Movies like Recess: Incidents in the Playground (1987)
The best movies like Recess: Incidents in the Playground (1987) are Looking for Richard (1996), As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000) and Diego Maradona (2019). If Recess: Incidents in the Playground hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFreedom Writers (2007)7.9/10 from 2,525 votes
- NewestLionel Messi: Destiny (2023)Released 2023
Looking for Richard (1996)
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAs I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)
A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDiego Maradona (2019)
Constructed from over 500 hours of never-before-seen footage, this documentary centers on the personal life and career of the controversial football player Diego Maradona who played for SSC Napoli and Argentina in the 1980s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRBG (2018)
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg now 84, and still inspired by the lawyers who defended free speech during the Red Scare, Ginsburg refuses to relinquish her passionate duty, steadily fighting for equal rights for all citizens under the law. Through intimate interviews and unprecedented access to Ginsburg’s life outside the court, RBG tells the electric story of Ginsburg’s consuming love affairs with both the Constitution and her beloved husband Marty—and of a life’s work that led her to become an icon of justice in the highest court in the land.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHarriet the Spy (1996)
Harriet may only be in the sixth grade, but she's already found her calling: to be a spy. In a private journal she takes everywhere, Harriet records suspicious activity and keeps a running list of observations on virtually everyone she knows. It seems harmless enough until, one day, someone finds the journal and exposes Harriet's critical thoughts about her classmates. Suddenly, even her best friends are against her, and Harriet resolves to take revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Battered Bastards of Baseball (2014)
Hollywood veteran Bing Russell creates the only independent baseball team in the country—alarming the baseball establishment and sparking the meteoric rise of the 1970s Portland Mavericks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCristiano Ronaldo: World at His Feet (2014)
Cristiano Ronaldo: The World at His Feet follows the footballer from his beginnings in Portugal, breakthrough start with Manchester United and current career at Real Madrid.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTyson (2008)
Director James Toback takes an unflinching, uncompromising look at the life of Mike Tyson--almost solely from the perspective of the man himself. TYSON alternates between the controversial boxer addressing the camera and shots of the champion's fights to create an arresting picture of the man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeat Street (1984)
An aspiring DJ, from the South Bronx, and his best friend, a promoter, try to get into show business by exposing people to hip-hop music and culture.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania (1972)
Jonas Mekas weaves an elegiac diary film from his 1971–72 return to Lithuania, chronicling a visit to his birthplace of Semeniškiai after decades in exile. Blending personal memory with documentary observation, the film becomes both a portrait of homecoming and a meditation on displacement, family, and the passage of time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisConfirmation (2016)
Judge Clarence Thomas' nomination to the United States' Supreme Court is called into question when former colleague, Anita Hill, testifies that he had sexually harassed her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLionel Messi: Destiny (2023)
Behind-the-scenes documentary about how Lionel Messi succeeded in lifting the World Cup – the only trophy to have eluded him in an incredible career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Barbie Diaries (2006)
Barbie is disheartened when Todd breaks her heart and goes back to his former girlfriend. But things change when she comes across a diary, which makes her wishes come true.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPage One: Inside the New York Times (2011)
Unprecedented access to the New York Times newsroom yields a complex view of the transformation of a media landscape fraught with both peril and opportunity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cannonball Run (1981)
A cross-country road race is based on an actual event, the Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, organized by Brock Yates to protest the 55 mph speed limit then in effect in the U.S. The Cannonball was named for Erwin G. "Cannonball" Baker, who in the roaring 20's rode his motorcycle across the country. Many of the characters are based on ruses developed by real Cannonball racers over the several years that the event was run.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFreedom Writers (2007)
A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFalling Down (1993)
An ordinary man frustrated with the various flaws he sees in society begins to psychotically and violently lash out against them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Audrey Hepburn Story (2000)
The film spans from Hepburn's early childhood to the 1950s which details her life as a Dutch ballerina, coming to grips with her parents' divorce, and enduring life in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II. She then settles in the U.S. where she succeeds in making it big as a movie actress, in such movies as Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoman J. Israel, Esq. (2017)
Hard-nosed liberal lawyer Roman J. Israel has been fighting the good fight forever while others take the credit. When his partner – the firm's frontman – has a heart attack, Israel suddenly takes on that role. He soon discovers some unsettling truths about the firm – truths that conflict with his values of helping the poor and dispossessed – and finds himself in an existential crisis that leads to extreme actions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBread and Roses (2000)
In Los Angeles, undocumented Mexican immigrant Maya finds work as a janitor through her sister, Rosa. However, as both work non-union, conditions are grim. After enduring abuse from her superiors, Maya is open to the pro-union rhetoric offered by organiser Sam Shapiro. Rosa, meanwhile, is far less interested in clashing with management, given the needs of her family, and a rift forms between the sisters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Recess: Incidents in the Playground?
The closest matches to Recess: Incidents in the Playground are Looking for Richard (1996), As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000) and Diego Maradona (2019). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Recess: Incidents in the Playground?
Start with Looking for Richard (1996), the closest match to Recess: Incidents in the Playground.
What is the highest-rated movie like Recess: Incidents in the Playground?
Freedom Writers (2007), rated 7.9/10 by 2,525 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Recess: Incidents in the Playground?
Lionel Messi: Destiny (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Recess: Incidents in the Playground?
Yes: Looking for Richard (1996), As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000) and Diego Maradona (2019).
How are movies similar to Recess: Incidents in the Playground chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Recess: Incidents in the Playground, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.