Movies like Diary of a Bad Lad (2010)
The best movies like Diary of a Bad Lad (2010) are In the Soup (1992), Hooking Up (2020) and Somewhere in Queens (2023). If Diary of a Bad Lad 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 ratedLouis C.K.: Oh My God (2013)7.6/10 from 229 votes
- NewestBalls Up (2026)Released 2026
In the Soup (1992)
An aspiring young filmmaker gets involved with an eccentric gangster for the financing of his first film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHooking Up (2020)
Bailey and Darla embark upon a misguided and mutually deceitful form of therapy, one in which they must drive across the country, re-enacting Darla's colorful history as a sex addict. As their true motivations for the road trip come to light, the unlikely pair force one another to confront their issues, discovering that there might actually be more to love than just sex.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
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 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 thisBand Aid (2017)
A couple who can't stop fighting embark on a last-ditch effort to save their marriage: turning their fights into songs and starting a band.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpun (2003)
Over the course of three days, Ross, a college dropout addicted to crystal-meth, encounters a variety of oddball folks – including a stripper named Nikki and her boyfriend, the local meth producer, The Cook – but all he really wants to do is hook up with his ex-girlfriend, Amy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKinds of Kindness (2024)
A triptych fable following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs (2023)
In a rowdy stand-up set, Shane Gillis riffs on his girlfriend's Navy SEAL ex, touring George Washington's house and being bullied by an Australian Goth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLouis C.K.: Oh My God (2013)
Filmed at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, AZ on February 15th and 16th, 2013, Oh My God is Louis C.K.'s fifth stand-up special, his first for HBO since 2007's Shameless, and his first since winning a Emmy Award for writing on his acclaimed show on FX, Louie. Performed in the round in front of a live audience, he discusses such topics as the food chain, animals, divorce, strange anecdotes, broken morality, murder and mortality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMexicali (2026)
A former special forces contractor is forced out of retirement as an avocado farmer in Mexico when local gangsters try to force him and his family off their farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBill Burr: Drop Dead Years (2025)
In what might be his most personal and introspective hour yet, Bill offers hilarious takes on everything from male sadness to dating advice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWho Is Cletis Tout? (2001)
With a hitman’s gun aimed at him, Finch tells the story of how he broke out of jail, fell in love, and took the identity of a man wanted by the Mafia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisIll Manors (2012)
Ensemble film revolving around characters living in Forest Gate, London. Over the course of a few days, six inter-linking stories explore issues of drug use, prostitution and urban poverty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLockdown (2000)
Avery (Jones) returns to college as a competitive swimmer after getting his life back on track. But his life takes another unexpected turn when he and his two friends (Bonds, Casseus) are wrongly accused of murder and end up in prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHard to Die (1990)
While doing the inventory for a lingerie outlet in a high rise office building, five attractive women are terrorized by a series of bizarre killings. They suspect that the strange janitor, who witnessed another series of killings six months previously, is at the bottom of the whole thing. Little do they know the real horror that they face in the end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBalls Up (2026)
Two marketing executives go "balls out" and pitch a bold full‑coverage condom sponsorship with the World Cup. After their drunken celebration in Brazil sparks a global scandal, they must outrun furious fans, criminals, and power-hungry officials to salvage their careers and make it home alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisKing Cobra (2016)
It’s 2006, YouTube is in its infancy, and internet porn is still behind a paywall. Taking the stage name Brent Corrigan, a fresh-faced, wannabe adult video performer is molded into a star by Stephen, a closeted gay porn mogul who runs the skin flick empire Cobra Video from his seemingly ordinary suburban home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisConvict (2014)
Set in the dark and old Parramatta prison built by the original convicts our lead character Ray a war veteran finds himself serving 18 months for manslaughter after defending his fiance. He soon realizes that the prison boss has it in for him and does everything possible to break Ray even going after his fiance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAccident Man (2018)
Mike Fallon, the Accident Man, is a stone cold killer. When a loved one is murdered by his own crew, Fallon is forced to avenge the one person who actually meant something to him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGuns on the Clackamas (1995)
Nigel Nado, the notable documentary filmmaker, is trying to make a movie about some people trying to make a movie. But everything is going wrong. The subject of his documentary, the western 'Guns on the Clackamas' is plagued with problems. The lead actress has a severe stutter. And since she also happens to be the Executive Producer's mistress, there's not much that can be done to remedy the situation. Unsuccessful in turning the movie into a yodeling extravaganza, they decide to fire the actress. This results in having her irate beau pull the plug on the film's financing. The beginning of the end is marked by cast members dropping like flies due to any number of reasons. Bad macaroni salad. Bad chili. Bad caterer. A camera dolly runs over a crew member, severing some key limb or another. Then since no cast member has survived, and the film's producers can't hire replacements, the 'Guns on Clackamas' makers must resort to solutions at once startling and hilarious.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Great Choice (2017)
A woman gets stuck in a Red Lobster commercial, in Robin Comisar’s horror-comedy that won Best Short at the Overlook Film Festival.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Cold as I.C.E (2026)
After legal U.S citizen Joey Mexico is shot and arrested by I.C.E, conflicting narratives on the incident spark severe controversy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
We Took A Train (2026)
A travel vlogger persuades his friend to embark on a 36-hour journey aboard the Amtrak Coast Starlight, hoping the trip will finally bring them closer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
This is a Big Night for Ricky (2024)
Ricky Pherwinnikins is a young director who believes that his most recent film Punxsutawney Phil's Last Stand is going to be announced as the secret 11th Best Picture nominee during tonight's Oscar ceremony.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Hanabee (2024)
HANABEE was a syndicated daytime talk show that aired from 1986-1992. Host Ken Hanabee tackled the most provocative issues of the day with a reasonable touch. This short presents some of HANABEE's most groundbreaking moments.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Capes (2005)
A mockumentary depicting the day to day exploits of Alligator Man and his new sidekick Leaping Lizard.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Farce of the Penguins (2006)
In this spoof of "March of the Penguins," nature footage of penguins near the South Pole gets a soundtrack of human voices. Carl and Jimmy, best friends, walk 70 miles to the mating grounds where the female penguins wait. The huddled masses of females - especially Melissa and Vicki - talk about males, mating, and what might happen this year. Carl, Jimmy, and the other males make the long trek talking about food, fornication and flatulence. Until this year, Carl's sex life has been dismal, but he falls hard for Melissa. She seems to like him. A crisis develops when Jimmy comes upon something soft in the dark. Can friends forgive? Does parenthood await Carl and Melissa?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisWrathbone (2026)
International rock star Nigel Wrathbone had everything: money and fame, unbridled hedonism, creative freedom. Then he died and went to Hell.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
#ChadGetsTheAxe (2022)
Four social media influencers livestream their trip to Devil's Manor, former home to a Satanic Cult. Things don't go well. And as the violence ramps up... so do the views.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Diary of a Bad Lad?
The closest matches to Diary of a Bad Lad are In the Soup (1992), Hooking Up (2020) and Somewhere in Queens (2023). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Diary of a Bad Lad?
Start with In the Soup (1992), the closest match to Diary of a Bad Lad.
What is the highest-rated movie like Diary of a Bad Lad?
Louis C.K.: Oh My God (2013), rated 7.6/10 by 229 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Diary of a Bad Lad?
Balls Up (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Diary of a Bad Lad?
Yes: In the Soup (1992), Hooking Up (2020) and Somewhere in Queens (2023).
How are movies similar to Diary of a Bad Lad chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Diary of a Bad Lad, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.