Best movies like Mid-August Lunch
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Gianni is a middle-aged man living in Rome with his imposing and demanding elderly mother. His only outlet from her and the increasing debt into which they are sinking, are the increasingly frequent quiet sessions at the local tavern. As an Oriental saying goes, 'Moments of crisis are moments of opportunities'. These appear during the celebration of the holiday of Ferragosto on 15 August. That's when everybody leaves town to have fun. Opportunity knocks on Gianni's door in the most unexpected way.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: feel good, talky, semi serious, clever, touching, humorous, realistic, culinary
Best tv shows and movies like Mid-August Lunch (2008):
Similar in 88%
A Dinner for Them to Meet (2007)
Plot Summary:
Actor Sandro Lanza is experiencing the most painful moment of his existence. After a suicide attempt, his three daughters, scattered throughout Europe, each with a different mother, come to his side. The sisters meet to decide what to do with their father, establishing a genuine tie for the very first time.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 527
Genere: Comedy
Country: Italy
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: humorous, feel good, light, captivating, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 75%
Beauty in Trouble (2006)
Plot Summary:
Marcela can't bear Jarda any longer, so she threatens divorce and takes the kids to her mom's, whose husband is a creep. While Marcela is there, Jarda is jailed, because he is part of a gang steeling cars and they get caught in the act. Benes, the urbane man whose car got stolen by Jarda and his gang, befriends Marcela. Soon she feels drawn to Benes and all of a sudden she must make up her mind: Jarda is still sexually attractive to her, but Benes offers security, and her own body and mind may not pull at the same strand.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 977
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Czech Republic
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, psychological, clever, realistic, offbeat, stylized
Similar in 88%
Magic Men (2014)
Plot Summary:
An elderly Israeli Jew of Greek origins was sent to Greece to represent his town in a town twinning ceremony, however he went instead to search for his friend from the childhood, who saved him from the Holocaust. In meantime he formed a special relationship with young Greek woman, and dealt with the broken relationship with his devout Hasidic son.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 226
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Israel
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 89%
Half-Sister (2013)
Plot Summary:
When Nénette discovers the identity of her father in a letter, she quickly goes off in search of him. But instead of finding her father, she is met by her half-brother, Paul. Paul, a bitter man who gave up his dream to take over his father’s pharmacy business, is less than thrilled at the arrival of his ‘embarrassing’ half-sister. After refusing to take her in, he soon gets a taste of his own medicine. Under the influence of a potent drug, for one day Paul is generous, happy and sensitive. The next morning, however, once the drug has worn off, his nasty side comes back.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 288
Genere: Comedy
Country: France
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: humorous, touching, light, feel good, captivating, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 82%
An Italian Name (2015)
Plot Summary:
Paolo and his wife are waiting a baby and deciding his name, but it seems that Paolo's family and friends don't really like the chosen name.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy
Country: Italy
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: realistic, humorous, witty, contemplative, talky, semi serious, feel good, funny, light, entertaining
Similar in 82%
On My Way (2013)
Plot Summary:
Deneuve plays sassy grandmother Cathy who takes to the road after being betrayed by her lover and learning her business is on the verge of bankruptcy on the same day. During a weeklong odyssey across France, she spends time with a grandson she hardly knows and reconnects with her past as former Miss Brittany through a reunion for former beauty queens.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: road movie, realistic, touching, humorous, semi serious, contemplative
Similar in 85%
The Dinner (1998)
Plot Summary:
An evening at an Italian restaurant. Hosted by tolerant and relaxed Flora, various parties of middle-class people come in -- large and small, young and old, regulars and tourists, married and single -- to dine, converse, argue, celebrate, make confessions; to overhear other people's discussions, to interrupt them, to sing, listen to music, and enjoy life. The camera, just like the people, moves constantly from table to table, into the kitchen and the back room to observe the staff's petty jealousies and frustrations -- until two hours later it's time for everybody to go home.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: sincere, clever, humorous, realistic, contemplative, talky, semi serious, biting, suspense
Similar in 78%
How About You... (2007)
Plot Summary:
The story of Ellie, a young woman left in charge of the residential home run by her older sister, over the Christmas period. Whilst most of the residents have left to spend the festive period with their families, four residents, known as 'the hardcore' remain. Their behavior is so terrible that the home faces closure as potential new residents are put off by their appalling ant.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Ireland
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, humorous, semi serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 77%
The Talent Given Us (2004)
Plot Summary:
A retired New York City couple drive across country to reconnect with their reclusive son, joined by their two unmarried daughters.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 463
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, realistic, witty, semi serious, clever, offbeat, independent film
Similar in 90%
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 80%
Don't Think About It (2007)
Plot Summary:
No overview found.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: captivating, feel good, humorous, light, sentimental, touching, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 81%
The Passion (2010)
Plot Summary:
To avoid being sued, a film director reluctantly agrees to set up and direct the Good Friday celebrations in a small Tuscan town.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 686
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, light, feel good, captivating, realistic
Similar in 79%
Easy! (2011)
Plot Summary:
Bruno Beltrame makes a living of sorts. He wanted to be a great writer but he is content to write the books of others. He also gives private lessons to students who are not serious. Among his pupils is fifteen-year-old Luca, more quick-witted and revolted than the others. The day he meets his mother, a woman he once loved, Luca gets upset when she tells him bluntly that not only Luca is his son but that she intends to entrust him to his care as well.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: feel good, touching, humorous, semi serious, realistic
Similar in 82%
The Day I Saw Your Heart (2011)
Plot Summary:
Justine, struggles with commitment, listens to old David Bowie covers, and uses her employer’s private MRI machines to make “X-Ray Art” After a trail of boyfriends, Justine thinks she has found The One, a hunky shoe salesman, but her temporary happiness is thrown when her neurotic 60-year-old Jewish father (Michel Blanc) suffers a delayed midlife crisis and announces that his young second wife is expecting a baby. Justine and her half-sister Dom, who is trying to adopt, are rather annoyed at the news. Coupled with resentment about her father’s absence when she was growing up, causes her to spiral into self-doubt. Overflowing with French charm, Justine gets by with the help of her family, friends, and newly discovered muse.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: feel good, sentimental, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 87%
Grown Ups (2008)
Plot Summary:
Every year, Albert buys his daughter an initiatory journey to a European country. For her 17th birthday he chooses a trip to Sweden to look for a Viking's treasure. When they arrive in the rented house, it is occupied by Anika and Christine, forcing them into an unusual cohabitation.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 649
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France, Sweden
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, art house
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The Strange Little Cat (2013)
Plot Summary:
It is a Saturday in autumn, and Karin and Simon are visiting their parents and youngest sister Clara. This family gathering provides the occasion for a dinner together, at which other relatives appear over the course of the day. While the family members animate the apartment’s space with their conversations, everyday activities and cooking preparations, the cat and dog range through the various rooms. they too become a central element in this quotidian familial dance that repeatedly manifests stylized elements, disrupting any naturalistic mode of presentation. In this way, adjoining spaces open up between family drama, fairy tale and the psychological study of a mother.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 72 min
Plot tags: clever, touching, semi serious, humorous, realistic, beautiful
Similar in 89%
Caterina in the Big City (2003)
Plot Summary:
When her father, Giancarlo is transferred to Rome from the small country town of Montalto Di Castro, Caterina, a 12 years old girl, will discover her new classmates, a totally new world, an ambient extremely divided politically.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, semi serious, humorous
Similar in 75%
Empty Nest (2008)
Plot Summary:
Empty Nest tells the story of a couple who have to struggle to find themselves after their children grow up and move out. It starts out as a fairly simple story of a couple but becomes complicated by a series of events that may or may not be occurring only in Leonardo’s mind.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 903
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Argentina, Spain, France, Italy
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, sentimental, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 75%
Latin Lover (2015)
Plot Summary:
The five daughters of a famous actor, all from different mothers and different nationalities, get together on the 10th anniversary of his death for a celebration of his career.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 993
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: touching, tragicomedy, sentimental, humorous, realistic, semi serious, witty, talky
Similar in 83%
Paris of the North (2014)
Plot Summary:
Seeking shelter from the trials and tribulations of city life, Hugi has built a quiet existence for himself in a tiny village in the middle of nowhere. Here, he passes his days jogging, attending AA meetings and taking Portuguese lessons online. But when Hugi’s estranged, boozy father shows up out of the blue, the precarious balance he has worked so hard to achieve is tested to the limit.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 419
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Iceland, France, Denmark
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, contemplative
Similar in 78%
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 76%
The Kitchen (2012)
Plot Summary:
Jennifer's thirtieth birthday party is supposed to be a special day. But what starts out as a day of celebration quickly spirals into a most ill-fated day Jennifer wishes she could forget, in this ensemble comedy set entirely in a kitchen.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, sentimental, realistic, talky, mumblecore, sincere, independent film
Similar in 85%
Intrepido: A Lonely Hero (2013)
Plot Summary:
A middle-aged man tries to get by in Milan while trying to retain his dignity.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 738
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, touching, realistic, light, feel good
Similar in 77%
18 Meals (2010)
Plot Summary:
Food, glorious food! Some of the most sumptuous and involving films revolve around that most common of acts: eating. 18 MEALS is an omnibus film of criss-crossing stories divided into three segments; breakfast, lunch and dinner. Jorge Coira's debut feature, shot over nine days in Santiago de Compostela has enough tasty portions to please audiences. Amongst Coira's expansive ensemble are aging street musician Edu, a pair awaking from a one-night stand, a businessman visiting his closeted homosexual brother and a lonely housewife, Sol. Victor and Sol are two of 18 MEALS' most fascinating characters as they each hide something - his sexuality, her depression - from those around them. Best of all is Pedro Alsono as Vladimir, a local celebrity actor who makes a meal for a mystery woman who never arrives. Who hasn't gone to a lot of trouble to do something extra special for someone just to have it go unappreciated?.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 539
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Spain, Argentina
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: realistic, sincere, humorous, semi serious, culinary, feel good
Similar in 79%
The Over the Hill Band (2009)
Plot Summary:
Upon the death of her husband, Claire (70) decides to reconnect with her estranged son, down and out R&B musician Sid. She asks him to help her restart the old girl group she used to sing in with two of her friends from the old days. The rebel son is hesitant at first but eventually agrees under one condition: the band has to play HIS music.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 348
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Belgium, France
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: feel good, sentimental, touching, humorous, semi serious, realistic
Similar in 88%
Soul Kitchen (2009)
Plot Summary:
SOUL KITCHEN film centers on a likable but hopelessly disorganized restauranteur, Zinos, whose cafe is second home to a motley crew of lovable eccentrics. When his girlfriend Nadine up and moves to Shanghai, a love-sick Zinos decides to fly after her, leaving his restaurant in the hands of his unreliable ex-con brother Illias. Both decisions turn out disastrous: Illias gambles away the restaurant to a shady real estate agent, and Zinos finds Nadine with a new lover. If the brothers can stop arguing and get it together, the Soul Kitchen might still have one last chance at staying in business. The mayhem that follows is a hilariously entertaining story of self-realization, set to an irresistibly soulful soundtrack.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 40000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Germany, France, Italy
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: talky, feel good, funny, entertaining, humorous, semi serious, visually appealing, culinary, realistic, inspirational
Similar in 78%
The Van (1996)
Plot Summary:
Set in "Barrytown", a fictitious working-class quarter of Dublin. "Bimbo" Reeves gets laid off from his job. With his redundancy, he buys a van and sells fish and chips with his buddy Larry. Due to Ireland's surprising success at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, their business starts off well, but the relationship between the two friends soon becomes strained as Bimbo behaves more like a typical boss.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, Ireland, USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, independent film, social, touching, feel good, semi serious, parody, funny, light
Similar in 80%
The Trip to Italy (2014)
Plot Summary:
Years after their successful restaurant review tour of Northern Britain, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are commissioned for a new tour in Italy.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: humorous, melancholic, semi serious, witty, talky, road movie, independent film, realistic, contemplative, mockumentary
Similar in 77%
Love's Kitchen (2011)
Plot Summary:
Rob Haley (Dougray Scott), an up-and-coming chef and restaurateur in London, is grief-stricken when he loses his wife. With encouragement from his infamous friend and real life TV Chef Gordon Ramsay, Rob decides to spice up his life by turning a run-down country pub into a gourmet restaurant. His food catches the eye - and taste buds - of beautiful American food critic Kate Templeton (Claire Forlani) and they soon both write a recipe for love that leaves both their hearts - and their stomachs - in full.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, humorous, semi serious, culinary, realistic
Similar in 84%
Le Chef (2012)
Plot Summary:
A veteran chef faces off against his restaurant group's new CEO, who wants to the establishment to lose a star from its rating in order to bring in a younger chef who specializes in molecular gastronomy.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France, Spain
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: light, sentimental, funny, touching, sweet, feel good, humorous, culinary, social, happy