Movies like Cleaning Up (2017)
The best movies like Cleaning Up (2017) are Inside I'm Dancing (2004), Passion Fish (1992) and Return to Sender (2015). If Cleaning Up hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)8.4/10 from 11,969 votes
- NewestEleanor the Great (2025)Released 2025
Inside I'm Dancing (2004)
Michael is a 24-year-old who has cerebral palsy and long-term resident of the Carrigmore Residential Home for the Disabled, run by the formidable Eileen. His life is transformed when the maverick Rory O'Shea moves in.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPassion Fish (1992)
After an accident leaves her a paraplegic, a former soap opera star struggles to recover both emotionally and mentally, until she meets her newest nurse, who has struggles of her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReturn to Sender (2015)
A nurse mistakes a stranger who pays her a visit for her blind date and soon, the man rapes her and turns her life upside down. The woman works to reclaim her life and exact revenge on her assailant after he's paroled from prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll or Nothing (2002)
Penny works at a supermarket and Phil is a gentle taxi-driver. Penny’s love for Phil has run dry and they lead joyless lives with their two children, Rachel, a cleaner, and Rory, who is unemployed and aggressive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
A petty criminal fakes insanity to serve his sentence in a mental ward rather than prison. He soon finds himself as a leader to the other patients—and an enemy to the cruel, domineering nurse who runs the ward.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWoman of Straw (1964)
Anthony Richmond schemes to get the fortune of his tyrannical, wheelchair-using tycoon uncle Charles Richmond by persuading Maria, a nurse he employs, to marry him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBronson (2009)
A young man who was sentenced to 7 years in prison for robbing a post office ends up spending 30 years in solitary confinement. During this time, his own personality is supplanted by his alter ego, Charles Bronson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMisery (1990)
After an accident, acclaimed novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by a nurse who claims to be his biggest fan. Her obsession takes a dark turn when she holds him captive in her remote Colorado home and forces him to write back to life the popular literary character he killed off.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bishop's Wife (1947)
An Episcopal Bishop, Henry Brougham, has been working for months on the plans for an elaborate new cathedral which he hopes will be paid for primarily by a wealthy, stubborn widow. He is losing sight of his family and of why he became a churchman in the first place. Enter Dudley, an angel sent to help him. Dudley does help everyone he meets, but not necessarily in the way they would have preferred. With the exception of Henry, everyone loves him, but Henry begins to believe that Dudley is there to replace him, both at work and in his family's affections, as Christmas approaches.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLock Up (1989)
Frank Leone is nearing the end of his prison term for a relatively minor crime. Just before he is paroled, however, Warden Drumgoole takes charge. Drumgoole was assigned to a hell-hole prison after his administration was publicly humiliated by Leone, and has now arrived on the scene to ensure that Leone never sees the light of day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBig Fish (2003)
Throughout his life Edward Bloom has always been a man of big appetites, enormous passions and tall tales. In his later years, he remains a huge mystery to his son, William. Now, to get to know the real man, Will begins piecing together a true picture of his father from flashbacks of his amazing adventures.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRear Window (1954)
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Unforgivable (2021)
A woman is released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime and re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNowhere to Run (1993)
Escaped convict Sam Gillen single-handedly takes on ruthless developers who are determined to evict a widow with two young children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Elephant Man (1980)
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993)
Frank, a retired Irish seaman, and Walter, a retired Cuban barber, are two lonely old men trapped in the emptiness of their own lives. When they meet in a park Frank is able to start a conversation after several attempts. They begin to spend time together and become friends. But because of their different characters they often quarrel with each other and finally seperate after Frank misbehaves to Walter's friend Elaine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoal II: Living the Dream (2007)
Tempted away from Newcastle United to join Real Madrid, rising star Santiago Munez finds this latest change of fortune the greatest challenge yet - personally as well as professionally. He is reunited with Gavin Harris, though they must compete to be on the team, and estranged from fiancee Roz, whose nursing career keeps her back home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChronic (2015)
David is a nurse who works with terminally ill patients. Dedicated to his profession, he develops strong relationships with the people he cares for. But outside of work, it's a different story altogether.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisNot Quite Lyin' Eyes (2013)
A nurse provides home care to a disabled Vietnam Vet. Unknown to her, she's part of a con game cooked up by her boyfriend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Rubatosis or Liberosis (2025)
In a tale of grief and rebirth, a young woman, paralyzed by the overwhelming weight of emotions, confronts the heart-wrenching choice between numbing her pain forever or embracing the agony to rediscover the beauty of feeling alive.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Mr. No Legs (1978)
A double amputee known as Mr. No Legs oversees a drug syndicate while cavorting around in his double shotgun-equipped wheelchair. When one of the syndicate's drug dealers accidentally kills his own girlfriend—whose brother is a cop—after she announces plans to leave him, the game is on to bury the evidence, protect the syndicate and evade the long arm of the law.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Police Nurse (1963)
While investigating his wife's sudden death, a policeman becomes involved with shady doctors and black-market racketeers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Chrysalis (2023)
Clementine’s room is her haven and her safe space, but as the night goes on and her mind challenges her further, she must face her insecurities and leave the cocoon she has created for herself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Bunker (2014)
Two isolated Canadian soldiers come to grip with a difficult order: launch a nuclear strike against the former USSR, some 25 years after the end of the Cold War.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Unplugged (TBA)
Dayna flees her tour and finds solace in South Dakota's Badlands, connecting with nature and locals, healing from abuse. Her disappearance fuels fame, leaving her stranded in the wilderness she loves, saved from suicide but risking death.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
I Feel Good (2024)
A doctor's mysterious pill offers solace to a teen plagued by an unknown disease. As he uncovers the chilling truth behind his affliction, he is tormented by the dark and twisted side effects of his treatment.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
What's Left Inside (2021)
Broken up with on the eve of a global lockdown, a man is pushed to the brink of madness by his isolation... only to discover he may not be as alone as he initially thought.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Cleaning Up?
The closest matches to Cleaning Up are Inside I'm Dancing (2004), Passion Fish (1992) and Return to Sender (2015). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Cleaning Up?
Start with Inside I'm Dancing (2004), the closest match to Cleaning Up.
What is the highest-rated movie like Cleaning Up?
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), rated 8.4/10 by 11,969 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Cleaning Up?
Eleanor the Great (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Cleaning Up?
Yes: Inside I'm Dancing (2004), Passion Fish (1992) and Return to Sender (2015).
How are movies similar to Cleaning Up chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Cleaning Up, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.