Movies like Real Lies (2014)
The best movies like Real Lies (2014) are I Used to Be Funny (2024), Fat Kid Rules The World (2012) and CQ (2001). If Real Lies hooked you with its drama and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Deer Hunter (1978)8.0/10 from 4,470 votes
- NewestMexicali (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchThe Guide to the Perfect Family (2021)Also in French
I Used to Be Funny (2024)
Sam, an aspiring stand-up comedian and au pair struggling with PTSD, weighs whether to join the search for Brooke, a missing teenage girl she used to nanny. As she fights to recover from her trauma and return to the stage, memories of her deep bond with Brooke rush back—making it impossible to ignore her disappearance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFat Kid Rules The World (2012)
A dropout comes to the aid of a chubby and suicidal high-school kid by recruiting him as the drummer for his upstart punk-rock band.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisThe House of Tomorrow (2019)
The film tells futurist, architect, and inventor R. Buckminster Fuller's incredible story through two teens hoping to get laid, become punk gods, and survive high school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Guide to the Perfect Family (2021)
A couple in Québec deals with the pitfalls, pressure and high expectations of raising kids in a society obsessed with success and social media image.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Big Hit (2020)
Etienne, an often out of work but endearing actor, runs a theater workshop in a prison, where he brings together an unlikely troupe of prisoners to stage Samuel Beckett’s famous play Waiting for Godot. When he is allowed to take the colorful band of convicts on a tour outside of prison, Etienne finally has the chance to thrive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBarney's Version (2010)
The picaresque and touching story of the politically incorrect, fully lived life of the impulsive, irascible and fearlessly blunt Barney Panofsky.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDefendor (2009)
A crooked cop, a mob boss and the young girl they abuse are the denizens of a city's criminal underworld. It's a world that ordinary Arthur Poppington doesn't understand and doesn't belong in, but is committed to fighting when he changes into a vigilante super-hero of his own making, Defendor. With no power other than courage Defendor takes to the streets to protect the city's innocents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStop-Loss (2008)
A veteran soldier returns from his completed tour of duty in Iraq, only to find his life turned upside down when he is arbitrarily ordered to return to field duty by the Army.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThank You for Your Service (2017)
A group of U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq struggle to integrate back into family and civilian life, while living with the memory of a war that threatens to destroy them long after they've left the battlefield.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUncommon Valor (1983)
A group of Vietnam War veterans re-unite to rescue one of their own left behind and taken prisoner by the Vietnamese.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCherry (2021)
Cherry drifts from college dropout to army medic in Iraq—anchored only by his one true love, Emily. But after returning from the war with PTSD, his life spirals into drugs and crime as he struggles to find his place in the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBilly Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2016)
19-year-old Billy Lynn is brought home for a victory tour after a harrowing Iraq battle. Through flashbacks the film shows what really happened to his squad – contrasting the realities of war with America's perceptions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Brother's Keeper (2021)
Returning war veteran SFC Travis Fox has one more battle to fight – PTSD. Following an improvised explosive device attack that killed his best friend and their entire Ranger platoon, Travis returns to his hometown to settle the mysterious affairs of his late parents. In searching for answers, he uncovers a new obstacle and finds support from church counselor Tiffany Robertson. Slowly beginning to rediscover his faith in God, Travis uncovers a secret hidden by his friend Donnie that threatens his newfound faith, restores his guilt, and causes him to consider the unthinkable.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMexicali (2026)
A former special forces contractor is forced out of retirement as an avocado farmer in Mexico when local gangsters try to force him and his family off their farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRevoir Paris (2022)
Three months after surviving a terrorist attack in a bistro, Mia is still traumatized and unable to recall the events of that night. In an effort to move forward, she investigates her memories and retraces her steps.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCauseway (2022)
A US soldier suffers a traumatic brain injury while fighting in Afghanistan and struggles to adjust to life back home in New Orleans. When she meets local mechanic James, the pair begin to forge an unexpected bond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWelcome to Sudden Death (2020)
Jesse Freeman is a former special forces officer and explosives expert now working a regular job as a security guard in a state-of-the-art basketball arena. Trouble erupts when a tech-savvy cadre of terrorists kidnap the team's owner and Jesse's daughter during opening night. Facing a ticking clock and impossible odds, it's up to Jesse to not only save them but also a full house of fans in this highly charged action thriller.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmbattled (2020)
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Deer Hunter (1978)
Three steelworkers enlist in the army and are sent to Vietnam, one leaving behind a rushed marriage, the others a shared love. What they encounter during the war changes their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisStardust Memories (1980)
While attending a retrospect of his work, a filmmaker recalls his life and his loves: the inspirations for his films.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRenaissance Man (1994)
An advertising man is slowly sliding downhill. When he is fired from his job in Detroit, he signs up for unemployment. One day they find him a job: teaching thinking skills to Army recruits. He arrives on base to find that there is no structure set up for the class.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBunker (2014)
Two isolated Canadian soldiers come to grip with a difficult order: launch a nuclear strike against the former USSR, some 25 years after the end of the Cold War.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Bowfinger (1999)
On the verge of bankruptcy and desperate for his big break, aspiring filmmaker Bobby Bowfinger concocts a crazy plan to make his ultimate dream movie. Rallying a ragtag team that includes a starry-eyed ingenue, a has-been diva and a film studio gofer, he sets out to shoot a blockbuster featuring the biggest star in Hollywood, Kit Ramsey -- only without letting Ramsey know he's in the picture.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Odd Couple (1968)
In New York, Felix, a neurotic news writer who just broke up with his wife, is urged by his chaotic friend Oscar, a sports journalist, to move in with him, but their lifestyles are as different as night and day are, so Felix's ideas about housekeeping soon begin to irritate Oscar.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRedacted (2007)
A fictional documentary discusses the effects the Iraq war has had on soldiers and local people through interviews with members of an American military unit, the media, and local Iraqis.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisSoldier of Fortune (1976)
Medieval soldier of fortune Ettore is traveling through Europe with his partners looking for a fight where they can earn some money. When they come across a Spanish castle under siege by the French army, Ettore bides his time to determine which side is the winning one. This is at first the French, but the treatment he receives from them is unpleasant enough to make him change his mind and turn to the Spanish side. Somehow, Ettore must rally the weakened Spanish troops to battle their enemy long enough for reinforcements to arrive.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOn Golden Pond (1981)
For Norman and Ethel Thayer, this summer on golden pond is filled with conflict and resolution. When their daughter Chelsea arrives, the family is forced to renew the bonds of love and overcome the generational friction that has existed for years.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisValley of the Wolves: Iraq (2006)
The film covers through fiction real-life events like the occupation of Iraq, the execution of Daniel Pearl, the Hood event and the Abu Ghraib torture scandal.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisOscar (1991)
Angelo "Snaps" Provolone made his dying father a promise on his deathbed: he would leave the world of crime and become an honest businessman. Despite having no experience in making money in a legal fashion, Snaps sets about to keep his promise.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Real Lies?
The closest matches to Real Lies are I Used to Be Funny (2024), Fat Kid Rules The World (2012) and CQ (2001). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Real Lies?
Start with I Used to Be Funny (2024), the closest match to Real Lies.
What is the highest-rated movie like Real Lies?
The Deer Hunter (1978), rated 8.0/10 by 4,470 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Real Lies?
Mexicali (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Real Lies?
Yes: The Guide to the Perfect Family (2021), The Big Hit (2020) and Revoir Paris (2022).
How are movies similar to Real Lies chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Real Lies, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.