Best movies like Welcome to the Dollhouse
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
An unattractive 7th grader struggles to cope with suburban life as the middle child with un-attentive parents and bullies at school.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, disturbing, realistic, depressing, black comedy, brutal, controversial, cult classic, teen, talky
Best tv shows and movies like Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995):
Similar in 83%
Parents (1989)
Plot Summary:
Michael is a young boy living in a typical 1950's suburbanite home... except for his bizarre and horrific nightmares, and continued unease around his parents. Young Michael begins to suspect his parents are cooking more than just hamburgers on the grill outside, but has trouble explaining his fears to his new-found friend Sheila, or the school's social worker.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Comedy, Horror, Mystery
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, slasher, scary, creepy, cult classic, horror comedy, terrifying, black comedy, depressing, controversial
Similar in 81%
God Bless America (2011)
Plot Summary:
Fed up with the cruelty and stupidity of American culture, an unlikely duo goes on a killing spree, killing reality TV stars, bigots and others they find repugnant in this black comedy.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 72000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: cynical, dark comedy, black comedy, thought provoking, talky, funny, political, intense, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 86%
Julien Donkey-Boy (1999)
Plot Summary:
A portrait of the effects of schizophrenia on family life is the central focus.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: disturbing, art house, experimental, surreal, controversial, psychological, talky, intellectual, depressing, independent film
Similar in 90%
Life During Wartime (2009)
Plot Summary:
Friends, family, and lovers struggle to find love, forgiveness, and meaning in an almost war-torn world riddled with comedy and pathos. Follows Solondz's film Happiness (1998).
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: disturbing, dark comedy, psychological, independent film, melancholic, talky, stylized, black comedy, humorous, psychedelic
Similar in 90%
The Butcher Boy (1997)
Plot Summary:
Francie and Joe live the usual playful, fantasy filled childhoods of normal boys. However, with a violent, alcoholic father and a manic depressive, suicidal mother the pressure on Francie to grow up are immense. When Francie's world turns to madness, he tries to counter it with further insanity, with dire consequences.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Ireland
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, disturbing, black comedy, depressing, psychological, serious, suspenseful, surreal, cult classic, controversial
Similar in 80%
Palindromes (2004)
Plot Summary:
Aviva is thirteen, awkward and sensitive. Her mother Joyce is warm and loving, as is her father, Steve, a regular guy who does have a fierce temper from time to time. The film revolves around her family, friends and neighbors.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: bleak, psychological, disturbing, surreal, controversial, cynical, humorous, art house, independent film, dark comedy
Similar in 78%
The Chumscrubber (2005)
Plot Summary:
The Chumscrubber is a dark comedy about the lives of people who live in upper-class suburbia. It all begins when Dean Stiffle finds the body of his friend, Troy. He doesn't bother telling any of the adults because he knows they won't care. Everyone in town is too self consumed to worry about anything else than themselves. And everybody is on some form of drug just to get through their days.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: surreal, dark comedy, bleak, independent film, black comedy, humorous, semi serious, witty, dark, clever
Similar in 77%
That's What I Am (2011)
Plot Summary:
A coming-of-age story that follows 12-year-old Andy Nichol, a bright student who, like most kids his age, will do anything to avoid conflict for fear of suffering overwhelming ridicule and punishment from his junior high school peers.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: sentimental, realistic, humorous, not serious, teen, light, touching, feel good, independent film, smart
Similar in 77%
Jawbreaker (1999)
Plot Summary:
3 of Reagan High School's most popular girls pretend to kidnap their friend by shoving a jawbreaker into the victim's mouth to keep her from screaming. Their plan goes awry when the girl swallows the jawbreaker, choking to death. Now the leader of the pack will do anything to keep the accident a secret.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 28000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, teen, black comedy, absurd, humorous, cult classic, parody, dark, teen horror, gothic
Similar in 75%
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 81%
Heathers (1988)
Plot Summary:
A girl who halfheartedly tries to be part of the "in crowd" of her school meets a rebel who teaches her a more devious way to play social politics: by killing the popular kids.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 113000
Genere: Comedy, Crime
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: black comedy, dark comedy, cult classic, teen, witty, semi serious, aesthetic, realistic, retro, parody
Similar in 86%
World's Greatest Dad (2009)
Plot Summary:
In the wake of a freak accident, Lance suffers the worst tragedy and the greatest opportunity of his life. He is suddenly faced with the possibility of fame, fortune and popularity, if he can only live with the knowledge of how he got there.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 40000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, black comedy, clever, melancholic, dark, disturbing, cult classic, hilarious, offbeat, philosophical
Similar in 86%
Gummo (1997)
Plot Summary:
Solomon and Tummler are two teenagers killing time in Xenia, Ohio, a small town that has never recovered from the tornado that ravaged the community in the 1970s.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 38000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: disturbing, surreal, dark comedy, experimental, independent film, art house, bleak, psychedelic, offbeat, erotic
Similar in 80%
Muriel's Wedding (1994)
Plot Summary:
Muriel’s Wedding is P.J. Hogan’s film debut. A humorous emancipation story of an unemployed woman who evolves from a dreamer into a self sustaining successful woman. An amusing comedy that’s funny, silly, angry and serious.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 41000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Australia, France
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: funny, light, humorous, melancholic, sweet, emotional, sentimental, realistic, feel good, semi serious
Similar in 76%
Running with Scissors (2006)
Plot Summary:
Young Augusten Burroughs absorbs experiences that could make for a shocking memoir: the son of an alcoholic father and an unstable mother, he's handed off to his mother's therapist, Dr. Finch, and spends his adolescent years as a member of Finch's bizarre extended family.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: disturbing, stylized, intense, touching, realistic, talky, humorous, tragicomedy, psychological, cult classic
Similar in 81%
The Squid and the Whale (2005)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true childhood experiences of Noah Baumbach and his brother, The Squid and the Whale tells the touching story of two young boys dealing with their parents divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980's.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 89000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: depressing, sincere, talky, dark comedy, absurd, indie film, intellectual, realistic, witty, thought provoking
Similar in 77%
Thumbsucker (2005)
Plot Summary:
Justin, a teenager boy, throws himself and everyone around him into chaos when he attempts to break free from his addiction to his thumb.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: emotional, humorous, witty, sentimental, dark comedy, realistic, independent film, funny, gothic, educational
Similar in 79%
Igby Goes Down (2002)
Plot Summary:
A young man's peculiar upbringing renders him unable to competently cope with the struggle of growing up.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 35000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, depressing, cynical, humorous, clever, realistic, witty, talky, suspense, black comedy
Similar in 90%
Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005)
Plot Summary:
The feature film debut by artist Miranda July about a various comic situations and plots that intertwine. One story line is about a father who is ending his marriage and the other story is of a video artist (possibly autobiographical of Miranda July, also played by her) who is desperately trying to get her work in a modern art museum. The film won Caméra d'Or at Cannes.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: touching, disturbing, humorous, realistic, surreal, philosophical, emotional, talky, sentimental, sincere
Similar in 86%
Happiness (1998)
Plot Summary:
The lives of many individuals connected by the desire for happiness, often from sources usually considered dark or evil.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 73000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: black comedy, cynical, independent film, dark comedy, depressing, bleak, art house, disturbing, psychological, psychedelic
Similar in 85%
Rocket Science (2007)
Plot Summary:
Hal, a 15-year-old high-school student with a minor yet socially alienating (and painful) disability: he stutters uncontrollably. Determined to work through the problem, Hal opts for an extreme route he joins the school debating team, which sends him on a headfirst plunge into breakneck speech competitions and offers a much-needed boost toward correcting the problem.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: clever, sincere, psychological, sentimental, touching, teen, indie film, realistic, funny, feel good
Similar in 75%
Ghost World (2001)
Plot Summary:
Two quirky, cynical teenaged girls try to figure out what to do with their lives after high school graduation. After they play a prank on an eccentric, middle aged record collector, one of them befriends him, which causes a rift in the girls' friendship.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 125000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, UK, Germany
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: black comedy, thought provoking, independent film, melancholic, teen, realistic, cult classic, atmospheric, indie film, humorous
Similar in 79%
My Suicide (2009)
Plot Summary:
A teen coming-of-age romantic dramedy about a media-obsessed geek and the most beautiful and twisted girl in school.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, realistic, witty, semi serious, independent film, depressing, teen, clever, offbeat
Similar in 85%
Terri (2011)
Plot Summary:
Terri, a pajama-clad, disaffected high school student learns how to engage the world with the help of Mr. Fitzgerald, his assistant principal.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: melancholic, compassionate, mumblecore, clever, thought provoking, sweet, surreal, visually appealing, sex comedy, comedy drama
Similar in 83%
Slums of Beverly Hills (1998)
Plot Summary:
In 1976, a lower-middle-class teenager struggles to cope living with her neurotic family of nomads on the outskirts of Beverly Hills.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, humorous, disturbing, sincere, semi serious, teen, independent film, clever, black comedy, period piece
Similar in 77%
Submarine (2010)
Plot Summary:
15-year-old deep-thinking Welsh schoolboy, Oliver Tate struggles to initiate and maintain a relationship with Jordana, his devilish, dark-haired classmate at their Swansea high school. As his parents' marriage begins to fall apart, similar problems arise in his relationship with Jordana.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 95000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: visually appealing, witty, surreal, touching, talky, independent film, unusual plot structure, melancholic, offbeat, indie film
Similar in 90%
The Way Way Back (2013)
Plot Summary:
Over the course of his summer break, a teenager comes into his own thanks in part to the friendship he strikes up with one of the park's managers.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 155000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, realistic, teen, independent film, sweet, indie film, semi serious, sentimental, witty
Similar in 90%
Thirteen (2003)
Plot Summary:
Tracy is a normal 13-year-old trying to make it in school. After befriending the most popular girl at school, Evie, Tracy's world is turned upside down when Evie introduces her to a world of sex, drugs and cash. But it isn't long before Tracy's new world and attitude finally takes a toll on her, her family, and old friends.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 96000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: teen, sincere, realistic, tense, disturbing, emotional, intense, serious, depressing, bleak
Similar in 86%
Juno (2007)
Plot Summary:
A young girl named Juno gets herself pregnant and tries to stand on her own, but soon learns a few lessons about being grown up.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 543000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: funny, touching, sweet, sentimental, feel good, teen, humorous, realistic, comedy drama, cute
Similar in 86%
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Plot Summary:
Five high school students, all different stereotypes, meet in detention, where they pour their hearts out to each other, and discover how they have a lot more in common than they thought.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 428000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: teen, talky, feel good, realistic, cult classic, humorous, semi serious, funny, inspirational, sincere