Movies like Palooka (1934)
The best movies like Palooka (1934) are Footlight Parade (1933), Animal Crackers (1930) and A Song Is Born (1948). If Palooka hooked you with its music and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLouis C.K.: Hilarious (2010)7.8/10 from 320 votes
- NewestCountdown (2023)Released 2023
Footlight Parade (1933)
A fledgling producer finds himself at odds with his workers, financiers and his greedy ex-wife when he tries to produce live musicals for movie-going audiences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnimal Crackers (1930)
The well-known explorer and hunter Captain Spaulding has just returned from Africa, and is being welcomed home with a lavish party at the estate of influential society matron Mrs. Rittenhouse when a valuable painting goes missing. The intrepid Captain Spaulding attempts to solve the crime with the help of his silly secretary Horatio Jamison, while sparring with the anarchic Signor Emanuel Ravelli and his nutty sidekick The Professor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Song Is Born (1948)
The story of seven scholars in search of an expert to teach them about swing music. They seem to have found the perfect candidate in winsome nightclub singer Honey Swanson. But Honey's gangster boyfriend doesn't want to give her up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZiegfeld Follies (1945)
The late, great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld looks down from heaven and ordains a new revue in his grand old style.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdventures in Public School (2018)
A socially-awkward, home-schooled kid forces his way into public school against his suffocating, but loving, mother's wishes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill (2020)
Jerry Seinfeld takes the stage in New York and tackles talking vs. texting, bad buffets vs. so-called "great" restaurants and the magic of Pop Tarts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRookie of the Year (1993)
When the cast comes off his once broken arm, a 12-year-old boy can throw a 100-mile-an-hour fastball, and the Chicago Cubs want him as their new pitcher.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJerry Seinfeld: I'm Telling You for the Last Time (1998)
Taped for HBO in August 1998, on the final date of Jerry Seinfeld's tour appearances at New York City's Broadhurst Theater, I'm Telling You for the Last Time presents the standup comedian's so-called "final" standup, or at least his final tour with the standup material that made him famous.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Ladies Man (1961)
After his girl leaves him for someone else, Herbert gets really depressed and starts searching for a job. He finally finds one in a big house which is inhabited by many, many women. Can he live in the same home with all these females?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJim Jefferies: Freedumb (2016)
Returning for a second Netflix comedy special, Jim Jefferies unleashes his famously ferocious black humor to a packed house in Nashville, Tennessee.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIliza Shlesinger: Elder Millennial (2018)
Filmed February 23, 2018, aboard the USS Hornet, comedian Iliza Shlesinger brings an ‘elder millennial’ perspective to her audience. Recently engaged, she dives into undeniable truths about life at age 35. Looking back at the insanity of the road traveled and what’s to come, Iliza talks first apartments, a woman's inner she dragon, peacock mating calls, and her newfound urge to squeeze a chubby baby leg.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmy Schumer: Mostly Sex Stuff (2012)
A ratings hit! Amy Schumer debuts her one-hour special in front of a live audience at the Historic Fillmore Theatre in San Francisco. Nothing is off limits as Schumer airs every hilarious, messed up detail of her dating and sex life, from encounters with unexpected body parts to hate-filled personal grooming appointments. In her matter-of-fact raunchy style, at odds with her self-described "Cabbage Patch Kid" appearance, Schumer tells stories of a boyfriend who makes dirty requests over dinner, the way she outsmarts her birth control, and a shocking ending to a seemingly innocent cab ride.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Air Up There (1994)
Jimmy Dolan is a college basketball coach who wants a big promotion. To get it, he needs to make a dramatic find. He ends up deep in Africa, hoping to recruit Saleh, a huge basketball prodigy Jimmy glimpsed in a home movie. But Saleh is the chief's son and has responsibilities at home, since the tribe's land is threatened by a mining company with its own hotshot basketball team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMuch Ado About Nothing (2013)
A modern retelling of Shakespeare's classic comedy about two pairs of lovers with different takes on romance and a way with words.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShe Done Him Wrong (1933)
New York singer and nightclub owner Lady Lou has more male friends than can be imagined. One is a vicious escaped criminal on the way to see 'his' girl, unaware she hasn't exactly been faithful in his absence. Help is at hand in the form of young Captain Cummings, a local temperance league leader.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisLouis C.K.: Hilarious (2010)
In this unique and dynamic live concert experience, Louis C.K.'s exploration of life after 40 destroys politically correct images of modern life with thoughts we have all had...but would rarely admit to.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTaking Care of Business (1990)
An uptight advertising exec has his entire life in a filofax organizer which mistakenly ends up in the hands of a friendly convict who poses as him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInvader Zim: Enter the Florpus (2019)
ZIM discovers his almighty leaders never had any intention of coming to Earth and he loses confidence in himself for the first time in his life, which is the big break his human nemesis, Dib has been waiting for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Big Brawl (1980)
A young Asian American martial artist is forced to participate in a brutal formal street-fight competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisGabriel Iglesias: Hot and Fluffy (2007)
Gabriel Iglesias is one of the fastest-rising comics today! With his unique brand of humor, lovable stage presence and wide range of voices and impressions, it's no wonder that he already has a huge fan following. Now you can see Comedy Central's "Comic of the Year" in his sold-out performance at the historic Fox Theatre in Bakersfield, California!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPlaying Around (1930)
New York girl has a dull boyfriend and seems destined for a dull marriage when she meets a rich playboy who has money to burn and places to go.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & music
Social Register (1934)
Chorus girl Patsy Shaw crashes a high-society party, meets playboy Charlie Breen, they fall in love, and are on their merry way to wedded bliss. However, Charlie's snobbish, ever-loving mama doesn't think that Patsy is worthy and sets out to prove it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & music
Ghost Town (2008)
Bertram Pincus, a cranky, people-hating Manhattan dentist, develops the unwelcome ability to see dead people. Really annoying dead people. Even worse, they all want something from him, particularly Frank Herlihy, a smooth-talking ghost, who pesters him into a romantic scheme involving his widow Gwen. They are soon entangled in a hilarious predicament between the now and the hereafter!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBefore We Go (2014)
A chance encounter between two strangers in Grand Central Terminal sparks a life-changing, nighttime sojourn through New York City. They grow into each other's most trusted confidants when an evening of unexpected adventure forces them to confront their fears and take control of their lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Weaken! (1920)
A dancing instructor gets involved with a newly rich family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
My Dinner with Andre (1981)
Wally, a struggling playwright and actor, reluctantly agrees to catch up with his old friend Andre, a theater director who disappeared several years prior in order to travel the world. Meeting at a posh Manhattan restaurant, the two share life stories, anecdotes and philosophical musings over the course of an evening meal.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHush Money (1931)
Story of a girl who tries to live down the past and marries a wealthy man. Blackmail attempt by old associate foiled by friendly detective.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Coming Soon (1999)
Privileged teenage friends Jenny, Nell and Stream spend their senior year on a quest to rid Stream of her virginity. However, Stream wants more than just her first sexual experience. She wants to have an orgasm -- but achieving this proves problematic, as the boys she meets are hardly sensitive enough to provide her the release she seeks. When it becomes clear that Nell and Jenny have never experienced an orgasm either, all three set out to get one.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
We Are No Angels (1975)
Two wannabes rig a fight with a large prize fighter to buy a car.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Countdown (2023)
A former medalist who is now a troublemaker physical educations teacher and a natural born rebel take a satisfying whack at life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Like Palooka and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Palooka?
The closest matches to Palooka are Footlight Parade (1933), Animal Crackers (1930) and A Song Is Born (1948). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Palooka?
Start with Footlight Parade (1933), the closest match to Palooka.
What is the highest-rated movie like Palooka?
Louis C.K.: Hilarious (2010), rated 7.8/10 by 320 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Palooka?
Countdown (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Palooka?
Yes: Footlight Parade (1933), Animal Crackers (1930) and A Song Is Born (1948).
How are movies similar to Palooka chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Palooka, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.