Movies like Dancing On Pearls (1998)
The best movies like Dancing On Pearls (1998) are Tongues Untied (1990), 4th Man Out (2015) and Beach Rats (2017). If Dancing On Pearls hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedRed, White & Royal Blue (2023)7.9/10 from 1,671 votes
- NewestRed, White & Royal Blue (2023)Released 2023
Tongues Untied (1990)
Marlon Riggs, with assistance from other gay Black men, especially poet Essex Hemphill, celebrates Black men loving Black men as a revolutionary act. The film intercuts footage of Hemphill reciting his poetry, Riggs telling the story of his growing up, scenes of men in social intercourse and dance, and various comic riffs, including a visit to the "Institute of Snap!thology," where men take lessons in how to snap their fingers: the sling snap, the point snap, the diva snap.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this4th Man Out (2015)
After a night of drinking, Adam Hutcherson stumbles out of the closet to his three straight buddies. A disruption to their dynamic which they now must try and overcome through alcohol, Tinder dates and forgiveness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeach Rats (2017)
On the outskirts of Brooklyn, Frankie, an aimless teenager, suffocates under the oppressive glare cast by his family and a toxic group of delinquent friends. Struggling with his own identity, Frankie begins to scour hookup sites for older men.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJeffrey (1995)
Jeffrey, a gay man living in New York City with an overwhelming fear of contracting AIDS, concludes that being celibate is the only option to protect himself. As fate would have it, shortly after his declaration of a sex-free existence, he meets the handsome Steve Howard, his dream man -- except for his HIV-positive status. Facing this dilemma, Jeffrey turns to his best friend and an outrageous priest for guidance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThree Months (2022)
Caleb, a South Florida teen, loves his camera, his weed and his grandmother. On the eve of his high school graduation, everything changes when he's exposed to HIV. While he waits three months for his results, Caleb finds love in the most unlikely of places.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMoonlight (2016)
The tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBoy Erased (2018)
Jared, the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, is outed to his parents at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a gay conversion therapy program – or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYour Friends & Neighbors (1998)
Restless and unhappy, two couples get caught up in infidelity and deception. Barry is a sullen businessman married to Mary, a writer who is unsatisfied with their relationship. Mary begins an affair with Jerry, a smug theater professor and husband of her friend, Terri, who is also a writer. Adding to the adulterous mix are Cary, a callous doctor, and Cheri, an art-gallery assistant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisBuddies (1985)
David, a naive graduate student, has volunteered to work as a 'buddy' for people dying of AIDS. Assigned to the intensely political Robert, a lifelong activist whose friends and family have abandoned him following his diagnosis, the two men, each with notably different world views, soon discover common bonds, as David's inner activist awakens and Robert's need for emotional release is fulfilled.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisParting Glances (1986)
Michael and Robert, two gay men living in Brooklyn, spend their last day together before Robert leaves for Africa on work assignment. Michael still has feelings for his friend Nick, who has AIDS.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWittgenstein (1993)
A dramatization, in modern theatrical style, of the life and thought of the Viennese-born, Cambridge-educated philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, whose principal interest was the nature and limits of language. A series of sketches depict the unfolding of his life from boyhood, through the era of the first World War, to his eventual Cambridge professorship and association with Bertrand Russell and John Maynard Keynes. The emphasis in these sketches is on the exposition of the ideas of Wittgenstein, a homosexual, and an intuitive, moody, proud, and perfectionistic thinker generally regarded as a genius.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000)
A close-knit group of gay friends share the emotional roller coster of life, relationships, the death of friends, new beginnings, jealousy, fatherhood and professional success. At various stages of life's disarray, these young men share humorous and tragic relationships and always have each other to rely on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrick (1999)
Gabriel is a young, aspiring musical composer whose life seems stuck in the First Act. When his new musical number gets a critical reception, a theatre colleague, Perry, tells Gabriel that he needs to get a life before he can write about one – so he heads straight for his local gay bar.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boys in the Band (2020)
At a birthday party in 1968 New York, a surprise guest and a drunken game leave seven gay friends reckoning with unspoken feelings and buried truths.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKinky Boots: The Musical (2019)
Charlie Price is a shoe factory owner struggling to save his family business, and Lola is a fabulous entertainer with a wildly exciting idea. With a little compassion and a lot of understanding, this unexpected pair learn to embrace their differences and create a line of sturdy stilettos unlike any the world has ever seen!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
An award-winning cynical journalist, Lloyd Vogel, begrudgingly accepts an assignment to write an Esquire profile piece on the beloved television icon Fred Rogers. After his encounter with Rogers, Vogel's perspective on life is transformed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGoltzius & the Pelican Company (2012)
Hendrik Goltzius, a late-16th-century Dutch printer and engraver of erotic prints, seduces the Margrave of Alsace into paying for a printing press to make and publish illustrated books.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRed, White & Royal Blue (2023)
After an altercation between Alex, the president's son, and Britain's Prince Henry at a royal event becomes tabloid fodder, their long-running feud now threatens to drive a wedge in U.S./British relations. When the rivals are forced into a staged truce, their icy relationship begins to thaw and the friction between them sparks something deeper than they ever expected.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1991. High school freshman Charlie is a wallflower, always watching life from the sidelines, until two senior students, Sam and her stepbrother Patrick, become his mentors, helping him discover the joys of friendship, music and love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhite Frog (2013)
When Nick, who has Asperger's syndrome, struggles to carry on after the death of his brother Chaz, Chaz's best friend Randy takes Nick under his wing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dancing On Pearls?
The closest matches to Dancing On Pearls are Tongues Untied (1990), 4th Man Out (2015) and Beach Rats (2017). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dancing On Pearls?
Start with Tongues Untied (1990), the closest match to Dancing On Pearls.
What is the highest-rated movie like Dancing On Pearls?
Red, White & Royal Blue (2023), rated 7.9/10 by 1,671 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dancing On Pearls?
Red, White & Royal Blue (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Dancing On Pearls?
Yes: Tongues Untied (1990), 4th Man Out (2015) and Beach Rats (2017).
How are movies similar to Dancing On Pearls chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dancing On Pearls, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.