Best movies like The Lifeguard
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Marie, the charming daughter of Italian immigrants, has a dream : to become rich. In Roubaix, where she lives, she meets and marries small-time crooner Marcel Potier. Together they leave for the South of France where they live happily but poorly. Now, Marie hasn't forgotten her hopes of wealth and with this aim still in mind she pushes Marcel into becoming the swimming instructor of Achille Zopoulos, an oil tycoon.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 149
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags:
Best tv shows and movies like The Lifeguard (1979):
Similar in 80%
Mrs. Munck (1995)
Plot Summary:
A wronged woman takes revenge on her wheelchair bound father-in-law.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 218
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 75%
I Knew Her Well (1965)
Plot Summary:
Adriana, a young woman from the provinces, moves to Rome in order to become a celebrity.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: Italy, France, West Germany
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: depressing
Similar in 87%
Erfolg (1991)
Plot Summary:
For fans of history, this glimpse of Munich society in the 1920s will be a much-treasured event. The story revolves around an art-gallery manager who puts on a show featuring the scandalous works of a woman artist who committed suicide. He is unjustly accused of having committed adultery with her, and for some reason the authorities decide to make an example of him. He is imprisoned at about the same time that Hitler and the nascent Nazi party attempt the infamous Beer Hall Putsch, and the gallery manager's girlfriend and a Swiss writer valiantly (and unsuccessfully) attempt to get better justice for him. Nobody in authority, it seems, has the courage to take up the challenge of righting this particular injustice.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 21
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 265 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 77%
Whiskey Down (1996)
Plot Summary:
Six million dollars suddenly goes up for grabs when an aged diner's heart fails after he discovers that he has won the lottery. Which of the remaining late-night dining regulars will get the cash? How many will have to die to get the answer?.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 440
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, independent film
Similar in 75%
Plainlands (1988)
Plot Summary:
Based on a novel of the same name by the Finnish author, Antti Tuuri, this delicious late-80's comedy builds its dark humour on the stereotypical mentality of the northern part of Finland. While perhaps not as entertaining to a person unfamiliar with Finnish traditions, the brilliant acting, directing, plus the warm, beautiful Finnish summer more than make up for the cultural gap.The story begins with a group of brothers with their families coming up to honour the memory of their recently deceased father. Spending time together, opening old wounds and creating new ones... it all boils down to brotherhood. No matter what happens, brothers take care of their own.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 761
Genere: Drama, Comedy
Country: Finland
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: cult film
Similar in 84%
Partly Sunny (2012)
Plot Summary:
Two young guys in a bar hit on the woman they fancy by sending one of them over who tells her that the other one is terminally ill.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Germany
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 82%
All Neat in Black Stockings (1969)
Plot Summary:
A small comedy drama about the life and sex adventures of an amorous window cleaner, in the hip and swingin' London of the '60s.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 249
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: sex comedy, independent film
Similar in 80%
La cosa buffa (1972)
Plot Summary:
A young provincial elementary school teacher, falls in love with a Venetian girl, daughter of a rich industrialist.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 74
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Italy
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: italian comedy
Similar in 77%
Les Patates (1969)
Plot Summary:
In a village in the Ardennes, during the German occupation, finding rations is becoming almost impossible. Clovis, an ordinary labourer, decides to cross the occupied zone to bring back enough potatoes to feed his family. His plan is a success but Clovis rapidly becomes obsessed with storing the precious tubers.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 127
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 89%
The Visit (1964)
Plot Summary:
Carla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays out the red carpet expecting big things from Carla, only to learn that her sole purpose is to see Serge Miller killed.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Italy, France, West Germany
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: retro, psychological, tense, serious, realistic, biting, suspense
Similar in 76%
The Devil and the Ten Commandments (1962)
Plot Summary:
The film consists of seven roughly 15 minute episodes, each showing what will happen if one or more of the Ten Commandments will be broken: Jérome Chambard is warned that he will lose his job if he continues to swear; Françoise Beaufort enamored of a stripper calls on her only to find her married to a janitor who doesn't know what kind of dancing his wife performs; Denis, a Jesuit novice, leaves the order to avenge his sister's suicide, which was provoked by Garigny, who seduced her into prostitution and drug addiction; Philip buys a necklace for Micheline though he is bored with her; a young man find out that his real mother is not Madeleine, but actress Clarisse Ardant; Didier Marin, cashier of a bank, was fired by his boss; the Devil appears as a serpent for Jérome Chambard and the bishop are eating.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 951
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: clever, offbeat, humorous, realistic, contemplative, semi serious, sketch comedy
Similar in 77%
Where the Tracks End (2023)
Plot Summary:
Georgina is a teacher determined to make a difference in the lives of the children she educates in the classroom of a wagon school in rural Mexico.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: Mexico
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 77%
Myth of Love (2021)
Plot Summary:
A divorced, retired painting teacher from Shanghai falls in love with a woman who is also divorced. The involvement of his ex-wife and a student of his makes the whole thing complicated.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: China
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 90%
Don't Grieve (1968)
Plot Summary:
Benjamin, the local doctor is a soul of a local society, the educated, friendly, democratic person who often treats the poor for free. It makes him very popular with the locals but most certainly does not help with his bank account. He is in love with a beautiful Manette who is also crazy about him but is being watched closely by her father who called his daughter "his small capital" and is determined to protect her virginity until the moment the marriage contract has been signed.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 86%
The Class Of Miss MacMichael (1978)
Plot Summary:
A dedicated teacher (Glenda Jackson) tries to reach out to juvenile delinquent students at a London alternative school.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 468
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, independent film, dark comedy
Similar in 84%
Property Is No Longer a Theft (1973)
Plot Summary:
A lowly bank clerk, literally allergic to money and revolted by its nefarious influence on humanity, launches a campaign of harassment against a wealthy butcher, stealing small, insignificant items— but never money—from the man. The victim uses the thefts to make large and fraudulent insurance claims, refusing to finger the thief for fear his own financial improprieties might be exposed.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 76%
Just to Be Sure (2017)
Plot Summary:
Erwan, a strapping Breton who clears mines for a living, is shaken when he discovers that his father is not his father. Despite his affection for the man who raised him, he quietly sets out to find his biological father, and succeeds in locating Joseph, an endearing old codger he takes a liking to. Just when things look settled, another unexpected “bomb” hits Erwan in the form of Anna, an elusive nymph.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, humorous, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 84%
The Oak (1992)
Plot Summary:
A description of Romania before Ceausescu's downfall, through the story of Nela. Daughter of a former colonel of the Securitate, the romanian political police. She refused to become as her sister, an agent of this Securitate, and lives with her father. After he died, she leaves Bucarest, and ends up in a little town, where she meets Mitica, a surgeon, another herself, laughing of everything.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France, Romania
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: black comedy, parody, atmospheric, gloomy, semi serious, tension, dark comedy, suspense
Similar in 85%
Grand Guignol (1987)
Plot Summary:
Sarah, the wife of a theater director, decides to leave her mutt of a husband because she is tired of his morbid fantasies. It is true that Baptiste has a rather unstable troupe that rehearses horror plays in a dance hall. Sarah comes out of the wings for life, but it turns out to be as incongruous and phantasmagorical as her husband's plays. This is why she returns to him. "The real grand guignol is life. The other is the farce.".
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 80
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Horror
Country: France
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: black comedy, dark comedy
Similar in 79%
Great Minds (2017)
Plot Summary:
Teacher in the most prestigious highschool in the country, François enjoys the life he’s always known, in the intellectual and bourgeois society of Paris. Trapped in a situation where he’s forced to accept a job in a school of a tough underprivileged suburb, he finds himself confronted to his own limits and to the upheaval of his values and certainties.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: sincere, humorous, captivating, touching, social
Similar in 77%
Seduced and Abandoned (1964)
Plot Summary:
The film presents the tale of Agnese Ascalone, daughter of prominent miner Vincenzo Ascalone, and takes place in a small town in Sicily. Agnese is seduced by her sister Matilde's fiance, and has a tryst with him for which she confesses and tries to repent, only to be discovered by her mother and father. The film is a dark satire of Sicilian social customs and honor laws, and is very similar to Divorce, Italian Style.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Italy, France
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: cynical, neorealism, dark comedy, clever, humorous, realistic, witty, semi serious, biting, suspense
Similar in 84%
If You Don't, I Will (2014)
Plot Summary:
A couple goes on a hike in the woods, and the woman refuses to return.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 515
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 89%
Burn Burn Burn (2015)
Plot Summary:
Following the death of their friend, two girls in their late twenties embark on a road trip to spread his ashes. Seph and Alex take turns driving. Dan is in the glove compartment, in tupperware, decreasing in volume as the trip progresses.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: road movie, humorous, exciting, light, captivating
Similar in 80%
Hyenas (1992)
Plot Summary:
After being kicked out of her African village three decades earlier for getting pregnant out of wedlock, Linguere (Ami Diakhate) has returned home. While Linguere has done well for herself, her home village has fallen on hard economic times. Intent on punishing Dramaan (Mansour Diouf), the man who fathered her child but refused to own up to the act, Linguere makes a proposal: She will help the town financially, if the locals agree to execute Dramaan.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Senegal, France, Switzerland, UK, Netherlands, Italy
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: clever, humorous, realistic, witty, cynical, semi serious, biting, suspense
Similar in 76%
Au secours, j'ai 30 ans ! (2004)
Plot Summary:
Ils sont amis depuis l'enfance et se sont juré de toujours s'entraider. Ensemble, Kathy, Tara et Yann ont quitté leur île bretonne pour s'installer à Paris. Alors que Yann est heureux avec Alfredo, son compagnon, les deux filles connaissent des vies sentimentales plutôt désastreuses. Tara, aussi rieuse que peu sûre d'elle, se fait esclavagiser par Thomas, petit prof égocentrique et mesquin.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 257
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: psychological, humorous, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 79%
The Reader (1988)
Plot Summary:
A multi-faceted film based on Raymond Jean's novel "La Lectrice". Constance (Miou-Miou) reads the novel aloud in bed to her lover. Inspired by the story of Marie, a woman who advertises her services as a reader of literature, Constance decides to do the same. Here the film takes on a kaleidoscopic effect as the lives of Constance and Marie become merged, making it hard to distinguish what is real and what is fantasy. This structure is further complicated when the lives of Constance's clients become tangled with the stories she reads. The film is interspersed with readings from well known literary sources as diverse as, amongst others, Baudelaire, Duras, Tolstoy, Lewis Carroll and de Sade's "120 days...".
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sexy, sexual, erotic, clever, humorous, realistic, talky, semi serious, masterpiece
Similar in 80%
Family Law (2006)
Plot Summary:
A man in his thirties does not want to be like his father, but that seems to be unavoidable.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Argentina, Italy, Spain, France
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: semi serious, captivating, light, emotional, humorous, realistic
Similar in 78%
A Beginner's Guide to Endings (2010)
Plot Summary:
The film centers on three brothers who, upon learning they only have a few days left to live, set off to reverse a lifetime of mistakes. Hopper and Simmons are playing the brothers' father and uncle, respectively, while Caan is one of the brothers. Helfer is Caan's girlfriend, a woman with a dangerous past.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, captivating, light, contemplative, offbeat, realistic, witty
Similar in 85%
The Big Feast (1973)
Plot Summary:
A group of men hire some prostitutes and go to a villa in the countryside. There, they engage in group sex and resolve to eat themselves to death.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: erotic, disturbing, art house, surreal, humorous, controversial, atmospheric, black comedy, dark comedy, sexual
Similar in 88%
Monsieur Ibrahim (2003)
Plot Summary:
Monsieur Ibrahim is a story about a young Jewish boy in Paris who meets an old Muslim Turkish grocery store owner. The film touches the themes of friendship and love as the old man is a father figure to the boy as he teaches him of the Koran. The film is based on a book of the popular book by the French author Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, sweet, emotional, uplifting, feel good, atmospheric, serious, captivating, dramatic