Movies like Love Happens (2009)
The best movies like Love Happens (2009) are The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her (2014), Bed of Roses (1996) and Bounce (2000). If Love Happens hooked you with its drama and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedManchester by the Sea (2016)7.5/10 from 6,659 votes
- NewestRedwood Diaries (2026)Released 2026
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her (2014)
Told from the woman's perspective, the story of a couple trying to reclaim the life and love they once knew and pick up the pieces of a past that may be too far gone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBed of Roses (1996)
The seeds of love are planted when Lisa, a high-powered investment banker, receives flowers from a secret admirer. But when his fairy-tale fantasies clash with her workaholic ways, they soon find out that sometimes, it's harder than it seems for love to conquer all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisBounce (2000)
Buddy Amaral, a successful and self-absorbed Los Angeles advertising executive, switches airline tickets with a stranger just before boarding a long-delayed flight so that he might enjoy an overnight fling with a pretty Dallas businesswoman. When the plane goes down, killing all aboard, Buddy's guilt soon turns into an alcohol problem. As part of his 12-step program, Buddy seeks atonement and decides to seek out the woman he thinks he's left a widow.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisWhat Dreams May Come (1998)
After Chris Nielsen dies in a car accident, he is guided through the afterlife by his spirit guide, Albert. His new world is beautiful and can be whatever Chris imagines. Even his children are there. But, when his wife, Annie, commits suicide and is sent to hell, Chris ignores Albert's warnings and journeys there to save her. Upon arrival, Chris finds that rescuing Annie will be more difficult than he'd imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFeast of Love (2007)
A meditation on love and its various incarnations, set within a community of friends in Oregon. It is described as an exploration of the magical, mysterious and sometimes painful incarnations of love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisP.S. I Love You (2007)
A young widow discovers that her late husband has left her 10 messages intended to help ease her pain and start a new life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMoonlight Mile (2002)
As he copes with the death of his fiancee along with her parents, a young man must figure out what he wants out of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDying Young (1991)
After she discovers that her boyfriend has betrayed her, Hilary O'Neil is looking for a new start and a new job. She begins to work as a private nurse for a young man suffering from blood cancer. Slowly, they fall in love, but they always know their love cannot last because he is destined to die.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoll Flanders (1996)
The daughter of a thief, young Moll is placed in the care of a nunnery after the execution of her mother. However, the actions of an abusive priest lead Moll to rebel as a teenager, escaping to the dangerous streets of London. Further misfortunes drive her to accept a job as a prostitute from the conniving Mrs. Allworthy. It is there that Moll first meets Hibble, who is working as Allworthy's servant but takes a special interest in the young woman's well-being. With his help, she retains hope for the future, ultimately falling in love with an unconventional artist who promises the possibility of romantic happiness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOrdinary Love (2019)
An extraordinary look at the lives of a middle-aged couple in the midst of the wife's breast cancer diagnosis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNights in Rodanthe (2008)
Adrienne is trying to decide whether to stay in her unhappy marriage or not, and her life changes when Paul, a doctor who is travelling to reconcile with his estranged son, checks into an inn where she is staying.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret: Dare to Dream (2020)
A widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Blueberry Nights (2007)
Elizabeth has just been through a particularly nasty breakup, and now she's ready to leave her friends and memories behind as she chases her dreams across the country. In order to support herself on her journey, Elizabeth picks up a series of waitress jobs along the way. As Elizabeth crosses paths with a series of lost souls whose yearnings are even greater than her own, their emotional turmoil ultimately helps her gain a greater understanding of her own problems...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAutumn in New York (2000)
Will Keane, a Manhattan restaurateur, is content with his playboy lifestyle until he meets Charlotte Fielding, a free-spirited young woman. Together the pair pursue a passionate affair that forces them both to reevaluate what they want out of life, even as fate threatens to steal away their future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRabbit Hole (2010)
Life for a happy couple is turned upside down after their young son dies in an accident.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Starling (2021)
A woman adjusting to life after a loss contends with a feisty bird that's taken over her garden — and a husband who's struggling to find a way forward.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack or White (2015)
A grieving widower is drawn into a custody battle over his granddaughter, whom he helped raise her entire life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFathers and Daughters (2015)
A Pulitzer-winning writer grapples with being a widower and father after a mental breakdown, while, 27 years later, his grown daughter struggles to forge connections of her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBirth (2004)
It took Anna 10 years to recover from the death of her husband, Sean, but now she's on the verge of marrying her boyfriend, Joseph, and finally moving on. However, on the night of her engagement party, a young boy named Sean turns up, saying he is her dead husband reincarnated. At first she ignores the child, but his knowledge of her former husband's life is uncanny, leading her to believe that he might be telling the truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisManchester by the Sea (2016)
After his older brother passes away, Lee Chandler is forced to return home to care for his 16-year-old nephew. There he is compelled to deal with a tragic past that separated him from his family and the community where he was born and raised.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDirty Dancing (1987)
Expecting the usual tedium that accompanies a summer in the Catskills with her family, 17-year-old Frances 'Baby' Houseman is surprised to find herself stepping into the shoes of a professional hoofer—and unexpectedly falling in love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret Call (1931)
The Secret Call is adapted from The Woman, a play by William C. DeMille (brother of Cecil B.) Peggy Shannon plays Wanda Kelly, the daughter of a disgraced politician. Reduced to working as a switchboard operator, Wanda is privy to the many secrets and indiscretions of the clients of a big-city hotel. She also finds romance in the form of handsome Tom Blake (Richard Arlen). The huge cast of characters comes in handy for the film's multitude of subplots, none of which ever get their wires crossed. Peggy Shannon acquits herself nicely in her first major role, but by the end of the decade her career was in decline.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Blonde Crazy (1931)
The adventures of a cocky con man and his beautiful accomplice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Double Hour (2009)
A chambermaid and a former cop meet at a speed dating event and a romance develops. But during a romantic getaway things suddenly take a turn for the worse when her mysterious past is revealed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlaza Suite (1971)
Film version of the Neil Simon play has three separate acts set in the same hotel suite in New York's Plaza Hotel with Walter Matthau in a triple role. In the first, Karen Nash tries to get her inattentive husband Sam's attention and help save their failing marriage. In the second, brash film producer Jesse Kiplinger tries to seduce his former one-time flame Muriel. In the third, Roy Hubley and his wife Norma try and persuade their daughter, a bride to-be with cold feet, out of the bathroom before her approaching wedding ceremony.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYouth (2015)
Two lifelong friends bond whilst vacationing in a luxury Swiss Alps lodge as they ponder retirement. While Fred has no plans to resume his musical career despite the urging of his loving daughter Lena, Mick is intent on finishing the screenplay for what may be his last important film for his muse Brenda. And where will inspiration lead their younger friend Jimmy, an actor grasping to make sense of his next performance?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Man and a Woman (1966)
A man and a woman meet by accident on a Sunday evening at their childrens' boarding school. Slowly, they reveal themselves to each other, finding that they have something deeply in common.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRedwood Diaries (2026)
When strange entries begin appearing in her diary written in handwriting that isn't hers, new student Evie Quinn is pulled into a chilling mystery as the messages reveal secrets, predict impossible events, and point toward a truth someone has desperately tried to bury.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Camp (2021)
Grieving a recent tragedy, a young woman and her friends take a camping trip deep in the woods, where they encounter a malevolent force more ancient than the forest itself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
No End (1985)
1982, Poland. A translator loses her husband and becomes a victim of her own sorrow. She looks to sex, to her son, to law, and to hypnotism when she has nothing else in this time of martial law when Solidarity was banned.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Love Happens?
The closest matches to Love Happens are The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her (2014), Bed of Roses (1996) and Bounce (2000). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Love Happens?
Start with The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her (2014), the closest match to Love Happens.
What is the highest-rated movie like Love Happens?
Manchester by the Sea (2016), rated 7.5/10 by 6,659 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Love Happens?
Redwood Diaries (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Love Happens?
Yes: The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her (2014), Bed of Roses (1996) and Bounce (2000).
How are movies similar to Love Happens chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Love Happens, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.