Movies like The Candidate
The best movies like The Candidate are Man of the Year (2006), The Ides of March (2011) and Michael Moore in TrumpLand (2016). If The Candidate hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
The Candidate
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Corporation (2003)7.6/10 from 291 votes
- NewestReagan (2024)Released 2024
Man of the Year (2006)
The irreverent host of a political satire talk show decides to run for president to mock the political system and expose corruption in Washington. What begins as a publicity stunt quickly gathers unexpected momentum as his message resonates with frustrated voters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ides of March (2011)
Dirty tricks stand to soil an ambitious young press spokesman's idealism in a cutthroat presidential campaign where 'victory' is relative.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMichael Moore in TrumpLand (2016)
Oscar-winner Michael Moore dives right into hostile territory with his daring and hilarious one-man show, deep in the heart of TrumpLand in the weeks before the 2016 election.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisPrimary (1960)
Primary is a documentary film about the primary elections between John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey in 1960. Primary is the first documentary to use light equipment in order to follow their subjects in a more intimate filmmaking style. This unconventional way of filming created a new look for documentary films where the camera’s lens was right in the middle of what ever drama was occurring. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 1998.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMitt (2014)
A filmmaker is granted unprecedented access to a political candidate and his family as he runs for President.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe War Room (1993)
A behind-the-scenes documentary about the Clinton for President campaign, focusing on the adventures of spin doctors James Carville and George Stephanopoulos.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Best Man (1964)
The other party is in disarray. Five men vie for the party nomination for president. No one has a majority as the first ballot closes and the front-runners begin to decide how badly they want the job.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWill Ferrell: You're Welcome America - A Final Night with George W. Bush (2009)
After playing George W. Bush on Saturday Night Live for many years, funny man Will Ferrell brings his impression to Broadway to send up the 43rd President of the United States of America.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008)
Fueled by a raging libido, Wild Turkey, and superhuman doses of drugs, Thompson was a true "free lance, " goring sacred cows with impunity, hilarity, and a steel-eyed conviction for writing wrongs. Focusing on the good doctor's heyday, 1965 to 1975, the film includes clips of never-before-seen (nor heard) home movies, audiotapes, and passages from unpublished manuscripts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisManufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1992)
A film about the noted American linguist/political dissident and his warning about corporate media's role in modern propaganda.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReagan (2024)
Told through the voice of former KGB agent Viktor Petrovich, whose life becomes inextricably linked with Ronald Reagan's when Reagan first caught the Soviets’ attention as an actor in Hollywood, Reagan overcomes the odds to become the 40th president of the United States.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this49 Up (2006)
49 Up is the seventh film in a series of landmark documentaries that began 42 years ago when UK-based Granada's World in Action team, inspired by the Jesuit maxim "Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man," interviewed a diverse group of seven-year-old children from all over England, asking them about their lives and their dreams for the future. Michael Apted, a researcher for the original film, has returned to interview the "children" every seven years since, at ages 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 and now again at age 49.In this latest chapter, more life-changing decisions are revealed, more shocking announcements made and more of the original group take part than ever before, speaking out on a variety of subjects including love, marriage, career, class and prejudice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGet Me Roger Stone (2017)
From his days of testifying at the Watergate hearings to advising recent presidential candidate Donald Trump, Roger Stone has long offended people on both sides of the political fence as a force in conservative America. Outspoken author, pundit, ahead of his time election strategist, this is his story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMiss Representation (2011)
The film MISS REPRESENTATION exposes how American youth are being sold the concept that women and girls’ value lies in their youth, beauty and sexuality. Explores the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America, and challenges the media's limited portrayal of what it means to be a powerful woman. It’s time to break that cycle of mistruths.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Sheep (1996)
When dignified Albert Donnelly runs for Governor, his team moves to keep his slow-witted and klutzy younger brother, Mike, out of the eye of the media. To baby-sit Mike, the campaign assigns sarcastic Steve, who gets the experience of a lifetime when he tries to take Mike out of town during the election.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Corporation (2003)
Since the late 18th century American legal decision that the business corporation organizational model is legally a person, it has become a dominant economic, political and social force around the globe. This film takes an in-depth psychological examination of the organization model through various case studies. What the study illustrates is that in the its behaviour, this type of "person" typically acts like a dangerously destructive psychopath without conscience. Furthermore, we see the profound threat this psychopath has for our world and our future, but also how the people with courage, intelligence and determination can do to stop it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Candidate (1972)
Bill McKay is a candidate for the U.S. Senate from California. He has no hope of winning, so he is willing to tweak the establishment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpeechless (1994)
In the midst of election season in New Mexico, political speechwriters Julia Mann and Kevin Vallick begin a romance, unaware they are working for candidates on opposite sides.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)
A series of loosely connected skits that spoof news programs, commercials, porno films, kung-fu films, disaster films, blaxploitation films, spy films, mafia films, and the fear that somebody is watching you on the other side of the TV.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGame Change (2012)
During the Republican run of the 2008 Presidential election, candidate John McCain picks a relative unknown, Alaskan governor Sarah Palin, to be his running mate. As the campaign kicks into high gear, her lack of experience, in both political and media savvy, becomes a drain upon McCain and his strategists.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Candidate?
The closest matches to The Candidate are Man of the Year (2006), The Ides of March (2011) and Michael Moore in TrumpLand (2016). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Candidate?
Start with Man of the Year (2006), the closest match to The Candidate.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Candidate?
The Corporation (2003), rated 7.6/10 by 291 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Candidate?
Reagan (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Candidate?
Yes: Man of the Year (2006), The Ides of March (2011) and Michael Moore in TrumpLand (2016).
How are movies similar to The Candidate chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Candidate, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.