Best movies like Surprise, Surprise
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Beginning as a critically-acclaimed play and based on a true story, Surprise Surprise is a moving and unpredictable portrait of a closeted TV star, his much younger disabled lover, and the troubled teenage son he never knew he had. Infused with dark humor and set behind the doors of a secluded home in Malibu, Den Jorgensen's seemingly idyllic life is permanently altered when his son David, a swaggering 16-year-old homophobe, unexpectedly arrives at his doorstep. David's arrival forces Den to confront his already problematic relationship and, eventually, all three men are compelled to join together to redefine the concept of what constitutes a family. Written by Travis Michael Holder.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 207
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: realistic, semi serious, humorous, sexual, sexy
Best tv shows and movies like Surprise, Surprise (2010):
Similar in 85%
Change of Life (2006)
Plot Summary:
A gay-bashing evangelical minister gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change his hateful ways following a life-altering tragedy. Gary Catell is the intolerant host of a nationally syndicated radio program. He uses the airwaves to spread the message that all homosexuals are destined to burn in hell. But when Gary's lesbian daughter calls in and commits suicide on the air, he prays that God will give him a second chance to save her. And God grants Gary's wish, but with an unexpected twist. The following day, Gary awakens to discover that not only has he been transformed into a gay man, but time has also been turned back two weeks. His daughter is still alive, but saving her won't be easy. Only by redeeming himself and learning to love all of God's creatures will the man who once condemned homosexuals be able to save his own daughter from committing the ultimate sin, and suffering for all of eternity. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 37
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: humorous, serious, captivating, independent film
Similar in 80%
Wild About Harry (2009)
Plot Summary:
British widower Harry Goodhart (Tate Donovan) decides to make a fresh start and moves with his teenage daughters (Danielle Savre and Skye McCole Bartusiak) to Cape Cod in 1973. But Harry can't leave behind the secret that threatens to tear his family apart. Adjusting to their new lives proves difficult for the girls when they discover that the connection between their dad and his partner (Adam Pascal) is more than just a working relationship.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 227
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, offbeat, sexual, crying, sexy
Similar in 88%
That Certain Summer (1972)
Plot Summary:
The first US teleplay to deal sympathetically with homosexuality. Divorced San Francisco contractor Doug Salter is looking forward to a summer visit from his fourteen-year-old son Nick, who lives in Los Angeles with his mother Janet. The boy does not know that his father is gay and committed to Gary McClain, his life partner of several years.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 479
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 73 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
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 89%
Poster Boy (2004)
Plot Summary:
With the help of a hot, slightly older new acquaintance (Noseworthy), the closeted son (Newton) of a conservative U.S. Senator (Lerner) puts a shocking spin on his dad's re-election campaign.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: realistic, semi serious, captivating, queer cinema
Similar in 81%
The Book of Ruth: Journey of Faith (2009)
Plot Summary:
The Book of Ruth, is a triumphant love story in the face of adversity. This selfless journey of love and devotion is seen through the eyes of a young widow. Choosing to leave her homeland of Moab, she follows her mother-in-law Naomi to Israel after the death of her husband. Upon reaching Bethlehem, she meets and marries a man named Boaz, who is of the Royal House of Judah. This chain of seemingly unrelated events, sets the stage for the future kings of the nation of Israel, and the glorious coming of the Messiah. A Biblical Cinderella story from the archives of the royal Jewish bloodline, this story reveals the redemption of their inheritance through the child Obed, who was the grandfather of King David.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 452
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, biblical, realistic, christian film
Similar in 82%
Jam (2006)
Plot Summary:
A traffic accident on a rural mountain road becomes a life changing experience for fifteen diverse travelers.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 370
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: realistic, semi serious, psychological, captivating, humorous, independent film, sexual, sexy
Similar in 85%
Kill the Poor (2003)
Plot Summary:
When a marriage of convenience becomes the real thing, Joe moves his pregnant French wife to a tenement building on New York's Lower East Side. The street is like a war zone with none of the nostalgic appeal that Joe remembers from tales of his immigrant grandparents arriving in the same neighborhood with a new life. This is the urban frontier filled with comic mixture of gentrifies, homeboys, dealers and local residents simply bent on staying a float.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 237
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: realistic, semi serious, clever, offbeat, humorous, witty, cynical, biting, suspense
Similar in 88%
Spring Forward (1999)
Plot Summary:
As the seasons change in a Connecticut town, two men of different age and backgrounds who work together outdoors for the local park system, share thoughts and feelings that gradually deepen into a relationship approaching father and son. Paul is just out of prison for armed robbery, assigned to work with Murph, a middle-aged vet whose grown son Bobby is dying. Paul is trying to control his temper and build a spiritual side based on reading. Murph is a down-to-earth Sancho Panza to Paul's more ethereal ideas. And Murphy seems to need forgiveness for mistakes as a dad. As Murphy's retirement approaches and winter sets in, the men talk and love blossoms.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, talky, independent film, existential, sincere, semi serious, road movie, thought provoking, feel good
Similar in 86%
A Change of Heart (1998)
Plot Summary:
Beneath Jim Marshall's veneer as the all-American father and husband, lies a long suppressed desire that is about to ruin his idyllic family. When Elaine Marshall (Jean Smart) catches her husband and his lover in a hotel room, her anger quickly turns to shock as she discovers that Jim's paramour is a young man. What ensues is painful soul-searching for Jim, Elaine, and their family.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 262
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic
Similar in 80%
I Carry You with Me (2020)
Plot Summary:
An epic love story spanning decades is sparked by a chance encounter between two men in provincial Mexico. Based on a true story, ambition and societal pressure propel an aspiring chef to leave his soulmate and make the treacherous journey to New York, where life will never be the same.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: touching, psychological, sentimental, melancholic, contemplative, lgbt cinema, queer cinema
Similar in 84%
World Traveler (2001)
Plot Summary:
After hitting the road a man encounters characters that make him realize the importance of family.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, captivating, road movie, humorous, contemplative, talky, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 85%
Don't Tell Anyone (1998)
Plot Summary:
Based on the alleged autobiography of gay peruvian talk show host Jaime Bailey. Joaquin, a young man from the high class of Lima, deals with problems concerning his sexual identity as a child, then as a teenager pressured by his macho snobbish father, then as an independent lazy pot-smoking college student, and later as a cocaine addict in Lima and Miami.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Peru, Spain
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, sentimental, clever, queer cinema
Similar in 90%
Reconciliation (2009)
Plot Summary:
RECONCILIATION is a groundbreaking, provocative story about an estranged father and son struggling to overcome the heartbreaking consequences of their past. Grant Taylor (Eric Nenninger) has been troubled by intense childhood memories ever since his wife, Sara (Chelsey Crisp), gave him the exciting news..."You are going to be a dad!" As fatherhood nears, Grant privately wrestles with his embarrassment and anger toward his own father. His memories come to a head when Sara receives a call informing them that Grant's dad, Jeff (Jack Maxwell), is terminally ill and his last wish is to see his son. With Sara's encouragement, Grant reluctantly goes to see the man he disowned at his 10th birthday party, when he found out his father was gay. At the hospice, father and son confront the past as they come face to face for the first time in 16 years. Will Grant forgive his father for abandoning their family.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 152
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: uplifting, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, independent film
Similar in 88%
Are We Ok? (2013)
Plot Summary:
Temmuz is an openly gay sculptor living at a flat with his dog in Istanbul. He lives a bohemian lifestyle and has a happy go lucky, carefree, eccentric (such as believing in good luck charms) character, frequently distracting him from his work as a children's book illustrator, and eventually leading him to be abandoned by his boyfriend via e-mail. He is given solace and affection by her wealthy mother, who is fully supportive of him, and best friend and co-worker, Beste. In the meantime, he keeps seeing a young man in his dreams, who repeatedly calls him for help and rescue. One day he runs into this guy while getting on the bus, who is accompanied by his mother, and helps them get into their home as the young man was born without limbs. From then on, two lives would collide into each other, starting a brotherhood full of discoveries and mutual help.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: Turkey
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, sincere, romantic, sexy, touching, unusual plot structure, melancholic, lgbt cinema, gay cinema
Similar in 77%
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 84%
The God of Wood (2010)
Plot Summary:
Yao (Madi Diocou) and Moroccan Rachid (Soufiane Ouaarab) arrive illegally in Valencia, Spain, and separate. Yao sells pirated DVDs in the street and wanders disconsolately around the barrio until he glimpses divorcee Maria Luisa (Marisa Paredes) working in her boutique. High-strung and irritable, Maria lives with her gay son, Rober (Nao Albet), who, like many other things in life, is a disappointment to her. Rachid, meanwhile, is doing just fine working as a hairstylist in a beauty salon; Rober is hopelessly in love with him. When Yao starts sleeping in Rober's flat, a confrontation between him and Maria suddenly becomes inevitable, and when it comes, what could have been an embarrassment is actually handled with grace.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 152
Genere: Drama
Country: Spain
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: realistic, emotional, sentimental, psychological, captivating, touching, serious, sexual, sexy
Similar in 77%
The Californians (2005)
Plot Summary:
When real estate mogul Gavin Ransom announces his plan to cover California's northern coast with scores of mini-mansions, his environmentalist sister, Olive, launches a protest to stop him. But there's trouble ahead when Gavin begins falling for the pretty folk singer who's helping Olive's cause.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 445
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, realistic, witty
Similar in 82%
The Wise Kids (2011)
Plot Summary:
A vivid, dynamic Southern coming-of-age drama, takes place in the transitional space between high school and college, when life seems to be all questions and no answers, and the future is scarily wide open. Set in and around a Charleston, SC Baptist church, weaving through this ensemble piece are three main characters - Brea, an introspective pastor's daughter experiencing debilitating doubt, the hyperactive Laura, Brea's best friend and a devout believer, and Tim, the open-hearted son of a single father, confronting his homosexuality for the first time. Tensions and buried feelings abound, as colleges are chosen and adults behave badly, as Brea, Laura and Tim attempt to hang onto what they have, all the while yearning to break free.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, contemplative, sexual, christian film, sexy, queer cinema
Similar in 77%
Boys Life 2 (1997)
Plot Summary:
Compilation of four short films about homoerotic situations involving young men. In "Trevor", by Peggy Rajski, a teenager faces homophobia and falls in love for the first time. Tom DeCerchio directed "Nunzio's Second Cousin", telling the story of a gay cop who forces a gay-basher to come to his house and have dinner with his family. In "Alkali, Iowa", by Mark Christopher, a young gay man finds out some of his father's past secrets. And "Must Be the Music", by Nickolas Perry, follows four teenagers looking for love in nightclubs.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 487
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 74 min
Plot tags: independent film, anthology, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, sketch comedy, sexy, unusual plot structure, sweet
Similar in 80%
Do You Take This Man (2016)
Plot Summary:
When a gay couple's impending wedding hits a snag, the grooms must rely on their friends and family to see them through.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 698
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, touching, unusual plot structure, disturbing, contemplative, queer cinema
Similar in 89%
Driving Not Knowing (2015)
Plot Summary:
An estranged poet attempts to rekindle a complex relationship with a strung-out musician during a weekend in rural nowhere; their toxic past, however, won't be so easily forgotten.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 55
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: touching, psychological, sentimental, romantic, sexy, unusual plot structure, melancholic, independent film, gay cinema
Similar in 83%
La Mission (2009)
Plot Summary:
Growing up in the Mission district of San Francisco, Che Rivera has always had to be tough to survive. He's a powerful man respected throughout the Mission barrio for his masculinity and his strength, as well as for his hobby building beautiful lowrider cars. A reformed inmate and recovering alcoholic, Che has worked hard to redeem his life and do right by his pride and joy: his only son, Jes, whom he has raised on his own after the death of his wife. Che's path to redemption is tested, however, when he discovers Jes is gay. To survive his neighborhood, Che has always lived with his fists. To survive as a complete man, he'll have to embrace a side of himself he's never shown.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: realistic, atmospheric, psychological, sentimental, touching, serious, independent film, queer cinema, bilingual
Similar in 87%
2nd Take (2011)
Plot Summary:
Reclusive writer takes aspiring actress under his wing.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 183
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, atmospheric, captivating, touching, serious, gloomy
Similar in 86%
More Sex & the Single Mom (2005)
Plot Summary:
Single, divorced lawyer Jess Gradwell returns in this sequel as she tries to raise her new three-year-old son, Jake, while dealing with her teenage daughter, Sara's, growing carnal desires with a photographer she meets while planning her high school graduation. It all comes to a head when Jess' former flame and father of Jake, Alex Lofton, returns never knowing he has a son out of his and Jess' lustful fling and wants to be a part of her life again, despite Jess not wanting anything to do with Alex.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 349
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, emotional, realistic, semi serious, sexy, sexual
Similar in 84%
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 87%
Naked As We Came (2012)
Plot Summary:
Love, loss and hope are tumultuously explored amidst a tranquil backdrop and asks us all the question: What is your dream?.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, semi serious, sentimental, sincere, independent film, erotic, queer cinema
Similar in 77%
Face (2002)
Plot Summary:
Genie, a Chinese-American teenager, develops feelings for a charming African-American DJ, but her grandmother forbids their romance forcing Genie to choose between family and love.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 350
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, emotional, sentimental, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 81%
Jack (2004)
Plot Summary:
Jack, in full puberty, not only has to deal with his parents' divorce, but also feels his world is falling apart when his dad tells him he is living with a man. He slowly comes to terms with his own feelings when the girl he has a crush on turn out to have a gay dad as well and his best friend's parents end up not having the perfect marriage Jack thought they had.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 576
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: sentimental, humorous, realistic, sincere, touching, emotional, semi serious, melancholic, clever, queer cinema
Similar in 79%
Any Day Now (2012)
Plot Summary:
In the late 1970s, when a mentally handicapped teenager is abandoned, a gay couple takes him in and becomes the family he's never had. But once the unconventional living arrangement is discovered by authorities, the men must fight the legal system to adopt the child.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, sincere, uplifting, sentimental, touching, sad, educational, tear jerker, powerful, serious