Movies like The Candidate (2019)
The best movies like The Candidate (2019) are Therapy Done Right (2026), A Poet (2025) and 53 Sundays (2026). If The Candidate 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 ratedThank You for Smoking (2005)7.2/10 from 2,527 votes
- NewestTherapy Done Right (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishTherapy Done Right (2026)Also in Spanish
Therapy Done Right (2026)
A psychoanalyst who's lost faith in traditional therapy crosses every boundary to help a blocked novelist in this cutting Argentine dark comedy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Poet (2025)
An aging poet finds purpose mentoring Yurlady, a talented teen, though exposing her to the poetry scene might be unwise. His own poetic pursuits led nowhere, leaving him a stereotypical obscure writer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like this53 Sundays (2026)
When three siblings agree to meet and discuss their aging father's future, their reunion spirals into bickering, bantering and reliving old grudges.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMadea Goes to Jail - The Play (2006)
Madea returns in another hilarious story in which she gets sent to the big house. But regardless of the circumstances, she gives her trademark advice and wisdom to her friends and family as they learn the importance of letting go, moving on, and forgiveness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDown the Rabbit Hole (2024)
Raised in opulence and culture, a boy's life contrasts with the darkness that seeps in from his father's criminal activities in this dark comedy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOfficial Competition (2021)
When a billionaire entrepreneur impulsively decides to create an iconic movie, he demands the best. Renowned filmmaker Lola Cuevas is recruited to mastermind this ambitious endeavour. Completing the all-star team are two actors with massive talent but even bigger egos: Hollywood heartthrob Félix Rivero and radical theatre actor Iván Torres. Both are legends, but not exactly best friends. Through a series of increasingly eccentric trials set by Lola, Félix and Iván must confront not only each other but also their own legacies. Who will be left when the cameras finally start rolling?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOn Becoming a Guinea Fowl (2024)
On an empty road in the middle of the night, Shula stumbles across the body of her uncle. As funeral proceedings begin around them, she and her cousins bring to light the buried secrets of their middle-class Zambian family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLandline (2017)
A teenager living with her sister and parents in Manhattan during the 1990s discovers that her father is having an affair.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSomewhere in Queens (2023)
Leo and Angela Russo live a simple life in Queens, surrounded by their overbearing Italian-American family. When their son finds success on his high school basketball team, Leo tears the family apart trying to make it happen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLady Windermere's Fan (1925)
A society woman believes her husband is having an affair, a misconception which may have dire personal consequences for all involved.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPuro Mula (2011)
Joel is a 28 year old slacker who gets up every morning to drink beer and play his guitar. His older sister interrupts his daily routine by asking him to take care of her 6 year old kid. Joel thinks he can handle it, but things get complicated when the kid disappears from the house.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSubUrbia (1997)
A group of suburban teenagers try to support each other through the difficult task of becoming adults.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion - The Play (2002)
The fireworks begin when Madea’s family gathers for her granddaughter’s wedding. As usual, Madea rules the roost, as she and her neighbor, the wacky Mr. Brown, deliver nonstop laughs. Live, love, rejoice...it’s Madea’s Family Reunion!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFamily Weekend (2013)
A 16-year-old girl takes her parents hostage after they miss her big jump-roping competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Comedy (2012)
Indifferent to the notion of inheriting his father's estate, a restless, aging New Yorker passes time with his friends in games of mock sincerity, irreverence, and recreational cruelty towards those around them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCode 3 (2025)
A burned-out paramedic tries to survive his last 24 hours on the job while training a new recruit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPatricia, A Hidden Passion (2020)
Patricia is a successful couples therapist. Your marriage is going through a bad time. But when she meets a student, Pablo will transform her own beliefs about sex.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisTorrente for President (2026)
Years have passed since his last adventure, but José Luis Torrente, the most politically incorrect former cop in Spain, still sees himself as a national hero.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Onion Movie (2008)
Venerable newscaster Norm Archer reports the latest news in politics, health, culture and entertainment - such as an automotive recall of decapitation-inducing "Neckbelts" and a study finding that "depression hits losers hardest". This compilation of bogus news stories, celebrity profiles, movie trailers and skits come courtesy of the ace satirists at The Onion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPolitically Incorrect (2024)
Two political rivals are trapped after suffering an accident and forge an unexpected bond, triggering a series of scandals in the Spanish presidential elections.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisDon't Look Up (2021)
Two astronomers go on a media tour to warn humankind of a planet-killing comet hurtling toward Earth. The response from a distracted world: Meh.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisD'Unbelievables D'Telly (1998)
Irish Comedy Starring Jon Kenny & Pat Shortt
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Thank You for Smoking (2005)
Nick Naylor is a charismatic spin-doctor for Big Tobacco who'll fight to protect America's right to smoke -- even if it kills him -- while still remaining a role model for his 12-year old son. When he incurs the wrath of a senator bent on snuffing out cigarettes, Nick's powers of "filtering the truth" will be put to the test.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBulworth (1998)
A suicidally disillusioned liberal politician puts a contract out on himself and takes the opportunity to be bluntly honest with his voters by affecting the rhythms and speech of hip-hop music and culture.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVictory to the Mimers (2024)
A satirical dramedy loosely inspired by the infamous UK Miners' strikes; however this time, the fight isn’t in the pits, but on the stage. With his beloved family trade targeted by a right-wing government with a long-standing hatred for the arts, a Mime performer desperately rallies the troops for a silent revolution, vowing to save the art form from facing the final curtain.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Under House Arrest (1981)
The president of an African country is closely allied with European entrepreneurs for his own benefit and theirs. The sky falls on their heads when a political essay on "The Political Structures of Traditional Power" is published. To make matters worse, the military gets involved. The president, whose party ruled unchallenged (single-party system), finds himself under house arrest.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Double Trouble (1984)
A stuntman and a saxophonist stand in for two billionaires threatened by killers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHaze - The Fog Within (TBA)
Like every day Delhi Street life, everyone running late for office and mentally drained, an office going man gets stuck in a never-ending traffic jam that feels uncomfortably close to his own messy life. As drivers shout and blame each other, the city quietly fills with SMOG—everyone contributing, no one owning it. In a small but telling moment of clarity, when we are entangled in our egos leading to a dead end, a simple ignored choice might give way to an infinite change.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
It's Hard Being Loved by Jerks (2008)
The murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh by an Islamic extremist in 2004, followed by the publishing of twelve satirical cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed that was commissioned for the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, provides the incendiary framework for Daniel Leconte's provocative documentary, It's Hard Being Loved by Jerks.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Idiocracy (2006)
To test its top-secret Human Hibernation Project, the Pentagon picks the most average European-Americans it can find - an Army private and a prostitute - and sends them to the year 2505 after a series of freak events. But when they arrive, they find a civilization so dumbed-down that they're the smartest people around.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Candidate?
The closest matches to The Candidate are Therapy Done Right (2026), A Poet (2025) and 53 Sundays (2026). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Candidate?
Start with Therapy Done Right (2026), the closest match to The Candidate.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Candidate?
Thank You for Smoking (2005), rated 7.2/10 by 2,527 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Candidate?
Therapy Done Right (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like The Candidate?
Yes: Therapy Done Right (2026), A Poet (2025) and 53 Sundays (2026).
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.