Movies like Happenstance (part one of many parts) (1983)
The best movies like Happenstance (part one of many parts) (1983) are Adopt a Highway (2019), Salomé (2013) and Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill (2020). If Happenstance (part one of many parts) hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Dirt (2019)7.4/10 from 1,376 votes
- NewestTony (2026)Released 2026
Adopt a Highway (2019)
Russ Millings has just been released from prison after serving 21 years for a 3rd strike conviction for possessing an ounce of marijuana. As he tries to adapt to a world he doesn’t recognize – including trying to learn how to use the internet – he finds an abandoned baby in a dumpster behind the fast food restaurant where he works as a dishwasher. Unsure of what to do, and caught between impulses of kindness and panic, Russ soon realizes this could be his chance at redemption.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSalomé (2013)
After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé comes before her king with an unreasonable demand. Beguiled by John the Baptist, and then scorned for the sake of his god, lascivious Salomé—encouraged by her mother, the vindictive, Herodias—commands that John be executed and his head delivered on a silver platter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill (2020)
Jerry Seinfeld takes the stage in New York and tackles talking vs. texting, bad buffets vs. so-called "great" restaurants and the magic of Pop Tarts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Slammin' Salmon (2009)
The brutal former heavyweight boxing champion Cleon "Slammin'" Salmon (Duncan), now owner of a Miami restaurant, institutes a competition to see which waiter can earn the most money in one night: the winner stands to gain $10,000, while the loser will endure a beating at the hands of the champ.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisWifelike (2022)
A grieving detective in the near-future hunts down criminals who trade artificial humans on the black market. In the fight to end AI exploitation, an underground resistance attempts to infiltrate him by sabotaging the programming of the artificial human assigned as his companion to behave like his late wife. She begins to question her reality as memories of a past life begin to surface in a world where nothing is as it seems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTony (2026)
A 19-year-old Anthony Bourdain travels to Provincetown and stumbles into the chaotic world of a restaurant kitchen, setting off a summer that will shape the course of his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEverything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex *But Were Afraid to Ask (1972)
A collection of seven vignettes, which each address a question concerning human sexuality. From aphrodisiacs to sexual perversion to the mystery of the male orgasm, characters like a court jester, a doctor, a queen and a journalist adventure through lab experiments and game shows, all seeking answers to common questions that many would never ask.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dirt (2019)
The story of Mötley Crüe and their rise from the Sunset Strip club scene of the early 1980s to superstardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAdult World (2014)
Amy, a naive college graduate who believes she's destined to be a great poet, begrudgingly accepts a job at a sex shop while she pursues a mentorship with reclusive writer Rat Billings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBroke (2025)
A bronc rider in denial about his fading rodeo career battles against brain injury and a sudden blizzard while reflecting on how it became so difficult to achieve his dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMask (1985)
A significantly deformed but highly intelligent teenage boy and his biker gang mother attempt to live as normal a life as possible under the circumstances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSitting in Bars with Cake (2023)
Extrovert Corinne convinces Jane, a shy, talented baker, to commit to a year of bringing cakes to bars, to help her meet people and build confidence. But when Corinne receives a life-altering diagnosis, the pair faces a challenge unlike anything they've experienced before.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNothing Personal (2009)
Alone in her empty flat, from her window Anne observes the people passing by who nervously snatch up the personal belongings and pieces of furniture she has put out on the pavement. Her final gesture of taking a ring off her finger signals she is leaving her previous life in Holland behind. She goes to Ireland, where she chooses to lead a solitary, wandering existence, striding through the austere landscapes of Connemara. During her travels, she discovers a house that is home to a hermit, Martin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMorning Glory (2010)
A young and devoted morning television producer is hired as an executive producer on a long-running morning show at a once-prominent but currently failing station in New York City. Eager to keep the show on air, she recruits a former news journalist and anchor who disapproves of co-hosting a show that does not deal with real news stories.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrust (2021)
Set in the glamour of the New York and Paris art scenes, gallery owner Brooke Gatwick and her newscaster husband Owen Shore, face temptation, jealousy, twists and mystery when two seductive newcomers enter their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCocktail (1988)
After being discharged from the Army, Brian Flanagan moves back to Queens and takes a job in a bar run by Doug Coughlin, who teaches Brian the fine art of bar-tending. Brian quickly becomes a patron favorite with his flashy drink-mixing style, and Brian adopts his mentor's cynical philosophy on life and goes for the money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEleanor the Great (2025)
94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein tries to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUncanny (2015)
For ten years, inventor David Kressen has lived in seclusion with his inventions, including Adam, a robot with incredible lifelike human qualities. When reporter Joy Andrews is given access to their unconventional facility, she is alternately repelled and attracted to the scientist and his creation. But as Adam exhibits emergent behavior of anger and jealousy towards her, she finds herself increasingly entangled in a web of deception where no one’s motives are easily decipherable.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Cheyenne Social Club (1970)
Cowboy John O'Hanlan is surprised to learn that someone's left him a business in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He sets out to claim it, only to discover it's a brothel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBetter Living Through Chemistry (2014)
A straight-laced pharmacist's uneventful life spirals out of control when he starts an affair with a trophy wife customer who takes him on a joyride involving sex, drugs and possibly murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Happenstance (part one of many parts)?
The closest matches to Happenstance (part one of many parts) are Adopt a Highway (2019), Salomé (2013) and Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill (2020). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Happenstance (part one of many parts)?
Start with Adopt a Highway (2019), the closest match to Happenstance (part one of many parts).
What is the highest-rated movie like Happenstance (part one of many parts)?
The Dirt (2019), rated 7.4/10 by 1,376 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Happenstance (part one of many parts)?
Tony (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Happenstance (part one of many parts)?
Yes: Adopt a Highway (2019), Salomé (2013) and Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill (2020).
How are movies similar to Happenstance (part one of many parts) chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Happenstance (part one of many parts), then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.