Movies like Une fois dans la vie (1934)
The best movies like Une fois dans la vie (1934) are Heartbeat (1938), The Wild Goose Chase (1975) and Would I Lie to You? (1997). If Une fois dans la vie hooked you with its comedy, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Une fois dans la vie
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFive (2016)7.0/10 from 1,360 votes
- NewestComédie-Française (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchHeartbeat (1938)Also in French
Heartbeat (1938)
A pompous grocer’s assistant in Marseille annoys a visiting film crew so much that they prank him with a phony acting contract; believing it to be real, the “schpountz” heads to Paris for his new career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wild Goose Chase (1975)
The whole intrigue is centered around carte-blanche documents kept in a vault. Whoever fills in the blank becomes the owner of a revue. Big money is involved. The nephew of the owner of the vault is trying to cheat his uncle and have his name in the documents. Everything is even more complicated because the manager of the bank has a finger in the pie, too. Who but a humble bank-teller (Pierre Richard) will ruin the scheme?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWould I Lie to You? (1997)
Jobless loner Eddie Vuibert gets a lucky break when a rich Jewish entrepreneur mistakes him for a Jew and gives him a sweet job in the Parisian fashion district.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil by the Tail (1969)
In this comedy, a run-down hotel drums up customers by sabotaging passing cars. The stuck motorists are then obliged to stay. Unfortunately, one of the sabotaged cars belongs to a bank robber. The hotel staff wants the robber out, but they also want to keep his ill-gotten money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLouise-Michel (2008)
In this radical and endearing black comedy, a group of retrenched female factory workers decide to pool their compensation money… and hire a hit man to liquidate their boss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLight-Fingered George (1963)
Georges Lachaunaye is a member of an impoverished aristocratic family which needs money to live but of course doesn't want to work for it. He therefore has to think of something drastic in order for the family to survive. And then it comes to him: he'll rob the collection boxes in churches.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlter Ego (2026)
A quiet, middle-aged man spirals into obsession and paranoia when a charismatic look-alike moves in next door, featuring the exact same face—and a full head of hair.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLe Clan (2023)
Fred, Achille, Max and Belette form a good-for-nothing gang of crooks. Dismally failing their last raid, they decide to get back in the game, kidnapping Sophie Marceau.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFor 200 Grand, You Get Nothing Now (1982)
After getting screwed over by life (again), two losers decide that enough is enough. Using stolen ski masks and stolen toy guns, they take hostages in their local bank, holding them for ransom. Things go well until the hostages learn what's going on, and demand a piece of the action for themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHold-up (1985)
Dressed as a clown, the clever rascal Grimm holds up the most secure bank of Montreal and takes 30 hostages. While confusing and ridiculing the police with his strange behavior, he calmly manages to rid the bank of a fortune. But then an unsatisfied companion arouses trouble...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFive (2016)
A young man paying the rent for himself and his lifelong friends ends up flat-broke and resorts to selling marijuana to pay the bills – only to get caught up in the dangerous world of drugs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Nannies (2022)
Angèle, a thirty-something from Ivory Coast, always cope thanks to the gift of gab and audacity. To escape from a bunch of dangerous criminals, she becomes a nanny in the uptown Paris, hired by Hélène, the single mom of eight years old Arthur. Discovering the work conditions of her colleagues, she decides to stand up for their rights, thanks to a young lawyer who will quickly fall for her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFun with Dick and Jane (1977)
When an upwardly mobile couple find themselves unemployed and in debt, they turn to armed robbery in desperation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisComédie-Française (2026)
At the Comédie-Française, there is one golden rule: the play is never canceled. Unfortunately for Nina, everything else is—just three hours before the premiere of her first staging. An actor is stuck on a train, tensions explode, equipment breaks down, egos clash, and panic sets in. With no way out and time slipping away, Nina must hold the show together at all costs. Will she make it until the curtain rises?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Distinguished Gentleman (1992)
A Florida con man uses the recent death of the long time Congressman from his district, who he just happens to share a last name with, to get elected to his version of paradise, the U.S. Congress, where the money flows from lobbyists.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHappy Easter (1984)
Chronic serial womanizer Stephane Margelle drops his wife Sophie off at the airport so she can go away for Easter weekend. He immediately picks up beautiful young Julie, who has just had a fight with her married boyfriend. He gets her back to his apartment and is preparing for a sexy weekend, when his wife suddenly returns home. He makes up a bizarre, on-the-spot, spur-of-the-moment story that the gorgeous girl is actually his long-lost daughter. Julie plays along, but this leads to a whole series of increasingly ridiculous lies and comical situations (such as when her real mother shows up).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisEasy Money (1983)
To inherit his mother-in-law's colossal fortune, a hard living gambling addict must change his unhealthy ways before it gets the best of him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Dreamer (2022)
In this winsome comedy, an entitled Economics professor pursues a tactic to buy an ailing widow’s mansion for nothing, but he quickly realizes that his seemingly foolproof strategy won’t be as easy as he thought.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisRiviera Revenge (2024)
François Marsault, a war veteran, makes the most of his retirement alongside his wife Annie. Authoritarian and ruthless, François rules his family with an iron fist — but when he discovers that his esteemed wife cheated on him 40 years ago, he files for divorce and confronts her former lover, who lives in the French Riviera.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisJe ne suis pas un héros (2023)
Louis is a super nice guy. But in his lawyer's office, this is not a compliment. When his doctor wrongly diagnoses a serious disease, his colleagues behaviour changes : they care about him, they ask him questions and they listen his answers. Finally, Louis exists ! So, obviously, he hesitates over telling the truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Une fois dans la vie?
The closest matches to Une fois dans la vie are Heartbeat (1938), The Wild Goose Chase (1975) and Would I Lie to You? (1997). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Une fois dans la vie?
Start with Heartbeat (1938), the closest match to Une fois dans la vie.
What is the highest-rated movie like Une fois dans la vie?
Five (2016), rated 7.0/10 by 1,360 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Une fois dans la vie?
Comédie-Française (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Une fois dans la vie?
Yes: Heartbeat (1938), The Wild Goose Chase (1975) and Would I Lie to You? (1997).
How are movies similar to Une fois dans la vie chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Une fois dans la vie, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.