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Movies like In Search of the Happy Ending (1999)

The best movies like In Search of the Happy Ending (1999) are A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (2008), Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019) and The Mystery of D.B. Cooper (2020). If In Search of the Happy Ending hooked you with its documentary and history, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. A 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 · both documentary & romance

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  2. Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019)

    The history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. The Mystery of D.B. Cooper (2020)

    This documentary brings to life the stories of four people believed by their family and friends to be “DB Cooper,” a man who hijacked a 727 flying out of Seattle and jumped from the plane over the wilds of Washington State with a parachute and $200,000, never to be heard from again.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  4. I Called Him Morgan (2016)

    Part jazz history, part true-crime tale, Kasper Collin’s new documentary employs extensive archival footage and new interviews to tell the tragic story of the magnificently talented trumpeter Lee Morgan and his common-law wife Helen, who murdered him in a New York bar in 1972.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  5. Supersonic (2016)

    Supersonic charts the meteoric rise of Oasis from the council estates of Manchester to some of the biggest concerts of all time in just three short years. This palpable, raw and moving film shines a light on one of the most genre and generation-defining British bands that has ever existed and features candid new interviews with Noel and Liam Gallagher, their mother, and members of the band and road crew.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  6. The War Room (1993)

    A behind-the-scenes documentary about the Clinton for President campaign, focusing on the adventures of spin doctors James Carville and George Stephanopoulos.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  7. The Untold History Of The United States (2012)

    Oliver Stone charts the history of the United States from the Second World War to the present.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  8. Crazy Love (2007)

    Filmmaker Dan Klores examines the strange love affair of Burt Pugach and Linda Riss. Pugach is a successful attorney in 1950s New York when he meets much-younger Riss. The pair date, but Riss breaks off contact with Pugach upon learning his claims of divorce are false. Discovering that Riss was engaged to another man, Pugach hires some men to throw lye in her face, and he serves 14 years in prison for the crime.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & romance

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  9. Audrey (2020)

    An unprecedented and intimate look at the life, work and enduring legacy of British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  10. Visions of Light (1992)

    Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  11. Ronaldo (2015)

    Filmed over 14 months with unprecedented access into the inner circle of the man and the sport, this is the first official and fully authorised film of one of the most celebrated figures in football. For the first time ever, the world gets vividly candid and un-paralleled, behind-closed-doors access to the footballer, father, family-man and friend in this moving & fascinating documentary. Through in-depth conversations, state of the art football footage and never before seen archival footage, the film gives an astonishing insight into the sporting and personal life of triple Ballon D'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo at the peak of his career. From the makers of ‘Senna’ and ‘Amy’, Ronaldo takes audiences on an intimate and revealing journey of what it’s like to live as an iconic athlete in the eye of the storm.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  12. The Accountant of Auschwitz (2018)

    Oskar Gröning, known as the "Accountant of Auschwitz," was charged with the murder of 300,000 Jews. When he took the stand in 2015, at the age of 94, his trial made headlines worldwide.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  13. The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004)

    Documentary about the art of film editing. Clips are shown from many groundbreaking films with innovative editing styles.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  14. The Green Book: Guide to Freedom (2019)

    In 1936, Victor H. Green (1892-1960) published The Negro Motorist Green Book, a book that was both a travel guide and a survival manual, to help African-Americans navigate safe those regions of the United States where segregation and Jim Crow laws were disgracefully applied.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  15. The Age of Stupid (2009)

    Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated future world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. Titanic: 20 Years Later with James Cameron (2017)

    For the 20th anniversary of "Titanic," James Cameron reopens the file on the disaster.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. The Unknown Known (2013)

    Former United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld discusses his career in Washington D.C. from his days as a congressman in the early 1960s to planning the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  18. The Celluloid Closet (1996)

    Exuberant, eye-opening movie that serves up a dazzling hundred-year history of the role of gay men and lesbians have had on the silver screen. Film contains fabulous footage from 120 films showing the changing face of cinema sexuality, from cruel stereotypes to covert love to the activist triumphs of the 1990s.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018)

    The epic life story of Alice Guy-Blaché (1873–1968), a French screenwriter, director and producer, true pioneer of cinema, the first person who made a narrative fiction film; author of hundreds of movies, but banished from history books. Ignored and forgotten. At last remembered.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  20. Cover-Up (2025)

    He's devoted his career to uncovering stories the powerful want buried. From My Lai to Abu Ghraib, dig into the life's work of journalist Seymour Hersh.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

    Worth the HypeMovies like this

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Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like In Search of the Happy Ending?

The closest matches to In Search of the Happy Ending are A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (2008), Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019) and The Mystery of D.B. Cooper (2020). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after In Search of the Happy Ending?

Start with A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (2008), the closest match to In Search of the Happy Ending.

What is the highest-rated movie like In Search of the Happy Ending?

Supersonic (2016), rated 7.4/10 by 253 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like In Search of the Happy Ending?

Cover-Up (2025) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like In Search of the Happy Ending?

Yes: A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (2008), Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019) and The Mystery of D.B. Cooper (2020).

How are movies similar to In Search of the Happy Ending chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside In Search of the Happy Ending, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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