Movies like Instant Karma (1990)
The best movies like Instant Karma (1990) are Barton Fink (1991), CQ (2001) and Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018). If Instant Karma 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 ratedSunset Boulevard (1950)8.3/10 from 3,092 votes
- NewestSnack Shack (2024)Released 2024
Barton Fink (1991)
A renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCQ (2001)
A young filmmaker in 1960s Paris juggles directing a cheesy sci-fi debacle, directing his own personal art film, coping with his crumbling relationship with his girlfriend, and a new-found infatuation with the sci-fi film's starlet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCan You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)
When a bestselling celebrity biographer is no longer able to get published because she has fallen out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShort Cuts (1993)
Many loosely connected characters cross paths in this film, based on the stories of Raymond Carver. Waitress Doreen Piggot accidentally runs into a boy with her car. Soon after walking away, the child lapses into a coma. While at the hospital, the boy's grandfather tells his son, Howard, about his past affairs. Meanwhile, a baker starts harassing the family when they fail to pick up the boy's birthday cake.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMainstream (2021)
A young woman thinks she’s found a path to internet stardom when she starts making YouTube videos with a charismatic stranger – until the dark side of viral celebrity threatens to ruin them both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pretty One (2014)
When her idolized twin sister Audrey dies in a car accident, Laurel decides to take her place. But, as she eases into the life she has always wanted, she must decide between continuing the lie or revealing herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeconstructing Harry (1997)
Writer Harry Block draws inspiration from people he knows, and from events that happened to him, sometimes causing these people to become alienated from him as a result.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll About Nina (2018)
Nina Geld's passion and talent have made her a rising star in the comedy scene, but she's an emotional mess offstage. When a new professional opportunity coincides with a romantic one, she is forced to confront her own deeply troubled past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like this28 Days (2000)
After getting into a car accident while drunk on the day of her sister's wedding, Gwen Cummings is given a choice between prison or a rehab center. She chooses rehab, but is extremely resistant to taking part in any of the treatment programs they have to offer, refusing to admit that she has an alcohol addiction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDemolition (2016)
An emotionally desperate investment banker finds hope through a woman he meets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this¿Y cómo es él? (2022)
Thomas is a meek man on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Despite his situation he decides to fake a work trip to go to Vallarta to confront Jero, a taxi driver who is sleeping with his wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCelebrity (1998)
The career and personal life of writer Lee are at a standstill, so he divorces his bashful wife, Robin, and dives into a new job as an entertainment journalist. His assignments take him to the swankiest corners of Manhattan, but as he jumps from one lavish party to another and engages in numerous empty romances, he starts to doubt the worth of his work. Meanwhile, top TV producer Tony falls for Robin and introduces her to the world of celebrity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSmoke (1995)
Writer Paul Benjamin is nearly hit by a bus when he leaves Auggie Wren's smoke shop. Stranger Rashid Cole saves his life, and soon middle-aged Paul tells homeless Rashid that he wouldn't mind a short-term housemate. Still grieving over his wife's murder, Paul is moved by both Rashid's quest to reconnect with his father and Auggie's discovery that a woman who might be his daughter is about to give birth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAlmost Friends (2017)
A man in his mid-20s, still living at home with his mother and stepfather, puts all his eggs in one basket: the girl who works at his local coffee shop. The problem is, she has a serious boyfriend. As they become closer, the line between friendship and intimacy is blurred, and the situation forces both to examine where they are in their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSnack Shack (2024)
Inseparable best friends AJ and Moose decide to run the local pool's snack shack after their plan to sell home-brewed beer goes down the drain. Things take a turn when they meet Brooke, an effortlessly cool lifeguard who puts their big plans, and friendship, at risk.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPostcards from the Edge (1990)
A substance-addicted actress tries to look on the bright side even as she's forced to move back in with her mother to avoid unemployment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSunset Boulevard (1950)
A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisNightmare Alley (2021)
An ambitious carnival man with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychologist who is even more dangerous than he is.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Doors (1991)
The story of the famous and influential 1960s rock band and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMulholland Drive (2001)
Blonde Betty Elms has only just arrived in Hollywood to become a movie star when she meets an enigmatic brunette with amnesia. Meanwhile, as the two set off to solve the second woman's identity, filmmaker Adam Kesher runs into ominous trouble while casting his latest project.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCompany (1996)
Set in modern upper-crust Manhattan, an exploration of love and commitment as seen through the eyes of a charming perpetual bachelor questioning his single state and his enthusiastically married, slightly envious friends.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Die Klasse von '99 - Schule war gestern, Leben ist jetzt (2003)
The story of a group of contemporary young people, growing up in well-to-do small-town
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Fortune of Chance (2023)
After a long night out two lonely people awake in unfamiliar places on opposite ends of the same city. Their eventual meeting in a city park can only be described as good fortune.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007)
Mr. Bean wins a trip to Cannes where he unwittingly separates a young boy from his father and must help the two reunite. On the way he discovers France, bicycling and true love, among other things.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFrida (2002)
A biography of artist Frida Kahlo, who channeled the pain of a crippling injury and her tempestuous marriage into her work.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLammbock (2001)
Stefan and Kai run a thriving business: a home-grown cannabis trade disguised as a pizza delivery service. For now they just have to fight aphids.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Diary of Lies (2023)
After making the cheer squad at her new school, Natalie becomes public enemy number one after she's framed for murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Pusher (1996)
A drug pusher grows increasingly desperate after a botched deal leaves him with a large debt to a ruthless drug lord.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMongoo Speaking (2013)
Mongoo, would-be Director, is explaining his script to a busy film producer Byong-gon. As short as he can.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
54 (1998)
When the mastermind behind New York's infamous Studio 54 disco plucks young Shane from the sea of faces clamoring to get inside his club, he not only gets his foot in the door, but lands a coveted job behind the bar — and a front-row ticket to the most legendary party on the planet!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Instant Karma?
The closest matches to Instant Karma are Barton Fink (1991), CQ (2001) and Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Instant Karma?
Start with Barton Fink (1991), the closest match to Instant Karma.
What is the highest-rated movie like Instant Karma?
Sunset Boulevard (1950), rated 8.3/10 by 3,092 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Instant Karma?
Snack Shack (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Instant Karma?
Yes: Barton Fink (1991), CQ (2001) and Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018).
How are movies similar to Instant Karma chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Instant Karma, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.