Movies like Private Debts (1989)
The best movies like Private Debts (1989) are Fun with Dick and Jane (2005), Jesse James (1939) and The Egg and I (1947). If Private Debts hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Private Debts
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDogville (2003)7.7/10 from 2,825 votes
- NewestRed Right Hand (2024)Released 2024
Fun with Dick and Jane (2005)
After Dick Harper loses his job at Globodyne in an Enron-esque collapse, he and his wife, Jane, turn to crime in order to handle the massive debt they now face. Two intelligent people, Dick and Jane actually get pretty good at robbing people and even enjoy it – but they have second thoughts when they're reminded that crime can hurt innocent people. When the couple hears that Globodyne boss Jack McCallister actually swindled the company, they plot revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJesse James (1939)
After railroad agents forcibly evict the James family from their family farm, Jesse and Frank turn to banditry for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Egg and I (1947)
World War II veteran Bob MacDonald surprises his new wife, Betty, by quitting his city job and moving them to a dilapidated farm in the country. While Betty gamely struggles with managing the crumbling house and holding off nosy neighbors and a recalcitrant pig, Bob makes plans for crops and livestock. The couple's bliss is shaken by a visit from a beautiful farm owner, who seems to want more from Bob than just managing her property.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRumble Through the Dark (2023)
In the dark landscape of the Mississippi Delta, a former bare-knuckle fighter must win one last fight to pay off his debts to the local mob boss and save his childhood home—the stakes nothing less than life or death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoom at the Top (1958)
An ambitious young accountant schemes to wed a wealthy factory owner's daughter, despite falling in love with a married older woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSafe Haven (2013)
A young woman with a mysterious past lands in Southport, North Carolina where her bond with a widower forces her to confront the dark secret that haunts her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Smile Back (2015)
Laney is an attractive, intelligent suburban wife and devoted mother of two adorable children. She has the perfect husband who plays basketball with the kids in the driveway, a pristine house, and a shiny SUV for carting the children to their next activity. However, just beneath the façade lie depression and disillusionment that send her careening into a secret world of reckless compulsion. Only very real danger will force her to face the painful root of her destructiveness and its crumbling effect on those she loves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSecondhand Lions (2003)
The comedic adventures of an introverted boy left on the doorstep of a pair of reluctant, eccentric great-uncles, whose exotic remembrances stir the boy's spirit and re-ignite the men's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCheaper by the Dozen (1950)
"Cheaper by the Dozen", based on the real-life story of the Gilbreth family, follows them from Providence, Rhode Island, to Montclair, New Jersey, and details the amusing anecdotes found in large families.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBastard Out of Carolina (1996)
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as her last chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAt Close Range (1986)
Brad Whitewood Jr. lives in rural Pennsylvania and has few prospects. Against his mother's wishes, he seeks out his estranged father, the head of a gang of thieves in a nearby town. Though his new girlfriend supports his criminal ambitions, Brad Jr. soon learns that his father is a dangerous man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDogville (2003)
A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange for labor, but when a search visits the town, she learns that their support has a price.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisErin Brockovich (2000)
A twice-divorced mother of three who sees an injustice, takes on the bad guy and wins -- with a little help from her push-up bra. Erin goes to work for an attorney and comes across medical records describing illnesses clustered in one nearby town. She starts investigating and soon exposes a monumental cover-up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRed Right Hand (2024)
Cash is trying to live a quiet, honest life in a small Appalachian town. When a vicious crime boss forces him back into her services, he soon learns he's capable of anything -- even killing -- to protect his family and his home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisQueenpins (2021)
Bored and frustrated suburban homemaker Connie and her best pal JoJo, a vlogger with dreams, turn a hobby into a multi-million-dollar counterfeit coupon caper. After firing off a letter to the conglomerate behind a box of cereal gone stale, and receiving an apology along with dozens of freebies, the duo hatch an illegal coupon club scheme that scams millions from mega-corporations and delivers deals to legions of fellow coupon clippers. On the trail to total coupon dominance, a hapless Loss Prevention Officer from the local supermarket chain joins forces with a determined U.S. Postal Inspector in hot pursuit of these newly minted “Queenpins” of pink collar crime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Safety of Objects (2002)
In a suburban landscape, the lives of several families interlace with loss, despair and personal crisis. Esther Gold has lost focus on all but caring for her comatose son, Paul, and neglects her daughter and husband. Lawyer Jim Train is devoted to his career, not his family. Helen Christianson wants to find a new spark in life, while Annette Jennings tries to rebuild hers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLike Dandelion Dust (2009)
Rip Porter is sentenced to seven years in prison for beating his wife, Wendy. When he is released, he discovers that Wendy gave up their child, and the privileged Campbell family adopted him. The two families are soon in a legal battle for the child they both love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Great Gilly Hopkins (2015)
Young and feisty Gilly Hopkins devises a scheme to escape from her new foster home and reunite with her birth mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSounder (1972)
The oldest son of a loving and strong family of black sharecroppers comes of age in the Depression-era South after his father is imprisoned for stealing food.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHillbilly Elegy (2020)
An urgent phone call pulls a Yale Law student back to his Ohio hometown, where he reflects on three generations of family history and his own future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Private Debts?
The closest matches to Private Debts are Fun with Dick and Jane (2005), Jesse James (1939) and The Egg and I (1947). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Private Debts?
Start with Fun with Dick and Jane (2005), the closest match to Private Debts.
What is the highest-rated movie like Private Debts?
Dogville (2003), rated 7.7/10 by 2,825 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Private Debts?
Red Right Hand (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Private Debts?
Yes: Fun with Dick and Jane (2005), Jesse James (1939) and The Egg and I (1947).
How are movies similar to Private Debts chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Private Debts, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.