée. A stormy but enduring relationship ensues between Kyle, with limitless patience, and Mike, who only lives his life by sowing discord in that of others, across many years of laughter, heartbreak, and rage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeam America: World Police (2004)
When North Korean ruler Kim Jong-il orchestrates a global terrorist plot, it's up to the heavily armed, highly specialized Team America unit to stop his dastardly scheme. The group, which has recruited troubled Broadway actor Gary Johnston, not only has to face off against Jong-il, but they must also contend with the Film Actors Guild, a cadre of Hollywood liberals at odds with Team America's 'policing the world' tactics.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBugonia (2025)
Two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRepo Man (1984)
A down and out young punk gets a job working with a seasoned repo man, but what awaits him in his new career is a series of outlandish adventures revolving around aliens, the CIA, and a most wanted '64 Chevy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClear History (2013)
Nathan Flomm, in order to avoid the humiliation of having missed out on a hugely successful business, assumes a new identity on Martha's Vineyard. He plots revenge when his former business partner moves to the same town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCotton Comes to Harlem (1970)
Harlem's African-American population is being ripped off by the Rev. Deke O'Malley, who dishonestly claims that small donations will secure parcels of land in Africa. When New York City police officers Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson look into O'Malley's scam, they learn that the cash is being smuggled inside a bale of cotton. However, the police, O'Malley, and lots of others find themselves scrambling when the money goes missing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMen at Work (1990)
Two garbage men find the body of a city councilman in a trash can on their route. With help from a supervisor, the duo must solve the case and find the man's killer while hiding the body from the cops.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisRenaissance Man (1994)
An advertising man is slowly sliding downhill. When he is fired from his job in Detroit, he signs up for unemployment. One day they find him a job: teaching thinking skills to Army recruits. He arrives on base to find that there is no structure set up for the class.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStreet Trash (1987)
A group of hobos begin melting into multicolored piles of goo after drinking sixty-year-old liquor. At the same time, the psychotic Vietnam War vet who rules the hobo camp snaps and begins killing at random. Two brothers set out to stop the liquor and the killer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRaggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure (1977)
Raggedy Ann and Andy, along with other toys, reside in the nursery of a little girl named Marcella. During Marcella's seventh birthday, Babette, from France, is introduced as the new doll from a large package. When the lecherous Captain Contagious kidnaps Babette and escapes from the nursery, Ann and Andy must navigate the Deep Deep Woods to save her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Girl King (2002)
A super low-budget, drag king, pirate movie shot on miniDV. Pirates capture a naïve Butch and promise him that if he can find the Queen’s stolen treasure, they will be give him his heart’s desire—the seductive femme Claudia. Soon Butch is sailing on treacherous seas, swept away by dangerous desires where tops are bottomed, pirate captains are seduced by tranny sailors and cross-dressing femmes pack a wallop. With the help of the mysterious Easy and the infamous pirate Captain Candy, can Butch find the treasure in time to restore the natural attraction between butch and femme? Decidedly tongue-in-cheek, this clever tale uses a pastiche of pillaged imagery to lead us into the uncharted oceans of dyke desire. A sweetly perverse fable for drag kings, gender-benders and those who adore them. Music by Amon Tobin
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Blackie the Pirate (1971)
Rivaling Pirates and Spanish gold are the ingredients for this story. Blackie the pirate is the one who first hears from this shipment of gold when he encounters "Don" Pedro. He thinks of a plan to find this ship and its gold. His counter player is the vice roy of the Spanish kolony. When they visit one of the pirate settlements, they find three other pirate captains over there. One of them sells goods and prisoners from his latest capture. Don Pedro recognizes the wife of the vice roy, and Blackie buys her. However, one of the pirate captains, Skull, knows also who she is, and tries to make a deal. Blackie refuses, and Skull makes a deal with the other two pirate captains to plot against Blackie.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisRuckus (1980)
Madoc County is a quiet and peaceful place until vagrant Kyle Hanson arrives. The people of Madoc County are repelled by his appearance and want to chase him out of the city. Unfortunately for them, Kyle Hanson is a former Vietnam elite soldier and he uses his skills to fight back.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 (1986)
A radio host is victimised by the notorious cannibal family while a former Texas Marshal hunts them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisNever Too Late (2020)
It's been a long time since Caine, Bronson, Angus and Wendell—aka ‘The Chain Breakers'—escaped a torturous Vietnamese POW camp. They now find themselves sharing a new prison, The Hogan Hills Retirement Home for Returned Veterans. Each of the boys has an unrealised dream they want to achieve, so they band together to devise a plan to escape their new hell. But the rules of engagement have changed. In fact, they can’t even remember what they were—and that’s half the problem.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy! (2006)
It's horror on the high seas when Scooby-Doo and the gang take a creepy cruise into one of the world's most mysterious places, the Bermuda Triangle! If Scooby, Shaggy and the gang can't solve this mystery, they may have to walk the plank.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like The American Way and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The American Way?
The closest matches to The American Way are The Super (1991), Tropic Thunder (2008) and The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The American Way?
Start with The Super (1991), the closest match to The American Way.
What is the highest-rated movie like The American Way?
Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy! (2006), rated 7.4/10 by 318 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The American Way?
Louis C.K.: Ridiculous (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The American Way?
Yes: The Super (1991), Tropic Thunder (2008) and The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009).
How are movies similar to The American Way chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The American Way, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.