Movies like Mothers (2009)
The best movies like Mothers (2009) are Beginners (2011), Tongues Untied (1990) and The Starling Girl (2023). If Mothers hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPrayers for Bobby (2009)8.1/10 from 663 votes
- NewestMy Fault: London (2025)Released 2025
Beginners (2011)
Oliver meets the irreverent and unpredictable Anna only months after his father Hal Fields has passed away. This new love floods Oliver with memories of his father, who, following the death of his wife of 44 years, came out of the closet at age 75 to live a full, energized, and wonderfully tumultuous gay life – which included a younger boyfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTongues Untied (1990)
Marlon Riggs, with assistance from other gay Black men, especially poet Essex Hemphill, celebrates Black men loving Black men as a revolutionary act. The film intercuts footage of Hemphill reciting his poetry, Riggs telling the story of his growing up, scenes of men in social intercourse and dance, and various comic riffs, including a visit to the "Institute of Snap!thology," where men take lessons in how to snap their fingers: the sling snap, the point snap, the diva snap.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Starling Girl (2023)
17-year-old Jem Starling struggles with her place within her Christian fundamentalist community. But everything changes when her magnetic youth pastor Owen returns to their church.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Fault: London (2025)
18-year-old Noah moves from America to London, with her mother who's recently fallen in love with William, a wealthy British businessman. Noah meets William’s son, bad-boy Nick, and soon discovers there is an attraction between them neither can avoid. As Noah spends the summer adjusting to her new life, her devastating past will catch up with her while falling in love for the first time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPrayers for Bobby (2009)
Bobby Griffith was his mother's favorite son, the perfect all-American boy growing up under deeply religious influences in Walnut Creek, California. Bobby was also gay. Struggling with a conflict no one knew of, much less understood, Bobby finally came out to his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisI Believe (2019)
A 9 year old boy experiences God's power in a supernatural way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBetter Nate Than Ever (2022)
13-year-old Nate Foster has big Broadway dreams but there’s only one problem — he can’t even land a part in the school play. When his parents leave town, Nate and his best friend Libby sneak off to the Big Apple for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to prove everyone wrong. A chance encounter with Nate’s long-lost Aunt Heidi turns his journey upside-down, and together they must learn that life’s greatest adventures are only as big as your dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMake the Yuletide Gay (2009)
The holidays get overly festive as Olaf "Gunn" Gunnunderson, an out-and-proud gay college student, crawls back into the closet to survive the holidays with his parents. But when his boyfriend, Nathan, shows up at their doorstep unannounced, Gunn must put on a charade to keep the relationship a secret. With pressure mounting from all sides, will Gunn come out before the truth does?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHenry Gamble's Birthday Party (2015)
Unfolding over the course of one very eventful day in his life, at 17-year-old preacher’s kid Henry's afternoon birthday pool party, the guests include an assortment of grown-ups from the family church, as well as Henry’s secular and religious teen friends — including the closeted young Logan, who clearly has eyes for Henry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHe Got Game (1998)
A basketball player's father must try to convince him to go to a college so he can get a shorter prison sentence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll These Small Moments (2019)
A teenage boy's infatuation with a woman he sees on the bus further complicates his already tumultuous adolescence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this3 Generations (2016)
A teenager transitions from female to male, and his family must come to terms with that fact.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLaurel Canyon (2003)
When an uptight young man and his fiancée move into his libertine mother's house, the resulting clash of life attitudes shakes everyone up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBoy Erased (2018)
Jared, the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, is outed to his parents at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a gay conversion therapy program – or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends, and faith.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStopmotion (2024)
Ella Blake, a stop-motion animator struggling to control her demons after the loss of her overbearing mother, embarks upon the creation of a film that becomes the battleground for her sanity. As Ella’s mind starts to fracture, the characters in her project take on a life of their own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNormal (2003)
A Midwestern husband and father announces his plan to have a sex change operation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSneakerella (2022)
When El, an aspiring sneaker designer from Queens, meets Kira King, the fiercely independent daughter of legendary basketball star and sneaker tycoon Darius King, sparks fly as the two bond over their mutual affinity for sneakers. With a little nudge from his best friend and a sprinkle of Fairy Godfather magic, El finds the courage to use his talent to pursue his dream of becoming a ‘legit’ sneaker designer in the industry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisI Can Only Imagine (2018)
Growing up in Greenville, Texas, Bart Millard suffers physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his father, Arthur. When Arthur becomes terminally ill, he finds redemption by embracing his faith and rediscovering his love for his son. Years later, Bart's troubled childhood and mended relationship with his dad inspires him to write the hit song "I Can Only Imagine" as singer of the Christian band MercyMe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Jazz Singer (1927)
A young Jewish man is torn between tradition and individuality when his old-fashioned family objects to his career as a jazz singer. This is the first full length feature film to use synchronized sound, and is the original film musical.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFalling (2020)
John Peterson lives with his partner Eric and their adopted daughter in Southern California. When he is visited by his aging father Willis from Los Angeles who is searching for a place to retire, their two very different worlds collide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Mothers?
The closest matches to Mothers are Beginners (2011), Tongues Untied (1990) and The Starling Girl (2023). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Mothers?
Start with Beginners (2011), the closest match to Mothers.
What is the highest-rated movie like Mothers?
Prayers for Bobby (2009), rated 8.1/10 by 663 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Mothers?
My Fault: London (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Mothers?
Yes: Beginners (2011), Tongues Untied (1990) and The Starling Girl (2023).
How are movies similar to Mothers chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Mothers, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.