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Dirty Dancing poster

Movies that feel likeDirty Dancing (1987)

Expecting the usual tedium that accompanies a summer in the Catskills with her family, 17-year-old Frances 'Baby' Houseman is surprised to find herself stepping into the shoes of a professional hoofer—and unexpectedly falling in love.

If you loved Dirty Dancing, the closest films we have are CODA (2021), Tender Mercies (1983) and Cinema Paradiso (1988). All three share Dirty Dancing's contemplative and romantic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Devdas (2002).

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If Dirty Dancing hit the spot, these will too

CODA poster
CODA
2021 · dir. Sian Heder
🍅 94%★ 8drama · music · romanceApple TV+

Both are built on the same subject: growing up

The difference: Made in the 2020s, in a different era of the craft

As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family's fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her love of music and her fear of abandoning her parents.

Tender Mercies poster
Tender Mercies
1983 · dir. Bruce Beresford
🍅 83%★ 7.3drama · music · romancePrime Video

Contemplative and stylish in the same breath

The difference: Easier on the wistfulness than Dirty Dancing

Alcoholic former country singer Mac Sledge makes friends with a young widow and her son. The friendship enables him to find inspiration to resume his career.

Cinema Paradiso poster
Cinema Paradiso
1988 · dir. Giuseppe Tornatore
🍅 90%★ 8.5drama · romance

Both keep coming back to the same thing: growing up

A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist.

A Walk to Remember poster
A Walk to Remember
2002 · dir. Adam Shankman
🍅 30%★ 7.3drama · romance

Romantic where it counts, tender underneath

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

When the popular, restless Landon Carter is forced to participate in the school drama production, he falls in love with Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of the town's minister. Jamie has a "to-do" list for her life, as well as a very big secret she must keep from Landon.

Almost Famous poster
Almost Famous
2000 · dir. Cameron Crowe
🍅 91%★ 7.9drama · musicParamount+

Drama with a pulse of wistfulness, in both cases

In 1973, a precocious 15-year-old aspiring rock journalist lands a dream assignment from Rolling Stone to tour with a rising rock band, embarking on a coming-of-age journey as he discovers the exhilarating and heartbreaking realities behind rock stardom.

Once poster
Once
2007 · dir. John Carney
🍅 97%★ 7.8drama · music · romance

Contemplative music, and it commits to that

A vacuum repairman moonlights as a street musician and hopes for his big break. One day a Czech immigrant, who earns a living selling flowers, approaches him with the news that she is also an aspiring singer-songwriter. The pair decide to collaborate, and the songs that they compose reflect the story of their blossoming love.

Step Up poster
Step Up
2006 · dir. Anne Fletcher
🍅 21%★ 6.5music · drama · romance

Common ground: dancing

The difference: Leans harder into crime than Dirty Dancing does

Delinquent Tyler Gage receives the opportunity of a lifetime after vandalizing a performing arts school, gaining him the chance to earn a scholarship and dance with up-and-coming dancer Nora.

Devdas poster
Devdas
2002 · dir. Sanjay Leela Bhansali
★ 7.6drama · romance

Romance built on romance, twice over

In 1900s India, Calcuttan zamindar Devdas Mukherjee — unable to marry his lover — takes up alcohol and the company of a courtesan to alleviate the pain.

Cold War poster
Cold War
2018 · dir. Paweł Pawlikowski
🍅 92%★ 7.5romance · music · dramaPrime Video

Both lean on style more than on drama

A man and a woman meet in the ruins of post-war Poland. With vastly different backgrounds and temperaments, they are fatally mismatched and yet drawn to each other.

Blue Is the Warmest Color poster
Blue Is the Warmest Color
2013 · dir. Abdellatif Kechiche
🍅 88%★ 7.6romance · drama

Tender romance in both cases

Adèle's life is changed when she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire, to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adele grows, seeks herself, loses herself, finds herself.

Little Women poster
Little Women
2019 · dir. Greta Gerwig
🍅 95%★ 7.7drama · romanceHulu

The same preoccupation in both: brothers and sisters

Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.

A Brighter Summer Day poster
A Brighter Summer Day
1991 · dir. Edward Yang
🍅 100%★ 8.2crime · drama · romance

Both lean on wistfulness more than on music

A boy experiences first love, friendships and injustices growing up in 1960s Taiwan.

In the mood for more contemplative?

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