Best movies like American Joyride

A poor shoemaker and his wife have only a stale donut and a cup of coffee left to share. An elf drops by, and they offer to share with him. He teaches them (in song) to dunk the donut in the coffee. Later, as they sleep, he brings several other elves back, and they work through the night making shoes in humorous ways. The shoes are a success. Soon, the shoemaker and his wife are quite prosperous. They treat the elves to a feast of donuts and coffee, and the elves treat us to another chorus of "Dunk! Dunk! Dunk!".

Bim (Buck Jones) seems to be his town's biggest loser, but when he takes a needy 13-year-old boy named Bill (George Stone) under his wing, it seems there may be some hope for Bim. After learning about Bill, a young teacher, Mary (Helen Ferguson), whom Bim secretly adores, helps get the young boy into school. And when Bim then helps Mary repay a loan, defaulted on by shifty boyfriend (William Buckley), it becomes evident that Bim can reform. As the plot in this captivating film twist and turns, the stakes get higher, the action gets more intense and hope for Bim bounds upward.

An intergalactic fighting competition between champions of various worlds has traditionally been won by a species much larger and stronger than humans. Entering the contest, a human finds he has to battle against not just his opponents and his self-doubts, but the corrupt system. Far in the future, on a distant space station, the legendary Arena is where the best fighters from every planet come to vie for the championship. But for over half a century, no Earthling has been good enough to be a contender. Until out of nowhere, comes an underdog: the great human hope, Steve Armstrong... and the best anyone's ever seen. He's been training all his life for a shot at the big time, but now he's up against some mighty big muscle: a ruthless extra-terrestrial crimelord who'll pull no punches to make sure he stops Steve dead. In the mood for hard-hitting sci-fi action? Arena will knock you out!

Sweet suburban teen Amanda is introduced by her new friends to prescription drug-sharing, but the recreational fun soon leads her to a life-altering heroin addiction.

A former child star buys her grandmother's house to rescue it from ruin but her hope for serenity is soon eclipsed by haunting dreams of her famous grandmother, who died of a supposed overdose in the house more than 30 years ago.

When his brother-in-law runs afoul of a drug lord, family man Chris Farraday turns to a skill he abandoned long ago—smuggling—to repay the debt. But the job goes wrong, and Farraday finds himself wanted by cops, crooks and killers alike.

Art, a drug-addicted dealer and hustler, arrives at his girlfriend Cody's apartment to find that she has overdosed on heroin. He tries to fix things by traveling back in time in an attempt to prevent her death.

After destroying his older brother's motorbike in retaliation for his constant bullying, 11-year-old Krishna is sent to a traveling circus to earn money to pay for the bike's repairs, but soon winds up in the streets of Bombay's poorest slums. There, he befriends the drug dealer Chillum and young prostitute Sola Saal, while trying to make enough money at a neighborhood tea stall to repay his debt to his family.

In London, a drug dealer grows increasingly desperate over the course of a week after a botched deal lands him in the merciless clutches of a ruthless crime lord. The more desperate his behavior, the more isolated he becomes until there is nothing left standing between him and the bullet his debtors intend to fire his way.

Shuji is an uncompromising young filmmaker at odds with Japanese society. One day he learns that his loan shark brother, who had helped to finance his films, has been executed by his own yakuza gang for failing to repay his debts.

Set over one night in Tokyo, we follow Leo, a young boxer down on his luck as he meets his ‘first love’ Monica, a call-girl and an addict but still innocent. But, little does Leo know, Monica is unwittingly caught up in a drug-smuggling scheme, and the two are pursued through the night by a corrupt cop, a yakuza, his nemesis, and a female assassin sent by the Chinese Triads. All their fates intertwine in spectacular Miike style, at his most fun and anarchic.

Underworld drug king Toplar is flooding the market with low-grade heroin. Agent 99 gets a bit too close to the truth, but manages to gasp out a clue as to the identity of Toplar: he has a scar. Jane (Agent 73) is called in to find Toplar, and gets a camera implanted in her breast in order to photograph the bad guys she dispatches so headquarters will be able to identify Toplar when she finds him. Meanwhile she begins falling in love with fellow agent Jim.

A Hollywood agent finds himself in debt to a powerful bookie. To make a fast buck, he creates a team of exceptionally talented skateboarders and enters them in a downhill race. If they win, they will get $20,000

A young artist in Manhattan falls in love with a Mexican.

At the traditional Muslim funeral service for his father Fikret Varupa, sixteen year old boy from Sarajevo, learns that his father owes money to Hamid, a man he does not even know. The debt is considerable and Hamid does not want it to go to the grave with the body, so the debt automatically passes from the father to the son. Since in Bosnia this way of collecting debts, at a funeral, is considered to be utterly humiliating, it is never, ever applied. Fikret and his entire family become subjects of ridicule. Fikret, who is practically still a child, is decisive to "redeem his father's soul". Wishing to repay his father's debt and to secure the forgiveness, Fikret wanders into the real world of Sarajevo, the world that is ruled by post-war chaos, misery and poverty and becomes an ideal target for two corrupted policemen who wish to "help" him: they plant the kidnapped girl on him.

Gerry is a talented but down-on-his-luck gambler whose fortunes begin to change when he meets Curtis, a younger, highly charismatic poker player. The two strike up an immediate friendship and Gerry quickly persuades his new friend to accompany him on a road trip to a legendary high stakes poker game in New Orleans. As they make their way down the Mississippi River, Gerry and Curtis manage to find themselves in just about every bar, racetrack, casino, and pool hall they can find, experiencing both incredible highs and dispiriting lows, but ultimately forging a deep and genuine bond that will stay with them long after their adventure is over.

In a 1950s-era Missouri town the life of a couple is thrown into chaos when the husband's sister is released from the local asylum and comes to live with the family.

A young street magician is left to take care of his little sister after his mother's passing and turns to drug dealing in the Los Angeles party scene to keep a roof over their heads. When he gets into trouble with his supplier, his sister is kidnapped and he is forced to rely on both his sleight of hand and brilliant mind to save her.

On the eve of selling her mother's house, a thirty-something housewife wakes up to a hangover surrounded by her best friends from high school...

A brilliant but misguided man feels that he has the right to decide who is worth their place on earth.

A New Jersey teen faces her impending adulthood, dreaming of a life as a successful New York artist. But when she gets caught up in the carefree sport of pre-AIDS sex and drugs, her future becomes less certain.

Two old college buddies, Joseph and Oliver, reconnect over drinks, eventually arguing about an unpaid film school debt. Joseph demands the $5,000, unsuccessfully, and then locks Oliver in a closet. He convinces his girlfriend, Mauve, and stoner roommate, Tee, to help extort the money from Oliver. The rules are simple - "No money. No bathroom. No food". To break the prisoner, Tee decides to fill the closet with pot smoke. Oliver's escape attempts are futile, eventually caving into the demands and repaying the money. In the end, Oliver learns, if you don't repay your debts, they'll catch up to you.

Since the death of their father, the Riley siblings have kept their heads above water by illegally dealing in painkillers. Josie is managing the business with an iron fist, when her brother, War veteran Kip, is concerned that the risky business is increasingly turning them into outsiders in their small community. While Kip wants to keep his younger brother out of their illegal endeavors, his younger brother is already making plans of his own.

A single mom in the 1970s raises her two daughters and becomes involved in illegal drug trade to make a better life.

Two teenage girls must come to terms with their stepfather when their mother is struck by illness.

Hot-shot pilot Dan Hogan is sent deep into the Colombian jungle to rescue missionary doctor Ann Williams. Caught between innocent villagers and a ruthless drug lord, Ann won't abandon the people she has come to love.

A recent college graduate decides to sell marijuana on the streets of Manhattan after losing his job at a consulting firm. He soon meets the girl of his dreams. With an unsupportive girlfriend, an increase of clienteles, and the growing threats of being caught or killed, he soon realizes he is in way over his head.

A troubled teen and her single dad head to Georgia to reunite with family members they hardly know at Christmas time.

Eight hundred German filmmakers (cast and crew) fled the Nazis in the 1930s. The film uses voice-overs, archival footage, and film clips to examine Berlin's vital filmmaking in the 1920s; then it follows a producer, directors, composers, editors, writers, and actors to Hollywood: some succeeded and many found no work. Among those profiled are Erich Pommer, Joseph May, Ernst Lubitsch, Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, and Peter Lorre. Once in Hollywood, these exiles helped each other, housed new arrivals, and raised money so others could escape. Some worked on anti-Nazi films, like Casablanca. The themes and lighting of German Expressionism gave rise in Hollywood to film noir.

A man wakes up inside a room to discover he's a prisoner sent into space to form Earth's first colony, and worse - his cell mate Alana is hell bent on destroying everything.

A Hollywood star (Fawcett), fed up with her husband's cheating, hires a private investigator to tail him. Emotional support is offered by her two friends - a soul singer (Givens) and a famous director's wife (Gilbert)

During a rescue of Mary and her father, Bob Bartlett finds a good horse, which later causes him to be mistaken for Butch Coleson, a wanted outlaw. Wounded by a posse, Bob heads for Poker Flats hoping to capture Coleson for the reward.

Based on a true story and in the same mould as Get Carter and Nil by Mouth, Out of Depth is a hard hitting, contemporary character based thriller. A gritty expose of the South London Underworld, it tells the story of misguided good intentions, of family love and of the personal hopes and fears that lay behind several gangland killings.

The nightmares are always the same for Hollywood actress Laurie Cardell: she's back at the orphanage where she spent her childhood, being tortured by the head mistress, praying for an escape. But that's all in the past... until two brothers decide to bring the screen siren back to the scene of the crime. Daniel has been silently stalking Laurie for years, and when his psychotic brother Nathan is released from prison, no one expects the horror he brings. Daniel's misguided attempts to mend the wounds of a tortured youth resurrect Laurie's childhood nightmares and force Daniel to confront his own obsession, while Nathan's twisted logic takes on demonic proportions.

Hollywood arrives in force to Quincy, the small town where the secret Crown Cola billionaire's live. They want to film about the billionaire's and how they made their fortunes. Summer Jenkins, who was the town pariah, joins forces with the scout, Ben, and finds filming locations, extras, lessons with the town officials and house owners, etc. When Cole Masten arrives, they hate each other, but sparks fly. Cole is running from a nasty divorce, yet is captivated by Summer. Summer is dying to leave town to get away from the gossip. This is a great story about Southern customs, a Southern girl, and a Hollywood star who finds his lady.