Movies like Educating Rita (1983)
The best movies like Educating Rita (1983) are The Professor (2019), Young Adult (2011) and Better Living Through Chemistry (2014). If Educating Rita hooked you with its drama and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)7.7/10 from 958 votes
- NewestMoxie (2021)Released 2021
The Professor (2019)
A world-weary college professor is given a life-changing diagnosis and decides to throw all pretense and conventions to the wind and live his life as boldly and freely as possible with a biting sense of humor, a reckless streak and a touch of madness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYoung Adult (2011)
A divorced writer from the Midwest returns to her hometown to reconnect with an old flame, who's now married with a family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBetter Living Through Chemistry (2014)
A straight-laced pharmacist's uneventful life spirals out of control when he starts an affair with a trophy wife customer who takes him on a joyride involving sex, drugs and possibly murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisSubUrbia (1997)
A group of suburban teenagers try to support each other through the difficult task of becoming adults.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHooking Up (2020)
Bailey and Darla embark upon a misguided and mutually deceitful form of therapy, one in which they must drive across the country, re-enacting Darla's colorful history as a sex addict. As their true motivations for the road trip come to light, the unlikely pair force one another to confront their issues, discovering that there might actually be more to love than just sex.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChloe and Theo (2015)
A young woman, Chloe, living by her wits on the streets of New York City, has a chance meeting with a wise Inuit Eskimo, Theo, who was sent to New York by his elders to provide a message to the people of the world – We either change our destructive was or be destroyed by them. Chloe, who has been searching for something to believe in, becomes inspired by Theo and , with the help of a kind lawyer, Monica, the three of them present Theo’s story to the United Nations in hopes of creating a better future for all of us.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Dog Year (2009)
Jon Katz is close to burnout. He's a writer with writer's block; his wife has left for her sister's because he's emotionally distant; he rarely answers his phone. A kennel sends him a border collie that's undisciplined because of abuse. Despite a series of mishaps, Jon decides to keep trying with the dog, and he rents a dilapidated farm house to give the dog room to run. A local handyman refers Jon to a woman who might be able to help him train the dog. Reluctantly, Jon gives her a try. Is the dog the problem, or the owner?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Own Love Song (2010)
A wheelchair-bound singer and her best friend embark on a roadtrip to Memphis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Thousand Words (2012)
Jack McCall is a fast-talking literary agent, who can close any deal, any time, any way. He has set his sights on New Age guru Dr. Sinja for his own selfish purposes. But Dr. Sinja is on to him, and Jack’s life comes unglued after a magical Bodhi tree mysteriously appears in his backyard. With every word Jack speaks, a leaf falls from the tree and he realizes that when the last leaf falls, both he and the tree are toast. Words have never failed Jack McCall, but now he’s got to stop talking and conjure up some outrageous ways to communicate or he’s a goner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoxie (2021)
Inspired by her mom's rebellious past and a confident new friend, a shy 16-year-old publishes an anonymous zine calling out sexism at her school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Never Sang for My Father (1970)
A man living in the towering shadow of his aging father finds it difficult to start a new chapter in his life by marrying his girlfriend and moving to California.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
A history professor and his wife entertain a young couple who are new to the university's faculty. As the drinks flow, secrets come to light, and the middle-aged couple unload onto their guests the full force of the bitterness, dysfunction, and animosity that defines their marriage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThunderstruck (2012)
After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJulia (1977)
At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this21 (2008)
Ben Campbell is a young, highly intelligent student at M.I.T. who strives to succeed. Wanting a scholarship to transfer to Harvard School of Medicine to become a doctor, Ben learns that he cannot afford the $300,000 tuition as he comes from a poor, working-class background. But one evening, Ben is introduced by his unorthodox math professor to a small but secretive club of five students, Jill, Choi, Kianna, and Fisher, who are being trained by Professor Rosa to count cards at blackjack.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Woman in the Window (1944)
A seductive woman gets an innocent professor mixed up in murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhat Maisie Knew (2013)
In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new partners to strengthen their legal standing, Maisie is shuttled back and forth in an endless game of emotional point-scoring. Yet amid the chaos and upheaval, Maisie begins to find true comfort and affection in her new step-parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBullets Over Broadway (1994)
After young playwright, David Shayne obtains funding for his play from gangster Nick Valenti, Nick's girlfriend Olive miraculously lands the role of a psychiatrist—but not only is she a bimbo who could never pass for a psychiatrist—she's a dreadful actress. David puts up with the leading man who is a compulsive eater, the grand dame who wants her part jazzed up, and Olive's interfering hitman/bodyguard—but, eventually he must decide whether art or life is more important.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Sound of Silence (2019)
A successful "house tuner" in New York City, who calibrates the sound in people's homes in order to adjust their moods, meets a client with a problem he can't solve.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMuch Ado About Nothing (1993)
In this Shakespearean farce, Hero and her groom-to-be, Claudio, team up with Claudio's commanding officer, Don Pedro, the week before their wedding to hatch a matchmaking scheme. Their targets are sharp-witted duo Benedick and Beatrice -- a tough task indeed, considering their corresponding distaste for love and each other. Meanwhile, meddling Don John plots to ruin the wedding.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWater Drops on Burning Rocks (2000)
In 1970s Germany, Léopold, a 50-year-old businessman, picks up and seduces 20-year-old Franz, who swiftly moves into his apartment. The dynamic between them intensifies with the sudden arrival of their ex-girlfriends.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNational Theatre Live: Follies (2017)
New York, 1971. There’s a party on the stage of the Weismann Theatre. Tomorrow the iconic building will be demolished. Thirty years after their final performance, the Follies girls gather to have a few drinks, sing a few songs and lie about themselves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Torch Song Trilogy (1988)
Arnold Beckoff is looking for love and acceptance, but as a gay man working as a female impersonator in 1970s New York City, neither come easily. After a series of heartaches, Arnold believes he has found the love of his life in Alan, and the couple make plans to adopt. But when tragedy strikes, Arnold's life is shaken to its very core, leading to a confrontation with his overbearing mother, who has never approved of her son's lifestyle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Savages (2007)
A sister and brother face the realities of familial responsibility as they begin to care for their ailing father.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwo Women (2014)
A headstrong young woman is married to land baron. Her feelings for her son's tutor becomes a complex web of unrequited love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Heaven Can Wait (1978)
Joe Pendleton is a quarterback preparing to lead his team to the superbowl when he is almost killed in an accident. An overanxious angel plucks him to heaven only to discover that he wasn't ready to die, and that his body has been cremated. A new body must be found, and that of a recently-murdered millionaire is chosen. His wife and accountant—the murderers—are confused by this development, as he buys the L.A. Rams in order to once again quarterback them into the Superbowl.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKuriton sukupolvi (1957)
Aging professor of mathematics completes his life's work, a research project that has taken him decades, and climbs up from the boiler room (his study) and back to real life. He can hardly recognize his rebellious teenage kids and materialistic wife who hardly seem to notice his existence. The only person who is interested in the professor's work is Marja, his son's girlfriend and freshman at the university. An innocent infatuation flares up between the old man and the young girl, while the professor's family is only interested in the prize money awarded to the professor by an international jury for his academic achievements.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Bug (2007)
In Oklahoma, Agnes, a lonely waitress living in an isolated and dilapidated roadside motel, meets Peter, a quiet and mysterious man with whom she establishes a peculiar relationship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAvanti! (1972)
A successful businessman travels to Italy to arrange for the return of his tycoon father's body, only to learn that dear old dad died with his longtime mistress.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Educating Rita?
The closest matches to Educating Rita are The Professor (2019), Young Adult (2011) and Better Living Through Chemistry (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Educating Rita?
Start with The Professor (2019), the closest match to Educating Rita.
What is the highest-rated movie like Educating Rita?
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), rated 7.7/10 by 958 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Educating Rita?
Moxie (2021) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Educating Rita?
Yes: The Professor (2019), Young Adult (2011) and Better Living Through Chemistry (2014).
How are movies similar to Educating Rita chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Educating Rita, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.