Movies Similar to A Personal History of the American Theater

Synonymous With(2021)

A student's increasingly intimate line of questioning causes his interview with a local horror host to take a vulnerable turn.

0.0

Sex and Death to the Age 14(1982)

Monologue created and performed by Spalding Gray, who takes us through his childhood recollections of growing up in a Christian Science household in Barrington, Rhode Island, in the 1950s.

0.0

Gray's Anatomy(1996)

The film documents, in an often dramatic and humorous fashion, Gray's investigations into alternative medicine for an eye condition (Macular pucker) he had developed.

6.4

The Night(1985)

An installation film that consists of a six-hour-long monologue performed by Edith Clever, who reads texts by Syberberg and many different authors, such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Heinrich von Kleist, Plato, Friedrich Hölderlin, Novalis, Friedrich Nietzsche, Eduard Mörike, Richard Wagner, William Shakespeare, Samuel Beckett, and Chief Seattle.

8.5

This Filthy World(2006)

In this filmed version of cult film director John Waters' popular one-man show, the Pink Flamingos and A Dirty Shame director takes the stage to discuss everything from his early influences, fondest career memories, and notorious struggles against the MPAA rating system. Part endearing memoir and part hilarious lecture, This Filthy World touches on everything from the insanity of contemporary pop culture to the director's unforgettable early collaborations with inimitable Pink Flamingos star Divine.

7.6

Swimming to Cambodia(1987)

Spalding Gray sits behind a desk throughout the entire film and recounts his exploits and chance encounters while playing a minor role in the film 'The Killing Fields'. At the same time, he gives a background to the events occurring in Cambodia at the time the film was set.

6.9

Death & Other Fears(2024)

A short film that navigates the filmmaker's intimate journey with death and other fears. Through the filmmaker’s inner monologue, the film explores the universal struggle with mortality.

10.0

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An Evening with Quentin Crisp(1980)

In this witty monologue, Quentin Crisp advises and opines about personal style (with a few digressions).

10.0

AlieNATION(2024)

This short film shot in a small town in Sweden navigates themes of nostalgia through an original monologue, reflecting on gender identity struggle and the pursuit of a new beginning in a foreign land.

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Intoxication(2002)

Short documentary by Gaspar Noé filmed around the the same time as Irréversible (in 16mm Scope), in which his friend Stéphane Drouot, the director of the cult film "La Banlieue des Étoiles / Star Suburb", discusses his life with AIDS and struggles to make films.

5.8

The Trans List(2016)

A documentary that explores the range of experiences lived by transgender Americans.

6.0

Cicada(2008)

Cicada is the immersive story of a five-year-old child who witnessed a murder. Daniel P Jones confronts a traumatic memory in an incendiary, visceral monologue.

0.0

Michael Moore in TrumpLand(2016)

Oscar-winner Michael Moore dives right into hostile territory with his daring and hilarious one-man show, deep in the heart of TrumpLand in the weeks before the 2016 election.

5.9

Vasiliy(2013)

This is the story of Vasiliy Ilyin, a retired farmer from the village of Ryshkovo, on a first time journey to see the world, New York, the ocean, and a cover photoshoot for Esquire Russia

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Words Are Limited, Feelings Are Not(2020)

A man reads a letter from his away girlfriend while he contemplates on some memorable places in Jakarta, where they had spent time together.

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The Libertine(2004)

The story of John Wilmot, a.k.a. the Earl of Rochester, a 17th century poet who famously drank and debauched his way to an early grave, only to earn posthumous critical acclaim for his life's work.

5.9

Look Who's Talking Now!(1993)

When high-powered executive Samantha LeBon hatches a scheme to spend a romantic Christmas with her new employee – the unsuspecting, blithesome James – his wife, their kids and their two dogs, Rocks and Daphne, must rescue him before he makes a terrible mistake.

5.3

Duel(1971)

Traveling businessman David Mann angers the driver of a rusty tanker while crossing the California desert. A simple trip turns deadly, as Mann struggles to stay on the road while the tanker plays cat and mouse with his life.

7.4

Trainspotting(1996)

Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends --Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind as Begbie and Sick Boy come knocking.

8.0

Clerks(1994)

Convenience and video store clerks Dante and Randal are sharp-witted, potty-mouthed and bored out of their minds. So in between needling customers, the counter jockeys play hockey on the roof, visit a funeral home and deal with their love lives.

7.4