Best movies like One Man Up
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The debut feature by acclaimed Italian director Paolo Sorrentino (Il Divo) is a stylish and blackly comic look at the dark side of fame. Evocatively set during the eighties, the film charts the decline of two men both named Antonio Pisapia who lead entirely separate yet strangely parallel lives. One (Toni Servillo, Gomorrah) is a pop singer who finds himself washed up after a sex scandal ends his run of success; the other (Andrea Renzi) a football hero whose playing career is abruptly cut short by injury. Sharply observed and featuring excellent performances from the two leads, Sorrentino's compelling film explores the personal consequences wrought by cruel reversals of fortune. (iTunes).
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: serious, sincere, touching, emotional, realistic, clever, captivating, contemplative, talky
Best tv shows and movies like One Man Up (2001):
Similar in 83%
Harlem Aria (1999)
Plot Summary:
An aspiring opera singer from Harlem teams up with a charismatic busker and a kindhearted hustler to share his voice with the world, and teaches his two newfound friends the importance of taking your destiny into your own hands. Anton (Gabriel Casseus) lives in Harlem with his aunt. He dreams of moving to Italy and becoming a famous opera singer, and though he's been blessed with a magnificent singing voice, his passion has made him an outsider in his neighborhood. Running away from home, Anton meets passionate street pianist Matthew (Christian Carmago) and together the two begin drawing large, appreciate crowds on the street. Working the crowd as they do their thing is Wes (Damon Wayans), whose natural charm always gets the cash flowing. And while life on the streets is never easy, Anton, Matthew, and Wes soon discover that by following their dreams, they may find a means of transforming their lives forever.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 319
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: independent film, uplifting, touching, feel good, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, black cinema
Similar in 82%
Just Can't Get Enough (2002)
Plot Summary:
traight-to-video filmmaker David Payne writes and directs the docudrama Just Can't Get Enough: The True Story of the Chippendales' Murders. The movie opens with Nick DeNoia (Peter Nevargic) getting shot in his office. The bulk of the story takes place in the early '80s during the glory days of the Chippendales night club, owned by sleazy businessman Steve Banerjee (Shelley Malil). Innocent college graduate Chad Patterson (Johnathan Aube) gets a job at the club to make some extra money, but he manages to get corrupted by the money and lifestyle. Then choreographer DeNoia gets involved in a blackmail scandal and Steve gets illegal ideas of his own.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 263
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, tense, suspense
Similar in 82%
Dormant Beauty (2012)
Plot Summary:
A mosaic of several intertwined stories questioning the meaning of life, love and hope, set during the last six days in the life of Eluana Englaro, a young woman who spent 17 years in a vegetative state.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, anthology, emotional, contemplative
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Video Girl (2011)
Plot Summary:
Lorie Walker ( Meagan Good), attends a ritzy private school in a small southern town. Raised by her grandmother Valerie ( Ruby Dee), she often daydreams of becoming a professional dancer. After a chance meeting with a renowned music video director, her lifestyle changes completely. She finds herself struggling to stay grounded in this new, provocative, glamorous world.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 772
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, atmospheric, captivating, serious
Similar in 81%
Little Lion (2012)
Plot Summary:
Mitri is 15 years old and lives in a village in Senegal. Like all the youngsters of his age, he plays football, dreaming of the Barcelona and Chelsea Football Clubs. When an agent sees him, Mitri believes in his luck. But, in order to go chasing Europe´s big clubs, he has to pay. The family puts money together and runs into debts to help him. Once in Paris, everything falls apart: Mitri finds himself abandonned without a cent in his pocket, and cannot imagine facing shame when he comes back to the village. An odyssey of tanglements begins then. But, his football dream will catch up with him when he meets someone.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 220
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, captivating, psychological, serious
Similar in 86%
Momma's Man (2008)
Plot Summary:
In Momma's Man an adult decides to escape the pressures of life and return to his old bedroom at his parents' house. An odd premise, but executed with skill and tenderness.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 761
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: psychological, emotional, realistic, mumblecore, sincere, captivating, touching, serious, independent film
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The Jewel (2011)
Plot Summary:
Amanzio Rastelli appointed several of his relations to managerial positions in his firm. They decided to think internationally and now business is heavily in debt. Luckily for the Rastellis, Bolta the accountant uses all the tricks of his art to cook the books, but catastrophe awaits.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: serious, thought provoking, realistic, tense, clever, factual
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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 85%
Sister Smile (2009)
Plot Summary:
A biography of the Belgian nun Jeannine Deckers, who became a popular singer in the early 1960s and struggled with the contradiction between the church and her true self.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 896
Genere: Biography, Drama, Music
Country: Belgium, France
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, captivating, entertaining, gloomy
Similar in 77%
Raise Your Head (2009)
Plot Summary:
Mero, a skilled shipyard worker, is a single father. His son Lorenzo, born from a relationship with an Albanian girl, is his only reason for living. The father dreams that the boy will become a champion boxer, to make up for his own anonymous career as an amateur in the ring. This is why he puts him through a tough training program, teaching him day after day to throw punches and protect himself from life's low blows. The balance of this relationship is disturbed by the return of Lorenzo's mother Denisa and by the son's meeting with young Ana. Mero's trials are not over and he must face up to pain, his prejudices and the remoteness of Italy's north east.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 202
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 77%
A Beautiful Soul (2012)
Plot Summary:
An R&B singer snagged by the trappings of superstardom loses his way and turns his back on his church and faith-filled beginnings. Tragedy strikes, leaving a chance for redemption in its wake. But with rebirth, first comes death.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 126
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, psychological, captivating, sincere, serious
Similar in 83%
My Dinner with Jimi (2003)
Plot Summary:
The story of the night The Turtles met The Beatles and Howard Kaylan had dinner with Jimi Hendrix.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 265
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sentimental, realistic, captivating, semi serious, sincere, touching, serious, contemplative, cult film
Similar in 86%
Mr. Saturday Night (1992)
Plot Summary:
Buddy Young was the comic's comic, beloved by everyone. Now, playing to miniscule crowds in nursing homes, it seems like everybody but Buddy realizes that he should retire. As Buddy looks for work in show business, he realizes that the rest of the world has forgotten the golden days of Buddy Young, and that there just may not be room in the business for an old comic like himself.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: humorous, intense, captivating, realistic, stylized, sentimental, touching, factual, entertaining, independent film
Similar in 78%
Echo Park (1985)
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
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The End of Innocence (1990)
Plot Summary:
Seemingly autobiographical story of a woman overwhelmed with trying to please everyone except herself, and not finding any answers until she's admitted to a rehab center by her parents. Eventually here is where she finds her answers.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 233
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, psychological, serious, emotional, contemplative, gloomy, independent film
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All That I Love (2009)
Plot Summary:
Follows four friends in their quest to form a punk band. As workers protests sweep across the country, Janek and Staszek, the sons of a navy man, the rebellious Kazik, and the affluent Diabel gel as a band, but their disparate lives are touched by social turmoil and outside perceptions.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Music
Country: Poland
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sincere, uplifting, touching, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative
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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
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The Dream Kids (2013)
Plot Summary:
JB suffers from a heart malformation .He falsifies his medical file ,so that he can enter a top athlete training center.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 340
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, captivating, humorous, serious, realistic
Similar in 82%
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 77%
Jo's Boy (2011)
Plot Summary:
Grandson of a legendary rugby player, son of a legendary rugby player, and he himself a legendary rugby player, Jo Canavero raises his only son, Tom, in a small village in the Tarn region. To the great displeasure of Jo, thirteen-year-old Tom is as good at math as he is useless on the rugby field. For a Canavero, the legend can't stop there, even if it means setting up a rugby team specifically for Tom, despite the wishes of the whole village and of Tom himself.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 608
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 78%
It Was the Son (2012)
Plot Summary:
The Ciraulo family lives in the miserable district of Palermo called "Zen". When one of their children dies in a shootout between mafia gangsters they receive compensation and buy a luxury black Volvo. Things go wrong when Trancredi, another son, takes the car out and damages the car door.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: captivating, psychological, light, humorous, serious, realistic, black comedy, dark comedy
Similar in 88%
Material (2012)
Plot Summary:
Cassim Kaif is a young Muslim man who works in his father's fabric shop in Fordsburg, Johannesburg. In the family tradition, Cassim, as the only son, is expected to take over the family business from his father.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: South Africa
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, inspirational, captivating, light, sincere, uplifting, realistic, witty, semi serious
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Maradona, the Hand of God (2007)
Plot Summary:
Dramatizing of the many shocking highs and lows of Argentine soccer hero Diego Maradona, an extraordinary athlete and arguably the greatest player in the history of the sport.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 723
Genere: Biography, Drama, Sport
Country: Italy, Argentina
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: realistic, uplifting, sentimental, sincere, serious
Similar in 82%
Cet amour-l? (2001)
Plot Summary:
Cet Amour-là is an intimate portrait of a legendary love affair. Set against the beauty of the Breton seaside, it is also a film that revels in the insights that Marguerite Duras' writing affords.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 367
Genere: Drama
Country: France
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: psychological, emotional, sentimental, sincere, serious, captivating, clever, realistic, talky, gloomy
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Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling (1986)
Plot Summary:
In this film that closely parallels his own life story, Richard Pryor plays Jo Jo Dancer, a popular stand-up comedian who has severely burned himself in a drug incident. As he lies unconscious in a hospital, his spiritual alter ego gets up and begins a journey of his own. He revisits his life, from growing up in a brothel as a child and struggling to beat the long odds to become a top rated comedian. However, his success brings new problems as he develops a tragic pattern of substance abuse that begins to screw up his life. All the while, Jo Jo's spirit watches these events and attempts to convince his past self to turn off from his path of self destruction. Written by Kenneth Chisholm.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: black comedy, sincere, serious, realistic, contemplative, gloomy, entertaining, funny, light, inspirational
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Meat Loaf: To Hell and Back (2000)
Plot Summary:
"Meat Loaf" Aday is an overgrown Texas youngster, the son of a gentle woman dying of cancer and an alcoholic, abusive father. Tormented by his father and schoolmates over his size, he strikes out on his own after his mother's death, in an impossible task to prove himself to the world and to himself. A chance audition for a musical leads him to join forces with composer Jim Steinman, and together the two make music history with the operatic rock album "Bat Out of Hell." But the demons that drive Meat Loaf aren't assuaged by success, and eventually he must come to terms with them.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 537
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, realistic, captivating, semi serious
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Martin and Lewis (2002)
Plot Summary:
The story of the 10-year rocky relationship between Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 810
Genere: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, semi serious, slapstick, sexual, sexy
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Stardom (2000)
Plot Summary:
A young girl is plucked from small-town obscurity and thrust into the spotlight of the glamorous world of super-models.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Comedy
Country: France, Canada
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: clever, stylized, captivating, realistic, cynical, humorous, mockumentary, touching, independent film, offbeat
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The Consequences of Love (2004)
Plot Summary:
Titta di Girolamo has been living in a small hotel in Lugano for ten years, he leads a dull and rigid live and has apparently lost his capability to feel human emotion. This all changes when he decides to talk to Sofia, the Barmaid.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: Italy
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, suspenseful, philosophical, neo noir, twisted, sincere, touching, offbeat, artsy
Similar in 88%
Whitney (2015)
Plot Summary:
Chronicles Whitney Houston's rise to fame and turbulent relationship with husband Bobby Brown.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, touching, serious, sincere, entertaining