Movies like Rad (1986)
The best movies like Rad (1986) are Tuck Everlasting (2002), Save the Last Dance (2001) and A Christmas Kiss (2011). If Rad hooked you with its drama and family, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedIt's a Wonderful Life (1946)8.3/10 from 5,156 votes
- NewestDown the Arm of God (2026)Released 2026
Tuck Everlasting (2002)
Teenager Winnie Foster is growing up in a small rural town in 1914 with her loving but overprotective parents, but Winnie longs for a life of greater freedom and adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSave the Last Dance (2001)
After the death of her mother, Sara moves to the South Side of Chicago to live with her father and gets transferred to a majority-black school. Her life takes a turn for the better when befriends Chenille and her brother Derek, who helps her with her dancing skills.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Christmas Kiss (2011)
Wendy Walton is the best designer in Boston... but no one knows it yet. Hoping to kick-start her career, Wendy has left work with the local theatre to take a job as an assistant to Priscilla Hall, the most prestigious designer in the city. Ms. Hall works Wendy around the clock, which is how Wendy finds herself trapped in an elevator late one night with an incredibly handsome stranger. Wendy and the mystery man share an impulsive, romantic, life changing kiss before the doors open and Wendy runs out, leaving him behind. The next day at work, Wendy answers the door to find the handsome gentleman standing in front of her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeparture (2016)
An English mother and her teenage son spend a week preparing the sale of their remote holiday house in the South of France. Fifteen-year-old Elliot struggles with his dawning sexuality and an increasing alienation from his mother, Beatrice. She in turn is confronted by the realisation that her marriage to his father, Philip, has grown loveless and the life she knows is coming to an end. When an enigmatic local teenager, Clément, quietly enters their lives, both mother and son are compelled to confront their desires and, finally, each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret Life of Bees (2008)
Set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the tale of Lily Owens a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father, Lily flees with Rosaleen, her caregiver and only friend, to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother's past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Wild One (1953)
The Black Rebels Motorcycle Club ride into the small California town of Wrightsville, eager to raise hell. Brooding gang leader Johnny Strabler takes a liking to Kathie, the daughter of the local lawman, as another club rolls into town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lost Husband (2020)
Trying to put her life back together after the death of her husband, Libby and her children move to her estranged Aunt's goat farm in central Texas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Best of Me (2014)
A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove Everlasting (2016)
Bridger is a young outsider who's always wanted more. He and his mother flee an abusive home, eventually finding a small town in the middle of nowhere. Once there, Bridger finds true acceptance with another misfit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Good Witch (2008)
A mysterious woman comes in to town and inhabits the local haunted mansion, making everyone wonder if she's a witch or "The Grey Lady".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Believe (2019)
A 9 year old boy experiences God's power in a supernatural way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both family & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDuel in the Sun (1946)
Beautiful half-breed Pearl Chavez becomes the ward of her dead father's first love and finds herself torn between her sons, one good and the other bad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPure Country (1992)
Dusty Chandler is a super star in the country music world, but his shows have the style of a '70s rock concert. One day he takes a walk - out of his overdone concerts to find his real country roots. He's helped and hindered by friends and staff, but pushes on in his search for a real music style as well as a real romance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between (2022)
Clare and Aidan make a pact to break up before college — no regrets, no broken hearts. But will one epic goodbye date offer them a last chance at love?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReturn to Christmas Creek (2018)
As Christmas approaches, Amelia Hughes, a career-focused Chicago app developer lacking in holiday spirit, returns to her small hometown of Christmas Creek to rediscover the meaning of Christmas. There, she reunites with her childhood best friend Mike and her estranged uncle Harry, whose mysterious rift with Amelia’s father divided her family during the holiday season when she was a child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Witch's Family (2011)
A young witch visits her cousin in a small town during a heated mayoral election race. Her kind-hearted cousin, the town’s beloved “good witch” and newlywed with two teenage step-kids, is running for office, but must keep her family from falling apart when their visitor uses her magic to put them—and the whole town—under her bitter spell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNorth Shore (1987)
On a small stretch of coastline as powerful as a man's will, Rick Kane came to surf the big waves. He found a woman who would show him how to survive, and a challenge unlike any other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBorrowed Hearts (1997)
Single mom Kathleen Russell (Roma Downey) and her daughter Zoey pretend to be Kathleen's boss's "family" so he can close a major business deal with the mysterious Mexican financier Javier Del Campo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Choice (2016)
Travis and Gabby first meet as neighbors in a small coastal town and wind up in a relationship that is tested by life's most defining events.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIt's a Wonderful Life (1946)
George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHow the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer (2005)
Three generations of women in a Mexican American family experience sexual awakenings over the course of a summer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Leap of Faith (1992)
Jonas Nightengale is a fraudulent Christian faith healer who makes a living travelling around America holding revival meetings and conducting 'miracles' with the help of his friend and manager, Jane, and their entourage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thismaboroshi (2023)
A factory explosion plunges a small town into a timeless freeze, leaving teenage Masamune and his pals to grapple with a quickly collapsing reality.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFirstly "Like" You (2023)
A deeper exploration of the relationship between King and Burger from "Hit Bite Love."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
My Mother's Future Husband (2014)
Headly, a 15-year-old teenager, thinks her mother, Rene, has mourned her father's death long enough, so she decides to find her a new husband by the end of the summer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both family & romance
All the Real Girls (2003)
In a sleepy little mill town in North Carolina, Paul is the town Romeo. But when his best friend's sister returns home from boarding school, he finds himself falling for her innocent charm. In spite of her lack of experience and the violent protests of her brother, the two find themselves in a sweet, dreamy and all-consuming love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisCharlie Bartlett (2008)
Awkward teenager Charlie Bartlett has trouble fitting in at a new high school. Charlie needs some friends fast, and decides that the best way to find them is to appoint himself the resident psychiatrist. He becomes one of the most popular guys in school by doling out advice and, occasionally, medication, to the student body.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Brother Loves Me Too Much (2017)
Setoka Tachibana is a female high school student who has confessed her feelings to other boys 12 times, but has been rebuffed each time. Her older brother Haruka Tachibana cares for his younger sister deeply, but he keeps secret from her that they are not blood related. One day, Setoka's first love Takane Serikawa appears after many years and approaches her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDear Viola (2014)
Katie, a shy newspaper accountant submits a reply to a "Dear Viola" letter to the editor that she works for, anonymously. She has a real knack for writing to people and getting to the heart of the matter. Soon, she takes over the newspaper's advice column and falls in love with one of her correspondents. The whole town becomes involved in the romantics.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Down the Arm of God (2026)
A young pastor goes through a harsh winter in a small Texas town, where his mission to help the homeless is faced with resistance by his congregation, exposing deep-seated prejudice and systemic failures.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Rad and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Rad?
The closest matches to Rad are Tuck Everlasting (2002), Save the Last Dance (2001) and A Christmas Kiss (2011). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Rad?
Start with Tuck Everlasting (2002), the closest match to Rad.
What is the highest-rated movie like Rad?
It's a Wonderful Life (1946), rated 8.3/10 by 5,156 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Rad?
Down the Arm of God (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Rad?
Yes: Tuck Everlasting (2002), Save the Last Dance (2001) and A Christmas Kiss (2011).
How are movies similar to Rad chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Rad, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.