Movies like Watching Emily (2012)
The best movies like Watching Emily (2012) are The Mother (2003), After We Collided (2020) and Around the Bend (2004). If Watching Emily hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Watching Emily
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Farewell (2019)7.4/10 from 1,604 votes
- NewestOld Dads (2023)Released 2023
The Mother (2003)
A grandmother has a passionate affair with a man half her age, who is also sleeping with her daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfter We Collided (2020)
Tessa finds herself struggling with her complicated relationship with Hardin; she faces a dilemma that could change their lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAround the Bend (2004)
A tale of four generations of men, all of whom have had their offspring at a young age: a great-grandfather, a grandfather, a father in his twenties and a son who is about 7 years old. When the oldest member passes away, the trio heads out on the road together in the Southwest to search out an old family secret that connects to their past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisNona (2021)
A grandmother is caught between her two favorite things when her granddaughter is unexpectedly dropped off during the day she was planning to spend watching her favorite TV show.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Under the Stars (2015)
Young at heart graduate student Becca strikes up an unlikely friendship with Emily, a quiet girl who recently lost her mother. With every passing play date chaperoned by Emily's father, Becca helps Emily come out of her shell and cope with her loss, and Emily teaches Becca to take on adult responsibilities. When a romance develops between Becca and Nate, though, the two must learn to balance their new relationship with Nate's responsibility to Emily, and with Becca's responsibility to finish her education.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Farewell (2019)
A headstrong Chinese-American woman returns to China when her beloved grandmother is given a terminal diagnosis. Billi struggles with her family's decision to keep grandma in the dark about her own illness as they all stage an impromptu wedding to see grandma one last time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGrandma (2015)
Self-described misanthrope Elle Reid has her protective bubble burst when her 18-year-old granddaughter, Sage, shows up needing help. The two of them go on a day-long journey that causes Elle to come to terms with her past and Sage to confront her future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOur Souls at Night (2017)
Addie Moore and Louis Waters, a widow and widower, have lived next to each other for years. The pair have almost no relationship, but that all changes when Addie tries to make a connection with her neighbour.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Evening Star (1996)
Continuing the story of Aurora Greenway in her latter years. After the death of her daughter, Aurora struggled to keep her family together, but has one grandson in jail, a rebellious granddaughter, and another grandson living just above the poverty line.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisAfter Ever Happy (2022)
As a shocking truth about a couple's families emerges, the two lovers discover they are not so different from each other. Tessa is no longer the sweet, simple, good girl she was when she met Hardin — any more than he is the cruel, moody boy she fell so hard for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJuniper (2021)
When a self-destructive teenager is suspended from school and asked to look after his feisty alcoholic grandmother as a punishment, the crazy time they spend together turns his life around.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack or White (2015)
A grieving widower is drawn into a custody battle over his granddaughter, whom he helped raise her entire life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDad (1989)
A busy executive learns during a meeting that his mother may be dying and rushes home to her side. He ends up being his father's caretaker and becomes closer to him than ever before. Estranged from his own son, the executive comes to realize what has been missing in his own life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Late Quartet (2012)
When the beloved cellist of a world-renowned string quartet is diagnosed with a life threatening illness, the group's future suddenly hangs in the balance as suppressed emotions, competing egos and uncontrollable passions threaten to derail years of friendship and collaboration. As they are about to play their 25th anniversary concert — quite possibly their last — only their intimate bond and the power of music can preserve their legacy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlowers in the Attic (2014)
After the sudden death of their father, four children face cruel treatment from their ruthless grandmother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfter We Fell (2021)
Just as Tessa's life begins to become unglued, nothing is what she thought it would be. Not her friends nor her family. The only person that she should be able to rely on is Hardin, who is furious when he discovers the massive secret that she's been keeping. Before Tessa makes the biggest decision of her life, everything changes because of revelations about her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Princess Diaries (2001)
A socially awkward but very bright 15-year-old girl being raised by a single mom discovers that she is the princess of a small European country because of the recent death of her long-absent father, who, unknown to her, was the crown prince of Genovia. She must make a choice between continuing the life of a San Francisco teen or stepping up to the throne.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisForever in My Heart (2019)
Jenna and Charlie found love in Ireland but their dreams drove them apart. Five years later, they reunite and Jenna has to decide where her heart belongs—back home or in the Emerald Isle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPatrick (2018)
A woman's chaotic life becomes more complicated when she inherits her grandmother's dog.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Watching Emily?
The closest matches to Watching Emily are The Mother (2003), After We Collided (2020) and Around the Bend (2004). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Watching Emily?
Start with The Mother (2003), the closest match to Watching Emily.
What is the highest-rated movie like Watching Emily?
The Farewell (2019), rated 7.4/10 by 1,604 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Watching Emily?
Old Dads (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Watching Emily?
Yes: The Mother (2003), After We Collided (2020) and Around the Bend (2004).
How are movies similar to Watching Emily chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Watching Emily, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.