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Movies that feel like The Idiots (1998)

If you loved The Idiots, the closest films we have are The Boss of It All (2006), Pieces of April (2003) and Smoke (1995). All three share The Idiots' witty and playful feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 6 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Amazon Prime Video, MUBI and OVID and others, checked against today's data.

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

๐Ÿ… 73% Rotten Tomatoesโ˜… 6.7 IMDb โ†—TMDB โ†—dir. Lars von Trierwittyplayfulcontemplative
Stream it:MUBI โ†—
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If The Idiots hit the spot, these will too

The Boss of It All poster
The Boss of It All
2006 ยท dir. Lars von Trier
๐Ÿ… 74%โ˜… 6.6comedy

Both are Lars von Trier's work, and they rhyme

The difference: Not nearly as contemplative as The Idiots

The owner of an Information Technology firm wants to sell his business for profit. The trouble is that when he started his firm he invented a nonexistent company president to hide behind when unpopular steps needed to be taken. When potential purchasers insist on negotiating with the "Boss" face to face the owner has to hire a failed actor to play the part.

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Pieces of April poster
Pieces of April
2003 ยท dir. Peter Hedges
๐Ÿ… 83%โ˜… 7comedy ยท drama

The same mix in both: wit, then play

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.

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Smoke poster
Smoke
1995 ยท dir. Wayne Wang
๐Ÿ… 89%โ˜… 7.4comedy ยท drama

Contemplative comedy 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.

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Whisky poster
Whisky
2004 ยท dir. Juan Pablo Rebella
๐Ÿ… 100%โ˜… 7.1comedy ยท drama

Both lean on wit more than on drama

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

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.

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Day of the Wacko poster
Day of the Wacko
2002 ยท dir. Marek Koterski
โ˜… 8.1comedy ยท drama

Comedy with a pulse of play, in both cases

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.

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Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. poster
Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.
2003 ยท dir. Rajkumar Hirani
โ˜… 8.1comedy ยท drama

Drama built on stillness, twice over

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

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Soul Kitchen poster
Soul Kitchen
2009 ยท dir. Fatih Akin
๐Ÿ… 73%โ˜… 7.2drama ยท comedy

Witty comedy, and it commits to that

In Hamburg, German-Greek chef Zinos unknowingly disturbs the peace in his locals-only restaurant by hiring a more talented chef.

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The Trip poster
The Trip
2011 ยท dir. Michael Winterbottom
๐Ÿ… 89%โ˜… 7comedy ยท drama

Both lean on play more than on drama

When Steve Coogan is asked by The Observer to tour the country's finest restaurants, he envisions it as the perfect getaway with his beautiful girlfriend. But, when she backs out on him, he has no one to accompany him but his best friend and source of eternal aggravation, Rob Brydon.

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Sunshine Cleaning poster
Sunshine Cleaning
2008 ยท dir. Christine Jeffs
๐Ÿ… 74%โ˜… 6.8comedy ยท drama

Both sit in the same contemplative register

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 โ€“ a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service.

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Gloria poster
Gloria
2013 ยท dir. Sebastiรกn Lelio
๐Ÿ… 100%โ˜… 6.9comedy ยท drama

Both know what they want from comedy

Gloria is a 58-year-old divorcรฉe. Her children have all left home but she has no desire to spend her days and nights alone. Determined to defy old age and loneliness, she rushes headlong into a whirl of singlesโ€™ parties on the hunt for instant gratification โ€“ which only leads to repeated disappointment and enduring emptiness. But when Gloria meets Rodolfo, an ex-naval officer seven years her senior, she begins to imagine the possibility of a permanent relationship.

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Le Week-End poster
Le Week-End
2013 ยท dir. Roger Michell
๐Ÿ… 89%โ˜… 6.4comedy ยท drama

Drama of the same temperament

Nick and Meg Burrows return to Paris, the city where they honeymooned, to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary and rediscover some romance in their long-lived marriage. The film follows the couple as long-established tensions in their marriage break out in humorous and often painful ways.

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The Night Before the Exams poster
The Night Before the Exams
2006 ยท dir. Fausto Brizzi
โ˜… 6.4comedy ยท drama

Both play comedy straight

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...

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