Movies like The Perfect Candidate (2012)
The best movies like The Perfect Candidate (2012) are Will Ferrell: You're Welcome America - A Final Night with George W. Bush (2009), You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown (1972) and Much Ado About Nothing (2013). If The Perfect Candidate hooked you with its comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
The Perfect Candidate
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMuch Ado About Nothing (2013)6.8/10 from 299 votes
- NewestSpa Weekend (2026)Released 2026
Will Ferrell: You're Welcome America - A Final Night with George W. Bush (2009)
After playing George W. Bush on Saturday Night Live for many years, funny man Will Ferrell brings his impression to Broadway to send up the 43rd President of the United States of America.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou're Not Elected, Charlie Brown (1972)
With the school election looming, Linus is talked into running for school president. With Lucy and Charlie Brown as his campaign manager and Snoopy and Woodstock assisting, he stands a decent chance of victory. Soon however, he makes unrealistic promises and learns the hard way that preaching about the Great Pumpkin can not be considered a sound campaign strategy.
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 thisClass Rank (2017)
Two high school misfits join forces in an attempt to overtake the local school board. Guided by their families, they enter the perilous word of politics and, in the process, learn a thing or two about love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChris Rock: Kill the Messenger (2008)
An HBO special edited from three performances from Chris Rock's 2008 comedy tour: London (dark suit, dark shirt), Johannesburg (black suit, white shirt) and New York (shiny jacket). Topics include the ongoing presidential campaign, the possibility of a black president, George W. Bush, gas prices, low-paid jobs, ringtones and bottled water, sex, relationships and the correct use of the n-word
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisThe Gumball Rally (1976)
A group of people from different backgrounds have one thing in common: when they hear the world "gumball" whispered by one of the others, they know that it's time for the Gumball Rally: a no-holds barred, secret, winner-take-all rally across the USA.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs (2023)
In a rowdy stand-up set, Shane Gillis riffs on his girlfriend's Navy SEAL ex, touring George Washington's house and being bullied by an Australian Goth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Wedding Year (2019)
A commitment-phobic 27-year old’s relationship is put to the test when she and her boyfriend attend 7 weddings in the same year.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisSpa Weekend (2026)
Four lifelong friends realize that somewhere between careers, relationships, families, and everyday responsibilities, they’ve forgotten how to take care of themselves and each other. Burned out and overdue for a break, the women escape to a luxury spa retreat for an unforgettable weekend dedicated to fun, laughter, and a lot of really bad decisions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIliza Shlesinger: War Paint (2013)
Her innocent appearance is just a cover for Last Comic Standing winner Iliza Shlesinger's acerbic, stream-of-conscious comedy that she unleashes on an unsuspecting audience in her hometown of Dallas in "War Paint," her first stand-up special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHard to Die (1990)
While doing the inventory for a lingerie outlet in a high rise office building, five attractive women are terrorized by a series of bizarre killings. They suspect that the strange janitor, who witnessed another series of killings six months previously, is at the bottom of the whole thing. Little do they know the real horror that they face in the end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFun with Dick and Jane (1977)
When an upwardly mobile couple find themselves unemployed and in debt, they turn to armed robbery in desperation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRicky Gervais Live 2: Politics (2004)
A year after Animals, Ricky Gervais comes back with his second stand up comedy tour: Politics.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThunderstruck (2012)
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Roast of Tom Brady (2024)
Offensive lines. Full-contact comedy. Kevin Hart hosts this all-star roast of NFL legend Tom Brady.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChris Rock: Never Scared (2004)
Chris Rock, the three-time Emmy Award-winner, comedian, actor, and host of HBO's acclaimed The Chris Show, stars in his fourth solo stand-up special for HBO, Chris Rock: Never Scared. Featuring his unique, insightful, and hilarious views on a host of social, political and, celebrity issues, Rock confirms his stature as the leading comic of our time.
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 thisSneakerella (2022)
When El, an aspiring sneaker designer from Queens, meets Kira King, the fiercely independent daughter of legendary basketball star and sneaker tycoon Darius King, sparks fly as the two bond over their mutual affinity for sneakers. With a little nudge from his best friend and a sprinkle of Fairy Godfather magic, El finds the courage to use his talent to pursue his dream of becoming a ‘legit’ sneaker designer in the industry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisAdam Sandler: 100% Fresh (2018)
Adam Sandler takes his comical musical musings back out on the road, from comedy clubs to concert halls to one very unsuspecting subway station.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWild in the Streets (1968)
Musician Max Frost lends his backing to a Senate candidate who wants to give 18-year-olds the right to vote, but he takes things a step further than expected. Inspired by their hero's words, Max's fans pressure their leaders into extending the vote to citizens as young as 15. Max and his followers capitalize on their might by bringing new issues to the fore, but, drunk on power, they soon take generational warfare to terrible extremes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Bill Maher: But I'm Not Wrong (2010)
In front of a live audience at the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Emmy-nominated host of Real Time with Bill Maher performs an all-new hour of stand-up comedy. Among the topics Bill discusses in his ninth HBO solo special are: Whether the "Great Recession" is really over; the fake patriotism of the right wing; what goes on in the mind of a terrorist; why Obama needs a posse instead of the secret service; the drug war; Michael Jackson; getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan; racism; the Teabagger movement; religion; the health-care fight; why Gov. Mark Sanford will come out looking good, and how silly it is to ask "Why do men cheat?"; and why comedy most definitely didn't die when George Bush left office.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
A Bride from the North (1975)
Artak has served his military service in the Russian countryside where he meets Valya. But Valya's mother refuses to send her only daughter to “these far highlands, where earthquakes happen all the time”. Artak is forced to ask his contrasting and numerous relatives –Armenian villagers– to visit a remote Russian village to bring a bride to Armenia.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Don's Party (1976)
On the night of the 1969 federal election, Don Henderson invites a group of friends to celebrate a predicted Labor Party victory, much to the dismay of his wife, Kath. The Hendersons and their nine guests drink, joke, make love, and fight, all while coming to terms with their individual struggles in life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Record (2009)
A sidewalk record sale takes an emotional turn when a chance musical discovery yields a powerful response.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Hokus Fokus (2004)
A filmmaker gets lost in a world of his own creation, literally. He is plotted against by his outer demons, searches for his lost sex scene and contends with several other versions of himself. A joyful rule-breaking carnival ride through a filmmaker's dreamland.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Dave Smith: Libertas (2017)
Stand up comedian and political commentator Dave Smith's first hour special with the GaS Digital Network. Dave's stand up explores the underbelly of the American political infrastructure and shines a light on our own hypocrisy when it comes to social issues such as racism and sexism. Dave has a fresh approach to political comedy. He doesn't simply align blindly with one side of the political spectrum like many of his contemporaries but would rather call bullsh*t on both sides.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Water (1985)
The British governor of a tiny island nation in the Caribbean Commonwealth finds his idyllic existence thrown into chaos when an American drilling company finds a huge source of natural mineral water there.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Quite Like Paradise (2024)
Ugo Conti, charismatic Italian aristocrat and influencer, arrives in Mexico where he seduces the Mexican high society. When he meets Frida Becker again, the love of his past, he will end up in the center of a struggle for political power.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
La Aventura de Rosa (2008)
Rosa chooses her own adventure...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Perfect Candidate?
The closest matches to The Perfect Candidate are Will Ferrell: You're Welcome America - A Final Night with George W. Bush (2009), You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown (1972) and Much Ado About Nothing (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Perfect Candidate?
Start with Will Ferrell: You're Welcome America - A Final Night with George W. Bush (2009), the closest match to The Perfect Candidate.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Perfect Candidate?
Much Ado About Nothing (2013), rated 6.8/10 by 299 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Perfect Candidate?
Spa Weekend (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Perfect Candidate?
Yes: Will Ferrell: You're Welcome America - A Final Night with George W. Bush (2009), You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown (1972) and Much Ado About Nothing (2013).
How are movies similar to The Perfect Candidate chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Perfect Candidate, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.