Movies like With a Smile (1936)
The best movies like With a Smile (1936) are The After Party (2018), Footlight Parade (1933) and A Mighty Wind (2003). If With a Smile hooked you with its comedy and music, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBo Burnham: Make Happy (2016)8.0/10 from 459 votes
- NewestMusic-Hall Colette (2025)Released 2025
- In FrenchPodium (2004)Also in French
The After Party (2018)
When an aspiring rapper goes viral for the wrong reasons, he thinks his career is sunk. But a wild party gives him one more chance to make it right.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFootlight Parade (1933)
A fledgling producer finds himself at odds with his workers, financiers and his greedy ex-wife when he tries to produce live musicals for movie-going audiences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
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 & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBo Burnham: Make Happy (2016)
Combining his trademark wit and self-deprecating humor with original music, Bo Burnham offers up his unique twist on life in this stand-up special about life, death, sexuality, hypocrisy, mental illness and Pringles cans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Song Is Born (1948)
The story of seven scholars in search of an expert to teach them about swing music. They seem to have found the perfect candidate in winsome nightclub singer Honey Swanson. But Honey's gangster boyfriend doesn't want to give her up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBo Burnham: What. (2013)
Left brain and right brain duke it out and then belt out a tune in comedian Bo Burnham's quick and clever one-man show. As intelligent as he is lanky, Burnham cynically pokes at pop entertainment while offering unadulterated showmanship of his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Girl Can't Help It (1956)
A down-and-out gangster hires a down-on-his-luck agent to make his girlfriend a recording star within six weeks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSoul Men (2008)
Two former backup soul singers, Louis and Floyd, have not spoken to each other in 20 years, and reluctantly agree to travel across the country together to a reunion concert to honor their recently-deceased lead singer. Cleo, a beautiful young woman who is believed to be Floyd's daughter, accompanies them as a new singer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGet Crazy (1983)
Mega-promoter Colin Beverly plans to sabotage the New Year's 1983 concert of small-time operator Max Wolfe. Wolfe's assistants Neil Allen and Willie Loman find romance while trying to save the drugs, violence, and rock and roll from Beverly's schemes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Festival (2018)
After Nick's girlfriend dumps him, his best mate Shane has the perfect antidote to his break-up blues: three days at an epic music festival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Rocker (2008)
In the 1980s, a drummer is abandoned by his band just before they become rock superstars. Twenty years later, the drummer sees his second chance at stardom arise when he is asked to perform with his teenage nephew's high school rock band.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAirheads (1994)
The Lone Rangers have heavy-metal dreams and a single demo tape they can't get anyone to play. The solution: Hijack an FM rock radio station and hold the deejays hostage until they agree to broadcast the band's tape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCB4 (1993)
A "rockumentary", covering the rise to fame of MC Gusto, Stab Master Arson, and Dead Mike: members of the rap group "CB4". We soon learn that these three are not what they seem and don't appear to know as much about rap music as they claim... but a lack of musical ability in an artist never hurts sales, does it? You've just got to play the part of a rap star...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPodium (2004)
Bernand Fréderic is a mediocre bank executive. He's married and has a son. He used to have another profession: being French star Claude Francois. Now, with the Imitators Gala Night coming up, he must choose between his wife or the only thing that makes him happy: the applause.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
SnoozefestMovies like thisBabes in Arms (1939)
Mickey Moran, son of two vaudeville veterans, decides to put up his own vaudeville show with his girlfriend Patsy Barton. But child actress Rosalie wants to make a comeback and replace Patsy both professionally and as Mickey's girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Day at the Races (1937)
Doctor Hugo Hackenbush, Tony, and Stuffy try and save Judy's sanitarium by winning a big race with a finicky horse owned by Judy's boyfriend Gil. There are a few problems. Hackenbush, who was recently put in charge of the sanitarium, isn't really a doctor, he's a veterinarian.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Big Store (1941)
A detective is hired to protect the life of a singer, who has recently inherited a department store, from the store's crooked manager.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCurly Top (1935)
Wealthy Edward Morgan becomes charmed with a curly-haired orphan and her pretty older sister Mary and arranges to adopt both under the alias of "Mr. Jones". As he spends more time with them, he soon finds himself falling in love with Mary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Card (1952)
A charming and ambitious young man finds many ways to raise himself through the ranks in business and social standing - some honest, some not quite so. If he can just manage to avoid a certain very predatory woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe 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 thisTrottie True (1949)
Tottie True is a gay-90s British music-hall performer who has her sights set on moving from rags to riches, who loses her heart to the pure-and-true blue balloonist, Sid Skinner, but continues her upward search on improving her social status. She finally settles for Lord Landon Digby who has lots of assets and a very-stiff upper lip. She gets a lot of the latter and very little of the former, and decides Sid might have been a better choice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music & comedy
Straight Outta Compton (2015)
In 1987, five young men, using brutally honest rhymes and hardcore beats, put their frustration and anger about life in the most dangerous place in America into the most powerful weapon they had: their music. Taking us back to where it all began, Straight Outta Compton tells the true story of how these cultural rebels—armed only with their lyrics, swagger, bravado and raw talent—stood up to the authorities that meant to keep them down and formed the world’s most dangerous group, N.W.A. And as they spoke the truth that no one had before and exposed life in the hood, their voice ignited a social revolution that is still reverberating today.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown (2014)
James Brown changed the face of American music forever. Abandoned by his parents at an early age, James Brown was a self-made man who became one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, not just through his music, but also as a social activist. Charting his journey from rhythm and blues to funk, MR. DYNAMITE: THE RISE OF JAMES BROWN features rare and previously unseen footage, photographs and interviews, chronicling the musical ascension of “the hardest working man in show business,” from his first hit, “Please, Please, Please,” in 1956, to his iconic performances at the Apollo Theater, the T.A.M.I. Show, the Paris Olympia and more.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Pop (1981)
The history of American popular music runs parallel with the history of a Russian Jewish immigrant family, with each male descendant possessing different musical abilities.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlabang Girls (1992)
Four city boys rich in experience but undeniably penniless, meet rich and pretty girls from an upscale suburb. With nothing but a sense of humor and confidence, they try their luck to get the hearts of these Alabang Girls.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
White Lies (1995)
Palle Hagman is a charming dreamer with great and dazzling powers of persuasion. His dream is to become a big star in the entertainment world. When he gets the chance to put on a variety show, he believes that the road to success is wide open. But Palle is a great optimist, and when the setbacks become too many, he is forced to resort to "white lies" to save himself and his family...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
El hombre inquieto (1954)
Adult street urchin passes himself off as rich man's long-lost son.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Two Sons of Francisco (2005)
The story of Francisco, a very simple and poor man whose dream was to see his children become country music stars, and who made all the efforts to make it happen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwo Weeks to Live (1943)
When Abner is mistakenly diagnosed as having only two weeks to live, his partner gets the idea that they can make a ton of money by having Abner perform all kinds of dangerous stunts.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Like With a Smile and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like With a Smile?
The closest matches to With a Smile are The After Party (2018), Footlight Parade (1933) and A Mighty Wind (2003). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after With a Smile?
Start with The After Party (2018), the closest match to With a Smile.
What is the highest-rated movie like With a Smile?
Bo Burnham: Make Happy (2016), rated 8.0/10 by 459 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like With a Smile?
Music-Hall Colette (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like With a Smile?
Yes: Podium (2004) and Music-Hall Colette (2025).
How are movies similar to With a Smile chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside With a Smile, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.