Movies like Self Defense (2009)
The best movies like Self Defense (2009) are The Nannies (2022), Themroc (1973) and It Boy (2013). If Self Defense hooked you with its comedy, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Women on the 6th Floor (2011)6.8/10 from 426 votes
- NewestComédie-Française (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchThe Nannies (2022)Also in French
The 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 thisThemroc (1973)
Themroc, a bachelor house painter living at home with his mother, leads a sad and colorless life. One day, after a run-in with his boss, he rebels. He wrecks his apartment, rejects every facet of bourgeois life, and begins acting like an urban, modern-day Neanderthal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisComédie-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 thisTaking Care of Business (1990)
An uptight advertising exec has his entire life in a filofax organizer which mistakenly ends up in the hands of a friendly convict who poses as him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Dreamer (2022)
In this winsome comedy, an entitled Economics professor pursues a tactic to buy an ailing widow’s mansion for nothing, but he quickly realizes that his seemingly foolproof strategy won’t be as easy as he thought.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisLouise-Michel (2008)
In this radical and endearing black comedy, a group of retrenched female factory workers decide to pool their compensation money… and hire a hit man to liquidate their boss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBabes (2024)
After getting pregnant from a one-night stand, a single woman leans on her married best friend and mother of two to guide her through gestation and beyond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWould I Lie to You? (1997)
Jobless loner Eddie Vuibert gets a lucky break when a rich Jewish entrepreneur mistakes him for a Jew and gives him a sweet job in the Parisian fashion district.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Bones (2001)
A medicine man is sent looking for the son of his tribal king, and brings back an American golfer and a host of goons intent on keeping him in the golf tournament.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEvening Classes (1967)
Tati plays a comedy teacher and explains the basic rules of comedy to some rather slow-witted students, illustrating his points with demonstrations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGood Vibes Only (2026)
Based on the true story of a married couple who invented a groundbreaking sex toy heralded as forever changing the way women experience pleasure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChris Rock: Kill the Messenger (2008)
An HBO special edited from three performances from Chris Rock's 2008 comedy tour: London (dark suit, dark shirt), Johannesburg (black suit, white shirt) and New York (shiny jacket). Topics include the ongoing presidential campaign, the possibility of a black president, George W. Bush, gas prices, low-paid jobs, ringtones and bottled water, sex, relationships and the correct use of the n-word
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFun with Dick and Jane (1977)
When an upwardly mobile couple find themselves unemployed and in debt, they turn to armed robbery in desperation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarche à l'ombre (1984)
Two friends, one a musician the other constantly depressed wander around Greece and France till they get to Paris without a penny to their name. Here they spend nights in the underground, and squat in houses with the African immigrants. One day they both fall in love with Mathilde a blond dancer and follow her to New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarbecue (2014)
On his 50th birthday, a man who's been watching his weight, health and temper all his life suffers a heart attack. He's been doing everything he was told he should do and it still didn't help. He decides to turn the page and let loose.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe French Minister (2013)
Alexandre Taillard de Vorms is a force to be reckoned with. With his silver mane and tanned, athletic body, he stalks the world stage as Minister of Foreign Affairs for France, waging his own war backed up by the holy trinity of diplomatic concepts: legitimacy, lucidity, and efficacy. Enter Arthur Vlaminck. Hired to write the minister's speeches, Arthur must contend with the sensibilities of his boss and the dirty dealings within the Quai d'Orsay, the ministry's home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Women on the 6th Floor (2011)
Paris, in the early 1960s. Jean-Louis Joubert is a serious but uptight stockbroker, married to Suzanne, a starchy class-conscious woman and father of two arrogant teenage boys, currently in a boarding school. The affluent man lives a steady yet boring life. At least until, due to fortuitous circumstances, Maria, the charming new maid at the service of Jean-Louis' family, makes him discover the servants' quarter on the sixth floor of the luxury building he owns and lives in. There live a crowd of lively Spanish maids who will help Jean-Louis to open to a new civilization and a new approach of life. In their company - and more precisely in the company of beautiful Maria - Jean-Louis will gradually become another man, a better man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeartbeat (1938)
A pompous grocer’s assistant in Marseille annoys a visiting film crew so much that they prank him with a phony acting contract; believing it to be real, the “schpountz” heads to Paris for his new career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Self Defense?
The closest matches to Self Defense are The Nannies (2022), Themroc (1973) and It Boy (2013). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Self Defense?
Start with The Nannies (2022), the closest match to Self Defense.
What is the highest-rated movie like Self Defense?
The Women on the 6th Floor (2011), rated 6.8/10 by 426 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Self Defense?
Comédie-Française (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Self Defense?
Yes: The Nannies (2022), Themroc (1973) and It Boy (2013).
How are movies similar to Self Defense chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Self Defense, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.