Best movies like Jackson
This is going to be the best day of your life.
A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like Jackson Starring Barry Primus, Charles Robinson, Steve Guttenberg, Debra Jo Rupp, and more. If you liked Jackson then you may also like: 101 Rent Boys, The New Centurions, Night at the Golden Eagle, On the Nickel, All Eyez on Me and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.
Donald (Barry Primus) promises Sam (Charlie Robinson) the best day of his life. This seems unlikely, given they are both homeless men mired in the bleak landscape of Los Angeles' Skid Row. Moreover, the source of Donald's optimism is a mere $20 bill (called a "Jackson") which he bummed off a passing businessman (Steve Guttenberg) earlier that day. But Donald vows that with it, they can do anything, and drags a reluctant Sam off in search of adventure.
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The New Centurions
An idealistic rookie cop joins the LAPD to make ends meet while finishing law school, and is indoctrinated by a seasoned veteran. As time goes on, he loses his ambitions and family as police work becomes his entire life.
Night at the Golden Eagle
Two elderly criminals spend their final night in Los Angeles, California at the Golden Eagle Hotel prior to their departure to Las Vegas, Nevada, to lead a life without crime. Unfortunately, on the hottest night of the summer, these two ex-criminals seemingly get caught in the malice of prostitutes, pimps, drunken bums, fighting monkeys, and young runaways.
On the Nickel
Sam, a recovering alcoholic, feels dissatisfied with his life of sobriety and goes back in search of the good times he enjoyed with his wino friends on "the Nickel" of Los Angeles' skid row.
All Eyez on Me
All Eyez on Me chronicles the life and legacy of Tupac Shakur, including his rise to superstardom as a hip-hop artist, actor, poet and activist, as well as his imprisonment and prolific, controversial time at Death Row Records. Against insurmountable odds, Tupac rose to become a cultural icon whose career and persona both continue to grow long after his passing.
Down and Out in Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills couple Barbara and Dave Whiteman find their lives altered by the arrival of a vagrant who tries to drown himself in their swimming pool.
Rising Sun
When a prostitute is found dead in a Los Angeles skyscraper occupied by a large Japanese corporation, detectives John Connor and Web Smith are called in to investigate. Although Connor has previous experience working in Japan, cultural differences make their progress difficult until a security disc showing the murder turns up. Close scrutiny proves the disc has been doctored, and the detectives realize they're dealing with a cover-up as well.
For Heaven's Sake
An irresponsible young millionaire changes his tune when he falls for the daughter of a downtown minister.
Under the Silver Lake
Young and disenchanted Sam meets a mysterious and beautiful woman who's swimming in his building's pool one night. When she suddenly vanishes the next morning, Sam embarks on a surreal quest across Los Angeles to decode the secret behind her disappearance, leading him into the murkiest depths of mystery, scandal and conspiracy.
Imitation of Life
In 1940s New York, a white widow who dreams of being on Broadway has a chance encounter with a black single mother, who becomes her maid.
Mistress
A comedy about a screenwriter (Wuhl) whose old movie script is read by a producer (Landau) and the search for financial backers begins. But it seems that each money source (Aiello, DeNiro, Wallach) has his own mistress that he wants put into the film. Gradually, the screenwriter is forced to make changes to his script to accommodate these backers until he finally sees no semblance of his original ideas in the writing.
The Public
An act of civil disobedience turns into a standoff with police when homeless people in Cincinnati take over the public library to seek shelter from the bitter cold.
Princess of the Row
The inspiring tale of a runaway foster child who will stop at nothing to live with the only family she knows: her homeless, mentally-ill veteran father who lives on the streets of LA's skid row.
The Saint of Fort Washington
Matthew, a young schizophrenic, finds himself out on the street when a slumlord tears down his apartment building. Soon, he finds himself in even more dire straits, when he is threatened by Little Leroy, a thug who is one of the tough denizens of the Fort Washington Shelter for Men. He reaches out to Jerry, a streetwise combat veteran, who takes Matthew under his wing as a son. The relationship between these two men grows as they attempt to conquer the numbing isolation of homelessness.
Tangerine
It's Christmas Eve in Tinseltown and Sin-Dee is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend hasn't been faithful during the 28 days she was locked up, the working girl and her best friend, Alexandra, embark on a mission to get to the bottom of the scandalous rumor. Their rip-roaring odyssey leads them through various subcultures of Los Angeles, including an Armenian family dealing with their own repercussions of infidelity.
Time Out of Mind
Evicted from his squat and suddenly alone on the streets, George is a man without a home. Struggling with his demons and desperately trying to connect with the daughter he abandoned, he navigates the system, hustling for change and somewhere safe and quiet to gather his thoughts. But the streets are relentless and soon, George finds himself teetering on the edge, alone and abandoned.
Tough Assignment
A meddlesome reporter sporting a young bride takes on a gang of modern day cattle rustlers. Donald "Red" Barry plays Dan Reilly, a newspaper reporter just returned to LA with his wife, photographer Margie (Marjorie Steele). Margie insists on taking pictures of everywhere they go, and so as she's walking into a butcher shop she poses for Dan - while at the same time three thugs make their way quickly out after beating up the proprietors. Soon Margie and Dan are involved in investigating an illegal meat operation that rustles cattle and forces butchers to buy it - or else. Dan gets beaten up a couple of times, but is undaunted in pursuing the great story - and hey, he's only got 64 minutes to do so, he'd best get cracking!
Expecting a Miracle
Botched directions lead a struggling couple to a small Mexican town whose residents have a positive effect on the pair's faltering marriage.
Documenteur
After separating from the father of her son, a young French woman tries to find lodging and a fresh start in L.A. for herself and her son.
Humble Beauty: Skid Row Artists
A story about talented homeless and formerly homeless fine arts painters in the worst section of Los Angeles known as Skid Row. People will create art no matter how humble the circumstances.
The Hollywood Strangler Meets the Skid Row Slasher
A photographer cruises Hollywood and takes pictures of young models he then strangles. Meanwhile, a woman who works in a porno bookstore in downtown L.A. takes it upon herself to kill off the local derelicts. Soon the two killers meet up with each other.
Sam Churchill: Search for a Homeless Man
A multi-million-dollar real restate swindle, teenage pornography, arson, kidnapping, and even murder are all part of Sam Churchill's first official case as a private investigator in beautiful Santa Barbara, California.
Miss Arizona
A former pageant queen embarks on an all-night adventure with four unlikely friends she meets at a women's shelter.
Flipping
The story of Michael Moore, Shot, Hooker, Joey, and Dennis. Five gangsters who work for a man named Leo. They soon discover they could get more out of life if they could run the streets themselves. Tensions build and loyalty is tested as they plan a hit that could change all of their lives forever.
The Best Hotel on Skid Row
America Undercover goes to the Madison Hotel in the skid-row section of downtown Los Angeles and talks to some of the desperate people living there. It talks to a prostitute and heroin addict named Becky, a drug dealer and traveler names John, and an heavy drinking alcoholic named Jack Woodrow Wilson.
Inside San Quentin
San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated town of San Quentin in Marin County. San Quentin opened in July 1852, it is the oldest prison in California. The state's only death row for male inmates, the largest in the United States, is located at the prison. It has a gas chamber, but since 1996, executions at the prison have been carried out by lethal injection, though the prison has not performed an execution since 2006.
In His Steps
When a homeless man interrupts the comfortable routine of First Church of Raymond, life will never be the same for the apathetic congregation. Convicted by the vagrant's words, Pastor Henry Maxwell, Rachel Winslow, Virginia Page, Alex Powers, and Jasper Chase are thrust into a journey of discovering what life is like beyond "Christianity as usual." But as they find themselves opposed by family strife, church politics, and scorned lovers, will they be able to keep their commitment, or will they be dragged back into fruitless lives?
Downtown: A Street Tale
A group of street kids find that the only way to make it through the day is to hold onto their dreams while their reality is eating out of dumpsters, turning tricks and squatting in abandoned buildings.
Edge of Hell
In this heart-warming drama, a beggar and his performing dog, Flip, struggle to eke out a living upon the cruel streets. He is hired to perform at a rich kid's birthday party. There, the beggar is offered $500 for his beloved dog. He refuses and again hits the streets. Soon he becomes so impoverished that he can no longer provide food for his four-legged friend; he sells him for $20. The beggar is then beaten and robbed. Later he learns that Flip died. The man soon follows the dog to heaven where they begin performing for God.
101 Rent Boys
Paid 50 dollars for their time, 101 male prostitutes -- spanning all ages, ethnicities, and personal backgrounds -- are questioned by the filmmakers about their lives.