Movies like The Startup (2017)
The best movies like The Startup (2017) are We All Loved Each Other So Much (1974), Ugly, Dirty and Bad (1976) and Reality (2012). If The Startup 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 673 votes
- NewestGod Forgives Everyone (2026)Released 2026
- In ItalianWe All Loved Each Other So Much (1974)Also in Italian
We 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 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 thisReality (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 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 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 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 thisGod Forgives Everyone (2026)
Arturo is a lonely, gluttonous, and disillusioned Sicilian real estate agent. His mundane life finally finds its spark through his one true passion: Sicilian pastries. It’s over a tray of cannoli that he meets his soulmate, Flora. She is everything he ever dreamed of—beautiful, witty, and brilliant. To top it off, she’s a pastry chef. However, a divine obstacle stands between them: God. While Flora is a devout, fervent Catholic, Arturo abandoned his faith as a child. Desperate not to lose the woman of his dreams, he decides to "fake it 'til he makes it," pretending to be a man of deep conviction. Guiding Arturo on this chaotic journey toward truth, faith, and Flora’s heart is an unlikely mentor and friend: Pope Francis himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIt Runs in the Family (2003)
This is the story of a dysfunctional New York family, and their attempts to reconcile
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Flat for Three (2012)
Ulisse, Fulvio and Domenico decide to rent an apartment together in order to live with their modest work. However the three encounter any difficulties that have forced them to always be one step away from starvation. Ulisse has to maintain his wife and daughter selling recordings of important foreign singers, Fulvio has the task of reviewing silly scandals of celebrities instead of writing articles for major artists, while Domenico must keep his wife and children going to make love with old single pensioners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Time We Were Children (2023)
Rome, summer 1943. Four children play war while the bombs of real war explode around them. Italo is the rich son of the Federal, Cosimo has his father in confinement and an atavistic hunger, Vanda is an orphan and a believer, Riccardo comes from a wealthy Jewish family. They are different but they don't know it and between them "the greatest friendship in the world" is born, impervious to the divisions of history that bloodies Europe. But on October 16 the Jewish boy is taken away by the Germans together with over a thousand people from the Ghetto. Thanks to Italo's father Federale, the three friends believe they know where he is and, to honor the "spit pact", decide to leave in secret to convince the Germans to free their friend. Yet another imaginative mission becomes reality, the three children travel alone in an Italy exhausted by war, among disbanded soldiers, deserters, occupying German troops, exhausted and hungry populations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Own Love Song (2010)
A wheelchair-bound singer and her best friend embark on a roadtrip to Memphis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWe Can Do That (2008)
The film follows Nello, the recently hired director of a newly developed work cooperative of former mental patients. After the closure of state psychiatric hospitals and asylums in Italy under the Basaglia Law many former patients were left with few resources and little hope of reintegrating into society. With the intention of actually improving the lives of his pupils, rather than just sedating them, Nello encourages them to expand their individual abilities and explore the wider world around them although, regardless of intention, there is sometimes a price to pushing boundaries too quickly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Dinner (1998)
An evening at an Italian restaurant hosted by tolerant and relaxed Flora, various middle-class parties enter – large and small, young and old, regulars and tourists, married and single – to dine, converse, argue, celebrate, make confessions; to eavesdrop, to interrupt, to sing, listen to music, and enjoy life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisNothing in Common (1986)
A successful advertising executive finds his freewheeling life crashing to a halt when his parents end their longtime marriage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisIn the Name of the Italian People (1971)
An obscure Italian magistrate suspects that a well-known industrialist commited murder, and decides to investigate him, and bring him to court, whatever it takes. But - will the magistrate have it in him to go against impossible odds, in the name of the Italian people he represents?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Dog Year (2009)
Jon Katz is close to burnout. He's a writer with writer's block; his wife has left for her sister's because he's emotionally distant; he rarely answers his phone. A kennel sends him a border collie that's undisciplined because of abuse. Despite a series of mishaps, Jon decides to keep trying with the dog, and he rents a dilapidated farm house to give the dog room to run. A local handyman refers Jon to a woman who might be able to help him train the dog. Reluctantly, Jon gives her a try. Is the dog the problem, or the owner?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLet's Hope It's a Girl (1986)
A multifaceted exploration of the pointlessness of sexual stereotypes. Liv Ullmann is a countess who, after her divorce, takes over the family farm. Realizing that she can't rely on the patriarchal society structure for assistance, Ullmann runs the farm herself with the help of her female servants and relatives. When the Count (Philipe Noiret) comes back into her life, he and his male buddies find themselves outclassed by the expertise of the ladies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this...Watch Out, We're Mad (2022)
Estranged, quarreling brothers Carezza and Sorriso have to put aside their differences to reclaim their father's beloved dune buggy from predatory real estate developer Torsillo, with the help of beautiful circus performer Miriam, whose family business is threatened by Torsillo's enforcers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Startup?
The closest matches to The Startup are We All Loved Each Other So Much (1974), Ugly, Dirty and Bad (1976) and Reality (2012). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Startup?
Start with We All Loved Each Other So Much (1974), the closest match to The Startup.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Startup?
We All Loved Each Other So Much (1974), rated 8.3/10 by 673 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Startup?
God Forgives Everyone (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like The Startup?
Yes: We All Loved Each Other So Much (1974), Ugly, Dirty and Bad (1976) and Reality (2012).
How are movies similar to The Startup chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Startup, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.