Best movies like Back to School Mom
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Mary Thomas, a free-spirited musician, has spent the past two decades traveling the world, but at age 41 she decides to go back to college and finish her degree so that, for once, she can finally finish something she started. Back at her old university, she becomes close friends with her popular and charming "peer tutor" -- only to learn that he is actually the son she gave up 20 years earlier.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 162
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: sentimental, serious, realistic, touching, sincere, captivating
Best tv shows and movies like Back to School Mom (2015):
Similar in 84%
Diane (2018)
Plot Summary:
Diane is a devoted friend and caretaker, particularly to her drug-addicted son. But as those around her begin to drift away in the last quarter of her life, she is left to reckon with past choices and long-dormant memories.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: rough, thought provoking, captivating, melancholic, existential, cult classic
Similar in 84%
Ballast (2008)
Plot Summary:
A single mother and her embattled son struggle to subsist in a small Mississippi Delta township. An act of violence thrusts them into the world of an emotionally devastated highway store owner, awakening the fury of a bitter and longstanding conflict.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, psychological, emotional, captivating, suspense, southern gothic, sentimental, sincere, bleak
Similar in 87%
1918 (1985)
Plot Summary:
It's 1918, the height of United States involvement in World War I - Liberty Bonds are sold, German immigrants are suspected as traitors or saboteurs, young men everywhere succumb to the patriotism and propaganda and enlist. In a small Texas town, Horace Robedaux feels the pressure - he doesn't want to leave his young wife Elizabeth and their young child Jenny - but Elizabeth's can't-do-anything-right little brother is constantly talking about the war, and Elizabeth's stern father, who opposed the marriage initially, now has plans to take care of his daughter and the child so Horace can fight for his country. But the influenza epidemic sweeping the town (and the nation) may change everyone's plans.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 439
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: independent film, sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 90%
The Dry Land (2010)
Plot Summary:
A U.S. soldier returning home from war struggles to reconcile his experiences abroad with the life and family he left in Texas.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 545
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: realistic, sentimental, contemplative, psychological, captivating, sincere, touching, serious, independent film
Similar in 75%
On Valentine's Day (1986)
Plot Summary:
Elizabeth defies her wealthy parents by running off and marrying a young man of humble prospects, and her parents have not spoken to her since - even though the couple lives in a rooming house nearby, they are struggling financially, and she is pregnant. The story of unselfish love between a man and a woman and the abiding love within a family, this American classic explores the enduring themes of human existence.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 191
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: independent film, sentimental, sincere, uplifting, touching, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 86%
Girlfriend (2010)
Plot Summary:
A young man with Down's Syndrome romantically pursues a small town single mom who is still mixed up with her volatile ex-boyfriend.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 713
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, melancholic, independent film, realistic
Similar in 83%
Cook County (2008)
Plot Summary:
After a stint in prison, Sonny returns to his home in East Texas, determined to repair his relationship with his son. Standing in his way is his brother, who has turned the home into a crumbling meth lab (IMDb.com).
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 559
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, psychological, atmospheric, disturbing, sentimental, sincere, touching, suspenseful
Similar in 89%
The Diary of Preston Plummer (2012)
Plot Summary:
On the day of his college graduation, Preston Plummer cannot think of a single thing he really loves. Adrift, Preston follows a beautiful but troubled young woman to a small island town where he begins to fall for her, but it all threatens to fall apart when he uncovers her family’s dark past.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 390
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, captivating, realistic, romantic, serious, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 75%
How I Got Lost (2009)
Plot Summary:
HOW I GOT LOST is the heartbreaking yet hopeful story of Andrew and Jake, two friends dealing with loss amidst events bigger than them. Andrew is the friend we all have, the one who convinces you to come along despite your better judgment. Talented but with seemingly nothing to lose, his tailspin is balanced only by his professional drive to succeed as a trader on Wall Street. His best friend Jake, broken-hearted and writing sports instead of fiction, does his best to clean up the mess his friend creates until he runs into his capricious ex, Sarah again. So Andrew convinces him to ditch New York and hit the road, going nowhere. They commandeer a cab to Philadelphia, where they borrow Andrews moms station wagon. But when their car runs out of gas in the middle of Pennsylvania, Andrew reveals the real reason for the trip -- his father has died, and he doesn't think he can make it through the funeral alone.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 309
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, sincere, captivating, contemplative
Similar in 77%
The Last Rites of Joe May (2011)
Plot Summary:
Now in his sixties, Joe is released from the hospital after a long battle with pneumonia and forced to confront the harsh reality of his legacy: everyone he knew had assumed he was dead, and life had gone on around him without missing a beat. Returning to his old neighborhood in Chicago's "Patch" district, he finds his car gone, all his worldly possessions pawned by his landlord, and the apartment he's lived in his entire adult life rented out to a single mother named Jenny and her eight year-old daughter Angelina.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 774
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, contemplative, psychological, captivating, sincere, touching, independent film
Similar in 76%
Rust (2010)
Plot Summary:
In the midst of a midlife crisis of faith, a man finds hope where he least expects it – his hometown. James Moore (Golden Globe nominee Corbin Bernsen) is a former pastor who returns home to discover a family new to the area has been killed in a mysterious fire, and his childhood friend is implicated in the murder. Convinced of his friend’s innocence, James sets out on a mission to find the truth… and in the process, rediscovers his own lost faith. An uplifting drama about faith, family, and the powerful ties that bind a community together.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 501
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: realistic, contemplative, psychological, captivating, sentimental, serious
Similar in 82%
1 Message (2011)
Plot Summary:
Tells the story of Becca, a beautiful 28 year-old woman whose perfect life is brought to an abrupt halt after she accidentally discovers a lump in her breast.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 139
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 152 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, independent film, romantic drama
Similar in 75%
No Looking Back (1998)
Plot Summary:
Charlie returns to his old town where he meets his ex-girlfriend again and tries to get her back.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: emotional, disturbing, sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, realistic, gloomy, scary, light
Similar in 80%
Islander (2006)
Plot Summary:
After a tragic accident at sea, Eben Cole loses his family, friends and stature in his island fishing community. He returns to the island an outcast but determined to win back the way of life he fought so hard to protect. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Maine coast, Islander captures the grit and integrity of this hard working community and celebrates man's unerring need for redemption.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 298
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic, independent film
Similar in 86%
Flying Lessons (2010)
Plot Summary:
With her life at a crossroads, 25 year old Sophie Conway returns home to the small town she always wanted to forget. Once home, she is faced with the friends and lovers she left behind, a tangled relationship with her Mother, and Harry Pleasant, an Alzheimer's Disease patient who, in an opposing way, shares Sophie's struggle to remember.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 441
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, realistic, serious, inspirational
Similar in 79%
A Touch of Fate (2003)
Plot Summary:
One night in a small town in North Carolina, fate brings together three lives: an entertainment lawyer returning home to his dying mother after years in escape of his past, a woman trying to reclaim her supposed love, and a boy with a penchant for the sixth sense who struggles with the death of his father and overbearing love of his single mother. When the past and future suddenly bind these people together on a journey of need, forgiveness and discovery, they realize they've gained something when they least expected it.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 216
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, independent film
Similar in 83%
Mending Fences (2009)
Plot Summary:
When big-city TV journalist Kelly Faraday (Laura Leighton) gets fired, she moves back to her Nevada hometown, where a severe drought may force her aging mother, Ruth (Angie Dickinson), to sell the family farm to a casino developer. As Kelly and Ruth sort out old differences, the erstwhile reporter and her ex-beau Walt (David Lee Smith) begin to suspect the casino of manipulating the town's water supply. Stephen Bridgewater directs this drama.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 231
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: realistic, sentimental, psychological, captivating, touching, serious
Similar in 81%
Country Remedy (2007)
Plot Summary:
In order to secure the position of Head of Pediatrics at a top Chicago hospital, a young, highly accomplished, pediatrician agrees to spend a summer setting up a clinic in a small town in the North Carolina mountains. Clashing against the ways of the small community he is forced to deal with the recent loss of his wife while reconnecting with his 9 year old son, and learning a different pace of life.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 669
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: sentimental, uplifting, touching, emotional, independent film, serious, realistic
Similar in 89%
Candles on Bay Street (2006)
Plot Summary:
DeeDee returns to her hometown with her 11 year old son, Trooper, 13 years after she ran off with her boyfriend. Her childhood best friend, Sam, is now married and he and his wife, Lydia, are the town's veterinarians. Lydia is a little wary about DeeDee after Sam tells her that they were best friends growing up and DeeDee was his first crush. But DeeDee and Trooper find their way into many hearts of the townspeople with their sweet helpfulness and friendships. DeeDee sets up a candle making business in town square and invites many of the ladies of the town to weekly candle making parties, and through these parties she and Lydia become good friends. One evening after dinner with Lydia and Sam, DeeDee tells Sam she's very sick and she doesn't have much longer to live and she needs his help to find a good family in town to adopt Trooper. Sam later tells Lydia everything and they decide to adopt Trooper themselves if/when something happens to DeeDee.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 88%
Lebanon, Pa. (2010)
Plot Summary:
Will, a charming 35-year-old Philadelphia ad man, heads to Lebanon, Pa. to bury his recently deceased father. He forms an unexpected friendship with CJ, his bright, newly pregnant 17-year-old cousin. As Will becomes interested in CJ's married teacher and CJ confronts her conflicted father, both struggle with formidable decisions about the path their lives will take. Can we vault our differences and meet in the middle? This bittersweet comic drama tenderly explores the cultural divide in America through the lives of one extended family.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 584
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: realistic, sentimental, psychological, captivating, sincere, clever, touching, serious, independent film
Similar in 85%
Soda Springs (2012)
Plot Summary:
The story of a man's struggle to claim his future by confronting his past. The road is not an easy one as old demons resurface to threaten everything Eden has fought to overcome.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 470
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, independent film
Similar in 80%
A Fine Step (2014)
Plot Summary:
A Fine Step is an uplifting family drama centering on Cal Masterson (Luke Perry, Beverly Hills 90210) an award winning horseman whose relationship with his beloved horse Fandango allows him to achieve multiple championship wins. However tragedy strikes when Cal and Fandango are involved in a serious accident, ending Cal's horse riding days forever. Cal's devastation is slowly overcome when his new neighbour, 14 year old Claire Mason (Anna Claire Sneed, Glee) takes an interest in Fandango and convinces him that Fandango's competing days might not be over.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 394
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, captivating, emotional, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 85%
A Day Late and a Dollar Short (2014)
Plot Summary:
When irascible matriarch Viola Price learns that her next asthma attack will likely kill her, she is determined to fix her fractured family before she leaves this world.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 732
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, sentimental, captivating, uplifting, touching, serious
Similar in 87%
Charms for the Easy Life (2002)
Plot Summary:
The story of three women who live in a North Carolina town and defy the traditional roles set forth for them by society.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 481
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, thought provoking, captivating, atmospheric, realistic, sexual
Similar in 76%
Swimmers (2005)
Plot Summary:
After an accident in a small Maryland fishing town, 11-year-old Emma begins to question the nature of the adults around her.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 458
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 81%
The Rising Place (2001)
Plot Summary:
The close friendship of two young women, each of a different race, and their struggle to find purpose in their lives during this time of social injustice and world war.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 208
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 85%
Toe to Toe (2009)
Plot Summary:
Out on the lacrosse pitch, wealthy but troubled Jesse and poor but driven Tosha form an easy and deep bond, but their relationship is threatened once they enter the hallways of an elite prep school they attend in Washington, D.C. There, they must work to overcome racial and other tensions in their classmates, and in themselves, if they hope to keep their friendship alive.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 517
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, psychological, sentimental, sexy, sincere, thought provoking, touching, serious, emotional
Similar in 84%
Face (2002)
Plot Summary:
Genie, a Chinese-American teenager, develops feelings for a charming African-American DJ, but her grandmother forbids their romance forcing Genie to choose between family and love.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 350
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, emotional, sentimental, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 80%
Hide Away (2011)
Plot Summary:
A successful businessman attempting to resurrect his life buys and boards a dilapidated sailboat.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: realistic, sentimental, emotional, psychological, captivating, sincere, touching, serious, independent film
Similar in 81%
Guilty Hearts (2006)
Plot Summary:
Over the course of this drama's six separate stories, a variety of couples struggle with the infidelity, dishonesty and heartbreak that plagues their varied pasts. In overcoming their challenges, these diverse individuals embrace a brighter future.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 818
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic