Movies like When to Say I Love You? (1985)
The best movies like When to Say I Love You? (1985) are Purple Hearts (2022), Newness (2017) and Not Easily Broken (2009). If When to Say I Love You? hooked you with its romance and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGabriel's Inferno (2020)8.4/10 from 2,486 votes
- NewestUs in the End (2026)Released 2026
Purple Hearts (2022)
An aspiring musician agrees to a marriage of convenience with a soon-to-deploy Marine, but a tragedy soon turns their fake relationship all too real.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisNewness (2017)
In contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot Easily Broken (2009)
A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrangers When We Meet (1960)
A suburban architect loves his wife but is bored with his marriage and with his work, so he takes up with the neglected, married beauty who lives down the street.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Everlasting (2016)
Bridger is a young outsider who's always wanted more. He and his mother flee an abusive home, eventually finding a small town in the middle of nowhere. Once there, Bridger finds true acceptance with another misfit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNympho (2025)
A woman seeking excitement meets a man who brings light and meaning to her world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Wedding March (2016)
When former college sweethearts Olivia Pershing and Mick Turner are unexpectedly reunited the weekend of Olivia's wedding, the former couple initially locks horns but as the events of the weekend unfold, Olivia and Mick find old feelings rising to the surface. Will the bride-to-be walk down the aisle as planned or will she decide to give her first love a second chance?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man from Elysian Fields (2001)
A failed novelist's inability to pay the bills strains relations with his wife and leads him to work at an escort service, where he becomes entwined with a wealthy woman whose husband is a successful writer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisFire with Fire (1986)
A tough, street-smart kid serving a sentence in a state youth reformatory meets a beautiful, innocent girl studying at a nearby convent. When forbidden love blossoms between them, they must fight the prison authorities, their parents and the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fugitive Kind (1960)
Val Xavier, a drifter of obscure origins, arrives at a small town and gets a job in a store run by Lady Torrence. Her husband, Jabe M. Torrance, is dying of cancer. Val is pursued by Carol Cutere, the enigmatic local tramp-of-good-family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAutumn Leaves (1956)
A woman falls for a younger man with severe mental problems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFlamingo Road (1949)
A stranded carnival dancer takes on a corrupt political boss when she marries into small-town society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between (2022)
Clare and Aidan make a pact to break up before college — no regrets, no broken hearts. But will one epic goodbye date offer them a last chance at love?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll My Life (2020)
It was a chance meeting started by one of Sol’s friends trying to chat up Jennifer. However, in the end, it was those two who hit it off. Sol enjoyed Jen’s smile, her effort, and how silly she could be. Jen enjoyed Sol’s cooking, his athleticism, and that he would join her in fun moments. As you can imagine, love bloomed, and things got serious. Jen’s investment in Sol led to her pushing him to follow his dreams and even move in to save money. Sol’s investment in Jen well, it led to him proposing. But what started as a liver tumor grew into full-on cancer, so with a diagnosis of 6 months to live, Sol and Jennifer try to make the best of it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGabriel's Inferno (2020)
An intriguing and sinful exploration of seduction, forbidden love, and redemption, Gabriel's Inferno is a captivating and wildly passionate tale of one man's escape from his own personal hell as he tries to earn the impossible--forgiveness and love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Secret: Dare to Dream (2020)
A widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGabriel's Inferno: Part II (2020)
Professor Gabriel Emerson finally learns the truth about Julia Mitchell's identity, but his realization comes a moment too late. Julia is done waiting for the well-respected Dante specialist to remember her and wants nothing more to do with him. Can Gabriel win back her heart before she finds love in another's arms?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBad Girl (1931)
A man and woman, skeptical about romance, nonetheless fall in love and are wed, but their lack of confidence in the opposite sex haunts their marriage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Valentine's Match (2020)
Fired from her job as a reality TV host, Natalie returns home for Valentine's Day, only to find herself running the town festival's auction with her ex-fiancé thanks to two scheming mothers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll of You (2025)
Laura and Simon have been best friends since college. Over the years, they've realized their bond is more than platonic. Can they—and should they—risk everything to explore a love that has existed all along?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnd I Love You So (2009)
When Lara lost her husband of five months, she didn't think she could go on living, much less love again. Now, seven months later, Lara is still in mourning. Every time a loved one died, someone else was there to cushion the blow. When her mother followed six years later, there was the rest of the family. But when her husband died, no one could offer any consolation - not her siblings, not her in-laws, not her friends. Not only was he the love of her life, he had also become her life. It would have been better if she died with him. In the meantime, her business -has taken a nosedive. She's also deep in debt with her unpaid condo and car mortgages. With all her predicament, how would Oliver and Chris figure in her life? Will she finally move on?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Us in the End (2026)
Cisco and Cheska, a long-term couple, embark on a final "break-up trip" to decide whether to let go or fight for their relationship after years of growing apart due to conflicting ambitions.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
100 Poems for Stella (2017)
Throughout his four years in college, Fidel, a stuttering student, tries to finish 100 poems dedicated to Stella, an aspiring but frustrated rock star, to win her heart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Once a Princess (2014)
A high school princess is cursed by the geek whose affections she toyed with.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
In My Life (2009)
A headstrong woman moves to New York and must come to terms with her estranged gay son and his partner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tila (2014)
In a world where the rain never stops, illegal multivitamin supplements are all the rage and bulalo' is a most precious commodity, two people - a flood control worker and a call center agent who sells summer vacation packages abroad - meet and find a sens of intimate normalcy and unfamiliar ease in each other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Intertwined (2014)
Bigkis is a progressive drama that reveals many of the problems and intense pressure in an overcrowded public maternity hospital. It tells the story of Mariel, an inner-city teen and a member of band faced with the realization of an unwanted pregnancy and its consequences. It also tells the story of Edel, a diligent young hospital attendant who witnesses all the predicament of these unfortunate individuals. This drama takes a straightforward look at the issue of teen pregnancy and single parenting and the plight of small public maternity hospital workers doing the dirty works without receiving any sufficient income.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Gaydar (2013)
Alvin Yapan’s latest work casts a refreshing take on modern relationships as he takes on the themes of romantic obsession, real identities and perhaps, true love. Tina’s love live seems doomed as every guy she falls for turns out to be…into other guys. She vows never to fall in love again and seeks solace in the company of her gay best friend Nick. Her life gets a turnaround when she meets a handsome FX driver that unleashes a dizzying string of surprises.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Working Girls (1984)
Women cope with various problems while earning a living in the city.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Bar Boys (2017)
The misadventures of three young men who try their luck in the college of law. As their friendship, families, relationships and convictions are brought to breaking point, they must keep their heads and emotions together as they prepare for the big day.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like When to Say I Love You??
The closest matches to When to Say I Love You? are Purple Hearts (2022), Newness (2017) and Not Easily Broken (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after When to Say I Love You??
Start with Purple Hearts (2022), the closest match to When to Say I Love You?.
What is the highest-rated movie like When to Say I Love You??
Gabriel's Inferno (2020), rated 8.4/10 by 2,486 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like When to Say I Love You??
Us in the End (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to When to Say I Love You? chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside When to Say I Love You?, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.