Movies like The Shopping Bag Lady (1976)
The best movies like The Shopping Bag Lady (1976) are Mammal (2016), The Short History of the Long Road (2019) and Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003). If The Shopping Bag Lady hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
The Shopping Bag Lady
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Fallout (2021)7.5/10 from 1,353 votes
- NewestA Friend of Dorothy (2025)Released 2025
Mammal (2016)
After Margaret, a divorcée living in Dublin, loses her teenage son, she develops an unorthodox relationship with Joe, a homeless youth. Their tentative trust is threatened by his involvement with a violent gang and the escalation of her ex-husband's grieving rage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Short History of the Long Road (2019)
Nola grew up living in a van with her father, Clint—two nomads against the world. When tragedy strikes, Nola must confront the reality of life on the road alone, learning to own her grief, her past, and her new destination.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHomeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003)
Based on a true story. Liz Murray is a young girl who is taken care of by her loving, but drug-addicted parents. Liz becomes homeless at 15 and after a tragedy comes upon her, she begins her work to finish high school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Believe in Unicorns (2015)
Feeling awkward and isolated, an imaginative and strong-willed teenage girl runs away from home with an older punk rock drifter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Souvenir (2019)
A shy but ambitious film student falls into an intense, emotionally fraught relationship with a charismatic but untrustworthy older man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fallout (2021)
In the wake of a school tragedy, Vada, Mia and Quinton form a unique and dynamic bond as they navigate the never linear, often confusing journey to heal in a world that feels forever changed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisScarecrow (1973)
Two drifters bum around, visit earthy women and discuss opening a car wash in Pittsburgh.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Other Woman (2010)
Emilia, a law-school graduate, falls in love with her married boss, Jack. After Emilia marries Jack, her happiness turns unexpectedly to grief following the death of her infant daughter. Devastated, Emilia nonetheless carries on, attempting to forge a connection with her stepson William and to resist the interference of Jack's jealous ex-wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeven Minutes in Heaven (1986)
Natalie allows her classmate Jeff, who has run away from home, to stay at her place while her father is away on a business trip. Natalie soon starts dating Jeff's friend James Casey, who isn't as faithful as she thinks, while her best friend Polly falls in love with baseball player Zoo Knudsen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLaggies (2014)
Overeducated and underemployed, 28 year old Megan is in the throes of a quarterlife crisis. Squarely into adulthood with no career prospects, no particular motivation to think about her future and no one to relate to, Megan is comfortable lagging a few steps behind - while her friends check off milestones and celebrate their new grown-up status. When her high-school sweetheart proposes, Megan panics and- given an unexpected opportunity to escape for a week - hides out in the home of her new friend, 16-year old Annika and Annika's world-weary single dad Craig.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Brilliant Career (1979)
A young woman who is determined to maintain her independence finds herself at odds with her family who wants her to tame her wild side and get married.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFinding You (2021)
Finley, a talented aspiring violinist, meets Beckett, a famous young movie star, on the way to her college semester abroad program in a small coastal village in Ireland. An unexpected romance emerges as the heartthrob Beckett leads the uptight Finley on an adventurous reawakening, and she emboldens him to take charge of his future, until the pressures of his stardom get in the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Friend of Dorothy (2025)
Dorothy is a lonely widow whose body is failing, but her mind remains as bright as ever. When 17-year-old JJ accidentally kicks his football into her garden, he upends Dorothy's daily routine of pills, prunes, and crosswords, and an unlikely friendship blossoms. Despite being worlds apart in every way, the two come to find they have more in common than they could ever imagine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStargirl (2020)
An unassuming high schooler finds himself inexplicably drawn to the free-spirited new girl, whose unconventional ways change how they see themselves…and their world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGood One (2024)
On a weekend backpacking trip in the Catskills, 17-year-old Sam contends with the competing egos of her father and his oldest friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Unmarried Woman (1978)
A wealthy woman from Manhattan's Upper East Side struggles to deal with her new identity and her sexuality after her husband of 16 years leaves her for a younger woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPalo Alto (2014)
A lack of parental guidance encourages teens in an affluent California town to rebel with substance abuse and casual sex.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRocks (2020)
15-year-old Rocks fears that she and her little brother Emmanuel will be taken into care and forced apart if anyone finds out that their mother has left them. Against all odds, and with the help of her loyal friends, she evades the authorities and navigates the most defining days of her young life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReal Women Have Curves (2002)
In East Los Angeles, an 18-year-old struggles between her ambitions of going to college and the desires of her domineering mother for her to get married, have children, and oversee the small, rundown family-owned textile factory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMikey and Nicky (1976)
Nick is desperate, holed up in a cheap hotel, suffering from an ulcer and convinced that a local mob boss wants him killed. Terrified, he calls Mikey, his friend since childhood and a fellow gangster. So begins a long night…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Shopping Bag Lady?
The closest matches to The Shopping Bag Lady are Mammal (2016), The Short History of the Long Road (2019) and Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Shopping Bag Lady?
Start with Mammal (2016), the closest match to The Shopping Bag Lady.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Shopping Bag Lady?
The Fallout (2021), rated 7.5/10 by 1,353 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Shopping Bag Lady?
A Friend of Dorothy (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Shopping Bag Lady?
Yes: Mammal (2016), The Short History of the Long Road (2019) and Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003).
How are movies similar to The Shopping Bag Lady chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Shopping Bag Lady, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.