Best movies like Life During Wartime
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Friends, family, and lovers struggle to find love, forgiveness, and meaning in an almost war-torn world riddled with comedy and pathos. Follows Solondz's film Happiness (1998).
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: disturbing, dark comedy, psychological, independent film, melancholic, talky, stylized, black comedy, humorous, psychedelic
Best tv shows and movies like Life During Wartime (2009):
Similar in 83%
Awkward Thanksgiving (2014)
Plot Summary:
Thanksgiving is a time when families get together to eat good food and share in the spirit of thankfulness. That's of course, a best case scenario. Some families are so tangled in a web of drama from financial issues, relationships, and so on that lead to big blow outs or worse, long awkward silences. This is the story of one of those families.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 102
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: sincere, humorous, serious, captivating, crying, independent film
Similar in 77%
Wiener-Dog (2016)
Plot Summary:
Wiener-Dog tells several stories featuring people who find their life inspired or changed by one particular dachshund, who seems to be spreading a certain kind of comfort and joy. Man’s best friend starts out teaching a young boy some contorted life lessons before being taken in by a compassionate vet tech named Dawn Wiener. Dawn reunites with someone from her past and sets off on a road trip picking up some depressed mariachis along the way. Wiener-Dog then encounters a floundering film professor, as well as an embittered elderly woman and her needy granddaughter—all longing for something more.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, humorous, captivating, disturbing, semi serious, philosophical, mumblecore, controversial, cynical
Similar in 78%
Choke (2008)
Plot Summary:
A sex-addicted con-man pays for his mother's hospital bills by playing on the sympathies of those who rescue him from choking to death.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 33000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, sexual, melancholic, depressing, cynical, satirical, clever, erotic, intellectual, thought provoking
Similar in 76%
Eulogy (2004)
Plot Summary:
A black comedy that follows three generations of a family, who come together for the funeral of the patriarch - unveiling a litany of family secrets and covert relationships.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, Germany, USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, absurd, black comedy, stylized, cynical, funny, cult classic, clever, talky, satirical
Similar in 86%
The Vicious Kind (2009)
Plot Summary:
A man tries to warn his brother away from the new girlfriend he brings home during Thanksgiving, but ends up becoming infatuated with her in the process.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: independent film, black comedy, sentimental, realistic, humorous, semi serious, indie film, sincere, erotic, melancholic
Similar in 82%
The House of Yes (1997)
Plot Summary:
Jackie-O is anxiously awaiting the visit of her brother home for Thanksgiving, but isn't expecting him to bring a friend. She's even more shocked to learn that this friend is his fiance. It soon becomes clear that Jackie Kennedy's obsession is nothing compared to her obsession with her brother, as it also becomes clear she isn't the only member of the family with problems.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, humorous, black comedy, independent film, surreal, absurd, offbeat, dark, cult classic, psychological
Similar in 75%
Forgiving the Franklins (2006)
Plot Summary:
A conservative, God fearing Southern family is spiritually changed by an auto accident, but who they become puts them at odds with the highly conservative values around them.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 320
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, semi serious, feel good, entertaining, talky
Similar in 76%
Storytelling (2001)
Plot Summary:
College and high school serve as the backdrop for two stories about dysfunction and personal turmoil.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: black comedy, bleak, dark comedy, controversial, disturbing, humorous, witty, rough, sexy, clever
Similar in 80%
Margot at the Wedding (2007)
Plot Summary:
Margot and her son Claude decide to visit her sister Pauline after she announces that she is getting married to less-than-impressive Malcolm. In short order, the storm the sisters create leaves behind a mess of thrashed relationships and exposed family secrets.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: talky, depressing, melancholic, stylized, humorous, tragicomedy, semi serious, cult classic, biting, deep
Similar in 82%
Palindromes (2004)
Plot Summary:
Aviva is thirteen, awkward and sensitive. Her mother Joyce is warm and loving, as is her father, Steve, a regular guy who does have a fierce temper from time to time. The film revolves around her family, friends and neighbors.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: bleak, psychological, disturbing, surreal, controversial, cynical, humorous, art house, independent film, dark comedy
Similar in 75%
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%
See You in Valhalla (2015)
Plot Summary:
After the bizarre death of her brother, Johana Burwood must return home after four years, to face her strange siblings, her out of touch father and her very touchy past.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: psychological, humorous, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 82%
The New Age (1994)
Plot Summary:
Peter and Katherine Witner are Southern California super-yuppies with great jobs but no center to their lives. When they both lose their jobs and begin marital infidelities, their solution is to start their own business together. In order to find meaning to their empty lives, they follow various New Age gurus and other such groups. Eventually, they hit rock bottom and have to make some hard decisions.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: satirical, melancholic, meditative, disturbing, humorous, cynical, realistic, witty, semi serious, cult classic
Similar in 89%
Dark Horse (2011)
Plot Summary:
Abe is a man who is in his thirties and who lives with his parents. He works regretfully for his father while pursuing his hobby of collecting toys. Aware that his family doesn't think highly of him, he tries to spark a relationship with Miranda, who recently moved back home after a failed literary/academic career. Miranda agrees to marry Abe out of desperation, but things go awry.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: humorous, dark comedy, semi serious, bleak, disturbing, controversial, black comedy, clever, offbeat, realistic
Similar in 79%
Raising Genius (2004)
Plot Summary:
The film is about a boy who locks himself in the bathroom to work out math equations on the shower wall. The boy has obsessive compulsive parents. The boy is obsessed with a cheerleader named Lacy, who lives across the street from.
IMDB Rating: 4.0
IMDB Votes: 467
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: psychological, humorous, realistic, semi serious, independent film, offbeat, dark comedy, teen comedy, cult film
Similar in 84%
World's Greatest Dad (2009)
Plot Summary:
In the wake of a freak accident, Lance suffers the worst tragedy and the greatest opportunity of his life. He is suddenly faced with the possibility of fame, fortune and popularity, if he can only live with the knowledge of how he got there.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 40000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, black comedy, clever, melancholic, dark, disturbing, cult classic, hilarious, offbeat, philosophical
Similar in 90%
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Plot Summary:
Royal Tenenbaum and his wife Etheline had three children and then they separated. All three children are extraordinary --- all geniuses. Virtually all memory of the brilliance of the young Tenenbaums was subsequently erased by two decades of betrayal, failure, and disaster. Most of this was generally considered to be their father's fault. "The Royal Tenenbaums" is the story of the family's sudden, unexpected reunion one recent winter.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 309000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, funny, humorous, talky, cult classic, indie film, visual, comedy drama, melancholic, artsy
Similar in 75%
The Weather Man (2005)
Plot Summary:
A Chicago weather man, separated from his wife and children, debates whether professional and personal success are mutually exclusive.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 83000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: depressing, realistic, dark comedy, sincere, emotional, black comedy, sentimental, semi serious, psychological, philosophical
Similar in 88%
August: Osage County (2013)
Plot Summary:
A look at the lives of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 94000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, melancholic, independent film, depressing, stylized, humorous, realistic, semi serious, black comedy
Similar in 80%
Death at a Funeral (2010)
Plot Summary:
Aaron's father's funeral is today at the family home, and everything goes wrong: the funeral home delivers the wrong body, his cousin accidentally drugs her fiancé, and Aaron's successful younger brother, Ryan, flies in from New York, broke but arrogant. To top it all off, a mysterious stranger wants a word with Aaron.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 53000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: funny, black comedy, dark comedy, hilarious, melancholic, absurd, talky, humorous, not serious, rough
Similar in 81%
Birds of America (2008)
Plot Summary:
A regular guy struggles with a repressive home and professional life, as well as making amends for the trouble his free-spirited brother and sister cause about town.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: touching, semi serious, humorous, realistic, funny, family saga, offbeat, crying, black comedy, dark comedy
Similar in 83%
Duane Hopwood (2005)
Plot Summary:
A down-on-his-luck divorced father struggles to get his life and family back together before it's too late.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: emotional, humorous, realistic, captivating, psychological, clever, touching, gloomy, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 75%
Crimes of the Heart (1986)
Plot Summary:
Three sisters with quite different personalities and lives reunite when the youngest of them, Babe, has just shot her husband. The oldest sister, Lenny, takes care of their grandfather and is turning into an old maid, while Meg, who tries to make it in Hollywood as a singer/actress, has had a wild life filled with many men. Their reunion causes much joy, but also many tensions.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: touching, talky, humorous, dark comedy, emotional, melancholic, black comedy, sentimental, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 88%
Two-Bit Waltz (2014)
Plot Summary:
Suspension from school, the loss of a friend, a broken heart and lack of inspiration lead to Maude's downfall in this romp through teenage error. Your teenage years are never easy… but for Maude, things couldn't be worse. Within one week, she is suspended from school, stranded by her best friend, dumped by the boy she loved and inherits an enormous amount of money with the passing of her grandmother– only to be claimed under one condition: Maude must prove by age 18 that she knows exactly what to do with her life. But with her 18th birthday rapidly approaching, Maude must dive into a world of self-discovery or else lose the inheritance.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 455
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: semi serious, sentimental, humorous, realistic, witty, stylized, clever, offbeat, independent film
Similar in 89%
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 83%
The Squid and the Whale (2005)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true childhood experiences of Noah Baumbach and his brother, The Squid and the Whale tells the touching story of two young boys dealing with their parents divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980's.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 89000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: depressing, sincere, talky, dark comedy, absurd, indie film, intellectual, realistic, witty, thought provoking
Similar in 81%
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
Similar in 90%
The Descendants (2011)
Plot Summary:
With his wife Elizabeth on life support after a boating accident, Hawaiian land baron, Matt King takes his daughters on a trip from Oahu to Kauai to confront the young real estate broker, who was having an affair with Elizabeth before her misfortune.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 248000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: touching, depressing, emotional, sad, tragicomedy, thought provoking, sentimental, heartbreaking, suspense, talky
Similar in 82%
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 81%
Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)
Plot Summary:
An unattractive 7th grader struggles to cope with suburban life as the middle child with un-attentive parents and bullies at school.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, disturbing, realistic, depressing, black comedy, brutal, controversial, cult classic, teen, talky