Movies like The Squid and the Whale
If you like "The Squid and the Whale" you are looking for sincere, talky and thought provoking movies about / with divorce, coming of age, dysfunctional family, father son relationship, infidelity, teacher student relationship and adultery themes of Comedy and Drama genre shot in USA.
Find your next favorite and similar movies in two steps:
1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below).
2. Look for them in the presented list.
The Squid and the Whale (2005)
85K
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min.
Story:
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.
Style:
sincere, talky, thought provoking, depressing, absurd, intellectual, realistic, witty, humorous, scary ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
divorce, coming of age, dysfunctional family, father son relationship, infidelity, teacher student relationship, adultery, marriage, teenager, childhood, crumbling marriage, adolescence, self fulfillment, eccentricity, character study, boy, museum, parents and children, self esteem, lifestyle, writer's life, sex, cat, husband wife relationship, therapy ...
Time:
20th century, 80s
Place:
new york, brooklyn new york city, usa, california
Movie in categories
Most similar movies to The Squid and the Whale
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out weird, clever, realistic and talky films with plots about dysfunctional family, dialogue, depression, loneliness, honest, storytelling and relationships mostly in Drama, Comedy and Romance genres. Some movies like The Squid and the Whale: 20th Century Women (2016), Kicking and Screaming (1995), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Husbands and Wives (1992), Ghost World (2001). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Subscribe for new and better recommendations:
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min.
Story:
In 1979 Santa Barbara, California, Dorothea Fields is a determined single mother in her mid-50s who is raising her adolescent son, Jamie, at a moment brimming with cultural change and rebellion. Dorothea enlists the help of two younger women – ...
Style:
sentimental, stylized, sexy, sad, light ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
coming of age, teenager, feminism, feminist, parenting, teenage boy, loneliness, women, parent child relationship, teenage girl, adaptation, single mother ...
Time:
70s, 20th century, 80s, year 1979
Place:
new york, california, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
After college graduation, Grover's girlfriend Jane tells him she's moving to Prague to study writing. Grover declines to accompany her, deciding instead to move in with several friends, all of whom can't quite work up the inertia to ...
Style:
talky, humorous, depressing, melancholic, semi serious ...
Plot:
coming of age, college, friendship, slacker, graduation, solitude, buddies, lifestyle, twentysomething life, campus, student, roommate ...
Time:
20th century, 90s
Place:
usa, new jersey, new york, greenwich village manhattan new york city, manhattan new york city ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
A family loaded with quirky, colorful characters piles into an old van and road trips to California for little Olive to compete in a beauty pageant.
Style:
road movie, feel good, funny, melancholic, emotional ...
Audience:
teens, chick flick, girls' night, kids, date night
Plot:
road trip, dysfunctional family, on the road, honest, gay, obsessive quest, family relations, escapades, nothing goes right, coming of age, parenthood, drugs ...
Time:
year 2006, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
california, los angeles, new mexico, arizona, albuquerque new mexico ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
When Jack and Sally announce that they're splitting up, this comes as a shock to their best friends Gabe and Judy. Maybe mostly because they also are drifting apart and are now being made aware of it. So while Jack and Sally try to go on and ...
Style:
realistic, talky, melancholic, semi serious, sincere ...
Plot:
marriage, infidelity, relationships, midlife crisis, divorce, loneliness, depression, breakup, character study, friendship, dishonesty, family problems ...
Time:
20th century, 90s, 70s
Place:
new york, usa, manhattan new york city
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Movie in collections
123K
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, UK, Germany
Duration: 111 min.
Story:
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' ...
Style:
thought provoking, melancholic, realistic, semi serious, humorous ...
Audience:
teens, girls' night, teen drama
Plot:
coming of age, age difference, friendship, older man younger woman relationship, graduation, blues, teenage life, teenage girl, best friends, youth, adolescence, misfit ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa, indiana, los angeles
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Also search:
Films like American Beauty
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, Germany, UK, Japan
Duration: 107 min.
Story:
Grady (Michael Douglas) is a 50-ish English professor who hasn't had a thing published in years -- not since he wrote his award winning "Great American Novel" 7 years ago. This weekend proves even worse than he could imagine as he ...
Style:
melancholic, realistic, talky, humorous, touching ...
Plot:
midlife crisis, professor, adultery, college, coming of age, divorce, literature, gay interest, gay, marijuana, eccentricity, character study ...
Time:
20th century, 90s, 2000s
Place:
pittsburgh, pennsylvania, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min.
Story:
Between two Thanksgivings, Hannah's husband falls in love with her sister Lee, while her hypochondriac ex-husband rekindles his relationship with her sister Holly.
Style:
talky, humorous, witty, ironic, sentimental ...
Audience:
date night
Plot:
thanksgiving, infidelity, sisters, dysfunctional family, family relations, writers, audition, love triangle, opera, midlife crisis, love, artist ...
Time:
20th century, 80s
Place:
new york, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
An original mix of fiction and reality illuminates the life of comic book hero everyman Harvey Pekar.
Style:
realistic, stylized, semi serious, sincere, cynical ...
Plot:
artist, writer's life, loneliness, depression, superhero, art, antisocial behavior, character study, loser, childhood, self discovery, rising to stardom ...
Time:
20th century, 60s, 50s, 70s, 80s
Place:
usa, new york, ohio, cleveland ohio
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Movie in collections
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
Justin, a teenager boy, throws himself and everyone around him into chaos when he attempts to break free from his addiction to his thumb.
Style:
emotional, humorous, witty, sentimental, realistic ...
Audience:
teens, date night, teen drama
Plot:
coming of age, high school, youth, addiction, teenager, depression, psychologist, self discovery, lifestyle, teenage life, drugs, mental illness ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
oregon, new york, manhattan new york city
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
A young man's peculiar upbringing renders him unable to competently cope with the struggle of growing up.
Style:
depressing, cynical, humorous, thought provoking, talky ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
mental illness, coming of age, dysfunctional family, addiction, depression, existentialism, dark humor, youth, teenage life, eccentric family, character study, eccentricity ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
california, chicago illinois, new jersey, washington d.c., connecticut ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Also search:
Little Miss Sunshine similar movies
129K
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: France, Germany, Poland, Spain, USA
Duration: 80 min.
Story:
After 11-year-old Zachary Cowan strikes his classmate across the face with a stick after an argument, the victim's parents invite Zachary's parents to their Brooklyn apartment to deal with the incident in a civilized manner.
Style:
talky, ironic, thought provoking, cynical, absurd ...
Plot:
marriage, psychology, dark humor, bully, satire, parenthood, family relations, twists and turns, family problems, husband wife relationship, lawyer, society ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa, new york, brooklyn new york city, africa
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min.
Story:
Lester Burnham, a depressed suburban father in a mid-life crisis, decides to turn his hectic life around after developing an infatuation with his daughter's attractive friend.
Style:
thought provoking, melancholic, sexy, sexual, dramatic ...
Audience:
teens, kids, chick flick, girls' night, teen drama
Plot:
existentialism, midlife crisis, dysfunctional family, suburbs, obsession, coming of age, loneliness, age difference, teenager, youth, older man younger woman relationship, older man young girl relationship ...
Time:
90s, 20th century
Place:
usa, los angeles
⇓ similarity ⇓
86%
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 137 min.
Story:
A stage director and his actor wife struggle through a grueling, coast-to-coast divorce that pushes them to their personal and creative extremes.
Style:
thought provoking, sad, art house, funny, romantic ...
Audience:
chick flick
Plot:
divorce, marriage, parent child relationship, infidelity, father son relationship, theatre director, lawyer, troubled marriage, husband wife conflict, actress, relationships, women ...
Time:
2010s, year 2019, 21st century
Place:
los angeles, brooklyn new york city, new york, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
86%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
Margot and her son Claude decide to visit her sister Pauline after she announces that she is getting married to less-than-impressive Malcolm. In short order, the storm the sisters create leaves behind a mess of thrashed relationships and exposed ...
Style:
talky, cynical, depressing, stylized, melancholic ...
Plot:
dysfunctional family, wedding, nude, complex characters, family relations, jealousy, secrets, greed, character study, confession, family problems, family gatherings ...
Time:
70s, 21st century
Place:
usa, long island, vermont, harvard university
⇓ similarity ⇓
41%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, Germany, Belgium
Duration: 111 min.
Story:
Matt Travis is good-looking, popular, and his school's best competitive swimmer, so everyone is shocked when he inexplicably commits suicide. As the following year unfolds, each member of his family struggles to recover from the tragedy with ...
Style:
emotional, stylized, sentimental, humorous, witty ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
dysfunctional family, gay, coming of age, suicide, suburbs, family secret, loneliness, parenthood, family problems, youth, society, lifestyle ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
atlanta georgia
⇓ similarity ⇓
50%
Also search:
Movies similar to The Way Way Back
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
clever, sincere, psychological, touching, sentimental ...
Audience:
teens, kids
Plot:
high school, coming of age, teenager, teenage love, dysfunctional family, friendship, teenage life, debate, contests and competitions, nothing goes right, misfit, teacher ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
new jersey, usa, california
⇓ similarity ⇓
31%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
A shy teenage boy trying to escape the influence of his domineering mother, has his world changed when he begins to work for a retired actress.
Style:
touching, sentimental, witty, sweet, feel good ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
coming of age, dysfunctional family, eccentricity, obsession, family problems, friendship, parenthood, honest, redemption, parents and children, intergenerational friendship, family relations ...
Time:
70s
Place:
england, united kingdom, edinburgh scotland, scotland, london
⇓ similarity ⇓
31%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min.
Story:
Tracy, a lonely college freshman in New York, is rescued from her solitude by her soon-to-be stepsister Brooke, an adventurous gal about town who entangles her in alluringly mad schemes. MISTRESS AMERICA is a comedy about dream-chasing, ...
Style:
humorous, depressing, melancholic, stylized, heartbreaking ...
Audience:
teen drama
Plot:
friendship, coming of age, betrayal, writers, eccentric family, hopes, follow your dream, prank, family relations, disorder, dysfunctional family, female protagonist ...
Time:
80s, 70s, 21st century
Place:
new york, california, usa, new jersey
⇓ similarity ⇓
31%
Movie in collections
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
An uptight documentary filmmaker and his wife find their lives loosened up a bit after befriending a free-spirited younger couple.
Style:
psychological, witty, ironic, humorous, clever ...
Plot:
hipster, older woman younger man relationship, friendship, marriage, coming of age, midlife crisis, couples, introspection, baby, writers, husband wife relationship, childless couple ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
new york, california, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
30%
72K
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 134 min.
Story:
The lives of many individuals connected by the desire for happiness, often from sources usually considered dark or evil.
Style:
controversial, depressing, bleak, art house, cynical ...
Plot:
dysfunctional family, pedophilia, rape, dark humor, depression, obsession, relationships, loneliness, multiple storylines, sexual abuse, suburbs, phone sex ...
Time:
90s, 20th century
Place:
new jersey, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
30%
Also search:
Movies similar to This Is Where I Leave You
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
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.
Style:
clever, melancholic, thought provoking, dark, disturbing ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
teacher, high school, writers, single father, father son relationship, grief, loneliness, life & death, life philosophy, suicide, character study, loss of child ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa, seattle
⇓ similarity ⇓
29%
20K
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
A coming-of-middle-age comedy that chronicles the unlikely friendship between failed author Richard Dunne and a Long Island teen who teaches him a thing or two about growing up, all under the disapproving eye of his long-suffering wife and his ...
Style:
touching, tricky, enigmatic, psychological, humorous ...
Audience:
teens, teen drama
Plot:
superhero, friendship, self discovery, midlife crisis, coming of age, imaginary friend, writers, small town, loneliness, depression, character study, relationships ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
new jersey, long island, atlantic ocean, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
29%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
touching, disturbing, realistic, humorous, surreal ...
Audience:
girls' night, teens
Plot:
artist, childhood, coming of age, art, unlikely friendships, depression, complex characters, art gallery, neighbor, struggle, museum, divorce ...
Time:
21st century
⇓ similarity ⇓
29%
Movie in collections
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min.
Story:
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.
Style:
touching, feel good, emotional, realistic, sweet ...
Audience:
teens, chick flick, kids, teen drama
Plot:
summer, teenager, friendship, vacation, coming of age, loneliness, shyness, youth, childhood, dysfunctional family, bittersweet, small town ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
california, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
28%
38K
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min.
Story:
A New Yorker moves to Los Angeles in order to figure out his life while he housesits for his brother, and he soon sparks with his brother's assistant.
Style:
psychological, semi serious, sincere, talky, realistic ...
Plot:
friendship, depression, personal assistant, starting over, twists and turns, self fulfillment, fall in love, misfit, mental illness, mentally unstable, buddies, love and romance ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
los angeles, california, new york, new jersey, usa ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
28%
Also search:
Movies similar to Submarine
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
In 1976, a lower-middle-class teenager struggles to cope living with her neurotic family of nomads on the outskirts of Beverly Hills.
Style:
humorous, disturbing, semi serious, sincere, clever ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
coming of age, dysfunctional family, teenager, adolescence, family relations, eccentric family, teenage life, self discovery, single parent, sex aid, social differences, parents and children ...
Time:
70s, year 1976, 20th century
Place:
california, los angeles, tokyo, usa, beverly hills
⇓ similarity ⇓
28%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 87 min.
Story:
Eliza D'Amico thinks her marriage to Louis is going great, until she finds a mysterious love note to her husband. Concerned, she goes to her mother for advice. Eliza, her parents, her sister Jo and Jo's boyfriend all pile into a station ...
Style:
realistic, talky, clever, humorous, witty ...
Plot:
dysfunctional family, marriage, adultery, family relations, suburbs, infidelity, drunkenness, chance meeting, multiple storylines, mentor, maze, depression ...
Time:
90s
Place:
new york
⇓ similarity ⇓
27%
93K
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story:
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 ...
Style:
visually appealing, witty, surreal, touching, talky ...
Audience:
teens, date night, pre-teens, teen drama
Plot:
coming of age, teenager, high school, school, virginity, adolescence, teenage love, high school life, youth, social relations, loss of virginity, infidelity ...
Time:
80s, 20th century
Place:
wales, england, britain
⇓ similarity ⇓
27%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min.
Story:
In New York City, a husband and wife butt heads with the granddaughters of the elderly woman who lives in the apartment the couple owns.
Style:
depressing, melancholic, humorous, sincere, semi serious ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
midlife crisis, complex characters, loneliness, depression, twists and turns, parents and children, human nature, adultery, teenage life, suicide, cancer, nude ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
new york, california, usa, manhattan new york city
⇓ similarity ⇓
27%
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min.
Story:
When their father passes away, four grown, world-weary siblings return to their childhood home and are requested -- with an admonition -- to stay there together for a week, along with their free-speaking mother and a collection of spouses, exes and ...
Style:
touching, humorous, emotional, melancholic, funny ...
Audience:
teens, chick flick
Plot:
dysfunctional family, family gatherings, infidelity, homecoming, death of father, children, jewish, family relations, loneliness, life & death, last wish, eccentric family ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
new england, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
27%
Subscribe for new and better recommendations:
Related movie lists
