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The Squid and the Whale poster

Movies that feel likeThe Squid and the Whale (2005)

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 1980s.

If you loved The Squid and the Whale, the closest films we have are Slums of Beverly Hills (1998), Eighth Grade (2018) and Rushmore (1998). All three share The Squid and the Whale's witty and playful feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Breaking Away (1979).

🍅 91% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.3 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Noah Baumbachwittyplayfulcontemplativewistful
7 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Hulu

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If The Squid and the Whale hit the spot, these will too

Slums of Beverly Hills poster
Slums of Beverly Hills
1998 · dir. Tamara Jenkins
🍅 82%★ 6.7comedy · drama

Both are working the same pair: growing up, semi autobiographical

In 1976, a teenage girl struggles to cope while living with her neurotic lower-middle-class family of nomads on the outskirts of Beverly Hills.

Eighth Grade poster
Eighth Grade
2018 · dir. Bo Burnham
🍅 99%★ 7.3comedy · dramaNetflix

Both keep coming back to the same thing: growing up

Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school — the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year — before she begins high school.

Rushmore poster
Rushmore
1998 · dir. Wes Anderson
🍅 90%★ 7.6comedy · drama

Both land wit and play at once

When a beautiful first-grade teacher arrives at a prep school, she soon attracts the attention of an ambitious teenager named Max, who quickly falls in love with her. Max turns to the father of two of his schoolmates for advice on how to woo the teacher. However, the situation soon gets complicated when Max's new friend becomes involved with her, setting the two pals against one another in a war for her attention.

Breaking Away poster
Breaking Away
1979 · dir. Peter Yates
🍅 95%★ 7.7drama · comedy

Contemplative where it counts, wistful underneath

The difference: 26 years apart, and the 1970s show

Dave, nineteen, has just graduated high school, with his three friends: the comical Cyril, the warm hearted but short-tempered Moocher, and the athletic, spiteful but good-hearted Mike. Now, Dave enjoys racing bikes and hopes to race the Italians one day, and even takes up the Italian culture, much to his friends' and parents' annoyance.

3 Idiots poster
3 Idiots
2009 · dir. Rajkumar Hirani
🍅 94%★ 8.4drama · comedy

Comedy with a pulse of wit, in both cases

Rascal. Joker. Dreamer. Genius... You've never met a college student quite like "Rancho." From the moment he arrives at India's most prestigious university, Rancho's outlandish schemes turn the campus upside down—along with the lives of his two newfound best friends. Together, they make life miserable for "Virus," the school’s uptight and heartless dean. But when Rancho catches the eye of the dean's daughter, Virus sets his sights on flunking out the "3 idiots" once and for all.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl poster
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
2015 · dir. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
🍅 81%★ 7.7drama · comedyRent or buy

Both lean on play more than on drama

Greg is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But both his anonymity and friendship threaten to unravel when his mother forces him to befriend a classmate with leukemia.

Booksmart poster
Booksmart
2019 · dir. Olivia Wilde
🍅 96%★ 7.1comedyRent or buy

Wistful comedy in both cases

The difference: Takes it somewhere less contemplative than The Squid and the Whale does

Two academic teenage superstars realize, on the eve of their high school graduation, that they should have worked less and played more. Determined to never fall short of their peers, the girls set out on a mission to cram four years of fun into one night.

The Breakfast Club poster
The Breakfast Club
1985 · dir. John Hughes
🍅 87%★ 7.8comedy · dramaHulu

Drama built on stillness, twice over

Five high school students from different walks of life endure a Saturday detention under a power-hungry principal. The disparate group includes rebel John, princess Claire, outcast Allison, brainy Brian and Andrew, the jock. Each has a chance to tell his or her story, making the others see them a little differently -- and when the day ends, they question whether school will ever be the same.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople poster
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
2016 · dir. Taika Waititi
🍅 97%★ 7.8adventure · comedy · dramaPrime VideoPeacock

Witty comedy, and it commits to that

The difference: Leans harder into adventure than The Squid and the Whale does

Ricky is a defiant young city kid who finds himself on the run with his cantankerous foster uncle in the wild New Zealand bush. A national manhunt ensues, and the two are forced to put aside their differences and work together to survive.

Superbad poster
Superbad
2007 · dir. Greg Mottola
🍅 88%★ 7.6comedyParamount+

Drama with a pulse of play, in both cases

Two co-dependent high school seniors are forced to deal with separation anxiety after their plan to stage a booze-soaked party goes awry.

The Hand of God poster
The Hand of God
2021 · dir. Paolo Sorrentino
🍅 83%★ 7.3dramaNetflix

Common ground: semi autobiographical

In 1980s Naples, an awkward teen struggling to find his place experiences heartbreak and liberation after he's inadvertently saved from a freak accident by football legend Diego Maradona.

Show Me Love poster
Show Me Love
1998 · dir. Lukas Moodysson
🍅 93%★ 7.5comedy · romance · drama

Both run contemplative where it counts

The difference: Sits closer to romance than The Squid and the Whale does

Two teenage girls in small-town Sweden. Elin is beautiful, popular, and bored with life. Agnes is friendless, sad, and secretly in love with Elin.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Squid and the Whale’s defining feeling.