Movies Like Great Balls of Fire!

If you liked Great Balls of Fire! (1989), a drama and history movie directed by Jim McBride, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Almost Famous (2000)
★ 7.5/10Also drama and music
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…
2
Grace Unplugged (2013)
★ 6/10Also drama and music
A talented young singer and aspiring songwriter’s Christian faith and family ties are tested when she defies her worship-pastor father and pursues pop-music stardom in GRACE UNPLUGGED, a moving and inspiring new film…
3
Beyond the Sea (2004)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and music
Based on the life and career of legendary entertainer, Bobby Darin, the biopic moves back and forth between his childhood and adulthood, to tell the tale of his life.
4
The Jazz Singer (1927)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and music
A young Jewish man is torn between tradition and individuality when his old-fashioned family objects to his career as a jazz singer. This is the first full length feature film to use synchronized sound, and is the…
5
Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022)
★ 7/10Also music and drama
The joyous, emotional, heartbreaking celebration of the life and music of Whitney Houston, the greatest female R&B pop vocalist of all time. Tracking her journey from obscurity to musical superstardom.
6
What's Love Got to Do with It (1993)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and music
Singer Tina Turner rises to stardom while mustering the courage to break free from her abusive husband Ike.
7
La Bamba (1987)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and music
Los Angeles teenager Ritchie Valens becomes an overnight rock 'n' roll success in 1958, thanks to a love ballad called "Donna" that he wrote for his girlfriend. But as his star rises, Valens has conflicts with his…
8
Dreamgirls (2006)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and music
A trio of female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.
9
Elvis (2022)
★ 7.4/10Also music and history
The life story of Elvis Presley as seen through the complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
10
Teen Spirit (2019)
★ 6/10Also music and drama
A shy teenager living on the Isle of Wight dreams of pop stardom. With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a singing competition that will test her integrity, talent, and ambition.
11
Respect (2021)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and music
The rise of Aretha Franklin’s career from a child singing in her father’s church’s choir to her international superstardom.
12
Bravetown (2015)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and music
After an accidental drug overdose, a talented teenage DJ goes to live with his estranged father in a small Army town, where he gets to the bottom of his own pain and learns empathy for others.
13
Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
★ 7/10Also drama and music
In 1965, passionate musician Glenn Holland takes a day job as a high school music teacher, convinced it's just a small obstacle on the road to his true calling: writing a historic opus. As the decades roll by with the…
14
The Soloist (2009)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and music
A Los Angeles journalist befriends a homeless Juilliard-trained musician, while looking for a new article for the paper.
15
American Pop (1981)
★ 6.9/10Also music and drama
The history of American popular music runs parallel with the history of a Russian Jewish immigrant family, with each male descendant possessing different musical abilities.
16
Elvis (1979)
★ 6.9/10Also music and drama
This biopic traces Elvis Presley’s life from his impoverished childhood to his meteoric rise to stardom to his triumphant conquering of Las Vegas.
17
Janie Jones (2010)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and music
When a fading musician (Alessandro Nivola) learns he has a teenage daughter (Abigail Breslin) from a long-ago tryst, he’s forced to take her on tour after her mother checks into rehab.
18
I Saw the Light (2016)
★ 6.2/10Also music and drama
Singer and songwriter Hank Williams rises to fame in the 1940s, but alcohol abuse and infidelity take a toll on his career and marriage to fellow musician Audrey Mae Williams.
19
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and music
Bruce Springsteen, a young musician on the cusp of global superstardom, struggles to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past.
20
Newsies (1992)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and history
A week in the life of the exploited, child newspaper sellers in turn-of-the-century New York. When their publisher, Joseph Pulitzer, tries to squeeze a little more profit out of their labours, they organize a strike…