Movies Like Hard Lessons

If you liked Hard Lessons (2016), a movie directed by Michael Burling and John Smith, 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
Welcome to Chechnya (2020)
★ 7/10
This searing investigative work shadows a group of activists risking unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ program raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic. Unfettered access and a…
2
The Living End (1992)
★ 6.7/10
Two HIV-positive young men — a semi-employed film critic and a hot hustler — tear off on a cross-country crime spree.
3
The Overnight (2015)
★ 5.9/10
Alex, Emily, and their son, RJ, are new to Los Angeles. A chance meeting at the park introduces them to the mysterious Kurt, Charlotte, and Max. A family “playdate” becomes increasingly interesting as the night goes on.
4
Heavy Traffic (1973)
★ 6.5/10
A white dropout struggles to become a cartoonist and filmmaker, drawing inspiration from the harsh, gritty world around him. Still sharing his rundown apartment with his middle-aged parents, an oafish slob of an…
5
King Cobra (2016)
★ 5.8/10
It’s 2006, YouTube is in its infancy, and internet porn is still behind a paywall. Taking the stage name Brent Corrigan, a fresh-faced, wannabe adult video performer is molded into a star by Stephen, a closeted gay…
6
Original Sin (2001)
★ 6.2/10
A young man is plunged into a life of subterfuge, deceit and mistaken identity in pursuit of a femme fatale whose heart is never quite within his grasp.
7
V/H/S/94 (2021)
★ 6.1/10
After the discovery of a mysterious VHS tape, a brutish police SWAT team launches a high-intensity raid on a remote warehouse, only to discover a sinister cult compound whose collection of pre-recorded material…
8
Shortbus (2006)
★ 6.2/10
In post-9/11 New York City, an eclectic group of citizens find their lives entangled, personally, romantically, and sexually, at Shortbus, an underground Brooklyn salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics…
9
V/H/S/99 (2022)
★ 5.8/10
A thirsty teenager's home video leads to a series of horrifying revelations, harkening back to the final punk rock analog days of VHS, while taking one giant leap forward into the hellish new millennium.
10
Pink Flamingos (1972)
★ 6.1/10
Notorious Baltimore criminal and underground figure Divine goes up against Connie & Raymond Marble, a sleazy married couple who make a passionate attempt to humiliate her and seize her tabloid-given title as "The…
11
South Park (Not Suitable for Children) (2023)
★ 7.4/10
After it's discovered that a teacher at South Park Elementary has an OnlyFans page, Randy is compelled to take a closer look at the seedy underbelly of the world of online influencers.
12
Your Friends & Neighbors (1998)
★ 5.8/10
Restless and unhappy, two couples get caught up in infidelity and deception. Barry is a sullen businessman married to Mary, a writer who is unsatisfied with their relationship. Mary begins an affair with Jerry, a smug…
13
V/H/S (2012)
★ 6.1/10
When a group of misfits is hired by an unknown third party to burglarize a desolate house and acquire one rare VHS tape, they discover more found footage than they had bargained for.
14
Infinity Pool (2023)
★ 6/10
While staying at an isolated island resort, James and Em are enjoying a perfect vacation of pristine beaches, exceptional staff, and soaking up the sun. But guided by the seductive and mysterious Gabi, they venture…
15
Road House (1989)
★ 6.8/10
The Double Deuce is the meanest, loudest and rowdiest bar south of the Mason-Dixon Line, and Dalton has been hired to clean it up. He might not look like much, but the Ph.D.-educated bouncer proves he's more than…
16
Below Her Mouth (2017)
★ 6.8/10
An unexpected affair quickly escalates into a heart-stopping reality for two women whose passionate connection changes their lives forever.
17
The Little Death (2014)
★ 6.7/10
A comedy film that looks into the loosely connected lives of people with strange sexual fantasies.
18
Poison (1991)
★ 6/10
A trio of interweaved transgressive tales, telling a bizarre stories of suburban patricide and a miraculous flight from justice, a mad sex experiment which unleashes a disfiguring plague, and the obsessive sexual…
19
Strange Darling (2024)
★ 6.9/10
Nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.
20
Kinds of Kindness (2024)
★ 6.5/10
A triptych fable following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman…