Movies Like Swimming to Cambodia (1987)

Swimming to Cambodia is a 1987 comedy, documentary film from Jonathan Demme with a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with George Carlin: On Campus and Bathtubs Over Broadway.

Comedy Documentary

George Carlin: On Campus

1984

George Carlin hits the boards with the former Hippie-Dippie Weatherman's take on Brooklynese pronunciations of the names of sexually transmitted disease ("hoipes"), plus a prayer for the separation of church and state, feuds between breakfast foods, and the absurdity of wearing jungle camouflage in a desert.

7.3

MagicScore

Bathtubs Over Broadway

2018

When he started as a comedy writer for the Late Show with David Letterman, Steve Young had few interests and not many friends outside of his day job. But while gathering material for a segment on the show, Steve stumbled onto a few vintage record albums that would change his life forever.

8.1

MagicScore

Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic

2013

Mike Epps, Richard Pryor Jr. and others recount the culture-defining influence of Richard Pryor - one of America's most brilliant, iconic comic minds.

7.0

MagicScore

Charlotte's Web

2006

Wilbur the pig is scared of the end of the season, because he knows that come that time, he will end up on the dinner table. He hatches a plan with Charlotte, a spider that lives in his pen, to ensure that this will never happen.

6.2

MagicScore

Sans Soleil

1983

A woman narrates the thoughts of a world traveler, meditations on time and memory expressed in words and images from places as far-flung as Japan, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, and San Francisco.

7.4

MagicScore

Given

2017

A young family leaves their home on Kauai. It is time to return to the itinerant path from which all things in their uncommon lives come; beginning and ending on a remote dot in the Pacific. They nomadically trace continents to places where waves meet their edges, envoys of aloha. It is what they will learn, what they bring others, what they will pass on to their children in the hyper-expanded classroom, the lab of direct being; a legacy passed from a father to his family.

7.4

MagicScore

The Endless Summer

1966

Bruce Brown's The Endless Summer is one of the first and most influential surf movies of all time. The film documents American surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August as they travel the world during California’s winter (which, back in 1965 was off-season for surfing) in search of the perfect wave and ultimately, an endless summer.

7.1

MagicScore

Valparaiso

1964

In 1962 Joris Ivens was invited to Chile for teaching and filmmaking. Together with students he made …A Valparaíso, one of his most poetic films. Contrasting the prestigious history of the seaport with the present the film sketches a portrait of the city, built on 42 hills, with its wealth and poverty, its daily life on the streets, the stairs, the rack railways and in the bars. Although the port has lost its importance, the rich past is still present in the impoverished city. The film echoes this ambiguous situation in its dialectical poetic style, interweaving the daily life reality (of 1963) with the history of the city and changing from black and white to colour, finally leaving us with hopeful perspective for the children who are playing on the stairs and hills of this beautiful town.

7.0

MagicScore

Darby O'Gill and the Little People

1959

A wily old codger matches wits with the King of the Leprechauns and helps play matchmaker for his daughter and the strapping lad who has replaced him as caretaker.

6.6

MagicScore

#10

Jungle Book

1942

Mowgli, lost in the jungle when a toddler, raised by wolves, years later happens upon his human village and reconnects with its inhabitants, including his widowed mother. Continuing to maintain a relationship with the jungle, adventures follow.

6.3

MagicScore

#11

The Love Letter

1998

20th century computer games designer Scott, Civil War buff, buys an antique desk from that era and, while polishing it, he discovers a secret compartment in which sits an unmailed letter--a letter written by a young poet named Lizzie over a century earlier. Touched by her yearning for passion, he writes her back, egged on by his mystically inclined mother. Magically, his letter reaches Lizzie and they begin a correspondence that threatens Scott's impending marriage but promises to bring fulfilment to Lizzie. Spanning the Civil War to the present, the perils of Lizzie's war-torn situation threaten her safe passage into the future. Will their love endure the test of time?

6.4

MagicScore

#12

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

2007

Benjamin Franklin Gates and Abigail Chase re-team with Riley Poole and, now armed with a stack of long-lost pages from John Wilkes Booth's diary, Ben must follow a clue left there to prove his ancestor's innocence in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

6.4

MagicScore

#13

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

2023

A rich man learns about a guru who can see without using his eyes. He sets out to master the skill in order to cheat at gambling.

7.2

MagicScore

#14

Hate by Dani Rovira

2021

An uncensored monologue by Dani Rovira about today's society.

7.0

MagicScore

#15

Tamasha

2015

Meeting while on vacation, Ved and Tara sense a connection but vow to keep their real identities a secret. Years later, their paths cross again.

6.9

MagicScore

#16

Ten Canoes

2006

A story within a story within a story. In Australia's Northern Territory, an Aboriginal narrator tells a story about his ancestors on a goose hunt. A youngster on the hunt is being tempted to adultery with his elder brother's wife, so an elder tells him a story from the mythical past about how evil can slip in and cause havoc unless prevented by virtue according to customary tribal law.

6.7

MagicScore

#17

Mysterious Object at Noon

2000

A camera crew travels through Thailand asking villagers to invent the next chapter of an ever-growing story.

6.4

MagicScore

#18

Hans Christian Andersen

1952

A small-town shoemaker with a knack for spinning yarns, Hans encounters happiness and heartbreak on his road to becoming a full-fledged writer.

6.2

MagicScore

#19

The Mexican

2001

Jerry Welbach, a reluctant bagman, has been given two ultimatums: The first is from his mob boss to travel to Mexico and retrieve a priceless antique pistol, known as "the Mexican"... or suffer the consequences. The second is from his girlfriend Samantha to end his association with the mob. Jerry figures alive and in trouble with Samantha is better than the more permanent alternative, so he heads south of the border.

5.9

MagicScore

#20

Scare Me

2020

During a power outage, two strangers tell scary stories. The more Fred and Fanny commit to their tales, the more the stories come to life in the dark of a Catskills cabin. The horrors of reality manifest when Fred confronts his ultimate fear: Fanny is the better storyteller.

5.8

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Swimming to Cambodia?

The top films similar to Swimming to Cambodia by MovieMagicScore are George Carlin: On Campus (7.3), Bathtubs Over Broadway (8.1), Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic (7.0). Each shares comedy/documentary themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Swimming to Cambodia worth watching?

Swimming to Cambodia holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10 from 26 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Swimming to Cambodia?

Swimming to Cambodia (1987) is a comedy, documentary film directed by Jonathan Demme, starring Spalding Gray, Sam Waterston, Ira Wheeler.

Where can I find more recommendations like Swimming to Cambodia?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more comedy recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like George Carlin: On Campus Movies like Bathtubs Over Broadway Movies like Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic Movies like Charlotte's Web Movies like Sans Soleil Movies like Given

About movies like Swimming to Cambodia

This ranked list pairs Swimming to Cambodia (1987), a comedy and documentary film from Jonathan Demme, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Spalding Gray take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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