Movies like Leaving Normal (1992)
The best movies like Leaving Normal (1992) are Almost Friends (2017), Band Aid (2017) and All About Nina (2018). If Leaving Normal 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 ratedIt Happened One Night (1934)7.8/10 from 1,480 votes
- NewestDriver's Ed (2026)Released 2026
Almost Friends (2017)
A man in his mid-20s, still living at home with his mother and stepfather, puts all his eggs in one basket: the girl who works at his local coffee shop. The problem is, she has a serious boyfriend. As they become closer, the line between friendship and intimacy is blurred, and the situation forces both to examine where they are in their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBand Aid (2017)
A couple who can't stop fighting embark on a last-ditch effort to save their marriage: turning their fights into songs and starting a band.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll About Nina (2018)
Nina Geld's passion and talent have made her a rising star in the comedy scene, but she's an emotional mess offstage. When a new professional opportunity coincides with a romantic one, she is forced to confront her own deeply troubled past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies 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 · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCQ (2001)
A young filmmaker in 1960s Paris juggles directing a cheesy sci-fi debacle, directing his own personal art film, coping with his crumbling relationship with his girlfriend, and a new-found infatuation with the sci-fi film's starlet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisGrace of My Heart (1996)
Philadelphia teenager Edna Buxton wins a talent contest during the early rock 'n' roll era, changes her name to Denise Waverly and moves to New York City to make it big. Though she flops as a recording artist, fast-talking record producer Joel Millner recognizes her songwriting talent and teams her with struggling songsmith Howard Caszatt.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe House of Tomorrow (2019)
The film tells futurist, architect, and inventor R. Buckminster Fuller's incredible story through two teens hoping to get laid, become punk gods, and survive high school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReal Women Have Curves (2002)
In East Los Angeles, an 18-year-old struggles between her ambitions of going to college and the desires of her domineering mother for her to get married, have children, and oversee the small, rundown family-owned textile factory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this...All the Marbles (1981)
A two-bit promoter tries to take a women's wrestling team to the top.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlindspotting (2018)
Collin must make it through his final three days of probation for a chance at a new beginning. He and his troublemaking childhood best friend, Miles, work as movers, and when Collin witnesses a police shooting, the two men’s friendship is tested as they grapple with identity and their changed realities in the rapidly-gentrifying neighborhood they grew up in.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisScarecrow (1973)
Two drifters bum around, visit earthy women and discuss opening a car wash in Pittsburgh.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThelma & Louise (1991)
Taking a break from their dreary lives, close friends Thelma and Louise embark on a short weekend trip that ends in unforeseen incriminating circumstances. As fugitives, both women rediscover the strength of their bond and their newfound resilience.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDriver's Ed (2026)
A group of teens hit the road in a stolen driver's ed car, racing against time to help a lovesick high school senior track down his college-freshman girlfriend and win her back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoad to Paloma (2014)
While Native American Wolf is being pursued by the FBI for having taken the law into his own hands, when his mother was raped and killed on their reservation he crosses paths with Cash, a down and out musician who is coping with the end of his marriage. An unlikely friendship develops, as they ride together towards the Teton mountain range, where Wolf will spread his mothers ashes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisPrivate Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous (2008)
When fluffy, bubble gum movie star Megan Valentine suddenly finds herself broke and humiliated in the public eye, she wanders from the wreckage of a car accident and witlessly enlists in the U.S. Army hoping in vain that it will change her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Short History of the Long Road (2019)
Nola grew up living in a van with her father, Clint—two nomads against the world. When tragedy strikes, Nola must confront the reality of life on the road alone, learning to own her grief, her past, and her new destination.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLimbo (1999)
Traumatized by a fishing boat accident many years before, Joe Gastineau has given up his hopes for a life beyond the odd jobs he takes to support himself. That quickly changes when nomadic club singer Donna de Angelo and her troubled teen-age daughter enter Joe’s life. Both mother and daughter fall for Joe, increasing the friction between them. The tension continues to build when Joe invites them on a pleasure cruise up the Alaskan coast, discovering too late that the trip may cost them their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounddog (2008)
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEasy Rider (1969)
Wyatt and Billy, two Harley-riding hippies, complete a drug deal in Southern California and decide to travel cross-country in search of spiritual truth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRock (2017)
The word "rok" in Russian means both rock music and fate. The film's heroes, who want to conquer the musical Olympus of Moscow, are accompanied by both. This troika is not even a group yet, not a team, and probably not even friends. But that's at the beginning. The further the heroes leave home, the more dangerous their adventures and the people they met on the way become, and the more strongly the children change inside. The film is a journey, a search of the self, where the road to the dream is the greatest, most dangerous and unforgettable adventure in the life of the young provincial musicians.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995)
Veteran drag queens Vida Boheme and Noxeema Jackson take novice Chi-Chi Rodriguez under their wing on a madcap road trip across the country to compete in the Drag Queen of America pageant in Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDazlak – Skinhead (1997)
Jenny is on the road in her film producer's Rolls-Royce, which she has to drive to a film shoot and a wedding. When she gets lost at night, she finds a wrecked car in the ditch and rescues a skinhead.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Sacramento (2025)
When free-spirited Rickey suddenly reappears in father-to-be Glenn’s life, the two former best friends embark on a spontaneous road trip from LA to Sacramento.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHelp! Everything is Fine (TBA)
When a young man’s failed suicide attempt results in the death of a stranger, he calls the only person he can think of for help: his mum.But when she pushes him for the actual story he soon realises that telling her the whole truth won’t be so easy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
White Men Can't Jump (1992)
Two street basketball hustlers try to con each other, then team up for a bigger score.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrossroads (2002)
After eight years apart, three childhood friends - Lucy, Kit, and Mimi - rediscover their friendship on a cross-country trip. With barely a plan, practically no money but plenty of dreams, the girls catch a lift with Mimi's handsome friend Ben in his convertible. Along the way they not only gather experiences that will change their lives, but they also discover how important it is to hold onto their hearts' desires.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Legend of Tomiris (2019)
This is the story of the life of the great queen of the steppe - legendary Tomiris. She is destined to become a skillful warrior, survive the loss of close people and unite the Scythian/Saka tribes under her authority.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIt Happened One Night (1934)
A runaway heiress makes a deal with the rogue reporter trailing her but the mismatched pair end up stuck with each other when their bus leaves them behind.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLeichtmatrosen - Drei Mann in einem Boot (2017)
Three men and a houseboat: Three crisis-plagued Stuttgarters sailed for a week on the Havel in the direction of Müritz. The unfamiliar and not so tranquil Dreisamkeit brings so many things to light, which has hitherto been successfully concealed and repressed. The summer boat trip paves the way to the realization that a turnaround in life could not hurt.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Like Leaving Normal and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Leaving Normal?
The closest matches to Leaving Normal are Almost Friends (2017), Band Aid (2017) and All About Nina (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Leaving Normal?
Start with Almost Friends (2017), the closest match to Leaving Normal.
What is the highest-rated movie like Leaving Normal?
It Happened One Night (1934), rated 7.8/10 by 1,480 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Leaving Normal?
Driver's Ed (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Leaving Normal?
Yes: Almost Friends (2017), Band Aid (2017) and All About Nina (2018).
How are movies similar to Leaving Normal chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Leaving Normal, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.