Movies like The Spotlight (1927)
The best movies like The Spotlight (1927) are Driver's Ed (2026), The Wedding Year (2019) and Taking Care of Business (1990). If The Spotlight hooked you with its comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedEddie Murphy Raw (1987)7.2/10 from 393 votes
- NewestDriver's Ed (2026)Released 2026
Driver's Ed (2026)
A group of teens hit the road in a stolen driver's ed car, racing against time to help a lovesick high school senior track down his college-freshman girlfriend and win her back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wedding Year (2019)
A commitment-phobic 27-year old’s relationship is put to the test when she and her boyfriend attend 7 weddings in the same year.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisTaking Care of Business (1990)
An uptight advertising exec has his entire life in a filofax organizer which mistakenly ends up in the hands of a friendly convict who poses as him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAli Wong: Single Lady (2024)
After a whirlwind couple of years, Ali Wong returns to the stage to dish on the highs, lows and surprises of dating post-divorce.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
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 thisSextuplets (2019)
Father-to-be Alan is shocked to learn that he was born a sextuplet. With his newfound brother Russell riding shotgun, the duo sets out on a hilarious journey to reunite with their remaining long-lost siblings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGabriel Iglesias: I'm Sorry for What I Said When I Was Hungry (2016)
Hawaiian-shirt enthusiast Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias finds the laughs in racist gift baskets, Prius-driving cops and all-female taco trucks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe F**k-It List (2020)
After a prank blows up a studious high school senior's life, he shares a list of certain things he wishes he'd done differently — and maybe still can.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhy Worry? (1923)
A hypochondriac vacations in the tropics for the fresh air - and finds himself in the middle of a revolution instead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (2013)
86-year-old Irving Zisman is on a journey across America with the most unlikely companion: his 8 year-old grandson, Billy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeriously Single (2020)
While her free-living bestie urges her to embrace singlehood, a commitment-craving social media expert can't stop following the life of a former love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPretty Persuasion (2005)
A 15-year-old girl incites chaos among her friends and a media frenzy when she accuses her drama teacher of sexual harassment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisEddie Murphy Raw (1987)
Eddie Murphy delights, shocks and entertains with dead-on celebrity impersonations, observations on '80s love, sex and marriage, a remembrance of Mom's hamburgers and much more.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHollywood 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 thisAdam Sandler: Love You (2024)
Adam Sandler hits the stage for a thrillingly unpredictable comedy special featuring songs, jokes, party-crashing dogs and plenty of love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThunderstruck (2012)
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDough and Dynamite (1914)
Pierre and Jacques are working as waiters at a restaurant where the cooks go on strike. When the two are forced to work as bakers, the striking cooks put dynamite in the dough, with explosive results.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBabes (2024)
After getting pregnant from a one-night stand, a single woman leans on her married best friend and mother of two to guide her through gestation and beyond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Best Man Holiday (2013)
When college friends reunite after 15 years over the Christmas holidays, they discover just how easy it is for long-forgotten rivalries and romances to be reignited.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMuch Ado About Nothing (2013)
A modern retelling of Shakespeare's classic comedy about two pairs of lovers with different takes on romance and a way with words.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHigh School Hero (1927)
Pete (Nick Stuart) and Bill (John Darrow) are childhood rivals who continue to feud in high school, especially when they both develop feelings for Eleanor Barrett (Sally Phipps). Their rivalry threatens to disrupt the school basketball team, but they eventually make amends.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Ghost in the Garret (1921)
Framed for stealing some pearls while staying at the country home of her aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Dennison, Delsie O'Dell is banished from their house. Delsie along with her bulldog, Violet, follows Oscar, the actual thief, to an old haunted house, which is the hideout for a gang of thieves. A series of humorous escapades follows as she first hides from the thieves, then pretends to be a ghost, terrorizing them. Eventually she retrieves the pearls, clears her name, and is safe once again in the arms of Bill, Dennison's secretary.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Piccadilly Jim (1919)
American newspaper reporter Jim Crocker's madcap escapades in London earn him notoriety and the nickname "Piccadilly Jim." When he overhears his American cousin by marriage, Ann Chester, giving her candid opinion of him, he decides to return to America to try to reform. He meets Ann on the boat, using another name. Unable to find work in New York, he goes to his step aunt Mrs. Peter Pett's home to be near Ann. Jim then helps Ann kidnap pampered cousin Ogden Pett whose overindulgence has created disruption in the household.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Popular Sin (1926)
Philandering husband George Montfort purchases railroad tickets for a weekend tryst in the mountains with his latest paramour. When his wife Yvonne finds the tickets, George hastily explains that they were bought as an anniversary present for her. Yvonne doesn't believe George, but she decides to use her ticket anyway, while George remains behind in Paris on "business."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Patsy Among the Smugglers (1915)
12th release in Lubin's "Patsy Bolivar" 1-reel comedy series.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Patsy Among the Fairies (1915)
Tenth release in Lubin's "Patsy Bolivar" 1-reel comedy series.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
A Lucky Leap (1916)
Fatty leaves his country home to go to the city. Bess, who lives in the city with her mother and her detective father, takes a novel and goes to the park to read, and strikes up a flirtation with Fatty. The father goes to his office, while the mother purchases a watch as a birthday present for him, but she is seen by a crook, who follows her. When she stops in the park to rest he gets the watch. On his way out of the park the crook passes Fatty and sells him the stolen watch. The crook then tries to flirt with Bess, but is thrown out by Fatty, who has fallen in love at first sight and is invited to Bess's home, after he has made her a present of the watch. When Bess and Fatty enter the house the mother is out in the hall telephoning her husband about the loss, and he starts home immediately. Bess leaves Fatty while she shows her mother the watch he gave her. The mother recognizes the watch and starts for Fatty, being joined later by her husband.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Patsy in a Seminary (1915)
Episode seven of the Lubin Studios Patsy Bolivar series.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Fortune Hunter (1914)
A hydroplane pilot is in love with a wealthy old scientist's granddaughter. However, a fortune hunter also desires to marry the granddaughter for her money, even though she is in love with the pilot. Based on a successful play that starred John Barrymore.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Tessie (1925)
Cigar counter girl Tessie tips off her mechanic boyfriend that a wealthy women is going to buy a car, and he leaves Tessie for Mrs. Welles.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Spotlight?
The closest matches to The Spotlight are Driver's Ed (2026), The Wedding Year (2019) and Taking Care of Business (1990). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Spotlight?
Start with Driver's Ed (2026), the closest match to The Spotlight.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Spotlight?
Eddie Murphy Raw (1987), rated 7.2/10 by 393 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Spotlight?
Driver's Ed (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Spotlight?
Yes: Driver's Ed (2026), The Wedding Year (2019) and Taking Care of Business (1990).
How are movies similar to The Spotlight chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Spotlight, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.