Best movies like The Holdovers
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags:
Best tv shows and movies like The Holdovers (2023):
Similar in 79%
Miracles Across 125th Street (2021)
Plot Summary:
After battling drug addiction, a Harlem rapper returns to his family’s church to confront his past on Christmas Eve.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 167
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 82%
Elling (2001)
Plot Summary:
When his mother, who has sheltered him his entire 40 years, dies, Elling, a sensitive, would-be poet, is sent to live in a state institution. There he meets Kjell Bjarne, a gentle giant and female-obsessed virgin in his 40s. After two years, the men are released and provided with a state-funded apartment and stipend with the hope they will be able to live on their own.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Norway
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, witty, semi serious, dark comedy, neurotic, feel good, experimental, controversial, black comedy
Similar in 77%
The Teacher (2016)
Plot Summary:
The principal of an elementary school calls a special parents meeting after it’s alleged that the seemingly empathetic and kindly-looking teacher Mrs. Drazděchová uses her students to manipulate their parents.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Slovakia, Czech Republic
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: touching, melancholic, tense, captivating, dark comedy, allegory, non-linear
Similar in 86%
Private Life (2018)
Plot Summary:
Richard and Rachel, a couple in the throes of infertility, try to maintain their marriage as they descend deeper and deeper into the insular world of assisted reproduction and domestic adoption.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, captivating, realistic, disturbing, clever, serious, mumblecore, cult classic, indie film
Similar in 84%
Match (2014)
Plot Summary:
A Seattle couple travel to New York to interview colorful former dancer Tobi for research on a dissertation about dance. But soon, common niceties and social graces erode when the questions turn personal and the true nature of the interview is called into question.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: captivating, humorous, light, feel good, independent film, tense, serious, realistic, talky, crying
Similar in 85%
The Last Shift (2020)
Plot Summary:
Stanley, an aging fast food worker, prepares to work his final graveyard shift after 38 years. When he's asked to train his replacement, Jevon, Stanley's weekend takes an unexpected turn.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: feel good, sentimental, light, humorous, captivating, melancholic
Similar in 83%
Infinitely Polar Bear (2014)
Plot Summary:
A manic-depressive mess of a father tries to win back his wife by attempting to take full responsibility of their two young, spirited daughters, who don't make the overwhelming task any easier.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, humorous, semi serious, semi autobiographical, sexy, cult classic, realistic, independent film, crying
Similar in 90%
The Door in the Floor (2004)
Plot Summary:
Alternately tragic and comic, an exploration of the complexities of love in both its brightest and darkest corners. Adapted from John Irving's best-selling novel A Widow for One Year, the film is set in the privileged beach community of East Hampton, New York and chronicles one pivotal summer in the lives of famous children's book author Ted Cole (Jeff Bridges) and his beautiful wife Marion (Kim Basinger). Their once-great marriage has been strained by tragedy. Her resulting despondency and his subsequent infidelities have prevented the couple from confronting a much-needed change in their relationship. Eddie O'Hare, the young man Ted hires to work as his summer assistant, is the couple's unwitting yet willing pawn - and, ultimately, the catalyst in the transformation of their lives.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: psychological, emotional, erotic, melancholic, touching, reflective, aesthetic, twisted, tense, clever
Similar in 76%
Humboldt County (2008)
Plot Summary:
Peter is a medical student about to graduate and begin his residency. When his professor fails him, he winds up in bed with an actress and singer named Bogart rolling through Los Angeles. He accompanies her to the redwoods of northern California, where he encounters her eccentric family of pot farmers. But when Bogart runs away without a word, Peter is thrust into the picturesque and bizarre world.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: sincere, sentimental, humorous, semi serious, independent film, realistic, offbeat, feel good, contemplative, crying
Similar in 77%
Measure of a Man (2018)
Plot Summary:
A bullied teen experiences a turning point summer in which he learns to stand up for himself.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: humorous, captivating, light, sincere, independent film, teen, freeze frame
Similar in 76%
The English Teacher (2013)
Plot Summary:
Teacher Linda Sinclair (Julianne Moore) balances her staid home life with an incredible passion for her subject, but her routine is forever altered when a former star pupil and his unsupportive father reenter her life. Go-to television director Craig Zisk, whose credits include Scrubs, Weeds and United States of Tara, takes a turn on the big screen with this insightful comedy about self-discovery co-starring Greg Kinnear, Nathan Lane, Michael Angarano and Lily Collins.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: realistic, semi serious, suspense, sentimental, sincere, sweet, independent film, hilarious, happy, clever
Similar in 83%
Miss Stevens (2016)
Plot Summary:
A high school English teacher becomes a weekend chaperone for three students at a drama competition.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: light, humorous, captivating, sincere, feel good, funny, independent film, comedy drama, corny
Similar in 90%
All Is Bright (2013)
Plot Summary:
Two French Canadian ne’er-do-wells travel to New York City with a scheme to a get rich quick selling Christmas trees.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, feel good, captivating, dark, black comedy, dark comedy, realistic, independent film, buddy comedy
Similar in 88%
Just Before I Go (2014)
Plot Summary:
Ted Morgan has been treading water for most of his life. After his wife leaves him, Ted realizes he has nothing left to live for. Summoning the courage for one last act, Ted decides to go home and face the people he feels are responsible for creating the shell of a person he has become. But life is tricky. The more determined Ted is to confront his demons, to get closure, and to withdraw from his family, the more Ted is yanked into the chaos of their lives. So, when Ted Morgan decides to kill himself, he finds a reason to live.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: emotional, dark comedy, realistic, semi serious, inspirational, independent film, sentimental, funny, feel good, freeze frame
Similar in 77%
The Best Man Holiday (2013)
Plot Summary:
When college friends reunite after 15 years over the Christmas holidays, they discover just how easy it is for long-forgotten rivalries and romances to be reignited.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, realistic, humorous, light, spiritual, sad, tear jerker, christmas special
Similar in 80%
Welcome to Me (2014)
Plot Summary:
A year in the life of Alice Klieg, a woman with Borderline Personality Disorder who wins Mega-millions, quits her meds and buys her own talk show.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: humorous, black comedy, disturbing, surreal, talky, independent film, semi serious, realistic, dark comedy, psychological thriller
Similar in 85%
Hick (2011)
Plot Summary:
A pistol-packing teen meets an unstable rebel and a cocaine-snorting drifter as she hitchhikes her way out West.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, independent film, captivating, semi serious, road movie, sweet, sad, dramatic, black comedy
Similar in 87%
Hesher (2010)
Plot Summary:
A young boy has lost his mother and is losing touch with his father and the world around him. Then he meets Hesher who manages to make his life even more chaotic.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 54000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: bleak, realistic, independent film, serious, touching, emotional, dark comedy, thought provoking, visually appealing, melancholic
Similar in 81%
The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002)
Plot Summary:
A group of Catholic school friends, after being caught drawing an obscene comic book, plan a heist that will outdo their previous prank and make them local legends.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: realistic, talky, teen, harsh, touching, independent film, epic, sex comedy, sentimental, atmospheric
Similar in 87%
Eighth Grade (2018)
Plot Summary:
Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school — the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year — before she begins high school.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 81000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: light, touching, indie film, thought provoking, teen, humorous, melancholic, funny, brutal, feel good
Similar in 77%
Sideways (2004)
Plot Summary:
Two middle-aged men embark on a spiritual journey through Californian wine country. One is an unpublished novelist suffering from depression, and the other is only days away from walking down the aisle.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 200000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA, Hungary
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: road movie, talky, dark comedy, sentimental, melancholic, humorous, semi serious, intellectual, existential, feel good
Similar in 85%
Fat Girls (2006)
Plot Summary:
Fat Girls is an original off-beat comedy feature. It focuses on Rodney Miller, not your typical Texas high school student...he is a theater lover and his ultimate dream is to be on Broadway. Awkward and shy, he doesn't have many people to talk to in his small Texas town that understand him. He ends up finding what he was looking for in his theater teacher, Mr. Cox.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 583
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: humorous, witty, semi serious, clever, realistic, sexual, crying, freeze frame, sexy, cult film
Similar in 88%
Running with Scissors (2006)
Plot Summary:
Young Augusten Burroughs absorbs experiences that could make for a shocking memoir: the son of an alcoholic father and an unstable mother, he's handed off to his mother's therapist, Dr. Finch, and spends his adolescent years as a member of Finch's bizarre extended family.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: disturbing, stylized, intense, touching, realistic, talky, humorous, tragicomedy, psychological, cult classic
Similar in 78%
The Savages (2007)
Plot Summary:
A sister and brother face the realities of familial responsibility as they begin to care for their ailing father.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 38000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: sentimental, realistic, independent film, emotional, compassionate, touching, depressing, melancholic, sincere, humorous
Similar in 79%
Smart People (2008)
Plot Summary:
Professor Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid) might be imperiously brilliant, monumentally self-possessed and an intellectual giant -- but when it comes to solving the conundrums of love and family, he's as downright flummoxed as the next guy.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: humorous, emotional, melancholic, talky, realistic, sentimental, touching, contemplative, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 81%
Thumbsucker (2005)
Plot Summary:
Justin, a teenager boy, throws himself and everyone around him into chaos when he attempts to break free from his addiction to his thumb.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: emotional, humorous, witty, sentimental, dark comedy, realistic, independent film, funny, gothic, educational
Similar in 79%
Outside Providence (1999)
Plot Summary:
In this coming-of-age comedy, Tim Dunphy is leading a go-nowhere existence, spending his days smoking pot and hanging out with his best friend, Drugs Delaney. But Tim's lazy days of getting high are jettisoned after a brush with the law convinces his blue-collar dad to send him to a Connecticut prep school. The one saving grace of the new school is Jane, a fellow student Tim falls for immediately.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: feel good, humorous, sweet, intense, semi serious, touching, independent film, epic, sentimental, realistic
Similar in 79%
Rocket Science (2007)
Plot Summary:
Hal, a 15-year-old high-school student with a minor yet socially alienating (and painful) disability: he stutters uncontrollably. Determined to work through the problem, Hal opts for an extreme route he joins the school debating team, which sends him on a headfirst plunge into breakneck speech competitions and offers a much-needed boost toward correcting the problem.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: clever, sincere, psychological, sentimental, touching, teen, indie film, realistic, funny, feel good
Similar in 80%
St. Vincent (2014)
Plot Summary:
A young boy whose parents just divorced finds an unlikely friend and mentor in the misanthropic, bawdy, hedonistic, war veteran who lives next door.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 108000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: realistic, feel good, inspirational, entertaining, witty, humorous, touching, sincere, social, sad
Similar in 80%
Mr. Church (2016)
Plot Summary:
A unique friendship develops when a little girl and her dying mother inherit a cook - Mr. Church. What begins as an arrangement that should only last six months, instead spans fifteen years.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: sad, sentimental, compassionate, emotional, melancholic, touching, dramatic, motivational, sincere, thought provoking