Movies like I Am Michael (2015)
The best movies like I Am Michael (2015) are Boy Erased (2018), Come Sunday (2018) and Run the Race (2019). If I Am Michael hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPrayers for Bobby (2009)8.1/10 from 663 votes
- NewestWinner (2024)Released 2024
Boy Erased (2018)
Jared, the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, is outed to his parents at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a gay conversion therapy program – or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisRun the Race (2019)
Reeling from his mother’s death and his father’s abandonment, Zach, an All-State athlete, finds glory on the football field, working to earn a college scholarship and the brothers’ ticket out of town. When a devastating injury puts Zach—and his dreams—on the sidelines, David laces up his track cleats to salvage their future and point Zach toward hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrayers for Bobby (2009)
Bobby Griffith was his mother's favorite son, the perfect all-American boy growing up under deeply religious influences in Walnut Creek, California. Bobby was also gay. Struggling with a conflict no one knew of, much less understood, Bobby finally came out to his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMilk (2008)
The true story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man ever elected to public office. In San Francisco in the late 1970s, Harvey Milk becomes an activist for gay rights and inspires others to join him in his fight for equal rights that should be available to all Americans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Apostle (1997)
After his happy life spins out of control, a preacher from Texas changes his name, goes to Louisiana and starts preaching on the radio.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRustin (2023)
Activist Bayard Rustin faces racism and homophobia as he helps change the course of Civil Rights history by orchestrating the 1963 March on Washington.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018)
Pennsylvania, 1993. After getting caught with another girl, teenager Cameron Post is sent to a conversion therapy center run by the strict Dr. Lydia Marsh and her brother, Reverend Rick, whose treatment consists in repenting for feeling “same sex attraction.” Cameron befriends fellow sinners Jane and Adam, thus creating a new family to deal with the surrounding intolerance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPretty Boy (2015)
Sean is taken to a motel and is given a prostitute for his 18th birthday by his father. He must sleep with her to "fix" his questionable homosexuality. "Pretty Boy" is a coming of age story of a young bullied teen, Sean, struggling with his sexuality and the hardships of high school. After his father finds some questionable magazines in his room, this devout Christian will go to any lengths to get his son to find the light and "perform" the way a man should. Sean is introduced to Katie, a prostitute that understands the stigmas of modern society and helps him see the true light that is within him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMoonlight (2016)
The tender, heartbreaking story of a young man’s struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life as he experiences the ecstasy, pain, and beauty of falling in love, while grappling with his own sexuality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Ledge (2011)
A thriller in which a battle of philosophies between a fundamentalist Christian and an atheist who shares an apartment with a gay friend escalates into a lethal battle of wills.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Brother the Devil (2012)
Fourteen-year-old Mo is a lonely, sensitive boy whose hunger for the rant and banter of buddies makes him prone to tread dangerous territories. He idolizes his handsome older brother, Rashid, a charismatic, well-respected member of a local gang, whose drug dealing enables “Rash” to provide for his family. Aching to be seen as a tough guy himself, Mo takes a job that unlocks a fateful turn of events and forces the brothers to confront their inner demons. It turns out that hate is easy. It is love and understanding that take real courage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPalmer (2021)
After 12 years in prison, former high school football star Eddie Palmer returns home to put his life back together—and forms an unlikely bond with Sam, an outcast boy from a troubled home. But Eddie's past threatens to ruin his new life and family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Boys in the Band (2020)
At a birthday party in 1968 New York, a surprise guest and a drunken game leave seven gay friends reckoning with unspoken feelings and buried truths.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUncle Frank (2020)
In 1973, when Frank Bledsoe and his 18-year-old niece Beth take a road trip from Manhattan to Creekville, South Carolina for the family patriarch's funeral, they're unexpectedly joined by Frank's lover Walid.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Birth of a Nation (2016)
Nat Turner, a former slave in America, leads a liberation movement in 1831 to free African-Americans in Virginia that results in a violent retaliation from whites.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJ. Edgar (2011)
As the face of law enforcement in the United States for almost 50 years, J. Edgar Hoover was feared and admired, reviled and revered. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career, and his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Great Debaters (2007)
The true story of a brilliant but politically radical debate team coach who uses the power of words to transform a group of underdog African-American college students into a historical powerhouse that took on the Harvard elite.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Forgiven (2018)
After the end of Apartheid, Archbishop Desmond Tutu meets with a brutal murderer seeking redemption.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTyler Perry's Divorce in the Black (2024)
Ava, a young bank professional is devastated when her husband Dallas abandons a marriage she is determined to fight for until fate intervenes, revealing Dallas' wicked deeds that have trashed their marriage, and once upon a time sabotaged Ava's destiny to be loved by her true soulmate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChicherin (1986)
Chicherin - Russian revolutionary, Soviet diplomat, first People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs of the RSFSR and the USSR. Member of the USSR Central Executive Committee of 1-5 convocations, member of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party. Musicologist, author of a book about Mozart. In memory of Chicherin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Frida (2002)
A biography of artist Frida Kahlo, who channeled the pain of a crippling injury and her tempestuous marriage into her work.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Discovery of Heaven (2001)
Disappointed with humanity, God wants to revoke his contract with humanity and wants to take back the stone tablets containing the ten commandments. To this end an angel is sent out to affect the personal lives of three humans so an appropriate child may be conceived.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Noire (2021)
On March 2, 1955, like every day, Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old black girl from Alabama, bought her ticket at the front of the bus, but had to get on the back. If the front is reserved for White, when they have no more room, Black must give up theirs, to the rear. It's the law. But that day, the teenager refuses to give way to a White. Claudette Colvin says no. Arrested, she pleaded not guilty and sued the city, a first. However, we will not make an example of it. We will wait for Rosa Parks, a lighter-skinned seamstress, who, nine months after Claudette, will make the same gesture, soon supported by the young Martin Luther King. History is on the move. Claudette Colvin allowed everything, but she is the one we have forgotten.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Too Saved (2007)
Lisa is a young, Christian woman. Bobby, her boyfriend, however, is a street hoodlum. Lisa prays constantly that Bobby will accept God in his life. She soon gets what she wants, but discovers that Bobby's conversion means that she has to get her life in order as well. As a result, she is forced to resolve not only her relationship with Bobby, but with everyone in her life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Velvet Goldmine (1998)
Almost a decade since larger-than-life glam-rock enigma Brian Slade disappeared from public eye, an investigative journalist is on assignment to uncover the truth behind his former idol.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Elephant Man (1980)
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLove in Thoughts (2004)
A posthumous look at the last days of Guenther's life as he, his best friend, and his sister let loose on a four-day binge of alcohol, drugs, and sex.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlexander (2004)
Alexander, the King of Macedonia, leads his legions against the giant Persian Empire. After defeating the Persians, he leads his army across the then known world, venturing farther than any westerner had ever gone, all the way to India.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWinner (2024)
Winner is a brilliant young misfit from Texas who finds her morals challenged while serving in the U.S. Air Force and working as an NSA contractor. A fresh take on the traditional whistleblower thriller, the coming-of-age story follows an idealistic young woman persecuted for standing by her principles.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like I Am Michael?
The closest matches to I Am Michael are Boy Erased (2018), Come Sunday (2018) and Run the Race (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after I Am Michael?
Start with Boy Erased (2018), the closest match to I Am Michael.
What is the highest-rated movie like I Am Michael?
Prayers for Bobby (2009), rated 8.1/10 by 663 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like I Am Michael?
Winner (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like I Am Michael?
Yes: Boy Erased (2018), Come Sunday (2018) and Run the Race (2019).
How are movies similar to I Am Michael chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside I Am Michael, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.