Movies like Sweet Pea (1981)
The best movies like Sweet Pea (1981) are A Simple Twist of Fate (1994), Chang Can Dunk (2023) and Foster (2011). If Sweet Pea hooked you with its family and drama, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedUgly, Dirty and Bad (1976)7.5/10 from 362 votes
- NewestBuen Camino (2025)Released 2025
- In ItalianThe Invisible Thread (2022)Also in Italian
A Simple Twist of Fate (1994)
When Michael McCann is thrown over by the woman he loves, he becomes something of a misanthrope and a miser, spending all of his spare money on collectible gold coins. Living in the same town is an affluent family with two sons: John and Tanny. Tanny's a wild boy, whom John cannot control, and one night he breaks into McCann's house, and steals the gold and disappears, which nearly confirms McCann's distrust of mankind. But then, a mysterious young woman dies in the snow outside McCann's house, and her small daughter makes her way to McCann's house and into McCann's life and heart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChang Can Dunk (2023)
Chang, a 16-year-old, Asian American, bets the high school basketball star that he can dunk by Homecoming. The bet leads 5' 8" Chang on a quest to learn to dunk—not only to impress his crush, Kristy, but to gain the respect of his high school peers too. But before he can rise up and truly throw one down, he'll have to reexamine everything he knows about himself, his friendships and his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFoster (2011)
Looking to adopt a child and unable to conceive a child of their own, the Morrisons' lives are turned upside down when a seven-year-old boy unexpectedly shows up on their doorstep.
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 thisWelcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008)
When a celebrated TV show host returns to his hometown in the South, his family is there to remind him that going home is no vacation!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisThe Invisible Thread (2022)
The teenage son of two fathers makes a documentary film about his parents but is surprised when a real-life plot twist occurs in his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Longshots (2008)
The true story of Jasmine Plummer who, at the age of eleven, became the first female to play in Pop Warner football tournament in its 56-year history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Happiest Millionaire (1967)
A happy and unbelievably lucky young Irish immigrant, John Lawless, lands a job as the butler of an unconventional millionaire, Biddle. His daughter, Cordelia Drexel Biddle, tires of the unusual antics of her father--especially since the nice young men around town all fear him. Wouldn't you fear a father-in-law that keeps alligators for pets and teaches boxing at his daily Bible classes?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSix Pack (1982)
Stopping briefly in a small Texas town, an itinerant race car driver finds that his stock car, on a trailer behind his motor home, has just been quickly and expertly stripped. He chases down the miscreants, who turn out to be six orphan children. He has no recourse to the law, for the corrupt local sheriff takes most of the proceeds of their thievery in exchange for not putting them in an orphanage. They are charming rogues who are in turn charmed by him. Disliking their arrangement with the sheriff, they stow away with him, and he finds himself becoming a reluctant stepfather. Thanks to their enthusiasm and incredible mechanical know-how, he begins to make a name for himself on the racing circuit. But the sheriff doesn't take kindly to losing his extra income...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Clique (2008)
A young girl tries to fit in with a clique of popular middle school girls after moving into the guest house of one of their homes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisKit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008)
The Great Depression hits home for nine year old Kit Kittredge when her dad loses his business and leaves to find work. Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin stars as Kit, leading a splendid cast in the first ever "American Girl" theatrical movie. In order to keep their home, Kit and her mother must take in boarders - paying house - guests who turn out to be full of fascinating stories. When mother's lockbox containing all their money is stolen, Kit's new hobo friend Will is the prime suspect. Kit refuses to believe that Will would steal, and her efforts to sniff out the real story get her and friends into big trouble. The police say the robbery was an inside job, committed by someone they know. So if it wasn't Will, then who did it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTolo Tolo (2020)
Checco is a young Apulian entrepreneur dreamer who has opened a sushi restaurant in his Apulia. However, after one month, the restaurant went bankrupt and he chose to emigrate to Africa to escape from debt. Here he adapts to being a waiter in a resort in Kenya, but at the outbreak of a civil war he decides to embark on a stowaway trip on a boat for migrants to Europe and chooses to do it with his African friends. However, he would not like to return to Italy, but rather to go to Liechtenstein where banking secrecy is in force and there is a lower tax burden than in Italy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Loud House Movie (2021)
The Loud family travel to Scotland and discover they are descendants of Scottish royalty as they move into their giant ancestral castle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhen Mom Is Away... With the In-laws (2025)
After the phenomenal success of the first two films, “When Mom is Away” and “When Mom is Away… With the Family,” the adventures of the Rovelli family continue! This time, they’re heading to Puglia, where their eldest daughter, Camilla, is moving to attend university with her boyfriend, Antonio.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUgly, Dirty and Bad (1976)
Giacinto lives with his wife, their ten children and various other family members in a shack on the hills of Rome. Some time ago he has lost his left eye while at work, and got a consistent sum of money from the insurance company, which he keeps hidden from the rest of the family. His whole life is now based on defending the money he sees as his own, while the rest of the family tries to kill him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBuen Camino (2025)
Checco's life is a comfortable and luxurious one, and it couldn't be otherwise, considering he's the only son of Eugenio Zalone, a wealthy sofa manufacturer. Stranded by the pool in his luxurious villas, with an unspecified number of Filipinos serving him, a very young Mexican model as a girlfriend, and vacationing on his yacht with friends who share his passion for not wanting to work; it seems like a truly enviable life, considering he lacks nothing, absolutely nothing. Actually, no. Something is missing. It's his underage daughter, Cristal, named after the famous French sparkling wine, who has suddenly disappeared without a trace. Urgently summoned to Rome by his ex-wife, Linda, he finds himself facing the responsibilities of fatherhood for the first time, trying to find the girl—a very complicated task, considering he knows absolutely nothing about Cristal and her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIl bambino e il poliziotto (1989)
Carlo, a police officer, after intercepting a call conducts a drug bust at a private party at the upper class apartment of Rosanna Clerici and she is arrested. Just as the police and party guests are leaving, Giulio, Rosanna's six-year-old son, comes out of his room and asks Carlo where his mother is. Seeing that Carlo is the person responsible for his mother's arrest, Giulio tags along with him until his mother is freed. Carlo does everything possible to have Social Services or somebody look after the kid but is told by the Courts that he is the best candidate for his custody until a better one is found. Even though Giulio manages to turn Carlo's life inside out he ends up getting to like the kid and falling for the kid's mother, Rosanna, while she is in prison. It ends with Rosanna being released from prison and the three of them going out for dinner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!) (1980)
Charlie Brown, Linus, Peppermint Patty and Marcie travel to France as foreign exchange students. Also along is Snoopy and Woodstock. While everyone is excited about the opportunity to travel to a foreign country, Charlie is disturbed by a letter he receives from a mysterious girl from France who invites him as a her guest only to find that he does not seem welcomed to her Chateau.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sweet Pea?
The closest matches to Sweet Pea are A Simple Twist of Fate (1994), Chang Can Dunk (2023) and Foster (2011). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sweet Pea?
Start with A Simple Twist of Fate (1994), the closest match to Sweet Pea.
What is the highest-rated movie like Sweet Pea?
Ugly, Dirty and Bad (1976), rated 7.5/10 by 362 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sweet Pea?
Buen Camino (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like Sweet Pea?
Yes: The Invisible Thread (2022), Tolo Tolo (2020) and When Mom Is Away... With the In-laws (2025).
How are movies similar to Sweet Pea chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sweet Pea, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.