Movies like Lena's Dance (2023)
The best movies like Lena's Dance (2023) are Tea and Sympathy (1956), The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister (2010) and Love, Simon (2018). If Lena's Dance hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLove, Simon (2018)8.0/10 from 6,377 votes
- NewestAristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (2023)Released 2023
Tea and Sympathy (1956)
A sensitive young man recalls his time in boarding school when the only person who seemed compassionate towards him was his housemaster's wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister (2010)
A lesbian in the 1800s who keeps a detailed account of her life written in coded diaries attempts to live independently while juggling an affair with a married woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove, Simon (2018)
Everyone deserves a great love story, but for 17-year-old Simon Spier, it's a little more complicated. He hasn't told his family or friends that he's gay, and he doesn't know the identity of the anonymous classmate that he's fallen for online.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisGeography Club (2013)
A coming-of-age movie that tells a story unfolding in every high school around the country -- a story of kids hiding their true identities in plain sight, even as they feverishly pursue their hearts' desires.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll These Small Moments (2019)
A teenage boy's infatuation with a woman he sees on the bus further complicates his already tumultuous adolescence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (2023)
Two teenage Mexican-American loners in 1987 El Paso explore a new, unusual friendship and the difficult road to self-discovery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisApt Pupil (1998)
One day in 1984, Todd Bowden, a brilliant high school boy fascinated by the history of Nazism, stumbles across an old man whose appearance resembles that of Kurt Dussander, a wanted Nazi war criminal. A month later, Todd decides to knock on his door.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Truth About Jane (2000)
High schooler Jane struggles with the self-discovery that she is a lesbian after developing an intense friendship with another girl. However, this is only the start of Jane's troubles when her unaccepting mother Janice also contends with the surprising revelation brought forth by her only daughter.
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 thisPalo Alto (2014)
A lack of parental guidance encourages teens in an affluent California town to rebel with substance abuse and casual sex.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBoy Erased (2018)
Jared, the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, is outed to his parents at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a gay conversion therapy program – or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisThe Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1991. High school freshman Charlie is a wallflower, always watching life from the sidelines, until two senior students, Sam and her stepbrother Patrick, become his mentors, helping him discover the joys of friendship, music and love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEasy A (2010)
Olive, an average high school student, sees her below-the-radar existence turn around overnight once she decides to use the school's gossip grapevine to advance her social standing. Now her classmates are turning against her and the school board is becoming concerned, including her favorite teacher and the distracted guidance counselor. With the support of her hilariously idiosyncratic parents and a little help from a long-time crush, Olive attempts to take on her notorious new identity and crush the rumor mill once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChemical Hearts (2020)
When a hopelessly romantic high school senior falls for a mysterious new classmate, it sets them both on an unexpected journey that teaches them about love, loss, and most importantly themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLost and Delirious (2001)
After starting at an upmarket boarding school, a teenage girl forms close friendships with her two older roommates. However, when she discovers that her new friends are lovers she finds herself caught in a complicated situation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDo Revenge (2022)
A dethroned queen bee at a posh private high school strikes a secret deal with an unassuming new student to enact revenge on one another’s enemies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaurice (1987)
After his lover rejects him, Maurice attempts to come to terms with his sexuality within the restrictiveness of Edwardian society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShe's the Man (2006)
Viola Hastings is in a real jam. Complications threaten her scheme to pose as her twin brother, Sebastian, and take his place at a new boarding school. She falls in love with her handsome roommate, Duke, who loves beautiful Olivia, who has fallen for Sebastian! As if that were not enough, Viola's twin returns from London ahead of schedule but has no idea that his sister has already replaced him on campus.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnpregnant (2020)
After discovering she can’t legally get an abortion in Missouri without her parents’ permission, teenager Veronica convinces her former best friend Bailey to take a road trip to Albuquerque to seek the procedure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Lena's Dance?
The closest matches to Lena's Dance are Tea and Sympathy (1956), The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister (2010) and Love, Simon (2018). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Lena's Dance?
Start with Tea and Sympathy (1956), the closest match to Lena's Dance.
What is the highest-rated movie like Lena's Dance?
Love, Simon (2018), rated 8.0/10 by 6,377 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Lena's Dance?
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Lena's Dance?
Yes: Tea and Sympathy (1956), The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister (2010) and Love, Simon (2018).
How are movies similar to Lena's Dance chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Lena's Dance, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.