Movies like American Daydreams 17 (2016)
The best movies like American Daydreams 17 (2016) are The Little Death (2014), Lost Highway (1997) and Shortbus (2006). If American Daydreams 17 hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAmerican Beauty (1999)8.0/10 from 13,548 votes
- NewestReverie (2025)Released 2025
The Little Death (2014)
A comedy film that looks into the loosely connected lives of people with strange sexual fantasies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLost Highway (1997)
A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShortbus (2006)
In post-9/11 New York City, an eclectic group of citizens find their lives entangled, personally, romantically, and sexually, at Shortbus, an underground Brooklyn salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNymphomaniac: Vol. I (2013)
A man named Seligman finds a fainted wounded woman in an alley and he brings her home. She tells him that her name is Joe and that she is nymphomaniac. Joe tells her life and sexual experiences with hundreds of men since she was a young teenager while Seligman tells about his hobbies, such as fly fishing, reading about Fibonacci numbers or listening to organ music.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInfinity Pool (2023)
While staying at an isolated island resort, James and Em are enjoying a perfect vacation of pristine beaches, exceptional staff, and soaking up the sun. But guided by the seductive and mysterious Gabi, they venture outside the resort grounds and find themselves in a culture filled with violence, hedonism, and untold horror. A tragic accident leaves them facing a zero tolerance policy for crime: either you'll be executed, or, if you’re rich enough to afford it, you can watch yourself die instead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
A psychiatrist, familiar with the knife-wielding dream demon Freddy Krueger, helps teens at a mental hospital battle the killer who is invading their dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNymphomaniac: Vol. II (2013)
The continuation of Joe's sexually dictated life delves into the darker aspects of her adult life and what led to her being in Seligman's care.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrue Romance (1993)
Clarence marries hooker Alabama, steals cocaine from her pimp, and tries to sell it in Hollywood, while the owners of the coke try to reclaim it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGirlHouse (2014)
In an attempt to make some extra cash while away at College, Kylie moves into a house that streams content to an X-rated website. After a deranged fan hacks in to determine the house's location, she finds herself in a terrifying fight for her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeavy Traffic (1973)
A white dropout struggles to become a cartoonist and filmmaker, drawing inspiration from the harsh, gritty world around him. Still sharing his rundown apartment with his middle-aged parents, an oafish slob of an Italian father and a ditzy nutcase of a Jewish mother, he's ridiculed and looked down upon by his friends, hypocrites who run with violent gangs and the Italian Mafia, and a shallow Black girl who makes her living downtown with the pimps and pushers. The cartoonist gets a chance to pitch a film idea to a movie mogul, but the story proves too outrageous: a far-future Earth, depleted by war and pollution, where a mutant antihero challenges and kills God.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Duke of Burgundy (2015)
Day in and day out, lovers Cynthia and Evelyn enact an elaborate sadomasochistic fantasy as mistress and maid. But as their ritual of domination and submission begins to turn stale, Cynthia yearns for something more conventional, while Evelyn tries to push their taboos even further.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrange Days (1995)
In the last days of 1999, ex-cop turned street hustler Lenny Nero receives a disc which contains the memories of the murder of a prostitute. With the help of bodyguard Mace, he starts to investigate and is pulled deeper and deeper in a whirl of murder, blackmail and intrigue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBelow Her Mouth (2017)
An unexpected affair quickly escalates into a heart-stopping reality for two women whose passionate connection changes their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
Freddy Krueger returns once again to terrorize the dreams of the remaining Dream Warriors, as well as those of a young woman who may be able to defeat him for good.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisPink Flamingos (1972)
Notorious Baltimore criminal and underground figure Divine goes up against Connie & Raymond Marble, a sleazy married couple who make a passionate attempt to humiliate her and seize her tabloid-given title as "The Filthiest Person Alive".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisFifty Shades Freed (2018)
Believing they have left behind shadowy figures from their past, newlyweds Christian and Ana fully embrace an inextricable connection and shared life of luxury. But just as she steps into her role as Mrs. Grey and he relaxes into an unfamiliar stability, new threats could jeopardize their happy ending before it even begins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEyes Wide Shut (1999)
After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisCrash (1996)
A car crash victim inexplicably finds himself aroused by car accidents and becomes involved with an underground subculture of like-minded souls.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Beauty (1999)
Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisEmmanuelle (1974)
An employee at the French Embassy in Bangkok invites his wife to join him – and enjoy the benefits of their open marriage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Strings Attached (1997)
A renowned journalist becomes a suspect in a series of murders after he becomes intimately involved with a mysterious woman. In an attempt to clear his name, he tries to find a connection between his lover and the increasing number of dead bodies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Fantasm (1976)
Jurgen Noetafreud is a professor of the psyche of human sexuality, who introduces 10 short segments from his case studies of the most common female sexual fantasies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Reverie (2025)
Joe is a lonely writer who longs to be the hero of his own story. When it becomes increasingly clear that that’s not the case, he finds himself retreating to a place where he can have anything he dreams of; fame, love, even superpowers. When his real life becomes too much to bear, Joe must reconcile his imagination with reality, before he loses his grip on it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Traffic Control: The People's War on Internet Porn (2007)
A documentary that follows a new piece of legislation on its way to Capitol Hill. The Internet Community Port Act, also known as CP80 or Community Port 80, asks that adult content be placed on separate channels (ports) on the Internet so that parents can keep it out of their homes and schools. What ensues is a ferocious debate between parents, pornographers, doctors, technologists, addicts, business owners and children. But one voice is missing: our political leaders.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Hardcore (2016)
A German tourist solicits two Israeli men for kinky sex. The Israelis feel pressure to fulfill the German's violent sexual fantasies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Johnny Flash (1986)
Jurgen is an unknown electrician with a dream of pop stardom. His mother browbeats him into fame, while two managers compete for his contract. All Johnny really wants to do is get some sleep.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The All-American Girl (1973)
Debbie's boyfriend Bobby has left for Guatemala for three months and Debbie is expecting a boring summer. But then she hasn't considered her neighbours and their 15-year old son Johnny.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Fun and Games (1973)
A middle aged suburban couple find a copy of Screw Magazine and get turned on by the photos. They place an ad in the swinging couples column and attend a S&M party before realizing that this new life is not for them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like American Daydreams 17?
The closest matches to American Daydreams 17 are The Little Death (2014), Lost Highway (1997) and Shortbus (2006). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after American Daydreams 17?
Start with The Little Death (2014), the closest match to American Daydreams 17.
What is the highest-rated movie like American Daydreams 17?
American Beauty (1999), rated 8.0/10 by 13,548 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like American Daydreams 17?
Reverie (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like American Daydreams 17?
Yes: The Little Death (2014), Lost Highway (1997) and Shortbus (2006).
How are movies similar to American Daydreams 17 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside American Daydreams 17, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.