Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for movies like Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass:
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie
There are four or five moments in Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie where my brain basically short-circuited, not because the movie is confusing, but because it feels borderline impossible that it exists at this scale with this kind of scrappy, “how did they pull that off?” energy. Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol have always had a particular talent for turning cringe into momentum and turning momentum into a full-on set piece. Here, they do it on a bigger canvas without sanding down what made Nirvanna the Band the Show special in the first place.
Read our full review of Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie
One of Them Days
Keke Palmer is undeniably magnetic, and One of Them Days serves as another showcase for her effortless charm and comedic timing. Directed by Lawrence Lamont, the film largely exists to let Palmer shine, and she doesn’t disappoint, carrying the movie’s 97-minute runtime with infectious energy.
The Dink
Whether you (or I) like it or not, pickleball was always destined to get its own movie. It’s become one of the fastest-growing sports in America, seemingly occupying every empty tennis court in the country over the last few years, so it was really only a matter of time before Hollywood shamelessly decided to capitalize on the trend. The Dink embraces that premise with exactly the amount of sincerity you’d expect, delivering a family-friendly sports comedy that occasionally lands some genuinely funny jokes, even if it never really figures out what it wants to be beyond the pickleball movie.
Coyote vs. Acme
The circumstances under which Coyote vs. Acme was finally released will probably overshadow much of the movie itself, although in a lot of ways, the two are inseparable. After Warner Bros. shelved the completed film as a tax write-off amid its own increasingly bizarre corporate machinations, Coyote vs. Acme became less of a movie than a cause célèbre for the people who believed audiences should actually get the chance to see it. The fact that Warner Bros. was willing to leave this on the shelf while releasing some of its far less defensible recent output only made the whole situation feel that much more absurd. Thankfully, Ketchup Entertainment eventually acquired the rights and gave it the theatrical release it deserved, meaning we can finally talk about Coyote vs. Acme as a movie instead of simply talking about Warner Bros.’ decision not to release it.
Roommates
You could certainly do way worse when it comes to straight-to-streaming teenage comedies than Happy Madison’s latest Netflix release Roommates, Sadie Sandler’s first turn as a starring actress in a feature film following smaller roles and cameos in a handful of her father Adam Sandler’s movies over the last few years. Both Sadie and Sunny Sandler have had their shots at Netflix projects in recent years, and the results, while still leaning into cameos and low-hanging jokes that I usually roll my eyes at in both Netflix and Happy Madison movies, have been rather promising.
Voicemails for Isabelle
Netflix’s track record with romantic comedies has been a bit rough over the last decade, to put it mildly. More often than not, they feel cheaply assembled, half-written, or filmed entirely in front of green screens and sound stages that never quite convince you anyone actually occupied the same room together. It’s gotten to the point where I find myself skipping most of them unless they’ve either been recommended by multiple people I trust or have performers and filmmakers attached that I already enjoy. Voicemails for Isabelle lands in the latter category.
Happy Gilmore 2
If Happy Gilmore 2 was trying to match the chaotic energy of its predecessor, it took the wrong lessons from the original. Rather than capturing the anarchic charm that made 1996’s Happy Gilmore such a cult classic, this long-gestating sequel trades in simplicity for excess, leaning hard into maximalist spectacle, celebrity cameos, and a softened version of Adam Sandler’s once-iconic character. The result? A bloated and misguided legacy sequel that feels more like a Netflix-branded content dump than a genuine continuation of a classic comedy.
Sacramento
Sacramento is a good-not-great entry into the buddy road trip genre. It won’t blow you away, but if you’re a fan of its cast—Michael Cera, Michael Angarano, and Kristen Stewart included—there’s enough charm here to make it worth the ride.
The Phoenician Scheme
The Phoenician Scheme finds Wes Anderson at perhaps his most emotionally direct since The Grand Budapest Hotel, yet without sacrificing the signature aesthetic and structural quirks that define his work. Where recent efforts like Asteroid City and The French Dispatch relied heavily on narrative framing devices, nested storytelling, and dense, text-heavy scripts, The Phoenician Scheme plays more like an emotional adventure story—a film that hits hardest on first viewing, even as it leaves behind layers to explore on rewatches.
A Minecraft Movie
A Minecraft Movie is a complete misfire—an example of what happens when a studio sees a brand, not a story. It fails both as an adaptation and as entertainment. It’s not funny, not charming, and not visually interesting. It’s just loud, dumb, and disposable. For a game that has inspired millions through endless creativity and player agency, this movie feels like the exact opposite: rigid, forced, and fundamentally joyless.
READ MORE: Movies Like Voicemails for Isabelle, Movies Like The Dink
