Movies like How to Be (2008)
The best movies like How to Be (2008) are SubUrbia (1997), Hooking Up (2020) and It Runs in the Family (2003). If How to Be hooked you with its comedy and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBarfly (1987)6.9/10 from 412 votes
- NewestSavage House (2026)Released 2026
SubUrbia (1997)
A group of suburban teenagers try to support each other through the difficult task of becoming adults.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHooking Up (2020)
Bailey and Darla embark upon a misguided and mutually deceitful form of therapy, one in which they must drive across the country, re-enacting Darla's colorful history as a sex addict. As their true motivations for the road trip come to light, the unlikely pair force one another to confront their issues, discovering that there might actually be more to love than just sex.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIt Runs in the Family (2003)
This is the story of a dysfunctional New York family, and their attempts to reconcile
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Dog Year (2009)
Jon Katz is close to burnout. He's a writer with writer's block; his wife has left for her sister's because he's emotionally distant; he rarely answers his phone. A kennel sends him a border collie that's undisciplined because of abuse. Despite a series of mishaps, Jon decides to keep trying with the dog, and he rents a dilapidated farm house to give the dog room to run. A local handyman refers Jon to a woman who might be able to help him train the dog. Reluctantly, Jon gives her a try. Is the dog the problem, or the owner?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Own Love Song (2010)
A wheelchair-bound singer and her best friend embark on a roadtrip to Memphis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere the Money Is (2000)
Henry Manning has come up with a new way to break out of prison: fake a stroke and get transferred to a nursing home. It's a perfect plan, except for one thing: the woman assigned to take care of him at the nursing home, Carol Ann McKay, has a plan of her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBest Man Down (2012)
A newlywed couple cancels their honeymoon and returns to the snowy Midwest to make the funeral arrangements for their best man, who died unexpectedly after their ceremony.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoll Bounce (2005)
In the summer of 1978, a teenager and his group of friends face new challenges when their neighborhood roller-skating rink closes, forcing them to visit a different rink.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSavage House (2026)
Against the backdrop of 18th century England, a massive pox outbreak, and Jacobite uprising – Sir Chauncey Savage and Lady Savage blindly pursue a better life. It's not without a tinge of irony that their family name is the Savages, for this is a Savage House indeed, filled with duels, decadence, and bloodshed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThings Change (1988)
Jerry, a misfit Mafia henchman, is assigned the low-level job of keeping an eye on Gino, a shoe repairman fingered by the Mob to confess to a murder he didn't commit. But Gino's mistaken for a Mafia boss, and the two are suddenly catapulted to the highest levels of mobster status. Only friendship will see them through this dangerous adventure alive!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSometimes Always Never (2019)
Alan is a stylish tailor with moves as sharp as his suits. He has spent years searching tirelessly for his missing son Michael who stormed out over a game of Scrabble. With a body to identify and his family torn apart, Alan must repair the relationship with his youngest son and solve the mystery of an online player who he thinks could be Michael, so he can finally move on and reunite his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lady in the Van (2015)
The true story of the relationship between Alan Bennett and the singular Miss Shepherd, a woman of uncertain origins who ‘temporarily’ parked her van in Bennett’s London driveway and proceeded to live there for 15 years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfterlife of the Party (2021)
A social butterfly who dies during her birthday week is given a second chance to right her wrongs on Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNothing in Common (1986)
A successful advertising executive finds his freewheeling life crashing to a halt when his parents end their longtime marriage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisFree Rein: The Twelve Neighs of Christmas (2018)
As Bright Fields preps for its Mistletoe Ball, a broken ornament leads Zoe to a family secret, while Gaby finds herself at the mercy of new boss Mia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThunderstruck (2012)
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDirt (2018)
In search of a lifeline for his struggling off road racing team, a man takes on a young car thief looking for a second chance, but as their worlds collide, they must struggle to forge a successful alliance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGotcha! (1985)
A student on a trip to France is tricked into smuggling secrets across the Iron Curtain by a sexy spy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Parts You Lose (2019)
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sound of Silence (2019)
A successful "house tuner" in New York City, who calibrates the sound in people's homes in order to adjust their moods, meets a client with a problem he can't solve.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies 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
Barfly (1987)
Downtrodden writer Henry and distressed goddess Wanda aren't exactly husband and wife: they're wedded to their bar stools. But, they like each other's company—and Barfly captures their giddy, gin-soaked attempts to make a go of life on the skids.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSupermarket Sweep (1991)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Spice It Up (2019)
A film student at Ryerson University struggles to complete her thesis project.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Secrets of a Soul (2012)
Secrets of a Soul: Margarethe, Creator of bizarre sculptures! Night club dancer? Mad woman? Victim of an occult conspiracy?! Dark menaces steal her soul and organs. Though dead they keep her alive...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Too Saved (2007)
Lisa is a young, Christian woman. Bobby, her boyfriend, however, is a street hoodlum. Lisa prays constantly that Bobby will accept God in his life. She soon gets what she wants, but discovers that Bobby's conversion means that she has to get her life in order as well. As a result, she is forced to resolve not only her relationship with Bobby, but with everyone in her life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Babylon (1986)
Dark animation examining the thin line between human definitions of war and peace. Part of Sweet Disaster; a 1986 series of short films made for Channel 4. It consists of “animated visions of the apocalypse”.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Lovers (1958)
A shallow, provincial wife finds her relationship with her preoccupied husband strained by romantic notions, leading her further towards Paris and the country wilderness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoar (1981)
Roar follows a family who are attacked by various African animals at the secluded home of their keeper.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thiswhat disappeared (2019)
A man has his routine reduced to his monotonous work and the suspicious relationship with his wife, until objects, places and people mysteriously disappear, making his life more interesting and, at the same time, dangerous.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like How to Be and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like How to Be?
The closest matches to How to Be are SubUrbia (1997), Hooking Up (2020) and It Runs in the Family (2003). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after How to Be?
Start with SubUrbia (1997), the closest match to How to Be.
What is the highest-rated movie like How to Be?
Barfly (1987), rated 6.9/10 by 412 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like How to Be?
Savage House (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like How to Be?
Yes: SubUrbia (1997), Hooking Up (2020) and It Runs in the Family (2003).
How are movies similar to How to Be chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside How to Be, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.