Movies like Desperate Women (1985)
The best movies like Desperate Women (1985) are 68 Kill (2017), Miami Blues (1990) and Novocaine (2001). If Desperate Women hooked you with its comedy and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)8.1/10 from 7,527 votes
- NewestRisqué (2025)Released 2025
68 Kill (2017)
Chip's problem is that he can't say no to beautiful women. This weakness gets him into a world of trouble when he agrees to help his girlfriend steal $68,000.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisMiami Blues (1990)
After Junior is released from prison, he plans on starting a new life in Miami. But when he kills a man in the airport, he flees the scene and finds Susie, a mild-mannered prostitute searching for stability. The two opposites become romantically involved, and Junior steals a badge and gun from a veteran detective. Using the officer's identity, Junior embarks on a crime spree and convinces Susie that he is the perfect man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNovocaine (2001)
A dentist finds himself a murder suspect after a sexy patient seduces him into prescribing her drugs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoney Train (1995)
When a vengeful New York transit cop decides to steal a trainload of subway fares, his foster brother—a fellow cop—tries to protect him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies 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 & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPineapple Express (2008)
A stoner and his dealer are forced to go on the run from the police after the pothead witnesses a cop commit a murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFemale Trouble (1976)
Teenage delinquent Dawn Davenport, incensed after her parents do not give her the cha-cha heels she wanted for Christmas, runs away from home. After an illegitimate child and hairstylist husband bring her more misery, she's enticed into a life of crime when the owners of her husband's salon promise her fame and fortune.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
A card shark and his unwillingly-enlisted friends need to make a lot of cash quick after losing a sketchy poker match. To do this they decide to pull a heist on a small-time gang who happen to be operating out of the flat next door.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisIn the Blood (2014)
When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Protector (1985)
Billy Wong is a New York City cop whose partner is gunned down during a robbery. Billy and his new partner, Danny Garoni, are working security at a fashion show when a wealthy man's daughter, Laura Shapiro, is kidnapped. The Federal authorities suspect that Laura's father is involved with Mr. Ko, a Hong Kong drug kingpin, so the NYC police commissioner sends the two cops to Hong Kong to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisRisqué (2025)
Fired from a strip club, a vengeful dancer masterminds a high-stakes heist with fellow strippers to take down the corrupt boss and the men who underestimate them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisClose Range (2015)
A rogue soldier turned outlaw is thrust into a relentless fight with a corrupt sheriff, his obedient deputies, and a dangerous drug cartel in order to protect his sister and her young daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrawl in Cell Block 99 (2017)
After working as a drug courier and getting into a brutal shootout with police, a former boxer finds himself at the mercy of his enemies as they force him to instigate violent acts that turn the prison he resides in into a battleground.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRise of the Footsoldier (2007)
Carlton Leach rises from one of the most feared generals of the football terraces to becoming a member of a notorious gang of criminals who rampaged their way through London and Essex in the late '80s and early '90s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAvengement (2019)
While on a prison furlough, a lowly criminal evades his guards and returns to his old stomping ground to take revenge on the people who turned him into a cold blooded killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
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 thisUntil Death (2007)
Anthony Stowe is a dirty cop who is hooked on heroin—and everyone hates him. After a serious accident, he is placed into an induced coma, but emerges from it a better person who wants to put things right.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisStretch (2014)
A hard-luck limo driver struggling to go straight and pay off a debt to his bookie takes on a job with a crazed passenger whose sought-after ledger implicates some seriously dangerous criminals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTightrope (1984)
Wes Block is a detective who's put on the case of a serial killer whose victims are young and pretty women. The murders are getting personal when the killer chooses victims who are acquaintances of Block. Even his daughters are threatened.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Overnight (2015)
Alex, Emily, and their son, RJ, are new to Los Angeles. A chance meeting at the park introduces them to the mysterious Kurt, Charlotte, and Max. A family “playdate” becomes increasingly interesting as the night goes on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisFilleann an Feall (2000)
Two Dubs, Sean and Ger, get wind of the proverbial pot of gold and what should be a straight-forward job becomes a fiasco. But, there's an old Irish saying - "Filleann an feall ar an bhfeallaire - What goes around comes around".
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & crime
U.S. Marshals (1998)
U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard is accompanying a plane load of convicts from Chicago to New York. The plane crashes spectacularly, and Mark Sheridan escapes. But when Diplomatic Security Agent John Royce is assigned to help Gerard recapture Sheridan, it becomes clear that Sheridan is more than just another murderer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDial M for Murder (1954)
When her American lover visits London, a wealthy woman’s jealous husband hatches a plan to murder her and inherit her fortune.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDas Schicksal der Lilian H. (1993)
A wealthy businesswoman who tried to disinherit her unfaithful husband is murdered. The man's lover is convicted on the basis of circumstantial evidence in a negligent business case. But the now in love lawyer sets out to convict the real culprits ...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Absence of Malice (1981)
Megan Carter is a reporter duped into running an untrue story on Michael Gallagher, a suspected racketeer. He has an alibi for the time his crime was allegedly committed—but it involves an innocent party. When he tells Carter the truth and the newspaper runs it, tragedy follows, forcing Carter to face up to the responsibilities of her job when she is confronted by Gallagher.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sin of Nora Moran (1933)
Nora Moran, a young woman with a difficult and tragic past, is sentenced to die for a murder that she did not commit. She could easily reveal the truth and save her own life, if only it would not damage the lives, careers and reputations of those whom she loves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
I Confess (1953)
When a priest hears a murderer’s confession, he becomes bound by his vow of silence—even as circumstantial evidence turns suspicion toward him. Torn between faith and self-preservation, he faces public scandal and trial for a crime he cannot reveal the truth about.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStep by Step (1946)
Marine veteran Johnny Christopher meets and is immediately drawn to beautiful Evelyn Smith one day on the beach. Evelyn's new job as secretary to a U.S. senator in California soon brings unexpected intrigue and trouble for her and Johnny. The machinations of a sinister group of Nazi spies lead to mysteries and mistaken identities, and the two soon find themselves framed for murder!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Flowers of the City Jail (1984)
A pregnant woman arrested for frustrated murder is sent to the Manila City Jail where she meets several women with shocking pasts.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Desperate Women?
The closest matches to Desperate Women are 68 Kill (2017), Miami Blues (1990) and Novocaine (2001). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Desperate Women?
Start with 68 Kill (2017), the closest match to Desperate Women.
What is the highest-rated movie like Desperate Women?
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), rated 8.1/10 by 7,527 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Desperate Women?
Risqué (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Desperate Women?
Yes: 68 Kill (2017), Miami Blues (1990) and Novocaine (2001).
How are movies similar to Desperate Women chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Desperate Women, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.