If La La Land struck a chord with you, through its sweeping music, dream-chasing lovers, and heart-shattering finale, you’re probably searching for more films that blend romance, ambition, and melody. Whether it’s romantic musicals like La La Land or more movies with music and romance, this curated list captures that same emotional high. From modern musicals to bittersweet love stories, here are the movies similar to La La Land that deserve a spot on your watchlist.
Closest in Tone to La La Land
These films echo the emotional core and cinematic flair of La La Land—whether through musical storytelling, dreamer protagonists, or that signature bittersweet blend of hope and heartbreak.
1. Begin Again (2013)
Directed by: John Carney
Starring: Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo, Adam Levine
From the mind behind Once, this feel-good musical finds its soul in the backstreets of New York City. When a heartbroken indie singer crosses paths with a washed-up music producer, they record an album using the city as their studio—subway platforms, rooftops, park benches. The result? An intimate and vulnerable story about artistic rebirth, second chances, and healing without needing to fall in love. One of the most underrated movies with music and romance that mirrors La La Land’s quieter emotional beats.
2. Once (2007)
Directed by: John Carney
Starring: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová
A busker. A Czech flower-seller. A shared love of music. That’s all it takes for Once to sweep you off your feet. Set in Dublin, this indie masterpiece captures a fleeting emotional connection entirely through song. There’s no sweeping romance—just aching honesty and a shared moment of transcendence. If you’re hunting for romantic musicals like La La Land that feel grounded and real, Once is essential viewing.
3. Song to Song (2017)
Directed by: Terrence Malick
Starring: Rooney Mara, Ryan Gosling, Michael Fassbender, Natalie Portman
What if La La Land had no rules? Song to Song takes you there. Set in the Austin music scene, it follows artists drifting between love, betrayal, and reinvention—with Ryan Gosling once again playing a jazz-loving, emotionally wounded musician. Malick’s signature style—fragmented voiceovers, dreamy visuals—turns this into a moody meditation on connection. Among films similar to La La Land, this is the most avant-garde.
4. Tick, Tick… Boom! (2021)
Directed by: Lin-Manuel Miranda
Starring: Andrew Garfield
Before Rent, there was Jonathan Larson—and before La La Land, there was this film’s obsession with time, ambition, and legacy. Garfield gives a career-best performance as the tortured artist balancing rent, relationships, and the ticking clock of creative fulfillment. Whether you’re into modern musicals, emotional musical love stories, or just want to cry about your twenties—Tick, Tick… Boom! delivers.
5. A Star is Born (2018)
Directed by: Bradley Cooper
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga
This isn’t just about falling in love. It’s about how fame, addiction, and sacrifice can break even the deepest bond. Lady Gaga and Cooper burn with chemistry in this tragic musical drama that hits all the highs and devastating lows of creative romance. For fans of bittersweet love stories and jazz-themed films, this is one of the most essential movies like La La Land on the list.
For the Suffering Artists
If the part of La La Land that clung to you was the price of creative pursuit—the toll it takes on love, identity, and sanity—these films, similar to La La Land, go even deeper into that emotional trench. They’re not here to cheer you up. They’re here to wreck you beautifully.
6. Whiplash (2014)
Directed by: Damien Chazelle
Starring: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons
Before he made you cry with La La Land, Chazelle made you sweat with Whiplash. This brutal, drumstick-snapping psychological duel between an ambitious jazz drummer and a tyrannical instructor ditches romance for obsession. It’s about pushing yourself until you bleed—then pushing harder. A jarring entry among jazz-themed films, and a necessary watch if you’re fascinated by the dark side of greatness.
7. Blue Valentine (2010)
Directed by: Derek Cianfrance
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams
If La La Land left you misty-eyed at that montage, Blue Valentine will leave you destroyed. Told in alternating timelines, this raw, emotionally naked film charts a relationship from its electric beginning to its slow unraveling. Gosling and Williams disappear into their roles, giving us one of the most bittersweet love stories ever put to screen. No musical numbers here—just heartbreak with handheld intimacy.
8. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
Directed by: David O. Russell
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence
A romance about two damaged people trying to find footing in a world that doesn’t quite understand them. There’s dancing, sure, but the real performance lies in how these characters navigate grief, mental health, and family chaos. It’s funny, messy, and unfiltered—a dance of survival rather than celebration. If you’re craving movies with a similar vibe to La La Land, this one taps into that same unpredictable magic.
9. Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench (2009)
Directed by: Damien Chazelle
Starring: Jason Palmer, Desiree Garcia
Consider this the prototype for La La Land. Shot in grainy black-and-white on a tiny budget, Chazelle’s debut film is a love letter to old musicals filtered through modern malaise. The story is simple: a jazz trumpeter, a breakup, a slow rediscovery of passion. But the result is soulful, improvisational, and deeply personal—a must-see for anyone obsessed with dreamer love stories told in a minor key.
When You Just Want to Dance
These aren’t just musicals—they’re movements. If La La Land made you want to spin under streetlamps or belt out your feelings in traffic, these feel-good musical films will keep your toes tapping and heart full.
10. The Greatest Showman (2017)
Directed by: Michael Gracey
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Michelle Williams
This one doesn’t whisper, it roars. A glossy, pop-musical take on P.T. Barnum’s life, it’s all spectacle, glitter, and anthem-level empowerment ballads. While its historical accuracy is debatable, The Greatest Showman delivers on emotion, ambition, and choreography. If you’re looking for inspiring romantic musicals that unapologetically go big, this is it. The song “Rewrite the Stars”? A spiritual cousin to La La Land’s “City of Stars.”
11. Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Directed by: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor
High drama, high notes, and high camp. Baz Luhrmann’s maximalist masterpiece is a dizzying fusion of tragic love, pop remixes, and bohemian Paris aesthetics. McGregor plays the romantic idealist; Kidman, the doomed courtesan. Together, they burn bright, then fade fast. It’s operatic, chaotic, and heartbreakingly theatrical—a romantic musical like La La Land, if you turned the dial to 100.
12. In the Heights (2021)
Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Starring: Anthony Ramos, Melissa Barrera, Corey Hawkins
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ode to community, culture, and legacy is kinetic from the first frame. Set in a vibrant Washington Heights neighborhood, In the Heights weaves dreams and rhythms into one big summer celebration. Between rooftop dance numbers and emotionally charged ballads, it’s one of the most dynamic modern musicals—perfect for fans who wish La La Land had more ensemble energy.
13. Sing Street (2016)
Directed by: John Carney
Starring: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Lucy Boynton
Teen angst meets synth-pop glory. In the 1980s, Dublin, a young boy, starts a band to impress a mysterious girl, and accidentally creates some of the catchiest original music in any recent film. It’s a coming-of-age tale packed with scrappy charm and heartfelt rebellion. Think of it as La La Land’s younger, more rebellious sibling—one of the best movies like La La Land when you want joy with your heartbreak.
Stories About Love and Letting Go
Not every love story ends with a kiss. Some end with a memory, a lesson, or a painful choice. These films explore emotional musical love stories and bittersweet love stories where timing is the true villain.
14. The Spectacular Now (2013)
Directed by: James Ponsoldt
Starring: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley
Raw, unsentimental, and quietly devastating. This story of a high school party boy who falls for a shy classmate isn’t about grand gestures—it’s about growing up, letting go, and learning when love alone isn’t enough. With Miles Teller in an early career highlight, this film taps into the same love and ambition movie vibe as La La Land, just minus the jazz.
15. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)
Directed by: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Starring: Thomas Mann, Olivia Cooke, RJ Cyler
A story about a teen filmmaker, his dying classmate, and the movie they make together. Quirky and heartbreaking in equal measure, this film doesn’t rely on music but still resonates emotionally with the same kind of wistful finality La La Land fans know all too well. It’s not just about grief—it’s about how we use art to cope with it.
If you’ve been wondering what to watch if you liked La La Land, this is your playlist. From romantic musicals like La La Land to films that break your heart with a smile, these titles capture everything from artistic hunger to emotional chaos to unexpected joy. Whether you’re in it for the music, the heartbreak, or the hope, these movies with music and romance are here to hit the same nerve.
Which film are you watching first? Let us know in the comments—we love a good movie discussion.
And, for more modern musicals, dreamy love stories, and bittersweet endings done right, stay tuned with us @ Screendollars, where we never stop chasing the feeling of a perfect movie moment.
