Movies like Burn After Reading (2008)
The best movies like Burn After Reading (2008) are The Art of Self-Defense (2019), Standing Up, Falling Down (2020) and Summer of 69 (2025). If Burn After Reading hooked you with its comedy and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Squid and the Whale (2005)7.0/10 from 1,126 votes
- NewestPsycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write About a Serial Killer (2025)Released 2025
The Art of Self-Defense (2019)
Casey is attacked at random on the street and enlists in a local dojo led by a charismatic and mysterious Sensei in an effort to learn how to defend himself. What he uncovers is a sinister world of fraternity, violence and hypermasculinity and a woman fighting for her place in it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStanding Up, Falling Down (2020)
An unlikely friendship kindles between a struggling stand-up comedian from L.A. — forced to move back home to Eastern Long Island with his tail between his legs — and a tragically flawed, but charming and charismatic, alcoholic dermatologist. Discovering to be kindred spirits, each helps the other find healing, in addition to the confidence to face the "failures" in their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSummer of 69 (2025)
In an effort to land the guy she's been pining after since grade school, Abby hires a local stripper named Santa Monica to teach her everything she needs to know about confidence and sex.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Different Man (2024)
Aspiring actor Edward undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. But his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFunny People (2009)
Famous and wealthy funnyman George Simmons doesn't give much thought to how he treats people until a doctor delivers stunning health news, forcing George to reevaluate his priorities with a little help from aspiring stand-up comic Ira.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Squid and the Whale (2005)
Based on the true childhood experiences of Noah Baumbach and his brother, The Squid and the Whale tells the touching story of two young boys dealing with their parents' divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKinds of Kindness (2024)
A triptych fable following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot Okay (2022)
An ambitious young woman, desperate for followers and fame, fakes a trip to Paris to up her social media presence. When a terrifying incident takes place in the real world and becomes part of her imaginary trip, her white lie becomes a moral quandary that offers her all the attention she’s wanted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCan You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)
When a bestselling celebrity biographer is no longer able to get published because she has fallen out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Beanie Bubble (2023)
Ty was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women turned his stuffed animals into a defining '90s trend. This behind-the-scenes look at history's biggest toy craze is a wild story about what—and who—is valued in this world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll About Nina (2018)
Nina Geld's passion and talent have made her a rising star in the comedy scene, but she's an emotional mess offstage. When a new professional opportunity coincides with a romantic one, she is forced to confront her own deeply troubled past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisI Care a Lot (2021)
A court-appointed legal guardian defrauds her older clients and traps them under her care. But her latest mark comes with some unexpected baggage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
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 thisShampoo (1975)
On Election Day, 1968, irresponsible hairdresser and ladies' man George Roundy is too busy cutting hair and dealing with his girlfriends and mistress Felicia Karpf, whose husband Lester is having an affair with his ex-girlfriend Jackie.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPsycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write About a Serial Killer (2025)
A struggling writer in the midst of a divorce befriends a retired serial killer who incidentally becomes his marriage counselor by day, and killing counselor for his next book by night.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPanic (2000)
Alex is going through a midlife crisis and it has become a very difficult time for him. His marriage is struggling, he's worried about his son, and his job of killing people for his family has become the most stressful part of his life. He seeks the help of a therapist and meets a woman in the waiting room that he connects with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBig Stan (2007)
A weak con man panics when he learns he's going to prison for fraud. He hires a mysterious martial arts guru who helps transform him into a martial arts expert who can fight off inmates who want to hurt or love him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeven Psychopaths (2012)
A struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster's beloved Shih Tzu.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Loop (2009)
The US President and the UK Prime Minister are planning on launching a war in the Middle East, but—behind the scenes—government officials and advisers are either promoting the war or are trying to prevent it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMagazine Dreams (2025)
Aspiring bodybuilder Killian Maddox struggles to find human connection in an exploration of celebrity and violence. Nothing deters him from his fiercely protected dream of superstardom, not even the doctors who warn him of the permanent damage he causes to himself with his quest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHead of State (2003)
When a presidential candidate dies unexpectedly in the middle of the campaign, the Democratic party unexpectedly picks a Washington, D.C. alderman as his replacement.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisImelda (2014)
A year after the death of his paternal grandmother at the age of 101, filmmaker Martin Villeneuve brings her back to life using a special talent.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Ravenous (1999)
After arriving at his new, remote Army outpost, Capt. John Boyd and his regiment aid a wounded frontiersman who recounts a horrifying tale of a wagon train murdered by its supposed guide – a vicious U.S. Army colonel gone rogue. Fearing the worst, the regiment heads out into the wilderness to verify the gruesome claims.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHe Was a Quiet Man (2007)
An unhinged office worker who planned to go on a shooting spree at his workplace struggles with his newfound status as a hero after he ends up stopping a shooting spree instead.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChase Me and I'll Catch You (1986)
It tells the story of Ramadhan and Monita, two people with opposite personalities who become entangled in a push-and-pull romance, presented with clever humor and social satire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
D.C. Sniper: 23 Days of Fear (2003)
Based on the known events that shook the United States for 23 days in 2002. Within 24 hours six people were killed by a sniper in Maryland County. A man and his son get overlooked in all settings where shootings occur. The police, in cooperation with the FBI follows the wrong track of a white van, while the murderers act with impunity and panic seizes the population
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Proof (2005)
Catherine is a woman in her late twenties who is strongly devoted to her father, Robert, a brilliant and well-known mathematician whose grip on reality is beginning to slip away. As Robert descends into madness, Catherine begins to wonder if she may have inherited her father's mental illness along with his mathematical genius.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlenty of Fish (2025)
It’s a date! But in the age of online dating, is it still as cute and exciting? From all the available milk substitutes for your latte, to the endless movie options on Netflix, abundance of choice has become a necessity in our modern lives. But what happens when this variety spills into our love lives? This film is about Aubrey, who for better or for worse, is on the dating apps and has a date coming up. This is not her first rodeo, and it probably won’t be her last, but we’ve scored front row seats to this particular chapter of her romantic adventures. Will this date go on Cupid's resume, or will it just be another cautionary tale?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Playing with Death (2011)
The family of Eusebio, a sick old man, believes that he has begun to lose his mind and that the stories he tells, which nobody listens to, are those of a crazy person.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Face Lift (2017)
Be better and more beautiful than you were before.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Burn After Reading?
The closest matches to Burn After Reading are The Art of Self-Defense (2019), Standing Up, Falling Down (2020) and Summer of 69 (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Burn After Reading?
Start with The Art of Self-Defense (2019), the closest match to Burn After Reading.
What is the highest-rated movie like Burn After Reading?
The Squid and the Whale (2005), rated 7.0/10 by 1,126 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Burn After Reading?
Psycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write About a Serial Killer (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Burn After Reading?
Yes: The Art of Self-Defense (2019), Standing Up, Falling Down (2020) and Summer of 69 (2025).
How are movies similar to Burn After Reading chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Burn After Reading, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.