Best movies like On the Outs
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Follows the choices made by three young women - one a drug dealer, one an addict, one a pregnant teen - in Jersey City.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 692
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: rough, touching, serious, emotional, anthology, bleak, realistic, independent film
Best tv shows and movies like On the Outs (2004):
Similar in 78%
Hillbilly Elegy (2020)
Plot Summary:
An urgent phone call pulls a Yale Law student back to his Ohio hometown, where he reflects on three generations of family history and his own future.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 45000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: psychological, thought provoking, touching, realistic, scenic, rough, philosophical, emotional, political, entertaining
Similar in 85%
Stolen Dreams (2009)
Plot Summary:
Jessica, Sabrina and Daiane have dreams, just like all young people of any social class or place in the world. They live in a low-income neighborhood in the periphery of Rio de Janeiro and find in prostitution a way to survive and satisfy their consumer desires. However, even faced with the trials of absolute uncertainty and lack of hope, Jessica, Sabrina and Daiane insist on loving, having fun and planning their future.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 561
Genere: Drama
Country: Brazil
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, psychological, sentimental, captivating, political, social, rough, bleak, disturbing
Similar in 78%
Life Support (2007)
Plot Summary:
The true-life story of a mother who overcame an addiction to crack and became a positive role model and an AIDS activist in the black community.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, sincere, thought provoking, touching, psychological, captivating
Similar in 82%
In Vanda's Room (2000)
Plot Summary:
With the intimate feel of a documentary and the texture of a Vermeer painting, In Vanda’s Room takes an unflinching, fragmentary look at a handful of self-destructive, marginalized people, but is centered around the heroin-addicted Vanda Duarte.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Portugal, Germany, Switzerland
Duration: 171 min
Plot tags: touching, realistic, emotional, semi documentary, contemplative, bleak, art house, slow cinema, serious, gloomy
Similar in 87%
A Brother's Kiss (1997)
Plot Summary:
Two brothers, Lex and younger Mick, are living in Harlem. Mick is a policeman, and Lex, who spent youth years in reformatory because of injustice after he confronted the cop who tried to sodomize Mick on the street, is living with his wife Debbie trying to make ends meet and failing. One day Lex calls Mick - he has a problem.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 412
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: emotional, touching, serious, rough, bleak, erotic, independent film, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 82%
The Rose Seller (1998)
Plot Summary:
13-year-old Monica leads a street life, making her living by selling flowers to couples in local nightspots, she is joined by 10-year-old Andrea who runs out of her house after her mother beats her.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: Colombia
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: social, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 84%
Five Star (2014)
Plot Summary:
After John’s absent father is struck by a stray bullet, Primo takes it upon himself to verse the young boy in the code of the streets—one founded on respect and upheld by fear. A member of the Bloods since the age of twelve—both in the film and in reality—the streets of Brooklyn are all Primo has ever known. While John questions whether or not to enter into this life, Primo must decide whether to leave it all behind as he vows to become a better husband and father. Set during those New York summer weeks where the stifling heat seems to encase everything, Five Star plunges into gang culture with searing intensity. Director Keith Miller observes the lives of these two men with a quiet yet pointed distance, carefully eschewing worn clichés through its unflinching focus. Distinctions between fiction and real life remain intentionally ambiguous, allowing the story of these two men to resonate beyond the streets, as they face the question of what it means to be a man.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 569
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, psychological, captivating, sexy, hood, tense, sincere, rough, bleak
Similar in 85%
1 Out of 7 (2011)
Plot Summary:
Runaway teen Lexi find herself alone and pregnant on the streets. Seemingly beyond hope, she must turn to Devon, a woman with her own demons, to help her find a way back from her past mistakes.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 199
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sincere, rough, serious, realistic, bleak, independent film
Similar in 84%
Streeters (2001)
Plot Summary:
Authentic and committed, moving and stormy drama of street kids from Mexico City. Wonderful adaptation of successful play about street kids who have more trouble with corrupt cops, than with dirty and heavy work.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 547
Genere: Drama
Country: Mexico
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, bleak, realistic, independent film
Similar in 84%
The Poker House (2008)
Plot Summary:
Agnes and her two sisters struggle through a day in a home overrun by gamblers, thieves, and johns.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: realistic, rough, serious, emotional, dark, teen, bleak, tear jerker, tearjerker
Similar in 88%
Lost Angels (1989)
Plot Summary:
Rich L.A. party brat Tim (Adam Horovitz) spins into a cycle of despair after his parents divorce, and trying to fill the void with drugs and trouble only buys him a ticket to an asylum. But with the help of a psychiatrist (Donald Sutherland) who has taken an interest in him, will Tim try to pull himself out of the muck of teenage rebellion and ennui?.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, thought provoking, suspenseful, independent film, rough, captivating, gloomy, cult film
Similar in 77%
Without Destination (2002)
Plot Summary:
Sin Destino follows the life of a 15 year old Mexican boy, Francisco, as he struggles to survive on the streets. His primary source of income is money raised by prostituting himself to men for sex, and the film implies that this learned behaviour has arisen as a result of a contact with a single man when Francisco was 9 years old. This man, Sebastien, is an "artist" who initially claimed to want to photograph the boy, but it is clear that their relationship at one time extended far beyond that of photographer/model.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 220
Genere: Drama
Country: Mexico
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, atmospheric, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, surreal, gloomy, sexual
Similar in 85%
Life Hits (2006)
Plot Summary:
Christina is living in a suburb to Copenhagen. With her class mates Cecilie, Trine and Pernille she slacks her school work, living mostly for the weekends of gate crashing, getting drunk, experimenting with drugs and scoring guys. But her world is turned upside down when Cecilie's boyfriend Shaid starts hitting on her, and Cecilie mistakenly believes the two of them are making out.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama
Country: Denmark
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, serious, realistic, captivating, independent film, sincere, disturbing
Similar in 86%
Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020)
Plot Summary:
A pair of teenage girls in rural Pennsylvania travel to New York City to seek out medical help after an unintended pregnancy.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: sad, social, meditative, rough, serious, inspirational, controversial, aesthetic, crying, independent film
Similar in 85%
Love Is the Drug (2006)
Plot Summary:
Jonah Brand (John Patrick Amedori) isn't necessarily the type of guy who would interest ultra-hot Sara Weller (Lizzy Caplan). But when she and her friends find out he works at a pharmacy, they charm him into their circle and gain his trust with manipulative fawning. Jonah knows he's playing with danger, but it's tough to resist the game. Daryl Hannah and D.J. Cotrona co-star in this grizzly tale of addiction and obsession.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 794
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, independent film, suspense, suspenseful, dark, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 75%
The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete (2013)
Plot Summary:
Coming of age story about two inner city youths, who are left to fend for themselves over the summer after their mothers are taken away by the authorities.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, hood, clever, sad, therapeutic
Similar in 78%
True Friends (1998)
Plot Summary:
New York, The Bronx, 1980. Two Italian boys Joey Esposito and Louie Mazerino jump to the defence of a smaller Puerto Rican boy, J.J. Lopez, when J.J. is threatened by six schoolyard bullies. The three boys soon become best friends, and they always look out for each other. However, their innocence is shattered when they witness Big Tony, the local Mob boss kill a man. The three boys vow to each other to keep it a secret. Fifteen years later, the three boys, now in their late twenties are still the best of friends and still living in The Bronx. They dream of opening their own bar. Desperate to better themselves, Joey devises a scheme to steal money from Big Tony and open their own Joint.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 202
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: independent film, serious, realistic
Similar in 81%
The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie (2003)
Plot Summary:
A troubled teen is given the chance to redeem his criminal debt to society.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 594
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, UK, USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: touching, sentimental, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 79%
She Fought Alone (1995)
Plot Summary:
All, including school administration and a friend, turn their backs on a girl who accused a classmate of rape.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, realistic, disturbing, thought provoking, rough, serious, emotional, contemplative
Similar in 84%
Explicit Ills (2008)
Plot Summary:
The film follows four inter-connecting stories revolving around love, drugs and poverty in Philadelphia.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 854
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: uplifting, touching, serious, emotional, freeze frame, sincere, realistic
Similar in 83%
Bobby G. Can't Swim (1999)
Plot Summary:
Bobby G. lives life on the edge in this real, raw New York street drama. Bobby is a small-time coke dealer, always on the hustle but rarely successful. He lives in Hell's Kitchen with his Puerto Rican girlfriend Lucy, who makes ends meet as a prostitute. A typical day finds Bobby selling $20 bags to neighborhood locals and passing cars. A yuppie kid looking to score a kilo of coke approaches him to broker a deal and Bobby sees the opportunity of a lifetime to make some real money. His rough days may just be over. With the tidy profit he could even leave the business. Playing out of his league, Bobby arranges to get the kilo from Astro, a fearsome, high-level drug dealer. Though Lucy announces that she's decided to go back to Puerto Rico and pleads with him to make a fresh start too, Bobby is sticking to his deal and isn't going anywhere now, convinced he'll be 'livin' large in a matter a' days.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 393
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: independent film, psychological, tense, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 77%
Acts of Worship (2001)
Plot Summary:
Alix is taken in by a photographer, Digna, who despite her friends' protests, tries to help Alix piece her life back together and overcome her addictions.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 316
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, disturbing, bleak, gloomy
Similar in 89%
Imperial Dreams (2014)
Plot Summary:
A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Angeles.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: uplifting, touching, rough, serious, hood, inspirational, feel good, social, crime drama, realistic
Similar in 87%
Zooey (2006)
Plot Summary:
Angel and Zooey are not your typical newlyweds. Zooey is a professional prostitute and Angel is a drug dealer. Yet they are not without hopes and dreams, of escaping their life in the streets and starting a new in a fresh painted cottage with picked fence, kid and a dog, in Manitoba, Canada, Life gets in the way however when their best friend gets in trouble with her pimp. They sacrifice everything to save her, including their own dreams.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 70
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, bleak, gloomy
Similar in 75%
Gracie's Choice (2004)
Plot Summary:
For as long as she can remember, 16 year-old Gracie has been raising her four siblings, each of whom has a different, absent father and their mother is on the fast track to self-destruction. When these children's lives are about to be pulled apart, Gracie will have to do the impossible and make the ultimate sacrifices to keep her family together.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, emotional, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 77%
A Hero Ain't Nothin' But a Sandwich (1977)
Plot Summary:
Faced with the harsh reality of growing up in the ghetto, 13-year old Benjie (Larry B. Scott) turns to heroin to escape. After Benjie hits rock bottom, his mother (Cicely Tyson) and her boyfriend (Paul Winfield) must sacrifice to help him overcome his dependency. Directed by Ralph Nelson, this heartwarming drama tackles the battle of a troubled youth, his struggles with addiction, and the impact felt by those around him.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 360
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: independent film, serious, realistic
Similar in 80%
Our America (2002)
Plot Summary:
The true story of two African-American teen radio reporters and their documentary investigation of a notorious child murder.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 304
Genere: Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, emotional, realistic, controversial, sincere, bleak
Similar in 80%
Bullet Boy (2004)
Plot Summary:
Ricky is just out of a young offenders institute, heading home to Hackney and determined to go straight. Instead, he heads straight for trouble when he becomes involved in a street confrontation, siding with his best friend Wisdom against a local rude boy. The trouble escalates into a series of tit-for-tat incidents that threaten to spiral out of control. Ricky's 12-year-old brother Curtis, hero-worships Ricky, though he appears smart enough to know he doesn't want to follow his example. Yet, despite the stern warnings from his mother and support from her friends in the community, might Ricky's bad boy allure be too attractive for Curtis to resist?.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: psychological, rough, serious, realistic, hood, bleak, gloomy
Similar in 86%
Our Song (2000)
Plot Summary:
Focusing on the bonding between three female (an African American female, a half African American half Latino American female, and a Latino American female) high school members of Brooklyn's "Jackie Robinson Steppers Marching Band" and the choices the girls face once their school closes down because of the need for asbestos removal. This film is about a host of topics, not least of which is the hard-work involved in maintaining.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 848
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: disturbing, sincere, thought provoking, touching, independent film, serious, realistic, contemplative, neorealism, erotic
Similar in 88%
Fifteen and Pregnant (1998)
Plot Summary:
Based on a true story, 15 year old Tina Spangler discovers she is pregnant. Her choices are abortion, adoption, or a lonely, exhausting life as a single parent. Abandoned by her boyfriend, she turns to her mother. Tina discovers although it has torn her world apart, her pregnancy could re-unite her shattered family and help her find her true purpose in life.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, psychological, sincere, talky, ridiculous