feelsalike.com

Movies that feel like Shakespeare in Love (1998)

If you loved Shakespeare in Love, the closest films we have are Rang De Basanti (2006), Hitch (2005) and Barfi! (2012). All three share Shakespeare in Love's romantic and tender feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 7 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu and others, checked against today's data.

Young William Shakespeare is forced to stage his latest comedy, 'Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter', before it's even written. When lovely noblewoman Viola de Lesseps auditions for a role, they fall into forbidden love — and Shakespeare's play finds a new life (and title). As their relationship intensifies, the comedy soon transforms into tragedy.

🍅 93% Rotten Tomatoes7.1 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. John Maddenromantictenderepicwittyplayfulcontemplative
Stream it:Paramount+
See it on the map

When is Shakespeare in Love streaming? →

If Shakespeare in Love hit the spot, these will too

Rang De Basanti poster
Rang De Basanti
2006 · dir. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
8.1comedy · drama · history

Romantic where it counts, tender underneath

After a group of friends graduate from Delhi University, they listlessly haunt their old campus, until a British filmmaker casts them in a film she's making about freedom fighters under British rule. Although the group is largely apolitical, the tragic death of a friend owing to local government corruption awakens their patriotism. Inspired by the freedom fighters they represent in the film, the friends collectively decide to avenge the killing.

Feels alike?
Hitch poster
Hitch
2005 · dir. Andy Tennant
🍅 68%6.6comedy · drama · romance

Common ground: romantic

The difference: Reviewed a good deal more coolly

Dating coach Alex 'Hitch' Hitchens mentors a bumbling client, Albert, who hopes to win the heart of the glamorous Allegra Cole. While Albert makes progress, Hitch faces his own romantic setbacks when proven techniques fail to work on Sara Melas, a tabloid reporter digging for dirt on Allegra Cole's love life. When Sara discovers Hitch's connection to Albert – now Allegra's boyfriend – it threatens to destroy both relationships.

Feels alike?
Barfi! poster
Barfi!
2012 · dir. Anurag Basu
🍅 81%8.1drama · romance · comedy

One thread runs through both: romantic

The difference: Missing the scale of Shakespeare in Love

The heartwarming tale of Barfi, a charming deaf-mute young man from 1970s Darjeeling, and two unalike women who can't help but fall for him.

Feels alike?
Letters to Juliet poster
Letters to Juliet
2010 · dir. Gary Winick
🍅 42%6.5comedy · drama · romance

Witty and playful in the same breath

An American girl on vacation in Italy finds an unanswered "letter to Juliet" -- one of thousands of missives left at the fictional lover's Verona courtyard, which are typically answered by the "secretaries of Juliet" -- and she goes on a quest to find the lovers referenced in the letter.

Feels alike?
Late Marriage poster
Late Marriage
2001 · dir. Dover Koshashvili
🍅 88%7.1comedy · drama · romance

Romance built on stillness, twice over

Zaza is a 31-year old Israeli bachelor, handsome and intelligent, and his family wants to see him married. But tradition dictates that Zaza has to choose a young virgin. She must be beautiful and from a good family, preferably rich. Zaza's parents, Yasha and Lily drag Zaza to meet potential brides and their families. Zaza has no choice. He plays along with his family, advocates of the suffocating traditions of their Georgian Jewish heritage. But Zaza always manages to somehow get out of being engaged. What his parents don't know is that Zaza is already in love. Judith is sensuous, strong and intriguing. She's also a divorcée with a 6-year-old daughter. So Zaza has kept Judith a secret from his family. He will have to choose between respect of the strict confines of family and tradition, or the love of his life.

Feels alike?
The Girl on the Bridge poster
The Girl on the Bridge
1999 · dir. Patrice Leconte
🍅 88%7.5drama · comedy · romance

Romantic comedy, and it commits to that

It's night on a Paris bridge. A girl leans over Seine River with tears in her eyes and a violent yearning to drown her sorrows. Out of nowhere someone takes an interest in her. He is Gabor, a knife thrower who needs a human target for his show. The girl, Adele, has never been lucky and nowhere else to go. So she follows him. They travel along the northern bank of the Mediterranean to perform.

Feels alike?
Bridget Jones's Diary poster
Bridget Jones's Diary
2001 · dir. Sharon Maguire
🍅 80%6.8comedy · romance · drama

London shapes both of them

Bridget Jones is an average woman struggling against expectations. As a New Year's resolution, Bridget decides to take control of her life, starting by keeping a diary in which she will always tell the complete truth. Her charming boss takes an interest in her, and she cannot stop running into a rather disagreeable acquaintance whom Bridget cannot help finding quietly attractive.

Feels alike?
Secretary poster
Secretary
2002 · dir. Steven Shainberg
🍅 78%6.9romance · drama · comedy

Drama with a pulse of tenderness, in both cases

A young woman, recently released from a mental hospital, gets a job as a secretary to a demanding lawyer, where their employer-employee relationship turns into a sexual, sadomasochistic one.

Feels alike?
Jodhaa Akbar poster
Jodhaa Akbar
2008 · dir. Ashutosh Gowariker
🍅 80%7.5romance · history · drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: 16th century

A sixteenth century love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a Mughal emperor and a Rajput princess.

Feels alike?
Home for the Holidays poster
Home for the Holidays
1995 · dir. Jodie Foster
🍅 63%6.6comedy · drama · romance

Both lean on wit more than on history

After losing her job, making out with her soon-to-be former boss, and finding out that her daughter plans to spend Thanksgiving with her boyfriend, Claudia Larson faces spending the holiday with her unhinged family.

Feels alike?
Jerry Maguire poster
Jerry Maguire
1996 · dir. Cameron Crowe
🍅 86%7.3comedy · drama · romance

Playful romance in both cases

Jerry Maguire used to be a typical sports agent: willing to do just about anything he could to get the biggest possible contracts for his clients, plus a nice commission for himself. Then, one day, he suddenly has second thoughts about what he's really doing. When he voices these doubts, he ends up losing his job and all of his clients, save Rod Tidwell, an egomaniacal football player.

Feels alike?
Strictly Ballroom poster
Strictly Ballroom
1992 · dir. Baz Luhrmann
7.2comedy · drama · romance

Comedy built on stillness, twice over

Brave new steps put Scott's career in jeopardy. With a new partner and determination, can he still succeed?

Feels alike?

In the mood for more romantic?

all romantic movies →

The best-reviewed films that share Shakespeare in Love’s defining feeling.