Movies like Don't Tell the Boys
The best movies like Don't Tell the Boys are Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022), A Friend of Dorothy (2025) and Gatlopp: Hell of a Game (2022). If Don't Tell the Boys hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Kissing Booth 2 (2020)7.6/10 from 5,195 votes
- NewestDriver's Ed (2026)Released 2026
Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022)
Craig, a young boy living in a small town befriends an older, reclusive billionaire, Mr. Harrigan. The two form a bond over books and an iPhone, but when the man passes away the boy discovers that not everything dead is gone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Friend of Dorothy (2025)
Dorothy is a lonely widow whose body is failing, but her mind remains as bright as ever. When 17-year-old JJ accidentally kicks his football into her garden, he upends Dorothy's daily routine of pills, prunes, and crosswords, and an unlikely friendship blossoms. Despite being worlds apart in every way, the two come to find they have more in common than they could ever imagine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGatlopp: Hell of a Game (2022)
Four friends get together for a nostalgic evening of fun and games after a decade of absence, which takes a dark turn.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGiant Little Ones (2019)
Two popular teen boys, best friends since childhood, discover their lives, families, and girlfriends dramatically upended after an unexpected incident occurs on the night of a 17th birthday party.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Brother the Devil (2012)
Fourteen-year-old Mo is a lonely, sensitive boy whose hunger for the rant and banter of buddies makes him prone to tread dangerous territories. He idolizes his handsome older brother, Rashid, a charismatic, well-respected member of a local gang, whose drug dealing enables “Rash” to provide for his family. Aching to be seen as a tough guy himself, Mo takes a job that unlocks a fateful turn of events and forces the brothers to confront their inner demons. It turns out that hate is easy. It is love and understanding that take real courage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMikey and Nicky (1976)
Nick is desperate, holed up in a cheap hotel, suffering from an ulcer and convinced that a local mob boss wants him killed. Terrified, he calls Mikey, his friend since childhood and a fellow gangster. So begins a long night…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlex Strangelove (2018)
Alex Truelove is on a quest to lose his virginity, an event eagerly awaited by his patient girlfriend and cheered on with welcome advice by his rowdy friends. But Alex, a super gregarious dude, is oddly unmotivated. A magical house party throws Alex into the presence of Elliot, a hunky college guy, who pegs Alex as gay and flirts hard. Alex is taken aback but after a series of setbacks on the girlfriend front he takes the plunge and learns some interesting new facts about himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeathers (1989)
A girl who halfheartedly tries to be part of the "in crowd" of her school meets a rebel who teaches her a more devious way to play social politics: by killing the popular kids.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSome Kind of Wonderful (1987)
Keith Nelson, an artsy high school outcast, tries to land a date with popular girl Amanda Jones with some help from his tomboy best friend, Watts. However, Watts realizes she likes Keith as more than just a friend and tries to convince him to stop pursuing Amanda. Matters are further complicated when Keith's invitation draws the ire of Amanda's rich yet snobby ex-boyfriend, Hardy Jenns, who makes plans to get even.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoonlight Mile (2002)
As he copes with the death of his fiancee along with her parents, a young man must figure out what he wants out of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDriver's Ed (2026)
A group of teens hit the road in a stolen driver's ed car, racing against time to help a lovesick high school senior track down his college-freshman girlfriend and win her back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Stepfather (2009)
Michael Harding returns home from military school to find his mother happily in love and living with her new boyfriend, David. As the two men get to know each other, Michael becomes more and more suspicious of the man who is always there with a helpful hand. Is he really the man of her dreams or could David be hiding a dark side?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisPalm Trees and Power Lines (2023)
Seventeen-year-old Lea spends her summer break tanning in her backyard, and drifting between tiptoeing around her needy mother, and aimlessly trailing her best friend and boys from school. This monotony is interrupted by a chance encounter with Tom, a seductive man twice her age who promises an alternative to Lea's unsatisfying adolescent life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRakka (2017)
A story of broken humanity following the invasion of a technologically superior alien species. Bleak, harrowing, and unrelenting, the humans must find enough courage to go on fighting.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Saw the TV Glow (2024)
In late-'90s suburbia, lonely teenager Owen meets Maddy, who introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show — a vision of a supernatural world pulsing beneath their own. As time goes on, questions begin to arise about why the show sometimes seems more real than their own lives, as their view of reality begins to crack.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCode 3 (2025)
A burned-out paramedic tries to survive his last 24 hours on the job while training a new recruit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNowhere (1997)
In Los Angeles, a colorful assortment of bohemians try to make sense of their intersecting lives. The moody Dark Smith, his bisexual girlfriend, her lesbian lover and their shy gay friend plan on attending the wildest party of the year. But they'll only make it if they can survive the drug trips, suicides, trysts, mutilations and alien abductions that occur as one surreal day unfolds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Kissing Booth 2 (2020)
With college decisions looming, Elle juggles her long-distance romance with Noah, changing relationship with bestie Lee and feelings for a new classmate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last American Virgin (1982)
The friendship of a group of young friends struggling with teen sex, drugs, and work is jeopardized by a romantic interest which may turn pals into bitter rivals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKids (1995)
A group of bored, disaffected New York City teenagers spend a day skating, smoking, drinking, partying, deflowering virgins, and getting into fights.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Don't Tell the Boys?
The closest matches to Don't Tell the Boys are Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022), A Friend of Dorothy (2025) and Gatlopp: Hell of a Game (2022). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Don't Tell the Boys?
Start with Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022), the closest match to Don't Tell the Boys.
What is the highest-rated movie like Don't Tell the Boys?
The Kissing Booth 2 (2020), rated 7.6/10 by 5,195 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Don't Tell the Boys?
Driver's Ed (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Don't Tell the Boys?
Yes: Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022), A Friend of Dorothy (2025) and Gatlopp: Hell of a Game (2022).
How are movies similar to Don't Tell the Boys chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Don't Tell the Boys, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.