Movies like Simpler Times (2014)
The best movies like Simpler Times (2014) are Hail, Caesar! (2016), Asteroid City (2023) and The Last Bus (2021). If Simpler Times hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedModern Times (1936)8.3/10 from 4,256 votes
- NewestYou, Me & Tuscany (2026)Released 2026
Hail, Caesar! (2016)
When a Hollywood star mysteriously disappears in the middle of filming, the studio sends their fixer to get him back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisAsteroid City (2023)
In an American desert town circa 1955, the itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Bus (2021)
Widower Tom, on the recent passing of his wife Mary, uses his free bus pass to travel the length of Britain from John O'Groats in Caithness to Land's End in Cornwall, their shared birthplace, using only local buses. It's an incident-fuelled nostalgia trip and his encounters with local people make him a media phenomenon. Tom is totally unaware and to his surprise on arrival at Land’s End he’s greeted as a celebrity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShenandoah (1965)
Charlie Anderson, a farmer in Shenandoah, Virginia, finds himself and his family in the middle of the Civil War he wants nothing to do with. When his youngest boy is taken prisoner by the North, the Civil War is forced upon him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisModern Times (1936)
A bumbling tramp desires to build a home with a young woman, yet is thwarted time and time again by his lack of experience and habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Grapes of Wrath (1940)
Tom Joad returns to his home after a jail sentence to find his family kicked out of their farm due to foreclosure. He catches up with them on his Uncle’s farm, and joins them the next day as they head for California and a new life... Hopefully.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fox and the Hound (1981)
When a feisty little fox named Tod is adopted into a farm family, he quickly becomes friends with a fun and adorable hound puppy named Copper. Life is full of hilarious adventures until Copper is expected to take on his role as a hunting dog -- and the object of his search is his best friend!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026)
A father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with all this AI insanity, and explores the most powerful technology humanity has ever created... and what's at stake if we get it wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBicentennial Man (1999)
Richard Martin buys a gift, a new NDR-114 robot. The product is named Andrew by the youngest of the family's children. "Bicentennial Man" follows the life and times of Andrew, a robot purchased as a household appliance programmed to perform menial tasks. As Andrew begins to experience emotions and creative thought, the Martin family soon discovers they don't have an ordinary robot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
A three-year-old boy disappears during his mother's high school reunion. Nine years later, by chance, he turns up in the town in which the family has just relocated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou, Me & Tuscany (2026)
When a woman crashes at an empty Italian villa, posing as the owner's fiancée, she discovers an unexpected romance that could transform her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Invisible Man (1933)
After experimenting on himself and becoming invisible, scientist Jack Griffin, now aggressive due to the drug's effects, seeks a way to reverse the experiment at any cost.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPoor Cow (1967)
Joy lives a life filled with bad choices. At a young age, she marries and has a child–with an abusive thief who quickly ends up incarcerated. Left alone, she takes up with the guy's mate, another thief, who seems to give her some happiness but who also ends up locked up. She then takes up with a series of seedy types who offer nothing but momentary pleasure–if that.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Widow (1987)
Federal agent Alexandra Barnes believes that Catherine Petersen is a serial killer who marries rich men and then murders them for their money. But since Catherine is seemingly a master of disguise and has multiple identities, Alexandra can't prove anything with conventional detective work. With no other option, she goes undercover, pursuing the same man as Catherine, and hoping that Catherine will slip up and reveal her true identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Face of Love (2013)
A widow falls for a guy who bears a striking resemblance to her late husband.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNanny McPhee (2005)
Widower Cedric Brown hires Nanny McPhee to care for his seven rambunctious children, who have chased away all previous nannies. Taunted by Simon and his siblings, Nanny McPhee uses mystical powers to instill discipline. And when the children's great-aunt and benefactor, Lady Adelaide Stitch, threatens to separate the kids, the family pulls together under the guidance of Nanny McPhee.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfter Yang (2022)
When his young daughter's beloved companion — an android named Yang — malfunctions, Jake searches for a way to repair him. In the process, Jake discovers the life that has been passing in front of him, reconnecting with his wife and daughter across a distance he didn't know was there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon't Come Knocking (2005)
Howard Spence has seen better days. Once a big Western movie star, he now drowns his disgust for his selfish and failed life with alcohol, drugs and young women. If he were to die now, nobody would shed a tear over him, that's the sad truth. Until one day Howard learns that he might have a child somewhere out there...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeing There (1979)
A simple-minded gardener named Chance has spent all his life in the Washington D.C. house of an old man. When the man dies, Chance is put out on the street with no knowledge of the world except what he has learned from television.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSmart House (1999)
Ben Cooper and his family are struggling to get a grip on household chores, school and work. So when Ben sees that a Smart House is being given away, he enters the competition as often as he can, until they eventually win the house (named Pat). After moving in, Pat's personality radically begins to change, turning the Coopers against her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Simpler Times?
The closest matches to Simpler Times are Hail, Caesar! (2016), Asteroid City (2023) and The Last Bus (2021). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Simpler Times?
Start with Hail, Caesar! (2016), the closest match to Simpler Times.
What is the highest-rated movie like Simpler Times?
Modern Times (1936), rated 8.3/10 by 4,256 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Simpler Times?
You, Me & Tuscany (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Simpler Times?
Yes: Hail, Caesar! (2016), Asteroid City (2023) and The Last Bus (2021).
How are movies similar to Simpler Times chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Simpler Times, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.