Movies like It Happened on the 36 Candles (1957)
The best movies like It Happened on the 36 Candles (1957) are Comédie-Française (2026), The Nannies (2022) and Wanda Sykes: Not Normal (2019). If It Happened on the 36 Candles hooked you with its comedy, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBo Burnham: Make Happy (2016)8.0/10 from 460 votes
- NewestComédie-Française (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchComédie-Française (2026)Also in French
Comédie-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 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 thisWanda Sykes: Not Normal (2019)
Wanda Sykes tackles politics, reality TV, racism and the secret she'd take to the grave in this rollicking, no-holds-barred stand-up special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIt Boy (2013)
38-year-old Alice has everything to become the next editor-in-chief of Rebelle magazine except for her uptight image. But when the young and charming Balthazar, barely 20, crosses Alice's path, she realizes that he holds the key to her promotion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPretty Persuasion (2005)
A 15-year-old girl incites chaos among her friends and a media frenzy when she accuses her drama teacher of sexual harassment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies 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 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 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 thisGuess Who's Calling! (2025)
Baptiste, a talented imitator, is unable to make a living from his art. One day, he is approached by Pierre Chozène, a famous but discreet novelist, constantly disturbed by incessant calls from his publisher, his daughter, his ex-wife... Pierre, who needs peace and quiet to write his most ambitious text, then suggests that Baptiste become his 'answering machine' by pretending to be him on the phone... Little by little, Baptiste doesn't just imitate the writer: he develops his character!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParis Follies (2014)
Long married 50-somethings Brigitte and Xavier are prize cattle breeders in regional France. Life is good, but the departure of their children from home has thrown Brigitte’s world into flux, as she finds herself locked into routine. She keeps hoping for something else, something more. A party held by students on the adjoining property accelerates this latent crisis and Brigitte impulsively sets off for Paris under the guise of a doctor’s appointment. The city immediately invigorates her, and when she meets a charming Danish gentleman, she impulsively allows herself to be flattered by his attentions…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisAdam Sandler: Love You (2024)
Adam Sandler hits the stage for a thrillingly unpredictable comedy special featuring songs, jokes, party-crashing dogs and plenty of love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Perfume of the Lady in Black (2005)
Newly married, Mathilde and Robert are honeymooning at a resort owned by their friends Edith and Arthur, the Chateau d'Hercule. But an unpleasant shock is in store for them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBo Burnham: Make Happy (2016)
Combining his trademark wit and self-deprecating humor with original music, Bo Burnham offers up his unique twist on life in this stand-up special about life, death, sexuality, hypocrisy, mental illness and Pringles cans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRicky Gervais: SuperNature (2022)
With his signature pitch-black sense of humor, Ricky Gervais takes the stage at the London Palladium in this provocative stand-up comedy special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978)
The story of the rise and fall of the Pre-Fab Four.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOscar (1991)
Angelo "Snaps" Provolone made his dying father a promise on his deathbed: he would leave the world of crime and become an honest businessman. Despite having no experience in making money in a legal fashion, Snaps sets about to keep his promise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Brats (2013)
Newly engaged, Thomas meets his future father-in-law Gilbert, who has been married for 30 years to Suzanne. Disillusioned Gilbert is convinced that his marriage has meant he's missed out on life. He persuades Thomas not to marry his daughter Lola and encourages him to drop everything else in his life as well. The two men then throw themselves into a new brats' life full of adventure, convinced that freedom is elsewhere. But at what cost do we rediscover our adolescent dreams?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSecond Tour (2023)
A disgraced political journalist placed in the soccer section, Miss Pove is asked to follow the presidential campaign in progress. The front-runner is a fifty-year-old heir to a powerful French family and a political novice. Troubled by this candidate, whom she has known to be less smooth in the past, Miss Pove embarks on an investigation that is as surprising as it is jubilant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBanzaï (1983)
Michel works there manically solving people's problems over the phone. He is about to tie the knot with his girl friend Isabelle, an airline hostess. She flies all over the world, he hates to leave the office. A series of madcap mishaps involving theft or injury (as you would expect in his line of work) ensues after Michel promises Isabelle nothing will delay their marriage and she promises in turn that she's done flying. Once this unlikely promise is made, it becomes premise and both are forced into escalating white lies to maintain the appearance of keeping their word. Their predicament mounts as Isabelle is forced to do a few more flights, while Michel is compelled to travel to New York, Tunisia, and finally Hong Kong, where they are finally reunited in the throes of a contrived and hilarious drug deal involving a 747, water taxi chases, and martial arts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like It Happened on the 36 Candles?
The closest matches to It Happened on the 36 Candles are Comédie-Française (2026), The Nannies (2022) and Wanda Sykes: Not Normal (2019). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after It Happened on the 36 Candles?
Start with Comédie-Française (2026), the closest match to It Happened on the 36 Candles.
What is the highest-rated movie like It Happened on the 36 Candles?
Bo Burnham: Make Happy (2016), rated 8.0/10 by 460 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like It Happened on the 36 Candles?
Comédie-Française (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like It Happened on the 36 Candles?
Yes: Comédie-Française (2026), The Nannies (2022) and It Boy (2013).
How are movies similar to It Happened on the 36 Candles chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside It Happened on the 36 Candles, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.