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Movies that feel like Adaptation. (2002)

If you loved Adaptation., the closest films we have are Chicago (2002), Bad Santa (2003) and Bottle Rocket (1996). All three share Adaptation.'s witty and playful feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 8 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu and others, checked against today's data.

Charlie Kaufman is a confused L.A. screenwriter overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, sexual frustration, self-loathing, and by the screenwriting ambitions of his freeloading twin brother Donald. While struggling to adapt "The Orchid Thief," by Susan Orlean, Kaufman's life spins from pathetic to bizarre. The lives of Kaufman and Orlean's book become strangely intertwined as each one's search for passion collides with the other's.

πŸ… 90% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.7 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Spike Jonzewittyplayfulgrittycontemplative
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If Adaptation. hit the spot, these will too

Chicago poster
Chicago
2002 Β· dir. Rob Marshall
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7.2comedy Β· crime Β· drama

Witty where it counts, playful underneath

Murderesses Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s Chicago.

Bad Santa poster
Bad Santa
2003 Β· dir. Terry Zwigoff
πŸ… 78%β˜… 7drama Β· comedy Β· crime

Gritty and contemplative in the same breath

You'd better watch out - Willie T. Soke is coming to town, and he doesn't care if you've been naughty or nice. Willie's favorite holiday tradition is to fill his sacks with loot lifted from shopping malls across the country. But this year his plot gets derailed by a wisecracking store detective, a sexy bartender, and a kid who's convinced Willie is the real Santa Claus.

Bottle Rocket poster
Bottle Rocket
1996 Β· dir. Wes Anderson
πŸ… 86%β˜… 6.9comedy Β· crime Β· drama

Comedy built on wit, twice over

Upon his release from a mental hospital following a nervous breakdown, the directionless Anthony joins his friend Dignan, who seems far less sane than the former. Dignan has hatched a harebrained scheme for an as-yet-unspecified crime spree that somehow involves his former boss, the (supposedly) legendary Mr. Henry.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? poster
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
2000 Β· dir. Joel Coen
πŸ… 78%β˜… 7.7adventure Β· comedy Β· crime

Common ground in both: philosophical and reflective

The difference: Missing the stillness of Adaptation.

In the deep south during the 1930s, three escaped convicts search for hidden treasure while a relentless lawman pursues them.

The Longest Yard poster
The Longest Yard
2005 Β· dir. Peter Segal
πŸ… 31%β˜… 6.4drama Β· comedy Β· crime

Both lean on play more than on crime

The difference: Reviewed a good deal more coolly

Disgraced pro football quarterback Paul Crewe lands in a Texas federal penitentiary, where manipulative Warden Hazen recruits him to advise the institution's football team of prison guards. Crewe suggests a tune-up game which lands him quarterbacking a crew of inmates in a game against the guards. Aided by incarcerated ex-NFL coach and player Nate Scarborough, Crewe and his team must overcome not only the bloodthirstiness of the opposition, but also the corrupt warden trying to fix the game against them.

Hera Pheri poster
Hera Pheri
2000 Β· dir. Priyadarshan
β˜… 8.2comedy Β· crime

Gritty drama, and it commits to that

The difference: Not nearly as contemplative as Adaptation.

Two tenants and a landlord, in desperate need of money, chance upon a ransom call via a cross connection. They hatch a plan to claim the ransom for themselves.

Smoke poster
Smoke
1995 Β· dir. Wayne Wang
πŸ… 89%β˜… 7.4comedy Β· drama

The same preoccupation in both: writer

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.

Hustlers poster
Hustlers
2019 Β· dir. Lorene Scafaria
πŸ… 88%β˜… 6.3drama Β· comedy Β· crime

Contemplative comedy in both cases

A crew of savvy former strip club employees band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients.

American Made poster
American Made
2017 Β· dir. Doug Liman
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.1comedy Β· crime Β· drama

Crime with a pulse of wit, in both cases

The true story of pilot Barry Seal, who transported contraband for the CIA and the Medellin cartel in the 1980s.

Austin Powers in Goldmember poster
Austin Powers in Goldmember
2002 Β· dir. Jay Roach
πŸ… 52%β˜… 6.3comedy Β· crime

Drama built on play, twice over

The world's most shagadelic spy continues his fight against Dr. Evil. This time, the diabolical doctor and his clone, Mini-Me, team up with a new foeβ€”'70s kingpin Goldmember. While pursuing the team of villains to stop them from world domination, Austin gets help from his dad and an old girlfriend.

War Dogs poster
War Dogs
2016 Β· dir. Todd Phillips
πŸ… 62%β˜… 7.1comedy Β· crime Β· drama

Comedy built on grit, twice over

Based on the true story of two young men, David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli, who won a $300 million contract from the Pentagon to arm America's allies in Afghanistan.

The Hustle poster
The Hustle
2019 Β· dir. Chris Addison
πŸ… 13%β˜… 5.5comedy Β· crime

Both keep coming back to the same thing: satirical

Two female scam artists, one low rent and the other high class, compete to swindle a naΓ―ve tech prodigy out of his fortune. A remake of the 1988 comedy "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."

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