Movies like The Best Summer of Our Lives (2020)
The best movies like The Best Summer of Our Lives (2020) are New York Minute (2004), Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010) and Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer (2011). If The Best Summer of Our Lives hooked you with its comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe School of Rock (2003)7.1/10 from 6,476 votes
- NewestArlo the Alligator Boy (2021)Released 2021
New York Minute (2004)
Honors student Jane Ryan heads to Manhattan for a college-scholarship competition. Her rebellious twin Roxy tags along to crash a video shoot. But anything can happen – and does – in a romp involving a pursuing truant officer, a smuggler, hunkalicious guys, and the girls' realization that when the chips are down, a sister can be the best friend of all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCamp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010)
Mitchie can't wait to go back to Camp Rock and spend the summer making new music with her friends and superstar Shane Gray. But the slick new camp across the lake, Camp Star, has drummed up some serious competition – featuring newcomers Luke and Dana. In a sensational battle of the bands, with Camp Rock's future at stake, will Camp Star's flashy production and over-the-top antics win out, or will Camp Rockers prove that music, teamwork, and spirit are what truly matter?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJudy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer (2011)
Third-grader Judy Moody sets out to have the most thrilling summer of her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisSleepover (2004)
Desperate to improve their social status, four best friends enter into an all-night scavenger hunt against the popular clique in their school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHigh School Musical 2 (2007)
The East High Wildcats are gearing up for big fun as they land the coolest summer jobs imaginable. Troy, Gabriella, Chad, and Taylor have scored sweet gigs at the Lava Springs Country Club owned by Sharpay and Ryan's family. Sharpay's first rule of business: Get Troy. As Troy experiences a life of privilege he's never known, will he give up the Wildcats and Gabriella to rise to the top?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStuck in the Suburbs (2004)
Brittany Aarons is one of the many girls who has a crush on popular singer and boy-toy Jordan Cahill. However, she is bored of living a suburban existence and seeks a little something more.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRecess: School's Out (2001)
The school year is finally ending, and T.J. Detweiler is looking forward to summer. But boredom quickly sets in when his friends leave for camp — until T.J. uncovers an evil plot to do away with summer vacation! A crazy former principal, Dr. Benedict, is planning to use a laser beam to alter the weather and create permanent winter. Faced with the dire threat of year-round school, T.J. rounds up the RECESS gang and bands together with some unexpected allies — Miss Finster and Principal Prickly — in a nonstop adventure to save everyone's summer break.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSixteen Candles (1984)
With the occasion all but overshadowed by her sister's upcoming wedding, angst-ridden Samantha faces her 16th birthday with typical adolescent dread. Samantha pines for studly older boy Jake, but worries that her chastity will be a turnoff for the popular senior. Meanwhile, she must constantly rebuff the affections of nerdy Ted, who is unfortunately the only boy in school who seems to take an interest in her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe School of Rock (2003)
Fired from his band and hard up for cash, guitarist and vocalist Dewey Finn finagles his way into a job as a fifth-grade substitute teacher at a private school, where he secretly begins teaching his straight-A students the finer points of rock 'n' roll and the power of sticking it to the man. But as the school’s stern principal closes in and the Battle of the Bands looms, Dewey must risk everything to prove that rock 'n' roll can change lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisScooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster (2010)
Scooby-Doo and the gang are on the case when a mysterious lake monster starts scaring the guests at a summer resort in Erie Point, where Fred, Daphne, Velma and Shaggy have taken on seasonal jobs to pay for a barn they accidentally burned down. But in addition to sneaking suspicions, there's some romance in the air.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHelp! (1965)
An obscure Eastern cult that practices human sacrifice pursues Ringo after he unknowingly puts on a ceremonial ring (that, of course, won't come off). On top of that, a pair of mad scientists, members of Scotland Yard, and a beautiful but dead-eyed assassin all have their own plans for the Fab Four.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAccepted (2006)
A high school slacker who's rejected by every school he applies to opts to create his own institution of higher learning, the South Harmon Institute of Technology, on a rundown piece of property near his hometown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978)
The story of the rise and fall of the Pre-Fab Four.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWayne's World 2 (1993)
A message from Jim Morrison in a dream prompts cable access TV stars Wayne and Garth to put on a rock concert, "Waynestock," with Aerosmith as headliners. But amid the preparations, Wayne frets that a record producer is putting the moves on his girlfriend, Cassandra, while Garth handles the advances of mega-babe Honey Hornée.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEating Out: Drama Camp (2011)
Zack and Casey's relationship is in a slump, but things are about to change at Dick Dickey's Drama Camp. Zack meets gorgeous Benji, and when they get cast as lovers in a sexed-up version of The Taming of the Shrew, their self-restraint is put to the test. Will Zack and Casey's relationship last with Benji in the picture?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Song Is Born (1948)
The story of seven scholars in search of an expert to teach them about swing music. They seem to have found the perfect candidate in winsome nightclub singer Honey Swanson. But Honey's gangster boyfriend doesn't want to give her up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeach Party (1963)
Anthropology Professor Robert Orwell Sutwell and his secretary Marianne are studying the sex habits of teenagers. The surfing teens led by Frankie and Dee Dee don't have much sex but they sing, battle the motorcycle rats and mice led by Eric Von Zipper and dance to Dick Dale and the Del Tones.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisArlo the Alligator Boy (2021)
Upon learning that he is from New York City, a wide-eyed boy, who is half human and half alligator, decides to leave his sheltered life in the swamp and search for his long lost father. A musical adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeen Beach 2 (2015)
When characters from the movie musical “Wet Side Story” get stuck in the real world, teens Brady and Mack must find a way to return them home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCarry On Camping (1969)
Sid and Bernie keep having their amorous intentions snubbed by their girlfriends Joan and Anthea, so when they decide to take them on a holiday to Paradise Camp, they think they're off to a nudist colony—but they couldn't be more wrong, and meet up with the weirdest bunch of campers you can imagine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDrillbit Taylor (2008)
Dealing with a sociopathic school bully, three high school freshmen hire a low-budget bodyguard to protect them, not realizing he is just a homeless beggar and petty thief looking for some easy cash.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisTop Secret! (1984)
Popular and dashing American singer Nick Rivers travels to East Germany to perform in a music festival. When he loses his heart to the gorgeous Hillary Flammond, he finds himself caught up in an underground resistance movement. Rivers joins forces with Agent Cedric and Flammond to attempt the rescue of her father, Dr. Paul, from the Germans, who have captured the scientist in hopes of coercing him into building a new naval mine.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRokudenashi BLUES (1992)
Trouble finds Maeda, a good-for-nothing outcast with dreams of becoming a boxing champ, soon after enrolling at Teiken High School. His cavalier clumsiness has a way of attracting attention from gang leaders, school staff, and the precocious schoolgirl Chiaki. When a dangerous new gang leader threatens to upend order in the school, Maeda puts his training to work — along with every brain cell he can muster — to protect the balance of power.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Banger Sisters (2002)
In the late '60s, the self-proclaimed belles of the rock 'n' roll ball, rocked the worlds of every music legend whose pants they could take off -- and they have the pictures to prove it. But it's been more than two decades since the Banger Sisters earned their nickname -- or even laid eyes on each other. Their reunion is the collision of two women's worlds; one who's living in the past, and one who's hiding from it. Together they learn to live in the moment.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisGrease 2 (1982)
It's 1961, two years after the original Grease gang graduated, and there's a new crop of seniors and new members of the coolest cliques on campus, the Pink Ladies and T-Birds. Michael Carrington is the new kid in school - but he's been branded a brainiac. Can he fix up an old motorcycle, don a leather jacket, avoid a rumble with the leader of the T-Birds, and win the heart of Pink Lady Stephanie?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like this10 (1979)
A Hollywood songwriter goes through a mid-life crisis and becomes infatuated with a sexy blonde newlywed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisWayne's World (1992)
The adventures of two amiably aimless metal-head friends, Wayne and Garth. From Wayne's basement, the pair broadcast a talk-show called "Wayne's World" on local public access television. The show comes to the attention of a sleazy network executive who wants to produce a big-budget version of "Wayne's World"—and he also wants Wayne's girlfriend, a rock singer named Cassandra. Wayne and Garth have to battle the executive not only to save their show, but also Cassandra.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWeekend at Bernie's (1989)
Two young insurance corporation employees try to pretend that their murdered employer is alive by puppeteering his dead body, leading a hitman to attempt to track him down to finish him off.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCharlie Bartlett (2008)
Awkward teenager Charlie Bartlett has trouble fitting in at a new high school. Charlie needs some friends fast, and decides that the best way to find them is to appoint himself the resident psychiatrist. He becomes one of the most popular guys in school by doling out advice and, occasionally, medication, to the student body.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Haunted House on Kirby Road (2016)
Six stoner best friends discover a viral video of a local teen who disappeared years ago from an alleged haunted house in their neighbourhood. Searching for one last adventure before graduating high school, the teens decide to investigate this local urban legend, only to discover this night could be their worst, and possible last, experience of their lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Best Summer of Our Lives?
The closest matches to The Best Summer of Our Lives are New York Minute (2004), Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010) and Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer (2011). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Best Summer of Our Lives?
Start with New York Minute (2004), the closest match to The Best Summer of Our Lives.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Best Summer of Our Lives?
The School of Rock (2003), rated 7.1/10 by 6,476 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Best Summer of Our Lives?
Arlo the Alligator Boy (2021) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Best Summer of Our Lives chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Best Summer 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.