Movies like Desperate Acts of Magic (2013)
The best movies like Desperate Acts of Magic (2013) are The Trouble with Angels (1966), The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950) and Adventures in Public School (2018). If Desperate Acts of Magic hooked you with its comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLouis C.K.: Hilarious (2010)7.8/10 from 321 votes
- NewestDolly Parton's Christmas on the Square (2020)Released 2020
The Trouble with Angels (1966)
Mary and her friend, Rachel, are new students at St. Francis Academy, a boarding school run by the iron fist of Mother Superior. The immature teens grow bored and begin playing pranks on both the unsuspecting nuns and their unpleasant classmates, becoming a constant thorn in Mother Superior's side. However, as the years pass, Mary and Rachel slowly mature and begin to see the nuns in a different light.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Happiest Days of Your Life (1950)
Nutbourne College, an old established, all-boys, boarding school is told that another school is to be billeted with due to wartime restrictions. The shock is that it's an all-girls school that has been sent. The two head teachers are soon battling for the upper hand with each other and the Ministry. But a crisis (or two) forces them to work together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdventures in Public School (2018)
A socially-awkward, home-schooled kid forces his way into public school against his suffocating, but loving, mother's wishes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMerry Christmas, Drake & Josh (2008)
Step brothers Drake and Josh must give a foster family the best Christmas ever or face years in jail for a Christmas party gone wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCadet Kelly (2002)
Hyperactive teenager Kelly is enrolled into a military school when her new stepfather becomes the Commandant. At first she has problems fitting in and taking orders until she tries out for the drill team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLouis C.K.: Hilarious (2010)
In this unique and dynamic live concert experience, Louis C.K.'s exploration of life after 40 destroys politically correct images of modern life with thoughts we have all had...but would rarely admit to.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMuch Ado About Nothing (2013)
A modern retelling of Shakespeare's classic comedy about two pairs of lovers with different takes on romance and a way with words.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDough and Dynamite (1914)
Pierre and Jacques are working as waiters at a restaurant where the cooks go on strike. When the two are forced to work as bakers, the striking cooks put dynamite in the dough, with explosive results.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Geisha Boy (1958)
Gilbert Wooley is a second-rate magician who is sent to entertain the troops in the pacific. During his time in Japan he becomes attached to a little orphan boy.
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 thisWhy Worry? (1923)
A hypochondriac vacations in the tropics for the fresh air - and finds himself in the middle of a revolution instead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994)
Fred is cast as Ebenezer Scrooge in a stage adaption of the classic Christmas story, but is acting a bit stingy in real life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTo Grandmother's House We Go (1992)
When precocious twins Sarah and Julie feel like Mom is tired of them, they take off on an exciting adventure to their grandmother's house and encounter a pair of villains along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInvader Zim: Enter the Florpus (2019)
ZIM discovers his almighty leaders never had any intention of coming to Earth and he loses confidence in himself for the first time in his life, which is the big break his human nemesis, Dib has been waiting for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Air Up There (1994)
Jimmy Dolan is a college basketball coach who wants a big promotion. To get it, he needs to make a dramatic find. He ends up deep in Africa, hoping to recruit Saleh, a huge basketball prodigy Jimmy glimpsed in a home movie. But Saleh is the chief's son and has responsibilities at home, since the tribe's land is threatened by a mining company with its own hotshot basketball team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDolly Parton's Christmas on the Square (2020)
A rich and nasty woman returns to her hometown to evict everyone but discovers the true meaning of Christmas thanks to the local townsfolk – and an actual angel. Features 14 original songs with music and lyrics by Dolly Parton!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisMr. Bones (2001)
A medicine man is sent looking for the son of his tribal king, and brings back an American golfer and a host of goons intent on keeping him in the golf tournament.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ladies Man (1961)
After his girl leaves him for someone else, Herbert gets really depressed and starts searching for a job. He finally finds one in a big house which is inhabited by many, many women. Can he live in the same home with all these females?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSaturday Night Live: The Best of Will Ferrell (2002)
The best skits from Will Ferrell's days on Saturday Night Live 1995-2002
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWilbur Wants to Kill Himself (2002)
The strange comedy film of two close brothers; one, Wilbur, who wants to kill himself, and the other, Harbour, who tries to prevent this. When their father dies leaving them his bookstore they meet a woman who makes their lives a bit better yet with a bit more trouble as well.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisItalian for Beginners (2000)
Several lonely hearts in a semi-provincial suburb of a town in Denmark use a beginner's course in Italian as the platform to meet the romance of their lives. The film, which unspools the connections and family drama shared between the students, complies with several aesthetic principles of Dogme 95 movement.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLost in Translation (2003)
Two lost souls visiting Tokyo -- the young, neglected wife of a photographer and a washed-up movie star shooting a TV commercial -- find an odd solace and pensive freedom to be real in each other's company, away from their lives in America.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMurder of a Cat (2014)
When someone murders his beloved cat, Clinton, an adult child, demands justice. Taking it upon himself to solve the case, he teams up with an unlikely ally, Greta, and the two set out to find the culprit lurking in their small suburban town. But as Clinton searches for the truth, he begins to uncover a conspiracy that goes far deeper than he anticipated.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisFour Rooms (1995)
It's Ted the Bellhop's first night on the job...and the hotel's very unusual guests are about to place him in some outrageous predicaments. It seems that this evening's room service is serving up one unbelievable happening after another.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisMrs Hartley and the Growth Centre (1995)
When a shy young man arrives on her doorstep, Alice Hartley grabs the chance to escape from her loveless marriage. She and Michael open a Growth Centre with a difference - offering sex, drugs and personalised water births.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Kiss Me, Frog (2000)
Modern version of The Frog King. Out of an impulse, 15-year-old Anna kisses a frog which then turns into a prince. But the curse is not solved that easily.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Fine (2016)
A short film about the endless fight of two woman. A Mexican and Bosnian co-production set in Sarajevo.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Zoo (1988)
Martina lives in the Rome's zoo, because her father is the guardian. She becomes friend with a young Slavic escaped from a gypsy camp. When the police arrives searching for the kid, they run away riding an elephant!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Butch Jamie (2008)
The film follows the story of Jamie, a struggling butch lesbian actress who gets cast as a man in a film. The main plot is a romantic comedy between Jamie's male alter-ego, "Male Jamie," and Jill, a heterosexual woman on set. The film's subplots include Jamie's bisexual roommate Lola and her cat actor Howard, Lola's abrasive butch German girlfriend Andi, and Jamie's gay Asian friend David.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Like Desperate Acts of Magic and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Desperate Acts of Magic?
The closest matches to Desperate Acts of Magic are The Trouble with Angels (1966), The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950) and Adventures in Public School (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Desperate Acts of Magic?
Start with The Trouble with Angels (1966), the closest match to Desperate Acts of Magic.
What is the highest-rated movie like Desperate Acts of Magic?
Louis C.K.: Hilarious (2010), rated 7.8/10 by 321 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Desperate Acts of Magic?
Dolly Parton's Christmas on the Square (2020) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Desperate Acts of Magic?
Yes: The Trouble with Angels (1966), The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950) and Adventures in Public School (2018).
How are movies similar to Desperate Acts of Magic chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Desperate Acts of Magic, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.