Movies like The Medicine Show (1990)
The best movies like The Medicine Show (1990) are Stutz (2022), Patch Adams (1998) and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017). If The Medicine Show hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDallas Buyers Club (2013)7.9/10 from 9,388 votes
- NewestAsphalt City (2024)Released 2024
Stutz (2022)
In candid conversations with actor Jonah Hill, leading psychiatrist Phil Stutz explores his early life experiences and unique, visual model of therapy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPatch Adams (1998)
The true story of Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams, who in the 1970s found that humor is the best medicine, and was willing to do just anything to make his patients laugh—even if it meant risking his own career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017)
An African-American woman becomes an unwitting pioneer for medical breakthroughs when her cells are used to create the first immortal human cell line in the early 1950s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Inspector General (1949)
An illiterate stooge in a traveling medicine show wanders into a strange town and is picked up on a vagrancy charge. The town's corrupt officials mistake him for the inspector general whom they think is traveling in disguise. Fearing he will discover they've been pocketing tax money, they make several bungled attempts to kill him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDallas Buyers Club (2013)
Loosely based on the true-life tale of Ron Woodroof, a drug-taking, women-loving, homophobic man who in 1986 was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and given thirty days to live.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisYou Don't Know Jack (2010)
Controversy and legal problems follow Dr. Jack Kevorkian as he advocates assisted suicide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAsphalt City (2024)
A young paramedic is paired with a seasoned partner on the night shift in New York revealing a city in crisis. Discovering the chaos firsthand, he is tested with the ethical ambiguity that can be the difference between life and death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFunny People (2009)
Famous and wealthy funnyman George Simmons doesn't give much thought to how he treats people until a doctor delivers stunning health news, forcing George to reevaluate his priorities with a little help from aspiring stand-up comic Ira.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisAwakenings (1990)
Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a shy research physician, uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of a rare disease. Leonard is the first patient to receive the controversial treatment. His awakening, filled with awe and enthusiasm, proves a rebirth for Sayer too, as the exuberant patient reveals life's simple but unutterably sweet pleasures to the introverted doctor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJohn Mulaney: Baby J (2023)
A chaotic intervention. An action-packed stay in rehab. After a weird couple of years, John Mulaney comes out swinging in his return to the stage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlack Sunday (1977)
An Israeli anti-terrorist agent must stop a disgruntled Vietnam vet cooperating in a Black September PLO plot to commit a terrorist attack at the Super Bowl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisM*A*S*H (1970)
One of the world's most acclaimed comedies, M*A*S*H focuses on three Korean War Army surgeons brilliantly brought to life by Donald Sutherland, Tom Skerritt and Elliott Gould. Though highly skilled and deeply dedicated, they adopt a hilarious, lunatic lifestyle as an antidote to the tragedies of their Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, and in the process infuriate Army bureaucrats. Robert Duvall, Gary Burghoff and Sally Kellerman co-star as a sanctimonious Major, an other-worldly Corporal, and a self-righteous yet lusty nurse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDave Chappelle: The Dreamer (2023)
From his onstage tackle to the slap heard round the world, Dave Chappelle lets loose in this freewheeling and unfiltered stand-up comedy special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones (2019)
Dave Chappelle takes on gun culture, the opioid crisis and the tidal wave of celebrity scandals in this defiant stand-up special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMichael Moore in TrumpLand (2016)
Oscar-winner Michael Moore dives right into hostile territory with his daring and hilarious one-man show, deep in the heart of TrumpLand in the weeks before the 2016 election.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisStalked by My Doctor (2015)
When a teenage girl is miraculously saved by a heart surgeon, the doctor begins to flirt with her. Her father doesn’t believe her and unbeknownst to all, the doctor is obsessed with the girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStarter for 10 (2006)
In 1985, against the backdrop of Thatcherism, Brian Jackson enrolls in the University of Bristol, a scholarship boy from seaside Essex with a love of knowledge for its own sake and a childhood spent watching University Challenge, a college quiz show. At Bristol he tries out for the Challenge team and falls under the spell of Alice, a lovely blond with an extensive sexual past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI'm Still Here (2010)
I'm Still Here is a portrayal of a tumultuous year in the life of actor Joaquin Phoenix. With remarkable access, the film follows the Oscar-nominee as he announces his retirement from a successful film career in the fall of 2008 and sets off to reinvent himself as a hip-hop musician. The film is a portrait of an artist at a crossroads and explores notions of courage and creative reinvention, as well as the ramifications of a life spent in the public eye.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisBritannia Hospital (1982)
Britannia Hospital, an esteemed English institution, is marking its gala anniversary with a visit by the Queen Mother herself. But when investigative reporter Mick Travis arrives to cover the celebration, he finds the hospital under siege by striking workers, ruthless unions, violent demonstrators, racist aristocrats, an African cannibal dictator, and sinister human experiments.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRent: Filmed Live on Broadway (2008)
Set in New York City's gritty East Village, the revolutionary rock opera RENT tells the story of a group of bohemians struggling to live and pay their rent. "Measuring their lives in love," these starving artists strive for success and acceptance while enduring the obstacles of poverty, illness and the AIDS epidemic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Medicine Show?
The closest matches to The Medicine Show are Stutz (2022), Patch Adams (1998) and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Medicine Show?
Start with Stutz (2022), the closest match to The Medicine Show.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Medicine Show?
Dallas Buyers Club (2013), rated 7.9/10 by 9,388 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Medicine Show?
Asphalt City (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Medicine Show?
Yes: Stutz (2022), Patch Adams (1998) and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017).
How are movies similar to The Medicine Show chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Medicine Show, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.