Movies Like The Father and the Bear

If you liked The Father and the Bear (2016), a movie directed by John Putch, 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
Jay Kelly (2025)
★ 6.1/10
Famous movie actor Jay Kelly embarks on a journey of self-discovery, confronting both his past and present, accompanied by his devoted manager, Ron.
2
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…
3
Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind (2018)
★ 7.9/10
A funny, intimate and heartbreaking portrait of one of the world’s most beloved and inventive comedians, Robin Williams, told largely through his own words. Celebrates what he brought to comedy and to the culture at…
4
Rushmore (1998)
★ 7.4/10
When a beautiful first-grade teacher arrives at a prep school, she soon attracts the attention of an ambitious teenager named Max, who quickly falls in love with her. Max turns to the father of two of his schoolmates…
5
Danny Collins (2015)
★ 6.7/10
An ageing hard-living 1970s rock star decides to change his life when he discovers a 40-year-old undelivered letter written to him by John Lennon.
6
Theater Camp (2023)
★ 6.4/10
After the indomitable and beloved founder of a scrappy theater camp in upstate New York falls into a coma, the eccentric staff must band together with her clueless "crypto-bro" son to keep the thespian paradise afloat.
7
Edge of Seventeen (1999)
★ 6.5/10
1984, Sandusky, Ohio. A naive 17-year-old navigates heartbreak and self-expression as he explores his sexuality.
8
Christmas Encore (2017)
★ 5.9/10
A struggling actress is cast in her last off (off) Broadway show - a modern take on “A Christmas Carol” - before giving up her dream and moving home. Instead, she finds romance with her director and a renewed passion…
9
Mindhorn (2016)
★ 6.1/10
A washed up actor best known for playing the title character in the 1980s detective show "Mindhorn" must work with the police when a serial killer says that he will only speak with Detective Mindhorn, whom he believes…
10
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
★ 7.6/10
After high school slacker Ferris Bueller successfully fakes an illness in order to skip school for the day, he goes on a series of adventures throughout Chicago with his girlfriend Sloane and best friend Cameron, all…
11
STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie (2023)
★ 7.8/10
A short kid from a Canadian army base becomes the international pop culture darling of the 1980s—only to find the course of his life altered by a stunning diagnosis. What happens when an incurable optimist confronts an…
12
Bang the Drum Slowly (1973)
★ 6.1/10
The story of a New York pro baseball team and two of its players. Henry Wiggen is the star pitcher and Bruce Pearson is the normal, everyday catcher who is far from the star player on the team and friend to all of his…
13
The Great Escaper (2023)
★ 6.6/10
In the summer of 2014, a World War II veteran sneaks out of his care home to attend the 70th anniversary commemoration of the D-Day landings in Normandy.
14
Avanti! (1972)
★ 6.9/10
A successful businessman travels to Italy to arrange for the return of his tycoon father's body, only to learn that dear old dad died with his longtime mistress.
15
Supernova (2020)
★ 6.9/10
Sam and Tusker, partners of 20 years, are traveling across England in their old RV visiting friends, family and places from their past. Since Tusker was diagnosed with early-onset dementia two years ago, their time…
16
The Rocker (2008)
★ 6.1/10
In the 1980s, a drummer is abandoned by his band just before they become rock superstars. Twenty years later, the drummer sees his second chance at stardom arise when he is asked to perform with his teenage nephew's…
17
Memory (2023)
★ 7/10
Sylvia is a social worker who leads a simple and structured life: her daughter, her job, her AA meetings. This is blown open when Saul follows her home from their high school reunion. Their surprise encounter will…
18
One Crazy Summer (1986)
★ 6/10
An aspiring teenage cartoonist and his friends come to the aid of a singer trying to save her family property from developers.
19
The Muppets (2011)
★ 6.7/10
When Kermit the Frog and the Muppets learn that their beloved theater is slated for demolition, a sympathetic human, Gary, and his felt-faced brother, Walter, swoop in to help the gang put on a telethon show and raise…
20
Collateral Beauty (2016)
★ 7.2/10
Retreating from life after a tragedy, a man questions the universe by writing to Love, Time and Death. Receiving unexpected answers, he begins to see how these things interlock and how even loss can reveal moments of…