Movies like Rushmore
If Rushmore hooked you with its comedy and drama, these are the films to watch next. Every pick says why it matches.
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Five high school students from different walks of life endure a Saturday detention under a power-hungry principal. The disparate group includes rebel John, princess Claire, outcast Allison, brainy Brian and Andrew, the jock. Each has a chance to tell his or her story, making the others see them a little differently -- and when the day ends, they question whether school will ever be the same.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReal Women Have Curves (2002)
In East Los Angeles, an 18-year-old struggles between her ambitions of going to college and the desires of her domineering mother for her to get married, have children, and oversee the small, rundown family-owned textile factory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHouse of D (2004)
In the present, artist Tom Warshaw recalls his traumatic coming of age. As a 13-year-old growing up in New York City in 1973, Tom hangs out with Pappass, a mentally disabled man. With Tom's mother battling depression after the death of her husband, the young boy is left to his own devices. When Tom develops a crush on schoolmate Melissa, Pappass feels abandoned and begins behaving erratically.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArt School Confidential (2006)
Starting from childhood attempts at illustration, the protagonist pursues his true obsession to art school. But as he learns how the art world really works, he finds that he must adapt his vision to the reality that confronts him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpeech & Debate (2017)
Frustrated by the hypocrisy they see in their parents, teachers, and the entire school board, an unlikely trio set out to find a common truth and make their voices heard as they revive a defunct school club and take on the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisElection (1999)
A high school teacher meets his match in an over-achieving student politician.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe House of Tomorrow (2019)
The film tells futurist, architect, and inventor R. Buckminster Fuller's incredible story through two teens hoping to get laid, become punk gods, and survive high school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLandline (2017)
A teenager living with her sister and parents in Manhattan during the 1990s discovers that her father is having an affair.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWorld's Greatest Dad (2009)
In the wake of a freak accident, Lance suffers the worst tragedy and the greatest opportunity of his life. He is suddenly faced with the possibility of fame, fortune and popularity, if he can only live with the knowledge of how he got there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSomewhere in Queens (2023)
Leo and Angela Russo live a simple life in Queens, surrounded by their overbearing Italian-American family. When their son finds success on his high school basketball team, Leo tears the family apart trying to make it happen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPalindromes (2005)
Aviva is thirteen, awkward and sensitive. Her mother Joyce is warm and loving, as is her father, Steve, a regular guy who does have a fierce temper from time to time. The film revolves around her family, friends and neighbors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Squid and the Whale (2005)
Based on the true childhood experiences of Noah Baumbach and his brother, The Squid and the Whale tells the touching story of two young boys dealing with their parents' divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTyler Perry's Madea on the Run - The Play (2017)
In trouble with the local authorities, Mabel Simmons, notoriously known as Madea, is on the run from the law. With no place to turn, she moves in with her friend Bam who is recovering from surgery. Unbeknownst to Bam however, Madea is only using the "concerned friend" gag as a way to hide out from the police.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Wild Life (1984)
Eighties teen romp involving Bill and his new apartment, Jim and his rebellious antics, Tom and his crazy self, and Anita with her older man David.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Clique (2008)
A young girl tries to fit in with a clique of popular middle school girls after moving into the guest house of one of their homes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlame (2018)
A drama teacher's taboo relationship with an unstable student strikes a nerve in her jealous classmate, sparking a vengeful chain of events within their suburban high school that draws parallels to "The Crucible".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 · both comedy
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 · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrave the Dark (2025)
When Mr. Deen discovers one of his students has been living out of his car and thrown into jail, he decides to bail him out. Determined to curb Nate’s self-destructive behavior, Deen quickly discovers a host of dark secrets slowly tearing Nate apart. What began as a good deed becomes a desperate fight to save Nate from his own demons. As Nate spirals deeper into despair, Deen must decide how far he’s willing to go to save a kid on the brink of losing everything—even himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOld Dads (2023)
A cranky middle-aged dad and his two best friends find themselves out of step in a changing world of millennial CEOs and powerful preschool principals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChasing Ghosts (2014)
Lucas Simons, an 11-year-old filmmaker, is obsessed with death after the loss of his brother. When Lucas accidentally captures a mysterious presence in one of his films, he inadvertently becomes a YouTube phenomenon, and must learn to live life in the spotlight while also learning how to once again start living life to its fullest.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Emi Goes on an Adventure (TBA)
Emi has just lost her best friend in a car accident. Upon discovering this, she decides to isolate herself from everyone and go cycling through the city. Along the way, she begins to encounter different places and people she had never met, embarking on a journey through her life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Pleasantville (1998)
Geeky teenager David and his popular twin sister, Jennifer, get sucked into the black-and-white world of a 1950s TV sitcom called "Pleasantville," and find a world where everything is peachy keen all the time. But when Jennifer's modern attitude disrupts Pleasantville's peaceful but boring routine, she literally brings color into its life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAs Good as It Gets (1997)
A misanthropic author, a single mother and waitress, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is assaulted in a robbery.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBig (1988)
When a young boy makes a wish at a carnival machine to be big, he wakes up the following morning to find that it has been granted and his body has grown older overnight, but he is still the same 13-year-old boy inside. Now he must learn how to cope with the unfamiliar world of grown-ups, including getting a job and having his first romantic encounter with a woman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisApart We Grow (2025)
Best friends Gabby and Willow grow up, as they grow apart.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Fargo (1996)
Jerry Lundegaard is a small-town Minnesota car salesman deeply in debt and willing to do almost anything to get out. Police chief Marge Gunderson discovers a string of violent crimes as Jerry's schemes spiral out of control.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Girl Named Ann (2024)
A drug-addicted girl from an abusive family finds hope through kind people but her grim reality strikes back just as she sees a glimmer of light.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
This won’t be me (2025)
Inés and Tavi, two old friends, reconnect after years apart. Despite their opposite personalities and lifestyles, their bond remains unbroken. Inés, a theater enthusiast, strives to return to her studies and break free from a relationship that stifles her and pulls her away from herself. Tavi, on the other hand, ventures down a dangerous path, surrounded by bad influences and driven by drug dealing, slowly pushing everyone around him away.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Günce (2026)
A young woman forced by her family to study a major she doesn't want, finds her only escape in her passion for the sky while caught between economic struggles and social norms.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Rushmore and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Rushmore?
The closest matches to Rushmore are The Breakfast Club, Real Women Have Curves, House of D.
How are movies similar to Rushmore chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Rushmore, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.
Are there English movies like Rushmore?
Yes: The Breakfast Club, Real Women Have Curves, House of D.