Film

Crime Wave

Name: Crime Wave
Genre: Comedy, Crime
Released: 1985
Cast: Eva Kovacs, John Paizs, Darrell Baran, Mark Yuill, Neil Lawrie

Other titles called Crime Wave: the 1953 film.

Comedy
Light-hearted

A broke filmmaker in Edmonton obsesses over finishing his crime-movie script while his landlord's daughter and a mysterious screenwriting partner derail his vision at every turn. This is a deadpan Canadian comedy about creative paralysis, ambition meeting reality, and the gap between what you want to make and what actually happens. It's weird, unglamorous, and funny in ways that sneak up on you.

If you liked this

Barton Fink1991

A writer checked into a seedy hotel to craft the perfect screenplay instead spirals into creative madness and moral compromise. Shares Crime Wave's obsessive focus on the gap between artistic vision and brutal reality, with the same black-comic tone.

But Slower and stranger than it sounds. If you want plot momentum over atmosphere and psychological unease, this will feel like being trapped in a room.

The Comeback1978

A desperate actor pursues one last shot at fame, documenting his humiliation in real time. The same cringe-comedy DNA as Crime Wave—awkward ambition, the agony of trying too hard, dignity slowly eroding.

But The second-hand embarrassment is relentless. If watching someone fail and fail and fail makes you uncomfortable rather than amused, this won't help.

After Hours1985

A man's evening in downtown Manhattan becomes a surreal gauntlet of strangers, chaos, and catastrophe. The same energy as Crime Wave: ordinary people trapped in absurd circumstances, comedy emerging from desperation and confusion.

But It's a 1985 film, so pacing and style feel distant now. The humour is very much of its moment, which some find dated rather than timeless.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Crime Wave

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

My Best Friend's Wedding1997

Both are comedies about desperation and sabotage, where characters' own ambitions become their undoing.

A woman realizes she's in love with her best friend days before his wedding and schemes to stop it. The connection: both films are about people sabotaging themselves and others through desperation and poor judgment. Crime Wave is about making art; this is about making a marriage. Both are comedies about how badly you can want something and how catastrophically you can fail at getting it.

But It's a romantic comedy from the nineties with Julia Roberts. If that premise makes you groan, there's nothing here to surprise you.

Swimming Pool2003

A screenwriter rents a summer villa to finish her novel and instead becomes consumed by observing her landlord's daughter. Crime Wave's preoccupation with creative block and artistic obsession, but sexier and more psychologically twisted.

But Subtitled and slow-burn. The thriller elements don't fully pay off, which bothers some viewers who want a more conventional narrative payoff.

Slacker1990

A morning in Austin follows a series of aimless conversations between directionless people. The same low-budget indie spirit, same interest in minor characters and failed ambitions, similar deadpan humour about going nowhere.

But There's essentially no plot. If you need character arcs and narrative momentum, you'll feel adrift within twenty minutes.

Death Proof2007

A stuntman uses his car as a weapon. Crime Wave's interest in mundane people with outsized self-images, the same blend of crime and comedy, the same feel of watching something slightly off-kilter unfold.

But Tarantino's dialogue goes on forever. For some viewers, the talky stretches between action feel self-indulgent rather than compelling.

Eating Raoul1982

An uptight couple commits murders to fund their dream restaurant. Crime Wave's mordant comedy about ordinary people and crime, the same low-budget resourcefulness, the same affection for weirdness and failure.

But The premise is deliberately repellent. If you need likable characters or conventional morality, the tone will feel off-putting rather than funny.

Punchline1988

Two people pursuing standup comedy navigate ambition, obsession, and self-deception. Similar energy to Crime Wave: creative people convinced of their own potential, the sting of reality, the comedy of trying too hard.

But Uneven in tone and execution. Some scenes land, others feel forced, and the film struggles to balance its comedy and drama.

Ghostbusters II1989

Bumbling, chaotic people improvise their way through a supernatural crisis. The same colour palette, same deadpan absurdism, same joy in watching confident incompetence unfold.

But It's a sequel to a beloved film and doesn't live up to the original. If you've never seen Ghostbusters, this won't make much sense.

Rope1948

Both are confined, pressurized narratives about people trapped with the consequences of their own choices.

Two men commit murder and throw a dinner party, waiting for their crime to be discovered. The connection: both films are constrained, claustrophobic, set in small spaces where failure is inevitable. Crime Wave is a comedy; this is a thriller. Both ask what happens when ordinary people try to do extraordinary things and the pressure mounts.

But It's a 1948 Hitchcock film shot in real-time with a static camera. If you want contemporary pacing, you'll find it glacial.

Breathless1960

Both films treat minor crime casually, with improvisation and style over plot. Crime Wave is absurdist comedy; Breathless is existential romance. They're the same DNA refracted.

A petty criminal and his girlfriend drift through Paris as the stakes slowly rise. The connection: both are about small-scale crime, low budget, and a kind of anarchic freedom—but where Crime Wave finds comedy in failure, Breathless finds poetry in doomed romanticism. Crime Wave is a Canadian comedy; this is the French New Wave inventing cinema. They're inverses.

But It's a landmark art film from 1960 and it feels like one. The style can feel mannered if you're not prepared for it.