Movies like Garden State (2004)
The best movies like Garden State (2004) are Cha Cha Real Smooth (2022), He Was a Quiet Man (2007) and Greenberg (2010). If Garden State hooked you with its comedy and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedJosee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020)8.2/10 from 646 votes
- NewestTeenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026)Released 2026
Cha Cha Real Smooth (2022)
Fresh out of college and stuck at his New Jersey home without a clear path forward, 22-year-old Andrew begins working as a party starter for bar/bat mitzvahs—where he strikes up a unique friendship with a young mom and her teenage daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHe Was a Quiet Man (2007)
An unhinged office worker who planned to go on a shooting spree at his workplace struggles with his newfound status as a hero after he ends up stopping a shooting spree instead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGreenberg (2010)
Roger Greenberg, a failed musician now making a living as a carpenter in New York, returns to Los Angeles to house-sit for his brother. He's stranded there—since he doesn't drive—until his brother's assistant, Florence, comes to his rescue. She's as much a lost soul as he is, and the pair form a significant connection—giving Roger a much-needed reason to be happy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBarefoot (2014)
The "black sheep" son of a wealthy family meets a young psychiatric patient who's been raised in isolation her entire life. He takes the naive young woman home for his brother's wedding an improbable romance blooms, as she impresses everyone with her genuine, simple charms.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Unmarried Woman (1978)
A wealthy woman from Manhattan's Upper East Side struggles to deal with her new identity and her sexuality after her husband of 16 years leaves her for a younger woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Land of Women (2007)
After a bad breakup with his girlfriend leaves him heartbroken, Carter Webb moves to Michigan to take care of his ailing grandmother. Once there, he gets mixed up in the lives of the mother and daughters who live across the street.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisOde to Joy (2019)
Charlie suffers from a serious disease that causes acute narcolepsy whenever he is happy. Although he develops a variety of techniques to deny himself pleasure and deal with his sleep issues, they’re put to the test when he falls in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIrreplaceable You (2018)
A stunning cancer diagnosis spurs Abbie to seek a future girlfriend for fiancé and childhood sweetheart Sam, who's clueless when it comes to dating.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCharlie Bartlett (2008)
Awkward teenager Charlie Bartlett has trouble fitting in at a new high school. Charlie needs some friends fast, and decides that the best way to find them is to appoint himself the resident psychiatrist. He becomes one of the most popular guys in school by doling out advice and, occasionally, medication, to the student body.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWristcutters: A Love Story (2007)
Zia, distraught over breaking up with his girlfriend, decides to end it all. Unfortunately, he discovers that there is no real ending, only a run-down afterlife that is strikingly similar to his old one, just a bit worse. Discovering that his ex-girlfriend has also "offed" herself, he sets out on a road trip to find her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNumb (2007)
Hudson Milbank is a successful Hollywood screenwriter who suddenly and strangely finds himself without any emotional feelings. He tries doctor after doctor and shrink after shrink, but nothing works. The Golf Channel, lesbian exercise classes and a dizzying variety of pills get him through the day, but don't quite solve his problem. His writing partner tries everything to get him back to normal, but it's not until Hudson meets Sara that he finds a real motivation to get better and to actually start feeling again. From the writer of Deuce Bigalow, comes NUMB, a romantic comedy following an unusual man looking for strange love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009)
After her much older husband forces a move to a suburban retirement community, Pippa Lee engages in a period of reflection and finds herself heading toward a quiet nervous breakdown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisJust Before I Go (2015)
Ted Morgan has been treading water for most of his life. After his wife leaves him, Ted realizes he has nothing left to live for. Summoning the courage for one last act, Ted decides to go home and face the people he feels are responsible for creating the shell of a person he has become. But life is tricky. The more determined Ted is to confront his demons, to get closure, and to withdraw from his family, the more Ted is yanked into the chaos of their lives. So, when Ted Morgan decides to kill himself, he finds a reason to live.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDemolition (2016)
An emotionally desperate investment banker finds hope through a woman he meets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBox of Moonlight (1996)
Al Fountain, a middle-aged electrical engineer, is on the verge of a mid-life crisis, when he decides to take his time coming home from a business trip, rents a car, and heads out looking for a lake he remembers from his childhood. But his wandering takes him into the life of Kid, a free-spirited young man who helps Al escape from the routine of everyday life and find freedom to enjoy himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Panic in Needle Park (1971)
A stark portrayal of life among a group of heroin addicts who hang out in Needle Park in New York City. Played against this setting is a low-key love story between Bobby, a young addict and small-time hustler, and Helen, a homeless girl who finds in her relationship with Bobby the stability she craves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrizzi's Honor (1985)
Charley Partanna is a hitman who works for the Prizzis, one of the richest crime families in the US. When he sees Irene Walker, it's love at first sight. But he soon finds that she, too, is a killer for hire. Charley can overlook his suspicions, but he can't turn off his heart. And the couple must remember that even if they love each other, the Prizzis love only money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSomeone to Watch Over Me (1987)
Claire Gregory, an upper class New York personality, witnesses a murder in a luxurious nightclub. Detective Mike Keegan, recently promoted, is assigned to protect her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisSomething Wild (1986)
A free-spirited woman "kidnaps" a yuppie for a weekend of adventure. But the fun quickly takes a dangerous turn when her ex-con husband shows up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fisher King (1991)
Two troubled men face their terrible destinies and events of their past as they join together on a mission to find the Holy Grail and thus to save themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShadows in the Sun (2005)
An aspiring young writer tracks a literary titan suffering from writers block to his refuge in rural Italy and learns about life and love from the irascible genius and his daughters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfter This Our Exile (2006)
After his mother flees the family home, a son turns to thieving in order to support his father, an abusive sort who is addicted to gambling.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
It's All Gone Pete Tong (2004)
A comedy following the tragic life of the legendary Frankie Wilde. The story takes us through Frankie's life from being one of the best DJs alive, through a subsequent battle with a hearing disorder, culminating in his mysterious disappearance from the scene.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOnce Upon a Time in… Hollywood (2019)
Los Angeles, 1969. TV star Rick Dalton, a struggling actor specializing in westerns, and stuntman Cliff Booth, his best friend, try to survive in a constantly changing movie industry. Dalton is the neighbor of the young and promising actress and model Sharon Tate, who has just married the prestigious Polish director Roman Polanski…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Acid House (1998)
A surreal triptych adapted by "Trainspotting" author Irvine Welsh from his acclaimed collection of short stories. Combining a vicious sense of humor with hard-talking drama, the film reaches into the hearts and minds of the chemical generation, casting a dark and unholy light into the hidden corners of the human psyche.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026)
An ambitious director sets out to revive a faded slasher franchise, but her meeting with the film’s reclusive original star spirals into a terrifying maze of obsession, fear, and blood-soaked delusion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008)
Nick cannot stop obsessing over his ex-girlfriend, Tris, until Tris' friend Norah suddenly shows interest in him at a club. Thus begins an odd night filled with ups and downs as the two keep running into Tris and her new boyfriend while searching for Norah's drunken friend, Caroline, with help from Nick's band mates. As the night winds down, the two have to figure out what they want from each other.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeaven Can Wait (1978)
Joe Pendleton is a quarterback preparing to lead his team to the superbowl when he is almost killed in an accident. An overanxious angel plucks him to heaven only to discover that he wasn't ready to die, and that his body has been cremated. A new body must be found, and that of a recently-murdered millionaire is chosen. His wife and accountant—the murderers—are confused by this development, as he buys the L.A. Rams in order to once again quarterback them into the Superbowl.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGenova (2009)
A man moves his two daughters to Italy after their mother dies in a car accident, in order to revitalize their lives. Genoa changes all three of them as the youngest daughter starts to see the ghost of her mother, while the older one discovers her sexuality.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisJosee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020)
With dreams of diving abroad, Tsuneo gets a job assisting Josee, an artist whose imagination takes her far beyond her wheelchair. But when the tide turns against them, they push each other to places they never thought possible, and inspire a love fit for a storybook.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Garden State?
The closest matches to Garden State are Cha Cha Real Smooth (2022), He Was a Quiet Man (2007) and Greenberg (2010). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Garden State?
Start with Cha Cha Real Smooth (2022), the closest match to Garden State.
What is the highest-rated movie like Garden State?
Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020), rated 8.2/10 by 646 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Garden State?
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Garden State?
Yes: Cha Cha Real Smooth (2022), He Was a Quiet Man (2007) and Greenberg (2010).
How are movies similar to Garden State chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Garden State, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.