Movies like L.A.X. (1980)
The best movies like L.A.X. (1980) are Los Angeles Plays Itself (2004), Barton Fink (1991) and Gangster Squad (2013). If L.A.X. hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBoyz n the Hood (1991)7.6/10 from 2,395 votes
- NewestCarry-On (2024)Released 2024
Los Angeles Plays Itself (2004)
From its distinctive neighborhoods to its architectural homes, Los Angeles has been the backdrop to countless movies. In this dazzling work, Andersen takes viewers on a whirlwind tour through the metropolis' real and cinematic history, investigating the myriad stories and legends that have come to define it, and meticulously, judiciously revealing the real city that lives beneath.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBarton Fink (1991)
A renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGangster Squad (2013)
Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and — if he has his way — every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It’s enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop… except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O’Mara and Jerry Wooters who come together to try to tear Cohen’s world apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlaying It Cool (2014)
A young man meets and instantly falls in love with an engaged woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisNickelodeon (1976)
In the silent film era, attorney Leo Harrigan and gunslinger Buck Greenway are hired to stop an illegal film production. However, they soon team up with the filmmakers and become important players in the show business industry. Leo learns he has a talent for directing, and Buck's cowboy persona quickly earns him leading-man status — but both men fall for beautiful starlet Kathleen Cooke, leading to a heated personal rivalry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Day of the Locust (1975)
Hollywood, 1930s. Tod Hackett, a young painter who tries to make his way as an art director in the lurid world of film industry, gets infatuated with his neighbor Faye Greener, an aspiring actress who prefers the life that Homer Simpson, a lone accountant, can offer her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBobby (2006)
In 1968 the lives of a retired doorman, hotel manager, lounge singer, busboy, beautician and others intersect in the wake of Robert F. Kennedy's assassination at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCafé Society (2016)
The story of a young man who arrives in Hollywood during the 1930s hoping to work in the film industry, falls in love, and finds himself swept up in the vibrant café society that defined the spirit of the age.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThey Live (1988)
A lone drifter stumbles upon a unique pair of sunglasses that reveal aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into submission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHeart and Souls (1993)
A fateful night in 1959, four people die when the bus they are riding crashes. They continue as ghosts; their souls become eternally entwined to the life of a child born at the moment of their deaths as his guardians. Baby Thomas grows up to be a businessman who has memories of his playmates, but assumes they are products of his youthful imagination. When the ghosts realize they need Thomas' help to move on to the afterlife, they decide to make an appearance once more.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBoyz n the Hood (1991)
Three friends growing up in South Central Los Angeles navigate a neighborhood plagued by violence, unemployment, and crime, each responding differently to the harsh realities of street life. As tragedy strikes close to home, their friendship, choices, and hopes for a better future are put to the ultimate test.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTo Sleep with Anger (1990)
An enigmatic drifter from the South comes to visit an old acquaintance who now lives in South-Central LA.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSideways (2004)
Two middle-aged men embark on a spiritual journey through Californian wine country. One is an unpublished novelist suffering from depression, and the other is only days away from walking down the aisle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMank (2020)
1930s Hollywood is reevaluated through the eyes of scathing social critic and alcoholic screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz as he races to finish the screenplay of Citizen Kane.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrossing Over (2009)
Immigrants from around the world enter Los Angeles every day, with hopeful visions of a better life, but little notion of what that life may cost. Their desperate scenarios test the humanity of immigration enforcement officers. In Crossing Over, writer-director Wayne Kramer explores the allure of the American dream, and the reality that immigrants find – and create -- in 21st century L.A.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCarry-On (2024)
An airport security officer races to outsmart a mysterious traveler forcing him to let a dangerous item slip onto a Christmas Eve flight.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHome Again (2017)
Life for a single mom in Los Angeles takes an unexpected turn when she allows three young guys to move in with her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMade of Honor (2008)
Tom and Hannah have been platonic friends for 10 years. He's a serial dater, while she wants marriage but hasn't found Mr. Right. Just as Tom is starting to think that he is relationship material after all, Hannah gets engaged. When she asks Tom to be her 'maid' of honor, he reluctantly agrees just so he can attempt to stop the wedding and woo her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this(500) Days of Summer (2009)
Tom, greeting-card writer and hopeless romantic, is caught completely off-guard when his girlfriend, Summer, suddenly dumps him. He reflects on their 500 days together to try to figure out where their love affair went sour, and in doing so, Tom rediscovers his true passions in life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this2 Days in the Valley (1996)
In a sleepy bedroom community of LA's San Fernando Valley, the murder of a professional athlete by two hit men sets into motion a chain of events that puts the mundane lives of a dozen residents on a collision course. This clever tale tells the story of two hit men, a mistress, a nurse, a vindictive ex-wife, a wealthy art dealer and his lovelorn assistant, a suicidal writer and his dog, and a bitter cop and his partner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like L.A.X.?
The closest matches to L.A.X. are Los Angeles Plays Itself (2004), Barton Fink (1991) and Gangster Squad (2013). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after L.A.X.?
Start with Los Angeles Plays Itself (2004), the closest match to L.A.X..
What is the highest-rated movie like L.A.X.?
Boyz n the Hood (1991), rated 7.6/10 by 2,395 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like L.A.X.?
Carry-On (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like L.A.X.?
Yes: Los Angeles Plays Itself (2004), Barton Fink (1991) and Gangster Squad (2013).
How are movies similar to L.A.X. chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside L.A.X., then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.