Best movies like Hurlyburly
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Based on a play by David Rabe, Hurlyburly is about the intersecting lives of several Hollywood players and wannabes, whose dysfunctional personal lives are more interesting than anything they're peddling to the studios.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: talky, dark comedy, captivating, cynical, philosophical, psychological, clever, humorous, independent film, twisted
Best tv shows and movies like Hurlyburly (1998):
Similar in 82%
Inserts (1975)
Plot Summary:
A young, once-great Hollywood film director refuses to accept changing times during the early 1930s, and confines himself to his decaying mansion to make silent porn flicks.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: sexy, erotic, psychological, tense, clever, serious, realistic, disturbing, talky, gloomy
Similar in 88%
American Cowslip (2009)
Plot Summary:
In Blythe, California, a small town in the remote California desert, Ethan Inglebrink is an eccentric, agoraphobic heroin addict who is obsessed with his garden. This dark comedy follows the last days of Ethan's life as he struggles to find purpose at a time when it might be too late to even matter.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 614
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: semi serious, humorous, realistic, cynical, dark comedy, clever, offbeat, witty, independent film
Similar in 84%
The Anarchist Cookbook (2002)
Plot Summary:
A movie about a young honors student-turned-anarchist, Puck, and his group of anarchist friends living peacefully in a Dallas commune until a nihilist, Johnny Black, appears with The Anarchist Cookbook and completely destroys their way of life.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, cynical, philosophical, clever, offbeat, talky, semi serious
Similar in 78%
Don Peyote (2014)
Plot Summary:
An ordinary guy delves deep into counterculture, conspiracy theories and the like as he tries to discern the structure of society.
IMDB Rating: 3.5
IMDB Votes: 956
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: humorous, surreal, semi serious, captivating, psychological, dark comedy, offbeat, realistic, independent film
Similar in 87%
Starstruck (1998)
Plot Summary:
A screenwriter befriends a washed up teen idol.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 328
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: independent film, humorous, realistic, sitcom, semi serious
Similar in 86%
The Last Stand (2006)
Plot Summary:
The Last Stand, a drama that chronicles the life of four very different people attempting success as performers in Los Angeles until life becomes too much to handle.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 284
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, captivating, tragicomedy, talky, semi serious, independent film, dark comedy
Similar in 90%
California Split (1974)
Plot Summary:
Down-on-his-luck gambler Bill (George Segal) links up with free spirit Charlie (Elliott Gould) at first to have some fun, but then gets into debt when Gould takes an unscheduled trip to Tijuana. As a final act of desperation, he pawns most of his possessions and goes to Reno for the poker game of a lifetime. A film set mainly in casinos and races, as the two win and lose, get robbed, and get blind drunk.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: grim, clever, witty, talky, cynical, dark comedy, funny, entertaining, art house, cult classic
Similar in 80%
Wheels (2014)
Plot Summary:
Two suicidal paraplegic junkies hustle their way through the city streets trying to find a reason to live.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: touching, semi serious, psychological, sentimental, bleak, captivating, sad, mindfuck, realistic, independent film
Similar in 85%
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 82%
The Big Kahuna (1999)
Plot Summary:
Three salesmen working for a firm that makes industrial lubricants are waiting in the company's "hospitality suite" at a manufacturers' convention for a "big kahuna" named Dick Fuller to show up, in hopes they can persuade him to place an order that could salvage the company's flagging sales.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama, Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: philosophical, minimal cast, clever, witty, talky, independent film, funny, uplifting, spiritual, slang
Similar in 88%
Garbage (2012)
Plot Summary:
Two best friends, garbage truck drivers in Hollywood become celebrities overnight after they find Cuba Gooding Jr.’s Best Supporting Actor Oscar for JERRY MAGUIRE in the trash and suddenly their lives go topsy-turvy.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 625
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: feel good, humorous, light, captivating, realistic, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 77%
Shrink (2009)
Plot Summary:
Unable to cope with a recent personal tragedy, LA's top celebrity shrink turns into a pothead with no concern for his appearance and a creeping sense of his inability to help his patients.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, depressing, emotional, sentimental, serious, sincere, touching, dark comedy, philosophical
Similar in 86%
Hollywood Dreams (2006)
Plot Summary:
The tale of a young girl fresh off the bus from Iowa, who falls in love with a sexy and promising young actor, though their relationship threatens to complicate her own obsessive goal of becoming a famous actress. The film perfectly captures the delightful and desperate lives of those chasing dreams in Hollywood: One day they are shuffling down a boardwalk with too many suitcases, and the next they are lounging in contemporary hillside homes with a view of the city. Though neither state is permanent the more desirable one fuels the dream. The story's extraordinary execution portrays Hollywood as the fantastic and insane place that it is. Written by Lane Kneedler, American Film Institute Magazine.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 251
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: semi serious, captivating, psychological, emotional, sex comedy, independent film, humorous, realistic, witty, talky
Similar in 82%
The Last Producer (2000)
Plot Summary:
An old-time mogul struggles to reenter the club where power and money make the rules.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 356
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, witty, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 85%
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 78%
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 82%
Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Mork & Mindy' (2005)
Plot Summary:
An inside look at the ABC sitcom which turned Robin Williams into a star in 1978.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 489
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, semi serious, sentimental, sitcom
Similar in 82%
The Blue Tooth Virgin (2008)
Plot Summary:
Two writers must face a dilemma that is common to anyone who has ever had an artistic friend: what happens when you have to give feedback, and the news isn't good? Sam, an aspiring screenwriter, and David, a successful magazine editor, have been pals for years. When David doesn't appreciate Sam's latest attempt, it opens a fissure in their friendship, one that spreads through the rest of their lives. Ultimately, both men must reevaluate their motivations to write, their need for praise and validation, and what it means to see yourself as you actually are.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 186
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: realistic, semi serious, humorous, captivating, independent film, sentimental, witty
Similar in 81%
The Chumscrubber (2005)
Plot Summary:
The Chumscrubber is a dark comedy about the lives of people who live in upper-class suburbia. It all begins when Dean Stiffle finds the body of his friend, Troy. He doesn't bother telling any of the adults because he knows they won't care. Everyone in town is too self consumed to worry about anything else than themselves. And everybody is on some form of drug just to get through their days.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: surreal, dark comedy, bleak, independent film, black comedy, humorous, semi serious, witty, dark, clever
Similar in 76%
An American in Hollywood (2014)
Plot Summary:
A talented young filmmaker from New York sets off to Los Angeles in pursuit of the Hollywood dream, only to discover through his relationship with a beautiful feisty young actress, that Hollywood is not all that it seems.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 219
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: realistic, semi serious, sincere, captivating, humorous, independent film
Similar in 87%
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 81%
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 76%
Mistress (1992)
Plot Summary:
A comedy about a screenwriter (Wuhl) whose old movie script is read by a producer (Landau) and the search for financial backers begins. But it seems that each money source (Aiello, DeNiro, Wallach) has his own mistress that he wants put into the film. Gradually, the screenwriter is forced to make changes to his script to accommodate these backers until he finally sees no semblance of his original ideas in the writing.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: humorous, cynical, light, captivating, cult classic, exciting, independent film, realistic, witty, talky
Similar in 83%
One Too Many Mornings (2010)
Plot Summary:
Fischer can't remember the last time he woke up without a hangover. He lives in a church: a real one. Where people baptize, marry, pray and die. It's an ideal situation for a young guy with no aspirations: if he locks up the church, he can sleep in the back. Free of charge. 6:00am. Tuesday morning. Fischer's old friend from high school shows up unannounced. Even though they haven't seen each other in years, Peter just drove 10 hours straight because his girlfriend of five years just cheated on him. He's looking for a place to hide. To think. To drink. What better place than Fischer's church? After leaving 50 unanswered voice-mails, Rudy shows up four days later. That's Peter's girlfriend. She didn't cheat on him. She did something much worse.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 121
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, mumblecore, captivating, psychological, light, uplifting, clever, offbeat, realistic
Similar in 86%
Funeral Kings (2012)
Plot Summary:
It's always a good day for a funeral at St. Mark's Middle School. Andy and Charlie, two altar servers, don't just get to miss class anytime a parishioner kicks the bucket, they cut out early and play hooky as soon as the service is over. Eventually their irreverent personalities will put them in a situation that is too big for them to handle.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, captivating, psychological, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 84%
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 75%
Jake Squared (2013)
Plot Summary:
A filmmaker sets out to make a new project in order to figure out how he's screwed up every relationship he's ever had.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 631
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: psychological, humorous, contemplative, semi serious, light, captivating, offbeat, mind bending, realistic, independent film
Similar in 80%
Trees Lounge (1996)
Plot Summary:
Tommy has lost his job, his love and his life. He lives in a small apartment above the Trees Lounge, a bar which he frequents along with a few other regulars without lives. He gets a job driving an ice cream truck and ends up getting involved with the seventeen-year-old niece of his ex-girlfriend. This gets him into serious trouble with her father.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: independent film, grim, cult classic, talky, art house, dark comedy, intellectual, entertaining, black comedy, indie film
Similar in 87%
The Big Ask (2013)
Plot Summary:
The Big Ask is a dark comedy about three couples who head to the desert to help their friend heal after the death of his mother. They would do anything for him - except for the one thing he wants.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 679
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, psychological, captivating, realistic, independent film
Similar in 89%
Igby Goes Down (2002)
Plot Summary:
A young man's peculiar upbringing renders him unable to competently cope with the struggle of growing up.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 35000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, depressing, cynical, humorous, clever, realistic, witty, talky, suspense, black comedy