Movies like Zegen (1987)
The best movies like Zegen (1987) are Goltzius & the Pelican Company (2012), A Cock and Bull Story (2005) and A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era (1957). If Zegen hooked you with its comedy and history, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMemoirs of a Geisha (2005)7.6/10 from 3,494 votes
- NewestImpractical Jokers: The Movie (2020)Released 2020
- In JapaneseA Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era (1957)Also in Japanese
Goltzius & the Pelican Company (2012)
Hendrik Goltzius, a late-16th-century Dutch printer and engraver of erotic prints, seduces the Margrave of Alsace into paying for a printing press to make and publish illustrated books.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Cock and Bull Story (2005)
Steve Coogan, an arrogant actor with low self-esteem and a complicated love life, is playing the eponymous role in an adaptation of "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman" being filmed at a stately home. He constantly spars with actor Rob Brydon, who is playing Uncle Toby and believes his role to be of equal importance to Coogan's.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era (1957)
Saheji, a man-about-town, gets stuck at a high-class brothel when he can’t pay the bill. He makes the best of his situation by performing various tasks amidst the tumult of the end of the shogunate—but always by making sure to get a “commission” for his troubles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Cheyenne Social Club (1970)
Cowboy John O'Hanlan is surprised to learn that someone's left him a business in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He sets out to claim it, only to discover it's a brothel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOscar (1991)
Angelo "Snaps" Provolone made his dying father a promise on his deathbed: he would leave the world of crime and become an honest businessman. Despite having no experience in making money in a legal fashion, Snaps sets about to keep his promise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHorrible Bosses 2 (2014)
Dale, Kurt and Nick decide to start their own business but things don't go as planned because of a slick investor, prompting the trio to pull off a harebrained and misguided kidnapping scheme.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDirty Work (1998)
Unemployed and recently dumped, Mitch and his buddy Sam start a revenge-for-hire business to raise the $50,000 that Sam's father needs to get a heart transplant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988)
Jack Spade returns from the army in his old ghetto neighbourhood when his brother, June Bug, dies. Jack declares war on Mr. Big, powerful local crimelord. His army is led by John Slade, his childhood idol who used to fight bad guys in the 70s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPersonal Services (1987)
Fed up with working hard just to scrape by, Christine Painter comes up with a bold plan to become the madam of a brothel and earn her financial freedom: she opens a house of spanking to fabulous reviews.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPaint Your Wagon (1969)
A Michigan farmer and a prospector form a partnership in the California gold country. Their adventures include buying and sharing a wife, hijacking a stage, kidnapping six prostitutes, and turning their mining camp into a boom town. Along the way there is plenty of drinking, gambling, and singing. They even find time to do some creative gold mining.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight Shift (1982)
A nebbish of a morgue attendant gets shunted back to the night shift where he is shackled with an obnoxious neophyte partner who dreams of the "one great idea" for success. His life takes a bizarre turn when a prostitute neighbor complains about the loss of her pimp. His partner, upon hearing the situation, suggests that they fill that opening themselves using the morgue at night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisImpractical Jokers: The Movie (2020)
The story of a humiliating high school mishap from 1992 that sends the Impractical Jokers on the road competing in hidden-camera challenges for the chance to turn back the clock and redeem three of the four Jokers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this9 Dead Gay Guys (2002)
The story of two lads from Belfast as they stumble their way through the London gay underworld in search of 'gainful employment'. This being the offering of sexual favours to older gay men in order to subsidise their respective giros. 9 Dead Gay Guys is a high-camp send-up of gay stereotypes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisBarely Legal (2003)
Teenager Deacon works at a video shop, and his buddies, Fred and Matt, sell the bootleg porno films he acquires. Deacon gets fired, but the pals have the bright idea of filming their own Internet porn flick in order to make money and become more popular at school. Hijinks ensue as they cast and create their movie, but porn industry player Vic Ramalot grows jealous of their burgeoning success and tries to put a stop to the project.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982)
When a Conservative TV crusader threatens to shut down beloved brothel The Chicken Ranch, proprietress Miss Mona Stangley and her girls won't go down without a fight.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDetroit Metal City (2008)
Soichi Negishi moved to Tokyo to chase his dream of becoming a musician playing stylish, Swedish-style pop. Instead, he finds himself leading the death metal band Detroit Metal City, or DMC, as the costumed and grotesquely made-up "demon emperor" Johannes Krauser II. Although he hates the role and the things he has to do as a member of the band, he has a definite talent for it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBack to the Beach (1987)
A former beach boy and his wife go to California to visit their daughter and become part of the new beach scene.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Boss (2016)
A titan of industry is sent to prison after she's caught for insider trading. When she emerges ready to rebrand herself as America's latest sweetheart, not everyone she screwed over is so quick to forgive and forget.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisJohnny Dangerously (1984)
An honest, goodhearted man is forced to turn to a life of crime to finance his neurotic mother's skyrocketing medical bills.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last American Virgin (1982)
The friendship of a group of young friends struggling with teen sex, drugs, and work is jeopardized by a romantic interest which may turn pals into bitter rivals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFanny Hill (1964)
Young, pretty and innocent, Fanny Hill has lost her parents and must find her way in life amidst the perils of turbulent 18th-century London. She's fortunate enough to rapidly find a place as chambermaid of the effusive Mrs. Brown, who lives in a large house teeming with female 'relatives' in negligée and with very relaxed manners. She also insists that Fanny alone meets various gentlemen who show an ardent interest in her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & history
Down by Law (1986)
A disc jockey, a pimp and an Italian tourist escape from jail in New Orleans.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMemoirs of a Geisha (2005)
In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSukiyaki (2026)
In 1963, as Japan emerged from the shadows of war into an era of extraordinary transformation, an unlikely song made music history. "Ue o Muite Arukou," known internationally as "Sukiyaki," became the first Japanese song to top the U.S. Billboard charts, remaining at No. 1 for three weeks and captivating listeners around the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Coming SoonMovies like thisAntwone Fisher (2002)
A sailor prone to violent outbursts is sent to a naval psychiatrist for help. Refusing at first to open up, the young man eventually breaks down and reveals a horrific childhood. Through the guidance of his doctor, he confronts his painful past and begins a quest to find the family he never knew.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRoger Dodger (2002)
A smooth-talking ad executive attributes his remarkable success with women to his ability to manipulate their emotions from the moment he first meets them. When his teenage nephew drops in for a visit, he soon learns that his approach isn't as foolproof as he thought when he attempts to teach the boy how to pick up women.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFinding Amanda (2008)
A television producer with a penchant for drinking and gambling is sent to Las Vegas to convince his troubled niece to enter rehab.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisAbe Lincoln: Freedom Fighter (1978)
In this alleged retelling of Lincoln's early life, the President-to-be is rescued by Henry, a Black man and freed slave who has lost his papers. Locals with a grudge against Lincoln and a hatred of African-Americans frame Henry for stealing, and it's up to Lincoln to defend the man and find the vital clue that will set him free.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Die Musterknaben 2 (1999)
A new case for "The Model Boys": The two Cologne commissioners Docker and Dretzke to take the next 14 days a journalist to their missions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Patch Adams (1998)
The true story of Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams, who in the 1970s found that humor is the best medicine, and was willing to do just anything to make his patients laugh—even if it meant risking his own career.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like Zegen and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Zegen?
The closest matches to Zegen are Goltzius & the Pelican Company (2012), A Cock and Bull Story (2005) and A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era (1957). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Zegen?
Start with Goltzius & the Pelican Company (2012), the closest match to Zegen.
What is the highest-rated movie like Zegen?
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), rated 7.6/10 by 3,494 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Zegen?
Impractical Jokers: The Movie (2020) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Zegen?
Yes: A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era (1957), Detroit Metal City (2008) and Sukiyaki (2026).
How are movies similar to Zegen chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Zegen, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.