Best movies like Dear Eleanor
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Two teenage girls travel across the U.S. in 1962, during the chaos of the Cuban missile crisis, in search of Eleanor Roosevelt.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, History
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, political, captivating, road movie, touching
Best tv shows and movies like Dear Eleanor (2016):
Similar in 76%
The Year I Did Nothing (2019)
Plot Summary:
Set in 1985, Manila, 3 siblings spend an extended summer waiting to immigrate to the United States, while their country gets ready to evict their homeland's notorious dictator, Ferdinand Marcos.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 22
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, History
Country: USA
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, captivating, realistic, political, tagalog
Similar in 86%
Pass the Light (2015)
Plot Summary:
Pass the Light tells the story of Steve Bellafiore, an 17 year old high school senior who decides to run for Congress in order to protect the faith that he so loves.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 158
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: serious, uplifting, feel good, realistic
Similar in 87%
The Watsons Go to Birmingham (2013)
Plot Summary:
In the Summer of 1963, Flint, Michigan is home to the Watsons, a close knit family. When 15 year-old Byron’s antics go over the top, his parents realize enough is enough and they decide the family needs a dose of Grandma Sands' no nonsense approach in Birmingham, Alabama. So the Watsons load up their 1948 Plymouth Brown Bomber and head South. When they finally make it to Birmingham, they meet Grandma Sands and her friend, Mr. Robert and discover that life is very different there than in Flint. During that historic summer, the Watsons find themselves caught up in something far bigger than Byron’s antics; something that will change their lives and country forever.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 792
Genere: Drama, Family, History
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, sincere, humorous, family saga, sad, semi serious
Similar in 80%
The ButterCream Gang (1992)
Plot Summary:
Unlike most gangs, the ButterCream gang does good deeds. Their leader, Pete, has to go live with his aunt in Chicago. But things don't go well in Chicago and Pete is changed when he returns. Soon Pete is hanging around with the wrong crowd. But the remaining members of the gang, especially their new leader Scott, refuse to give up on their friend Pete.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: epic, independent film, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 76%
Out There (2003)
Plot Summary:
Out There is an Australian comedy-drama series following the trials and tribulations of an American high school boy named Reilly who moves to Australia from Connecticut as his father flees the authorities. He stays with his aunt and uncle who are the owners of a nature reserve and veterinary clinic.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 105
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA, Australia
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, serious, realistic
Similar in 88%
Logan (2010)
Plot Summary:
A teen does everything he can to finish his younger brother's project when tragedy strikes.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 317
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, serious, captivating, realistic, independent film
Similar in 79%
All the Wilderness (2014)
Plot Summary:
Keeping to himself in the wake his father's death, James Charm finds refuge in solitary walks and creating morbid sketches — until a charismatic new friend and a quirky young woman begin to draw him out of his shell.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, independent film, teen, stylized, interesting
Similar in 76%
Red Dog (2011)
Plot Summary:
Based on the legendary true story of the Red Dog who united a disparate local community while roaming the Australian outback in search of his long lost master.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Biography, Comedy, Drama, Family, Romance
Country: Australia, USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, uplifting, realistic, serious, romantic, depressing, heartbreaking, emotional, sad
Similar in 78%
The Clique (2008)
Plot Summary:
A young girl tries to fit in with a clique of popular middle school girls after moving into the guest house of one of their homes.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, realistic, light, teen, teen comedy
Similar in 89%
Spin (2003)
Plot Summary:
"Spin" tells the story of a boy who loses his parents in a plane crash, is taken in by his uncle (Tucci), who then leaves him for ten years in the care of his Hispanic ranch hand (Blades) and his wife (Delany). Once in high school, Eddie (Merriman) reconnects with a girl from his past (Garces), and their growing interracial relationship teaches the sometimes-sullen Eddie to think of others before himself.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 537
Genere: Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, independent film
Similar in 82%
Two Bits (1995)
Plot Summary:
It's a hot summer day in 1933 in South Philly, where 12-year old Gennaro lives with his widowed mom and his ailing grandpa, who sits outside holding tight to his last quarter, which he's promised to Gennaro and which Gennaro would like to have to buy a ticket to the plush new movie theater. But grandpa's not ready to pass on the quarter or pass on to his final reward: he has some unfinished business with a woman from his past, and he enlists Gennaro to act as his emissary.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, emotional, independent film, anamorphic, cult classic, serious, realistic, thought provoking, feel good
Similar in 89%
Man in the Chair (2007)
Plot Summary:
The story of an aspiring young filmmaker's encounter with a grumpy fount of movie lore.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, sincere, cult classic, masterpiece
Similar in 76%
Funeral Kings (2012)
Plot Summary:
It's always a good day for a funeral at St. Mark's Middle School. Andy and Charlie, two altar servers, don't just get to miss class anytime a parishioner kicks the bucket, they cut out early and play hooky as soon as the service is over. Eventually their irreverent personalities will put them in a situation that is too big for them to handle.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, captivating, psychological, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 88%
A Birder's Guide to Everything (2013)
Plot Summary:
David Portnoy, a 15-year-old birding fanatic, thinks that he's made the discovery of a lifetime. So, on the eve of his father's remarriage, he escapes on an epic road trip with his best friends to solidify their place in birding history.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 86%
Foreign Letters (2012)
Plot Summary:
A bittersweet coming-of-age film, Foreign Letters is itself a love letter to the unshakeable bond between friends. Set in the pre-email era of the 1980s, young Ellie, newly arrived to the US from Israel, anxiously waits for letters from her best friend back home. Suffering from homesickness, language difficulties and rejection at school, life brightens when she meets Thuy, a Vietnamese refugee her age. As the two bond and become inseparable, they eventually hurt each other, and Ellie must find a way to restore their trust. Based on director Ela Thier's personal immigration experience, Foreign Letters is a film about poverty, prejudice, shame, and the healing power of friendship.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 273
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 87%
Campus Confidential (2005)
Plot Summary:
School... there is the popular crowd. Teachers favor some students over others. Because of this, Violet decides to start a school paper, which exposes many embarrassing secrets of popular kids who think they run the campus.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 797
Genere: Comedy, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: sentimental, realistic, touching, feel good, humorous, semi serious, teen
Similar in 88%
Children on Their Birthdays (2002)
Plot Summary:
Havoc is created in a small Southern community when a 12-year-old shows up, causing a couple 13-year-old friends to fall in love with her, thus possibly jeopardizing their friendship.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 581
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, humorous, independent film, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 88%
Dirty Girl (2010)
Plot Summary:
It's 1987 and Danielle, the high school 'Dirty Girl', is running away. With her is chubby, gay Clarke, a bag of flour called Joan and a Walkman full of glorious '80s tunes.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: road movie, touching, teen, independent film, melancholic, sweet, humorous, realistic, semi serious, feel good
Similar in 83%
Secrets of War (2014)
Plot Summary:
Tuur and Lambert are best friends. But the war is closing in and is about to change their lives forever. Tuurs dad joined the resistance and even his big brother seems so be part of it. Lamberts family on the other hand choose to obey the Germans. Then a new girls from the city shows up, befriending the boys but telling her secret to only one of them. A choice that separates the boys and ultimately gets her in trouble.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Family, History, War
Country: Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: captivating, emotional, touching, serious, realistic, social, period drama
Similar in 82%
Prince Jack (1984)
Plot Summary:
A dramatic look at the inner workings of the Kennedy administration.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 41
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: political, independent film
Similar in 89%
LBJ: The Early Years (1987)
Plot Summary:
LBJ: The Early Years was a television movie that appeared on the NBC network in February 1987, depicting the life of former President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson from 1934 until 1973. Actor Randy Quaid won a Golden Globe award for his portrayal of Johnson.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 278
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 155 min
Plot tags: sincere, thought provoking, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative, political
Similar in 75%
Frankie & Hazel (2000)
Plot Summary:
Actress JoBeth Williams directed this Showtime family feature starring The Sixth Sense's Mischa Barton for Barbra Streisand's Barwood Films. Barton is Frankie and Ingrid Uribe is Hazel, Frankie's neighbor and best friend. Frankie is an orphan who lives with her imperious grandmother, Phoebe (Joan Plowright), while Hazel lives with her father and older brother. Frankie's mother was a prima ballerina--killed in a car crash along with her father--and Frankie's been following in her toe shoes ever since. Although she's the best dancer in her class, she'd rather play baseball, whereas Hazel's a local activist who'd rather be mayor. The story strains credibility when 13-year-old Hazel runs for office against the middle-aged incumbent, but Frankie's goal is more understandable, and both actresses make their characters sympathetic and believable. It's as hard not to like them as it is not to root for them to succeed.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 430
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Sport
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: touching, feel good, humorous, semi serious, sentimental, realistic
Similar in 79%
The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom (2011)
Plot Summary:
Elizabeth Alison Gray is just your average suburban 11-year old waiting for adolescence to arrive when she finds out her whole life has been a lie. With only her imagination to guide her, she runs away to find the truth.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 632
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious, psychological, sincere, captivating
Similar in 90%
Radio Rebel (2012)
Plot Summary:
High school senior Tara is so painfully shy that she dreads speaking to anyone in the hallways or getting called on in class. But in the privacy of her bedroom with her iPod in hand, she rocks out -- doing mock broadcasts for Miami's hottest FM radio station, which happens to be owned by her stepfather. When a slot opens up at The SLAM, Tara surprises herself by blossoming behind the mike into confident, "Radio Rebel" -- and to everyone's shock, she's a hit!.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: realistic, semi serious, humorous, teen, light, captivating, romantic, feel good, cute
Similar in 89%
Girl in Progress (2012)
Plot Summary:
As single mom Grace juggles work, bills, and her affair with a married doctor, her daughter, Ansiedad, plots a shortcut to adulthood after finding inspiration in the coming-of-age stories she's reading for school.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, humorous, semi serious, independent film, teen, realistic
Similar in 90%
Frenemies (2012)
Plot Summary:
What happens when three sets of BFF's become enemies?.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: realistic, humorous, semi serious, teen, anthology, black comedy, dark comedy, sentimental, teen comedy
Similar in 81%
Gueros (2014)
Plot Summary:
Set amidst the 1999 student strikes in Mexico City, this coming-of-age tale finds two brothers venturing through the city in a sentimental search for an aging legendary musician. Shot in black-and-white, Güeros brims with youthful exuberance.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Mexico
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: road movie, humorous, light, captivating, thought provoking, hispanic, art film, black and white, existential, realistic
Similar in 76%
By Dawn's Early Light (2001)
Plot Summary:
When Mike Lewis leaves L.A. to stay with his grandfather in Colorado for the summer, he hates the old man's cowboy ways. When Mike demands to go home, the old man agrees and saddles up a couple of horses for a six week trip toward California, home, the Pacific and redemption.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 475
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, realistic, captivating, independent film
Similar in 85%
The Missiles of October (1974)
Plot Summary:
Based in part on Robert F. Kennedy's book, "Thirteen Days," this film profiles the Kennedy Administration's actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 150 min
Plot tags: political, tense, thought provoking, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 82%
Thirteen Days (2000)
Plot Summary:
Dramatisation of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the nuclear standoff with the USSR sparked by the discovery by the Americans of missle bases established on the Soviet allied island of Cuba. Shown from the perspective of the US President, John F Kennedy, his staff and advisors.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 62000
Genere: Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: tense, political, suspenseful, thought provoking, disturbing, sincere, realistic, educational, witty, serious