Movies like The Substitute (2007)
The best movies like The Substitute (2007) are The Birds, the Bees and the Italians (1966), The Most Beautiful Day in the World (2019) and Confessions of a Lady Cop (1976). If The Substitute hooked you with its comedy, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest rated“The Shorts” by Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo (1996)8.1/10 from 366 votes
- NewestDriver's Ed (2026)Released 2026
- In ItalianThe Birds, the Bees and the Italians (1966)Also in Italian
The Birds, the Bees and the Italians (1966)
An anthology presents three storylines, all set in the Italian town of Treviso: A husband pretends to be impotent as a cover for having an affair; a bank clerk abandons his wife for his mistress, but the rest of the town's husbands become jealous and unite to conspire against them; and local men all seduce a promiscuous young woman, but when her father eventually reveals that she is underage, they all face prosecution for statutory rape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Most Beautiful Day in the World (2019)
Arturo Meraviglia is a struggling impresario who has to take care of Gioele and Rebecca, two children "inherited" by an old uncle. When he realizes that little Gioele has superpowers, his luck changes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisConfessions of a Lady Cop (1976)
Gianna Amicucci works in the house of the head of her hometown police force and enters the academy with a kickback from him. She is a beautiful woman (she generously sheds clothes during the film) and has to overcome her male colleagues prejudices, but she gains their respect through a series of brilliant operations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHe's Worse than Me (1985)
Two reckless friends Leonardo (Adriano Celentano) and Luciano (Renato Potstsetto) are just doing whatever they want and getting into endless alterations. When one of them decides to marry, their friendship is in a crisis ...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFantozzi (1975)
A good-natured but unlucky Italian is constantly finding himself in difficult situations, but never losing his mood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTalcum Powder (1982)
Sergio Benvenuti is a shy seller of contracts for a Roman company of music, but because of his character he cannot find even a customer, so he asks for help from a fellow named Nadia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoodnight, Ladies and Gentlemen (1976)
An episodic satire of the political and social status of Italy in the seventies, through the shows of one day of a television channel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCiao, Professore! (1992)
A bureaucratic snafu sends Marco Tullio Sperelli, a portly, middle-aged northern Italian, to teach third grade in a poor town outside Naples
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisComplexes (1965)
In the first episode, Quirino tries to conquer co-worker Gabriella. In the second episode, Prof. Beozi ends up in a raid of the police in a local for homosexuals when trying to avoid a scandal. In the third episode, Guglielmo passes all tests in order to become reader of the television news brilliantly, although the commission works with all subtleness's to exclude him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGabriel Iglesias: I'm Sorry for What I Said When I Was Hungry (2016)
Hawaiian-shirt enthusiast Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias finds the laughs in racist gift baskets, Prius-driving cops and all-female taco trucks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like this“The Shorts” by Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo (1996)
I Corti ("Shorts") by Aldo, Giovanni & Giacomo was the first stage show of the comedy trio, with the participation of Marina Massironi. It was recorded live at the Teatro Nuovo in Ferrara on 28 and 29 March 1996. Produced by Agidi, with the theatre direction of Arturo Brachetti.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Monster (1994)
A vicious serial sex killer is on the loose, and landscape gardener and shop-window outfitter Loris is the prime suspect, thanks to his unfortunate habit of getting caught in compromising situations (for which there is always a totally innocent explanation that the police fail to spot). Undercover policewoman Jessica is assigned by eccentric police psychologist Taccone to follow Loris.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Audition (2015)
Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio must compete for the lead role in Martin Scorsese's next film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAccident Man (2018)
Mike Fallon, the Accident Man, is a stone cold killer. When a loved one is murdered by his own crew, Fallon is forced to avenge the one person who actually meant something to him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Marquis of Grillo (1981)
In 18th-century Rome, impish aristocrat Onofrio del Grillo amuses himself by playing pranks on all sorts of people — his reactionary family and fellow nobles, the poors, the French occupiers trying to modernize society, and even the Pope himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDriver's Ed (2026)
A group of teens hit the road in a stolen driver's ed car, racing against time to help a lovesick high school senior track down his college-freshman girlfriend and win her back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Widower (1959)
Alberto Nardi is a Roman businessman who fancies himself a man of great capabilities, but whose factory teeters perennially on the brink of catastrophe. Alberto is married to a rich and successful businesswoman from Milan, Elvira Almiraghi who has a no-nonsense attitude and barely tolerates the attempts of her husband to keep his factory afloat with her money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPretty Persuasion (2005)
A 15-year-old girl incites chaos among her friends and a media frenzy when she accuses her drama teacher of sexual harassment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisJohn Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City (2018)
John Mulaney relays stories from his childhood and "SNL," eviscerates the value of college and laments getting older in this electric comedy special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBertoldo, Bertoldino, and Cacasenno (1984)
During the reign of King Alboin, the peasant Bertoldo, sly and smart, manages to always get away with pranks and pleasantires with great mastery, and, even if his clumsy wife Marcolfa and their foolish son Bertoldino always put him in trouble, his shrewdness and acumen save him from any unfortunate situation...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Substitute?
The closest matches to The Substitute are The Birds, the Bees and the Italians (1966), The Most Beautiful Day in the World (2019) and Confessions of a Lady Cop (1976). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Substitute?
Start with The Birds, the Bees and the Italians (1966), the closest match to The Substitute.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Substitute?
“The Shorts” by Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo (1996), rated 8.1/10 by 366 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Substitute?
Driver's Ed (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like The Substitute?
Yes: The Birds, the Bees and the Italians (1966), The Most Beautiful Day in the World (2019) and Confessions of a Lady Cop (1976).
How are movies similar to The Substitute chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Substitute, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.