Movies Like High Hopes (1989)

High Hopes is a 1989 comedy, drama film from Mike Leigh with a MovieMagicScore of 7.0/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Parasite and Life Is Sweet.

Comedy Drama

Parasite

2019

All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.

8.5

MagicScore

Life Is Sweet

1990

Just north of London live Wendy, Andy, and their twenty-something twins, Natalie and Nicola. Wendy clerks in a shop, Andy is a cook who forever puts off home remodeling projects, Natalie is a plumber and Nicola is jobless. This film is about how they interact and play out family, conflict and love.

7.0

MagicScore

Bulgarian Lovers

2003

Graying Spaniard Daniel has a healthy budget for indulging in the finer things in life. Daniel's favorite luxury is playing sponsor to younger men amid the lights and sights of Madrid's gay club scene. After Daniel shares a night with handsome Bulgarian emigre Kyril, he finds himself consumed with an insatiable lust for the charismatic foreigner. But, as their relationship takes shape, Daniel's latest conquest reveals his own manipulative tendencies.

5.4

MagicScore

Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven

1975

After a worker kills a superior and commits suicide, each of his family members attempts to forge a path forward in life.

7.6

MagicScore

Pelle the Conqueror

1987

In the late 19th century, two Swedish emigrants, Lasse Karlsson and his son Pelle, arrive on the Danish island of Bornholm hoping to find work on a farm and save enough money to travel to the United States of America.

7.3

MagicScore

I'm All Right Jack

1959

Naive Stanley Windrush looks for a career in a family business. Much to his dismay, he finds work at a munitions factory where he has to start from the bottom, while both the management and the labor union use him as a tool in their fight for power.

6.6

MagicScore

Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham

2001

Years after his father disowns his adopted brother for marrying a woman of lower social standing, a young man goes on a mission to reunite his family.

7.7

MagicScore

My Beautiful Laundrette

1985

A young Pakistani Briton manages a rundown laundrette with his lover while dealing with tension in his family, the local Pakistani community, and a persistent mob of skinheads.

6.7

MagicScore

Meantime

1983

A working-class family in London's East End is struggling to stay afloat during the recession under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's premiership. Only the mother Mavis is working; father Frank and the couple's two sons Colin, a timid, chronically shy individual and Mark, an outspoken, headstrong young man, are on the dole. This situation is contrasted by the presence of Mavis's sister Barbara, and her husband John, whose financial and social loftiness appears to be a comfortable facade over the unspoken soreness of a lackluster marriage.

6.7

MagicScore

#10

Steptoe & Son Ride Again

1973

Albert Steptoe and his son Harold are rag-and-bone men, complete with horse and cart to tour the neighbourhood. They also live amicably together at the junk yard. Always on the lookout for ways to improve his lot, Harold invests his father's life savings in a greyhound who is almost blind and can't see the hare. When the dog loses a race and Harold has to pay off the debt, he comes up with another bright idea. Collect his father's life insurance. To do this his father must pretend to be dead.

6.8

MagicScore

#11

Seance on a Wet Afternoon

1964

Working-class British housewife Myra Savage reinvents herself as a medium, holding seances in the sitting room of her home with the hidden assistance of her under-employed, asthmatic husband, Billy. In an attempt to enhance her credibility as a psychic, Myra hatches an elaborate, ill-conceived plot to kidnap a wealthy couple's young daughter so that she can then help the police "find" the missing girl.

7.2

MagicScore

#12

All or Nothing

2002

Penny works at a supermarket and Phil is a gentle taxi-driver. Penny’s love for Phil has run dry and they lead joyless lives with their two children, Rachel, a cleaner, and Rory, who is unemployed and aggressive.

7.0

MagicScore

#13

Nil by Mouth

1997

The family of Raymond, his wife Val and her brother Billy live in working-class London district. Also in their family is Val and Billy's mother Janet and grandmother Kath. Billy is a drug addict and Raymond kicks him out of the house, making him live on his own. Raymond is generally a rough and even violent person, and that leads to problems in the life of the family.

6.8

MagicScore

#14

Howards End

1992

A saga of class relations and changing times in an Edwardian England on the brink of modernity, the film centers on liberal Margaret Schlegel, who, along with her sister Helen, becomes involved with two couples: wealthy, conservative industrialist Henry Wilcox and his wife Ruth, and the downwardly mobile working-class Leonard Bast and his mistress Jackie.

7.0

MagicScore

#15

A Damsel in Distress

1937

Lady Alyce Marshmorton must marry soon, and the staff of Tottney Castle have laid bets on who she'll choose, with young Albert wagering on 'Mr. X'. After Alyce goes to London to meet a beau she is restricted to the castle to curb her scandalous behavior. Albert then summons Jerry to Alyce's aid in order to 'protect his investment'.

6.5

MagicScore

#16

Bedlam

1946

London, 1761. St. Mary's of Bethlehem, a sinister madhouse, is visited by wealthy people who enjoy watching the patients confined there as if they were caged animals. Nell Bowen, one of the visitors, is horrified by the deplorable living conditions of the unfortunate inhabitants of this godforsaken place, better known as Bedlam.

6.5

MagicScore

#17

Sing Street

2016

A boy growing up in Dublin during the 1980s escapes his strained family life by starting a band to impress the mysterious girl he likes.

7.9

MagicScore

#18

Husbands

1970

A common friend's sudden death brings three men, married with children, to reconsider their lives and ultimately leave the country together. But mindless enthusiasm for regained freedom will be short-lived.

6.7

MagicScore

#19

Bend It Like Beckham

2002

Jess Bhamra, the daughter of a strict Indian couple in London, is not permitted to play organized soccer, even though she is 18. When Jess is playing for fun one day, her impressive skills are seen by Jules Paxton, who then convinces Jess to play for her semi-pro team. Jess uses elaborate excuses to hide her matches from her family while also dealing with her romantic feelings for her coach, Joe.

6.3

MagicScore

#20

Harold and Maude

1971

The young Harold lives in his own world of suicide-attempts and funeral visits to avoid the misery of his current family and home environment. Harold meets an 80-year-old woman named Maude who also lives in her own world yet one in which she is having the time of her life. When the two opposites meet they realize that their differences don’t matter and they become best friends and love each other.

7.6

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like High Hopes?

The top films similar to High Hopes by MovieMagicScore are Parasite (8.5), Life Is Sweet (7.0), Bulgarian Lovers (5.4). Each shares comedy/drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is High Hopes worth watching?

High Hopes holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.0/10 from 95 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is High Hopes?

High Hopes (1989) is a comedy, drama film directed by Mike Leigh, starring Phil Davis, Ruth Sheen, Edna Doré.

Where can I find more recommendations like High Hopes?

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 Parasite Movies like Life Is Sweet Movies like Bulgarian Lovers Movies like Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven Movies like Pelle the Conqueror Movies like I'm All Right Jack

About movies like High Hopes

This ranked list pairs High Hopes (1989), a comedy and drama film from Mike Leigh, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Phil Davis 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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