Movies Like Heavenly Pursuits

If you liked Heavenly Pursuits (1986), a comedy and drama movie directed by Charles Gormley, 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
Bad Apples (2026)
★ 6.9/10Also comedy
A struggling primary school teacher is forced to take drastic action because of a foul-mouthed, violent student, and uncovers how her community will turn a blind eye to the most outrageous events to preserve harmony…
2
Driving Lessons (2006)
★ 6.1/10Also comedy and drama
A shy teenage boy trying to escape the influence of his domineering mother, has his world changed when he begins to work for a retired actress.
3
The Clique (2008)
★ 5.9/10Also comedy and drama
A young girl tries to fit in with a clique of popular middle school girls after moving into the guest house of one of their homes.
4
Macbeth (2015)
★ 6.4/10Also drama
Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the…
5
Georgetown (2019)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
Ulrich Mott is an eccentric and versatile social climber with grandiose plans to affect United States foreign policy. Encouraged in his attempts by his strategically chosen (and much older) wife, the well-connected…
6
Cracks (2009)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
Jealousy flares after the headmistress of an elite boarding school for girls becomes obsessed with a new student.
7
Panic (2000)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
Alex is going through a midlife crisis and it has become a very difficult time for him. His marriage is struggling, he's worried about his son, and his job of killing people for his family has become the most stressful…
8
Hounddog (2008)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
9
The Notorious Bettie Page (2006)
★ 6.3/10Also comedy and drama
Bettie Page grew up in a conservative religious family in Tennessee and became a photo model sensation in 1950s New York. Bettie's legendary pin-up photos made her the target of a Senate investigation into pornography…
10
The United States of Leland (2003)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
A withdrawn young man, Leland Fitzgerald is imprisoned for the murder of a mentally disabled boy, who also happened to be the brother of his girlfriend, Becky. As the community struggles to deal with the killing, Pearl…
11
Salomé (2013)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé…
12
One Night at McCool's (2001)
★ 5.9/10Also comedy
On an ordinary night, in an ordinary part of town, a beautiful young woman walks into a bar. Her name is Jewel, and before long she is chatting to bartender Randy. The pair leave together, but he ends up getting into a…
13
Beast (2026)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
MMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in one championship against the brutal…
14
Real Women Have Curves (2002)
★ 6.1/10Also comedy and drama
In East Los Angeles, an 18-year-old struggles between her ambitions of going to college and the desires of her domineering mother for her to get married, have children, and oversee the small, rundown family-owned…
15
Smoke (1995)
★ 7.2/10Also comedy and drama
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…
16
Jawbone (2017)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
A former youth boxing champion, Jimmy McCabe is a man in search of hope but looking in all the wrong places. When he hits rock bottom he turns to his childhood boxing club and the only family he has left: gym owner…
17
Rogue Agent (2022)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
18
Saint Ralph (2005)
★ 7.1/10Also comedy and drama
This Canadian made comedy/drama, set in Hamilton, Ontario in 1954, is a sweet and - at times - goofy story that becomes increasingly poignant as the minutes tick by. It's the fictional tale of a wayward 9th grader…
19
Freedom Writers (2007)
★ 7.9/10Also drama
A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.
20
Babes (2024)
★ 6/10Also comedy
After getting pregnant from a one-night stand, a single woman leans on her married best friend and mother of two to guide her through gestation and beyond.