Best movies like Dad
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A busy executive (Ted Danson) learns during a meeting that his mother may be dying and rushes home to her side. He ends up being his father's caretaker and becomes closer to him (Jack Lemmon) than ever before. Estranged from his own son (Ethan Hawke), the executive comes to realize what has been missing in his own life.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, emotional, feel good, uplifting, inspirational, sincere, thought provoking, poignant, comedy drama
Best tv shows and movies like Dad (1989):
Similar in 89%
A Family Thing (1996)
Plot Summary:
Earl Pilcher Jr., runs an equipment rental outfit in Arkansas, lives with his wife and kids and parents, and rarely takes off his gimme cap. His mother dies, leaving a letter explaining he's not her natural son, but the son of a Black woman who died in childbirth; plus, he has a half brother Ray, in Chicago, she wants him to visit. Earl makes the trip, initially receiving a cold welcome from Ray and Ray's son, Virgil. His birth mother's sister, Aunt T., an aged and blind matriarch, takes Earl in tow and insists that the family open up to him.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, realistic, emotional, melancholic, sentimental, sincere, semi serious, uplifting, humorous
Similar in 77%
The Event (2003)
Plot Summary:
An intense relationship drama that takes the form of a mystery, The Event centers around a series of unexplained deaths that occur among the gay community in New York's fashionable Chelsea district. Nick, a district attorney investigating the most recent case, a suspicious apparent suicide, and her interviews with friends and family of the deceased trigger extensive and intricately interwoven flashbacks that reveal surprising facts about the man's life and death.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: serious, sentimental, sincere, touching, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 80%
Only When I Laugh (1981)
Plot Summary:
A boozy Broadway actress comes out of a 12-week cure to face the problems of her best friends as well as her needy daughter. She tries to balance the terrors of returning to work with the demands of all around her with humor and insight, while staying off the booze.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: sentimental, clever, touching, realistic, talky, semi serious
Similar in 88%
Da (1988)
Plot Summary:
A New York playwright is summoned to Ireland to bury his father (his "Da"). While at his boyhood home, he encounters his father's spirit and relives memories both pleasant and not.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 504
Genere: Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: independent film, sentimental, uplifting, touching, feel good, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 75%
Reconciliation (2009)
Plot Summary:
RECONCILIATION is a groundbreaking, provocative story about an estranged father and son struggling to overcome the heartbreaking consequences of their past. Grant Taylor (Eric Nenninger) has been troubled by intense childhood memories ever since his wife, Sara (Chelsey Crisp), gave him the exciting news..."You are going to be a dad!" As fatherhood nears, Grant privately wrestles with his embarrassment and anger toward his own father. His memories come to a head when Sara receives a call informing them that Grant's dad, Jeff (Jack Maxwell), is terminally ill and his last wish is to see his son. With Sara's encouragement, Grant reluctantly goes to see the man he disowned at his 10th birthday party, when he found out his father was gay. At the hospice, father and son confront the past as they come face to face for the first time in 16 years. Will Grant forgive his father for abandoning their family.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 152
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: uplifting, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, independent film
Similar in 81%
Jack the Bear (1993)
Plot Summary:
Story of the relationships between two sons and their father, who moves the family to California and becomes a tv horror show host after the death of his wife.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, emotional, scary, uplifting, epic, psychological, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 86%
Hanging Up (2000)
Plot Summary:
A trio of sisters bond over their ambivalence toward the approaching death of their curmudgeonly father, to whom none of them was particularly close.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, intense, humorous, feel good, light, funny, hilarious, realistic, talky
Similar in 81%
Memories of Me (1988)
Plot Summary:
After a heart attack, Abbie Polin (Crystal), a New York doctor, goes to Los Angeles to see his father, Abe (King), who works in Hollywood as the "king of the extras." Their relationship has been strained for several years. This was the first movie directed by Henry Winkler, and much of it was filmed inside the MGM Studios in Culver City, California, only a few miles from Hollywood. Lisa, the romantic interest in Abbie's life, also comes for a visit and bonds with Abe, who gets along famously with everyone but his son. Abe begins having memory loss and eventually is diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. He and his son grow closer in time and, before it's too late, Abbie tries to get Abe a speaking role in a film.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: independent film, sentimental, touching, humorous, emotional, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 75%
That's Life! (1986)
Plot Summary:
A wealthy architect struggles with a severe case of male menopause at the approach of his 60th birthday.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: sentimental, independent film, sincere, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, crying, erotic, road movie
Similar in 80%
Unstrung Heroes (1995)
Plot Summary:
Steven Lidz, unhappy with his home life since his mother got sick, goes and lives with his two crazy Uncles. There he changes and gets closer to his Uncles, but his parents want him home even though he is finally happy and popular. Written by Todd Weiser.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, emotional, offbeat, humorous, realistic, semi serious, light, atmospheric, thought provoking
Similar in 76%
The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2014)
Plot Summary:
After learning that a brain aneurysm will kill him in about 90 minutes, a perpetually unhappy man struggles to come to terms with his fate and make amends with everyone he has ever hurt.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: compassionate, sentimental, surreal, stylized, thought provoking, tragicomedy, dark comedy, humorous, teen, parody
Similar in 88%
Happy Hour (2003)
Plot Summary:
Set in present day New York City, "Happy Hour" is a literate and often funny story of love and how to receive it. Tulley, a once-promising literary star now biding his time as an advertising copy editor, moves from cynicism to acceptance as he secretly hopes to write a great novel only to learn that his life of booze will end all too soon. Levine, his best friend and Natalie, the woman who might have saved him, suffer the pain of Tulley's anger and rejection.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 441
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, emotional, serious, realistic, independent film
Similar in 89%
The Thing About My Folks (2005)
Plot Summary:
Ben's dad Sam shows up one night with a note from Ben's mother (Sam's wife of 46 years), that she has left. While Ben's wife and his three sisters try to find her, Ben takes Sam on a day trip to see a farmhouse that's for sale. The day trip turns into a road trip while dad and son explore their past, their relationship, and why Sam's wife might have left him. The road trip includes fishing, drinking, playing pool, sleeping under the stars, and frank discussion. Anger simmers close at hand, as do love and hope. Where Sam's wife is - and why she left - leads to the movie's resolution.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: talky, sentimental, touching, feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 78%
Kotch (1971)
Plot Summary:
Joseph Kotcher, retired salesman, walks out on his son and daughter-in-law after their attempts to put him in a retirement home. He tracks down their babysitter, sacked because she is pregnant, and rents a small house nearby. He finds a new purpose in life. Jack Lemmon's first film as director stars his old friend Walter Matthau.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: independent film, psychological, sentimental, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 83%
The Grump (2014)
Plot Summary:
A stubbornly traditional eighty-year-old farmer — whose social attitudes verge on the prehistoric — raises hell when he is forced to move in with his sadsack, city-dwelling son and domineering daughter-in-law, in this hilarious social satire based on the wildly popular novel by Finnish author Tuomas Kyrö.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Finland, Iceland
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: captivating, emotional, sentimental, humorous, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 81%
The Open Road (2009)
Plot Summary:
Minor leaguer Carlton Garret takes an unexpected road trip to track down his estranged father, legendary baseball player Kyle Garret when Carlton’s mother becomes sick. Once reunited, Carlton struggles to deal with the series of misadventures caused by his father’s antics. Attempts at bonding come to a head as the mismatched duo make their way from Ohio back home to Houston to reunite the family.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: road movie, feel good, semi serious, humorous, realistic, touching, independent film
Similar in 87%
Wish I Was Here (2014)
Plot Summary:
Aidan Bloom, a struggling actor, father and husband, is 35 years old and still trying to find a purpose for his life. He and his wife are barely getting by financially and Aidan passes his time by fantasizing about being the great futuristic Space-Knight he'd always dreamed he'd be as a little kid. When his ailing father can no longer afford to pay for private school for his two kids and the only available public school is on its last legs, Aidan reluctantly agrees to attempt to home-school them. Through teaching them about life his way, Aidan gradually discovers some of the parts of himself he couldn't find.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 39000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: independent film, inspirational, touching, sentimental, light, sweet, emotional, melancholic, sincere, realistic
Similar in 86%
All Together (2011)
Plot Summary:
Five old friends decide to move in together as an alternate to living in a retirement home; joining them is an ethnology student whose thesis is on the aging population.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France, Germany
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, semi serious, sentimental, realistic
Similar in 81%
Isn't It Delicious (2013)
Plot Summary:
When Joan Weldon discovers she is dying of lung cancer, she sets out to reconcile her dysfunctional relationships with her three children, her husband, and along the way, her former best friend. The family's destructive ways are offset by messy and somewhat humorous attempts by Joan to set her children on the right course before she dies. In this big dysfunctional mix, they will all learn to connect in their own ways, and realize on their own terms what life is about.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 70
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, independent film, dark comedy
Similar in 89%
Two Weeks (2006)
Plot Summary:
In this bittersweet comedy, four adult siblings gather at their dying mother's house in North Carolina for what they expect to be a quick, last goodbye. Instead, they find themselves trapped — together — for two weeks.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, humorous, realistic, spiritual, tear jerker, semi serious
Similar in 76%
Men Don't Leave (1990)
Plot Summary:
After her husband John dies unexpectedly, Beth Macauley is unprepared for life without him. She is unemployed with no job skills and $60,000 in debt from on-going renovations to their house located in suburban Bingham. She doesn't know what to do but sell what material possessions she has, such as the family pick-up truck and the house, and move into an apartment in the city, namely Baltimore. Beth just wants to survive by finding a job she doesn't dislike, and keep her family together while trying to maintain her sanity and sense of self-worth.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, humorous, sincere, feel good, realistic, semi serious, independent film, light, road movie
Similar in 81%
Country Remedy (2007)
Plot Summary:
In order to secure the position of Head of Pediatrics at a top Chicago hospital, a young, highly accomplished, pediatrician agrees to spend a summer setting up a clinic in a small town in the North Carolina mountains. Clashing against the ways of the small community he is forced to deal with the recent loss of his wife while reconnecting with his 9 year old son, and learning a different pace of life.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 669
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: sentimental, uplifting, touching, emotional, independent film, serious, realistic
Similar in 83%
Nobody's Fool (1994)
Plot Summary:
Sully is a rascally ne'er-do-well approaching retirement age. While he is pressing a worker's compensation suit for a bad knee, he secretly works for his nemesis, Carl, and flirts with Carl's young wife Toby. Sully's long- forgotten son and family have moved back to town, so Sully faces unfamiliar family responsibilities. Meanwhile, Sully's landlady's banker son plots to push through a new development and evict Sully from his mother's life.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: feel good, touching, humorous, atmospheric, talky, witty, intense, semi serious, independent film, realistic
Similar in 87%
A Day Late and a Dollar Short (2014)
Plot Summary:
When irascible matriarch Viola Price learns that her next asthma attack will likely kill her, she is determined to fix her fractured family before she leaves this world.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 732
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, sentimental, captivating, uplifting, touching, serious
Similar in 85%
Bruno (2000)
Plot Summary:
The story of a unique young boy genius, Bruno, whose expression of his own individuality leads his family and community along an emotional journey.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, emotional, semi serious, sentimental, humorous, inspirational, motivational, independent film, flamboyance
Similar in 90%
Brooklyn Lobster (2005)
Plot Summary:
Giorgio's Lobster Farm has been a tradition in Brooklyn for over 65 years. Manned by an eccentric crew and serving the best seafood in the state.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 489
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: humorous, emotional, atmospheric, captivating, sentimental, sincere, touching, realistic, semi serious, semi autobiographical
Similar in 77%
The Year of Getting to Know Us (2008)
Plot Summary:
A commitment-phobic man reunites with his estranged, ailing father and comes to terms with his own childhood.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, offbeat, independent film
Similar in 84%
Nebraska (2013)
Plot Summary:
An aging, booze-addled father takes a trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim what he believes to be a million-dollar sweepstakes prize.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 122000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: road movie, black and white, depressing, humorous, touching, realistic, meditative, emotional, melancholic, witty
Similar in 86%
The Doctor (1991)
Plot Summary:
Jack McKee is a doctor with it all: he's successful, he's rich, and he has no problems.... until he is diagnosed with throat cancer. Now that he has seen medicine, hospitals, and doctors from a patient's perspective, he realises that there is more to being a doctor than surgery and prescriptions.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: psychological, sentimental, touching, emotional, uplifting, scary, depressing, sincere, serious, realistic
Similar in 78%
Patch Adams (1998)
Plot Summary:
Meet Patch Adams, a doctor who doesn't look, act or think like any doctor you've met before. For Patch, humor is the best medicine, and he's willing to do just anything to make his patients laugh - even if it means risking his own career.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 121000
Genere: Biography, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: inspirational, touching, emotional, uplifting, compassionate, sad, feel good, tragicomedy, dramatic, realistic