Movies like The Key Is in the Door (1978)
The best movies like The Key Is in the Door (1978) are Under the Stars of Paris (2021), Other People's Children (2022) and Almost Friends (2017). If The Key Is in the Door hooked you with its drama and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFatherhood (2021)7.5/10 from 1,585 votes
- NewestOnce Upon My Mother (2025)Released 2025
- In FrenchUnder the Stars of Paris (2021)Also in French
Under the Stars of Paris (2021)
Christine’s life has not been easy lately. Her lonely routine is divided between free food banks distributions and wandering the streets. On a cold winter night she founds Suli, an 8-year-old Eritrean boy, sobbing in front of her shelter. Christine understands that he is lost and has been separated from his mother. Bounded by their marginal condition, they embark together on an emotional journey to find Suli’s mother in the underground world of Paris...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOther People's Children (2022)
Rachel loves her life, her students, her friends, her ex, her guitar lessons. When she falls in love with Ali, she grows close to his 4-year-old daughter, Leila. She tucks her in, looks after her, and loves her like a mother... which she isn’t. Not yet. Rachel is 40. The desire for a family of her own is growing stronger, and the clock is ticking. Is it too late?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlmost Friends (2017)
A man in his mid-20s, still living at home with his mother and stepfather, puts all his eggs in one basket: the girl who works at his local coffee shop. The problem is, she has a serious boyfriend. As they become closer, the line between friendship and intimacy is blurred, and the situation forces both to examine where they are in their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLandline (2017)
A teenager living with her sister and parents in Manhattan during the 1990s discovers that her father is having an affair.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDivine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002)
In a sleepy Louisiana parish, a group of lifelong friends stage a rather unorthodox intervention to help a young playwright unravel the truth about her complicated mother and let go of her painful past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Indian Tale (2017)
The life of two men changed unexpectedly when Ajith, an Indian sailor who was robbed and lost everything, appears out of nowhere in front of Pierre, a single and grumpy Frenchman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisAge of Panic (2013)
May 6, 2012. Cable news reporter Laetitia is covering the French presidential elections, while Vincent, her ex-husband, demands to see their two young daughters. It's a manic Sunday in Paris: two agitated girls, a frazzled babysitter, a needy new boyfriend, a grumpy lawyer and France cut in half!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Adults (2023)
Eric returns home for a short visit and finds himself caught between reuniting with his sisters and chasing a victory with his old poker group. As the trip extends, Eric finds it increasingly difficult to avoid confrontations and revelations as his carefully constructed façade of his adulthood gives way to old childhood conflicts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
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 · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOnce Upon My Mother (2025)
In 1963, Esther gives birth to Roland, the youngest of a large family. Roland is born with a club foot that prevents him from standing. Against everyone's advice, she promises her son that he will walk like the others and that he will have a fabulous life. From then on, Esther will do everything in her power to keep this promise. Through decades of trials and miracles of life, this film is the story of a true, funny and moving story, that of an incredible destiny and the greatest love there is: that of a mother for her child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFatherhood (2021)
A widowed new dad copes with doubts, fears, heartache and dirty diapers as he sets out to raise his daughter on his own. Inspired by a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMacadam Stories (2015)
Improbable encounters bring tenderness, laughter and compassion to a world of urban alienation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaestro (2014)
Henry, a young actor, finds himself involved in a film by cinema superstar, Cédric Rovere. Charmed by his benevolence, feelings hitherto unknown are aroused, while Rovere, intrigued by Henry's dream, lives this shoot as an unexpected gift.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove You to Death (2019)
Inspired by a true story, this film tells the shocking tale of a mother and daughter who are nothing like they seem, their tumultuous relationship ending in a brutal murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTuesday (2024)
A mother and her teenage daughter must confront Death when it arrives in the form of an astonishing talking bird.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMagpie (2024)
A couple's lives are thrown into disarray when their daughter is cast opposite a controversial major star.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Zoe (2019)
Isabelle, a geneticist recovering from a toxic marriage, is raising her only daughter, Zoe, with her contentious ex-husband. Zoe means everything to her mother and so when tragedy strikes the fractured family, Isabelle travels to Russia in seeking the help of a world-renowned fertility physician who Isabelle believes can help bring back her little girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAngel Face (2018)
8-year-old Elli and her mother, Marlène, live in a small town by the French Riviera where they act out to relieve boredom and hide from social services. When Marlène caves in to yet another night of excess, she chooses to leave Elli behind for a man she just met. The young child must confront her mother's demons in order to get her back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Little Princess (2011)
Young Violetta and her mother Hannah are a peculiar couple. Ten-year-old Violetta lives a quiet life with her grandmother, while her mother Hannah is an unpredictable photographer who lives off of the generosity of others. When Hannah forces her daughter to pose as a model, Violetta finds her life with her loving grandmother turned upside down.The resulting pictures quickly become a sensation for the trendy 70's Paris art scene, and Violetta finds herself caught in between her new stature as an art muse and her dull childhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMonólogos de un hombre incierto (2010)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Monsoon Wedding (2001)
A stressed father, a bride-to-be with a secret, a smitten event planner, and relatives from around the world create much ado about the preparations for an arranged marriage in India.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Party 2 (1982)
After moving to a new city, a young French teenage girl falls in love with a boy and thinks of having sex with him, since her girl friends have already done it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFar North (2008)
In the arctic, as Saiva is being born, a shaman declares that she is evil and will bring harm to all who become involved with her. Saiva is cast out of her tribe of herders and grows up to live a nomadic existence with Anja, a young woman she adopts as an infant. Then Loki, an injured and starving soldier, stumbles into their isolated lives. The women nurse him back to health, but treachery, violence and doom await them all.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSummertime (2015)
In 1971, a young woman moves from the French countryside to Paris and begins a passionate love affair with a feminist leader.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLatham Entertainment Presents: An All New Comedy Experience (2003)
The stand-up comedy concert film Latham Entertainment Presents features a handful of African-American comedians including D.L. Hughley, Bruce Bruce, Earthquake, and Rickey Smiley.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Risky Business (1926)
A domineering mother sets out to break up the romance and possible marriage of her daughter, Cecily Stoughton, with Ted Pyncheon by several contrived devices and bringing in other candidates more to her liking.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Une fille indigne (2024)
When Manon's mother discovers her daughter's unwanted pregnancy, she decides to organize her birthday party at the worst possible time. Despite secrets and manipulations, Manon will have to juggle her mother's temperament with her desire to make her happy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Stiliga Augusta (1946)
The maid quits at the Sommer family household and because no one in the family can cook they desperately needs a new maid. The son in the family, Åke, is a famous actor at the theater and when the up and coming actress Marianne (who also has a crush on the famous Åke) hears about the Sommers needing a new maid, she seizes the opportunity and goes undercover as a maid to get closer to Åke and the big roles in the theater.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
perennials (2022)
After a pineapple shows up at her front door, Lia returns to her childhood home in search of her father, who hasn’t been seen in months.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Key Is in the Door?
The closest matches to The Key Is in the Door are Under the Stars of Paris (2021), Other People's Children (2022) and Almost Friends (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Key Is in the Door?
Start with Under the Stars of Paris (2021), the closest match to The Key Is in the Door.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Key Is in the Door?
Fatherhood (2021), rated 7.5/10 by 1,585 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Key Is in the Door?
Once Upon My Mother (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like The Key Is in the Door?
Yes: Under the Stars of Paris (2021), Other People's Children (2022) and An Indian Tale (2017).
How are movies similar to The Key Is in the Door chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Key Is in the Door, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.