Movies like Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005)
The best movies like Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005) are The One I Love (2014), Hello I Must Be Going (2012) and Manhattan (1979). If Diary of a Mad Black Woman hooked you with its drama and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedManhattan (1979)7.7/10 from 2,714 votes
- NewestDoing Life (2026)Released 2026
The One I Love (2014)
Ethan and Sophie are a married couple on the brink of separation when, at the urging of their therapist, they decide to salvage their relationship by escaping to a beautiful vacation house for the weekend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHello I Must Be Going (2012)
An affair with a 19-year old actor helps reinvigorate life for thirty-something Amy after she moves home to her parents’ house following her divorce.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisManhattan (1979)
Manhattan explores how the life of a middle-aged television writer dating a teenage girl is further complicated when he falls in love with his best friend's mistress.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn the Land of Women (2007)
After a bad breakup with his girlfriend leaves him heartbroken, Carter Webb moves to Michigan to take care of his ailing grandmother. Once there, he gets mixed up in the lives of the mother and daughters who live across the street.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisMadea's Family Reunion (2006)
Southern matriarch Madea has a lot on her plate. Her nieces, Vanessa and Lisa, have relationship troubles - Vanessa moves into Madea's house with her 2 young children and Lisa is engaged to a controlling man that her mother set her up with. In addition, Madea has just been court-ordered to become the guardian of Nikki, a rebellious runaway teenager. Madea must keep the peace and her family together while simultaneously planning her clan's reunion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeartburn (1986)
She's a magazine writer who gives up her career for love and family. He's a playboy newspaper columnist who can't quite give up his old tricks. And if that combination doesn't give a relationship heartburn, nothing will.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow to Please a Woman (2022)
When her all-male house-cleaning business gets out of control, a mature woman must embrace her own sexuality, if she is to make a new life for herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSolitary Man (2009)
A car magnate watches his personal and professional life hit the skids because of his business and romantic indiscretions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisLove & Sex (2000)
When her rather explicit copy is rejected, magazine journalist Kate is asked by her editor to come up with an article on loving relationships instead, and to do so by the end of the day. This gets Kate thinking back over her own various experiences, and to wondering if she is in much of a position to write on the subject.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe War of the Roses (1989)
Barbara and Oliver Rose live happily as a married couple. When Barbara starts to wonder what life would be like without Oliver and likes what she sees, the two begin a campaign to force each other to leave their house, with their divorce lawyer D'Amato caught in the middle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPetulia (1968)
Dr. Archie Bollen is having a midlife crisis. He's just divorced his wife and is establishing a new life for himself. One night, he catches the eye of Petulia Danner, a charming, free-spirited young woman. Petulia's vibrant personality hides her fear of her abusive husband, David, whose father is a powerful society figure. As Petulia and Archie's feelings for each other grow, they must decide what it is they truly want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRevolutionary Road (2008)
A young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children. Based on a novel by Richard Yates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Free World (2016)
Following his release from a brutal stretch in prison for crimes he didn't commit, Mo is struggling to adapt to life on the outside. When his world collides with Doris, a mysterious woman with a violent past, he decides to risk his newfound freedom to keep her in his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrief Encounter (1945)
Returning home from a shopping trip to a nearby town, bored suburban housewife Laura Jesson is thrown by happenstance into an acquaintance with virtuous doctor Alec Harvey. Their casual friendship soon develops during their weekly visits into something more emotionally fulfilling than either expected, and they must wrestle with the potential havoc their deepening relationship would have on their lives and the lives of those they love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDiary of a Mad Housewife (1970)
Tina Balser is a bored New York housewife-mother married to Jonathan, a pompous, social-climbing lawyer who ridicules her in front of their children, criticizing everything she does or wears. She begins an affair with George Prager, a dashing, successful, and blatantly sadistic writer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShe's So Lovely (1997)
After being released from a psychiatric institution, a man tries to redeem himself in the eyes of his now-ex wife from the events that led up to his incarceration.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisShoot the Moon (1982)
After fifteen years of marriage, an affluent couple divorce and take up with new partners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTyrannosaur (2011)
The story of Joseph, a man plagued by violence and a rage that is driving him to self-destruction. As Joseph's life spirals into turmoil a chance of redemption appears in the form of Hannah, a Christian charity shop worker. Their relationship develops to reveal that Hannah is hiding a secret of her own with devastating results on both of their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Can Do Bad All By Myself (2009)
When Madea catches teenage Jennifer and her two younger brothers looting her home, she decides to take matters into her own hands and delivers the young delinquents to the only relative they have: their aunt April. A heavy-drinking nightclub singer who lives off of her married boyfriend, April wants nothing to do with the kids.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoing Life (2026)
A single mother and an incarcerated man forge an unlikely bond through heartfelt letters, unlocking a door to redemption, hope and love against all odds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWe Are Your Friends (2015)
Young Cole Carter dreams of hitting the big time as a Hollywood disc jockey, spending his days and nights hanging with buddies and working on the one track that will set the world on fire. Opportunity comes knocking when he meets James Reed, a charismatic DJ who takes the 23-year-old under his wing. Soon, his seemingly clear path to success gets complicated when he starts falling for his mentor's girlfriend, jeopardizing his new friendship and the future he seems destined to fulfill.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDownsizing (2017)
A kindly occupational therapist undergoes a new procedure to be shrunken to four inches tall so that he and his wife can help save the planet and afford a nice lifestyle at the same time.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisCoco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (2009)
Paris 1913. Coco Chanel is infatuated with the rich and handsome Boy Capel, but she is also compelled by her work. Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring is about to be performed. The revolutionary dissonances of Igor's work parallel Coco's radical ideas. She wants to democratize women's fashion; he wants to redefine musical taste. Coco attends the scandalous first performance of The Rite in a chic white dress. The music and ballet are criticized as too modern, too foreign. Coco is moved but Igor is inconsolable.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRyan's Daughter (1970)
In the wake of the 1916 Easter Rising, a married schoolteacher in a small Irish village has an affair with a troubled British officer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDinner at Eight (1933)
An ambitious New York socialite plans an extravagant dinner party as her businessman husband, Oliver, contends with financial woes, causing a lot of tension between the couple. Meanwhile, their high-society friends and associates, including the gruff Dan Packard and his sultry spouse, Kitty, contend with their own entanglements, leading to revelations at the much-anticipated dinner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPro-Black Sheep (2009)
Character-driven satirical drama about a young, extraordinarily intellectual "black activist" wannabe who is discovered as the political critic sending out anonymous emails that criticize today's black leadership. Instead of holding it against him, the black leader who finds him out hires his worst critic as a second adviser.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Men of War (1994)
Nick Gunar is a burnt-out, jaded and hard-up former mercenary who is having a difficult time adjusting to civilian life. At the end of his rope, he is hired by the Nitro Mine Corporation to strong-arm the natives of a South China Sea island into giving up their rights to its valuable mineral resources. Nick loathes the thought of another mission, but this seemingly easy job will earn him enough money to get back with his estranged family. He recruits some of his former mercenary buddies to help him with the job. The island people refuse to give up their land and Nick decides to help them fight the greedy corporation that hired him. As greed and treachery begin to unravel, Nick's band of mercenaries choose sides.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisOctet (TBA)
Eight internet-obsessed people meet in a church basement and lock their phones in a box. They follow the octet as they struggle with digital dependency, charting their compulsions using only the analog vibrancy of their own voices.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Bedroom Window (1987)
Baltimore, Maryland. Sylvia sees a girl being attacked from her lover Terry's bedroom window. The assailant flees and his victim is saved. But that same night another girl is found murdered.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBesondere Schwere der Schuld (2014)
Joseph Komalschek was sentenced to 30 years in prison for cruelly murdering a young mother and her newborn baby. He never confessed his crimes and the bodies could not be found. After being released from prison, he returns to his hometown. People there treat him with distrust and disdain.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Diary of a Mad Black Woman and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Diary of a Mad Black Woman?
The closest matches to Diary of a Mad Black Woman are The One I Love (2014), Hello I Must Be Going (2012) and Manhattan (1979). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Diary of a Mad Black Woman?
Start with The One I Love (2014), the closest match to Diary of a Mad Black Woman.
What is the highest-rated movie like Diary of a Mad Black Woman?
Manhattan (1979), rated 7.7/10 by 2,714 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Diary of a Mad Black Woman?
Doing Life (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Diary of a Mad Black Woman?
Yes: The One I Love (2014), Hello I Must Be Going (2012) and Manhattan (1979).
How are movies similar to Diary of a Mad Black Woman chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Diary of a Mad Black Woman, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.