Movies like California Fever (1987)
The best movies like California Fever (1987) are Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970), Tromeo & Juliet (1996) and Dolemite Is My Name (2019). If California Fever hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDolemite Is My Name (2019)7.0/10 from 1,361 votes
- NewestBalls Up (2026)Released 2026
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)
An all-girl rock band moves to Hollywood in the hope of achieving success, only to fall into a whirlpool of wickedness and decadence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTromeo & Juliet (1996)
All the body-piercing, kinky sex, and car crashes that Shakespeare wanted but never had! Join Tromeo and Juliet as they travel through Manhattan's underground in search of climactic love, violence and the American Way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDolemite Is My Name (2019)
The story of Rudy Ray Moore, who created the iconic big screen pimp character Dolemite in the 1970s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZola (2021)
A waitress agrees to accompany an exotic dancer, her put-upon boyfriend, and her mysterious and domineering roommate on a road trip to Florida to seek their fortune at a high-end strip club.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like this10 (1979)
A Hollywood songwriter goes through a mid-life crisis and becomes infatuated with a sexy blonde newlywed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisO Lucky Man! (1973)
An ambitious coffee salesman has a series of improbable and ironic adventures seemingly designed to challenge his naive idealism.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGloria (1999)
After serving a prison term for her boyfriend, a streetwise, middle-aged moll named Gloria stands up against the mobs, which is complicated by a six-year-old urchin with a will of his own, whom she reluctantly takes under her wing after his family has been gunned down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisPimp (2018)
An urban love story set on the hard streets of the Bronx. A struggling female pimp, named Wednesday, grows up learning the game from her dad. Once he's gone she's left to look out for her prostitute mother and girlfriend Nikki.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBreath (2017)
A pair of teenagers in Western Australia looking to escape the monotony of life in a small town take up surfing lessons from a guy named Sando.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFoxy Brown (1974)
A voluptuous black woman takes a job as a high-class prostitute in order to get revenge on the mobsters who murdered her boyfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBalls Up (2026)
Two marketing executives go "balls out" and pitch a bold full‑coverage condom sponsorship with the World Cup. After their drunken celebration in Brazil sparks a global scandal, they must outrun furious fans, criminals, and power-hungry officials to salvage their careers and make it home alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisCitizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV (2001)
A horrific explosion creates a dimensional portal between Tromaville and its dimensional mirror image, Amortville. While the Toxie is trapped in the mirror dimension, Tromaville comes under the control of his evil doppelganger, the Noxious Offender.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJimmy Carr: Natural Born Killer (2024)
Jimmy Carr refutes the idea that you can't joke about anything these days with his edgy takes on gun control, religion, cancel culture and consent.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGridlocked (2016)
Former SWAT leader David Hendrix and hard-partying movie star Brody Walker must cut their ride-along short when a police training facility is attacked by a team of mercenaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisOriginal Sin (2001)
A young man is plunged into a life of subterfuge, deceit and mistaken identity in pursuit of a femme fatale whose heart is never quite within his grasp.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShogun Assassin (1980)
A Shogun who grew paranoid as he became senile sent his ninjas to kill his samurai. They failed but did kill the samurai’s wife. The samurai swore to avenge the death of his wife and roams the countryside with his toddler son in search of vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonday (2021)
A spark on a Friday can lead to a sizzling weekend fling, but what happens when you get to the inevitable Monday?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like California Fever?
The closest matches to California Fever are Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970), Tromeo & Juliet (1996) and Dolemite Is My Name (2019). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after California Fever?
Start with Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970), the closest match to California Fever.
What is the highest-rated movie like California Fever?
Dolemite Is My Name (2019), rated 7.0/10 by 1,361 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like California Fever?
Balls Up (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like California Fever?
Yes: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970), Tromeo & Juliet (1996) and Dolemite Is My Name (2019).
How are movies similar to California Fever chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside California Fever, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.