Movies like Desperate Road (1985)
The best movies like Desperate Road (1985) are Abbas in Flower (1982), Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008) and What's Love Got to Do with It? (2023). If Desperate Road hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDinner in America (2022)7.8/10 from 249 votes
- NewestOffice Romance (2026)Released 2026
Abbas in Flower (1982)
While working as an assistant to swindling driver Şakir, ingenuous Abbas falls for the same woman his boss loves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
Lifelong platonic friends Zack and Miri look to solve their respective cash-flow problems by making an adult film together. As the cameras roll, however, the duo begin to sense that they may have more feelings for each other than they previously thought.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat's Love Got to Do with It? (2023)
Two childhood friends now in their thirties must decide whether to follow their heads or their hearts once the man decides to follow his parents' advice and enter into an arranged marriage in Pakistan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYoh! Bestie (2026)
Thando is perpetually unlucky in love, but when her bestie returns from his travels with a fiancée in tow, she's forced to face a new emotion — jealousy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl with the Red Scarf (1977)
İlyas, a truck driver from Istanbul, arrives in a remote village to work on a dam construction project and meets a young village woman named Asya. They fall madly in love and get married. However, their life together is fraught with conflict. When İlyas cheats on Asya, the final straw in their relationship, she takes her son and begins wandering without knowing where she is going, until a familiar hand reaches out to help her selflessly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGirl on a Bicycle (2013)
Paolo, an Italian tour bus driver living in Paris, has just summoned up the courage to propose marriage to his German girlfriend Greta. However, a chance encounter with a French woman on a bicycle the very next day turns Paolo's life upside down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisComidark Films 2: Insane (2020)
Güven, a taxi driver is desperately in love with Meral, but he’s too shy to open up to her. One day he picks up a customer, gets accused of a crime he didn’t commit and his world is turned upside down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Travel Buddy (2017)
Days before Eid, a salesman fired from his job drives to meet his girlfriend's family, but the trip goes astray due to his zany travel buddy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThey Drive by Night (1940)
Joe and Paul Fabrini are Wildcat, or independent, truck drivers who have their own small one-truck business. The Fabrini boys constantly battle distributors, rivals and loan collectors, while trying to make a success of their transport company.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisŞendul Şaban (1985)
She works as a factory worker alongside Şaban Ali. One day, they are fired for asking their boss for a raise. They search for work for a long time but cannot find any. Necla tells Şaban that it is easier for women to find work, and the couple make a bet. The next day, Necla starts working as a secretary. The roles at home change. Necla becomes the man of the house, and Şaban becomes the woman of the house. However, the couple is unhappy because of Necla's long working hours.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKillers (2010)
When an elite assassin marries a beautiful computer whiz after a whirlwind romance, he gives up the gun and settles down with his new bride. That is, until he learns that someone from his past has put a contract out on his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDinner in America (2022)
An on-the-lam punk rocker and a young woman obsessed with a local band go on an unexpected and epic journey together through the decaying suburbs of the American Midwest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove Is in the Air (2023)
A fiercely independent pilot fighting to keep her family business afloat starts to fall for the man sent by corporate to ground her operation forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEasy Virtue (2008)
A young Englishman marries a glamorous American. When he brings her home to meet the parents, she arrives like a blast from the future - blowing their entrenched British stuffiness out the window.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWedding Association (2013)
Ismail's son, Tarik returns to his village after long years of being away and announces that he is engaged to a Latvian woman named Nugesha and although he doesn't have the means for it, Ismail still wants to be the one who pays for the expenses of the wedding. Several problems ensue as he tries to make sure that there is enough money for the wedding.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOffice Romance (2026)
Jackie, President and CEO of Air Cruz, runs a tight ship in her business, including a rigid anti-fraternization policy for all her employees. When a new sexy lawyer begins working for her, that policy becomes very tested.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHell Drivers (1957)
An ex-con trying to go clean ends up working for a crooked trucking company owner who encourages competion amongst his drivers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKaçma Birader (2016)
A family with diversified members travels to İstanbul from Yozgat after their youngest son fell in love with a girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOh Dear (2010)
Hüseyin is a young man who lives with his grandfather and grandmother in a village in Thracian Turkey. The two great loves of his life are his clarinet and Müjgan, a nurse. Although Hüseyin is content with his life, with his music and dreams of Mügan, due to an unexpected development he leaves his village. He ends up in Istanbul where he finds support first in his clarinet and then in the friendship of the singer Firuzan. Firuzan is a popular nightclub performer who is eagerly working on an album as she leads a colorful but complicated life. When Firuzan meets Huseyin, the course of events gives away to a hilarious adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightingale (1979)
The comical story of Şaban, who came to Istanbul to earn his dowry and, by chance, became a famous folk singer known as Şaban Ballıses.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Desperate Road?
The closest matches to Desperate Road are Abbas in Flower (1982), Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008) and What's Love Got to Do with It? (2023). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Desperate Road?
Start with Abbas in Flower (1982), the closest match to Desperate Road.
What is the highest-rated movie like Desperate Road?
Dinner in America (2022), rated 7.8/10 by 249 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Desperate Road?
Office Romance (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Desperate Road chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Desperate Road, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.