Movies like Bright Lights, Big City (1988)
The best movies like Bright Lights, Big City (1988) are Permanent Midnight (1998), Drugstore Cowboy (1989) and Leaving Las Vegas (1995). If Bright Lights, Big City 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 ratedThe Basketball Diaries (1995)7.4/10 from 2,318 votes
- NewestQueer (2024)Released 2024
Permanent Midnight (1998)
Juggling increasing career success and a growing heroin habit, a television comedy writer attempts to go down a path of improvement.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisDrugstore Cowboy (1989)
Portland, Oregon, 1971. Bob Hughes is the charismatic leader of a peculiar quartet, formed by his wife, Dianne, and another couple, Rick and Nadine, who skillfully steal from drugstores and hospital medicine cabinets in order to appease their insatiable need for drugs. But neither fun nor luck last forever.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLeaving Las Vegas (1995)
Ben Sanderson, an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his drinking, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBody Shots (1999)
The Los Angeles club scene is a place of booze-fueled decadence and debauchery. In a night full of possibilities, eight 20-somethings take to the clubs seeking good times, companionship and maybe a little sex. But in the harsh light of the morning after, their worlds are thrown into a spin of confusion when hungover Sara accuses hard-partying Mike of date rape. Loyalties are tested as each among them is forced to take sides.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Days of Disco (1998)
Two young women and their friends spend spare time at an exclusive nightclub in 1980s New York.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRush (1991)
Undercover cop Jim Raynor is a seasoned veteran. His partner, Kristen Cates, is lacking in experience, but he thinks she's tough enough to work his next case with him: a deep cover assignment to bring down the notoriously hard-to-capture drug lord Gaines. While their relationship turns romantic during the assignment, they also turn into junkies, and will have to battle their own addictions if they want to bring down Gaines once and for all.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boost (1988)
Lenny Brown moves to California to find his fortune in tax shelter investments. When the federal government changes the tax laws, poor Lenny finds himself $700,000 in hock with nowhere to turn. His friend, Joel, introduces him to cocaine to give Lenny that needed "boost". What ensues next is a descent into drug addiction and insanity as Lenny tries to regain control of his life, all the while needing that extra "boost".
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisMeth Head (2013)
Gay Kyle Peoples never wanted to be the man he has become in his 30s, an accountant stuck in a dead end job, with a lover who is more successful than he and a family that doesn't get him at all. So when a night of partying leads to a new family of friends and fun, Kyle sees an opportunity for escape from reality. But Kyle's new friendship with Maia and Dusty and the trio's love of crystal meth eventually cost Kyle his job, his companion, his home and his family. Kyle's escape becomes his trap, the party is an illusion and the crystal is slowly killing him, physically and psychologically. When he finally bottoms out and is no longer the young man his father once boasted about with pride, Kyle must choose: life or meth.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Story of a Junkie (1985)
Filmed in documentary-style, the film follows the character of Gringo, a young man looking for fortune in New York, only to fall into heroin addiction.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Clean and Sober (1988)
Hotshot real estate salesman Daryl has a bad cocaine habit. After embezzling his company's money, he wakes up next to a girl who overdosed. To hide from the police, he checks into a rehabilitation program guaranteeing anonymity. Under the mentorship of counselor Craig, Daryl accepts that he has a substance abuse problem. As he falls in love with fellow patient Charlie, Daryl begins committing to a newly sober life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Basketball Diaries (1995)
A high school basketball player’s life turns upside down after free-falling into the harrowing world of drug addiction.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSkin Deep (1989)
Hard-drinking novelist Zach Hutton spirals out of control after his wife and mistress both leave him. Alone and crippled by a bad case of writer's block, Zach slips in and out of casual relationships and one-night stands, while his drinking becomes more and more severe. With the help of a bartender and his therapist, Zach confronts his demons — women and alcohol.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhen a Man Loves a Woman (1994)
An airline pilot and his wife are forced to face the consequences of her alcoholism when her addictions threaten her life and their daughter's safety. While the woman enters detox, her husband must face the truth of his enabling behavior.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGeorgia (1995)
Sadie looks up to her older sister Georgia, a successful folk singer. Unfortunately it is this very obsession — coupled with her self-destructive tendencies and rampant drug abuse — that keeps her spiraling down the drain.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisRisky Business (1983)
Meet Joel Goodson, an industrious, college-bound 17-year-old and a responsible, trustworthy son. However, when his parents go away and leave him home alone in the wealthy Chicago suburbs with the Porsche at his disposal he quickly decides he has been good for too long and it is time to enjoy himself. After an unfortunate incident with the Porsche Joel must raise some cash, in a risky way.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wackness (2008)
Set in New York City in the sweltering summer, The Wackness tells the story of a troubled teenage drug dealer, who trades pot for therapy sessions with a drug-addled psychiatrist. Things get more complicated when he falls for one of his classmates, who just happens to be the doctor's daughter. This is a coming-of-age story about sex, drugs, music and what it takes to be a man.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUp in Smoke (1978)
An unemployed pot-smoking slacker and amateur drummer, Anthony Stoner ditches his strict parents and hits the road, eventually meeting kindred spirit Pedro de Pacas. While the drug-ingesting duo is soon arrested for possession of marijuana, Anthony and Pedro get released on a technicality, allowing them to continue their many misadventures and ultimately compete in a rock band contest, where they perform the raucous tune "Earache My Eye."
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Beach Bum (2019)
An irreverent comedy about the misadventures of Moondog, a rebellious stoner and lovable rogue who lives large.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
SnoozefestMovies like thisBarfly (1987)
Downtrodden writer Henry and distressed goddess Wanda aren't exactly husband and wife: they're wedded to their bar stools. But, they like each other's company—and Barfly captures their giddy, gin-soaked attempts to make a go of life on the skids.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStraight Out of Brooklyn (1991)
Larry, a troubled teen living in the rough Red Hook section of Brooklyn, decides he wants out and turns to crime to fund his escape. But his plan involves scamming the neighborhood's biggest drug kingpin, a heist that's dangerous at best.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
About Last Night... (1986)
A man and woman meet and try to have a romantic affair, despite their personal problems and the interference of their disapproving friends.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLess Than Zero (1987)
A college freshman returns to Los Angeles for Christmas at his ex-girlfriend's request, but discovers that his former best friend has an out-of-control drug habit.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFactotum (2005)
This drama centers on Hank Chinaski, the fictional alter-ego of "Factotum" author Charles Bukowski, who wanders around Los Angeles, CA trying to live off jobs which don't interfere with his primary interest, which is writing. Along the way, he fends off the distractions offered by women, drinking and gambling.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this200 Cigarettes (1999)
In 1981 New York City, a collection of twentysomethings try to cope with relationships, loneliness, desire and their individual neuroses on New Years Eve.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisSlacker (1990)
Austin, Texas, is an Eden for the young and unambitious, from the enthusiastically eccentric to the dangerously apathetic. Here, the nobly lazy can eschew responsibility in favor of nursing their esoteric obsessions. The locals include a backseat philosopher who passionately expounds on his dream theories to a seemingly comatose cabbie, a young woman who tries to hawk Madonna's Pap test to anyone who will listen and a kindly old anarchist looking for recruits.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSwingers (1996)
After 6 years together, Mike's girlfriend leaves him, so he travels to LA to be a star. Six months on, he's still not doing very well— so a few of his friends try to reconnect him to the social scene and hopefully help him forget his failed relationship.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGypsy 83 (2001)
Two young misfits head for New York City to celebrate their idol and muse, Stevie Nicks, at The Night of 1,000 Stevies. Along the road, in order for them to escape their painful pasts, they must discover their strengths and learn self-acceptance.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
London (2005)
London is a drug laden adventure that centers on a party in a New York loft where a young man is trying to win back his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwo Lovers (2008)
A depressed man moves back in with his parents following a recent heartbreak and finds himself with two women.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisQueer (2024)
In 1950s Mexico City, William Lee, an American ex-pat in his late forties, leads a solitary life amidst a small American community. However, the arrival in town of Eugene Allerton, a young student, stirs William into finally establishing a meaningful connection with someone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Bright Lights, Big City?
The closest matches to Bright Lights, Big City are Permanent Midnight (1998), Drugstore Cowboy (1989) and Leaving Las Vegas (1995). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Bright Lights, Big City?
People who watched Bright Lights, Big City most often go on to Permanent Midnight (1998), Drugstore Cowboy (1989) and Leaving Las Vegas (1995).
What is the highest-rated movie like Bright Lights, Big City?
The Basketball Diaries (1995), rated 7.4/10 by 2,318 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Bright Lights, Big City?
Queer (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Bright Lights, Big City?
Yes: Permanent Midnight (1998), Drugstore Cowboy (1989) and Leaving Las Vegas (1995).
How are movies similar to Bright Lights, Big City chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Bright Lights, Big City, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.