Movies like The Way Way Back (2013)
The best movies like The Way Way Back (2013) are Little Miss Sunshine (2006), The Kings of Summer (2013) and Lady Bird (2017). If The Way Way Back hooked you with its comedy and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Intouchables (2011)8.3/10 from 19,057 votes
- NewestSnack Shack (2024)Released 2024
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
A family loaded with quirky, colorful characters piles into an old van and road trips to California for little Olive to compete in a beauty pageant.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Kings of Summer (2013)
Three restless teenagers run away to the woods for the summer, determined to escape their parents and live by their own rules. In a hidden clearing, they build a makeshift house and attempt to create an independent life, testing their friendship, freedom, and the challenges of living off the land.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLady Bird (2017)
Lady Bird McPherson, a strong willed, deeply opinionated, artistic 17 year old comes of age in Sacramento. Her relationship with her mother and her upbringing are questioned and tested as she plans to head off to college.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like this50/50 (2011)
Inspired by a true story, a comedy centered on a 27-year-old guy who learns of his cancer diagnosis and his subsequent struggle to beat the disease.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSubmarine (2011)
15-year-old deep-thinking Welsh schoolboy Oliver Tate struggles to initiate and maintain a relationship with Jordana, his devilish, dark-haired classmate at their Swansea high school. As his parents' marriage begins to fall apart, similar problems arise in his relationship with Jordana.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Edge of Seventeen (2016)
Two high school girls are best friends until one dates the other's older brother, who is totally his sister's nemesis.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fundamentals of Caring (2016)
Having suffered a tragedy, Ben becomes a caregiver to earn money. His first client, Trevor, is a hilarious 18-year-old with muscular dystrophy. One paralyzed emotionally, one paralyzed physically, Ben and Trevor hit the road on a trip into the western states. The folks they collect along the way will help them test their skills for surviving outside their calculated existence. Together, they come to understand the importance of hope and the necessity of true friendship.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMe and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)
Greg is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But both his anonymity and friendship threaten to unravel when his mother forces him to befriend a classmate with leukemia.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Descendants (2011)
With his wife Elizabeth on life support after a boating accident, Hawaiian land baron Matt King takes his daughters on a trip from Oahu to Kauai to confront a young real estate broker, who was having an affair with Elizabeth before her misfortune.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · 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: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbout a Boy (2002)
Will Freeman is a good-looking, smooth-talking bachelor whose primary goal in life is avoiding any kind of responsibility. But when he invents an imaginary son in order to meet attractive single moms, Will gets a hilarious lesson about life from a bright, but hopelessly geeky 12-year-old named Marcus. Now, as Will struggles to teach Marcus the art of being cool, Marcus teaches Will that you're never too old to grow up.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Station Agent (2003)
When his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude, only to meet a chatty hot dog vendor and a woman dealing with her own personal loss.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEighth Grade (2018)
Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school — the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year — before she begins high school.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCaptain Fantastic (2016)
Deep in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, a father devoted to raising his six kids with a rigorous physical and intellectual education is forced to leave his paradise and enter the world, beginning a journey that challenges his idea of what it means to be a parent.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSilver Linings Playbook (2012)
After losing his job and wife, and spending time in an institution, a former teacher winds up living with his parents. He wants to rebuild his life and reconcile with his wife, but his father would be happy if he shared his obsession with the Philadelphia Eagles. Things get complicated when he meets Tiffany Maxwell who offers to help him reconnect with his wife if he will do something very important for her in exchange.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Intouchables (2011)
A true story of two men who should never have met – a quadriplegic aristocrat who was injured in a paragliding accident and a young man from the projects.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017)
An estranged family gathers together in New York for an event celebrating the artistic work of their father.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSt. Vincent (2014)
A young boy whose parents just divorced finds an unlikely friend and mentor in the misanthropic, bawdy, hedonistic, war veteran who lives next door.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFrances Ha (2013)
An aspiring dancer moves to New York City and becomes caught up in a whirlwind of flighty fair-weather friends, diminishing fortunes and career setbacks.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDazed and Confused (1993)
The adventures of a group of Texas teens on their last day of school in 1976, centering on student Randall Floyd, who moves easily among stoners, jocks and geeks. Floyd is a star athlete, but he also likes smoking weed, which presents a conundrum when his football coach demands he sign a "no drugs" pledge.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhat We Did on Our Holiday (2014)
Doug and Abi and their three children travel to the Scottish Highlands for Doug's father Gordie's birthday party. It's soon clear that when it comes to keeping a secret under wraps from the rest of the family, their children are their biggest liability...
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDan in Real Life (2007)
Advice columnist Dan Burns is an expert on relationships, but somehow struggles to succeed as a brother, a son and a single parent to three precocious daughters. Things get even more complicated when Dan finds out that the woman he falls in love with is actually his brother's new girlfriend.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInfinitely Polar Bear (2014)
A manic-depressive mess of a father tries to win back his wife by attempting to take full responsibility of their two young, spirited daughters, who don't make the overwhelming task any easier.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Kids Are All Right (2010)
Two women, Nic and Jules, brought a son and daughter into the world through artificial insemination. When one of their children reaches age, both kids go behind their mothers' backs to meet with the donor. Life becomes so much more interesting when the father, two mothers and children start to become attached to each other.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSnack Shack (2024)
Inseparable best friends AJ and Moose decide to run the local pool's snack shack after their plan to sell home-brewed beer goes down the drain. Things take a turn when they meet Brooke, an effortlessly cool lifeguard who puts their big plans, and friendship, at risk.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJuno (2007)
Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, sixteen year old high-schooler, Juno MacGuff, makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAdventureland (2009)
It's the summer of 1987, and recent college grad James Brennan can't wait to begin his long-anticipated dream trip to Europe. Unfortunately, James' plans come to a screeching halt when his parents announce that they are unable to subsidize his trip. Forced to take a job at the local amusement park, James prepares for the worst summer ever, until he finds love with a captivating co-worker named Em.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Royal Tenenbaum and his wife Etheline had three children and then they separated. All three children are extraordinary --- all geniuses. Virtually all memory of the brilliance of the young Tenenbaums was subsequently erased by two decades of betrayal, failure, and disaster. Most of this was generally considered to be their father's fault. "The Royal Tenenbaums" is the story of the family's sudden, unexpected reunion one recent winter.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Way Way Back?
The closest matches to The Way Way Back are Little Miss Sunshine (2006), The Kings of Summer (2013) and Lady Bird (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Way Way Back?
People who watched The Way Way Back most often go on to Little Miss Sunshine (2006), The Kings of Summer (2013) and Lady Bird (2017).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Way Way Back?
The Intouchables (2011), rated 8.3/10 by 19,057 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Way Way Back?
Snack Shack (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Way Way Back?
Yes: Little Miss Sunshine (2006), The Kings of Summer (2013) and Lady Bird (2017).
How are movies similar to The Way Way Back chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Way Way Back, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.