Movies Like The Ugly Duckling

If you liked The Ugly Duckling (2012), a drama and comedy movie directed by Kwak Kyung-taek, 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
Don't Think Twice (2016)
★ 6.4/10Also comedy and drama
An improv group deals with several crises, including the loss of their lease and one member hitting the big time.
2
The World of Love (2025)
★ 7.7/10Also drama and comedy
Jooin, a 17-year-old student confused by love, unleashes chaos with some words spoken in a moment of anger. Anonymous notes questioning her actions begin to arrive, altering her quiet life.
3
SubUrbia (1997)
★ 6.2/10Also comedy and drama
A group of suburban teenagers try to support each other through the difficult task of becoming adults.
4
The Foul King (2000)
★ 6.9/10Also comedy and drama
Dae-ho is a timid, unproductive, constantly harassed bank clerk. He starts secretly wrestling and adopts the persona of the cheating villain wrestler "The Foul King". He starts to stand up for himself but things soon…
5
My Own Love Song (2010)
★ 6.2/10Also comedy and drama
A wheelchair-bound singer and her best friend embark on a roadtrip to Memphis.
6
My Mother's Wedding (2025)
★ 6.1/10Also comedy and drama
Three sisters return to their home for the third wedding of their twice-widowed mother. But the mother and daughters are forced to revisit the past and confront the future, with help from a colorful group of unexpected…
7
The Parts You Lose (2019)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
8
Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous (2008)
★ 6.2/10Also comedy
When fluffy, bubble gum movie star Megan Valentine suddenly finds herself broke and humiliated in the public eye, she wanders from the wreckage of a car accident and witlessly enlists in the U.S. Army hoping in vain…
9
Chloe and Theo (2015)
★ 5.9/10Also comedy and drama
A young woman, Chloe, living by her wits on the streets of New York City, has a chance meeting with a wise Inuit Eskimo, Theo, who was sent to New York by his elders to provide a message to the people of the world – We…
10
Nothing in Common (1986)
★ 5.9/10Also drama and comedy
A successful advertising executive finds his freewheeling life crashing to a halt when his parents end their longtime marriage.
11
Benny & Joon (1993)
★ 7/10Also comedy and drama
A mentally ill young woman finds love with an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton.
12
Jonathan (2018)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
Jonathan is a young man with a strange condition that only his brother understands. But when he begins to yearn for a different life, their unique bond becomes increasingly tested.
13
The Paper Tigers (2020)
★ 6.7/10Also comedy
Three middle aged men polish their martial arts skills to avenge their fallen master.
14
Thunderstruck (2012)
★ 6.2/10Also comedy
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
15
What Maisie Knew (2013)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new…
16
A Dog Year (2009)
★ 6.1/10Also comedy and drama
Jon Katz is close to burnout. He's a writer with writer's block; his wife has left for her sister's because he's emotionally distant; he rarely answers his phone. A kennel sends him a border collie that's undisciplined…
17
The Middle Man (2021)
★ 6.1/10Also comedy and drama
Frank Farrelli takes on the job as a middle man in the God-forsaken town of Karmack, USA, a community in a depression so deep that they need a middle man to professionally communicate more of the bad news.
18
Savage House (2026)
★ 7/10Also comedy and drama
Against the backdrop of 18th century England, a massive pox outbreak, and Jacobite uprising – Sir Chauncey Savage and Lady Savage blindly pursue a better life. It's not without a tinge of irony that their family name…
19
Sunflower (2006)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
Tae-sik gets out of a prison after spending 10 years for killing a man and wishes nothing but an ordinary life. A local lady welcomes him into her household like a son and he gets a second chance in life. His former…
20
The Con Artists (2014)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
A wily safecracker is forced to help a mob boss pull off a $150 million heist, but smells a double-cross in the works.