Best movies like Better Luck Tomorrow
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A group of over-achieving Asian-American high school seniors enjoy a power trip when they dip into extra-curricular criminal activities.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: tense, disturbing, intense, depressing, rough, intellectual, suspenseful, serious, independent film, clever
Best tv shows and movies like Better Luck Tomorrow (2002):
Similar in 80%
Speedway Junky (1999)
Plot Summary:
A naive drifter runs away from his army father in hopes of making it on the car racing circuit. In Las Vegas, he meets a young scam artist, who develops a crush on him. He is then introduced to a whole gang led by a young hustler. The racer-to-be then gets a lesson in the wild side, getting involved in one situation after another. Patsy Kensit makes a cameo as another hustler and Daryl Hannah appears as the scam artist's surrogate mom.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA, Israel
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: talky, serious, realistic, slang, feel good, light, independent film, gloomy, crying, queer cinema
Similar in 90%
O (2001)
Plot Summary:
Hot young stars, a hip, driving soundtrack, plus a provocative tale of jealousy and betrayal combine to create this controversial modern-day version of Shakespeare's classic, "Othello." O is Odin James (Mekhi Phifer), the school's star basketball player and future NBA hopeful. Even though he's the only black student at the elite Palmetto Grove Academy.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: suspense, intense, tense, serious, teen, clever, erotic, scary, sweet, realistic
Similar in 85%
American Heart (1992)
Plot Summary:
Jack is now out of jail and he meets Nick, his adolescent son. Their relationship will be complicated, because Jack has a problem with alcohol. But his love for Nick will help him to get over the past and reach his dreams.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, sincere, rough, touching, emotional, independent film, teen, gloomy, road movie
Similar in 82%
Little Athens (2005)
Plot Summary:
A day in Athens, Arizona, as teens and twenty-somethings navigate life without a compass. Jimmy has gambling debts and sees a chance to steal and sell a dead-man's stash of drugs. The corpse's cousin smells a rat. Jessica, who is babysitting, abandons her charge to seek someone to defend her from a boyfriend angry that he's caught an STD. Corey is responsible for his teen sister, and he and his pal Pedro have been evicted, so they plot to steal a car, sell it, and get back in their apartment. Heather, an EMT, thinks her cop boyfriend is cheating, and she confides in her best friend. There's a party that night where all comes to a head.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspense, independent film, crying
Similar in 84%
Home Room (2002)
Plot Summary:
A high school shooting has repercussions on the town and students.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, gothic, intense, cerebral, independent film, realistic, contemplative, psychological
Similar in 84%
Home of the Giants (2007)
Plot Summary:
A story about basketball and befriending. Gar is a High School journalist who, while covering the team to the state championship, is best friends with the teams' main "Star" Matt Dunbar. Matt's older brother persuades him to steal money from a drug dealers' home. Gar tags along, but soon things go horribly wrong. One question to ask is "Will the Giants win the big game?.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 706
Genere: Crime, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 81%
Beneath the Harvest Sky (2013)
Plot Summary:
A teen drama set during the fall potato harvest in a small northern Maine town.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, psychological, tense, touching, serious, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 78%
Hurricane Streets (1997)
Plot Summary:
Marcus is a kid on Manhattan's mean streets. He's turning 15, his father is dead, his mother is in prison for smuggling undocumented aliens. His grandmother is raising him. He has four close buddies who have a basement clubhouse; they shoplift and sell the wares to kids. One is moving toward selling drugs. Marcus wants to take a breather from the city and visit family in New Mexico. He also meets Melena, 14, a sweet kid who dreams of going to Alaska; her father is not just protective but angry and uncommunicative. The gang pressures Marcus to move up to burglary and car theft. He just wants to breathe open air. Can anything go right?.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: independent film, realistic, rough, bleak, serious, disturbing, clever, bad ending, sad, harsh
Similar in 90%
Paranoid Park (2007)
Plot Summary:
The teenager and skateboarder Alex is interviewed by Detective Richard Lu that is investigating the death of a security guard in the rail yards severed by a train who was apparently hit by a skate board. While dealing with the separation process of his parents and the sexual heat of his virgin girlfriend Jennifer, Alex writes his last experiences in Paranoid Park with his new acquaintances and how the guard was killed, trying to relieve his feeling of guilty from his conscience.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: France, USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: surreal, depressing, enigmatic, emotional, melancholic, lyrical, art house, visual, teen, independent film
Similar in 79%
The Good Humor Man (2005)
Plot Summary:
A mischievous high school sophomore faces a conflict of conscience vs. character when his best friend becomes linked to the death of a youth from another clique in suburban Middle America circa '76.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 656
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, realistic, atmospheric, serious, erotic, independent film
Similar in 77%
The Hillz (2004)
Plot Summary:
A promising college athlete takes a turn for the worse when he hooks up with old highschool friends during his summer break.
IMDB Rating: 2.0
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: serious, surreal, realistic, captivating, suspenseful, black comedy, dark comedy
Similar in 85%
Disco Pigs (2001)
Plot Summary:
Pig and Runt born on the same day, in the same hospital, moments apart. Twins, all but by bloodline. Inseparable from birth, they are almost telepathic. They are one, needing no one else, inhabiting a delicate, insular and dangerous world where they make their own rules and have their own language. But days before their 17th birthday the balance of their world begins to shift. Pig's sexual awakening and jealousy begins to threaten their private universe.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: Ireland
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, realistic, rough, suspenseful, independent film, philosophical, heartbreaking, melancholic, disturbing
Similar in 86%
Less Than Zero (1987)
Plot Summary:
A college freshman returns to Los Angeles for the holidays at his ex-girlfriend's request, but discovers that his former best friend has an out-of-control drug habit.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: stylized, erotic, inspirational, retro, sad, art house, cerebral, cult classic, visually stunning, erotic drama
Similar in 84%
Over the Edge (1979)
Plot Summary:
The music of Cheap Trick, The Cars, and The Ramones highlights this realistic tale of alienated suburban youth on the rampage. Dillon makes his screen debut in this updated, well-done "Rebel Without a Cause." Shelved for several years, the movie was finally released after Dillon made it big. Sleeper with excellent direction and dialogue.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: offbeat, grindhouse, hood, cult classic, tense, rough, serious, realistic, disturbing, independent film
Similar in 83%
Rumble Fish (1983)
Plot Summary:
Rusty James, an absent-minded street thug struggles to live up to his legendary older brother's reputation, and longs for the days when gang warfare was going on.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, surreal, black and white, serious, cult classic, bleak, realistic, touching, captivating, cerebral
Similar in 76%
River's Edge (1986)
Plot Summary:
A group of high school friends discover that they are in the presence of a killer. One of them, Samson, has murdered his girlfriend Jamie. He brags to his friends about killing her, and when they discover he is telling the truth, their reactions vary.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: disturbing, independent film, dark, grim, creepy, cult classic, controversial, psychological, bleak, retro
Similar in 75%
Mean Creek (2004)
Plot Summary:
Teenagers living in small-town Oregon take a boat trip for a birthday celebration. When they get an idea to play a mean trick on the town bully, it suddenly goes too far. Soon they're forced to deal with the unexpected consequences of their actions.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 33000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, suspenseful, suspense, intense, independent film, captivating, emotional, sad, tense
Similar in 87%
Hot Summer Nights (2017)
Plot Summary:
A teen winds up in over his head while dealing drugs with a rebellious partner and chasing the young man's enigmatic sister during the summer of 1991 that he spends in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, light, humorous, freeze frame, sexy, sweet, social, sex comedy, independent film
Similar in 83%
The Battle of Shaker Heights (2003)
Plot Summary:
A quirky teen with a penchant for war reenactments, Kelly Ernswiler obsesses over military tactics with his buddy Bart. The school bully is one of Kelly's regular headaches, and he also has to deal with a frustrating situation at home, where his father is a recovering drug addict. Kelly's life gets even more complicated when he falls for Tabby, Bart's pretty and soon-to-be-wed older sister.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 79 min
Plot tags: intense, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, inspirational, feel good, epic, scenic, light
Similar in 78%
Vision Quest (1985)
Plot Summary:
High school wrestler Louden Swain is a man obsessed , trying to shed 23 pounds in a dangerously short time and take on Shute, the undefeated, tough-as-nails 168-pound champion who's the best wrestler in the state. Matthew Modine stars as the mop-headed student undeterred in his Vision Quest...until a day a sexy drifter threatens to pin Louden and his dreams to the mat of unrequited love.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: inspirational, melancholic, sentimental, serious, realistic, cult classic, intense, romantic, uplifting, romantic drama
Similar in 84%
L.I.E. (2001)
Plot Summary:
In this biting and disturbing coming-of-age tale from writer-director Michael Cuesta, life is bittersweet along the L.I.E., also known as the Long Island Expressway, as suburban teen Howie Blitzer learns all too clearly. In the space of a week, he loses nearly everything and everyone he knows and is left to navigate his adolescence virtually unsupervised.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: disturbing, bleak, controversial, brutal, enigmatic, touching, realistic, sexy, stylized, independent film
Similar in 82%
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)
Plot Summary:
Dito Montiel, a successful author, receives a call from his long-suffering mother, asking him to return home and visit his ailing father. Dito recalls his childhood growing up in a violent neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., with friends Antonio, Giuseppe, Nerf and Mike.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: emotional, harsh, rough, thought provoking, intense, realistic, sentimental, epic, crying, hood
Similar in 87%
Normal Adolescent Behavior (2007)
Plot Summary:
High school student Wendy has an odd relationship with her five friends: They're openly sexual with each other, swapping partners every week. But this is all thrown into turmoil when she meets Sean, a new student in school who has a crush on her. Wendy wants to be with Sean, but doesn't want to disappoint her friends, whom she has known since grade school. When she does decide to leave them, her best friend, Billie, threatens revenge.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sincere, bleak, serious, humorous, realistic, semi serious, independent film, sexy, erotic, sexual
Similar in 81%
Tart (2001)
Plot Summary:
A student will do anything to become part of the "in-crowd" at the exclusive school she attends in New York.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, sincere, sentimental, melancholic, tense, sexual, independent film, sexy
Similar in 79%
American Me (1992)
Plot Summary:
Edward J. Olmos made his directorial bow with the powerhouse crime saga American Me. Olmos stars as street-gang leader Santana, who during his 18 years in Folsom Prison rules over all the drug-and-murder activities behind bars. Upon his release, Santana goes back to his old neighborhood, intending to lead a peaceful, crime-free life. But his old gang buddies force him back into his old habits. The.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: disturbing, realistic, talky, emotional, intense, rough, serious, suspenseful, tense, suspense
Similar in 81%
Menace II Society (1993)
Plot Summary:
Menace II Society is a coming of age tale detailing the summer after its protagonist Caine (Tyrin Turner) graduates from high school. This is Caine's story, which details real life in today's tough inner city.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 63000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: tense, bleak, realistic, stylized, hood, rough, serious, harsh, intense, bloody
Similar in 81%
Boyz n the Hood (1991)
Plot Summary:
Boyz n the Hood is the popular and successful film and social criticism from John Singleton about the conditions in South Central Los Angeles where teenagers are involved in gun fights and drug dealing on a daily basis.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 151000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: disturbing, tense, thought provoking, hood, cult classic, brutal, bleak, independent film, rough, suspenseful
Similar in 77%
Havoc (2005)
Plot Summary:
A wealthy Los Angeles teen and her superficial friends wants to break out of suburbia and experience Southern California's "gangsta" lifestyle. But problems arise when the preppies get in over their heads and provoke the wrath of a violent Latino gang. Suddenly, their role-playing seems a little too real.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: disturbing, sexy, independent film, erotic, psychological, bad ending, intense, serious, suspenseful, tense
Similar in 75%
The Spectacular Now (2013)
Plot Summary:
A hard-partying high school senior's philosophy on life changes when he meets the not-so-typical "nice girl.".
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 160000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, teen, sincere, melancholic, emotional, independent film, romantic, feel good, sweet, heartbreaking
Similar in 77%
American History X (1998)
Plot Summary:
Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two thugs who tried to break into/steal his truck. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader of a violent white supremacist gang that committed acts of racial crime throughout L.A. and his actions greatly influenced Danny. Reformed and fresh out of prison, Derek severs contact with the gang and becomes determined to keep Danny from going down the same violent path as he did.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 12000000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: emotional, dramatic, serious, rough, cerebral, psychological, tense, disturbing, black and white, political