Movies like Lush Life (1993)
The best movies like Lush Life (1993) are Chinese Coffee (2000), Downtown '81 (2001) and Elvis (1979). If Lush Life hooked you with its drama and tv movie, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBillie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry (2021)8.2/10 from 352 votes
- NewestLess of a Stranger (2026)Released 2026
Chinese Coffee (2000)
When Harry Levine, an aging, unsuccessful Greenwich Village writer, is fired from his job as restaurant doorman, he calls on friend and mentor Jake, ostensibly to collect a long-standing debt.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDowntown '81 (2001)
The film is a day in the life of a young artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat, who needs to raise money to reclaim the apartment from which he has been evicted. He wanders the downtown streets carrying a painting he hopes to sell, encountering friends, whose lives (and performances) we peek into.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & music
Elvis (1979)
This biopic traces Elvis Presley’s life from his impoverished childhood to his meteoric rise to stardom to his triumphant conquering of Las Vegas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAaliyah: The Princess of R&B (2014)
The story of R&B singer and actress Aaliyah; namely, the highs and lows of her career, her romantic pursuits, and the events leading up to her death in 2001 at the age of 22.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisToo Late Blues (1961)
Ghost is an ideological musician and leader of a jazz band who would rather play his blues in the park to the birds than compromise himself. His peripatetic performances lead him to cross paths with a singer, while his masculinity is thrown into question following a violent brawl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorn to Be Blue (2015)
Jazz legend Chet Baker finds love and redemption when he stars in a movie about his own troubled life to mount a comeback.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMo' Better Blues (1990)
Talented but self-centered trumpeter Bleek Gilliam is obsessed with his music and indecisiveness about his girlfriends Indigo and Clarke. But when he is forced to come to the aid of his manager and childhood friend, Bleek finds his world more fragile than he ever imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeen Spirit (2019)
A shy teenager living on the Isle of Wight dreams of pop stardom. With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a singing competition that will test her integrity, talent, and ambition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattle of the Year (2013)
A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Bramble House Christmas (2017)
While settling his father’s estate, Finn Conrad becomes suspicious as to why the man left a nurse $100,000. His dad knew her for less than two months before he died. Just before Christmas, Finn wants what to reclaim what he considers his family’s money, going undercover to investigate the bed and breakfast the nurse has recently taken over. When Finn meets Willa, he discovers she’s not a conniving gold digger at all, but a woman in need who put the money to good use. When she discovers his true identity, will it keep Willa from ever trusting him again?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Dinner with Hervé (2018)
An unlikely friendship evolves over one wild night in LA between a struggling journalist and actor Hervé Villechaize, the world's most famous gun-toting dwarf, resulting in life-changing consequences for both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCoda (2020)
A famous pianist at the twilight of his career meets a free-spirited music critic who soon becomes his rock as his mental state deteriorates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSound of Christmas (2016)
Lizzie is a young piano teacher working at a music school while trying to save enough money for a Steinway piano. The school is gearing up for their major Christmas fundraiser and she has committed much of her time to plan the event. One afternoon, she meets Brad who takes an interest in her playing and asks if she will teach his uninterested teenage daughter. She begins to break through to the young girl, and sparks begin to fly with Brad, but she is shocked to find out that his interest is not solely in her playing, but in the property that houses the music school. She sets out to save the school and the event, but can she work things out with Brad?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Late Quartet (2012)
When the beloved cellist of a world-renowned string quartet is diagnosed with a life threatening illness, the group's future suddenly hangs in the balance as suppressed emotions, competing egos and uncontrollable passions threaten to derail years of friendship and collaboration. As they are about to play their 25th anniversary concert — quite possibly their last — only their intimate bond and the power of music can preserve their legacy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrace Unplugged (2013)
A talented young singer and aspiring songwriter’s Christian faith and family ties are tested when she defies her worship-pastor father and pursues pop-music stardom in GRACE UNPLUGGED, a moving and inspiring new film that explores the true meaning of success.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wiz Live! (2015)
Winner of 7 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, The Wiz was a massive Broadway hit which spawned a dismal feature film starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. Executive Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron have assembled a Tony-winning creative team, the imaginative Cirque du Soleil Theatrical and a diverse cast of showstoppers designed to create an eye-popping new take on the musical unlike anything ever seen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTaurus (2022)
A rising but troubled musician searches for the inspiration to record one last song, pushing himself deep into the void.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & music
SnoozefestMovies like thisClika (2026)
Aspiring small-town musician Chito is determined to make it big. When a clip of him performing one of his songs goes viral, he seizes the opportunity and pushes to carve out a place for himself in the new wave of Mexican-American music... and ultimately gets caught in a game more dangerous than anticipated.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLocke & Key (2011)
Three children become the caretakers of a New England mansion that is home to a bevy of secrets and magic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTalhotBlond (2012)
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Son (2019)
Time passes and tension mounts in a Florida police station as an estranged interracial couple awaits news of their missing teenage son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFramed for Murder: A Fixer Upper Mystery (2017)
In the small resort town of Lighthouse Cove, everyone knows that the best man for the job is a woman. And that woman is Shannon Hughes, owner of a construction company and an expert in Victorian home restoration and renovation. Through her renovations she will find clues to uncover the house’s secret past and in turn become an unlikely sleuth to help crack these unsolved mysteries
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBing Crosby: Live In Mysen, Norway (1977)
What was supposed to be a 40 minute performance gets extended another 20 minutes with 3 more songs to the already sung 35 songs in Bing’s only fully televised concert! Recorded a month and a half before his death, we see Bing in great form performing many songs he was associated with. He is accompanied by the Joe Bushkin Quartet and his son Harry Crosby.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
James Dean (2001)
The man behind the legend and a knowing look at 1950s Hollywood are revealed in this dynamic biopic of the meteoric star whose troubled life echoed his gut-grabbing performances in East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLess of a Stranger (2026)
As the leader of Polish rock band Lady Pank, Jan Borysewicz shapes a generation with his music, while a string of family tragedies shapes him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & music
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
New York City newspaper writer J.J. Hunsecker holds considerable sway over public opinion with his Broadway column, but one thing that he can't control is his younger sister, Susan, who is in a relationship with aspiring jazz guitarist Steve Dallas. Hunsecker strongly disapproves of the romance and recruits publicist Sidney Falco to find a way to split the couple, no matter how ruthless the method.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMonkees Screen Tests (1966)
Rare black and white footage of Michael Nesmith, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Davy Jones auditioning for the 60s hit NBC television program The Monkees.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
The Cotton Club (1984)
Harlem's legendary Cotton Club becomes a hotbed of passion and violence as the lives and loves of entertainers and gangsters collide.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBillie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry (2021)
This documentary offers a deeply intimate look at extraordinary teenager Billie Eilish. Award-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler follows her journey on the road, onstage, and at home with her family as the writing and recording of her debut album changes her life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisOne to Another (2006)
A story about bunch of people who live in a town in provincial France. At the center of it all is Pierre, a conceited and vain bisexual musician in his late teens who acts as a magnet, to varying degrees, for a whole array of characters - from his sister Lucie, with whom he has a heated incestuous relationship, to a city councilor with whom he participates in gay orgies. When Pierre turns up dead, Lucie investigates the reasons for his demise and charts the network of sadomasochistic relationships that crisscross the town.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Lush Life?
The closest matches to Lush Life are Chinese Coffee (2000), Downtown '81 (2001) and Elvis (1979). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Lush Life?
People who watched Lush Life most often go on to Chinese Coffee (2000) and Downtown '81 (2001).
What is the highest-rated movie like Lush Life?
Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry (2021), rated 8.2/10 by 352 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Lush Life?
Less of a Stranger (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Lush Life?
Yes: Chinese Coffee (2000), Downtown '81 (2001) and Elvis (1979).
How are movies similar to Lush Life chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Lush Life, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.