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Movies that feel like Ed Wood (1994)

If you loved Ed Wood, the closest films we have are Babette's Feast (1987), The Triplets of Belleville (2003) and All About My Mother (1999). All three share Ed Wood's witty and playful feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 4 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Netflix, HBO Max and Criterion Channel and others, checked against today's data.

The mostly true story of the legendary "worst director of all time", who, with the help of his strange friends, filmed countless B-movies without ever becoming famous or successful.

🍅 92% Rotten Tomatoes7.8 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Tim Burtonwittyplayfulcontemplativeepic

Not on subscription streaming right now. Rent or buy below.

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If Ed Wood hit the spot, these will too

Babette's Feast poster
Babette's Feast
1987 · dir. Gabriel Axel
🍅 97%7.8drama · history · comedy

The same mix in both: wit, then play

A French housekeeper with a mysterious past brings quiet revolution in the form of one exquisite meal to a circle of starkly pious villagers in late 19th century Denmark.

The Triplets of Belleville poster
The Triplets of Belleville
2003 · dir. Sylvain Chomet
7.7animation · comedy · drama

Contemplative where it counts, epic underneath

The difference: Leans harder into animation than Ed Wood does

When her grandson is kidnapped during the Tour de France, Madame Souza and her beloved pooch Bruno team up with the Belleville Sisters—an aged song-and-dance team from the days of Fred Astaire—to rescue him.

All About My Mother poster
All About My Mother
1999 · dir. Pedro Almodóvar
🍅 98%7.8comedy · drama

One thread runs through both: transsexuality

The difference: Missing the scale of Ed Wood

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.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou poster
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
2004 · dir. Wes Anderson
🍅 73%7.2adventure · comedy · drama

Both lean on wit more than on comedy

Renowned oceanographer Steve Zissou has sworn vengeance upon the rare shark that devoured a member of his crew. In addition to his regular team, he is joined on his boat by Ned, a man who believes Zissou to be his father, and Jane, a journalist pregnant by a married man. They travel the sea, all too often running into pirates and, perhaps more traumatically, various figures from Zissou's past, including his estranged wife, Eleanor.

Roger & Me poster
Roger & Me
1989 · dir. Michael Moore
🍅 100%7.5documentary · history · comedy

History with a pulse of play, in both cases

A documentary about the closure of General Motors' plant at Flint, Michigan, which resulted in the loss of 30,000 jobs. Details the attempts of filmmaker Michael Moore to get an interview with GM CEO Roger Smith.

There's Still Tomorrow poster
There's Still Tomorrow
2023 · dir. Paola Cortellesi
🍅 89%7.7drama · comedy · history

Contemplative drama in both cases

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

In postwar Rome, a working-class woman dreams of a better future for herself and her daughter while facing abuse at the hands of her domineering husband. When a mysterious letter arrives, she discovers the courage to change the circumstances of her life.

Bajrangi Bhaijaan poster
Bajrangi Bhaijaan
2015 · dir. Kabir Khan
🍅 89%8.1comedy · drama · adventure

Comedy built on scale, twice over

A young mute girl from Pakistan loses herself in India with no way to head back. A devoted man with a magnanimous spirit undertakes the task to get her back to her motherland and unite her with her family.

The Darjeeling Limited poster
The Darjeeling Limited
2007 · dir. Wes Anderson
🍅 69%7.2adventure · drama · comedy

Witty drama, and it commits to that

Three American brothers who have not spoken to each other in a year set off on a train voyage across India with a plan to find themselves and bond with each other -- to become brothers again like they used to be. Their "spiritual quest", however, veers rapidly off-course (due to events involving over-the-counter pain killers, Indian cough syrup, and pepper spray).

Vice poster
Vice
2018 · dir. Adam McKay
🍅 64%7.2drama · comedy · history

Both lean on play more than on history

The difference: Critics were much harder on this one

George W. Bush picks Dick Cheney, the CEO of Halliburton Co., to be his Republican running mate in the 2000 presidential election. No stranger to politics, Cheney's impressive résumé includes stints as White House chief of staff, House Minority Whip and Defense Secretary. When Bush wins by a narrow margin, Cheney begins to use his newfound power to help reshape the country and the world.

Smoke poster
Smoke
1995 · dir. Wayne Wang
🍅 89%7.4comedy · drama

Comedy built on stillness, twice over

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.

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle poster
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
2004 · dir. Danny Leiner
🍅 75%7comedy · adventure

Drama with a pulse of scale, in both cases

Nerdy accountant Harold and his irrepressible friend, Kumar, get stoned watching television and find themselves utterly bewitched by a commercial for White Castle. Convinced there must be one nearby, the two set out on a late-night odyssey that takes them deep into New Jersey. Somehow, the boys manage to run afoul of rednecks, cops and even a car-stealing Neil Patrick Harris before getting anywhere near their beloved sliders.

The Favourite poster
The Favourite
2018 · dir. Yorgos Lanthimos
🍅 93%7.5history · comedy · drama

History approached the same way

England, early 18th century. The close relationship between Queen Anne and Sarah Churchill is threatened by the arrival of Sarah's cousin, Abigail Hill, resulting in a bitter rivalry between the two cousins to be the Queen's favourite.

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