Movies Like Don't Be Desperate

If you liked Don't Be Desperate (2022), a movie directed by Yhá Mourhia Wright, 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
All About Eve (1950)
★ 8.1/10
From the moment she glimpses her idol at the stage door, Eve Harrington is determined to take the reins of power away from the great actress Margo Channing. Eve maneuvers her way into Margo's Broadway role, becomes a…
2
A Different Man (2024)
★ 6.9/10
Aspiring actor Edward undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. But his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare.
3
tick, tick... BOOM! (2021)
★ 7.6/10
On the brink of turning 30, a promising theater composer navigates love, friendship and the pressure to create something great before time runs out.
4
The Disaster Artist (2017)
★ 7.1/10
An aspiring actor in Hollywood meets an enigmatic stranger by the name of Tommy Wiseau, the meeting leads the actor down a path nobody could have predicted; creating the worst movie ever made.
5
Feel the Beat (2020)
★ 7.5/10
After failing to make it on Broadway, April returns to her hometown and reluctantly begins training a misfit group of young dancers for a competition.
6
Great Expectations (1998)
★ 6.7/10
Loosely based on the Charles Dickens' classic novel, "Great Expectations" is a sensual tale of a young man's unforgettable passage into manhood, and the three individuals who will undeniably change his life forever…
7
The Goodbye Girl (1977)
★ 7/10
After being dumped by her live-in boyfriend, an unemployed dancer and her 10-year-old daughter are reluctantly forced to live with a struggling off-Broadway actor.
8
Better Nate Than Ever (2022)
★ 6.5/10
13-year-old Nate Foster has big Broadway dreams but there’s only one problem — he can’t even land a part in the school play. When his parents leave town, Nate and his best friend Libby sneak off to the Big Apple for a…
9
Clouds (2020)
★ 8.2/10
Young musician Zach Sobiech discovers his cancer has spread, leaving him just a few months to live. With limited time, he follows his dream and makes an album, unaware that it will soon be a viral music phenomenon.
10
Riding in Cars with Boys (2001)
★ 6.7/10
In 1965, a young woman with dreams of becoming a writer has a son at the age of 15 and struggles to make things work with the drug-addicted father.
11
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
★ 7.4/10
A fading actor best known for his portrayal of a popular superhero attempts to mount a comeback by appearing in a Broadway play. As opening night approaches, his attempts to become more altruistic, rebuild his career…
12
A Place in the Sun (1951)
★ 7.3/10
A young social climber wins the heart of a beautiful heiress but his former girlfriend's pregnancy stands in the way of his ambition.
13
Black Swan (2010)
★ 7.7/10
A committed dancer struggles to maintain her sanity after winning the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake."
14
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025)
★ 6.6/10
Bruce Springsteen, a young musician on the cusp of global superstardom, struggles to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past.
15
If I Stay (2014)
★ 7.3/10
Mia Hall, a talented young cellist, thought the most difficult decision she would ever have to make would be whether to pursue her musical dreams at prestigious Juilliard or follow her heart to be with the love of her…
16
Sidelined: The QB and Me (2025)
★ 6.4/10
Dallas, a burdened but headstrong dancer, is determined to get into the best dance school in the country—her late mother’s alma mater. However, that dream is suddenly derailed when the cheeky yet secretly grieving…
17
Sweet Home Alabama (2002)
★ 6.4/10
New York fashion designer Melanie Carmichael suddenly finds herself engaged to the city's most eligible bachelor. But her past holds many secrets—including Jake, the redneck husband she married in high school, who…
18
Trick (1999)
★ 6.9/10
Gabriel is a young, aspiring musical composer whose life seems stuck in the First Act. When his new musical number gets a critical reception, a theatre colleague, Perry, tells Gabriel that he needs to get a life before…
19
Rent (2005)
★ 6.8/10
In New York City's gritty East Village, a group of bohemians strive for success and acceptance while enduring the obstacles of poverty, illness and the AIDS epidemic.
20
The Tender Trap (1955)
★ 6.2/10
A young actress flirts demurely with a swinging Manhattan bachelor who thinks he has it made.