Movies like American Splendor

If you like "American Splendor" you are looking for realistic, stylized and dark comedy movies about / with writer's life, artist, biopic, depression, superhero, art and antisocial behavior themes of Biography, Comedy and Drama genre shot in USA.
Find your next favorite and similar movies in two steps: 1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below). 2. Look for them in the presented list.
American Splendor (2003)
 7.4
 54K
American Splendor (2003)
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min.
Story: An original mix of fiction and reality illuminates the life of comic book hero everyman Harvey Pekar.
Style: realistic, stylized, dark comedy, independent film, clever, sincere, semi serious, cult classic, metafiction, cynical ...
Plot: writer's life, artist, biopic, depression, superhero, art, antisocial behavior, loser, comic book, writers, character study, childhood, cancer, self discovery, rising to stardom, new job, ambition, social misfits, lifestyle, human nature, painter, jazz, mental disorder, bittersweet, hipster ...
Time: 20th century, year 2003, 2000s, 90s, 80s, 70s, 60s ...
Place: usa, ohio, new york, cleveland ohio

Movie in categories

Most similar movies to American Splendor

The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out realistic, weird, visually appealing and semi serious films with plots about dialogue, storytelling, mentor, loneliness, redemption, pornography and life philosophy mostly in Drama, Comedy and Biography genres. Some movies like American Splendor: Man on the Moon (1999), Pollock (2000), Riding in Cars with Boys (2001), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Squid and the Whale (2005). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
 7.4
 143K
Man on the Moon (1999)
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, Germany, Japan, USA
Duration: 118 min.
Story: A film about the life and career of the eccentric avant-garde comedian, Andy Kaufman.
Style: inspirational, depressing, touching, humorous, tragicomedy ...
Plot: comedian, biopic, showbiz, wrestler, female nudity, sexism, character study, prank, life philosophy, human spirit, actor's life, rising to stardom ...
Time: 90s, 80s, 20th century, year 1999, 70s ...
Place: new york, usa, north america, manhattan new york city, lithuania ...
Similarity:
100%
 7.0
 31K
Pollock (2000)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min.
Story: In August of 1949, Life Magazine ran a banner headline that begged the question: "Jackson Pollock: Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?" The film is a look back into the life of an extraordinary man, a man who has ...
Style: emotional, breathtaking, intellectual, inspirational, atmospheric ...
Plot: painter, artist, art, painting, biopic, genius, addiction, alcoholism, bohemian life, art history, self destructing, rise and fall ...
Time: 20th century, 1940s, 1950s, year 1945, year 1941 ...
Place: new york, usa, greenwich village manhattan new york city, brooklyn new york city, europe ...
Similarity:
100%
Riding in Cars with Boys (2001)
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 132 min.
Story: A single mother, with dreams of becoming a writer, has a son at the age of 15 in 1965, and goes through a failed marriage with the drug-addicted father.
Style: sentimental, emotional, sad, melancholic, teen ...
Audience: girls' night, teens, chick flick
Plot: coming of age, pregnancy, pregnant teenager, teenage pregnancy, teenage girl, writers, drug addiction, single mother, small town, women, parenthood, mother daughter relationship ...
Time: year 2001, 70s, 20th century, 80s, 60s
Place: new york, usa, connecticut, california, new jersey
Similarity:
100%
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min.
Story: A fading actor best known for his portrayal of a popular superhero attempts to mount a comeback by appearing in a Broadway play. As opening night approaches, his attempts to become more altruistic, rebuild his career, and reconnect with friends and ...
Style: surreal, dark comedy, psychedelic, black comedy, independent film ...
Audience: teens, date night, adult
Plot: midlife crisis, existentialism, satire, theater, surrealism, actor, dark humor, showbiz, father daughter relationship, mental illness, alter ego, backstage ...
Time: year 2014, 2010s, 21st century
Place: new york, manhattan new york city, ethiopia, america, los angeles ...
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min.
Story: Royal Tenenbaum and his wife Etheline had three children and then they separated. All three children are extraordinary --- all geniuses. Virtually all memory of the brilliance of the young Tenenbaums was subsequently erased by two decades of ...
Style: witty, funny, dark comedy, sexy, humorous ...
Audience: family friendly, date night
Plot: dysfunctional family, eccentricity, dark humor, eccentric family, writers, sex, forbidden love, incest, dalmatian, satire, parents and children, uptight character ...
Time: year 2001, 2000s, 21st century
Place: usa, new york, seattle
Similarity:
100%
The Squid and the Whale (2005)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min.
Story: Based on the true childhood experiences of Noah Baumbach and his brother, The Squid and the Whale tells the touching story of two young boys dealing with their parents divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980's.
Style: depressing, sincere, talky, dark comedy, absurd ...
Audience: teens, teen drama, adult
Plot: divorce, dysfunctional family, coming of age, father son relationship, infidelity, boy, adultery, marriage, drinking, cat, underage drinking, childhood ...
Time: 20th century, near future, year 2005, 80s, 2000s
Place: new york, brooklyn new york city, usa, california
Similarity:
67%
 7.7
 240K
Clerks (1994)
Genre: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min.
Story: Convenience and video store clerks Dante and Randal are sharp-witted, potty-mouthed and bored out of their minds. So in between needling customers, the counter jockeys play hockey on the roof, visit a funeral home and deal with their love lives.
Style: clever, funny, philosophical, independent film, offbeat ...
Audience: teens, adult
Plot: friendship, sarcasm, satire, slacker, workplace, everyday life, weed, stupidity, loser, stoner, one day, hipster ...
Time: 90s, year 1994, 20th century, year 1993
Place: new jersey, seattle, usa, north america
Similarity:
100%
 6.2
 1K
Pinero (2001)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min.
Story: "Piñero" tells the story of the explosive life of a Latino icon, the poet-playwright-actor Miguel Piñero, whose urban poetry is recognized as a pre-cursor to rap and hip-hop. After doing time in hard-core Sing-Sing for petty thefts and ...
Style: disturbing, stylized, factual, intense, sincere ...
Plot: drug abuse, writers, addiction, biopic, rise and fall, lifestyle, rising to stardom, drug, prison, drug addiction, society, life is a bitch ...
Time: 80s, year 2001, 70s, year 1968, year 1972
Place: new york, usa, lower east side manhattan new york city, manhattan new york city, empire state building manhattan new york city ...
Similarity:
42%
Movie in collections
The Station Agent (2003)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min.
Story: When his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude, only to meet a chatty hot dog vendor and a woman dealing with her own personal loss.
Style: sincere, sentimental, humorous, touching, tragicomedy ...
Audience: family friendly, chick flick
Plot: loneliness, friendship, bittersweet, depression, small town, grief, melancholy, loner, train, new in town, loss, solitude ...
Time: year 2003, 21st century
Place: nebraska, usa, new jersey, manhattan new york city, canada ...
Similarity:
50%
World's Greatest Dad (2009)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min.
Story: In the wake of a freak accident, Lance suffers the worst tragedy and the greatest opportunity of his life. He is suddenly faced with the possibility of fame, fortune and popularity, if he can only live with the knowledge of how he got there.
Style: dark comedy, clever, black comedy, sexy, melancholic ...
Audience: teens, adult
Plot: high school, teacher, writers, single father, loneliness, life & death, father son relationship, grief, family drama, caught masturbating, suicide, life philosophy ...
Time: 2000s, year 2009, 21st century
Place: usa, nebraska, seattle
Similarity:
42%
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 180 min.
Story: A New York stockbroker refuses to cooperate in a large securities fraud case involving corruption on Wall Street, corporate banking world and mob infiltration. Based on Jordan Belfort's autobiography.
Style: clever, cynical, captivating, motivational, cerebral ...
Audience: teens, adult
Plot: money, corruption, wall street, business, rise and fall, addiction, stock market, stock broker, success, wealth, greed, rags to riches ...
Time: 80s, year 2013, 90s, 20th century, year 1987 ...
Place: new york, usa, geneva switzerland, big ben london, italy ...
Similarity:
42%
Isn't She Great (2000)
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, Germany, Canada, Japan, USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story: An unsuccessful over-the-top actress becomes a successful over-the-top authoress in this biography of Jacqueline Susann, the famed writer of "The Valley Of The Dolls" and other trashy novels. Facing a failing career, Susann meets a ...
Style: light, satirical, touching, sincere, humorous ...
Plot: female protagonist, ambition, fame, marriage, writers, cancer, novelist, autism, eccentricity, showbiz, success, rags to riches ...
Time: 1940s, 1950s, 1930s, 70s, 60s ...
Place: new york, manhattan new york city, connecticut
Similarity:
42%
 6.3
 90K
Young Adult (2011)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min.
Story: A divorced writer from the Midwest returns to her hometown to reconnect with an old flame, who's now married with a family.
Style: dark comedy, depressing, talky, black comedy, emotional ...
Audience: girls' night, chick flick, teens
Plot: mental illness, high school, small town, emotional breakdown, drinking, hometown, divorce, depression, borderline personality disorder, thirtysomething life, hate crime, old love ...
Time: 21st century
Place: minnesota, usa, minneapolis minnesota, new jersey, california
Similarity:
42%
 7.8
 85K
My Left Foot (1989)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: Ireland, UK
Duration: 103 min.
Story: In this true story told through flashbacks, Christy Brown is born with crippling cerebral palsy into a poor, working-class Irish family. Able only to control movement in his left foot and to speak in guttural sounds, he is mistakenly believed to be ...
Style: inspirational, unusual plot structure, touching, sentimental, sad ...
Plot: disability, cerebral palsy, biopic, artist, working class, writers, paralysis, handicapped, medical, painter, poet, art ...
Time: 20th century, 80s, year 1989, 1930s
Place: ireland, dublin ireland, england, europe, canada
Similarity:
42%
Running with Scissors (2006)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min.
Story: 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 ...
Style: cult classic, stylized, disturbing, intense, realistic ...
Audience: teens
Plot: coming of age, mental illness, gay interest, dysfunctional family, therapist, mental disorder, unhappy, lgbt, family relations, lesbian, marital problem, drinking problem ...
Time: 20th century, 70s, year 2006
Place: new york, seattle, massachusetts, california, new jersey
Similarity:
41%
 7.1
 8K
Henry Fool (1997)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 137 min.
Story: An egocentric bum transforms the lives of a shy New Jersey garbageman and his sister.
Style: cult classic, philosophical, independent film, black comedy, erotic ...
Plot: writers, making love, poetry, art, poet, sex scene, writer's life, bittersweet, drinking, violence, egocentric man, brother sister relationship ...
Time: year 1997, 90s, 20th century
Place: new jersey, usa, stockholm sweden, new york
Similarity:
41%
 6.6
 7K
Dedication (2007)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story: A modern love story in which a misanthropic, emotionally complex author of a hit children's book is forced to team with a beautiful illustrator after his best friend and collaborator passes away. As Henry struggles with letting go of the ghosts ...
Style: cynical, stylized, psychological, realistic, touching ...
Audience: teens, date night
Plot: writers, financial problem, friendship, mental illness, obsession, couples, holiday, opposites attract, writer's life, lifestyle, fall in love, artists and showbiz ...
Time: year 2007, 21st century
Place: new york, usa, manhattan new york city, boston, new jersey
Similarity:
41%
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min.
Story: Greg is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But both his anonymity and friendship threaten to ...
Style: touching, independent film, emotional, teen, black comedy ...
Audience: teens, family friendly, date night, girls' night, teen drama
Plot: high school, cancer, adolescence, friendship, terminal illness, teenager, coming of age, dying, leukemia, friends, teenage boy, illness ...
Time: year 2015, 2010s, 21st century
Place: pittsburgh, pennsylvania, usa
Similarity:
41%
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 6.9
 40K
Private Parts (1997)
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min.
Story: The auto-biographical story of Howard Stern, the radio-rebel who is now also a TV-personality, an author and a movie star.
Style: sexy, humorous, funny, cult classic, semi serious ...
Audience: teens
Plot: nudity, satire, sorority, anti conformity, radio, public nudity, female nudity, adultery, lesbian, masturbation, lesbianism, public humiliation ...
Time: year 1979, 70s, year 1981, 90s, 20th century ...
Place: washington d.c., middle east, bronx new york city, new york, usa ...
Similarity:
41%
Saving Mr. Banks (2013)
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Country: Australia, UK, USA
Duration: 125 min.
Story: Author P.L. Travers travels from London to Hollywood as Walt Disney Pictures adapts her novel Mary Poppins for the big screen.
Style: sentimental, touching, factual, sad, inspirational ...
Audience: kids, teens, family friendly, girls' night, adult
Plot: childhood, filmmaking, biopic, hollywood, writer's life, success, love, family drama, family relations, showbiz, parents and children, haunted by the past ...
Time: year 2013, edwardian era, 60s, 1900s, 20th century ...
Place: california, los angeles, australia, usa, london ...
Similarity:
41%
 6.5
 22K
Thumbsucker (2005)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story: Justin, a teenager boy, throws himself and everyone around him into chaos when he attempts to break free from his addiction to his thumb.
Style: humorous, witty, sentimental, dark comedy, gothic ...
Audience: teens, date night, teen drama
Plot: coming of age, teenager, high school, addiction, youth, depression, debate, teenage life, lifestyle, self discovery, teenage crush, grownups ...
Time: year 2005, 21st century
Place: oregon, new york, manhattan new york city
Similarity:
41%
Final Portrait (2017)
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story: The story of Swiss painter and sculptor Alberto Giacometti.
Style: thought provoking, philosophical, art house, dark comedy, neurotic ...
Plot: painter, sculptor, art, sculpture, biopic, genius, artist, doubt, obsession, promise, art history, painting ...
Time: 20th century, 60s, 1930s, year 1964, year 1935
Place: paris france, new york
Similarity:
41%
 6.3
 30K
Celebrity (1998)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min.
Story: The career and personal life of writer Lee are at a standstill, so he divorces his bashful wife, Robin, and dives into a new job as an entertainment journalist. His assignments take him to the swankiest corners of Manhattan, but as he jumps from one ...
Style: satirical, witty, black and white, cynical, stylized ...
Plot: satire, greed, writers, loneliness, justice, dark hero, desire for fame, artists and showbiz, ambition, lifestyle, showbiz, celebrity culture ...
Time: 20th century, year 1998, 90s
Place: new york, usa, atlantic city new jersey, brooklyn new york city, manhattan new york city ...
Similarity:
41%
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 6.5
 70K
The Informant! (2009)
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min.
Story: A rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Mark Whitacre suddenly turns whistleblower. Even as he exposes his company’s multi-national price-fixing conspiracy to the FBI, Whitacre envisions himself being hailed as a hero of ...
Style: dark comedy, black comedy, psychological, tense, witty ...
Plot: fbi, whistleblower, psychology, mental illness, investigation, undercover, corruption, greed, spy, uncover truth, dishonesty, workplace ...
Time: 20th century, 90s, year 2009, 2000s, year 1994 ...
Place: usa, illinois, hawaii, tokyo
Similarity:
41%
Where the Buffalo Roam (1980)
Genre: Biography, Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min.
Story: Semi-biographical film based on the experiences of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.
Style: surreal, road movie, humorous, grindhouse, cult classic ...
Audience: teen drama
Plot: drug abuse, drug use, hitchhiker, writers, journalism, marijuana, gonzo, art, drug, presidential election, on the road, media ...
Time: 20th century, 60s, year 1980, 70s, year 1968 ...
Place: usa, los angeles, san francisco, las vegas
Similarity:
41%
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min.
Story: A family loaded with quirky, colorful characters piles into an old van and road trips to California for little Olive to compete in a beauty pageant.
Style: road movie, feel good, melancholic, funny, sweet ...
Audience: teens, chick flick, kids, girls' night, family friendly ...
Plot: road trip, dysfunctional family, on the road, nothing goes right, loser, gay, honest, obsessive quest, escapades, coming of age, suicide attempt, journey ...
Time: 2000s, year 2006, 21st century
Place: california, arizona, los angeles, nebraska, north america ...
Similarity:
41%
 7.5
 216K
Sideways (2004)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 127 min.
Story: 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.
Style: road movie, sentimental, dark comedy, melancholic, romantic drama ...
Audience: chick flick, date night
Plot: road trip, wine, couples, vineyard, on the road, vacation, divorce, infidelity, food, affair, midlife crisis, wedding ...
Time: 2000s, year 2004, 21st century
Place: california, san francisco, los angeles, bay area, usa ...
Similarity:
41%
Everything Must Go (2010)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story: When an alcoholic relapses, causing him to lose his wife and his job, he holds a yard sale on his front lawn in an attempt to start over. A new neighbor might be the key to his return to form.
Style: touching, realistic, talky, humorous, dark comedy ...
Plot: friendship, salesman, addiction, unemployment, alcohol abuse, bittersweet, recovery, loneliness, tragedy, character study, self discovery, starting over ...
Time: 21st century
Place: arizona, texas, usa, phoenix arizona, new jersey
Similarity:
41%
 6.1
 13K
Heartburn (1986)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min.
Story: Rachel is a food writer at a New York magazine who meets Washington columnist Mark at a wedding and ends up falling in love with him despite her reservations about marriage. They buy a house, have a daughter, and Rachel thinks they are living ...
Style: lyrical, melancholic, sentimental, semi serious, realistic ...
Audience: date night, girls' night, chick flick
Plot: divorce, journalism, pregnancy, dysfunctional family, wedding, unfaithful husband, journalist, battle of the sexes, food, marriage, writers, cheating ...
Time: 80s, 70s
Place: new york, washington d.c., usa
Similarity:
41%
 7.2
 24K
Private Life (2018)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min.
Story: 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.
Style: realistic, captivating, sincere, disturbing, psychological ...
Audience: chick flick, boys' night
Plot: marriage, fertility, family problems, adoption, mission, doctor, hospital, parents and children, adaptation, escapades, couple relations, relationships ...
Place: new york, manhattan new york city
Similarity:
41%