Movies like Words and Music (1929)
The best movies like Words and Music (1929) are A Song Is Born (1948), The Big Store (1941) and Footlight Parade (1933). If Words and Music hooked you with its comedy and music, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBo Burnham: What. (2013)7.8/10 from 284 votes
- NewestArlo the Alligator Boy (2021)Released 2021
A Song Is Born (1948)
The story of seven scholars in search of an expert to teach them about swing music. They seem to have found the perfect candidate in winsome nightclub singer Honey Swanson. But Honey's gangster boyfriend doesn't want to give her up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Big Store (1941)
A detective is hired to protect the life of a singer, who has recently inherited a department store, from the store's crooked manager.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFootlight Parade (1933)
A fledgling producer finds himself at odds with his workers, financiers and his greedy ex-wife when he tries to produce live musicals for movie-going audiences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978)
The story of the rise and fall of the Pre-Fab Four.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnimal Crackers (1930)
The well-known explorer and hunter Captain Spaulding has just returned from Africa, and is being welcomed home with a lavish party at the estate of influential society matron Mrs. Rittenhouse when a valuable painting goes missing. The intrepid Captain Spaulding attempts to solve the crime with the help of his silly secretary Horatio Jamison, while sparring with the anarchic Signor Emanuel Ravelli and his nutty sidekick The Professor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Day at the Races (1937)
Doctor Hugo Hackenbush, Tony, and Stuffy try and save Judy's sanitarium by winning a big race with a finicky horse owned by Judy's boyfriend Gil. There are a few problems. Hackenbush, who was recently put in charge of the sanitarium, isn't really a doctor, he's a veterinarian.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWayne's World (1992)
The adventures of two amiably aimless metal-head friends, Wayne and Garth. From Wayne's basement, the pair broadcast a talk-show called "Wayne's World" on local public access television. The show comes to the attention of a sleazy network executive who wants to produce a big-budget version of "Wayne's World"—and he also wants Wayne's girlfriend, a rock singer named Cassandra. Wayne and Garth have to battle the executive not only to save their show, but also Cassandra.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBabes in Arms (1939)
Mickey Moran, son of two vaudeville veterans, decides to put up his own vaudeville show with his girlfriend Patsy Barton. But child actress Rosalie wants to make a comeback and replace Patsy both professionally and as Mickey's girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Happy (1949)
The Marx Brothers help young Broadway hopefuls when they get mixed up with gangsters due to a tin of sardines containing Romanoff diamonds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
SnoozefestMovies like thisCamp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010)
Mitchie can't wait to go back to Camp Rock and spend the summer making new music with her friends and superstar Shane Gray. But the slick new camp across the lake, Camp Star, has drummed up some serious competition – featuring newcomers Luke and Dana. In a sensational battle of the bands, with Camp Rock's future at stake, will Camp Star's flashy production and over-the-top antics win out, or will Camp Rockers prove that music, teamwork, and spirit are what truly matter?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBo Burnham: What. (2013)
Left brain and right brain duke it out and then belt out a tune in comedian Bo Burnham's quick and clever one-man show. As intelligent as he is lanky, Burnham cynically pokes at pop entertainment while offering unadulterated showmanship of his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe School of Rock (2003)
Fired from his band and hard up for cash, guitarist and vocalist Dewey Finn finagles his way into a job as a fifth-grade substitute teacher at a private school, where he secretly begins teaching his straight-A students the finer points of rock 'n' roll and the power of sticking it to the man. But as the school’s stern principal closes in and the Battle of the Bands looms, Dewey must risk everything to prove that rock 'n' roll can change lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisArlo the Alligator Boy (2021)
Upon learning that he is from New York City, a wide-eyed boy, who is half human and half alligator, decides to leave his sheltered life in the swamp and search for his long lost father. A musical adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHelp! (1965)
An obscure Eastern cult that practices human sacrifice pursues Ringo after he unknowingly puts on a ceremonial ring (that, of course, won't come off). On top of that, a pair of mad scientists, members of Scotland Yard, and a beautiful but dead-eyed assassin all have their own plans for the Fab Four.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGodspell (1973)
In modern-day New York City, John the Baptist calls out to a group of young men and women to learn from the teachings of Jesus. Through song and dance, they relive Christ's crucifixion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWayne's World 2 (1993)
A message from Jim Morrison in a dream prompts cable access TV stars Wayne and Garth to put on a rock concert, "Waynestock," with Aerosmith as headliners. But amid the preparations, Wayne frets that a record producer is putting the moves on his girlfriend, Cassandra, while Garth handles the advances of mega-babe Honey Hornée.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrease Live (2016)
After enjoying a holiday romance, high school students Danny and Sandy are unexpectedly reunited when she transfers to Rydell High, where she must contend with cynical Rizzo and the Pink Ladies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Girl Most Likely To... (1973)
An ugly girl undergoes plastic surgery and becomes beautiful. She then takes revenge on all the people who mistreated her when she was ugly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAccepted (2006)
A high school slacker who's rejected by every school he applies to opts to create his own institution of higher learning, the South Harmon Institute of Technology, on a rundown piece of property near his hometown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeen Beach 2 (2015)
When characters from the movie musical “Wet Side Story” get stuck in the real world, teens Brady and Mack must find a way to return them home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Song of Night (1932)
He was known as Anatole Litvak during his Hollywood directorial career, but he was still Anatole Litwak when he helmed the German musical Das Lied Einer Nacht (The Song of Night). Famed Polish tenor Jan Kiepura stars as famed Italian tenor Ferraro. Escaping from his tyrannical manager, Ferraro switches identities with a young tourist (Fritz Schulz) and goes off on an unscheduled Swiss holiday. Still travelling incognito, our hero falls in love with a winsome mountain girl (Magda Schneider). Alas, both his romance -- and his freedom -- are placed in jeopardy when it turns out that the charming young fellow with whom Ferraro traded identities was actually a notorious swindler. Anatole Litvak also directed the English-language version of Das Lied Einer Nacht, Be Mine Tonight
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & music
Mango Sticky Rice (2016)
Katie is a dog loving foodie who is very content with her single life. Soon, she finds herself being pressured to find love. Meanwhile, Chris, the delivery boy just wants to get her attention. Will Katie find someone who will love her for who she is? Will Chris finally win her over?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music & comedy
Basmati Blues (2017)
Linda Watt is a sheltered but brilliant young scientist who is plucked out of her company's lab and sent to India by her CEO to sell "Rice 9," a genetically modified rice she's created. However, unbeknownst to her, the rice will destroy the Indian farmers she thinks she's helping.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & music
SnoozefestMovies like thisSamba em Berlim (1943)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music & comedy
Shall We Dance? (2004)
A bored estate lawyer spots a beautiful woman in the window of a ballroom dance studio. He secretly starts taking dancing lessons to be near her, and then over time discovers how much he loves dancing. His wife, meanwhile, has hired a private detective to find out why he has started coming home late smelling of perfume.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMal Hallett and His Orchestra (1937)
Mal Hallett and his Orchestra perform three songs with featured dancers
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
West Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of Liberty (1979)
Aboard a giant slave ship in an abandoned Citroën factory, the history of the West Indies is traced through several centuries of French oppression. The ship becomes a stage for the people to tell stories via song and dance—from their enslavement to their displacement in Metropolitan France.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
A Change in Baggage Checks (1914)
Two vaudeville performers, Steve Jenks and Stella Triplight, receive urgent bookings in different towns but find themselves with each other's trunks due to a mix-up by a baggage agent. To perform, they improvise by wearing the wrong clothes – Steve in Stella's dresses and Stella in Steve's suits – and unexpectedly become huge hits, leading them to team up, share their wardrobe, and find romance after discovering their shared success and loneliness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Enchanted (2007)
The beautiful princess Giselle is banished by an evil queen from her magical, musical animated land and finds herself in the gritty reality of the streets of modern-day Manhattan. Shocked by this strange new environment that doesn't operate on a "happily ever after" basis, Giselle is now adrift in a chaotic world badly in need of enchantment. But when Giselle begins to fall in love with a charmingly flawed divorce lawyer who has come to her aid - even though she is already promised to a perfect fairy tale prince back home - she has to wonder: Can a storybook view of romance survive in the real world?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDisciplining Daisy (1913)
Daisy Manners, a member of the Phi Beta Kappa sorority, has a bad habit of taking her sorority sisters' things without asking, leaving notes instead. The other girls, fed up with Daisy, decide to teach her a lesson when they hear she's going to a garden fête with Phil Matthews. Daisy goes to her roommates' rooms to borrow items (like a dress, hat, etc.), but finds they've all been hidden or moved by the other girls, leading to funny mix-ups and Daisy's growing frustration. The sisters reveal their prank, and Daisy learns her lesson about borrowing, understanding the inconvenience she caused.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Like Words and Music and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Words and Music?
The closest matches to Words and Music are A Song Is Born (1948), The Big Store (1941) and Footlight Parade (1933). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Words and Music?
Start with A Song Is Born (1948), the closest match to Words and Music.
What is the highest-rated movie like Words and Music?
Bo Burnham: What. (2013), rated 7.8/10 by 284 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Words and Music?
Arlo the Alligator Boy (2021) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Words and Music?
Yes: A Song Is Born (1948), The Big Store (1941) and Footlight Parade (1933).
How are movies similar to Words and Music chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Words and Music, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.