Movies like The Matchmaker (1997)
The best movies like The Matchmaker (1997) are How I Got Into College (1989), Players (2024) and Standby (2014). If The Matchmaker hooked you with its comedy and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest rated¿Quieres ser mi hijo? (2023)8.4/10 from 378 votes
- NewestOne Night Only (2026)Released 2026
How I Got Into College (1989)
High school senior Marlon Bowne is smitten with overachieving classmate Jessica Kailo. But, if he wants to have a shot with her, he'll have to find a way to get into Ramsey College, Jessica's top choice of schools. It won't be easy, since the college is highly selective and Marlon's grades are hardly impressive. That means the lovelorn teen will have to find a way to score high on the SATs and win over the college admissions committee.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlayers (2024)
New York sportswriter Mack has spent years devising successful hook-up "plays" with her friends, but when she unexpectedly falls for one of her targets, she must learn what it takes to go from simply scoring to playing for keeps.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStandby (2014)
Twenty-something Alan (Gleeson) is down on his luck. Stood up at the altar and recently fired from his banking job, he finds himself working with his mother as a part-time tourist advisor at Dublin Airport. It's there he comes face to face with first love Alice (Paré), stuck on standby for a flight home to New York. Their summer romance ended eight years previously with Alan promising to return to the US one day. He never did, and they haven't spoken since. Seizing his chance, Alan convinces a reluctant Alice to stay one more night in Dublin. Over the course of an unforgettable evening, they may just realise that they are more compatible than ever. But time is running out on this brief encounter. When does an unexpected second chance, become the one you've always been looking for? - Written by Wildcard Distribution
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Fake Boyfriend (2022)
A young man in a tricky situation follows the advice of his unconventional best friend and uses social media to create a fake boyfriend to keep his awful ex-lover out of his life. But everything backfires when he meets the real love of his life, and breaking up with his fake boyfriend proves hard to do.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisHow to Be Single (2016)
New York City is full of lonely hearts seeking the right match, and what Alice, Robin, Lucy, Meg, Tom and David all have in common is the need to learn how to be single in a world filled with ever-evolving definitions of love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCuban Fury (2014)
Beneath Bruce Garrett's under-confident, overweight exterior, the passionate heart of a salsa king lies dormant. Now, one woman is about to reignite his Latin fire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Incredible Jessica James (2017)
Burned by a bad breakup, a struggling New York City playwright makes an unlikely connection with a divorced app designer she meets on a blind date.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this¿Quieres ser mi hijo? (2023)
Lu, a conformist woman in her forties, learns that her 15-year partner has been having extramarital affairs. Starting from scratch, she gets involved in an unexpected relationship with a young womanizer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMr. Jealousy (1998)
After his first date at age 15 ended with the girl making out with another man at a party, aspiring writer Lester Grimm has treated all his girlfriends with jealousy and suspicion. While dating Ramona Ray, paranoia gets the best of him when he discovers that her most recent ex is successful novelist Dashiell Frank. Lester begins attending the same group therapy sessions as Dashiell to learn about Ramona's past with him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisDesperados (2020)
A panicked young woman and her two best friends fly to Mexico to delete a ranting email she sent to her new boyfriend. On arrival, they run into her former beau, who soon gets caught up in their frantic scheme.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBye Bye Love (1995)
With varying degrees of success, recently divorced friends Dave, Vic and Donny are trying to move on with their lives. Vic feels vilified by his ex-wife's parents, while Donny has a shaky bond with his teen daughter, Emma. Dave, meanwhile, has an enviable problem -- he has more dates than he can handle. As they confront their post-marital challenges, the men take solace in one another's plights.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Sassy Girl (2008)
A guy has his life planned out until he is wooed, groomed and then dumped by an elusive woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrench Girl (2024)
Sweet Gordon, an affable English teacher in Brooklyn, has beaten the odds; a French Girl has fallen in love with him and he’s fallen even harder back. But their future is thrown into limbo when she interviews for an executive chef position in her hometown of Quebec City. To Gordon’s dismay her future boss also happens to be her former lover, a celebrity Chef with oceanic eyes and a hit TV show. Good luck Gordon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSplendor (1999)
Veronica is a white-bread beauty searching for a good man in Los Angeles. While slam dancing at a Halloween rave, she meets Abel, a sensitive poet. Then she meets Zed, a supersexy tattooed drummer with incredible biceps. Who will she choose? Does she go for true love or cheap sex? She can't decide so she chooses both. But after managing to nurture a picture-perfect threesome, along comes Ernest, a rich movie director with deep baby blues that sweep Veronica off her feet. What's a girl to do now?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSex Appeal (2022)
Avery, a teenager with a tendency towards perfectionism, enlists her friend Larson to help her prepare for her first time with her long-distance boyfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Night Only (2026)
Two love-starved strangers crash into each other on the one night of the year when single people are allowed to have sex.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Knack... and How to Get It (1965)
A nebbish schoolteacher begs his smooth (and misogynistic) pal to teach him 'the knack' – how to score with women. Serendipitously, the men meet up with a new girl in town, as well as a friendly lunatic who can’t help but paint things white.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPuppy Love (2023)
After a disastrous first date, wild-child Nicole and socially-anxious Max vow to lose each other’s numbers until they learn that their dogs found a love match, and now puppies are on the way! The hilariously mismatched Nicole and Max are forced to become responsible co-parents, but may end up finding love themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStarting Over (1979)
After divorcing his ambitious singer wife, a middle-aged man begins a new relationship with a teacher.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDean (2016)
A comedy about loss, grief, and the redemptive power of love. Dean is a NY illustrator who falls hard for an LA woman while trying to prevent his father from selling the family home in the wake of his mother's death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisMilk Money (1994)
Three young boys pool their money and pay V, a kindhearted prostitute, to strip for them. Afterward, she drives them home to the suburbs -- but then her car breaks down. It's just as well, though, because a mobster named Waltzer is after her, and V realizes the suburbs are the perfect place to hide. But things get a lot more complicated when V falls in love with Tom, a single father who is unaware of her real profession.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBulworth (1998)
A suicidally disillusioned liberal politician puts a contract out on himself and takes the opportunity to be bluntly honest with his voters by affecting the rhythms and speech of hip-hop music and culture.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPenelope (2006)
Forlorn heiress Penelope Wilhern is cursed, and the only way out is to fall in love with someone of suitable stock. But how can she find her soulmate when she's sequestered inside her family's estate with only her parents to keep her company? This untraditional fairy tale is about a girl who bucks convention to create her own happy ending.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDefinitely, Maybe (2008)
When Will decides to tell his daughter the story of how he met her mother, he discovers that a second look at the past might also give him a second chance at the future.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue State (2007)
A disgruntled Democrat follows through on a drunken campaign promise to move to Canada if George "Dubya" Bush gets re-elected.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisPoster Boy (2004)
The gay son of a conservative senator who is also the poster boy for his father's re-election unknowingly befriends a gay activist bent on destroying the hypocritical campaign.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
What a Girl Wants (2003)
American Daphne Reynolds heads to Europe in search of the father she's never met. But instead of finding a British version of her boho mother, she learns the love of her mom's life is an uptight politician. The only problem now is that her long-lost father is engaged to a fiercely territorial social climber with a daughter who makes Daphne's life miserable.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShall We Kiss? (2007)
When Gabriel and Emilie meet by chance, he offers her a ride, and they spend the evening talking, laughing and getting along famously. At the end of the night, Emilie declines Gabriel's offer of "a kiss without consequences". Emilie admonishes him that the kiss could have unexpected consequences, and tells him a story, unfolding in flashbacks, about the impossibility of indulging your desires without affecting someone else's life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMust Love Dogs (2005)
Sarah Nolan is a newly divorced woman cautiously rediscovering romance with the enthusiastic but often misguided help of her well-meaning family. As she braves a series of hilarious disastrous mismatches and first dates, Sarah begins to trust her own instincts again and learns that, no matter what, it's never a good idea to give up on love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisShanghai Love Market (2011)
Shanghai has a park where parents can match-make their unwed children. This is just one love story in a city of 20 million lovers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Like The Matchmaker and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Matchmaker?
The closest matches to The Matchmaker are How I Got Into College (1989), Players (2024) and Standby (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Matchmaker?
Start with How I Got Into College (1989), the closest match to The Matchmaker.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Matchmaker?
¿Quieres ser mi hijo? (2023), rated 8.4/10 by 378 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Matchmaker?
One Night Only (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Matchmaker?
Yes: How I Got Into College (1989), Players (2024) and Standby (2014).
How are movies similar to The Matchmaker chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Matchmaker, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.