Best movies like Rock the Paint
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A coming-of-age story ignites when teenager Josh Sendler has to pack up his hoop dreams and move from the lush cornfields of Indiana to the harsh inner-city playgrounds of Newark, N.J.. He meets and befriends basketball phenom, Antwon Jackson, on the local court and together they make a run for the high school state championship. Their friendship is tested along the way and ultimately must prove itself in the face of the explosive n-word.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 94
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags:
Best tv shows and movies like Rock the Paint (2005):
Similar in 77%
Tournament of Dreams (2007)
Plot Summary:
The Lady Cavaliers high school girls' basketball team is on the verge of extinction because of school budget cuts. The school's principal (Debbie Allen) is just about consign the Cavs to oblivion when the team and certain faculty members fight back alongside a new coach (Tony Todd) who could take the team to new heights and prove that they belong. In addition to winning games, the girls face other obstacles such as love, loss and divorce.
IMDB Rating: 4.0
IMDB Votes: 184
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, touching, suspense, surprise ending, independent film
Similar in 78%
The Last Game (1995)
Plot Summary:
A young woman who has bad hearing tries to play basketball.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 42
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: Australia
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: crying
Similar in 81%
The St. Tammany Miracle (1994)
Plot Summary:
The St. Tammany Miracle is an inspiring story which shows how a determined coach can bring a handful of individuals from the failure of a dark and dusty gym into the glaring light of a state championship!.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 369
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 84%
Wolves (2016)
Plot Summary:
Anthony Keller, star of his NYC high school basketball team, is riding his way to Cornell on a sports scholarship. But he can only maintain his popular jock facade for so long, as his troubled father Lee has a gambling addiction that threatens to derail his dreams both on and off the court.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, tense, unusual plot structure, captivating, suspense, contemplative, multicultural
Similar in 90%
White Men Can't Jump (2023)
Plot Summary:
Seemingly opposite street hoopers, Jeremy, an injury prone former star, and Kamal, a has-been prodigy, team up to take one final shot at living out their dreams.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: buddy comedy
Similar in 76%
Amateur (2018)
Plot Summary:
14-year-old basketball phenom Terron Forte has to navigate the under-the-table world of amateur athletics when he is recruited to an elite NCAA prep school.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: inspirational, captivating, semi serious, emotional, disturbing
Similar in 77%
Run! T High School Basketball Club (2018)
Plot Summary:
Yoichi plays basketball at his junior high and is capable. He is granted a scholarship and attends a high school with a superlative basket team. Instead of welcoming the boy the students there decide to bully and harass the new player leading Yoichi to a new high school and basketball team. Expectedly, the basketball team is not the best. The team will have to soon play against the team from the school Yoichi was in before.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 41
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: Japan
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: tense, unusual plot structure, captivating, suspense, contemplative
Similar in 90%
Blue Chips (1994)
Plot Summary:
Pete Bell, a college basketball coach is under a lot of pressure. His team aren't winning and he cannot attract new players. The stars of the future are secretly being paid by boosters. This practice is forbidden in the college game, but Pete is desperate and has pressures from all around.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: suspense, intense, serious, tense, realistic, biting, surprise ending, exciting, light, inspirational
Similar in 83%
Cornbread, Earl and Me (1975)
Plot Summary:
The unintentional shooting by police of a star basketball player has profound personal, political and community repercussions in this acclaimed adaptation of the novel Hog Butcher by Ronald Fair. This was one of the more thoughtful urban dramas produced at the height of the "blaxploitation" craze. Also released under the title Hit the Open Man, it features the screen debut of Laurence Fishburne, who was barely a teenager at the time.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 975
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: independent film, sincere, uplifting, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, black cinema
Similar in 83%
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 90%
4 Minute Mile (2014)
Plot Summary:
A teenager overcomes odds to run a 4-minute mile race.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, realistic, uplifting, touching, serious, emotional, crying, motivational, gloomy
Similar in 90%
One on One (1977)
Plot Summary:
Henry Steele is a basketball phenom at his small town high school, but when he matriculates to a big city university on a scholarship, soon realizes that he has few skills outside the sport. Expected by his coach to contribute significantly to the team, Henry is overwhelmed by the demands on his time, the "big business" aspect of college sports, and the fact that he never fully learned to read. Things look bleak for Henry when Janet Hays, a pretty graduate student, is assigned as Henry's tutor. Her intellect and strength lift Henry out of his doldrums just in time to battle the coach, who attempts to rescind Henry's scholarship.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, sincere, melancholic, grindhouse
Similar in 82%
A Gentleman's Game (2002)
Plot Summary:
A drama revolving around characters whose lives are transformed one summer at an exclusive East Coast country club.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 828
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, serious, scenic, independent film, realistic
Similar in 85%
Sugar (2008)
Plot Summary:
Sugar is a 2008 sports drama film directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. It follows the story of Miguel Santos, a. k. a. Sugar (Algenis Perez Soto), a Dominican pitcher from San Pedro de Macorís, struggling to make it to the big leagues and pull himself and his family out of poverty. Playing professionally at a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic, Miguel finally gets his break at age 19 when he advances to the United States' minor league system; but when his play on the mound falters, he begins to question the single-mindedness of his life's ambition.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA, Dominican Republic
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, uplifting, touching, sentimental, realistic, entertaining, serious, contemplative, independent film, tense
Similar in 87%
Sunset Park (1996)
Plot Summary:
A white school teacher takes over a talented, but undisciplined black high school basketball team and turns them into a winning team.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: hood, humorous, grim, sincere, touching, feel good, captivating, realistic, semi serious, funny
Similar in 77%
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 81%
First Match (2018)
Plot Summary:
Hardened by years in foster care, a teenage girl from Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood decides that wrestling boys is the only way back to her estranged father.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: inspirational, realistic, uplifting, touching, serious, hood, teen
Similar in 88%
The Tiger Woods Story (1998)
Plot Summary:
With his father coaching him and his mother providing a strong spiritual influence, Tiger Woods rose to fame and fortune. But his success came at a price, as he endured personal struggles with racism, self-doubt and cultural identity.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 295
Genere: Biography, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: sincere, uplifting, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 89%
The Miracle Season (2018)
Plot Summary:
After the tragic death of star volleyball player Caroline "Line" Found, a team of dispirited high school girls must band together under the guidance of their tough-love coach in hopes of winning the state championship.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: touching, rough, serious, teen, thought provoking, captivating, sad, crying
Similar in 90%
He Got Game (1998)
Plot Summary:
A basketball player's father must try to convince him to go to a college so he can get a shorter sentence.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 51000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 136 min
Plot tags: inspirational, hood, thought provoking, captivating, rough, touching, stylized, scary, cult classic, serious
Similar in 82%
Streetballers (2009)
Plot Summary:
Defining street basketball as America's new favorite pastime, it is a story driven by passion, faith, and achieving goals. A story capturing the poetic nature of street basketball, highlighting the struggles endured on and off the court by the purest of athletes. Constantly searching for sanity in the midst of alcoholism, racism, and drugs, John Hogan and Jacob Whitmore, two junior college basketball players, find release and therapy while competing at one of the most competitive and poetic street courts in the U.S. Both men must spend an entire summer helping one another overcome their adversities. Their dedication and love for the game of basketball transcends from the playground courts into each of their dysfunctional households where the two boys play the constant role of the father figure. Together, the two boys paint a sad and delightful portrait with their innocence, concerns, and faith in the unknown.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 383
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, independent film, spiritual
Similar in 82%
That Championship Season (1982)
Plot Summary:
It started as a friendly meeting between 4 old buddies with their basketball coach and ended up in revealing the truth about their relationship. The meeting forces the five men to reveal their true identity, to be honest with each other for the first time in their lives. When the night comes to an end they decide to go back to the old glorious days and reunite into the team which won that championship season, back in 1957.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 688
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: independent film, serious, realistic, contemplative, adaptation directed by original author
Similar in 82%
A Season on the Brink (2002)
Plot Summary:
"A Season on the Brink: A Year with Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers" is based on the best-selling book by John Feinstein. The movie chronicles Indiana's 1985-86 season, when Knight granted Feinstein unprecedented access to the team and its practices, meetings, and huddles.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 555
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: uplifting, serious, realistic, captivating
Similar in 75%
Believe in Me (2006)
Plot Summary:
In a conservative small town, a young man's wish to coach high school basketball are tweaked by a school board decision that makes him the new coach of the girls' team.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, inspirational, spiritual
Similar in 88%
Hurricane Season (2009)
Plot Summary:
Based on true events amid the wreckage and chaos dealt by Hurricane Katrina; one basketball coach in Marrero, Louisiana just will not give up. Coach Al Collins(Forest Whitaker), gathers other players from hard-hit schools and builds a team actually worthy enough to go to the state playoffs. A very honest look at what can be done with the right people having the desire and fortitude to pick up and.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, sincere, uplifting, serious, realistic, hood, inspirational, contemplative
Similar in 84%
Pride (2007)
Plot Summary:
In this uplifting film based on a true story, coach Jim Ellis (Terrence Howard) shocks the community and changes lives when, aided by a local janitor (Bernie Mac), he sets out to form Philadelphia's first black swim team. But the odds are against them as they battle rigid rules, racism and more.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: inspirational, uplifting, serious, emotional, realistic, sincere, touching, crying, exciting, road movie
Similar in 87%
The Way Back (2020)
Plot Summary:
A former basketball all-star, who has lost his wife and family foundation in a struggle with addiction attempts to regain his soul and salvation by becoming the coach of a disparate ethnically mixed high school basketball team at his alma mater.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 52000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: realistic, motivational, touching, inspirational, serious, feel good, depressing, spiritual, emotional, cult classic
Similar in 75%
Above the Rim (1994)
Plot Summary:
Story of a promising high school basketball star and his relationships with two brothers, one a drug dealer and the other a former basketball star fallen on hard times and now employed as a security guard.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Sport, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: hood, inspirational, independent film, tense, touching, serious, realistic, suspenseful, gloomy, light
Similar in 82%
Hoosiers (1986)
Plot Summary:
High school basketball is king in small-town Indiana, and the 1954 Hickory Huskers are all hope and no talent. But their new coach -- abrasive, unlikable Norman Dale -- whips the team into shape ... while also inciting controversy.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 50000
Genere: Drama, Sport
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: inspirational, emotional, realistic, exciting, sincere, captivating, entertaining, independent film, scary, motivational
Similar in 77%
Glory Road (2006)
Plot Summary:
In 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins led the first all-black starting line-up for a college basketball team to the NCAA national championship.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 48000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: inspirational, sincere, emotional, intense, sentimental, serious, uplifting, touching, feel good, period piece