feelsalike.com

Movies that feel like The Sting (1973)

If you loved The Sting, the closest films we have are Mafioso (1962), Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958) and Bottle Rocket (1996). All three share The Sting's witty and playful feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 11 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and Paramount Plus Premium and others, checked against today's data.

A novice con man teams up with an acknowledged master to avenge the murder of a mutual friend by pulling off the ultimate big con and swindling a fortune from a big-time mobster.

πŸ… 93% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 8.2 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. George Roy Hillwittyplayfulgrittycontemplative

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

See it on the map

When is The Sting streaming? β†’

If The Sting hit the spot, these will too

Mafioso poster
Mafioso
1962 Β· dir. Alberto Lattuada
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.6crime Β· drama Β· comedy

Both land wit and play at once

When a good-natured factory supervisor living in Milan with his Northern wife returns to his native Sicily, a decades' old oath forces him to fulfill a nightmarish obligation.

Feels alike?
Big Deal on Madonna Street poster
Big Deal on Madonna Street
1958 Β· dir. Mario Monicelli
πŸ… 89%β˜… 7.9comedy Β· crime

Both keep coming back to the same thing: heist

The difference: None of the stillness The Sting is built on

Best friends Peppe and Mario are thieves, but they're not very good at it. Still, Peppe thinks that he's finally devised a master heist that will make them rich. With the help of some fellow criminals, he plans to dig a tunnel from a rented apartment to the pawnshop next door, where they can rob the safe. But his plan is far from foolproof, and the fact that no one in the group has any experience digging tunnels proves to be the least of their problems.

Feels alike?
Bottle Rocket poster
Bottle Rocket
1996 Β· dir. Wes Anderson
πŸ… 86%β˜… 6.9comedy Β· crime Β· drama

The same preoccupation in both: heist

The difference: 23 years apart, and the 1990s show

Upon his release from a mental hospital following a nervous breakdown, the directionless Anthony joins his friend Dignan, who seems far less sane than the former. Dignan has hatched a harebrained scheme for an as-yet-unspecified crime spree that somehow involves his former boss, the (supposedly) legendary Mr. Henry.

Feels alike?
Chicago poster
Chicago
2002 Β· dir. Rob Marshall
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7.2comedy Β· crime Β· drama

Common ground: chicago, illinois

Murderesses Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart find themselves on death row together and fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows in 1920s Chicago.

Feels alike?
My Name Is Nobody poster
My Name Is Nobody
1973 Β· dir. Tonino Valerii
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.3comedy Β· western

Comedy built on grit, twice over

The difference: Leans harder into western than The Sting does

Jack Beauregard, an aging gunman of the Old West, only wants to retire in peace and move to Europe, but a young gunfighter known as "Nobody" who idolizes Beauregard wants him to go out in a blaze of glory. So, he arranges for Jack to face the 150-man gang known as The Wild Bunch and earn his place in history.

Feels alike?
The Italian Job poster
The Italian Job
1969 Β· dir. Peter Collinson
πŸ… 82%β˜… 7.2crime Β· comedy Β· thriller

Both are built on the same subject: caper

The difference: Sits closer to thriller than The Sting does

Charlie's got a 'job' to do. Having just left prison he finds one of his friends has attempted a high-risk job in Torino, Italy, right under the nose of the mafia. Charlie's friend doesn't get very far, so Charlie takes over the 'job'. Using three Mini Coopers, a couple of Jaguars, and a bus, he hopes to bring Torino to a standstill, steal a fortune in gold and escape in the chaos.

Feels alike?
The Pink Panther poster
The Pink Panther
1963 Β· dir. Blake Edwards
πŸ… 89%β˜… 7comedy Β· crime

Witty crime, and it commits to that

The trademark of The Phantom, a renowned jewel thief, is a glove left at the scene of the crime. Inspector Clouseau, an expert on The Phantom's exploits, feels sure that he knows where The Phantom will strike next and leaves Paris for the Tyrolean Alps, where the famous Lugashi jewel 'The Pink Panther' is going to be. However, he does not know who The Phantom really is, or for that matter who anyone else really is...

Feels alike?
Support Your Local Sheriff! poster
Support Your Local Sheriff!
1969 Β· dir. Burt Kennedy
πŸ… 80%β˜… 7.4comedy Β· western

Playful drama in both cases

In the old west, a man becomes a Sheriff just for the pay, figuring he can decamp if things get tough.

Feels alike?
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid poster
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
1969 Β· dir. George Roy Hill
πŸ… 89%β˜… 8western Β· crime Β· drama

George Roy Hill directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

As the west rapidly becomes civilized, a pair of outlaws in 1890s Wyoming find themselves pursued by a posse and decide to flee to South America in hopes of evading the law.

Feels alike?
Police Academy poster
Police Academy
1984 Β· dir. Hugh Wilson
πŸ… 58%β˜… 6.7comedy Β· crime

Comedy with a pulse of grit, in both cases

The difference: Critics were much harder on this one

New rules enforced by the Lady Mayoress mean that sex, weight, height and intelligence need no longer be a factor for joining the Police Force. This opens the floodgates for all and sundry to enter the Police Academy, much to the chagrin of the instructors. Not everyone is there through choice, though. Social misfit Mahoney has been forced to sign up as the only alternative to a jail sentence and it doesn't take long before he falls foul of the boorish Lieutenant Harris. But before long, Mahoney realises that he is enjoying being a police cadet and decides he wants to stay... while Harris decides he wants Mahoney out!

Feels alike?
Bad Santa poster
Bad Santa
2003 Β· dir. Terry Zwigoff
πŸ… 78%β˜… 7drama Β· comedy Β· crime

Both lean on stillness more than on crime

You'd better watch out - Willie T. Soke is coming to town, and he doesn't care if you've been naughty or nice. Willie's favorite holiday tradition is to fill his sacks with loot lifted from shopping malls across the country. But this year his plot gets derailed by a wisecracking store detective, a sexy bartender, and a kid who's convinced Willie is the real Santa Claus.

Feels alike?
The Killing poster
The Killing
1956 Β· dir. Stanley Kubrick
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.9crime Β· thriller Β· drama

One thread runs through both: horse race

Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.

Feels alike?

In the mood for more witty?

all witty movies β†’

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