Movies like An Unexpected Family
If you like "An Unexpected Family" you are looking for psychological, sincere and uplifting movies about / with youth, guardian, family relations, redemption, adoption, legal action and betrayal themes of Drama genre shot in USA or Canada.
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.
An Unexpected Family (1996)
322
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
When Ruth Whitney abandons her two children with her sister Barbara is left to take care of them, at first none of them like it but soon they grow to like each other. Then over a year later Ruth comes back saying she wants her kids and Barbara goes to court to fight for custody.
Style:
psychological, sincere, uplifting, touching, emotional, realistic, contemplative
Plot:
youth, guardian, family relations, redemption, adoption, legal action, betrayal, human spirit, family life, life is a bitch, legal, family problems, custody, hopes, unfulfillment, career, parenthood, courtroom, child custody, child's point of view, death of parent, death of parents, loss of parents, loss of parent
Time:
90s
Most similar movies to An Unexpected Family
The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out realistic, emotional, serious and touching films with plots about family relations, hopes, family problems, parents and children, youth, life is a bitch and society mostly in Drama genres. Some movies like An Unexpected Family: Losing Isaiah (1995), A Place for Annie (1994), God's Army (2000), Ellen Foster (1997), ...First Do No Harm (1997). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
Watch Trailers From This List to Choose a Movie
Subscribe for New and Better Recommendations
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min.
Story:
Khaila Richards, a crack-addicted single mother, accidentally leaves her baby in a dumpster while high and returns the next day in a panic to find he is missing. In reality, the baby has been adopted by a warm-hearted social worker, Margaret Lewin, ...
Style:
heartbreaking, touching, emotional, melancholic, serious ...
Audience:
girls' night
Plot:
adoption, courtroom drama, custody battle, custody, racist, justice, single parent, parents and children, family problems, legal action, abandoned baby, family relations ...
Time:
20th century, 90s
Place:
cuba
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min.
Story:
Baby Annie is HIV positive and has been left in the clinic by her drug addicted mother. To prevent that she's deported to a home where they'd just wait for her to die, nurse Susan takes charge of Annie at her home. Two years later she ...
Style:
serious, realistic, emotional, sentimental, touching
Plot:
adoption, aids, hiv, medicine, child illness, nurse, orphan, foster parent, women, homeless, poverty, child abandonment ...
Time:
90s
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
Sequel to "An Unexpected Family."
Plot:
adoption, youth, orphan, family relations, aunt nephew relationship, custody, baby, mother daughter relationship, aunt niece relationship, pregnancy, dysfunctional family, brother sister relationship ...
Place:
new york
⇓ similarity ⇓
37%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min.
Story:
Life as a Mormon missionary isn't what 19-year-old Brandon Allen expected: so many rules and so few successes. Los Angeles is as unrepentant as Sodom and Gomorrah. He's forced to share a small apartment with five young prank-loving ...
Style:
realistic, sincere, touching, uplifting, psychological ...
Plot:
missionary, couples, working class, terminal illness, redemption, self discovery, life is a bitch, youth, family relations, disorder, culture clash, parents and children ...
Time:
90s
Place:
california, los angeles, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
28%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
After her mother's death, a young girl is separated from her abusive father and is sent between her various friends and relatives, always longing to find a place to call home.
Style:
contemplative, serious, realistic, uplifting, touching ...
Plot:
adoption, youth, child abuse, disease, innocence lost, dysfunctional family, society, human spirit, life is a bitch, young heroes, hopes, unfulfillment ...
Time:
90s
⇓ similarity ⇓
26%
Also search:
Movies similar to Losing Isaiah
Genre: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
When Lori Reimuller learns that her young son Robbie has epilepsy, she first trusts the judgment of the hospital staff in how best to bring it under control. As Robbie's health slides radically downhill, however, she becomes frustrated and ...
Style:
edutainment, controversial, uplifting, serious, realistic ...
Plot:
medical, youth, blaster, slice of life, health, medicine, child hero, hospital, family relations, bittersweet, small town life, terminal illness ...
Time:
90s
Place:
usa, baltimore
⇓ similarity ⇓
26%
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
Matt, a 19-year-old student, goes to the hospital to see his newborn son. He learns his girlfriend plans to put the baby up for adoption without his consent, so he takes his son to his grandmother's house to fight for custody.
Style:
realistic, touching, captivating, emotional, sincere ...
Plot:
christmas, against the odds, adoption, custody, couples, family life, family relations, parents and children, hospital, single parent, holiday, love ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
canada
⇓ similarity ⇓
25%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
Samantha is recovering from a suicide attempt and ready for a fresh start in life. She has to fight for the custody of her daughter.
Style:
sincere, psychological, touching, emotional, serious ...
Plot:
parents and children, custody, mental illness, family life, hopes, starting over, family problems, family relations, mother daughter relationship, depressed woman, sister sister relationship, swimming pool ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
coney island brooklyn new york city
⇓ similarity ⇓
25%
701
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min.
Story:
In "America," Dr. Maureen Brennan, a psychiatrist at a youth treatment center, encounters her newest patient, a bi-racial boy named America. Through their sessions, Dr. Brennan helps America come to terms with his roller-coaster life, ...
Style:
uplifting, serious, realistic, psychological, sincere
Audience:
family outing
Plot:
adoption, youth, teenage life, custody, human spirit, healing power, sexual abuse, mental illness, family in crisis, hopes, society, doctors and patients ...
Time:
21st century
⇓ similarity ⇓
25%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
Keith and Kim Lussier are a childless couple who are given custody of a 3-month-old foster child, Brittany. However, tragedy strikes when Kim dies of cancer in the middle of the adoption process, leaving Keith to fight for Brittany's custody ...
Style:
serious, realistic, sentimental, touching, emotional ...
Plot:
family relations, legal action, adoption, terminal illness, couples, family problems, life is a bitch, redemption, unfulfillment, babies and infants, hopes, gays and lesbians ...
Time:
90s
Place:
milwaukee wisconsin
⇓ similarity ⇓
24%
Also search:
Too Young to Be a Dad similar movies
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 109 min.
Story:
Shiro’s struggle with his father’s cancer and impending death leads to a realization that he must communicate his love and admiration for him before it’s too late. A series of flashbacks reveals their relationship over time, and the trouble ...
Style:
realistic, touching, contemplative, emotional, psychological ...
Plot:
family relations, redemption, terminal illness, coping, parents and children, estrangement, unfulfillment, family in crisis, father son relationship, asian prostitute, family problems, dealing with death ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
japan, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
23%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
A drama directed by Michael Switzer.
Style:
realistic, serious, captivating, uplifting, touching ...
Plot:
autism, mentally challenged, children, youth, sexual abuse, child molester, family problems, power relations, family relations, misfit, life is a bitch, mute or deaf ...
Time:
20th century, 90s
Place:
usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
22%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min.
Story:
A petty thief's mentoring of an apparent orphan takes a profound turn when he kidnaps the boy from a foster home and drives him cross-country to his sister's house in Texas.
Style:
emotional, realistic, touching, captivating, independent film ...
Plot:
adoption, friendship, family relations, custody, on the road, introspection, petty criminal, redemption, hopes, road trip, foster home, boy ...
Place:
new york, usa, texas
⇓ similarity ⇓
22%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Chuck brought sorrow to his family when he shot his father who is now a semi-invalid. After 15 years of self destruction, he returns home to seek forgiveness.
Style:
independent film, contemplative, serious, realistic, emotional ...
Audience:
manly
Plot:
redemption, family relations, profanity, drug abuse, teenage life, homecoming, parents and children, addiction, cons and scams, family gatherings, high school, family life ...
Time:
year 1988, 20th century, 80s
Place:
vietnam
⇓ similarity ⇓
22%
634
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story:
Incarcerated women join a band of volunteers who battle forest fires and assist during natural disasters.
Style:
emotional, realistic, touching, serious, sincere ...
Plot:
youth, redemption, power relations, human spirit, juvenile delinquency, hopes, society, friendship, fire brigade, rivalry, homeless, friends ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
22%
Also search:
Movies similar to Firelight
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story:
Family members struggle to heal their emotional wounds after an incident of sexual abuse.
Style:
touching, sincere, emotional, realistic, contemplative ...
Plot:
psychiatrist, haunted by the past, dysfunctional family, sexual abuse, domestic disturbance, redemption, life is a bitch, family in crisis, hopes, parents and children, family problems, estrangement ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
21%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
A successful American family retreat to their summer home on the banks of Lake Erie to find meaning in life, illness, loss, and change this Christmas. With a successful career in the wine business, and two amazing children, what more can a family ...
Style:
uplifting, touching, sincere, sentimental, independent film ...
Plot:
christmas, human spirit, family life, life is a bitch, hopes, love and romance, family problems, couples, road not taken, homecoming, miraculous event, parents and children ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
texas
⇓ similarity ⇓
21%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
Esther Cimino, a music teacher who has reached retirement age, finds that her mental faculties are slipping somewhat. The film is a trenchant, realistic study of the ravages and displacements, socially, physically, and mentally, that are visited ...
Style:
uplifting, serious, realistic, sincere, emotional
Plot:
aging, bondage, courtroom, pianist, family problems, social relations, family relations, legal action, human nature, society, elderly lovers, legal ...
Time:
80s
⇓ similarity ⇓
21%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
A compelling drama that explores the different meanings of being a parent through the gritty, realistic lives of a struggling family, and a privileged family. Their lives intersect, intertwine and collide, all for the love of a little boy. This film ...
Style:
touching, serious, sincere, captivating, emotional ...
Plot:
custody, adoption, starting over, family relations, parents and children, hopes, social worker, family life, wife abuse, adopted son, christian, faith ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa, ohio, florida
⇓ similarity ⇓
21%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min.
Story:
Lily Marshall (McEntire) has a loving, supportive husband, two great kids and an unfulfilled dream: to return to college and get the degree she always wanted. "Is there life beyond her family and home?", Lily wonders. The hole in ...
Style:
uplifting, realistic, touching, emotional, sentimental ...
Plot:
couples, family relations, love and romance, hopes, youth, human nature, starting over, self discovery, terminal illness, family life, college, school ...
Time:
90s
⇓ similarity ⇓
21%
Also search:
Fifteen and Pregnant related movies
209
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
Five days in the life of an American couple immediately following the accidental death of their child. An every day story of tragedy, loss, acceptance, hope and renewal. 'Morning' follows the divergent paths of Mark (Leland Orser) and ...
Style:
emotional, touching, serious, realistic, independent film ...
Plot:
family relations, couples, family problems, starting over, redemption, human spirit, hopes, couple relations, family in crisis, death in the family, death of child, dealing with death ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
21%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story:
Single mother Tyree Battle struggles to keep her young son Thaniel away from the gang-plagued city streets that he is mixed up in. Under severe gang pressure, Thaniel accidentally shoots Jewish shopkeeper Eli Zeal in a botched robbery attempt. ...
Style:
realistic, touching, serious, emotional, independent film ...
Plot:
family relations, gang, homecoming, family problems, self discovery, aging, redemption, youth, single parent, going straight, heist, family life ...
Time:
90s
Place:
usa, louisiana
⇓ similarity ⇓
21%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story:
A corrupt politician covers up his daughter Vicky's pregnancy by forcing her to give the baby up for adoption. The newborn is adopted by a loving couple unable to have children, but a year later Vicky, now in college, realizes she was forced ...
Style:
emotional, touching, serious, realistic
Plot:
custody, adoption, courtroom drama, righting the wronged, parents and children, single parent, family relations, rivalry, teenage life, fighting the system, youth, family problems ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: Germany, France
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
Frank and Simone have fulfilled a dream and live with their two children in a row house in the suburbs. They are a happy couple, until the day Frank is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. The family is suddenly confronted with death.
Style:
realistic, contemplative, captivating, serious, emotional ...
Plot:
family relations, hospital, family life, unfulfillment, suburbs, family problems, life is a bitch, dealing with death, family in crisis, children, wife, male pubic hair ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
europe, germany
⇓ similarity ⇓
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
Sally Goodson has been raising her autistic son David alone since her husband left many years ago. Now a social worker discovers that Sally has been dodging 'The System' to keep her son with her, instead of putting him in an institution. ...
Style:
serious, realistic, touching, emotional
Plot:
autism, single parent, asperger's syndrome, illness, family relations, rebellion, human nature, fighting the system, youth, misfit, society, legal action ...
Time:
90s
⇓ similarity ⇓
20%
Also search:
Alpha Male similar movies
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 126 min.
Story:
Ginko’s younger brother Tetsuro, a failed comedian, is the oddball of the family. Embarrassing, loud and plain inappropriate at times causes Ginko to disown him. The two reunite when she discovers Tetsuro is terminally ill. Tetsuro’s impending ...
Style:
realistic, emotional, psychological, captivating, independent film ...
Plot:
family relations, human nature, family problems, bittersweet, unfulfillment, redemption, family feud, brother sister relationship, relationships, relationship problems, problem solving, living together ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
japan, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min.
Story:
A woman with two children believes she has three and her husband and oldest daughter play along with her to keep her balanced (or as close to balanced that a woman with an invisible child can be). However, when the family hires a new nanny, it is ...
Style:
realistic, serious, touching, sentimental, emotional
Plot:
imaginary friend, youth, evil child, family relations, nanny, mental illness, dysfunctional family, family problems, estrangement, couples, master and servant, betrayal ...
Time:
90s, 20th century
⇓ similarity ⇓
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: South Africa, USA, UK
Duration: 92 min.
Story:
Shirley Adams spends her days caring for her disabled son, Donovan - he was shot in the back of the neck on his way home from school one afternoon over a year ago. Since then the Adams family has lost all their worldly possessions to medical bills. ...
Style:
serious, realistic, uplifting, emotional, sincere ...
Plot:
disability, hopes, human spirit, life is a bitch, single parent, introspection, family relations, family problems, parents and children, misfit, society, small town ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
south africa, africa, cape town south africa
⇓ similarity ⇓
20%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min.
Story:
RECONCILIATION is a groundbreaking, provocative story about an estranged father and son struggling to overcome the heartbreaking consequences of their past. Grant Taylor (Eric Nenninger) has been troubled by intense childhood memories ever since his ...
Style:
realistic, serious, uplifting, touching, emotional ...
Plot:
gay parent, family relations, redemption, haunted by the past, last wish, family problems, estrangement, life is a bitch, hopes, terminal illness, parents and children, bittersweet ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
19%
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
Making good on a promise he made to his dying wife, a widower (Jones) opens a reading room, a place where people can learn to read. Despite his goodwill, problems in the neighborhood threaten his establishment.
Style:
uplifting, touching, sincere, feel good, serious ...
Plot:
last wish, against the odds, hopes, human spirit, teachers and students, poverty, homeless, family relations, power relations, underdog, life is a bitch, youth ...
Time:
21st century
⇓ similarity ⇓
19%
Watch Trailers From This List to Choose a Movie
Subscribe for New and Better Recommendations