Best movies like Billy Liar
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A young Englishman dreams of escaping from his working class family and dead-end job as an undertaker's assistant. A number of indiscretions cause him to lie in order to avoid the penalties. His life turns into a mess and he has an opportunity to run away and leave it all behind.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, mind bending, psychedelic, surreal, romantic comedy, touching, offbeat, semi serious, independent film
Best tv shows and movies like Billy Liar (1963):
Similar in 77%
The Family Way (1966)
Plot Summary:
Following the wedding of young Jenny Piper and Arthur Fitton (Hayley Mills and Hywel Bennett), a rowdy reception is held at a local pub where the newlyweds are subjected to much well-meaning but vulgar ribaldry. The couple returns to the Fitton home to spend their first night together before leaving for a honeymoon in Majorca, but they are followed by some of the wedding guests who keep the party going until early morning. Worse yet, when the youngsters finally are permitted to retire, their bed collapses as the result of a practical joke.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: romantic comedy, independent film, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, crying
Similar in 83%
Georgy Girl (1966)
Plot Summary:
Georgy has resigned herself to being one of life's accidents. She disapproves somewhat of her father's butlering James Leamington. She's tall, plump, sloppy and wistfully envious of what she conceives to be the life led by her beautiful, but icy roommate. Where her roommate, Meredith, is cool and calculating, Georgy gets so involved with the people around her she behaves like an affectionate puppy. Most of all she burns to be a mother. But it is Meredith that is in the hospital having an unwanted child.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: retro, romantic comedy, sentimental, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, romantic, road movie, atmospheric
Similar in 88%
A Kind of Loving (1962)
Plot Summary:
After his girlfriend's pregnancy forces him to marry her, a young man must adjust to his new life and contend with his domineering mother-in-law.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: social, experimental, sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, independent film, vintage
Similar in 79%
Darling (1965)
Plot Summary:
A beautiful but amoral model sleeps her way to the top of the London fashion scene at the height of the Swinging Sixties.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: independent film, clever, witty, cynical, biting, psychological thriller, humorous, realistic, semi serious, crying
Similar in 86%
Booked Out (2012)
Plot Summary:
Ailidh (Mirren Burke) has two loves in this world: spying on her neighbours and writing graphic novels. The arrival of Jacob (Rollo Weeks - Girl with a Pearl Earring), inspires Ailidh and she soon begins conjuring up increasingly elaborate plans to bump into him. Upstairs, Mrs Nicholls (Sylvia Syms - The Queen) provides Ailidh with a perfect opportunity and she soon has Jacob teaching Mrs Nicholls dead husband French. Unfortunately, Ailidh's romantic endeavours are disrupted when she realises she isn't the only girl in Jacob's life. Featuring compelling performances from an exceptional cast of actors, the debut feature from Bryan O'Neil is a funny, unique and heart-warming story of love, life and moving on.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 99
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, captivating, crying, independent film
Similar in 78%
Sleepwalk with Me (2012)
Plot Summary:
A burgeoning stand-up comedian struggles with the stress of a stalled career, a stale relationship, and the wild spurts of severe sleepwalking he is desperate to ignore.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: funny, humorous, talky, surreal, semi serious, realistic, sexy, emotional, entertaining, intense
Similar in 77%
Two for the Road (1967)
Plot Summary:
The ten-year marriage of Mark and Joanna Wallace is on the rocks. In flashback they recall their first meeting, memorable moments in their courtship and early wedded life, their travels through Europe, their broken vow never to have children, and their increasing tensions that led to both of them having extra-marital affairs.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: road movie, witty, stylized, esoteric, clever, touching, humorous, realistic, non-linear, semi serious
Similar in 85%
These Foolish Things (2006)
Plot Summary:
As war looms on the horizon, a hopeful ingenue (Zoe Tapper) finds herself caught between the warring affections of a playwright (David Leon) and a director (Andrew Lincoln) in 1930s London. Director Julia Taylor-Stanley's heartwarming ensemble piece features zesty performances by Anjelica Huston as an eccentric investor, Mark Umbers as a vain matinee idol, and Terence Stamp as a tart butler. And don't miss the immortal Lauren Bacall in a small role.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 568
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, captivating, emotional, serious, realistic, crying
Similar in 86%
A Merry War (1997)
Plot Summary:
Gordon Comstock is a copywriter at an ad agency, and his girlfriend Rosemary is a designer. Gordon believes he is a genius, a marvelous poet and quits the ad agency, trying to live on his poems, but poverty soon comes to him.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: cult classic, clever, humorous, witty, realistic, semi serious, independent film, sexy, thought provoking, intellectual
Similar in 87%
The Republic of Love (2003)
Plot Summary:
A thrice-divorced radio DJ meets the woman of his dreams but can he convince her of the truth of his feelings? An exploration of love, adapted from the novel by Pulitzer prize winning author Carol Shields.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 543
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Canada, UK
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, emotional, realistic, sex comedy, humorous, gloomy, semi serious, crying
Similar in 85%
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)
Plot Summary:
A rebellious youth, sentenced to a boy's reformatory for robbing a bakery, rises through the ranks of the institution through his prowess as a long distance runner. During his solitary runs, reveries of his life and times before his incarceration lead him to re-evaluate his privileged status as the Governor's prize runner.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: UK
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: political, social, black and white, psychological, sincere, bleak, serious, realistic, non-linear, independent film
Similar in 88%
Metroland (1997)
Plot Summary:
After ten years absence Toni, Chris's best friend, suddenly reappears in London to bring chaos and doubt into Chris's calm, tranquil, slightly boring, predictable life. Chris starts to remember his carefree youth as a photographer in Paris when he lived with and enjoyed a torrid affair with Annick. It was also in Paris that he first met and fell in love with Marion. The temptations and pressure exerted on Chris by Toni to return to their former carefree life of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll soon starts to have an impact on Chris's marriage. He starts to question his values, his lifestyle choices and his relationship with Marion and even suspects her of starting an affair with Toni whom she dislikes! Eventually circumstances come to a head and Chris is forced to decide whether to follow Toni back to the hedonistic, irresponsible life of his youth or face the harsh realities of the present and stay with Marion.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Spain, France, UK
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: cult classic, sexual, comedy drama, sentimental, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, crying, weeping
Similar in 89%
The Last Days of Chez Nous (1992)
Plot Summary:
The story of sisters Vicki and Beth, when Vicki begins an affair with Beth's intriguing French husband.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Australia
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: independent film, sincere, thought provoking, clever, touching, emotional, realistic, contemplative, semi serious, crying
Similar in 79%
Goodbye, Columbus (1969)
Plot Summary:
A Jewish man and a jewish woman meet and while attracted to each other find that their worlds are very different. She is the archetypical Jewish-American-Princess, very emotionally involved with her parents world and the world they have created for her while he is much less dependent on his family. They begin an affair which brings more differences to the surface.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: independent film, humorous, witty, sexual, funny, technicolor, weeping, touching, offbeat, realistic
Similar in 86%
An Awfully Big Adventure (1995)
Plot Summary:
Liverpool. 1947. A star-struck young girl learns about the grown-up world of the theater.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: bleak, clever, offbeat, humorous, realistic, witty, semi serious, biting, crying, independent film
Similar in 80%
Valentin (2002)
Plot Summary:
Valentin, a 9-year-old boy living with his grandmother in late-1960s Buenos Aires, believes his family has problems that only he can solve. The youngster dreams of being reunited with his mother, who's separated from Valentin's abusive father.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Argentina, Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, sweet, uplifting, realistic, lyrical, sincere, hispanic, serious, crying
Similar in 90%
Tito and Me (1992)
Plot Summary:
Goran Markovic, known more for his dramatic work, achieved something that's eluded many great filmmakers - both smart and funny comedy. Based loosely on his own life as a kid growing up in Tito's communist Yugoslavia in the 1950s, the movie centers around 10-year-old Zoran whose inspired poem about Tito written on a spur-of-the-moment-basis as an in-class assignment, earns him a trip with other deserving pupils retracing Tito's "revolutionary trails" in Tito's hometown of Kumrovec.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: sentimental, humorous, captivating, realistic, semi serious, slapstick comedy, slapstick
Similar in 81%
In Her Shoes (2005)
Plot Summary:
Irresponsible party girl Maggie (Cameron Diaz) is kicked out of her father's (Ken Howard) and stepmother's (Candice Azzara) home, where she lives for free, and is taken in by her hard-working sister, Philadelphia lawyer Rose (Toni Collette). After Maggie's disruptive ways ruin her sister's love life, Rose turns her out as well. But when their grandmother, who they never knew existed, comes into their lives, the sisters face some complicated truths about themselves and their family.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 64000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA, Germany, UK
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: light, sentimental, touching, emotional, sincere, realistic, semi serious, romantic comedy, romantic, erotic
Similar in 85%
Brassed Off (1996)
Plot Summary:
A small Yorkshire mining town is threatened with being shut down and the only hope is for the men to enter their Grimley Colliery Brass Band into a national competition. They believe they have no hope until Gloria appears carrying her Flugelhorn. At first mocked for being a woman, she soon becomes the only chance for the band to win.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Music, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, emotional, sexy, social, hilarious, mind blowing, indie film, sincere, uplifting
Similar in 82%
Driving Lessons (2006)
Plot Summary:
A shy teenage boy trying to escape the influence of his domineering mother, has his world changed when he begins to work for a retired actress.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: sentimental, witty, feel good, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, inspirational, uplifting, spiritual
Similar in 86%
Agnes Browne (1999)
Plot Summary:
When Agnes Browne's husband died, she discovered something amazing... Herself.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA, Ireland
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: sentimental, emotional, humorous, uplifting, touching, melancholic, sweet, sincere, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 75%
Wild Mountain Thyme (2020)
Plot Summary:
Headstrong farmer Rosemary Muldoon has her heart set on winning her neighbour Anthony Reilly's love. The problem is, Anthony seems to have inherited a family curse, and remains oblivious to his beautiful admirer. Stung by his father's plans to sell the family farm to his American nephew, Anthony is jolted into pursuing his dreams.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA, Ireland, UK
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, romantic, emotional, realistic, feel good, romantic drama, slapstick comedy, adaptation directed by original author
Similar in 82%
Cheerful Weather for the Wedding (2012)
Plot Summary:
England, 1932. Today is Dolly Thatcham's wedding day, and her family is arriving at the manor house with all the cheerfulness, chaos and grievances that accompany such gatherings. Trouble soon appears in the shape of Joseph, Dolly's lover from the previous summer, who throws her feelings into turmoil. But Dolly's mother will not allow her carefully laid plans for her daughter's future to be threatened.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: feel good, realistic, semi serious, sweet, captivating, entertaining, heartbreaking, period piece, humorous, stylized
Similar in 84%
Heat and Dust (1983)
Plot Summary:
The parallel story of Anne and her grand-aunt Olivia in their experiences in India.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: realistic, costume drama, romantic drama, historical drama, serious, contemplative, crying, independent film, baroque, period drama
Similar in 90%
Bright Young Things (2003)
Plot Summary:
in the 1930’s a social set known to the press – who follow their every move – as the “Bright Young Things.” are Adam and his friends who are eccentric, wild and entirely shocking to the older generation. Amidst the madness, Adam, who is well connected but totally broke, is desperately trying to get enough money to marry the beautiful Nina. While his attempts to raise cash are constantly thwarted, their friends seem to self-destruct, one-by-one, in an endless search for newer and faster sensations. Finally, when world events out of their control come crashing around them, they are forced to reassess their lives and what they value most.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: UK
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: witty, melancholic, stylized, semi serious, humorous, costume drama, clever, entertaining, twist ending, talky
Similar in 86%
Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002)
Plot Summary:
Dek, a decent but somewhat dull man, enjoys a happy existence with beloved girlfriend Shirley. They live together with her 12-year-old, Marlene: her daughter by the delinquent Jimmy, who flew the coop years ago and hasn't been heard from since. Dek loves Shirley so much that he proposes to her on national television.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, Germany
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: humorous, sweet, entertaining, melancholic, intense, atmospheric, witty, touching, feel good, semi serious
Similar in 84%
Somers Town (2008)
Plot Summary:
Two teenagers, both newcomers to London, forge an unlikely friendship over the course of a hot summer. Tomo (Thomas Turgoose) is a runaway from Nottingham; Marek (Piotr Jagiello) lives in the district of Somers Town, between King's Cross and Euston stations, where his dad is working on a new rail link.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 71 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, semi serious, black and white, social, humorous, witty
Similar in 84%
It Runs in the Family (2003)
Plot Summary:
This is the story of a dysfunctional New York family, and their attempts to reconcile.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: light, humorous, semi serious, sentimental, touching, talky, epic, realistic, crying, romantic
Similar in 81%
Russian Dolls (2005)
Plot Summary:
Five years after their summer together in Barcelona, Xavier, William, Wendy, Martine and Isabelle reunite.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: France, UK
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: romantic, sentimental, feel good, humorous, witty, road movie, depressing, epic, clever, realistic
Similar in 90%
Starter for 10 (2006)
Plot Summary:
In 1985, against the backdrop of Thatcherism, Brian Jackson enrolls in the University of Bristol, a scholarship boy from seaside Essex with a love of knowledge for its own sake and a childhood spent watching "University Challenge," a college quiz show. At Bristol he tries out for the Challenge team and falls under the spell of Alice, a lovely blond with an extensive sexual past.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: feel good, witty, light, sweet, melancholic, touching, humorous, semi serious, clever, realistic