Movies like I Was a Dreamer (2016)
The best movies like I Was a Dreamer (2016) are Reality (2012), Like Crazy (2016) and Ugly, Dirty and Bad (1976). If I Was a Dreamer hooked you with its drama and comedy, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWe All Loved Each Other So Much (1974)8.3/10 from 674 votes
- NewestYou, Me, Us (2026)Released 2026
- In ItalianReality (2012)Also in Italian
Reality (2012)
A dark comedy centering on the lives of a Neapolitan based family whose father, a fish merchant, is so infatuated with the reality TV show "Grande Fratello" (the Italian version of "Big Brother") he starts living his life as if he were on it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLike Crazy (2016)
Two mental patients with opposite personalities ditch their Tuscan hospital and embark on an unpredictable exploration of the real world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUgly, Dirty and Bad (1976)
Giacinto lives with his wife, their ten children and various other family members in a shack on the hills of Rome. Some time ago he has lost his left eye while at work, and got a consistent sum of money from the insurance company, which he keeps hidden from the rest of the family. His whole life is now based on defending the money he sees as his own, while the rest of the family tries to kill him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Predators (2020)
This is the story of two completely opposite households: the Pavone are intellectual and bourgeois, the Vismara are proletarian and fascists. They are two tribes sharing the same jungle: Rome. A trivial accident brings these two poles together. The madness of a 25-year old youth will set them on a collision course, discovering the cards to reveal that everyone has a secret. People are never what they seem – but we are all predators in the end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe House of Tomorrow (2019)
The film tells futurist, architect, and inventor R. Buckminster Fuller's incredible story through two teens hoping to get laid, become punk gods, and survive high school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWe All Loved Each Other So Much (1974)
Three partisans bound by a strong friendship return home after the war, but the clash with everyday reality puts a strain on their bond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisVariety Lights (1950)
In Italy, Checco Dal Monte manages a troupe of traveling performers with plenty of heart but minimal talent. At a small town engagement, he encounters the starry-eyed, gorgeous Lily Antonelli, and hires her as a dancer on the show. Vivacious Lily quickly sells out crowds and earns the resentment of Checco's mistress, Melina Amour, but the fledgling performer has far bigger ambitions and soon sets her sights on a higher-profile role.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFat Kid Rules The World (2012)
A dropout comes to the aid of a chubby and suicidal high-school kid by recruiting him as the drummer for his upstart punk-rock band.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSomewhere in Queens (2023)
Leo and Angela Russo live a simple life in Queens, surrounded by their overbearing Italian-American family. When their son finds success on his high school basketball team, Leo tears the family apart trying to make it happen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Teacher from Vigevano (1963)
Antonio Mombelli is content with his life as a primary school teacher in the small town of Vigevano. His wife, however, is ashamed of their humble circumstances and dreams of something better for their family. She insists he quits his job, gives up on his pension, and opens a small shoe factory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBasilicata Coast To Coast (2010)
A musical comedy, a journey filled with unexpected twists and unexpected encounters, leading a group of musicians to set out to the rhythm of their musical verses to participate in the Scanzano Jonico Song-Theatre Festival, walking across Basilicata, from the Tyrrhenian to the Ionian Sea, along the route that gives the project its name. The journey will have a therapeutic effect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhite as Milk, Red as Blood (2013)
Like all sixteen-year-olds, Leo prefers the company of friends, motorbike rides and music to school. None of the teachers seem to be able to arouse his interest until the arrival in his class of a young history and philosophy substitute who, with his modern methods, helps him see the world with different eyes. In love with Beatrice, the ethereal girl of his dreams, Leo divides the world by colours. Beatrice is the red of love but he is forced to confront his own beliefs and fears when he discovers that the girl is suffering from leukemia, a disease that he links to white, a symbol of emptiness and loss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou, Me, Us (2026)
A couple faces the difficult path to adoption, determined to become parents despite their complex vulnerabilities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCQ (2001)
A young filmmaker in 1960s Paris juggles directing a cheesy sci-fi debacle, directing his own personal art film, coping with his crumbling relationship with his girlfriend, and a new-found infatuation with the sci-fi film's starlet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisChloe and Theo (2015)
A young woman, Chloe, living by her wits on the streets of New York City, has a chance meeting with a wise Inuit Eskimo, Theo, who was sent to New York by his elders to provide a message to the people of the world – We either change our destructive was or be destroyed by them. Chloe, who has been searching for something to believe in, becomes inspired by Theo and , with the help of a kind lawyer, Monica, the three of them present Theo’s story to the United Nations in hopes of creating a better future for all of us.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisAlmost Friends (2017)
A man in his mid-20s, still living at home with his mother and stepfather, puts all his eggs in one basket: the girl who works at his local coffee shop. The problem is, she has a serious boyfriend. As they become closer, the line between friendship and intimacy is blurred, and the situation forces both to examine where they are in their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRo.Go.Pa.G. (1963)
Four short films by four different directors dealing with the principles of modern life. "Illibatezza" (Rossellini): The hostess Anna Maria, to dissuade an aggressive suitor who prefers maternal tendencies, assumes an unscrupulous attitude, obeying the suggestions of her distant boyfriend. "The New World" (Godard): The deflagration of an atomic bomb causes strange effects on the inhabitants of a city. "La ricotta" (Pasolini): During the filming of a film about a religious subject, the extra Stracci dies hanging on the cross due to an indigestion of ricotta. "Il pollo spante" (Gregoretti): While an expert illustrates to a board of merchants the most modern techniques to increase sales through the discovery of the secret self of the average consumer, the human story of a bourgeois who, following these suggestions, focuses on the purchase of a plot of land in the countryside.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSiblings (2025)
Irene lives in Rome. When her mother ask to, she go back to Rimini, her hometown, to take care of her autistic brother, Omar. She soon discover that Omar knows very well what to expect from the future, but in order to achieve his dreams, he need to be independent, which is why Irene begins a tender crash course to teach him adult life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSubUrbia (1997)
A group of suburban teenagers try to support each other through the difficult task of becoming adults.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFamily Weekend (2013)
A 16-year-old girl takes her parents hostage after they miss her big jump-roping competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like I Was a Dreamer?
The closest matches to I Was a Dreamer are Reality (2012), Like Crazy (2016) and Ugly, Dirty and Bad (1976). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after I Was a Dreamer?
Start with Reality (2012), the closest match to I Was a Dreamer.
What is the highest-rated movie like I Was a Dreamer?
We All Loved Each Other So Much (1974), rated 8.3/10 by 674 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like I Was a Dreamer?
You, Me, Us (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like I Was a Dreamer?
Yes: Reality (2012), Like Crazy (2016) and Ugly, Dirty and Bad (1976).
How are movies similar to I Was a Dreamer chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside I Was a Dreamer, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.