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Lolita poster

Movies that feel likeLolita (1962)

Humbert Humbert is a middle-aged British novelist who is both appalled by and attracted to the vulgarity of American culture. When he comes to stay at the boarding house run by Charlotte Haze, he soon becomes obsessed with Lolita, the woman's teenaged daughter.

If you loved Lolita, the closest films we have are Harold and Maude (1971), The Apartment (1960) and Meet John Doe (1941). All three share Lolita's contemplative and witty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Girl on the Bridge (1999).

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See it on the Mood Map

If Lolita hit the spot, these will too

Harold and Maude poster
Harold and Maude
1971 Β· dir. Hal Ashby
πŸ… 86%β˜… 7.8comedy Β· drama Β· romance

Both keep coming back to the same thing: depression

A deadpan young man obsessed with death meets an eccentric septuagenarian who teaches him to live life to the fullest.

The Apartment poster
The Apartment
1960 Β· dir. Billy Wilder
πŸ… 94%β˜… 8.3comedy Β· drama Β· romance

Contemplative where it counts, witty underneath

Bud Baxter is a minor clerk in a huge New York insurance company, until he discovers a quick way to climb the corporate ladder. He lends out his apartment to the executives as a place to take their mistresses. Although he often has to deal with the aftermath of their visits, one night he's left with a major problem to solve.

Meet John Doe poster
Meet John Doe
1941 Β· dir. Frank Capra
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.6drama Β· comedy Β· romancePrime Video

Playful and romantic in the same breath

The difference: Made in the 1940s, in a different era of the craft

As a parting shot, fired reporter Ann Mitchell prints a fake letter from unemployed "John Doe," who threatens suicide in protest of social ills. The paper is forced to rehire Ann and hires John Willoughby to impersonate "Doe." Ann and her bosses cynically milk the story for all it's worth, until the made-up "John Doe" philosophy starts a whole political movement.

Sleepless in Seattle poster
Sleepless in Seattle
1993 Β· dir. Nora Ephron
πŸ… 75%β˜… 6.8comedy Β· drama Β· romanceNetflix

Both are built on the same subject: grief

After the death of his mother, a young boy calls a radio station in an attempt to set his father up on a date. Across the country, an engaged woman becomes convinced that they belong together, despite their never having met. Will their paths collide despite the odds?

The Hustler poster
The Hustler
1961 Β· dir. Robert Rossen
πŸ… 94%β˜… 7.9drama Β· romance

Both land tenderness and melancholy at once

The difference: Easier on the wit than Lolita

Fast Eddie Felson is a small-time pool hustler with a lot of talent but a self-destructive attitude. His bravado causes him to challenge the legendary Minnesota Fats to a high-stakes match.

The Girl on the Bridge poster
The Girl on the Bridge
1999 Β· dir. Patrice Leconte
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.4drama Β· comedy Β· romance

Drama built on stillness, twice over

It's night on a Paris bridge. A girl leans over Seine River with tears in her eyes and a violent yearning to drown her sorrows. Out of nowhere someone takes an interest in her. He is Gabor, a knife thrower who needs a human target for his show. The girl, Adele, has never been lucky and nowhere else to go. So she follows him. They travel along the northern bank of the Mediterranean to perform.

City Lights poster
City Lights
1931 Β· dir. Charlie Chaplin
πŸ… 95%β˜… 8.5comedy Β· drama Β· romancePrime VideoMax

Witty comedy, and it commits to that

A tramp falls in love with a beautiful blind flower girl. His on-and-off friendship with a wealthy man allows him to be the girl's benefactor and suitor.

Secretary poster
Secretary
2002 Β· dir. Steven Shainberg
πŸ… 78%β˜… 6.8romance Β· drama Β· comedyPrime Video

Romance with a pulse of play, in both cases

A young woman, recently released from a mental hospital, gets a job as a secretary to a demanding lawyer, where their employer-employee relationship turns into a sexual, sadomasochistic one.

La Dolce Vita poster
La Dolce Vita
1960 Β· dir. Federico Fellini
πŸ… 95%β˜… 8comedy Β· drama

The same preoccupation in both: grief

Episodic journey of journalist Marcello who struggles to find his place in the world, torn between the allure of Rome's elite social scene and the stifling domesticity offered by his girlfriend, all the while searching for a way to become a serious writer.

Love Is All You Need poster
Love Is All You Need
2012 Β· dir. Susanne Bier
πŸ… 75%β˜… 6.5comedy Β· romance Β· dramaRent or buy

Both lean on romance more than on drama

Ida, a Danish hairdresser who has lost her hair to cancer, returns home from the hospital one day to find her husband is cheating on her. She decides to travel to Italy on her own for her daughter's wedding, but discovers on arriving that the wedding gathering will present its own challenges.

Life As We Know It poster
Life As We Know It
2010 Β· dir. Greg Berlanti
πŸ… 29%β˜… 6.5comedy Β· romance Β· drama

Tender comedy in both cases

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

After a disastrous first date for caterer Holly and network sports director Messer, all they have in common is a dislike for each other and their love for their goddaughter Sophie. But when they suddenly become all Sophie has in this world, Holly and Messer must set their differences aside. Juggling careers and social calendars, they'll have to find common ground while living under the same roof.

Manhattan poster
Manhattan
1979 Β· dir. Woody Allen
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.8comedy Β· drama Β· romance

One thread runs through both: lolita

Manhattan explores how the life of a middle-aged television writer dating a teenage girl is further complicated when he falls in love with his best friend's mistress.

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Lolita’s defining feeling.