Movies like How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)
The best movies like How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998) are Waiting to Exhale (1995), The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) and Love, Rosie (2014). If How Stella Got Her Groove Back 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 Apartment (1960)8.2/10 from 2,846 votes
- NewestPeople We Meet on Vacation (2026)Released 2026
Waiting to Exhale (1995)
Cheated on, mistreated and stepped on, the women are holding their breath, waiting for the elusive "good man" to break a string of less-than-stellar lovers. Friends and confidants Vannah, Bernie, Glo and Robin talk it all out, determined to find a better way to breathe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005)
Four best friends (Tibby, Lena, Carmen & Bridget) who buy a mysterious pair of pants that fits each of them, despite their differing sizes, and makes whoever wears them feel fabulous. When faced with the prospect of spending their first summer apart, the pals decide they'll swap the pants so that each girl in turn can enjoy the magic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove, Rosie (2014)
Since the moment they met at age 5, Rosie and Alex have been best friends, facing the highs and lows of growing up side by side. A fleeting shared moment, one missed opportunity, and the decisions that follow send their lives in completely different directions. As each navigates the complexities of life, love, and everything in between, they always find their way back to each other - but is it just friendship, or something more?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFather of the Bride (2022)
A father comes to grips with his daughter’s upcoming wedding through the prism of multiple relationships within a big, sprawling Cuban-American family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSomething New (2006)
Kenya McQueen thought she had it all: a successful career, good friends and family. There was just one thing she didn't have under control: her love life. All that changes when she meets sexy, free-spirited Brian Kelly. But when her ideal man arrives on the scene, Kenya must decide between the relationship everyone expects and the romance no one expected.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNew York, I Love You (2008)
New York, I Love You delves into the intimate lives of New Yorkers as they grapple with, delight in and search for love. Journey from the Diamond District in the heart of Manhattan, through Chinatown and the Upper East Side, towards the Village, into Tribeca, and Brooklyn as lovers of all ages try to find romance in the Big Apple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove in Taipei (2023)
A young American woman is sent by her parents to a cultural immersion program in Taipei where she begins a new journey of self-discovery and romance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFools Rush In (1997)
After a one night stand with Alex, Isabel realizes that she is pregnant and they decide to get married. However, along with the marriage comes compromise of one's own cultural traditions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPeace, Love & Misunderstanding (2011)
A conservative lawyer named Diane takes her two teenage children Jake and Zoe to meet their estranged, hippie grandmother in Woodstock after her husband asks for a divorce.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisPeople We Meet on Vacation (2026)
Poppy's a free spirit. Alex loves a plan. After years of summer vacations, these polar-opposite pals wonder if they could be a perfect romantic match.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrooklyn (2015)
In 1950s Ireland and New York, young Eilis Lacey has to choose between two men and two countries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Song (2010)
A drama centered on a rebellious girl who is sent to a Southern beach town for the summer to stay with her father. Through their mutual love of music, the estranged duo learn to reconnect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025)
Sarah and David are single strangers who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and soon, through a surprising twist of fate, find themselves on a funny, fantastical, sweeping adventure together where they get to re-live important moments from their respective pasts, illuminating how they got to where they are in the present... and possibly getting a chance to alter their futures.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNights in Rodanthe (2008)
Adrienne is trying to decide whether to stay in her unhappy marriage or not, and her life changes when Paul, a doctor who is travelling to reconcile with his estranged son, checks into an inn where she is staying.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEnchanted April (1991)
When married British women Rose Arbuthnot and Lottie Wilkins decide to take a break from their respective spouses, they stay at a castle in Italy for a quiet holiday. Joining the ladies is Caroline Dester, a young socialite, and Mrs. Fisher, an older aristocrat. Liberated from their daily routines, the four women ease into life in rural Italy, and each finds herself transformed by the experience.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAna (2020)
Ana meets Rafa in a chance encounter and they embark on a road trip to try and save him from bankruptcy, or worse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Jacked (2018)
Maya, a headstrong 28-year-old with artistic ambitions – a strong contrast to what her father Ed wants: a dutiful daughter to run the family store. Ed is shocked when Maya takes her assertions of independence a step further and decides to travel to Africa for inspiration and returns with a fiancé who is not quite what he seems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIrish Wish (2024)
Maddie's dream guy is days away from marrying her best friend when a wish for true love made on an ancient stone in Ireland magically alters her fate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWuthering Heights (1939)
Young orphan Heathcliff is adopted by the wealthy Earnshaw family and moves into their estate, Wuthering Heights. Soon, the new resident falls for his compassionate foster sister, Cathy. The two share a remarkable bond that seems unbreakable until Cathy, feeling the pressure of social convention, suppresses her feelings and marries Edgar Linton, a man of means who befits her stature. Heathcliff vows to win her back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFloat (2024)
Waverly thought she had her future figured out: she’d start her medical residency in Toronto after a summer visit to her parents in Taipei. When her plans suddenly change, she makes an impulsive detour to a small Canadian town where she meets local lifeguard Blake. After he saves her from nearly drowning at a beach party, Blake offers to teach Waverly to swim, and as the lessons continue, the two unexpectedly find themselves falling in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Apartment (1960)
Bud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. Although he often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits, one night he's left with a major problem to solve.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHarold and Maude (1971)
A deadpan young man obsessed with death meets an eccentric septuagenarian who teaches him to live life to the fullest.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPerhaps Love (1984)
A teenage boy becomes infatuated with an older woman who he discovers to be a prostitute.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & comedy
The Perfect Man (2005)
Holly is tired of moving every time her mom Jean breaks up with yet another second-rate guy. To distract her mother from her latest bad choice, Holly conceives the perfect plan for the perfect man, an imaginary secret admirer who will romance Jean and boost her self-esteem.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJezebel (1938)
In 1850s Louisiana, the willfulness of a tempestuous Southern belle threatens to destroy all who care for her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHow to Steal a Dog (2014)
Ji-so is a young girl who doesn't have a house because of her bankrupted dad. In order to get money to buy a house she plans to steal a wealthy person's dogs to earn reward money when she returns them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Beaches (1988)
A privileged rich debutante and a cynical struggling entertainer share a turbulent, but strong childhood friendship over the years.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisErin Brockovich (2000)
A twice-divorced mother of three who sees an injustice, takes on the bad guy and wins -- with a little help from her push-up bra. Erin goes to work for an attorney and comes across medical records describing illnesses clustered in one nearby town. She starts investigating and soon exposes a monumental cover-up.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShaft (1971)
Cool Black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne, Two, Three (1961)
In Cold War-era West Berlin, American Coca-Cola executive C.R. 'Mac' MacNamara is tasked with playing babysitter to his boss' spoiled 17-year-old daughter Scarlett, who proves more difficult than anticipated when she reveals that she is pregnant by a Communist.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like How Stella Got Her Groove Back?
The closest matches to How Stella Got Her Groove Back are Waiting to Exhale (1995), The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) and Love, Rosie (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after How Stella Got Her Groove Back?
Start with Waiting to Exhale (1995), the closest match to How Stella Got Her Groove Back.
What is the highest-rated movie like How Stella Got Her Groove Back?
The Apartment (1960), rated 8.2/10 by 2,846 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like How Stella Got Her Groove Back?
People We Meet on Vacation (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like How Stella Got Her Groove Back?
Yes: Waiting to Exhale (1995), The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) and Love, Rosie (2014).
How are movies similar to How Stella Got Her Groove Back chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside How Stella Got Her Groove Back, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.