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Boogie Nights poster

Movies that feel likeBoogie Nights (1997)

In 1977, an idealistic porn producer and his promising protege try to catch up with the end of an era before their never-ending party collides with cold, hard reality.

If you loved Boogie Nights, the closest films we have are All About My Mother (1999), Smoke (1995) and Day of the Wacko (2002). All three share Boogie Nights' contemplative and witty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Whisky (2004).

🍅 91% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.9 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Paul Thomas Andersoncontemplativewittyplayful
5 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Paramount Plus Premium · MUBI

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If Boogie Nights hit the spot, these will too

All About My Mother poster
All About My Mother
1999 · dir. Pedro Almodóvar
🍅 98%★ 7.8comedy · drama

Common ground: drug abuse

Following the tragic death of her teenage son, Manuela travels from Madrid to Barcelona in an attempt to contact the long-estranged father the boy never knew. She reunites with an old friend, an outspoken transgender sex worker, and befriends a troubled actress and a pregnant, HIV-positive nun.

Smoke poster
Smoke
1995 · dir. Wayne Wang
🍅 89%★ 7.4comedy · drama

The same mix in both: stillness, then wit

Writer Paul Benjamin is nearly hit by a bus when he leaves Auggie Wren's smoke shop. Stranger Rashid Cole saves his life, and soon middle-aged Paul tells homeless Rashid that he wouldn't mind a short-term housemate. Still grieving over his wife's murder, Paul is moved by both Rashid's quest to reconnect with his father and Auggie's discovery that a woman who might be his daughter is about to give birth.

Day of the Wacko poster
Day of the Wacko
2002 · dir. Marek Koterski
★ 8.1comedy · drama

Playful drama in both cases

It is a bitter story about a middle-aged man, who hates his life and other people, including himself. Adam Miauczynski, the character known from director Marek Koterski's previous films, is a 49 year-old teacher, who reads poetry during school lessons and later goes home swearing and calling his neighbours' names. The worst pain for him is the next 5 minutes of living. He doesn't accept himself and even everyday contacts with others cause his aggression. Though constantly dreaming of a romantic love, he is not bold enough to make his dreams come true. The desperate Miauczynski personalizes our own fears and obsessions, which have become so visible recently.

Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. poster
Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.
2003 · dir. Rajkumar Hirani
★ 8.2comedy · drama

Comedy built on stillness, twice over

A gangster sets out to fulfill his father's dream of becoming a doctor.

The Idiots poster
The Idiots
1998 · dir. Lars von Trier
🍅 73%★ 6.7comedy · dramaRent or buy

Witty drama, and it commits to that

A group of perfectly intelligent young people decide to react to society's cult of aimless, non-creative and non-responsible form intellect by living together in a community of 'idiots'. Their primary activity becomes going out into the world of 'normal' people and pretending to be mentally incompetent. They take advantage of this situation to create anarchy, and, by every possible means, to make those around them miserable.

The Dinner Game poster
The Dinner Game
1998 · dir. Francis Veber
🍅 73%★ 7.6comedy

Both lean on play more than on comedy

The difference: Takes it somewhere less contemplative than Boogie Nights does

For Pierre Brochant and his friends, Wednesday is “Idiots' Day”. The idea is simple: each person has to bring along an idiot. The one who brings the most spectacular idiot wins the prize. Tonight, Brochant is ecstatic. He has found a gem. The ultimate idiot, “A world champion idiot!”. What Brochant doesn’t know is that Pignon is a real jinx, a past master in the art of bringing on catastrophes...

Four Rooms poster
Four Rooms
1995 · dir. Robert Rodriguez
🍅 13%★ 6.7comedy

The same preoccupation in both: new year's eve

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

It's Ted the Bellhop's first night on the job...and the hotel's very unusual guests are about to place him in some outrageous predicaments. It seems that this evening's room service is serving up one unbelievable happening after another.

Thank You for Smoking poster
Thank You for Smoking
2005 · dir. Jason Reitman
🍅 86%★ 7.5comedy · drama

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

Nick Naylor is a charismatic spin-doctor for Big Tobacco who'll fight to protect America's right to smoke -- even if it kills him -- while still remaining a role model for his 12-year old son. When he incurs the wrath of a senator bent on snuffing out cigarettes, Nick's powers of "filtering the truth" will be put to the test.

Big Daddy poster
Big Daddy
1999 · dir. Dennis Dugan
🍅 39%★ 6.5comedy · dramaNetflixStarz

Both lean on wit more than on comedy

A lazy law school grad adopts a kid to impress his girlfriend, but everything doesn't go as planned. Now he's forced to grow up while navigating the challenges of fatherhood.

Pieces of April poster
Pieces of April
2003 · dir. Peter Hedges
🍅 83%★ 7comedy · drama

Both run playful where it counts

Quirky and rebellious April Burns lives with her boyfriend in a low-rent New York City apartment miles away from her emotionally distant family. But when she discovers that her mother has a fatal form of breast cancer, she invites the clan to her place for Thanksgiving. While her father struggles to drive her family into the city, April -- an inexperienced cook -- runs into kitchen trouble and must ask a neighbor for help.

Whisky poster
Whisky
2004 · dir. Juan Pablo Rebella
🍅 100%★ 7.1comedy · drama

Drama in the same key

When his long-lost brother resurfaces, Jacobo, desperate to prove his life has added up to something, looks to scrounge up a wife. He turns to Marta, an employee at his sock factory, with whom he has a prickly relationship.

Best in Show poster
Best in Show
2000 · dir. Christopher Guest
🍅 93%★ 7.5comedyParamount+

Both are comedy through and through

The tension is palpable, the excitement is mounting and the heady scent of competition is in the air as hundreds of eager contestants from across America prepare to take part in what is undoubtedly one of the greatest events of their lives -- the Mayflower Dog Show. The canine contestants and their owners are as wondrously diverse as the great country that has bred them.

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The best-reviewed films that share Boogie Nights’ defining feeling.