Movies like Drinking Buddies (2013)
The best movies like Drinking Buddies (2013) are St. Elmo's Fire (1985), The Big Picture (1989) and Young People Fucking (2007). If Drinking Buddies hooked you with its romance and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedJosee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020)8.2/10 from 646 votes
- NewestWhy Did I Get Married Again? (2026)Released 2026
St. Elmo's Fire (1985)
Reluctant to let go of college life, a close-knit team of seven friends--irresponsible saxophone player Billy, young Republican Alec, his girlfriend Leslie, struggling journalist Kevin, drama queen Jules, lovesick waiter Kirby, and Wendy, a social worker with a heart of gold--realise the party is over. And as the burdens of maturity close in on the young dreamers, the complexities of adulthood and the daily struggle of growing up put their sacred friendship to the test. But everyone knows life is not a bed of roses. It won't be easy, but when all is said and done, what will it take for St. Elmo's clique to find its place in the real world?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Big Picture (1989)
Hollywood beckons for recent film school grad Nick Chapman, who is out to capitalize on the momentum from his national award-winning student film. Studio executive Allen Habel seduces Nick with a dream deal to make his first feature, but once production gets rolling, corporate reality begins to intervene: Nick is unable to control a series of compromises to his high-minded vision, and it's all he can do to maintain his integrity in the midst of filmmaking chaos.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisYoung People Fucking (2007)
On a Tuesday night, five couples have separate sexual adventures. Matt and Kris, friends for years, want to have an only-once, no-strings good time. Abby and Andrew, married, celebrate his birthday, but it's marred by angst and miscommunication. Mia and Eric are exes, making sure they are over each other. Jaime and Ken work together and this is a first date. Inez and Gord invite his roommate, Dave, to join them. By the time each couple has gone through a prelude, foreplay, sex, an interlude, orgasm, and afterglow, they've answered basic questions: can sex be anonymous, are we bored, is our marriage really finished, does anyone tell the truth, and how do we make someone happy?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisFriends with Kids (2012)
In the wake of their friends' marriages and eventual offspring, longtime pals Julie and Jason decide to have a child together without becoming a couple. By becoming "time-share" parents, they reason, they can experience the joys of parenthood without significantly curbing their personal freedom. However, when Julie and Jason both become involved with others, they discover that they secretly harbor romantic feelings for each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCyrus (2010)
With John's social life at a standstill and his ex-wife about to get remarried, a down on his luck divorcée finally meets the woman of his dreams, only to discover she has another man in her life - her son. Before long, the two are locked in a battle of wits for the woman they both love-and it appears only one man can be left standing when it's over.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisXX/XY (2002)
Three friends begin a dangerous three-way relationship that spirals out of control, leading to dire consequences that haunt them ten years later.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhy Did I Get Married Again? (2026)
The couples reunite for the destination wedding of Marcus and Angela's daughter, bringing drama old and new as they ask, "Why did we get married again?"
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Don't Co$t a Thing (2003)
A high school outcast pays a cheerleader to pose as his girlfriend so he can be considered cool.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Best You Can (2025)
Cynthia Rand is a buttoned-up New Yorker married to a brilliant professor 25 years her senior. She begins feeling the effects of her husband’s advancing age on their relationship, just as her world is turned upside down by the arrival of sharp but chronically underachieving security guard Stan Olszewski in this smart rom-com that reunites Bacon and Sedgwick on screen for the first time in 20 years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAbout 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCarnal Knowledge (1971)
Two lifelong friends navigate complex sexual encounters and emotional entanglements, wrestling with societal norms and personal desires.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrictly Sexual (2008)
Two successful women, sick and tired of dating and relationships, decide to keep two young men in their pool house for strictly sexual purposes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAm I OK? (2024)
Lucy and Jane have been best friends for most of their lives and think they know everything there is to know about each other. But when Jane announces she's moving to London, Lucy reveals a long-held secret. As Jane tries to help Lucy, their friendship is thrown into chaos.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisSeven Minutes in Heaven (1986)
Natalie allows her classmate Jeff, who has run away from home, to stay at her place while her father is away on a business trip. Natalie soon starts dating Jeff's friend James Casey, who isn't as faithful as she thinks, while her best friend Polly falls in love with baseball player Zoo Knudsen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSitting in Bars with Cake (2023)
Extrovert Corinne convinces Jane, a shy, talented baker, to commit to a year of bringing cakes to bars, to help her meet people and build confidence. But when Corinne receives a life-altering diagnosis, the pair faces a challenge unlike anything they've experienced before.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDinner in America (2022)
An on-the-lam punk rocker and a young woman obsessed with a local band go on an unexpected and epic journey together through the decaying suburbs of the American Midwest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNewness (2017)
In contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMalcolm & Marie (2021)
As a filmmaker and his girlfriend return home from his movie premiere, smoldering tensions and painful revelations push them toward a romantic reckoning.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe World to Come (2021)
In 1856, two women forge a close connection despite their isolation on the American frontier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisComet (2014)
When a chance encounter brings together the cynical Dell and the quick-witted Kimberly, the stage is set for a tempestuous love affair that unfolds like a puzzle. As the film zigzags back and forth in time — from a meteor shower in LA, to an encounter in a Paris hotel room, to a fateful phone call — an unforgettable portrait of a relationship emerges.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026)
An ambitious director sets out to revive a faded slasher franchise, but her meeting with the film’s reclusive original star spirals into a terrifying maze of obsession, fear, and blood-soaked delusion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJosee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020)
With dreams of diving abroad, Tsuneo gets a job assisting Josee, an artist whose imagination takes her far beyond her wheelchair. But when the tide turns against them, they push each other to places they never thought possible, and inspire a love fit for a storybook.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Adventure of Faustus Bidgood (1986)
Faustus is a clerk in St. John's at the Newfoundland Department of Education. He dreams of becoming ruler of Newfoundland and seceding from Canada. In the real world, Faustus' boss Eddie Peddle plans to indoctrinate the citizenry of Newfoundland with a cult-like geometric theory known as Total Education, but Peddle may be foiled by the revelation of a secret from his past career.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Half Brothers (2020)
Mexican aviation exec Renato is shocked to learn that he has an American half-brother he never knew about: free-spirited Asher. They are forced on a road trip together, tracing the path their father took from Mexico to the U.S.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Gamblers (2007)
General arrives in Baden-Baden with his stepdaughter Polina and his mother, seeking social standing and respite. Secretly, they chase casino fortunes alongside a French businessman and beauty. Alexej, Polina’s tutor, struggles with his own gambling past while falling for her. When the wealthy “Babushka” dies, the family’s financial woes vanish, freeing Alexej to court Polina. Yet he loses everything in a sudden winning streak that upends loyalties and reveals the world’s true stakes: love, money, and chance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
42plus (2007)
When the beautiful, efficient and successful Christine, 42, arrives at their summer beach home with her husband and teenage daughter, a young hitchhiker catches her eye. What follows is the story of a woman who frees herself, tears her life into pieces and puts it back together in a different order.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Film Lost To Time (2024)
A film buff's obsession with an elusive, possibly nonexistent film spirals into a dangerous descent, blurring the line between reality and madness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Factory Girl (2006)
In the mid-1960s, wealthy debutant Edie Sedgwick meets artist Andy Warhol. She joins Warhol's famous Factory and becomes his muse. Although she seems to have it all, Edie cannot have the love she craves from Andy, and she has an affair with a charismatic musician, who pushes her to seek independence from the artist and the milieu.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like Drinking Buddies and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Drinking Buddies?
The closest matches to Drinking Buddies are St. Elmo's Fire (1985), The Big Picture (1989) and Young People Fucking (2007). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Drinking Buddies?
Start with St. Elmo's Fire (1985), the closest match to Drinking Buddies.
What is the highest-rated movie like Drinking Buddies?
Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020), rated 8.2/10 by 646 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Drinking Buddies?
Why Did I Get Married Again? (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Drinking Buddies?
Yes: St. Elmo's Fire (1985), The Big Picture (1989) and Young People Fucking (2007).
How are movies similar to Drinking Buddies chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Drinking Buddies, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.