When dramatized with an all-star cast, the true-crime genre [1] often falls down the creepy psychological-thriller [2] rabbit hole and borders on horror. If you're not in the mood for a scary movie full of gruesome murders, you can still find a decent selection of true-crime features. For example, less-terrifying picks include Lorene Scafaria's glittery Hustlers and Tom McCarthy's understated Spotlight. You'll also discover a good helping of comedy heist films [3] in the nonscary true-crime genre, from Catch Me If You Can to American Hustle. While you might encounter moderate swearing and violence in these movies, you won't be afraid to turn off the lights after finishing them. Looking to get that fix of scandalous reality without the nightmares? Keep reading — we've rounded up nonscary true-crime movies that you can stream right now!
The Polka King
Jack Black [4] stars in a relatively goofy role in The Polka King with Jenny Slate as his wife and Jason Schwartzman as his right-hand man. The biopic [5] is based on the true story of Polish-American polka band leader Jan Lewan, who was imprisoned for heading up a Ponzi scheme.
Watch The Polka King on Netflix. [6]
Bad Education
HBO's Bad Education [7] will take you back to the classroom with Hugh Jackman [8] and Allison Janney as two scheming school administrators. The film follows the biggest public-school embezzlement scandal in American history, with Jackman as the fishy superintendent Dr. Frank Tassone.
Watch Bad Education on HBO. [9]
American Hustle
David O. Russell's American Hustle is based on the true story of an FBI sting that uncovered crooked politicians receiving payoffs. Christian Bale [10] and Amy Adams [11] star as Irving Rosenfeld and Sydney Prosser, the two con artists who end up reluctantly working with FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper [12]).
The Bling Ring
Emma Watson [14] stars in this A24 Sofia Coppola crime comedy about teenagers who break into celebrity homes [15] for fame and riches. The Bling Ring is actually based on a group of teens and young adults who went around burglarizing houses in Calabasas, CA, including Paris Hilton [16]'s.
Watch The Bling Ring on Netflix. [17]
Spotlight
Mark Ruffalo [18], Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams [19], and Brian d'Arcy James portray the reporters at The Boston Globe who broke the story about child sex abuse among Catholic priests in the Boston area. While Spotlight isn't scary per se, it does deal with a heavy and sensitive topic.
Watch Spotlight on Netflix. [20]
Lost Girls
Amy Ryan is Mari Gilbert [21] in this gutting Netflix drama based on the true story of the Long Island killer [22]. The film focuses more on Gilbert's relationship with her daughters and the victims' families as opposed to portraying salacious details about the deaths.
Watch Lost Girls on Netflix. [23]
The Laundromat
Steven Soderbergh's The Laundromat [24] takes a deep dive into the impacts of the Panama Papers, with Meryl Streep [25] featured as a composite character whose husband was a victim of money laundering.
Watch The Laundromat on Netflix. [26]
Molly's Game
In Molly's Game, Jessica Chastain plays Molly Bloom, a former Olympian who survived a life-threatening accident and went on to manage a high-stakes poker game. Bloom later became an FBI target, eventually convicted for her gambling involvements. The film is based on her book of the same name [27].
Watch Molly's Game on Netflix. [28]
The Wolf of Wall Street
Adapted from Jordan Belfort's book of the same name [29], The Wolf of Wall Street follows Leonardo DiCaprio [30] as the author, an entrepreneur who formerly defrauded investors out of millions. While the FBI was on his trail, Belfort infamously lived a life fuelled by drugs and excess.
Watch The Wolf of Wall Street on Amazon. [31]
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
In an emotional dramatic role, Melissa McCarthy portrays literary fraudster Lee Israel [32] in Marielle Heller's Can You Ever Forgive Me? The movie is based on Israel's confessional memoir [33], where she wrote about forging letters by dead authors to reboot her failed writing career.
Watch Can You Ever Forgive Me? on Amazon. [34]
Catch Me If You Can
Steven Spielberg [35]'s Catch Me If You Can follows the misadventures of Frank Abagnale, whose memoir [36] is the basis of the movie. Abagnale (Leonardo DiCaprio [37]) was a charismatic grifter who forged checks and job titles to pass himself off as a pilot, lawyer, doctor, and more. Hunting down Abagnale was FBI agent Joseph Shea, whose film counterpart is Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks [38]).
Watch Catch Me If You Can on Amazon. [39]
Hustlers
Hustlers takes creative liberties for dramatic purposes, but it's mostly based on Jessica Pressler's longform piece [40] about Roselyn Keo and Samantha Barbash's strip-club scams. Besides its intriguing true story [41], the film also features Jennifer Lopez skillfully pole dancing [42] to Fiona Apple's "Criminal," in case you needed a final push to watch it.
Watch Hustlers on Amazon. [43]