Movies like The Happiest Hours of our Lives (2016)
The best movies like The Happiest Hours of our Lives (2016) are Locked in Society (2022), Fist Fight (2017) and Blackboard Jungle (1955). If The Happiest Hours of our Lives hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWhiplash (2013)7.8/10 from 447 votes
- NewestBlue Period (2024)Released 2024
- In GermanLocked in Society (2022)Also in German
Locked in Society (2022)
On a Friday afternoon, there was an unexpected knock on the door of the staff room of a city high school. An ambitious father is willing to go to extremes to get his son admitted to high school. The six teachers who are still at school so shortly before the start of the weekend now have to find out the hard way. After some unexpected twists and embarrassing revelations, true abysses open up for everyone involved...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFist Fight (2017)
When one school teacher gets the other fired, he is challenged to an after-school fight.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlackboard Jungle (1955)
Richard Dadier is a teacher at North Manual High School, an inner-city school where many of the pupils frequently engage in anti-social behavior. Dadier makes various attempts to engage the students' interest in education, challenging both the school staff and the pupils. He is subjected to violence as well as duplicitous schemes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChild's Play (1972)
At an exclusive boys' school, a new gym teacher is drawn into a feud between two older instructors, and he discovers that everything at the school is not quite as staid, tranquil and harmless as it seems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Teachers' Lounge (2023)
When one of her students is suspected of theft, teacher Carla Nowak decides to get to the bottom of the matter. Caught between her ideals and the school system, the consequences of her actions threaten to break her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDismissed (2017)
A straight-edged teacher finds trouble when an honors student is willing to do anything to get an A.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLemonade Mouth (2011)
When five ragtag freshman first meet in detention, it seems they have nothing in common. But, through music, they form an unbreakable bond and discover they have the makings of the greatest high school garage band in history! In the face of incredible odds, Olivia, Stella, Wen, Mohini and Charlie find they can make a real difference when they learn to lean on each other and let go of everything holding back their dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLean On Me (1989)
When principal Joe Clark takes over decaying Eastside High School, he's faced with students wearing gang colors and graffiti-covered walls. Determined to do anything he must to turn the school around, he expels suspected drug dealers, padlocks doors and demands effort and results from students, staff and parents. Autocratic to a fault, this real-life educator put it all on the line.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisToy Soldiers (1991)
After federal agents arrest a drug czar and put him on trial, the cartel leader's vicious son storms a prep school and takes its students hostage. They rebel against the armed intruders and try to take back their academy by any means necessary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhiplash (2013)
A ferocious, bullying music teacher teaches a dedicated student.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDirty Teacher (2013)
When a high school senior discovers her teacher is seducing her boyfriend, events turn deadly after the teacher tries to cover it up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisClass of 1984 (1982)
Andy is a new teacher at an inner city high school that is unlike any he has seen before. There are metal detectors at the front door and the place is basically run by a tough kid named Peter Stegman. Soon, Andy and Stegman become enemies and Stegman will stop at nothing to protect his turf and drug dealing business.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Final (2010)
A group of high school outcasts get revenge on the students that torment them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbducted by My Teacher: The Elizabeth Thomas Story (2023)
The story of Elizabeth Thomas, a 15-year-old high school student who was groomed and abducted by teacher Tad Cummins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe United States of Leland (2003)
A withdrawn young man, Leland Fitzgerald is imprisoned for the murder of a mentally disabled boy, who also happened to be the brother of his girlfriend, Becky. As the community struggles to deal with the killing, Pearl Madison, a teacher at the prison, decides to write about Leland's case. Meanwhile, others affected by the murder, including Becky and her sister, Julie, must contend with their own problems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Breakfast Club (1985)
Five high school students from different walks of life endure a Saturday detention under a power-hungry principal. The disparate group includes rebel John, princess Claire, outcast Allison, brainy Brian and Andrew, the jock. Each has a chance to tell his or her story, making the others see them a little differently -- and when the day ends, they question whether school will ever be the same.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFoxfire (1996)
The story of five teenage girls who form an unlikely bond after beating up a teacher who has sexually harassed them. They build a solid friendship but their wild ways begin to get out of control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMusic of the Heart (1999)
After Roberta Guaspari separates from her husband, she receives encouragement from her mother to take up a job of a music teacher at the Central Park East School in East Harlem.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ron Clark Story (2006)
Passionate and innovative teacher Ron Clark leaves his small hometown to teach in one of Harlem's toughest schools. But to break through to the students, he must use unconventional methods, including his ground-breaking classroom rules, to help them reach their potential. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOne Eight Seven (1997)
When a Brooklyn high school student writes the police code for homicide, 187, inside a textbook owned by teacher Trevor Garfield, Garfield feels threatened. The principal dismisses the incident, but the same student stabs Trevor soon after. Fifteen months later, a physically and emotionally scarred Trevor relocates to California and takes up substitute teaching. To his dismay, his new school is as full of dangerously undisciplined students as his old one—including four Latin Americans and a European American claiming membership in tagging gang K.O.S. (Kappin' Off Suckers)—driving him over the edge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHigh School U.S.A. (1983)
Set in a senior high school class, J.J. pursues the girlfriend of a rival from a higher clique which culminates in a race at the end of the movie between the two rivals in this light comedy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Cromartie High School: The Movie (2005)
When a good student named Kamiyama gets placed in a high school filled with disobedient kids, he steps up to the plate and takes a position of leadership. Urging the young slackers and rebels to clean up their act, Kamiyama is in store for a lot of resistance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Reckless (1984)
Teenager Johnny Rourke is reckless. Born on the wrong side of the tracks, he breaks the law and girls' hearts with equal cool. Cheerleader Tracey Prescott is reckless too. She dumps her conventional life and boring boyfriend to follow Johnny wherever his dangerous path leads.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Wild Life (1984)
Eighties teen romp involving Bill and his new apartment, Jim and his rebellious antics, Tom and his crazy self, and Anita with her older man David.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat's Up with Cinta? (2002)
A popular high school girl strains her relationship with her close-knit clique when she begins falling for a reclusive, lower-class schoolmate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlue Period (2024)
Yatora is the perfect high school student, with good grades and lots of friends. It's an effortless performance, and, ultimately… a dull one. But he wanders into the art room one day, and a lone painting captures his eye, awakening him to a kind of beauty he never knew. Compelled and consumed, he dives in headfirst—and he's about to learn how savage and unforgiving art can be!
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Christian Weston Chandler...Yep, I'm on TV :) (2007)
Christian Weston Chandler...Yep, I'm on TV is a independent documentary produced by Christine Weston Chandler, prior to her internet fame, and released on DVD in celebration of her 25th birthday. The film mostly exists as a compilation of home movies and previous short films.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Beautiful Person (2008)
In the wake of her mother's tragic death, French teenager Junie transfers to a different high school. Though Junie lives mostly inside her own head, her beauty and stoicism win her the attention of the entire male student population. Junie begins dating the gentle Otto Cleves, but finds herself intensely drawn to her youthful Italian language teacher, Nemours. When Nemours begins to reciprocate, serious complications ensue.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoodwinkers (2021)
A small study session leads to a crazy party and the following hungover day, a class must figure out how to pass the Irish Leaving Certificate exam without knowing a clue of Irish. Comedy starring Dominic MacHale from 'The Young Offenders" & Sarah Horgan. Hoodwinkers received 2 Irish Nominations
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Daughters of Bilitis Club (2011)
Ju Yeon is a young girl who just discovered her homosexuality. She's looking for other women like her on the Internet for a movie she wants to make and that's how she meets Yeo Gyeong, another lesbian girl who's in the same school. The movie also follows Han Na, an office worker who lives with her girlfriend Yeong Eun, who will feel betrayed by her partner's pregnancy, and Myeong Hee and Hyang Ja, owners of a lesbian bar who will face the return of Hyang Ja's estranged daughter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Happiest Hours of our Lives?
The closest matches to The Happiest Hours of our Lives are Locked in Society (2022), Fist Fight (2017) and Blackboard Jungle (1955). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Happiest Hours of our Lives?
Start with Locked in Society (2022), the closest match to The Happiest Hours of our Lives.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Happiest Hours of our Lives?
Whiplash (2013), rated 7.8/10 by 447 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Happiest Hours of our Lives?
Blue Period (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there German movies like The Happiest Hours of our Lives?
Yes: Locked in Society (2022) and The Teachers' Lounge (2023).
How are movies similar to The Happiest Hours of our Lives chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Happiest Hours of our Lives, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.