Movies like Ode to Billy Joe (1976)
The best movies like Ode to Billy Joe (1976) are Splendor in the Grass (1961), The Last Picture Show (1971) and Breezy (1973). If Ode to Billy Joe hooked you with its drama and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLife in a Year (2020)8.2/10 from 2,027 votes
- NewestGirls Like Girls (2026)Released 2026
Splendor in the Grass (1961)
A fragile Kansas girl's unrequited and forbidden love for a handsome young man from the town's most powerful family drives her to heartbreak and madness.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Picture Show (1971)
High school seniors and best friends, Sonny and Duane, live in a dying Texas town. The handsome Duane is dating a local beauty, while Sonny is having an affair with the coach's wife. As graduation nears and both boys contemplate their futures, Duane eyes the army and Sonny takes over a local business. Each struggles to figure out if he can escape this dead-end town and build a better life somewhere else.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBreezy (1973)
A free-spirited young woman, Breezy, hitches a ride with an aging real estate salesman, Frank. Sensing that she just wants to use him he tries to have nothing to do with her. She's not that easy to shake, however, and over time a bond forms between them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Rage to Live (1965)
Grace Caldwell, a young Pennsylvania newspaper heiress living with her widowed mother, has trouble restraining herself when it comes to the amorous attentions of young men. As word starts to spread about her behavior, Grace becomes a major source of heartache for her mother and a big source of concern to her brother.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Peyton Place (1957)
In the outwardly respectable New England community of Peyton Place, shopkeeper Constance McKenzie tries to make up for a past indiscretion -- which resulted in her illegitimate daughter Allison -- by adopting a chaste, prudish attitude towards all things sexual. In spite of herself, Constance can't help but be attracted to handsome new teacher Michael Rossi. Meanwhile, the restless Allison, who'd like to be as footloose and fancy-free as the town's "fast girl" Betty Anderson, falls sincerely in love with mixed-up mama's boy Norman Page.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRacing with the Moon (1984)
In a small coastal California town, Henry and Nicky are pals from blue collar families with only a short time before they ship off to World War II. Henry begins romancing new-to-town Caddie Winger, believing her to be wealthy. Mischievous and irresponsible, Nicky gets into trouble which forces the other two to become involved, testing their relationship, as well as the friendship between the boys.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBuster and Billie (1974)
Dimwitted but sweet high school girl of easy virtue and the most popular boy in the school share an improbable romance.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
The Sandpiper (1965)
A free-spirited single mother forms a connection with the wedded headmaster of an Episcopalian boarding school in Monterey, California.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Way We Were (1973)
Opposites attract when, during their college days, Katie Morosky, a politically active Jew, meets Hubbell Gardiner, a feckless WASP. Years later, in the wake of World War II, they meet once again and, despite their obvious differences, attempt to make their love for each other work.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Warm December (1973)
Widower Dr. Matt Younger and his daughter go to London for a month of dirt-bike racing. While there, Dr. Younger is surprised by finding himself attracted to Catherine, a charming but elusive woman who seems to have some mysterious men following her. A romance slowly develops between the doctor and Catherine, but there are complications to their happiness.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
John and Mary (1969)
John and Mary meet in a singles bar, sleep together, and spend the next day getting to know each other.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisSayonara (1957)
Air Force Major Lloyd Gruver is reassigned to a Japanese air base and is confronted with US racial prejudice against the Japanese people. The issue is compounded because a number of the soldiers become romantically involved with Japanese women, in defiance of US military policy. Ordinarily, a by-the-book officer, Gruver must take a position when a buddy of his, an enlisted man, Joe Kelly, falls in love with a Japanese woman, Katsumi, and marries her. Gruver risks his position by serving as best man at the wedding ceremony.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoing All the Way (1997)
Korean War--era veterans and ex-classmates "Gunner" Casselman and "Sonny" Burns reunite upon their return home. Gunner, who spent the war years abroad, is trying to convince his mother that his gal Marty is good enough for him, while Sonny, who was stationed stateside, is torn between loyal Buddy and tempting Gale Ann. As they commiserate, the men realize that they're outgrowing the lives they lived before the war.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Lord Love a Duck (1966)
From his prison cell, young Alan Musgrave relates his experiences of the previous year dedicated to fulfilling every whim of beautiful and self-absorbed high school senior Barbara Ann Greene.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Dogfight (1991)
In the fall of 1963, Eddie Birdlace is an 18-year-old Marine Corps volunteer who is about to ship out with three of his buddies for a tour of duty in Vietnam. Planning a massive blowout for their last night in San Francisco, Eddie, his buddies, and a number of other Marines set up a contest they call a "dogfight”.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSweet Bird of Youth (1962)
Gigolo and drifter Chance Wayne returns to his hometown as the companion of a faded movie star, Alexandra Del Lago, whom he hopes to use to help him break into the movies. Chance runs into trouble when he finds his ex-girlfriend, the daughter of the local politician Tom "Boss" Finley, who more or less forced him to leave his daughter and the town many years ago.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Patch of Blue (1965)
A blind, uneducated white girl is befriended by a black man, who becomes determined to help her escape her impoverished and abusive home life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisComing Home (1978)
In 1968 California, a Marine officer's wife falls in love with a former high school classmate who suffered a paralyzing combat injury in the war.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Summer Place (1959)
A self-made businessman rekindles a romance with a former flame while their two teenage children begin a romance of their own with drastic consequences for both couples.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Promise (1979)
A rich student's fiancee has her face destroyed by a car accident, and refuses to return to him fearing the loss of his love.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Rachel, Rachel (1968)
Rachel is a 35-year-old school teacher who has no man in her life and lives with her mother. When a man from the big city returns and asks her out, she begins to have to make decisions about her life and where she wants it to go.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Field (1992)
Dallas housewife Lurene Hallett's life revolves around the doings of Jacqueline Kennedy. She is devastated when President Kennedy is shot a few hours after she sees him arrive in Dallas. Despite her husband Ray's prohibition, she decides to attend the funeral in Washington, D.C. Forced to travel by bus, she befriends Jonell, the young black daughter of Paul Couter. Sensing something wrong, her good intentioned interference leads the mixed race threesome on an increasingly difficult journey to Washington with both the police and Ray looking for them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInventing the Abbotts (1997)
In the 1950s, brothers Jacey and Doug Holt, who come from the poorer side of their sleepy Midwestern town, vie for the affections of the wealthy, lovely Abbott sisters. Lady-killer Jacey alternates between Eleanor and Alice, wanting simply to break the hearts of rich young women. But sensitive Doug has a real romance with Pamela, which Jacey and the Abbott patriarch, Lloyd, both frown upon.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Raisin in the Sun (1961)
Walter Lee Younger is a young man struggling with his station in life. Sharing a tiny apartment with his wife, son, sister and mother, he seems like an imprisoned man. Until, that is, the family gets an unexpected financial windfall.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Lords of Flatbush (1974)
Set in 1958, the coming of age story follows four lower middle-class Brooklyn teenagers known as The Lords of Flatbush. The Lords chase girls, steal cars, shoot pool, get into street fights, and hang out at a local malt shop.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisGirls Like Girls (2026)
After her mother's passing, 17-year-old Coley navigates new feelings of intimacy with Sonya in rural Oregon, where both girls must overcome their mutual uncertainties and self-doubt to embrace their connection.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWomen in Love (1969)
Growing up in the sheltered confines of a 1920s English coal-mining community, free-spirited sisters Gudrun and Ursula explore erotic love with a wealthy playboy and a philosophical educator, with cataclysmic results for all four.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCharlie St. Cloud (2010)
Accomplished sailor Charlie St. Cloud has the adoration of his mother Claire and his little brother Sam, as well as a college scholarship that will lead him far from his sleepy Pacific Northwest hometown. But his bright future is cut short when tragedy strikes and takes his dreams with it. After high school classmate Tess returns home unexpectedly, Charlie grows torn between honoring a promise he made four years earlier and moving forward with newfound love. As he finds the courage to let go of the past for good, Charlie discovers the soul most worth saving is his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLife in a Year (2020)
A 17 year old finds out that his girlfriend is dying, so he sets out to give her an entire life, in the last year she has left.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisNobody Has to Know (2022)
After a stroke and no memories from his past, Phil encounters Millie who inhabits a desert part of Isle of Lewis. She will shortly entrust him with his deepest secret : they were in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Ode to Billy Joe?
The closest matches to Ode to Billy Joe are Splendor in the Grass (1961), The Last Picture Show (1971) and Breezy (1973). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Ode to Billy Joe?
People who watched Ode to Billy Joe most often go on to Splendor in the Grass (1961), The Last Picture Show (1971) and Breezy (1973).
What is the highest-rated movie like Ode to Billy Joe?
Life in a Year (2020), rated 8.2/10 by 2,027 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Ode to Billy Joe?
Girls Like Girls (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Ode to Billy Joe?
Yes: Splendor in the Grass (1961), The Last Picture Show (1971) and Breezy (1973).
How are movies similar to Ode to Billy Joe chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Ode to Billy Joe, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.