Movies like I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster (2008)
The best movies like I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster (2008) are Bazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026), Things Change (1988) and Intermission (2003). If I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster 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 ratedThe Red Balloon (1956)7.7/10 from 463 votes
- NewestBazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchBazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026)Also in French
Bazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026)
Misanthropic novelist François writes gripping crime stories – “Agatha Christie meets The Scarlet Pimpernel” – but outside of the swashbuckling imaginary world of his Marquis la Rose-novels, life is far from thrilling. His partner Colette, a professor at the Sorbonne and world-renowned expert on Alfred Hitchcock, is tired of watching François sit around their apartment in his pyjamas and yearns for the excitement of the classic films she watches with her students. When Colette begins to suspect their flamboyant actor neighbour of murdering his wife, the couple’s mundane lives are turned upside down – and their stale relationship is jolted back to life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThings Change (1988)
Jerry, a misfit Mafia henchman, is assigned the low-level job of keeping an eye on Gino, a shoe repairman fingered by the Mob to confess to a murder he didn't commit. But Gino's mistaken for a Mafia boss, and the two are suddenly catapulted to the highest levels of mobster status. Only friendship will see them through this dangerous adventure alive!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIntermission (2003)
A raucous story of the interweaving lives and loves of small-town delinquents, shady cops, pretty good girls and very bad boys. With Irish guts and grit, lives collide, preconceptions shatter and romance is tested to the extreme. An ill-timed and poorly executed couple's break-up sets off a chain of events affecting everyone in town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe First, the Last (2016)
Apocalyptic neo-western about two gangsters, a town full of crazy people and Jesus...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBreaking News in Yuba County (2021)
An overlooked pencil-pusher catches her husband in bed with another woman, the shock of which causes him to die of a heart attack. So she buries his body and takes advantage of the growing celebrity status that comes from having a missing husband. But she quickly finds herself in over her head, dodging cops and criminals, all while trying to keep the truth from her sister, a local news anchor who’s desperate for a story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisSmall Apartments (2012)
When a clumsy deadbeat accidentally kills his landlord, he must do everything in his power to hide the body, only to find that the distractions of lust, the death of his beloved brother, and a crew of misfit characters force him on a journey where a fortune awaits him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThick as Thieves (1999)
Two master thieves go at odds with one another as one sets the other up for a crime. The first, a suave pro who does his job and then hides in his own privacy, listening to old jazz records and caring for his ailing dog, Wally. The other is a local gangster with a taste for the finer life, who decides to eliminate the competition. This ignites a war between the two men and their aides. An angry mob boss and a female police officer try to sort the mess before things get too out of hand.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPerrier's Bounty (2010)
A gangster named Perrier looks to exact his revenge on a trio of fugitives responsible for the accidental death of one of his cronies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Crime of Monsieur Lange (1936)
Mild-mannered novelist of Western fiction, Amédée Lange, and his colleagues take over a publishing house after their exploitative boss disappears, only for the superior to return and try to reclaim the profits from their successful cooperative.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlindspotting (2018)
Collin must make it through his final three days of probation for a chance at a new beginning. He and his troublemaking childhood best friend, Miles, work as movers, and when Collin witnesses a police shooting, the two men’s friendship is tested as they grapple with identity and their changed realities in the rapidly-gentrifying neighborhood they grew up in.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhere the Money Is (2000)
Henry Manning has come up with a new way to break out of prison: fake a stroke and get transferred to a nursing home. It's a perfect plan, except for one thing: the woman assigned to take care of him at the nursing home, Carol Ann McKay, has a plan of her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisHold-up (1985)
Dressed as a clown, the clever rascal Grimm holds up the most secure bank of Montreal and takes 30 hostages. While confusing and ridiculing the police with his strange behavior, he calmly manages to rid the bank of a fortune. But then an unsatisfied companion arouses trouble...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPanic (2000)
Alex is going through a midlife crisis and it has become a very difficult time for him. His marriage is struggling, he's worried about his son, and his job of killing people for his family has become the most stressful part of his life. He seeks the help of a therapist and meets a woman in the waiting room that he connects with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnsubmissives (2025)
Early 1990’s, south of France. Katy, Hélène, Laurence and Carole have been best friends since childhood. Now in their twenties, they find themselves struggling with hardship and limited opportunities in their sunny small hometown. Despite their challenging circumstances, they have maintained a resilient and cheerful spirit, supporting each other throughout life’s ups and downs. But their lives take a dramatic turn when Hélène, a single mother of three, receives a sudden notification that her welfare checks have been reduced, threatening her ability to support her family.Overwhelmed by this injustice and feeling powerless in the face of societal inequalities, the five women are driven by a fierce desire to change the course of their lives. They make the shocking decision to rob a bank, and soon, commit a series of increasingly daring heists.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Gentleman from Epsom (1962)
The story takes place in the racecourses around Paris. A so-called major sells his tips to naive characters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWinged Creatures (2009)
A psychotic man opens fire in a diner, murdering numerous people before killing himself. The survivors struggle in different ways following this horrendous event: a doctor doubts his own instincts and elects to use an experimental medical procedure on his wife, while a gambler believes he's on a lucky streak. A waitress begins engaging in promiscuous sex, and a young girl whose father is among the dead gains unexpected fame.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisOne Night at McCool's (2001)
On an ordinary night, in an ordinary part of town, a beautiful young woman walks into a bar. Her name is Jewel, and before long she is chatting to bartender Randy. The pair leave together, but he ends up getting into a tussle with her criminal boyfriend, who she then shoots dead, later persuading Randy to take the rap for her. But this isn't the end of it, as both Randy's cousin Carl and the detective assigned to the murder case also fall for Jewel's charms and find themselves caught up in the ensuing events. It seems that any man who meets Jewel falls instantly in love with her, and she's going to use this fully to her own advantage, leaving a trail of havoc in her wake. It also seems that she is going to get away with it - that is, until Randy decides to hire a hitman...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisSiberian Education (2013)
The story of a gang of children growing up in a community of banished criminals, in a forgotten corner of the former Soviet Union. This community rejects the world outside. The only law it obeys… is its own. Against this backdrop two best friends, Kolyma and Gagarin, gradually become fierce enemies as they find themselves on opposite sides of the strict code of honour of the ‘honest criminal’ brotherhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGuardian Angels (1995)
A sleazy Paris nightclub owner and ex-detective flies to Hong Kong to rescue the young son of a friend murdered by the Chinese mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBuffet Froid (1979)
Alphonse Tram is unwittingly involved in several murders despite having no memory of committing the crimes. His confusion lead him to confess to his neighbour, Inspector Morvandieu. Alphonse and Morvandieu become the axis around which murders occur.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRipley Under Ground (2007)
Now living a quiet, luxurious life at his French estate—funded by past crimes and his marriage to an heiress—Tom Ripley finds that an art scam he supports—selling forged paintings by a supposedly living artist named Derwatt—beginning to collapse. An inquisitive American collector suspects his Derwatt painting is fake and demands answers. As the situation escalates, Ripley turns to murder and elaborate identity deception to protect his reputation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisPolish Wedding (1998)
The film centers on a big Polish family. Jadzia is the mother and the ruler of the Pzoniak family (she has five children). Though she's happily married to Bolek, she is also having a long-time affair with Roman. Her young daughter Hala is having an affair with neighbour cop Russell and becomes pregnant by him. Russell is pressed hard to marry Hala.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Red Balloon (1956)
A young boy discovers a stray balloon, which seems to have a mind of its own, on the streets of Paris. The two become inseparable, yet the world’s harsh realities finally interfere.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMadame X (1929)
A young, unfaithful wife and mother is thrown out by her cold, unforgiving husband, the Attorney General of France. She is barred from ever seeing her three year old son again despite her earnest attempts to make amends. For many years the mother seeks refuge overseas and in Absinthe. In the end, her son, a young and promising lawyer unknowingly defends her in court. Ruth Chatterton gives a marvelous performance in this early talkie in her portrayal of Madame X.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (2009)
Paris 1913. Coco Chanel is infatuated with the rich and handsome Boy Capel, but she is also compelled by her work. Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring is about to be performed. The revolutionary dissonances of Igor's work parallel Coco's radical ideas. She wants to democratize women's fashion; he wants to redefine musical taste. Coco attends the scandalous first performance of The Rite in a chic white dress. The music and ballet are criticized as too modern, too foreign. Coco is moved but Igor is inconsolable.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDelta of Venus (1995)
A struggling American writer and a fellow American expatriate begin a sordid affair among the chaos and discord of 1940 Paris, France on the brink of World War II.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBella (2006)
An international soccer star is on his way to sign a multimillion dollar contract when something happens that brings his career to an abrupt end. A beautiful waitress, struggling to make it in New York City, discovers something about herself that she's unprepared for. In one irreversible moment, their lives are turned upside down.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Bookshop in Paris (2021)
Vincenzo dedicates his life to the bookshop he owns in Paris and to his daughter Albertine, forced to stay home because of an accident occurred to her a few years earlier. One day Yolande, an exuberant, eccentric, funny and beautiful girl, bursts into Vincenzo’s shop. Charmed by her vital energy, the man starts feeling again emotions he’s been chocking-off for too long, and which will make him question his melancholic and somehow suspended way of facing life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisWhat a Widow! (1930)
A young woman's elderly husband dies and leaves her $5 million. She travels to Paris and becomes part of the "Continental" set and is pursued by a rich playboy and a lawyer who works for her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
2 Alone in Paris (2008)
A bumbling Paris policeman is doggedly determined to capture the master thief that repeatedly eludes him, even when they're the last two men on Earth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster?
The closest matches to I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster are Bazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026), Things Change (1988) and Intermission (2003). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster?
Start with Bazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026), the closest match to I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster.
What is the highest-rated movie like I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster?
The Red Balloon (1956), rated 7.7/10 by 463 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster?
Bazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster?
Yes: Bazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026), The First, the Last (2016) and The Crime of Monsieur Lange (1936).
How are movies similar to I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside I Always Wanted to Be a Gangster, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.