Movies like The Joy of Singing (2008)
The best movies like The Joy of Singing (2008) are Hold-up (1985), Umbrella Coup (1980) and Guardian Angels (1995). If The Joy of Singing hooked you with its comedy and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBuffet Froid (1979)7.0/10 from 359 votes
- NewestThe Dinner (2025)Released 2025
- In FrenchHold-up (1985)Also in French
Hold-up (1985)
Dressed as a clown, the clever rascal Grimm holds up the most secure bank of Montreal and takes 30 hostages. While confusing and ridiculing the police with his strange behavior, he calmly manages to rid the bank of a fortune. But then an unsatisfied companion arouses trouble...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUmbrella Coup (1980)
Grégoire Lecomte, the unlucky actor anxious to find a "real job", goes to take a screen test for a role of a killer, but gets to mafiosi by mistake. He takes their don for a producer, and they mistake him for a hitman with whom they had an appointment. Deluded Lecomte signs contract with them. He is supposed to kill gun dealer Otto Krampe at his birthday party in Saint-Tropez by piercing him with a cap of the umbrella with a built-in syringe with potassium cyanide. Lecomte is not aware that it has to be a real murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGuardian Angels (1995)
A sleazy Paris nightclub owner and ex-detective flies to Hong Kong to rescue the young son of a friend murdered by the Chinese mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBuffet Froid (1979)
Alphonse Tram is unwittingly involved in several murders despite having no memory of committing the crimes. His confusion lead him to confess to his neighbour, Inspector Morvandieu. Alphonse and Morvandieu become the axis around which murders occur.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCop or Hood (1979)
When the local police inspector was found dead in a prostitute's house, police division commissioner Stan Borowitz is sent to investigate the situation. Posing as the prostitute's long-lost brother "Antonio Cerruti," he discovers a mare's nest of police corruption. In fact, in this comedy thriller the whole town is corrupt. If they were closely examined, Stan's methods for pursuing this investigation might embarrass the police. For instance, he drives into a criminal's house in a fancy, expensive race car. In another incident, he callously blows up a casino owned by Musard , one of the town's crime bosses. On that occasion, he first forces Musard to remove his clothes, and the poor criminal watches his casino explode from across the square while standing naked in a phone booth. Meanwhile, Stan seduces the lovely Edmonde.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Night at McCool's (2001)
On an ordinary night, in an ordinary part of town, a beautiful young woman walks into a bar. Her name is Jewel, and before long she is chatting to bartender Randy. The pair leave together, but he ends up getting into a tussle with her criminal boyfriend, who she then shoots dead, later persuading Randy to take the rap for her. But this isn't the end of it, as both Randy's cousin Carl and the detective assigned to the murder case also fall for Jewel's charms and find themselves caught up in the ensuing events. It seems that any man who meets Jewel falls instantly in love with her, and she's going to use this fully to her own advantage, leaving a trail of havoc in her wake. It also seems that she is going to get away with it - that is, until Randy decides to hire a hitman...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisIncorrigible (1975)
Victor Vautier is incorrigible: he's in constant motion, working several cons at once, using different names and changing disguises. He's charming and outrageous, incapable of uttering a sentence that isn't embellished or an outright lie. His life goal is to make enough money to build a sea wall to protect Mont-Saint-Michel. Charlotte, a parole officer, shows up: she's young and seems taken in by Victor. He discovers she lives above the Senlus Museum, where her parents are the curators. With two pals he decides to steal a priceless El Greco triptych and then ransom it back to the cultural ministry. What will Charlotte do when she realizes he's used her to make a fortune?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
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 & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Gentleman from Epsom (1962)
The story takes place in the racecourses around Paris. A so-called major sells his tips to naive characters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCloportes (1965)
Three little criminals get a tip for a great coup with lots of money in it. Unfortunately they lack the starting funds to buy the required welding torch. So they persuade their successful colleague Alphonse to join their team. But the well thought-out coup fails, and Alphonse is the only one of them who ends up in jail for several years. When he's released, he's out for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPorridge (1979)
Times are hard for habitual guest of Her Majesty Norman Stanley Fletcher. The new prison officer, Beale, makes MacKay look soft and what's more, an escape plan is hatching from the cell of prison godfather Grouty and Fletcher wants no part of it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSerial Driver (2023)
Pauline has her own way of doing road safety: as a trainer in a point recovery center during the day, she becomes a serial killer of drivers at night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThere Once Was a Cop (1972)
Campana, a commissar at the drugs bureau of Paris police gets an undercover job in Nice to catch an Italian-French mafia boss. As he slips into the identity of a gangster's brother, who was already killed, he has to play the role of a loving husband with child - something that is not so easy for a confirmed single like Campana. Unfortunately American killers chase behind the Nice mafia clan too, in order to get control of French drug trades to USA.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSong of the Thin Man (1947)
While attending a glamorous jazz cruise on New York’s East River, Nick and Nora Charles witness the fatal shooting of a wealthy patron. When suspicion falls on a young bandleader and his musicians, the couple steps in to clear their friends and uncover the real killer. Their investigation leads through a lively world of jazz clubs, radio personalities, high society, and backstage rivalries, where almost everyone has a secret and the next clue may be hidden in the music.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like this68 Kill (2017)
Chip's problem is that he can't say no to beautiful women. This weakness gets him into a world of trouble when he agrees to help his girlfriend steal $68,000.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisLet's Not Get Angry (1966)
One-time gangster Antoine is enjoying retirement on the coast, now managing a boating club. He receives a visit from a former accomplice who asks for a loan. The money will be repaid by a crook who is now in hiding; Antoine intends to recover his money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)
Charles Dreyfus, who has finally cracked over inspector Clouseau's antics, escapes from a mental institution and launches an elaborate plan to get rid of Clouseau once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCa$h (2010)
A stroke of good luck turns lethal for Sam Phelan and his wife Leslie when they are faced with a life-changing decision that brings strange and sinister Pyke Kubic to their doorstep. As Pyke leads Sam and Leslie on a tumultuous adventure through the streets of Chicago, each are pulled deeper and deeper into a desperate spiral of deception and violence – all in the name of money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisDon't Take God's Children for Wild Geese (1968)
Rita is a girl that lives on taking gangsters as lovers. But when the money stops coming, she swears revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Die Too Hard! (2001)
Eric and Ramzy are working as window washers at the Montparnasse skyscraper in Paris. Thinking that he has a date set up with beautiful executive Marie-Joelle (who in reality hates his guts), Ramzy stays at work late while Eric hangs around with him. As a result, the pair witness a gang of terrorists seize the tower and take its late-night occupants (including Marie- Joelle) hostage. Knowing that only they can save the day, Eric and Ramzy swing into action.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEat the Rich (1987)
Alex is a disgruntled waiter at a snobby exclusive restaurant who falls on hard times. Forced to deal with the contempt and disgust of the upper class, Alex & cohorts attempt to go on a rampage. Meanwhile, General Karprov and Spider plot to involve the inept anarchists into their plans to derail the prime-minister-to-be's campaign.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHi, Inspector (1985)
A street cop is picked by the national security service in order to carry out an important and delicate task. His mission is to go undercover and infiltrate a dangerous international cabal of homosexuals.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Strange Fits of Passion (2000)
The hilarious tale of one young woman's quest to lose her virginity. She is a sexually curious, romantically frustrated bookstore clerk on a mission. Taking the advice of her friends she goes from one person to the next in her vain attempts to be deflowered. In between encounters with other people, she returns to the one person she can trust and truly relate to, her gay friend Jimmy, whose faith in love is being shake by the revelation that his boyfriend has been unfaithful.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
La Cage aux Folles (1978)
Two gay men living in St. Tropez have their lives turned upside down when the son of one of the men announces he is getting married. They try to conceal their lifestyle and their ownership of the drag club downstairs when the fiancée and her parents come for dinner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrande école (2004)
Paul and Agnes have been going out for quite a while and Agnes is shocked to learn that he'd rather live with two roommates on campus than move in with her. As soon as he meets one of his roommates, Louis-Anault, Paul's behavior changes - he is attracted to Louis without realizing so himself. Agnes, on the other hand, gets quite jealous and offers a bet: Whoever gets to have Louis-Anault first, wins... If she does, Paul will no longer explore his homosexual desires, if he does - she'll walk away. Meanwhile, Paul meets Mecir, a young Arab worker, who shows him there's more to life than elite colleges...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisHeat (1972)
Former child star Joe Davis, reduced to living in a cheap Hollywood motel while struggling for acting jobs, is lusted after by nearly every woman he meets, including Jessica Todd, a tightly wound feminist who has recently come out as a lesbian. When Jessica's mother, Sally, an emotionally needy has-been actress, meets Joe, she moves him into her enormous, tacky mansion as her new boy toy and attempts to get him acting work.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Dating My Mother (2017)
Dating My Mother explores the intimate and sometimes tumultuous relationship between a single mother and her gay son as they navigate the dizzying world of online dating.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Edge of Seventeen (1999)
1984, Sandusky, Ohio. A naive 17-year-old navigates heartbreak and self-expression as he explores his sexuality.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVelociraptor (2014)
During the end of the world, two best friends walk around their city, talking about their sex lives, and one of them reveals they are still a virgin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Dinner (2025)
Spain, April 15, 1939. With the Civil War concluded, and with the intention of celebrating his victory, General Franco attends a dinner with his generals at the Palace Hotel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like The Joy of Singing and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Joy of Singing?
The closest matches to The Joy of Singing are Hold-up (1985), Umbrella Coup (1980) and Guardian Angels (1995). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Joy of Singing?
Start with Hold-up (1985), the closest match to The Joy of Singing.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Joy of Singing?
Buffet Froid (1979), rated 7.0/10 by 359 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Joy of Singing?
The Dinner (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like The Joy of Singing?
Yes: Hold-up (1985), Umbrella Coup (1980) and Guardian Angels (1995).
How are movies similar to The Joy of Singing chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Joy of Singing, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.