Movies like Growing Up Absurd (2023)
The best movies like Growing Up Absurd (2023) are The Professor (2019), Animal House (1978) and Accepted (2006). If Growing Up Absurd hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHonor Society (2022)7.4/10 from 466 votes
- NewestSidelined: The QB and Me (2025)Released 2025
The Professor (2019)
A world-weary college professor is given a life-changing diagnosis and decides to throw all pretense and conventions to the wind and live his life as boldly and freely as possible with a biting sense of humor, a reckless streak and a touch of madness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnimal House (1978)
At a 1962 College, Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the entire Delta Tau Chi Fraternity, but those troublemakers have other plans for him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAccepted (2006)
A high school slacker who's rejected by every school he applies to opts to create his own institution of higher learning, the South Harmon Institute of Technology, on a rundown piece of property near his hometown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPitch Perfect (2012)
College student Beca knows she does not want to be part of a clique, but that's exactly where she finds herself after arriving at her new school. Thrust in among mean gals, nice gals and just plain weird gals, Beca finds that the only thing they have in common is how well they sing together. She takes the women of the group out of their comfort zone of traditional arrangements and into a world of amazing harmonic combinations in a fight to the top of college music competitions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSt. Elmo's Fire (1985)
Reluctant to let go of college life, a close-knit team of seven friends--irresponsible saxophone player Billy, young Republican Alec, his girlfriend Leslie, struggling journalist Kevin, drama queen Jules, lovesick waiter Kirby, and Wendy, a social worker with a heart of gold--realise the party is over. And as the burdens of maturity close in on the young dreamers, the complexities of adulthood and the daily struggle of growing up put their sacred friendship to the test. But everyone knows life is not a bed of roses. It won't be easy, but when all is said and done, what will it take for St. Elmo's clique to find its place in the real world?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEducating Rita (1983)
Rita, a witty 26-year-old hairdresser, wants to 'discover' herself, so she joins the Open University where she meets the disillusioned professor of literature, Dr. Frank Bryant. His marriage has failed, his new girlfriend is having an affair with his best friend and he can't get through the day without downing a bottle or two of whisky. What Frank needs is a challenge... and along comes Rita.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCarnal Knowledge (1971)
Two lifelong friends navigate complex sexual encounters and emotional entanglements, wrestling with societal norms and personal desires.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOld School (2003)
Three friends attempt to recapture their glory days by opening up a fraternity near their alma mater.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHere Today (2021)
Veteran comedy writer Charlie Berns, who is slowly but surely losing his grip on reality, befriends a talented young New York street singer Emma Payge. Together, they form an unlikely yet hilarious and touching friendship that kicks the generation gap aside and redefines the meaning of love and trust.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEverybody Wants Some!! (2016)
A comedy that follows a group of friends as they navigate their way through the freedoms and responsibilities of unsupervised adulthood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Riot Club (2014)
Two first-year students at Oxford University join a secret society and learn that their reputations can be made or destroyed over the course of one evening.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisPaper Man (2009)
A coming-of-middle-age comedy that chronicles the unlikely friendship between failed author Richard Dunne and a Long Island teen who teaches him a thing or two about growing up, all under the disapproving eye of his long-suffering wife and his imaginary Superhero friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLeo (2023)
Jaded 74-year-old reptile Leo has been stuck in the same Florida classroom for decades with his terrarium-mate turtle. When he learns he only has one year left to live, he plans to escape to experience life on the outside but instead gets caught up in the problems of his anxious students — including an impossibly mean substitute teacher.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOrange County (2002)
Shaun Brumder is a local surfer kid from Orange County who dreams of going to Stanford to become a writer and to get away from his dysfunctional family household. Except Shaun runs into one complication after another, starting when his application is rejected after his dim-witted guidance counselor sends in the wrong form.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSidelined: The QB and Me (2025)
Dallas, a burdened but headstrong dancer, is determined to get into the best dance school in the country—her late mother’s alma mater. However, that dream is suddenly derailed when the cheeky yet secretly grieving football star, Drayton, crashes into her life with a unique story of his own. Will the two of them be able to grow into their dreams together, or will their dreams be sidelined?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Art of Getting By (2011)
George, a lonely and fatalistic teen who's made it all the way to his senior year without ever having done a real day of work, is befriended by Sally, a popular but complicated girl who recognizes in him a kindred spirit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHonor Society (2022)
Honor is an ambitious high school senior whose sole focus is getting into Harvard, assuming she can first score the coveted recommendation from her guidance counselor, Mr. Calvin. Willing to do whatever it takes, Honor concocts a Machiavellian-like plan to take down her top three student competitors, until things take a turn when she unexpectedly falls for her biggest competition, Michael.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBig Daddy (1999)
A lazy law school grad adopts a kid to impress his girlfriend, but everything doesn't go as planned. Now he's forced to grow up while navigating the challenges of fatherhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rewrite (2014)
An Oscar-winning writer in a slump leaves Hollywood to teach screenwriting at a college on the East Coast, where he falls for a single mom taking classes there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSchool Ties (1992)
When David Greene receives a football scholarship to a prestigious prep school in the 1950s, he feels pressure to hide the fact that he is Jewish from his classmates and teachers, fearing that they may be anti-Semitic. He quickly becomes the big man on campus thanks to his football skills, but when his Jewish background is discovered, his worst fears are realized and his friends turn on him with violent threats and public ridicule.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Growing Up Absurd?
The closest matches to Growing Up Absurd are The Professor (2019), Animal House (1978) and Accepted (2006). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Growing Up Absurd?
Start with The Professor (2019), the closest match to Growing Up Absurd.
What is the highest-rated movie like Growing Up Absurd?
Honor Society (2022), rated 7.4/10 by 466 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Growing Up Absurd?
Sidelined: The QB and Me (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Growing Up Absurd?
Yes: The Professor (2019), Animal House (1978) and Accepted (2006).
How are movies similar to Growing Up Absurd chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Growing Up Absurd, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.