Best movies like Planning for Joy

Johnny Tyronne, action movie star and ladies man, is traveling through the Middle East on a goodwill tour to promote his latest movie, "Sands of the Desert". Once he arrives, however, he is kidnapped by a gang of assassins who were so impressed with his on-screen adventures that they want to hire him to carry out an assassination for them.

Morning reveals New York harbor, the wharves, the Brooklyn Bridge. A ferry boat docks, disgorging its huddled mass. People move briskly along Wall St. or stroll more languorously through a cemetery. Ranks of skyscrapers extrude columns of smoke and steam. In plain view. Or framed, as through a balustrade. A crane promotes the city's upward progress, as an ironworker balances on a high beam. A locomotive in a railway yard prepares to depart, while an arriving ocean liner jostles with attentive tugboats. Fading sunlight is reflected in the waters of the harbor. The imagery is interspersed with quotations from Walt Whitman, who is left unnamed.

Nelson is a man devoted to his advertising career in San Francisco. One day, while taking a driving test at the DMV, he meets Sara. She is very different from the other women in his life. Nelson causes her to miss out on taking the test and later that day she tracks him down. One thing leads to another and Nelson ends up living with her through a November that will change his life forever.

When an accident causes a woman to lose her memory, her husband Jack does everything in his power to keep her from remembering that they are total opposites and that their marriage is doomed. Now Jack is hoping for a second chance, and a little Christmas magic, to help rekindle their relationship and fall in love all over again.

Two men embark on an unconventional romance in Todd Verow's sexy Parisian-set drama. Claude finds a young man passed out in the street and, taking pity on him, decides to take him to his apartment to safely sleep. Awakening the next morning, the sexy stranger soon makes a play for his forty-something host, kick-starting a passionate romance. But will the chance meeting develop into more than just lust or will the pair's differences drive them apart? An accomplished, serious and very modern gay romance .

After getting her heart broken on The Price of Love, a wildly popular dating reality show that matches 20-something female contestants with a young, financially successful bachelor, teacher Hanna Knight has returned to her small-town Colorado life and moved on to better things.

Looking for a fresh angle to her book on relationships, Merry heads to snow-covered Vermont. She finds a new perspective and Christmas cheer with charismatic aid worker Chris.

When Sarah Kress learns her family’s vineyard is up for sale, she leaves her busy urban life and visits her hometown to help with the sale and have her last harvest. With the help of handsome neighbor Gabe, huge challenge becomes fun as she and Gabe fall in love. But when the job is done, Sarah must decide whether to return to her fast-paced life or follow her heart.

A hopeless romantic who can’t ever seem to give a guy a real chance begins receiving each of the "12 Days of Christmas” as gifts anonymously at her door. As she tries to figure out who is sending the gifts, she begins to believe that the mystery suitor could finally live up to her expectations.

Jamie owns a sightseeing and tour company in the small town of Cooperville, New York. Navigating the holidays with enthusiasm is trickier for Jamie since her husband Matt passed. Matt loved Christmas and found unparalleled joy in giving to others. While reminiscing with family, Jamie realizes the town desperately needs someone with Matt’s genius for thinking of the small gestures that bring genuine happiness to the holidays.

When a weather forecaster is asked to host her network's annual snow-cast in the wintry town of Leavenworth live with the network's morning show host and a longtime rival of hers, tension brews and romantic sparks fly between them on air.

As an acclaimed college professor prepares to unveil her landmark study that sparks love between strangers, the launch is threatened when she’s criticized for not taking “The Dating Test” herself. Though she’s vowed never to fall in love again, she agrees to take the test with her biggest critic.

Moving from small-town Iowa to Chicago, an ambitious personal-stylist hires a professional photographer to help promote her new fashion venture; a partnership which teaches her that when it comes to finding love and success in the city, all you need to do is stay true to the style in your own heart.

When Lisa Holt returns to her hometown to seek inspiration for her new fashion line, she has enough on her plate between that and helping her best friend prepare for her first baby. So when she meets Colin, a handsome writer tasked with fixing her yet unpublished biography, love is the last thing on her mind. Lisa must design a way to make everything work according to plan, but will she find time for an unexpected romance?

When talented botanist Violet needs help preparing flower arrangements for a high-profile wedding, she calls upon Jack, a handsome nature photographer who has taken over responsibility for his grandfather’s flower shed. As they discover that they share an interest in the mysterious and elusive Youtan flower, can they ensure the wedding is a success while allowing their mutual passion for discovery and adventure to bloom once again, and find love in the process?

Savannah Joy, a single parent image consultant by day and aspiring wellness influencer by night, is hired to rebrand New York’s #4 interview radio show host. But when Savannah accidently ends up on the air with the handsome smooth-talking host, she becomes part of the show’s rebranding herself and discovers if on-air differences or love will have the last word.

As the Compliance and Outreach Manager for The Animal Discovery Institute, a non-profit animal rights organization headquartered in San Diego, Tilly Monterey finally gets a chance to lead the charge on the company's next project: an Australian penguin sanctuary in dire need of some financial assistance.

Podcast host Laura Ross and her longtime friend and producer Paul are challenged to re-examine their personal and professional relationships when a listener submits the daily "Christmas Challenge" that promotes togetherness to their ambitious "Modernly Independent" podcast.

Natural-born leader, Julia, returns to her hometown of North Falls for Christmas to drown her sorrows in eggnog, cookies, and Yuletide after her recent political campaign for city council ended in a landslide loss. It's the perfect place for Julia's holiday escape — until she realizes coming home means running into her old high school rival, Parker, the arrogant know-it-all who beat her in a race for senior class president.

While throwing a "Christmas Around the World" party at her family's inn, an event planner discovers Christmas magic with a charming father-son duo whose presence brings about tension and joy.

Three longtime college friends who discover a mysterious, antique veil fabled to unite its bearer with her true love. After discovering a long-lost painting, museum curator Avery and successful, new board member Peter investigate the artwork's origins as they plan a charity fundraiser to unveil its restoration.

Ally Morgan is a workaholic ER doctor struggling for work-life balance with boyfriend, Josh. On the night they breakup. Ally is miserable alone before a chance encounter with handsome barista, Gabe leads her to fulfill a Christmas bucket list of fun activities she never would have done on her own. Ally's best friend and fellow ER doctor, Dawn has never seen Ally so engaged outside of work and is rooting for a Gabe-Ally relationship. Now, the saintly Maureen must redirect Gabe's heartfelt intentions if Josh and Ally have any chance at reconciliation this Christmas.

When Anna offers a stranded mother and son shelter in a blizzard, she learns that they are the Royal Family of Galwick. Anna shows the Prince how they do Christmas in her hometown, encouraging him to open his heart and be true to himself.

With Cara leaving on an international book tour in two weeks and Ben’s business expansion keeping him busy, the couple decides they won’t let work commitments postpone their nuptials any longer. With the help of their best friends Megan and Sean, Cara and Ben feel nothing can stop them from having the perfect wedding.

Two competing TV hosts are sent to a festive small town over Christmas. While pretending to get along for the sake of appearances, they discover that there’s more to each other than they thought.

James Earl Jones hosts this film based on two stories by the late Rod Serling, who wrote the stories of the original 'The Twilight Zone' (1959) series. In "The Theater," a young woman attends a movie theater only to find that her life story is being revealed on the screen. In "Where the Dead Are," a Boston surgeon in 1868 searches for a scientist who may have the answer to a medical mystery.

Life is normal for James. He works out at the gym, commutes to work, teaches school, picks up groceries, returns to his suburban home, eats dinner with his wife, and wakes up the next morning to do it all over again. Everything is as it should be. His world is peaceful, calm and happy. Or is it? Never one to think much about the future, James begins to take note of the warning signs all around him that seem to point to impending doom and the collapse of society. After considering all the awful things that could happen, James decides to prepare for the worst. But there is just one problem... he has no idea where to start. Enlisting the help of his wife Sarah, James embarks on a quest to be ready for anything without spending all his money, losing the respect of his friends, or becoming a survivalist freak.

Naz, a cynical and charismatic 20-something, has spent his entire life in tranquil O’ahu, Hawaiʻi, skateboarding with his friends and hosting a nightly radio show where he spotlights emerging musicians. When his girlfriend Sloane nabs the chance to move to bustling New York, Naz begins preparing for their big move, planning every detail down to his cat’s absurd flight plan. Even when dreaming about what life outside the island might look like, however, Naz wonders whether uprooting his world is the right decision, and if anywhere will ever really feel like home when he’s always been an eternal outsider.

Jamie hasn’t told his family that he and his now ex-girlfriend Emily broke up. After an inopportune run-in with Emily at the train station in his hometown, Jamie convinces her to pretend they’re still a couple to avoid ruining Christmas for his family.

Adrian is a Hollywood paparazzi assigned to get photos of a very elusive star, Parker Bennett. Little does she know, she'll get her chance when they both end up at the same BNB in the mountains of NC.

Avery, a socialite on the path to follow in her powerful political family’s footsteps, is harboring a secret dream to be a fashion designer and work for Lisette Monique. When notorious upper east side player Oliver offers Avery the chance to work for Lisette in exchange for publicly dating him in order to rehab his bad boy so he can keep his trust fund, Avery must choose between her family’s expectations and risking it all to be a designer.

A talented TV host show profiles a local florist with a groundbreaking same-day-delivery florist service and a long-running flower competition for a chance to land her own show.

Podcaster Samantha Desouza is assigned to host a show that reunites lost loves. Even though Love is the last thing on her mind, Samantha falls for charming Jake who calls in with a problem. Will Samantha follow he heart this time?

An aspiring fashion designer gets her chance to debut at a lavish Hamptons wedding where she is mistaken for a socialite and falls for a groomsman. Their love story could fall apart when she is exposed as a fraud.

It’s 1881, and Old College, Oxford plays host to three very different academics. Abercrombie Smith is a model of Victorian manhood, clean of limb and sound of mind. Monkhouse Lee is a delicate and unworldly student from Thailand. And occupying the rooms between them is the strange and exotic Edward Bellingham, whose unnatural researches into the secrets of ancient Egypt are the talk of the college. Can Bellingham’s experiments truly bring the breath of life to the horrifying bag of bones that is the mysterious Lot No 249?