Movies like The Adventures of Sebastian Cole (1998)
The best movies like The Adventures of Sebastian Cole (1998) are Igby Goes Down (2002), Landline (2017) and Somewhere in Queens (2023). If The Adventures of Sebastian Cole hooked you with its comedy and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Lion King (1994)8.3/10 from 20,406 votes
- NewestLittle Tragedies (2026)Released 2026
Igby Goes Down (2002)
Igby Slocumb, a rebellious and sarcastic 17-year-old boy, is at war with the stifling world of old money privilege he was born into. With a schizophrenic father, a self-absorbed, distant mother, and a shark-like young Republican big brother, Igby figures there must be a better life out there -- and sets about finding it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLandline (2017)
A teenager living with her sister and parents in Manhattan during the 1990s discovers that her father is having an affair.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSomewhere in Queens (2023)
Leo and Angela Russo live a simple life in Queens, surrounded by their overbearing Italian-American family. When their son finds success on his high school basketball team, Leo tears the family apart trying to make it happen.
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 thisClass (1983)
Naive Midwestern prep student Jonathan bonds with his more worldly roommate, Skip, who takes the small-town boy under his wing. At Skip's urging, the inexperienced Jonathan is emboldened to seek out older women in the cocktail lounges of nearby Chicago, where he meets and beds the alluring Ellen, who unfortunately turns out to be Skip's mother. The division between the friends is further deepened when a cheating scandal engulfs the school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWildflower (2023)
The story of Bea Johnson from birth to graduation as she navigates life with an intellectually disabled parent and an extended family who can't quite agree on the best way to help.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017)
An estranged family gathers together in New York for an event celebrating the artistic work of their father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlmost 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 thisThe Daytrippers (1997)
Eliza D'Amico thinks her marriage to Louis is going great until she finds a mysterious love note to her husband. Concerned, she goes to her mother for advice. Eliza, her parents, her sister Jo, and Jo's boyfriend all pile into the station wagon and go to the city to confront Louis with the letter. On the way, the five explore their relations with each other and meet many interesting people.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUncorked (2020)
Elijah must balance his dream of becoming a master sommelier with his father's expectations that he carry on the family's Memphis BBQ joint.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBig Time Adolescence (2020)
A seemingly bright and mostly innocent 16-year-old named Mo attempts to navigate high school under the guidance of his best friend Zeke, an unmotivated-yet-charismatic college dropout. Although Zeke genuinely cares about Mo, things start to go awry as he teaches Mo nontraditional life lessons in drug dealing, partying, and dating. Meanwhile, Mo’s well-meaning dad tries to step in and take back the reins of his son’s upbringing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisFitting In (2024)
A teenage girl gets diagnosed with a reproductive condition that upends her plans to have sex and propels her into exploring unusual methods to have a sex life, challenging her relationships with everyone in her life, but most importantly, herself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisI Love My Dad (2022)
A hopelessly estranged father catfishes his son in an attempt to reconnect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisWe the Animals (2018)
Manny, Joel and Jonah tear their way through childhood and push against the volatile love of their parents. As Manny and Joel grow into versions of their father and Ma dreams of escape, Jonah, the youngest, embraces an imagined world all his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaddy Longlegs (2010)
After months of living a solitary existence, Lenny, 34, picks up his kids from school. Every year he spends a couple of weeks with his sons Sage, 9, and Frey, 7. Lenny hosts his kids within a midtown studio apartment in New York. During these two weeks, he must figure out if he wants to act as their father or be their friend. Ultimately, their trip upstate results in complete lawlessness taking over their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMay December (2023)
Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under the pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBoys Don't Cry (1999)
A young transgender man explores his gender identity and searches for love in rural Nebraska.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Whisper Man (2026)
When his young son vanishes, a widower enlists help from his estranged father, a retired detective who put away the serial killer now linked to the case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLittle Tragedies (2026)
In 2011, Daniel Nolasco moved from his small hometown in the Brazilian countryside to Rio de Janeiro. He went to college. He was the first of a group of queer friends to leave the city. Ten years later, none of the people who made up that group live there anymore; some have died, and those who are alive have moved away. The city is called Catalão, a place that everyone says is too good to live in.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Love & Revolution (2023)
Seville, 1977. At a time when homosexuality is a crime, Reme, a traditional mother moved by the love of her son, an adolescent aspiring artist, will become involved in the Andalusian LGBTQ+ movement, paradoxically born in the bosom of the Church.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisProm Party Massacre (2025)
A gay high school student throws a swinging prom party in the hopes of finally wooing the football captain - but when popular kids start turning up dead, the partygoers discover a slasher killer amongst the student body!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Milk Money (1994)
Three young boys pool their money and pay V, a kindhearted prostitute, to strip for them. Afterward, she drives them home to the suburbs -- but then her car breaks down. It's just as well, though, because a mobster named Waltzer is after her, and V realizes the suburbs are the perfect place to hide. But things get a lot more complicated when V falls in love with Tom, a single father who is unaware of her real profession.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHalf of Me (2024)
A young gay, neurotic and ex-religious art student goes into a spin with the surprise visit of an eccentric childhood friend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Flor do Ártico (2022)
Laura and Clarice live very different realities. While Laura tries to decide her life and take courage about her future, Clarice deals with her past tormented by an abusive relationship. Their lives intertwine as Laura's curiosity speaks louder, she takes her first dose of courage, and a passion arises with both facing their previous baggage and future plans along the way.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Lion King (1994)
Young lion prince Simba, eager to one day become king of the Pride Lands, grows up under the watchful eye of his father Mufasa; all the while his villainous uncle Scar conspires to take the throne for himself. Amid betrayal and tragedy, Simba must confront his past and find his rightful place in the Circle of Life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe History Boys (2006)
The story of an unruly class of bright, funny history students at a Yorkshire grammar school in pursuit of an undergraduate place at Oxford or Cambridge. Bounced between their maverick English master, a young and shrewd teacher hired to up their test scores, a grossly out-numbered history teacher, and a headmaster obsessed with results, the boys attempt to pass.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSummertime (2015)
In 1971, a young woman moves from the French countryside to Paris and begins a passionate love affair with a feminist leader.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKaren Black Like Me (1997)
David Briggs' Karen Black Like Me is a weirdly funny homage to the 1975 cult classic Trilogy of Terror.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Like The Adventures of Sebastian Cole and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Adventures of Sebastian Cole?
The closest matches to The Adventures of Sebastian Cole are Igby Goes Down (2002), Landline (2017) and Somewhere in Queens (2023). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Adventures of Sebastian Cole?
Start with Igby Goes Down (2002), the closest match to The Adventures of Sebastian Cole.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Adventures of Sebastian Cole?
The Lion King (1994), rated 8.3/10 by 20,406 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Adventures of Sebastian Cole?
Little Tragedies (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Adventures of Sebastian Cole?
Yes: Igby Goes Down (2002), Landline (2017) and Somewhere in Queens (2023).
How are movies similar to The Adventures of Sebastian Cole chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Adventures of Sebastian Cole, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.