Movies Like Cautionary Tale

If you liked Cautionary Tale (2023), a comedy and drama movie directed by Christopher Zawadzki, 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
School Dance (2014)
★ 7.4/10Also comedy and music
High schooler Jason has found his dream girl—the gorgeous Anastacia. There’s just one problem: she doesn’t know he exists. If he can win a spot on the school’s hottest dance crew, Jason might have a shot. But before he…
2
Krush Groove (1985)
★ 6.4/10Also comedy and drama
Russell Walker is a young, successful manager of rap performers, handling acts for the Krush Groove label, including Run-DMC and The Fat Boys. When Run-D.M.C. has a hit record and Russell needs more money to press more…
3
Clika (2026)
★ 8.3/10Also music and drama
Aspiring small-town musician Chito is determined to make it big. When a clip of him performing one of his songs goes viral, he seizes the opportunity and pushes to carve out a place for himself in the new wave of…
4
Grace of My Heart (1996)
★ 6/10Also comedy and drama
Philadelphia teenager Edna Buxton wins a talent contest during the early rock 'n' roll era, changes her name to Denise Waverly and moves to New York City to make it big. Though she flops as a recording artist…
5
Coda (2020)
★ 6.1/10Also music and drama
A famous pianist at the twilight of his career meets a free-spirited music critic who soon becomes his rock as his mental state deteriorates.
6
Metal Lords (2022)
★ 6.8/10Also comedy and drama
For teenage misfits Hunter and Kevin, the path to glory is clear: Devote themselves to metal. Win Battle of the Bands. And be worshipped like gods.
7
10,000 Saints (2015)
★ 6/10Also comedy and drama
A sweeping multigenerational story set against the backdrop of the raw, roaring New York City of the late 1980s; adoption, teen pregnancy, drugs, hardcore punk rock, the unbridled optimism and reckless stupidity of the…
8
Moxie (2021)
★ 7.2/10Also comedy and drama
Inspired by her mom's rebellious past and a confident new friend, a shy 16-year-old publishes an anonymous zine calling out sexism at her school.
9
Power Ballad (2026)
★ 7.1/10Also comedy and music
When Rick, a past-his-prime wedding singer, meets fading boy-band star Danny during a gig, the two bond over music and a late-night jam session. But when Danny turns one of Rick’s songs into the hit that reignites his…
10
Don't Say Good Luck (2026)
★ 7.3/10Also comedy and music
Sophie Birenbaum is ready for the spotlight as the lead in her high school musical—until she's suddenly facing more drama at home than on the stage.
11
One Chance (2013)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and comedy
This film follows the remarkable and inspirational true story of Paul Potts, a shy, bullied shop assistant by day and an amateur opera singer by night.
12
Drumline: A New Beat (2014)
★ 6.8/10Also music and comedy
A girl from New York attends a college in Atlanta to join their once-famous marching band.
13
Feel the Beat (2020)
★ 7.5/10Also comedy and music
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.
14
Treasure (2024)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and comedy
A music journalist accompanies her father, a charmingly stubborn Holocaust survivor, on a journey to his homeland. While she's eager to make sense of her family's past, her dad has an agenda of his own.
15
God Help the Girl (2014)
★ 6.5/10Also comedy and drama
Eve is a catastrophe—low on self-esteem but high on fantasy, especially when it comes to music. Over the course of one Glasgow summer, she meets two similarly rootless souls: posh Cass and fastidious James, and…
16
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970)
★ 6.1/10Also comedy and drama
An all-girl rock band moves to Hollywood in the hope of achieving success, only to fall into a whirlpool of wickedness and decadence.
17
Honey: Rise Up and Dance (2018)
★ 6.9/10Also music and drama
Street dancer Skyler comes out of the shadow of her trained dancer sister, Tosha, & joins a dance competition with the Honey dance studio; the prize is a college scholarship.
18
Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
★ 6.8/10Also comedy and drama
In the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman.
19
The Good Half (2024)
★ 6.2/10Also comedy and drama
Renn Wheeland returns home to Cleveland for his mother's funeral. Once there, he forges new relationships while healing old ones, before confronting his problems and trying to face his grief.
20
Mickybo and Me (2005)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and comedy
The film tells the story of two boys who become friends at the start of the Troubles in 1970. The boys share an obsession with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, with the consequence that they run away to Australia.