Movies like Sex and Zen (1991)
The best movies like Sex and Zen (1991) are Crazy Love (1993), The Little Death (2014) and Due West: Our Sex Journey (2012). If Sex and Zen 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 ratedThe Little Death (2014)6.7/10 from 555 votes
- NewestFemale Employees: 2-on-2 Swapping (2023)Released 2023
Crazy Love (1993)
What was supposed to be summer school in England becomes an adventurous, exotic and romantic journey for a beautiful teenage girl. [from the Tai Seng Catalog] A nice story of a free-spirited (or, depending on your viewpoint, prick-teasing) young woman on a short journey of discovery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Little Death (2014)
A comedy film that looks into the loosely connected lives of people with strange sexual fantasies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDue West: Our Sex Journey (2012)
Set in contemporary Hong Kong, several young people are searching for romance and struggling to learn the difference between lust and love in an adventure that takes them to the mainland where pleasure is much more readily available.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJust Before I Go (2015)
Ted Morgan has been treading water for most of his life. After his wife leaves him, Ted realizes he has nothing left to live for. Summoning the courage for one last act, Ted decides to go home and face the people he feels are responsible for creating the shell of a person he has become. But life is tricky. The more determined Ted is to confront his demons, to get closure, and to withdraw from his family, the more Ted is yanked into the chaos of their lives. So, when Ted Morgan decides to kill himself, he finds a reason to live.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMeet Monica Velour (2010)
For Tobe, a nerdy, horny, frizzy-haired cineaste who doesn't quite fit in with the average contemporary teen, the pinnacle of womanhood is Monica Velour, a soft-core actress who reached the zenith of her career in the 1980s. When Tobe learns that his love idol is headlining hundreds of miles away at the Gentlemen's Petting Zoo in Indiana, he drives off with carefree glory, filled with the hope of meeting her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisGood Dick (2008)
A fidgety, wisecracking video store clerk develops a fixation on a particularly reclusive customer, a frequent visitor to the pornography section of Cinefile, the video store where he works in Los Angeles. After multiple failures to impress her during their brief daily transactions, he finds her street address in the store's database, drives to her apartment building and initiates an unconventional campaign to win her affections.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCarnal Knowledge (1971)
Two lifelong friends navigate complex sexual encounters and emotional entanglements, wrestling with societal norms and personal desires.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbout Last Night... (1986)
A man and woman meet and try to have a romantic affair, despite their personal problems and the interference of their disapproving friends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShortbus (2006)
In post-9/11 New York City, an eclectic group of citizens find their lives entangled, personally, romantically, and sexually, at Shortbus, an underground Brooklyn salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNewness (2017)
In contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTime Is Up (2021)
Vivien, an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy, a troubled young man, are involved in an accident that forces them to reclaim their lives one minute at the time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Clique (2008)
A young girl tries to fit in with a clique of popular middle school girls after moving into the guest house of one of their homes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisWarriors Two (1978)
In an attempt to save his village from being taken over by brutes, Wah is beaten to a pulp and his mother brutally murdered. Determined to take revenge, Wah learns the art of Wing Chun and enters into a showdown with the nasty villains.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAsylum (2005)
A woman becomes very curious about one of her psychiatrist husband's inmates, a man who was found guilty in the murder and disfigurement of his former wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLondon (2005)
London is a drug laden adventure that centers on a party in a New York loft where a young man is trying to win back his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPetulia (1968)
Dr. Archie Bollen is having a midlife crisis. He's just divorced his wife and is establishing a new life for himself. One night, he catches the eye of Petulia Danner, a charming, free-spirited young woman. Petulia's vibrant personality hides her fear of her abusive husband, David, whose father is a powerful society figure. As Petulia and Archie's feelings for each other grow, they must decide what it is they truly want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn 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 thisUnfaithful (2002)
A New York suburban couple's marriage goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFifty Shades Freed (2018)
Believing they have left behind shadowy figures from their past, newlyweds Christian and Ana fully embrace an inextricable connection and shared life of luxury. But just as she steps into her role as Mrs. Grey and he relaxes into an unfamiliar stability, new threats could jeopardize their happy ending before it even begins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969)
After returning to Los Angeles from a group therapy session, documentary filmmaker Bob Sanders and his wife, Carol, find themselves becoming vigilante couples counselors, offering unsolicited advice to their best friends, Ted and Alice Henderson. Not wanting to be rude, the Hendersons play along, but some latent sexual tension among the four soon comes bubbling to the surface, and long-buried desires don't stay buried for long.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Party at Kitty and Stud's (1970)
Stud's world revolves entirely around sex, sex, and more sex — an interest he shares with his way-out friends and his girl Kitty, who likes her men mean and muscular!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisI Have Two Wives (2019)
Min-ji is an ordinary housewife with a dark secret. Unlike the wishes of her husband, In-gyu, who has a business running resorts, they don't have a child yet. They've tried test tubes and home remedies, but nothing has worked. Her husband and her in-laws finally decide to get a surrogate mother, and Min-ji has no choice but to agree to it, as she is worn out from their pressure. Hometown friend Jeong-ah comes knocking on the door. Min-ji is uneasy with Jeong-ah around, as she knows her past secrets, including the time she lived with someone else and had an abortion. On the other hand, In-gyu has completely fallen for bold and sexy Jeong-ah. Like a crow that nests in another's nest, Jeong-ah takes over Min-ji's place slowly and gradually. Min-ji is driven into a corner, so she meets Jeong-ah's husband, Joo-sik, to stop her. However, she falls for his trap and is used to replace his wife who ran away from home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Schoolmistress 2 (2018)
Third time repeater Sang-goo needs special tutoring for his upcoming college entrance test. His father puts his son away in a pension together with a beautiful female teacher in hopes of motivating him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
People of Twilight (1984)
A woman runs a “mistress service” and interviews young women for “dates” with men. Various couples get together but someone is following and watching them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Delicious Body Girl Misaki (2020)
Kenichi dies in an accident just as he is about to be offered a position at a prestigious Western-style restaurant. In order to carry on Kenichi's legacy, his wife Misaki tries to learn the recipe for the "ultimate braised hamburger steak" that Kenichi pursued until the end. Misaki is surrounded by men who are attracted to her passion and beauty...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Beastie Girls (2017)
About the life in the celebrity and prostitution world. Only those who have been there know what it's like with the relationships with people, misunderstandings, conflicts, worries and sadness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Naked and Betrayed (2004)
Hard-partying friends Talisa, Cory and city council candidate Mike Finnegan (minus wife Stephanie) celebrate with Claire and Jason on the eve of their wedding. The genders separate for stag and spa parties and the friends swing, but a tragic death closes the stag party, and relationships are troubled while police investigate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
I Am Your God (1983)
A traveling middle-aged woman plans to stay overnight in Bosnian town. In her dreams, she gets sexually aroused by a thought of young receptionist, whose father doesn't let him to meet with the girl he loves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Female Employees: 2-on-2 Swapping (2023)
Hee-jeong and his male colleague were locked up when the door is locked while they cleaning and organizing a warehouse. While they are still trapped, the male employee filmed her physiological phenomenon, and later used it as blackmail for him to covets Hee-jeong's body. He even demands 2-on-2 swapping with their other female colleague.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Devil Angel (1995)
Chi Kit worked in a stock company. One day, the stock market crashed and Chi Kit ran into bankruptcy. He called his girlfriend Siu Suen and told her everything. Siu Suen loved Chi Kit so much that she took all her savings and ran away with him to Singapore to hide away from their debts. Unfortunately, Chi Kit met a wealthy woman with an interesting proposal, and it changed everything.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Sex and Zen and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sex and Zen?
The closest matches to Sex and Zen are Crazy Love (1993), The Little Death (2014) and Due West: Our Sex Journey (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sex and Zen?
Start with Crazy Love (1993), the closest match to Sex and Zen.
What is the highest-rated movie like Sex and Zen?
The Little Death (2014), rated 6.7/10 by 555 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sex and Zen?
Female Employees: 2-on-2 Swapping (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Sex and Zen chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sex and Zen, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.