Movies like The Laughing Heart (2013)
The best movies like The Laughing Heart (2013) are Bukowski: Born Into This (2003), The Unsaid (2001) and The Perfect Christmas Present (2017). If The Laughing Heart hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Cameraman (1928)7.8/10 from 460 votes
- NewestSeven Snipers (2026)Released 2026
Bukowski: Born Into This (2003)
Director John Dullaghan’s biographical documentary about infamous poet Charles Bukowski, Bukowski: Born Into This, is as much a touching portrait of the author as it is an exposé of his sordid lifestyle. Interspersed between ample vintage footage of Bukowski’s poetry readings are interviews with the poet’s fans including such legendary figures such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Joyce Fante (wife of John), Bono, and Harry Dean Stanton. Filmed in grainy black and white by Bukowski’s friend, Taylor Hackford, due to lack of funding, the old films edited into this movie paint Bukowski’s life of boozing and brawling romantically, securing Bukowski’s legendary status.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Unsaid (2001)
A doctor dealing with the aftermath of his son's death tries to help a troubled young man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Perfect Christmas Present (2017)
Tom Jacobs is Mr Christmas! He's built an entire business around helping clients find the perfect gift. But what happens when he falls for one lucky recipient?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSwing Vote (2008)
In a remarkable turn of events, the result of the presidential election comes down to one man's vote.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisChristmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy (2019)
A skeptical writer shows up in Evergreen to get the scoop on the town's famed passion for Christmas during a search for a long-lost time capsule.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGigi & Nate (2022)
A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Ron Clark Story (2006)
Passionate and innovative teacher Ron Clark leaves his small hometown to teach in one of Harlem's toughest schools. But to break through to the students, he must use unconventional methods, including his ground-breaking classroom rules, to help them reach their potential. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Nutcracker Prince (1990)
After young Clara receives a wooden nutcracker as a Christmas gift, she dreams about a fantastical battle between her Nutcracker Prince and the evil Mouse King. At stake is the Nutcracker's freedom - and Clara's future happiness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)
Dito Montiel, a successful author, receives a call from his long-suffering mother, asking him to return home and visit his ailing father. Dito recalls his childhood growing up in a violent neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., with friends Antonio, Giuseppe, Nerf and Mike.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeven Snipers (2026)
When a former elite sniper is hunted down by the ruthless warlord who once held her captive, she must fight to the death to protect the daughter she has raised in hiding, on a remote Australian farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cameraman (1928)
A photographer takes up newsreel shooting to impress a secretary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Christmas Note (2015)
Having just moved back to her hometown without her serviceman husband but with her young son, Gretchen Daniels finds her life in disarray as Christmas approaches. But she discovers new purpose when she helps to deliver a message to her neighbor, Melissa, which makes her an ally in the quest to find the neighbor's sibling she never knew she had. The women become bonded not only by the search, but by the understanding that being there for each other means they're no longer alone. This friendship becomes the greatest Christmas gift of their lives. Based on a bestselling novel by Donna VanLiere.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHouse of D (2004)
In the present, artist Tom Warshaw recalls his traumatic coming of age. As a 13-year-old growing up in New York City in 1973, Tom hangs out with Pappass, a mentally disabled man. With Tom's mother battling depression after the death of her husband, the young boy is left to his own devices. When Tom develops a crush on schoolmate Melissa, Pappass feels abandoned and begins behaving erratically.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHardball (2001)
An aimless young man who is scalping tickets, gambling and drinking, agrees to coach a Little League team from the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago as a condition of getting a loan from a friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Dry White Season (1989)
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Christmas Shoes (2002)
Two separate stories mesh - in the first, a young music teacher, Maggie Andrews, begins dying of a heart condition and her son Nathan tries to get a pair of Christmas shoes for her before she dies. In the second, lawyer Robert Layton and his wife Kate are slowly drifting apart and the matter comes to a head during Christmas when Kate takes over for Maggie for the school choir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Best Man Holiday (2013)
When college friends reunite after 15 years over the Christmas holidays, they discover just how easy it is for long-forgotten rivalries and romances to be reignited.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBodycam (2026)
A call to a quiet suburban home unleashes unthinkable carnage when two officers mistakenly shoot a man and his infant child, spiraling the tragedy into a fierce, unrelenting fall into the unknown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this12 Gifts of Christmas (2015)
When Anna Parisi, an unemployed fine arts painter, is unable to make ends meet, she is hired to become a personal Christmas shopper for Marc, an uptight corporate exec. As they begin working together, Marc learns that Christmas giving has less to do with the amount of money spent and more to do with the importance of the gift, while Anna discovers she might find success as an artist in a way she never expected. The best gift of all of course is the love they discover with one another.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiss Christmas (2017)
Holly Khun, known to Chicago as “Miss Christmas,” always finds a beautiful tree for the plaza, but this year’s was damaged, and the lighting ceremony is in 10 days. Hoping for a miracle, she combs through fan mail, and finds Joey McNary of Klaus, Wisconsin, has the perfect tree. Off she goes to Klaus, where she meets Joey’s handsome dad Sam.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Laughing Heart?
The closest matches to The Laughing Heart are Bukowski: Born Into This (2003), The Unsaid (2001) and The Perfect Christmas Present (2017). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Laughing Heart?
Start with Bukowski: Born Into This (2003), the closest match to The Laughing Heart.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Laughing Heart?
The Cameraman (1928), rated 7.8/10 by 460 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Laughing Heart?
Seven Snipers (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Laughing Heart?
Yes: Bukowski: Born Into This (2003), The Unsaid (2001) and The Perfect Christmas Present (2017).
How are movies similar to The Laughing Heart chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Laughing Heart, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.