Best movies like Only When I Laugh
Last updated March 2024
Looking for movies similar to Only When I Laugh? Leverage your knowledge to lead others toward tv series and movies you've watched previously that may also preoccupy them. Support increasing the cohort of people bringing up videos among each other. We appreciate your contribution!
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
Best tv shows and movies like Only When I Laugh (1981):
Similar in 82%
The Jimmy Show (2001)
Plot Summary:
A failed New Jersey inventor embarks on a career as a standup comic, turns to drink, and labors to keep his family together.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 619
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: psychological, realistic, cynical, semi serious, gloomy
Similar in 77%
Dinner at Eight (1989)
Plot Summary:
A wry, insightful comedy of manners in which somewhat dizzy society matron Millicent Jordan arranges a dinner party to honor some visiting aristocrat while remaining oblivious to her husband's health and financial problems as well as her daughter's feelings and emotions. Party guests include the vain, the greedy, and the self-absorbed.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 194
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: clever, humorous, realistic, witty, talky, cynical, semi serious
Similar in 76%
I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982)
Plot Summary:
Grandmother has nothing to say when Libby tells her that she is off to LA to look up Dad, a Hollywood screenwriter. Grandmother has been in a New York cemetery for six years and Dad has been out of Libby's life for 16 of her 19 years. Libby arrives in LA on a Tuesday and phones Dad the one night that Stephanie, who does Jane Fonda's hair, stays over. Stephanie is there the next morning when Libby decides she needs to tell her story face-to-face.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: sentimental, clever, touching, humorous, emotional, realistic, witty, semi serious
Similar in 84%
Max Dugan Returns (1983)
Plot Summary:
An English teacher and struggling single mother has her life disrupted when the father who abandoned her as a child comes back into her life.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: talky, feel good, humorous, semi serious, touching, realistic, detective, funny, light, clever
Similar in 77%
The Reception (2005)
Plot Summary:
The complex relationship between a wealthy French woman and her best friend a, gay black American, is thrown into turmoil when her estranged daughter comes to visit them with her new husband for the weekend in upstate New York. Through a series of drunken evenings and daytime squabbles it becomes apparent that no one involved is what they seem.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 197
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, captivating, sentimental, sexy, psychological, sincere, clever, serious, contemplative
Similar in 75%
Moonlight and Valentino (1995)
Plot Summary:
Four women who discover untapped strength within themselves when they finally let go of what divides them.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, anamorphic, happy, independent film, psychological, sincere, realistic, gloomy, semi serious
Similar in 78%
Rich Kids (1979)
Plot Summary:
Two 12 year olds, the products of Upper West Side broken homes, struggle to make sense of their parents lives and their own adolescent feelings.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 660
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: stylized, grindhouse, independent film, sentimental, touching, humorous, realistic, talky, semi serious
Similar in 90%
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 80%
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
Similar in 85%
Lost in Yonkers (1993)
Plot Summary:
In the summer of 1942 two young boys are sent to stay with their stern grandmother Kurnitz and their childlike aunt Bella in Yonkers, New York.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, psychological, feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, funny, light, sexy
Similar in 84%
Memories of Me (1988)
Plot Summary:
After a heart attack, Abbie Polin (Crystal), a New York doctor, goes to Los Angeles to see his father, Abe (King), who works in Hollywood as the "king of the extras." Their relationship has been strained for several years. This was the first movie directed by Henry Winkler, and much of it was filmed inside the MGM Studios in Culver City, California, only a few miles from Hollywood. Lisa, the romantic interest in Abbie's life, also comes for a visit and bonds with Abe, who gets along famously with everyone but his son. Abe begins having memory loss and eventually is diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. He and his son grow closer in time and, before it's too late, Abbie tries to get Abe a speaking role in a film.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: independent film, sentimental, touching, humorous, emotional, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 75%
Wild Iris (2001)
Plot Summary:
A woman and her teenage son move back in with her mother to work together in the family bridal business.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 481
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, talky
Similar in 83%
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 81%
Isn't It Delicious (2013)
Plot Summary:
When Joan Weldon discovers she is dying of lung cancer, she sets out to reconcile her dysfunctional relationships with her three children, her husband, and along the way, her former best friend. The family's destructive ways are offset by messy and somewhat humorous attempts by Joan to set her children on the right course before she dies. In this big dysfunctional mix, they will all learn to connect in their own ways, and realize on their own terms what life is about.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 70
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, independent film, dark comedy
Similar in 86%
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 76%
God Said, 'Ha!' (1998)
Plot Summary:
Julia Sweeney tells the viewers the monologue about the hard time in her life when her brother fought with cancer and she was also diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, witty, talky, independent film, clever, realistic, gloomy, semi serious, minimal cast
Similar in 81%
Two Weeks (2006)
Plot Summary:
In this bittersweet comedy, four adult siblings gather at their dying mother's house in North Carolina for what they expect to be a quick, last goodbye. Instead, they find themselves trapped — together — for two weeks.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, humorous, realistic, spiritual, tear jerker, semi serious
Similar in 88%
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 82%
Bereft (2004)
Plot Summary:
A young Vermont widow is haunted by the memory of her dead husband, while trying to date again.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 409
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: touching, psychological, serious, emotional, independent film, realistic
Similar in 90%
The Goodbye Girl (1977)
Plot Summary:
Paula McFadden knows: In romance, actors all follow the same stage instruction: Exit. Without warning, her actor boyfriend split today for a movie role and sublet their Manhattan apartment. The new tenant's name: Elliot Garfield. Profession: actor. Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason deliver comedy, zingy repartee and bitter-to-best romance in The Goodbye Girl.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: romantic comedy, funny, sweet, sentimental, touching, witty, comedy drama, feel good, humorous, realistic
Similar in 79%
Surrender, Dorothy (2005)
Plot Summary:
When her daughter Sara unexpectedly passes away, Natalie retreats to the summer home where she and Sara used to visit. Time with her best friends and some of Sara's friends help her deal with her loss.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 897
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 80%
28 Days (2000)
Plot Summary:
After getting into a car accident while drunk on the day of her sister's wedding, Gwen Cummings is given a choice between prison or a rehab center. She chooses rehab, but is extremely resistant to taking part in any of the treatment programs they have to offer, refusing to admit that she has an alcohol addiction.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 53000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, emotional, melancholic, intense, compassionate, sentimental, humorous, motivational, feel good
Similar in 79%
Stuart Saves His Family (1995)
Plot Summary:
Stuart Smalley, the Saturday Night Live character, comes to the big screen. Stuart, the disciple of the 12 step program, is challenged by lifes injustices.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: humorous, satirical, talky, not serious, realistic, touching, skit, clever, offbeat, witty
Similar in 81%
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%
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 85%
Brooklyn Lobster (2005)
Plot Summary:
Giorgio's Lobster Farm has been a tradition in Brooklyn for over 65 years. Manned by an eccentric crew and serving the best seafood in the state.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 489
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: humorous, emotional, atmospheric, captivating, sentimental, sincere, touching, realistic, semi serious, semi autobiographical
Similar in 87%
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 87%
Soft Fruit (1999)
Plot Summary:
For the first time in 15 years, all four siblings in a family show up to care for their dying mother, who is only given a couple of weeks to live. One comes from America with her two children. A divorced sister also comes with her child and sneaks off regularly to meet a mystery man who may be her ex-husband. The third & youngest daughter is an unmarried nurse aware of her ticking biological clock. The only son chases after his grumpy father who seems to not care a whit about his wife's circumstances. The four are also faced my their mother's dreams to accomplish a few things before she dies - to visit a beach she had visited in the past, to see her youngest married, and to visit Paris. She also wants to be embalmed and be honored with a 21 gun salute. Thus the whole group has to set off in the quest to fulfill their mother's wishes.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 566
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Australia, USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: humorous, independent film, black comedy, sentimental, touching, offbeat, realistic, semi serious, dark comedy, erotic
Similar in 79%
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
Similar in 86%
Dad (1989)
Plot Summary:
A busy executive (Ted Danson) learns during a meeting that his mother may be dying and rushes home to her side. He ends up being his father's caretaker and becomes closer to him (Jack Lemmon) than ever before. Estranged from his own son (Ethan Hawke), the executive comes to realize what has been missing in his own life.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, emotional, feel good, uplifting, inspirational, sincere, thought provoking, poignant, comedy drama