Best movies like Being There
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A simple-minded gardener named Chance has spent all his life in the Washington D.C. house of an old man. When the man dies, Chance is put out on the street with no knowledge of the world except what he has learned from television.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 77000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: West Germany, USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: political, thought provoking, philosophical, surreal, clever, satirical, meditative, dark comedy, existential, realistic
Best tv shows and movies like Being There (1979):
Similar in 88%
Guarding Tess (1994)
Plot Summary:
Doug is a Secret Service Agent who has just completed his stint in charge protecting Tess Carlisle, widow of a former U.S. President, and close personal friend of the President. He finds that she has requested that he not be rotated but instead return to be her permanent detail. Doug is crushed. He wants off her detail. She is very difficult to guard and makes her detail crazy with her whims and demands. Doug returns with no idea of how to continue dealing with her.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: entertaining, humorous, light, semi serious, realistic, suspense, emotional, political, satirical, sentimental
Similar in 75%
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
Plot Summary:
An ophthalmologist's mistress threatens to reveal their affair to his wife, while a married documentary filmmaker is infatuated by another woman.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 60000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: philosophical, humorous, witty, talky, meditative, thought provoking, realistic, semi serious, ironic, dark comedy
Similar in 77%
Wise Blood (1979)
Plot Summary:
A Southerner--young, poor, ambitious but uneducated--determines to become something in the world. He decides that the best way to do that is to become a preacher and start up his own church.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: southern gothic, spiritual, existential, philosophical, gothic, surreal, grim, cult classic, clever, humorous
Similar in 82%
Dick (1999)
Plot Summary:
Comedy about two high school girls who wander off during a class trip to the White House and meet President Richard Nixon. They become the official dog walkers for Nixon's dog Checkers, and become his secret advisors during the Watergate scandal.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA, Canada, France
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: humorous, political, light, entertaining, not serious, teen, clever, witty, satirical, black comedy
Similar in 84%
Postcards from the Edge (1990)
Plot Summary:
Substance-addicted Hollywood actress Suzanne Vale is on the skids. After a spell at a detox centre her film company insists as a condition of continuing to employ her that she live with her mother Doris Mann, herself once a star and now a champion drinker. Such a set-up is bad news for Suzanne who has struggled for years to get out of her mother's shadow, and who finds her mother still treats her like a child. Despite these problems - and further ones to do with the men in in her life - Suzanne can begin to see the funny side of her situation, and it also starts to occur to her that not only do daughters have mothers, mothers do too.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, melancholic, sentimental, realistic, clever, witty, talky, funny, dark comedy
Similar in 80%
The Firemen's Ball (1967)
Plot Summary:
In Milos Forman's satire on Communism set in a small Czechoslovakian town in the 1960s, the local firemen decide to organize a ball, however the proceedings are dogged by difficulty at every step. They plan to organize a beauty pageant at the ball, yet struggle tremendously to find enough pretty contestants. A lottery is planned for later in the evening, but the guests begin stealing the prizes. Then, inevitably, there is a fire in the town... It seems that whatever can go wrong, does go wrong.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Czechoslovakia, Italy
Duration: 73 min
Plot tags: black comedy, dark comedy, surreal, cult classic, allegory, humorous, witty, biting, mind bending, thought provoking
Similar in 86%
The Last Detail (1973)
Plot Summary:
Two Navy men are ordered to bring a young offender to prison but decide to show him one last good time along the way.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: road movie, atmospheric, cult classic, realistic, witty, dark comedy, entertaining, black comedy, sincere, touching
Similar in 78%
Human Nature (2001)
Plot Summary:
A philosophical burlesque, Human Nature follows the ups and downs of an obsessive scientist, a female naturalist, and the man they discover, born and raised in the wild. As scientist Nathan trains the wild man, Puff, in the ways of the world - starting with table manners - Nathan's lover Lila fights to preserve the man's simian past, which represents a freedom enviable to most.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France, USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: surreal, humorous, philosophical, witty, semi serious, psychological, black comedy, dark comedy, clever, talky
Similar in 84%
Adaptation. (2002)
Plot Summary:
A love-lorn script writer grows increasingly desperate in his quest to adapt the book 'The Orchid Thief'.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 200000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: absurd, philosophical, psychological, satirical, black comedy, mind bending, dark comedy, postmodern, surreal, mindfuck
Similar in 85%
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Plot Summary:
After the insane General Jack D. Ripper initiates a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union, a war room full of politicians, generals and a Russian diplomat all frantically try to stop the nuclear strike.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 511000
Genere: Comedy, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: black comedy, black and white, dark comedy, cult classic, political, funny, satirical, absurd, cynical, philosophical
Similar in 75%
A Serious Man (2009)
Plot Summary:
A Serious Man is the story of an ordinary man's search for clarity in a universe where Jefferson Airplane is on the radio and F-Troop is on TV. It is 1967, and Larry Gopnik, a physics professor at a quiet Midwestern university, has just been informed by his wife Judith that she is leaving him. She has fallen in love with one of his more pompous acquaintances Sy Ableman.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 148000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, France, USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, black comedy, philosophical, ironic, intellectual, cynical, meditative, talky, cult classic, bleak
Similar in 89%
The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)
Plot Summary:
After his mistress runs over a young teen, a Wall Street hotshot sees his life unravel in the spotlight, and attracting the interest of a down and out reporter.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: stylized, humorous, witty, semi serious, cult classic, clever, black comedy, social, existential, realistic
Similar in 77%
Swing Vote (2008)
Plot Summary:
In a remarkable turn of events, the result of the presidential election comes down to one man's vote.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: humorous, political, touching, satirical, light, intense, semi serious, tear jerker, entertaining, realistic
Similar in 86%
The Second Civil War (1997)
Plot Summary:
When a planeload of Pakistani orphans are shipped to his state for permanent relocation, the governor of Idaho (Beau Bridges, who won an Emmy) defies the president (Phil Hartman) and closes the state's border. News Net Television, a cable news program that makes hay by reporting on political scandals, quickly spins the racist act into an overnight media sensation, creating a divide in national opinion over the issue.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: offbeat, humorous, futuristic, realistic, witty, cynical, semi serious, biting, black comedy, suspense
Similar in 78%
Irresistible (2020)
Plot Summary:
A Democratic political consultant helps a retired Marine colonel run for mayor in a small, conservative Wisconsin town.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: political, funny, twist ending, parody, humorous, ironic, satirical, absurd, feel good, cult classic
Similar in 88%
Bob Roberts (1992)
Plot Summary:
Mock documentary about an upstart candidate for the U.S. Senate written and directed by actor Tim Robbins. Bob Roberts is a folksinger with a difference: He offers tunes that protest welfare chiselers, liberal whining, and the like. As the filmmakers follow his campaign, Robbins gives needle-sharp insight into the way candidates manipulate the media.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: mockumentary, political, witty, cynical, talky, humorous, funny, satirical, independent film, parody
Similar in 79%
Grassroots (2012)
Plot Summary:
Grant Cogswell, a liberal music critic decides to run for city council against a popular black incumbent and is assisted by a reporter who recently lost his job. Initially given no chance, things turn dark when Cogswell makes it into the general election. Based on a true story.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, witty, semi serious, political, clever, biting, suspense
Similar in 82%
My Dinner with Andre (1981)
Plot Summary:
Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory, apparently playing themselves, share their lives over the course of an evening meal at a restaurant.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: philosophical, thought provoking, surreal, minimal cast, existential, artsy, entirely dialogue, independent film, spiritual, clever
Similar in 78%
Harold and Maude (1971)
Plot Summary:
The young Harold lives in his own world of suicide-attempts and funeral visits to avoid the misery of his current family and home environment. Harold meets an 80-year-old woman named Maude who also lives in her own world yet one in which she is having the time of her life. When the two opposites meet they realize that their differences don’t matter and they become best friends and love each other.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 81000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, black comedy, feel good, touching, offbeat, funny, inspirational, depressing, existential, spiritual
Similar in 81%
Slacker (1990)
Plot Summary:
Presents a day in the life in Austin, Texas among its social outcasts and misfits, predominantly the twenty-something set, using a series of linear vignettes. These characters, who in some manner just don't fit into the establishment norms, move seamlessly from one scene to the next, randomly coming and going into one another's lives.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: independent film, philosophical, surreal, satirical, absurd, art house, cerebral, cult classic, entirely dialogue, experimental
Similar in 89%
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Plot Summary:
Spike Jonze’s debut feature film is a love story mix of comedy and fantasy. The story is about an unsuccessful puppeteer named Craig, who one day at work finds a portal into the head of actor John Malkovich. The portal soon becomes a passion for anybody who enters it’s mad and controlling world of overtaking another human body.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 349000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: surreal, psychological, cerebral, mind bending, offbeat, mindfuck, philosophical, dark comedy, disturbing, black comedy
Similar in 78%
Network (1976)
Plot Summary:
A TV network cynically exploits a deranged ex-TV anchor's ravings and revelations about the media for their own profit.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 167000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: talky, political, realistic, clever, dark comedy, biting, black comedy, captivating, absurd, intense
Similar in 84%
Happiness (1998)
Plot Summary:
The lives of many individuals connected by the desire for happiness, often from sources usually considered dark or evil.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 73000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: black comedy, cynical, independent film, dark comedy, depressing, bleak, art house, disturbing, psychological, psychedelic
Similar in 76%
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Plot Summary:
A family loaded with quirky, colorful characters piles into an old van and road trips to California for little Olive to compete in a beauty pageant.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 508000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: road movie, feel good, funny, melancholic, independent film, emotional, black comedy, dark comedy, sweet, humorous
Similar in 85%
Primary Colors (1998)
Plot Summary:
In this adaptation of the best-selling roman à clef about Bill Clinton's 1992 run for the White House, the young and gifted Henry Burton is tapped to oversee the presidential campaign of Governor Jack Stanton. Burton is pulled into the politician's colorful world and looks on as Stanton -- who has a wandering eye that could be his downfall -- contends with his ambitious wife, Susan, and an outspoken adviser, Richard Jemmons.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, USA, France, Germany, Japan
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags: political, intense, witty, talky, semi serious, thought provoking, humorous, realistic, clever, satirical
Similar in 83%
Wag the Dog (1997)
Plot Summary:
During the final weeks of a presidential race, the President is accused of sexual misconduct. To distract the public until the election, the President's adviser hires a Hollywood producer to help him stage a fake war.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 88000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: black comedy, political, talky, dark comedy, realistic, satirical, funny, melancholic, humorous, thought provoking
Similar in 78%
Thank You for Smoking (2005)
Plot Summary:
Nick Naylor is a charismatic spin-doctor for Big Tobacco who'll fight to protect America's right to smoke -- even if it kills him -- while still remaining a role model for his 12-year old son. When he incurs the wrath of a senator bent on snuffing out cigarettes, Nick's powers of "filtering the truth" will be put to the test.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 227000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: black comedy, entertaining, dark comedy, political, humorous, funny, satirical, hilarious, feel good, indie film
Similar in 84%
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
Plot Summary:
A fading actor best known for his portrayal of a popular superhero attempts to mount a comeback by appearing in a Broadway play. As opening night approaches, his attempts to become more altruistic, rebuild his career, and reconnect with friends and family prove more difficult than expected.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 657000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: surreal, psychological, dark comedy, black comedy, psychedelic, independent film, clever, intellectual, atmospheric, enigmatic
Similar in 83%
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Plot Summary:
At an elite, old-fashioned boarding school in New England, a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day, courting the disdain of the stern headmaster.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 530000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: philosophical, inspirational, sentimental, emotional, uplifting, intellectual, touching, motivational, sad, tear jerker
Similar in 89%
Bulworth (1998)
Plot Summary:
A suicidally disillusioned liberal politician puts a contract out on himself and takes the opportunity to be bluntly honest with his voters by affecting the rhythms and speech of hip-hop music and culture.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: political, humorous, witty, funny, thought provoking, controversial, clever, biting, dark comedy, spiritual