Movies like Surf, Sand & Sex (1987)
The best movies like Surf, Sand & Sex (1987) are Playing It Cool (2014), Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962) and Splendor (1999). If Surf, Sand & Sex hooked you, these 27 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedVoicemails for Isabelle (2026)8.3/10 from 1,048 votes
- NewestOne Night Only (2026)Released 2026
Playing It Cool (2014)
A young man meets and instantly falls in love with an engaged woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisMr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962)
Banker Roger Hobbs wants to spend his vacation alone with his wife, Peggy, but she insists on a family vacation at a California beach house that turns out to be ugly and broken down. Daughter Katey, embarrassed by her braces, refuses to go to the beach, as does TV-addicted son Danny. When the family is joined by Hobbs' two unhappily married daughters and their husbands, he must help everyone with their problems to get some peace.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSplendor (1999)
Veronica is a white-bread beauty searching for a good man in Los Angeles. While slam dancing at a Halloween rave, she meets Abel, a sensitive poet. Then she meets Zed, a supersexy tattooed drummer with incredible biceps. Who will she choose? Does she go for true love or cheap sex? She can't decide so she chooses both. But after managing to nurture a picture-perfect threesome, along comes Ernest, a rich movie director with deep baby blues that sweep Veronica off her feet. What's a girl to do now?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSummer of '42 (1971)
Over the summer of 1942 on Nantucket Island, three friends -- Hermie, Oscy and Benjie -- are more concerned with getting laid than anything else. Hermie falls in love with the married Dorothy, whose husband is an army pilot recently sent to the battlefront of World War II.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBook Club: The Next Chapter (2023)
Four best friends take their book club to Italy for the fun girls' trip they never had. When things go off the rails and secrets are revealed, their relaxing vacation turns into a once-in-a-lifetime cross-country adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Choice (2016)
Travis and Gabby first meet as neighbors in a small coastal town and wind up in a relationship that is tested by life's most defining events.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAlong Came Polly (2004)
Reuben Feffer is a guy who's spent his entire life playing it safe. Polly Prince is irresistible as a free-spirit who lives for the thrill of the moment. When these two comically mismatched souls collide, Reuben's world is turned upside down, as he makes an uproarious attempt to change his life from middle-of-the-road to totally-out-there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon Jon (2013)
A New Jersey guy dedicated to his family, friends, and church, develops unrealistic expectations from watching porn and works to find happiness and intimacy with his potential true love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGood Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)
Nancy Stokes, a retired schoolteacher, is pretty sure she has never had good sex. Now that her husband has died, she is determined to take a tour of sexual vistas that until now she has only imagined. She even has a plan; it involves an anonymous hotel room, and a sex worker who calls himself Leo Grande.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Map That Leads to You (2025)
Heather is a young woman traveling Europe with friends before starting her perfectly planned life. A chance meeting with Jack sparks an unexpected romance that leads to deep emotional discovery. As secrets and life choices test their bond, her path changes forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShag (1989)
Summer of 1963. Carson is getting married to her boyfriend so her friends Melaina, Pudge and Luanne take her to Myrtle Beach for one last irresponsible weekend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Night Only (2026)
Two love-starved strangers crash into each other on the one night of the year when single people are allowed to have sex.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDown in the Valley (2005)
On a trip to the beach, a teenage girl named Tobe meets a charismatic stranger named Harlan, who dresses like a cowboy and claims to be a former ranch hand. The pair feel an instant attraction and begin a relationship, but her father, a lawman, is suspicious of her lover.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisVoicemails for Isabelle (2026)
A young woman's hilariously confessional voicemails to her late sister are unknowingly redirected to a stranger, who begins to fall in love from afar.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThat Awkward Moment (2014)
Best pals Jason and Daniel indulge in casual flings and revel in their carefree, unattached lives. After learning that the marriage of their friend Mikey is over, they gladly welcome him back into their circle. The three young men make a pact to have fun and avoid commitment. However, when all three find themselves involved in serious relationships, they must keep their romances secret from one another.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)
Teenager Susan Turner, with a severe crush on playboy artist Richard Nugent, sneaks into his apartment to model for him and is found there by her sister Judge Margaret Turner. Threatened with jail, Nugent agrees to date Susan until the crush abates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrave the Dark (2025)
When Mr. Deen discovers one of his students has been living out of his car and thrown into jail, he decides to bail him out. Determined to curb Nate’s self-destructive behavior, Deen quickly discovers a host of dark secrets slowly tearing Nate apart. What began as a good deed becomes a desperate fight to save Nate from his own demons. As Nate spirals deeper into despair, Deen must decide how far he’s willing to go to save a kid on the brink of losing everything—even himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBreakin' All the Rules (2004)
After being dumped by his model girlfriend, aspiring writer Quincy Watson quits his job and is inspired to pen the ultimate how-to book on breaking up. When it becomes a smash bestseller, he starts giving his player cousin, Evan, choice tips on how to win the battle of the sexes. But when Evan's beautiful girlfriend Nikki gets wind of the plan, it's these players that end up getting played.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSomeone Like You... (2001)
Jane Goodale has everything going for her. She's a producer on a popular daytime talk show, and is in a hot romance with the show's dashing executive producer Ray. But when the relationship goes terribly awry, Jane begins an extensive study of the male animal, including her womanizing roommate Eddie. Jane puts her studies and romantic misadventure to use as a pseudonymous sex columnist -- and becomes a sensation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCedar Rapids (2011)
A naive Midwesterner insurance salesman travels to a big-city convention in an effort to save the jobs of his co-workers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisCalifornia Dreaming (2007)
Unforeseen obstacles stand in the way of a family planning to take a road trip in an RV.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
A Bullet Is Waiting (1954)
A plane carrying a sheriff and a man indicted for manslaughter is wrecked on a lonely California beach and the prisoner manages to escape, after a struggle, only to be taken in hand by the female manager of a remote sheep ranch.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
This World, Then the Fireworks (1997)
In 1950s, two incestuous lovers, a depraved suave journalist and his equally depraved prostitute sister, plan to get rich through seduction and murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Playboy's Babes of Baywatch (1998)
Video footage of some of the beauties that have graced Playboy and appeared in Baywatch.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Turn Back Now (TBA)
A supernatural tale of a mermaid come to shore in 1987 California, told through static visuals and haunting song.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Jewel of the Pacific (2018)
A long-term resident of Pacific Beach explores the gradual gentrification of his once sleepy neighborhood in San Diego, California.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Bloody Beach Party (TBA)
1960s-set horror comedy about when a groovy day at the beach turns gruesome when a Beach God decides to get revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Surf, Sand & Sex?
The closest matches to Surf, Sand & Sex are Playing It Cool (2014), Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962) and Splendor (1999). Below are 24 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Surf, Sand & Sex?
Start with Playing It Cool (2014), the closest match to Surf, Sand & Sex.
What is the highest-rated movie like Surf, Sand & Sex?
Voicemails for Isabelle (2026), rated 8.3/10 by 1,048 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Surf, Sand & Sex?
One Night Only (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Surf, Sand & Sex?
Yes: Playing It Cool (2014), Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation (1962) and Splendor (1999).
How are movies similar to Surf, Sand & Sex chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Surf, Sand & Sex, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.