Movies like Watermelon Man (1970)
The best movies like Watermelon Man (1970) are Hollywood Shuffle (1987), Desperate Living (1977) and The Onion Movie (2008). If Watermelon Man hooked you with its comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedRicky Gervais: Humanity (2018)7.6/10 from 547 votes
- NewestBad Apples (2026)Released 2026
Hollywood Shuffle (1987)
Aspiring actor and hot-dog stand employee Bobby Taylor catches the ire of his grandmother for auditioning for a role in the regrettably titled exploitation film "Jivetime Jimmy's Revenge." When Tinseltown Studios casts Taylor in the title role, he has a series of conflicted dreams satirizing African-American stereotypes in Hollywood, and must reconcile his career goals with his desire to remain a positive role model for his little brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDesperate Living (1977)
After killing her husband, Peggy Gravel and her murderous maid Grizelda wind up in the crazy town of Mortville, where Queen Carlotta presides over a sleazy collection of misfits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Onion Movie (2008)
Venerable newscaster Norm Archer reports the latest news in politics, health, culture and entertainment - such as an automotive recall of decapitation-inducing "Neckbelts" and a study finding that "depression hits losers hardest". This compilation of bogus news stories, celebrity profiles, movie trailers and skits come courtesy of the ace satirists at The Onion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRicky Gervais: Armageddon (2023)
Ricky Gervais dishes out controversial takes on political correctness and oversensitivity in a taboo-busting comedy special about the end of humanity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRicky Gervais: Humanity (2018)
In his first special in seven years, Ricky Gervais slings his trademark snark at celebrity, mortality and a society that takes everything personally.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisScary Movie (2000)
A familiar-looking group of teenagers find themselves being stalked by a more-than-vaguely recognizable masked killer! As the victims begin to pile up and the laughs pile on, none of your favorite scary movies escape the razor-sharp satire of this outrageously funny parody!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDave Chappelle: The Dreamer (2023)
From his onstage tackle to the slap heard round the world, Dave Chappelle lets loose in this freewheeling and unfiltered stand-up comedy special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Underdoggs (2024)
Jaycen 'Two Js' Jennings is a washed-up former pro football star who has hit rock bottom. When sentenced to community service coaching the Underdoggs, an unruly pee-wee football team in his hometown, he sees it mostly as an opportunity to rebuild his public image. But in the process, he may just turn his life around and rediscover his love of the game.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Super (1991)
Louie Kritski is a heartless landlord who has been so negligent in keeping up his ghetto apartment that he is threatened with jail time. The judge gives him another option -- he must live in his rat-infested hell hole until he brings it up to liveable standards.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisLouis C.K.: Ridiculous (2026)
From a bee getting shot in New York City to paying strangers to take his aging father, Louis C.K. unleashes the ridiculous thoughts in his mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRicky Stanicky (2024)
When three childhood best friends pull a prank gone wrong, they invent the imaginary Ricky Stanicky to get them out of trouble. Twenty years later, the trio still uses the nonexistent Ricky as a handy alibi for their immature behavior. But when their spouses and partners get suspicious and demand to finally meet the fabled Mr. Stanicky, the guilty trio decide to hire a washed-up actor and raunchy celebrity impersonator to bring him to life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Apples (2026)
A struggling primary school teacher is forced to take drastic action because of a foul-mouthed, violent student, and uncovers how her community will turn a blind eye to the most outrageous events to preserve harmony and their sense of safety.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)
Life's questions are 'answered' in a series of outrageous vignettes, beginning with a staid London insurance company which transforms before our eyes into a pirate ship. Then there's the National Health doctors who try to claim a healthy liver from a still-living donor. The world's most voracious glutton brings the art of vomiting to new heights before his spectacular demise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSwimming with Sharks (1994)
Guy is a young film executive who's willing to do whatever it takes to make it in Hollywood. He begins working for famed producer Buddy Ackerman, a domineering, manipulative, coldhearted boss. When Guy also finds out that his cynical girlfriend, Dawn, has been using sex as a career move, he reaches his limit. Guy decides to exact revenge on Buddy by kidnapping him and subjecting him to cruel and unusual punishment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTropic Thunder (2008)
A group of self-absorbed actors set out to make the most expensive war film ever. When budgets skyrocket and schedules fall far behind, the director tries to save the production by leading his cast into the jungles of Southeast Asia, where they inadvertently encounter real danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Loop (2009)
The US President and the UK Prime Minister are planning on launching a war in the Middle East, but—behind the scenes—government officials and advisers are either promoting the war or are trying to prevent it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like this2 Minutes of Fame (2020)
An up-and-coming stand-up comic moves to L.A. to pursue a film career after video clips of his act make him an online sensation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRicky Gervais: Mortality (2025)
Ricky Gervais tackles life, death and the state of the world in a brutally honest special that spares no topic, even his own mortality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJim Jefferies: This Is Me Now (2018)
The gleefully irreverent Jefferies skewers “grabby” celebrities, political hypocrisy and his own ill-advised career moves in a brash stand-up special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmazon Women on the Moon (1987)
Centered on a television station which features a 1950s-style sci-fi movie interspersed with a series of wild commercials, wacky shorts and weird specials, this lampoon of contemporary life and pop culture skewers some of the silliest spectacles ever created in the name of entertainment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisBeverly Hills Cop (1984)
Fast-talking, quick-thinking Detroit street cop Axel Foley has bent more than a few rules and regs in his time, but when his best friend is murdered, he heads to sunny Beverly Hills to work the case like only he can.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWild in the Streets (1968)
Musician Max Frost lends his backing to a Senate candidate who wants to give 18-year-olds the right to vote, but he takes things a step further than expected. Inspired by their hero's words, Max's fans pressure their leaders into extending the vote to citizens as young as 15. Max and his followers capitalize on their might by bringing new issues to the fore, but, drunk on power, they soon take generational warfare to terrible extremes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Girl Can't Help It (1956)
A down-and-out gangster hires a down-on-his-luck agent to make his girlfriend a recording star within six weeks.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeavens Above! (1963)
A clerical error leads to the appointment of a left-leaning small-town priest to a rich village, where he immediately horrifies his snobby parishioners by appointing a dustman and a black man as vicar's wardens and throwing open the vicarage to the sprawling, disreputable Smith family, who have just been evicted from their caravan site. He converts the dowager aristocrat to works of absurd charity but he soon has the town and much of the country in uproar.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
25 Miles to Normal (2026)
Follows a doctor as he reunites with his estranged father and the rest of their family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Running After (2018)
Paulo Ventania is a black Brazilian man, always doing his best to bring some happiness in his life, and by happiness he means money. When he's at a dead end, he discovers the opportunity to become a football manager by leading some boy from the neighborhood to becoming the new Neymar of international soccer. Going through the suburbs of Rio, he finds Glanderson, a young boy with an enormous talent for soccer despite missing two toes. With good humor, high hopes, and a lot of mistakes, the quixotic duo tries their best to make their dream come true.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Retreat (2024)
A mother and son head to a retreat to move past a family tragedy. Soon truths are revealed that start to make it clear that the help they need is not there.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Jobber (2025)
A Naive Luchador dreams of one day winning the championship belt like his father but is stuck wrestling as a racist gangbanger persona; he must now choose between pursuing the belt or staying true to his lucha libre roots.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Defendant (TBA)
Armed with an ill-fitting suit and a bottle of wine James descends on Harringay searching out old acquaintances and absolution for testifying on behalf of his friend in a contentious trial.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Spy Who Tasted Tea (2026)
Max Bourke (played by Max Bourke) tastes tea in his boost juice, and in an effort to find out why, he has to infiltrate British HQ.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Watermelon Man?
The closest matches to Watermelon Man are Hollywood Shuffle (1987), Desperate Living (1977) and The Onion Movie (2008). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Watermelon Man?
Start with Hollywood Shuffle (1987), the closest match to Watermelon Man.
What is the highest-rated movie like Watermelon Man?
Ricky Gervais: Humanity (2018), rated 7.6/10 by 547 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Watermelon Man?
Bad Apples (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Watermelon Man?
Yes: Hollywood Shuffle (1987), Desperate Living (1977) and The Onion Movie (2008).
How are movies similar to Watermelon Man chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Watermelon Man, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.