Best movies like Echo Park
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
In the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, everybody is somebody else. May, a single mother who delivers strip-O-grams, dreams of being an actress. She rents one of her rooms out to a pizza-man cum songwriter named Jonathan. Meanwhile, in the next apartment, August, an Austrian bodybuilder, fancies himself the next Arnold Schwarzenegger. As the pressures of everyday life in LA mount, Jonathan and August vie for May's love.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 718
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, Austria
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: independent film, clever, touching, offbeat, feel good, humorous, realistic, witty, semi serious
Best tv shows and movies like Echo Park (1985):
Similar in 90%
Jackpot (2001)
Plot Summary:
Sunny Holiday, an aspiring singing star, abandons his wife and young baby to set off on a nine-month tour of bleak western towns. He takes off with his road manager in a pink Chrysler in search of their own version of the American Dream: a country loving audience.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 597
Genere: Drama, Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, semi serious, independent film, offbeat, contemplative, non-linear
Similar in 76%
Passenger Side (2009)
Plot Summary:
Two brothers spend the day driving around Los Angeles county looking for the meaning of their lives, or cheap street drugs, depending on who you happen to believe.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 947
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: touching, semi serious, humorous, realistic, witty, mumblecore, offbeat, talky, independent film
Similar in 75%
Hollywood Palms (2001)
Plot Summary:
Set entirely in the Hollywood Palms apartment building and its yard, this movie shows how people there live and interact with each other.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 174
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: humorous, witty, semi serious, realistic, biting, suspense
Similar in 87%
Sunset Strip (2000)
Plot Summary:
A day in Hollywood, 1972, with young people looking for the 24 hours that will change their lives. Zach will open that night for a British rocker at Whisky a Go-Go; he lives in a canyon and plays impromptu duets with a mysterious guitarist he doesn't see. Tammy is a costume designer, open to quick sex with the various rockers she works with and loved from afar by Michael, a photographer recovering from a case of the clap. His good friend is Felix, a morose, alcoholic songwriter. On hand for comic relief is Marty Shapiro, a fast-talking record producer. Getting ready for the gig at the club, Zach's performance, and the early-morning aftermath comprise the film.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: captivating, semi serious, sentimental, humorous, realistic, sexy, erotic, sexual
Similar in 84%
Park (2006)
Plot Summary:
Park takes place all in one day in a public park in Los Angeles, as 11 disaffected Angelenos find both love and loss in unexpected ways.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, semi serious, witty, offbeat, clever, talky
Similar in 81%
Smiling Fish & Goat on Fire (1999)
Plot Summary:
Two brothers share a house in LA's Fairfax district: Tony's a feckless actor, Chris is an accountant. Both are in relationships on rocky ground. As these emotions swirl, Tony meets his US Postal Service letter carrier, a single mom named Kathy who's come to LA from Wyoming with her daughter, a budding actress. Chris meets Anna, an Italian beauty working in the States for a few months wrangling animals on movie sets. Chris also befriends Clive, an aging and crusty man whose longing for his recently-deceased wife is a portrait of true love. Can Clive's example help Chris sort out his love life, and can Tony grow up enough to see the possibilities with Kathy and her daughter?.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: independent film, touching, offbeat, feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, crying, light, thought provoking
Similar in 81%
Somebody to Love (1994)
Plot Summary:
Mercedes is a taxi dancer who wants to be an actress. She's involved with the married Harry, who considers himself a respected actor. Ernesto is in love with Mercedes, but he doesn't dance or have money.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 794
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: independent film, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 90%
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 81%
Tomorrow's Another Day (2000)
Plot Summary:
Such an inconsequential event - the unfortunate purchase of a package of cling film - reveals the character and behavior of a small group of individuals caught up in the chaos of today's society. Though it creates arguments and inner questioning, this event - and its various consequences - also creates bonds.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 535
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, realistic, clever, offbeat
Similar in 85%
All Night Long (1981)
Plot Summary:
Executive George Dupler loses his temper and is demoted to the night manager at a 24 hour drugstore. After he suggests to his teenage son Freddie that he stop having an affair with suburban housewife Cheryl Gibbons, who is a distant cousin, Cheryl tries to seduce George. At home, in front of his mother, Freddie accuses his dad of stealing his girl, because he found Cheryl serving George a meal in the middle of the night, while her husband Bobby was on duty at the fire station. George then separates from his wife Helen, quits his job, moves into a warehouse, and asks Cheryl to move in with him.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, semi serious, feel good, realistic, offbeat, sexual, sexy
Similar in 88%
Fish Without a Bicycle (2003)
Plot Summary:
Comedy - Julianna (Jenna Mattison) is a struggling actress in a dead end relationship with Danny (Brad Rowe), a fireman who no longer lights her fire. When she decides to leave him and go "find herself" she ends up falling in love with an egotistical director, Michael (Bryan Callen), who can barely fit her in between Pilates classes.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 256
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: humorous, captivating, light, emotional, clever, realistic, witty, talky, semi serious, sexual
Similar in 86%
All the Days Before Tomorrow (2007)
Plot Summary:
Wes is awakened in the middle of the night by an unexpected phone call. It’s Alison, the girl who could have been, who is flying home to Tokyo in the morning and wants to come by for a night of reminiscing before she goes.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 693
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, humorous, talky, semi serious, offbeat, realistic, contemplative, non-linear, independent film
Similar in 88%
Queen of the Lot (2010)
Plot Summary:
An electronic ankle bracelet and being under house arrest aren't about to stop up-and-coming actress Maggie Chase (Tanna Frederick) from the two things she craves the most: real fame and true love. With more "Google points" than her Iowa hometown, but far less than Angelina Jolie, Maggie is desperate to claw her way off the B-list of action/adventure pictures and into major movie stardom.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 169
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, humorous, realistic, talky, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 80%
Chance (2002)
Plot Summary:
'Chance' is a black comedy about how hard it is to find "the one". Mostly told from the point-of-view of a young, sexually aggressive woman, named Chance, whom according to her: "we're all out there looking for true love", which turns out to be a very elusive thing indeed, and Chance is no exception. She's desperately on the prowl for a man, but since she's more mouse than cat, she gets herself into scrape after scrape in her screwball pursuit of love. Surrounded by a bevy of adoring but completely wrong-for-her men (and one dead girl from Manchester, England), Chance has to pick her way through her messy life in order to figure out which guy is "it".
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, independent film, non-linear
Similar in 82%
Man of the Year (2002)
Plot Summary:
Bill is the guest of honor as the "Man of the Year". A very successful head of a large energy firm, he is a man with many dark secrets. His best friend, Stuart, hosts the party at his ritzy ultra modern Hollywood Hills home. During the course of the night, secrets will be revealed, trusts will be broken and relationships will change forever.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 236
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, talky, semi serious, clever, biting
Similar in 79%
Eating (1990)
Plot Summary:
At a spacious house in Los Angeles, Helene is turning 40-years old and her friends whom include French filmmaker Martine, house guest Sophie, and Lydia throw her a party. But also there is Kate a friend turning 30, and Sadie a Hollywood film agent turning 50. So, all of Helene's, Kate's, and Sadie's friends arrive for the party where Martine films the events with her movie camera and the shocking secrets revealed by Helene's mother Whitney, and her younger sister Nancy whom confide in their interviews about their obsession with food, and their roles in life.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 317
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: independent film, clever, offbeat, humorous, realistic, contemplative, talky, semi serious
Similar in 90%
Highball (1997)
Plot Summary:
A newly-married couple tries to build their social life.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 915
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: independent film, clever, humorous, realistic, witty, talky, cynical, semi serious
Similar in 79%
Lisa Picard Is Famous (2000)
Plot Summary:
A documentarian decides to follow the career of New York actress Lisa Picard, believing she is on the brink of fame. Instead, he bears witness to Lisa's continued, humorous, struggles as an actress, as well as the conflict that arises when Lisa's best friend Tate hits it big with an off-Broadway one-man show.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 620
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, witty, cynical, semi serious, mockumentary, independent film, clever, offbeat, talky
Similar in 85%
Cleopatra (2003)
Plot Summary:
A retired teacher and a soap star leave their routines and the men in their lives behind and embark on a weekend trip.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 622
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Spain, Argentina
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, humorous, semi serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 80%
The Lather Effect (2006)
Plot Summary:
On the eve of selling her mother's house, a thirty-something housewife wakes up to a hangover surrounded by her best friends from high school.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 712
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: humorous, talky, semi serious, realistic
Similar in 76%
LOL (2006)
Plot Summary:
The relationships of three men are examined through their use of technology.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 910
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: mumblecore, sincere, humorous, talky, clever, touching, offbeat, realistic, witty, semi serious
Similar in 86%
Bastards of Young (2013)
Plot Summary:
Welcome to adulthood! When two early-30s couples celebrate their last annual Halloween party in New York, they are confronted with sex, lies, and unspoken drama which tests their relationships and futures.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 86%
2 B Perfectly Honest (2004)
Plot Summary:
Business partners Frank and Josh go bankrupt after their dot-com start-up collapses before it goes online. Frank, a bachelor and broke, reluctantly moves back home to live with his parents while Josh, a hippie computer wiz who's married and has a son, is forced to consider the unthinkable - getting a real job.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 271
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: clever, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 89%
Mind the Gap (2004)
Plot Summary:
Five seemingly unrelated people decide to take huge risks in their personal lives in an effort to find happiness.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 997
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: humorous, talky, semi serious, captivating, sincere, sentimental, clever, touching, offbeat, realistic
Similar in 75%
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 83%
30 Years to Life (2001)
Plot Summary:
First of all, the title does not refer to someone sentenced to jail. It is a movie about 6 lifetime friends who are all hitting the big `3-0' together during the same year. Each one looks inside themselves to see where has my life gone and what am I going to do with my future. Actually, what I saw was a black Seinfeld comedy. Tracy Morgan, who is one of the main characters, is a struggling comedian just like Jerry Seinfeld. He gives his opinion of what women want in a man in one of his comedy routines. Melissa De Sousa is looking for a man before time runs out. She is just like Elaine in Seinfeld. I don't remember the big problem with turning thirty, however, all the characters in this movie can show you what they are, such as not having fame, riches, a husband, a thin body, and staying young. Their life stories are probably repeated many times around the world.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 292
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, humorous, witty, psychological, romantic, captivating, clever, offbeat, realistic
Similar in 84%
Lovelife (1997)
Plot Summary:
Lovelife is a 1997 romantic comedy film written and directed by Jon Harmon Feldman. The ensemble cast includes Matt Letscher, Sherilyn Fenn, Saffron Burrows, Carla Gugino, Bruce Davison, Jon Tenney and Peter Krause. Lovelife was nominated for a Feature Film Award at the 1997 Austin Film Festival, and won an Audience Award at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. The film was winner of the screenplay award at the L.A. Indie fest.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 481
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: sex comedy, independent film, sentimental, clever, touching, humorous, realistic, witty, talky, semi serious
Similar in 90%
How to Be (2008)
Plot Summary:
A young man having an existential crisis convinces a Canadian self-help guru to come to London and become his personal life coach.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: semi serious, humorous, realistic, touching, melancholic, postmodern, indie film, clever, witty, talky
Similar in 84%
Seven Days of Grace (2006)
Plot Summary:
Four women - a blonde, a hippie, a lesbian and a barmaid - are looking for love, money and success. When one inherits an Italian restaurant from her father, they see this as a chance to fulfil their dreams. Then the restaurant is in danger of closing down - and the girls pull out all the stops to save it.
IMDB Rating: 3.4
IMDB Votes: 125
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: semi serious, humorous, realistic, light, feel good, offbeat, independent film
Similar in 89%
The Four Seasons (1981)
Plot Summary:
Three middle-aged wealthy couples take vacations together in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Along the way we are treated to mid-life, marital, parental and other crises.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, humorous, realistic, witty, talky, clever, semi serious, funny, light