Movies like Californian Drift (2020)
The best movies like Californian Drift (2020) are The Glass House (2001), A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (2008) and Thieves' Highway (1949). If Californian Drift hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Grapes of Wrath (1940)7.8/10 from 1,165 votes
- NewestJim Queen and the Quest for Chloroqueer (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchDouble Lover (2017)Also in French
The Glass House (2001)
When Ruby and Rhett's parents are killed in a car accident, their carefree teenage lives are suddenly shattered. Moving to an incredible house in Malibu with the Glasses', old friends of the family, seems to be the beginning of a new life for them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Complete History of My Sexual Failures (2008)
The egocentric documentary-maker Chris Waitt traces his romantic ineptitude and sexual impotence through awkward interviews with irate ex-girlfriends and stunts involving S&M parlours, Harley Street doctors and Viagra overdoses. The results are often hilarious, sometimes moving and speak directly to the hapless paramour in all of us.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThieves' Highway (1949)
Nick Garcos comes back from his tour of duty in World War II planning to settle down with his girlfriend, Polly Faber. He learns, however, that his father was recently beaten and burglarized by mob-connected trucker Mike Figlia, and Nick resolves to get even. He partners with prostitute Rica, and together they go after Mike, all the while getting pulled further into the local crime underworld.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBig Trouble in Little China (1986)
Truck driver Jack Burton gets embroiled in a supernatural battle when his best friend Wang Chi's green-eyed fiancée is kidnapped by henchmen of the sorcerer Lo Pan, who must marry a girl with green eyes in order to return to the human realm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDouble Lover (2017)
Chloé, a fragile young woman, falls in love with her psychoanalyst, Paul. A few months later she moves in with him, but soon discovers that her lover is concealing a part of his identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDebbie Macomber's Dashing Through The Snow (2015)
Stranded at an airport at Christmastime, Ashley Harrison accepts a ride from Dash Sutherland, who has just rented the last car in town. As the pair heads north, their adventures include car trouble, adopting a puppy and being secretly tailed by federal agents, who believe Ashley is up to no good. With a hint of romance gradually filling the air will these two fall in love or will their journey bring about an unexpected road bump to romance?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJim Queen and the Quest for Chloroqueer (2026)
When Heterosis, a mysterious virus that turns gay men straight, sweeps through the Parisian gay scene, Jim, the six-packed sovereign of the Gym Queens, goes from Pride royalty to social outcast. With only Lucien, a freshly-out twink with more heart than abs, still by his side, Jim must race to find a cure before the disease erases the community that once worshipped him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPassages (2023)
Tomas and Martin are a gay couple living in Paris whose marriage is thrown into crisis when Tomas impulsively begins a passionate affair with young schoolteacher Agathe. But when Martin begins an affair of his own, Tomas must confront life decisions he may be unprepared—or unwilling—to deal with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOn Swift Horses (2025)
Returning from the Korean War, Lee wants to begin a new life with his wife Muriel in California. But when his charismatic brother Julius arrives, their lives begin to change. Julius’s rebellious streak rubs off on Muriel, who secretly steps into the world of race horse gambling. Here she meets a new lover, a fellow woman looking to break free from her restrictive life. Meanwhile, Julius travels to Las Vegas, where he falls in love with a young man he meets at the card tables.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Grapes of Wrath (1940)
Tom Joad returns to his home after a jail sentence to find his family kicked out of their farm due to foreclosure. He catches up with them on his Uncle’s farm, and joins them the next day as they head for California and a new life... Hopefully.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTangerine (2015)
It's Christmas Eve in Tinseltown and Sin-Dee is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend hasn't been faithful during the 28 days she was locked up, the working girl and her best friend, Alexandra, embark on a mission to get to the bottom of the scandalous rumor. Their rip-roaring odyssey leads them through various subcultures of Los Angeles, including an Armenian family dealing with their own repercussions of infidelity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUntamed Heart (1993)
Caroline, a young waitress who seems to have bad taste in men, is on her way home one night when thugs attempt to rape her. Adam, the mysterious busboy who works at the same diner, helps fight off the assailants, and she begins a relationship with him -- but not all their fellow Minnesotans are happy for them. Meanwhile, the couple face their own difficulties when Caroline finds about Adam's past, including his unique health condition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Policeman (2022)
In the late 1990s, the arrival of elderly invalid Patrick into Marion and Tom’s home triggers the exploration of seismic events from 40 years previous: the passionate relationship between Tom and Patrick at a time when homosexuality was illegal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThey Drive by Night (1940)
Joe and Paul Fabrini are Wildcat, or independent, truck drivers who have their own small one-truck business. The Fabrini boys constantly battle distributors, rivals and loan collectors, while trying to make a success of their transport company.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fluffer (2001)
Self-effacing, boyish Sean moves to LA to pursue a career in movies but finds it tougher than he imagined. He stumbles onto porn star Johnny Rebel - a handsome, muscled dream of men and women alike - who awakens Sean’s deep obsession.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisEating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds (2006)
How far would you go to get the person of your dreams? With the help of Gwen and Tiffani, Kyle pretends to be heterosexual in order to land Troy, the new guy (and nude model) who's turning the heads of both men and women. He soon finds himself joining the campus ex-gay support group and nabbing a girlfriend! Kyle's ex-boyfriend Marc is horrified at the plan and decides to pursue the confused Troy with his own tactic -- being his "out" gay self. Who will win Troy first?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWeekend (1967)
A supposedly idyllic weekend trip to the countryside turns into a never-ending nightmare of traffic jams, revolution, cannibalism and murder as French bourgeois society starts to collapse under the weight of its own consumer preoccupations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScorpio Rising (1964)
A gang of bikers prepares for a race as sexual, sadistic, and occult images are cut together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChristmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy (2019)
A skeptical writer shows up in Evergreen to get the scoop on the town's famed passion for Christmas during a search for a long-lost time capsule.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRocko's Modern Life: Static Cling (2019)
After 20 years in space, Rocko returns to a technologically advanced O-Town and makes it his mission to get his favorite show back on the air.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI'm a Porn Star (2013)
I'm a Porn Star follows the lives of guys in the neighborhood who are likely a lot more famous than you - at least on the Internet. There are an estimated 370 million pornographic websites on-line. Porn is now a thirteen BILLION dollar business. So who's doing all this moonlighting? Turns out -- probably some people you know.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Day I've Been Fucked in Front of the Entire World (2023)
Remodeling of a pornographic scene in which I shot for a major French studio. It was a question of reappropriating these images (originally categorized as "hard") to extract their erotic and perhaps even romantic potential.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Without a Mom (2011)
Two gay dads fumble to provide their straight son with meaningful support after the loss of his first real love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Beautiful Beings (2022)
A teenage boy, raised by a mother who considers herself psychic, takes a bullied kid into his group of violent misfits. As the group’s troubles escalate toward life-threatening situations, an inner voice awakens in the boy and, with the help of his mother and his new friend, he manages to find his own path.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPiss Off X (2021)
A historic underground gay document. Shocking. Intimate. Taboo. A behind-the-scenes look at the performance art of a millennial artist who travels the world performing in public spaces using the medium of piss, video and the internet to break social norms.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
A Day in the Country (2010)
The doctor makes a house call but three is a crowd after the action is over… A film about existential loneliness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Ages of Lulu (1990)
Fifteen-year-old Lulu has never known any affection from her family. But when she goes to a rock concert with Pablo, a friend of the family, he introduces Lulu to her first sexual experience. Years later, Pablo and Lulu have married; Pablo has created a sheltered, private world for Lulu, into which nothing intrudes. However, Lulu tires of her cloistered existence, and begins hanging out in shady bars, looking for vicarious thrills and danger.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBulgarian Lovers (2003)
Graying Spaniard Daniel has a healthy budget for indulging in the finer things in life. Daniel's favorite luxury is playing sponsor to younger men amid the lights and sights of Madrid's gay club scene. After Daniel shares a night with handsome Bulgarian emigre Kyril, he finds himself consumed with an insatiable lust for the charismatic foreigner. But, as their relationship takes shape, Daniel's latest conquest reveals his own manipulative tendencies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Body Without Soul (1996)
A stark documentary about young male prostitutes in Prague, aged 15 to 18, who work the streets, train stations, and clubs. Through candid interviews and behind-the-scenes footage of gay porn shoots, the film explores their lives, struggles, and dreams, touching on themes of exploitation, identity, AIDS, and survival.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Only Andy (2024)
Many of us experience sexual desires in many different shapes and forms, yet there continues to be a certain stigma about expressing them openly. Adult worker, Andy Lee, and his co-workers share their own insightful and interesting perspectives on the adult industry in a bid to inspire people to open up to each other, and to further shed some light on the frequently misunderstood adult industry.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Californian Drift?
The closest matches to Californian Drift are The Glass House (2001), A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (2008) and Thieves' Highway (1949). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Californian Drift?
Start with The Glass House (2001), the closest match to Californian Drift.
What is the highest-rated movie like Californian Drift?
The Grapes of Wrath (1940), rated 7.8/10 by 1,165 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Californian Drift?
Jim Queen and the Quest for Chloroqueer (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Californian Drift?
Yes: Double Lover (2017), Jim Queen and the Quest for Chloroqueer (2026) and Passages (2023).
How are movies similar to Californian Drift chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Californian Drift, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.