NoBadPicks

Movies Like This Is Not What I Expected

If you loved This Is Not What I Expected's Comedy and Romance storytelling, these films deliver a similar experience — carefully selected for tone, themes, and emotional depth. Each pick includes where to watch it right now.

Top Picks

Love Is in the Air
6.2

Love Is in the Air

2023

A fiercely independent pilot fighting to keep her family business afloat starts to fall for the man sent by corporate to ground her operation forever.

Let's Make Love
6.4

Let's Make Love

1960

When billionaire Jean-Marc Clement learns that he is to be satirized in an off-Broadway revue, he passes himself off as an actor playing him in order to get closer to the beautiful star of the show, Amanda Dell.

The Royal Treatment
6.7

The Royal Treatment

2022

Isabella runs her own salon and isn’t afraid to speak her mind, while Prince Thomas runs his own country and is about to marry for duty rather than love. When Izzy and her fellow stylists get the opportunity of a lifetime to do the hair for the royal wedding, she and Prince Thomas learn that taking control of their own destiny requires following their hearts.

The Color Wheel
6.3

The Color Wheel

2012

JR, an aspiring news-anchor, forces her younger brother Colin to embark on a road trip to move her belongings out of her professor-turned-lover’s place. Traveling through New England, they uncomfortably run into old school-mates or revisit familial history from which they have long since diverged.

Hitch
6.6

Hitch

2005

Dating coach Alex 'Hitch' Hitchens mentors a bumbling client, Albert, who hopes to win the heart of the glamorous Allegra Cole. While Albert makes progress, Hitch faces his own romantic setbacks when proven techniques fail to work on Sara Melas, a tabloid reporter digging for dirt on Allegra Cole's love life. When Sara discovers Hitch's connection to Albert – now Allegra's boyfriend – it threatens to destroy both relationships.

Champagne Problems
6.0

Champagne Problems

2025

A driven American exec heads to Paris determined to acquire a champagne brand by Christmas — and accidentally falls for the heir to the bubbly empire.

Cooking with Love
6.4

Cooking with Love

2018

Optimistic and cheerful TV producer, Kelly, doesn’t have time for love. Bad boy celebrity chef, Stephen, doesn’t have time for anything besides cooking. Fun with a side of love ensues as Kelly and Stephen are paired on a children's cooking show.

Christmas with You
5.8

Christmas with You

2022

Feeling career burnout, pop star Angelina escapes to grant a young fan's wish in small-town New York, where she not only finds the inspiration to revitalize her career but also a shot at true love.

More Movies Like This Is Not What I Expected

Easy Virtue
6.5

Easy Virtue

2008

A young Englishman marries a glamorous American. When he brings her home to meet the parents, she arrives like a blast from the future - blowing their entrenched British stuffiness out the window.

Watching the Detectives
6.3

Watching the Detectives

2007

Neil, a self-proclaimed film geek and owner of Gumshoe video, has always been content to live vicariously through his favorite films noir. But when he meets Violet, a real-life femme fatale, his mundane world gets turned upside down and the line between reality and the movies quickly begins to blur.

Prom Pact
7.2

Prom Pact

2023

It's prom season, and high school senior Mandy and her best friend and fellow outsider Ben are surrounded by over-the-top "promposals." Mandy is only focused on getting into her dream school Harvard, but as she starts tutoring basketball all-star Graham, she must re-evaluate whether her dream school is worth the cost of everything she believes in.

That Touch of Mink
6.4

That Touch of Mink

1962

Cathy Timberlake is en route to a job interview when a car transporting businessman Philip Shayne covers her in mud. He sends his assistant, Roger, to apologize, but upon meeting Cathy, Roger knows that she would be a suitable match for his boss. Despite their mutual attraction, Cathy and Philip want different things. Philip wants a fling, while Cathy wants a marriage. As they travel to exotic locales, their differing motivations are put to the test.

Cook Up a Storm
7.4

Cook Up a Storm

2017

An international culinary competition becomes a battleground between rival cooks, one famous for his Cantonese street food and the other a Michelin-starred chef trained in France. But their rivalry takes an unexpected turn when they discover a common foe and combine their skills in a fusion of East and West.

What a Way to Go!
7.1

What a Way to Go!

1964

A four-time widow discusses her four marriages, in which all of her husbands became incredibly rich and died prematurely because of their drive to be rich.

Gidget
5.9

Gidget

1959

Due to an accident while swimming in the sea, Francis meets the surfer Moondoggie. She's fascinated with his sport and starts to hang out with his clique. Although they make fun of her at first, they teach her to surf and soon she's accepted and given the nickname "Gidget". But it's hard work to become more than a friend to Moondoggie.

Platinum Blonde
6.6

Platinum Blonde

1931

Ann Schuyler is an upper-crust socialite who bullies her reporter husband into conforming to her highfalutin ways. The husband chafes at the confinement of high society, though, and yearns for a creative outlet. He decides to write a play and collaborates with a fellow reporter.

Good Advice
5.8

Good Advice

2001

An investment banker loses everything and must discover what's really important in life.

What's Love Got to Do with It?
6.0

What's Love Got to Do with It?

2023

Two childhood friends now in their thirties must decide whether to follow their heads or their hearts once the man decides to follow his parents' advice and enter into an arranged marriage in Pakistan.

Stranded in Paradise
5.9

Stranded in Paradise

2014

When a driven HR exec loses her high-powered job, she travels to Puerto Rico in an attempt to save her career at a business conference. But as the trip quickly becomes a disaster and a hurricane shuts down the whole island, she meets a handsome world traveler who gives her a new perspective on finding passion in life and love.

Finding Mr. Right
6.4

Finding Mr. Right

2013

When Jiajia, a young woman in Beijing who lives a luxurious life provided by her wealthy boyfriend, gets pregnant, she goes to the United States, hoping that the baby will be born an American citizen. There she meets Frank who offers help and makes her think twice about who her Mr. Right really is.

Why These Movies Are Similar

These recommendations share core qualities with This Is Not What I Expected (2017): Comedy and Romance themes, similar narrative structure, and comparable emotional depth. NoBadPicks uses a combination of TMDB collaborative filtering, genre matching, and AI analysis to surface films most likely to resonate with fans of This Is Not What I Expected.

See full details for This Is Not What I Expected (2017)

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