Movies like Born in East L.A. (1987)
The best movies like Born in East L.A. (1987) are The Patsy (1964), Hollywood Shuffle (1987) and A Day Without a Mexican (2004). If Born in East L.A. 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.: Oh My God (2013)7.6/10 from 229 votes
- NewestLeili’s Photo (2026)Released 2026
The Patsy (1964)
Eccentric bellhop Stanley Belt is recruited unexpectedly by the comedy team of a recently deceased entertainer. Stanley struggles to become a song-and-dance man as the team grooms him to become a star. But as the date of a high-stakes appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show grows near, they begin to fear that the only astonishing thing about Stanley is his utter lack of talent.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHollywood Shuffle (1987)
Aspiring actor and hot-dog stand employee Bobby Taylor catches the ire of his grandmother for auditioning for a role in the regrettably titled exploitation film "Jivetime Jimmy's Revenge." When Tinseltown Studios casts Taylor in the title role, he has a series of conflicted dreams satirizing African-American stereotypes in Hollywood, and must reconcile his career goals with his desire to remain a positive role model for his little brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Day Without a Mexican (2004)
When a mysterious fog surrounds the boundaries of California, there is a communication breakdown and all the Mexicans disappear, affecting the economy and the state stops working missing the Mexican workers and dwellers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisBabes (2024)
After getting pregnant from a one-night stand, a single woman leans on her married best friend and mother of two to guide her through gestation and beyond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this2 Minutes of Fame (2020)
An up-and-coming stand-up comic moves to L.A. to pursue a film career after video clips of his act make him an online sensation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHasan Minhaj: Homecoming King (2017)
Comic Hasan Minhaj of "The Daily Show" shares personal stories about racism, immigrant parents, prom night horrors and more in this stand-up special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Roast of Tom Brady (2024)
Offensive lines. Full-contact comedy. Kevin Hart hosts this all-star roast of NFL legend Tom Brady.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRicky Gervais Live 2: Politics (2004)
A year after Animals, Ricky Gervais comes back with his second stand up comedy tour: Politics.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAli Wong: Single Lady (2024)
After a whirlwind couple of years, Ali Wong returns to the stage to dish on the highs, lows and surprises of dating post-divorce.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs (2023)
In a rowdy stand-up set, Shane Gillis riffs on his girlfriend's Navy SEAL ex, touring George Washington's house and being bullied by an Australian Goth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDave Chappelle: The Unstoppable... (2025)
Facing a world gone sideways, comedy icon Dave Chappelle delivers bold truths and potent punchlines in this no-holds-barred special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDave Chappelle: Killin' Them Softly (2000)
Dave Chappelle returns for a stand-up to D.C. and riffs on politics, police, race relations, drugs, Sesame Street and more.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisEddie Izzard: Dress to Kill (1999)
Eddie Izzard takes her show to San Francisco to give a brief history of pagan and Christian religions, the building of Stonehenge, the birth of the Church of England and of Western empires, and the need for a European dream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe F**k-It List (2020)
After a prank blows up a studious high school senior's life, he shares a list of certain things he wishes he'd done differently — and maybe still can.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRicky Gervais: SuperNature (2022)
With his signature pitch-black sense of humor, Ricky Gervais takes the stage at the London Palladium in this provocative stand-up comedy special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMr. Roosevelt (2017)
A young woman returns home and must confront her ex-boyfriend when an unexpected tragedy occurs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDave Chappelle: The Dreamer (2023)
From his onstage tackle to the slap heard round the world, Dave Chappelle lets loose in this freewheeling and unfiltered stand-up comedy special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPretty Persuasion (2005)
A 15-year-old girl incites chaos among her friends and a media frenzy when she accuses her drama teacher of sexual harassment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisEddie Murphy Raw (1987)
Eddie Murphy delights, shocks and entertains with dead-on celebrity impersonations, observations on '80s love, sex and marriage, a remembrance of Mom's hamburgers and much more.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLouis C.K.: Oh My God (2013)
Filmed at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, AZ on February 15th and 16th, 2013, Oh My God is Louis C.K.'s fifth stand-up special, his first for HBO since 2007's Shameless, and his first since winning a Emmy Award for writing on his acclaimed show on FX, Louie. Performed in the round in front of a live audience, he discusses such topics as the food chain, animals, divorce, strange anecdotes, broken morality, murder and mortality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAn American Tail (1986)
A young mouse named Fievel and his family decide to migrate to America, a "land without cats," at the turn of the 20th century. But somehow, Fievel ends up in the New World alone and must fend off not only the felines he never thought he'd have to deal with again but also the loneliness of being away from home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHippocrates (2014)
Benjamin is meant to be a great doctor, he’s certain of it. But his first experience as a junior doctor in the hospital ward where his father works doesn’t turn out the way he hoped it would. Responsibility is overwhelming, his father is all but present, and his co-junior partner, a foreign doctor, is far more experimented than he is. This internship will force Benjamin to confront his limits… and start his way to adulthood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGreen Card (1990)
Urban horticulturalist Brontë Mitchell has her eye on a gorgeous apartment, but the building's board will rent it only to a married couple. Georges Fauré, a waiter from France whose visa is expiring, needs to marry an American woman to stay in the country. Their marriage of convenience turns into a burden when they must live together to allay the suspicions of the immigration service, as the polar opposites grate on each other's nerves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLa Salada (2014)
Three intertwining stories that take place in La Salada — the largest unregulated market in Buenos Aires: a Korean father prepares his daughter for an arranged marriage, a young Bolivian man searches for work, and a Taiwanese DVD seller tries to woo a young woman to be his girlfriend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Lucky Miles (2007)
It's 1990 and an Indonesian fishing boat abandons Iraqi and Cambodian refugees in a remote part of the Western Australia. Although most are quickly caught by officials, three men with nothing in common but their misfortune and determination to escape arrest, begin an epic journey into the heart of Australia.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Der grosse Kanton (2013)
Is the solution to Switzerland's future to integrate Germany into the confederation? After all, like Michael Ringier, CEO of the Ringier media group, says, blithely ignoring all minorities, we're very close in culture and language. Oskar Freysinger takes out his guitar and sings his answer. Politicians from French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino think expanding will help the country survive. The former German foreign minister thinks the two countries' traditions are too different. The banker Oswald Grübel is worried about Germany's debts, although he'd be prepared to take over its assets. With serious interviews interspersed with gags (boat people on Lake Constance, the last Habsburger as a peasant), Giaccobbo gathers off-the-cuff reactions which reveal a lot about the different mentalities. The movie laughs at preconceived notions, redefines neutrality and reflects on what designates a nation. Switzerland, which loves to teach the world a lesson, will soon helvetize the planet, oder?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
East Side Story (2006)
Diego is a gay but closeted Hispanic chef living in East Los Angeles who works in the restaurant operated by his grandmother. Frustrated by the secretive lifestyle he shares with his similarly closeted lover, Pablo, Diego finds himself attracted to Wesley, one of the openly gay Caucasian men he feels are gentrifying his neighborhood. Their relationship pushes Diego to consider the possibility of a life he had never imagined.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Leili’s Photo (2026)
Eight-year-old Leili needs to take a pinhole picture of her family for school the next day, but her family will not cooperate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Alpine Getaway (2021)
Landlady Fränzi is renting her secluded alpine hut for the first time and prepares everything in minute detail. However, due to an overbooking four guests arrive instead of two: local politician Erich with his marketing expert Urs and young influencer Jennifer with her boyfriend Nirosh. They all need to weather out a snow storm raging outside the hut and soon find themselves confronted by violence with no way out.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Things I Left in Havana (1998)
Three sisters leave Cuba in search of a better life in Madrid. While there, they encounter, among other things, other Cuban expatriates.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Born in East L.A.?
The closest matches to Born in East L.A. are The Patsy (1964), Hollywood Shuffle (1987) and A Day Without a Mexican (2004). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Born in East L.A.?
Start with The Patsy (1964), the closest match to Born in East L.A..
What is the highest-rated movie like Born in East L.A.?
Louis C.K.: Oh My God (2013), rated 7.6/10 by 229 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Born in East L.A.?
Leili’s Photo (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Born in East L.A.?
Yes: The Patsy (1964), Hollywood Shuffle (1987) and A Day Without a Mexican (2004).
How are movies similar to Born in East L.A. chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Born in East L.A., then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.