feelsalike.com

Movies that feel like Big Daddy (1999)

If you loved Big Daddy, the closest films we have are Instructions Not Included (2013), The Idiots (1998) and Patch Adams (1998). All three share Big Daddy's witty and playful feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 5 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Amazon Prime Video, Criterion Channel and MUBI and others, checked against today's data.

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.

πŸ… 39% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 6.5 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Dennis Duganwittyplayfulcontemplative
See it on the map

When is Big Daddy streaming? β†’

If Big Daddy hit the spot, these will too

Instructions Not Included poster
Instructions Not Included
2013 Β· dir. Eugenio Derbez
πŸ… 63%β˜… 7.5comedy Β· drama

Common ground: bachelor

Valentin is Acapulco's resident playboy, until a former fling leaves a baby on his doorstep and him heading with her out of Mexico.

Feels alike?
The Idiots poster
The Idiots
1998 Β· dir. Lars von Trier
πŸ… 73%β˜… 6.7comedy Β· drama

Witty and playful in the same breath

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

A group of people gather at a Copenhagen suburban home to break all the limitations and to bring out the 'inner idiot' in themselves.

Feels alike?
Patch Adams poster
Patch Adams
1998 Β· dir. Tom Shadyac
πŸ… 22%β˜… 6.9comedy Β· drama

Comedy with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

The true story of Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams, who in the 1970s found that humor is the best medicine, and was willing to do just anything to make his patients laughβ€”even if it meant risking his own career.

Feels alike?
Pieces of April poster
Pieces of April
2003 Β· dir. Peter Hedges
πŸ… 83%β˜… 7comedy Β· drama

Both lean on wit more than on drama

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.

Feels alike?
The Night Before the Exams poster
The Night Before the Exams
2006 Β· dir. Fausto Brizzi
β˜… 6.4comedy Β· drama

Playful comedy in both cases

Rome, 1989. On his last day of high school, Luca gets in trouble when he takes it all out on hated literature teacher Martinelli, only to discover he's going to be heading the examination board for his finals. During a summer of fruitless study, he falls in love with a girl he met once at a party, unaware that she's Martinelli's daughter. The latter, strangely enough, has just offered Luca to prepare with him...

Feels alike?
All About My Mother poster
All About My Mother
1999 Β· dir. Pedro AlmodΓ³var
πŸ… 98%β˜… 7.8comedy Β· drama

Drama built on stillness, twice over

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.

Feels alike?
Whisky poster
Whisky
2004 Β· dir. Juan Pablo Rebella
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.1comedy Β· drama

Witty comedy, and it commits to that

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.

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

Drama with a pulse of play, in both cases

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.

Feels alike?
Sunshine Cleaning poster
Sunshine Cleaning
2008 Β· dir. Christine Jeffs
πŸ… 74%β˜… 6.8comedy Β· drama

Both run contemplative where it counts

A single mother and her slacker sister find an unexpected way to turn their lives around in this off-beat dramatic comedy. In order to raise the tuition to send her young son to private school the mom starts an unusual business – a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service.

Feels alike?
Boogie Nights poster
Boogie Nights
1997 Β· dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.9drama Β· comedy

Comedy approached the same way

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.

Feels alike?
Day of the Wacko poster
Day of the Wacko
2002 Β· dir. Marek Koterski
β˜… 8.1comedy Β· drama

Both are drama through and through

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.

Feels alike?
Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. poster
Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.
2003 Β· dir. Rajkumar Hirani
β˜… 8.1comedy Β· drama

The comedy is handled with the same confidence

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

Feels alike?

In the mood for more witty?

all witty movies β†’

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