Self-help movies and TV shows

The list contains the best, new and most relevant self-help movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out realistic, touching, sincere, emotional, sad and serious films and TV shows about / with self-help, family relations, friendship, love, father son relationship, hopes, parents and children, coming of age, husband wife relationship and dancing plots mostly in Drama, Romance and Biography genres shot in USA, UK, France and other countries.
self-help
 97
self-help movies
TOP 10 movies tagged as self-help: A Bronx Tale (1993), The Joy Luck Club (1993), Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), This Boy's Life (1993), What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), Corrina, Corrina (1994), Little Women (1994), Circle of Friends (1995), Mr. Holland's Opus (1995), Fly Away Home (1996).

List of self-help movies

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 7.8
 159K
A Bronx Tale (1993)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min.
Story: Set in the Bronx during the tumultuous 1960s, an adolescent boy is torn between his honest, working-class father and a violent yet charismatic crime boss. Complicating matters is the youngster's growing attraction - forbidden in his ...
Style: sentimental, intense, suspense, hood, realistic ...
Audience: boys' night, adult
Plot: mafia, gangster, coming of age, organized crime, mentor, mobster, loyalty, gang leader, cosa nostra, father son relationship, friendship, mob boss ...
Time: 60s, year 1960, 20th century, year 1993, 90s ...
Place: new york, bronx new york city, usa, new york state
Is relevant ?
The Joy Luck Club (1993)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 139 min.
Story: Through a series of flashbacks, four young chinese women born in America and their respective mothers born in feudal China, explore their past. This search will help them understand their difficult mother/daughter relationship.
Style: sentimental, touching, captivating, sincere, thought provoking ...
Audience: chick flick, girls' night
Plot: friendship, immigrant, women, self discovery, haunted by the past, hopes, feminist, culture clash, parents and children, human nature, love, coming of age ...
Time: 90s
Place: san francisco, china, bay area, usa, asia ...
Is relevant ?
Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)
Genre: Biography, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min.
Story: A prepubescent chess prodigy refuses to harden himself in order to become a champion like the famous but unlikable Bobby Fischer.
Style: inspirational, uplifting, touching, feel good, intelligent ...
Audience: family outing, kids, teen drama
Plot: chess, child prodigy, prodigy, mentor, genius, tournament, children, teacher, competition, coming of age, childhood, obsession ...
Time: year 1993, 90s, 20th century
Place: usa, new york
Is relevant ?
This Boy's Life (1993)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min.
Story: In 1957, a son and mother flee the East and an abusive boyfriend to find a new life, and end up in Seattle, where the mother meets a polite garage mechanic. The boy continually gets into trouble by hanging out with the wrong crowd. The mom marries ...
Style: depressing, realistic, emotional, touching, epic ...
Audience: teens, teen drama
Plot: coming of age, child abuse, small town, single parent, domestic violence, dysfunctional family, biopic, childhood, husband wife relationship, teenager, abusive stepfather, friendship ...
Time: 1950s, 50s, year 1993, 90s, 20th century ...
Place: seattle, washington state, salt lake city utah, washington d.c., usa
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min.
Story: Gilbert has to care for his brother Arnie and his obese mother, which gets in the way when love walks into his life.
Style: melancholic, touching, emotional, depressing, sad ...
Audience: teens, chick flick, teen drama
Plot: dysfunctional family, disability, self discovery, mental illness, small town, mentally challenged, responsibility, life philosophy, brothers, coming of age, family drama, family problems ...
Time: 90s, 20th century, year 1993, 60s, 70s
Place: iowa, texas, usa
Is relevant ?
Corrina, Corrina (1994)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min.
Story: When Manny Singer's wife dies, his young daughter Molly becomes mute and withdrawn. To help cope with looking after Molly, he hires sassy housekeeper Corrina Washington, who coaxes Molly out of her shell and shows father and daughter a whole ...
Style: touching, sentimental, sweet, light, gothic ...
Audience: family outing
Plot: interracial romance, nanny, friendship, self discovery, interracial relations, starting over, couples, interracial love, single father, interracial couple, white male black female relationship, housekeeper ...
Time: 50s, 1950s, year 1994, 20th century
Place: usa, los angeles, washington d.c.
Is relevant ?
 7.3
 63K
Little Women (1994)
Genre: Drama, Family, Romance
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 115 min.
Story: With their father away as a chaplain in the Civil War, Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy grow up with their mother in somewhat reduced circumstances. They are a close family who inevitably have their squabbles and tragedies. But the bond holds even when, later, ...
Style: sentimental, uplifting, costume drama, period piece, tear jerker ...
Audience: girls' night, kids, family outing, teens, date night ...
Plot: sisters, family values, women, first love, christmas, family bonds, coming of age, civil war, life changing experience, friendship, everyday life, winter ...
Time: 19th century, victorian era, 1800s, 90s, 1860s ...
Place: massachusetts, new york, usa, new england, paris france
Is relevant ?
Circle of Friends (1995)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: Ireland, USA, UK
Duration: 103 min.
Story: 'Circle Of Friends' is set in 1950's Ireland. The movie focuses on Benny Hogan and her best friend, Eve Malone. The story centers around Benny and Eve as they enter student life at University College, Dublin. Here Benny and Eve ...
Style: period piece, emotional, sentimental, realistic, sweet ...
Audience: date night, girls' night
Plot: coming of age, friendship, college, small town, love, pregnancy, class differences, college life, adaptation, love affair, lust, breakup ...
Time: 1950s, 20th century, 50s, year 1957, year 1949
Place: ireland, dublin ireland, europe
Is relevant ?
Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
Genre: Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 143 min.
Story: In 1965, passionate musician Glenn Holland takes a day job as a high school music teacher, convinced it's just a small obstacle on the road to his true calling: writing a historic opus. As the decades roll by with the composition unwritten but ...
Style: inspirational, touching, sentimental, serious, realistic ...
Audience: family outing, kids
Plot: music, high school, classical music, school, composer, teacher, teaching, honest, musician, sign language, unlikely friendships, inspiration ...
Time: 70s, 20th century, 60s, 80s, 90s
Place: oregon, portland oregon
Is relevant ?
 6.9
 27K
Fly Away Home (1996)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min.
Story: Amy is only 13 years old when her mother is killed. She goes to Canada to live with her father, an eccentric inventor whom she barely knows. Amy is miserable in her new life... until she discovers a nest of goose eggs that were abandoned when a ...
Style: uplifting, touching, serious, inspirational, sentimental ...
Audience: kids, family outing, teens, family friendly, pre-teens ...
Plot: goose, rescue, aviation, bird, father daughter relationship, single father, environmental, animal, childhood, heartwarming, tragedy, against the odds ...
Time: 90s, year 1996, 20th century
Place: canada, new zealand, north carolina, new york, ontario canada
Is relevant ?
 7.6
 56K
Shine (1996)
Genre: Biography, Drama, Music, Romance
Country: Australia
Duration: 105 min.
Story: Pianist David Helfgott, driven by his father and teachers, has a breakdown. Years later he returns to the piano, to popular if not critical acclaim.
Style: inspirational, emotional, feel good, intense, realistic ...
Audience: teen drama
Plot: music, classical music, piano, biopic, pianist, prodigy, schizophrenia, child prodigy, psychology, father son relationship, mental illness, genius ...
Time: year 1996, 20th century, 1950s, 60s, 70s
Place: australia, middle east, oceania, london, south australia
Is relevant ?
As Good as It Gets (1997)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 139 min.
Story: New York City. Melvin Udall, a cranky, bigoted, obsessive-compulsive writer, finds his life turned upside down when neighboring gay artist Simon is hospitalized and his dog is entrusted to Melvin. In addition, Carol, the only waitress who will ...
Style: feel good, touching, sweet, sentimental, inspirational ...
Audience: chick flick, date night, teens, girls' night, family outing
Plot: dog, mental illness, writers, neighbor, friendship, older man younger woman relationship, gay, gender, looking for love, age difference, waitress, misanthrope ...
Time: 90s, 20th century, year 1997
Place: new york, usa, brooklyn new york city, maryland, baltimore
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
 7.8
 97K
October Sky (1999)
Genre: Biography, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min.
Story: Based on the true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes, and eventually became a NASA scientist.
Style: inspirational, touching, realistic, feel good, sentimental ...
Audience: teens, kids, family outing, date night, teen drama
Plot: small town, teacher, follow your dream, teenage life, against the odds, friendship, biopic, generation gap, mathematics, mining, space program, scientist ...
Time: 50s, 1950s, year 1999, 90s, 20th century ...
Place: west virginia, virginia, usa, appalachia, indianapolis indiana
Is relevant ?
Girl, Interrupted (1999)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 127 min.
Story: Set in the changing world of the late 1960s, Susanna Kaysen's prescribed "short rest" from a psychiatrist she had met only once becomes a strange, unknown journey into Alice's Wonderland, where she struggles with the thin line ...
Style: psychological, depressing, serious, crying, heartbreaking ...
Audience: girls' night, teens, chick flick, teen drama, adult
Plot: mental illness, coming of age, suicide, insanity, psychiatrist, suicide attempt, mental institution, teenage girl, borderline personality disorder, female protagonist, psychiatric ward, psychology ...
Time: 20th century, 90s, year 1999, 60s
Place: usa
Is relevant ?
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story: The hopes and dreams of four ambitious people are shattered when their drug addictions begin spiraling out of control. A look into addiction and how it overcomes the mind and body.
Style: psychological, disturbing, bleak, depressing, emotional ...
Audience: kids, adult
Plot: addiction, drug abuse, heroin, drug addiction, insanity, mental illness, junkie, drug, depression, dream, loneliness, drug addict ...
Time: year 2000, future, y2k, 20th century, 90s ...
Place: new york, america, britain, usa, coney island brooklyn new york city ...
Is relevant ?
 6.8
 119K
The Family Man (2000)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min.
Story: Jack's lavish, fast-paced lifestyle changes one Christmas night when he stumbles into a grocery store holdup and disarms the gunman. The next morning he wakes up in bed lying next to Kate, his college sweetheart he left in order to pursue his ...
Style: feel good, touching, inspirational, sweet, sentimental ...
Audience: family outing, date night, chick flick, teens
Plot: christmas, midlife crisis, road not taken, destiny, parallel universe, life changing experience, alternate reality, lost love, fish out of water, lifestyle change, time travel, family relations ...
Time: year 2000, 90s, 20th century, 80s, 2000s ...
Place: new jersey, usa, manhattan new york city, new york
Is relevant ?
 7.4
 42K
In the Bedroom (2001)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 131 min.
Story: Summertime on the coast of Maine, "In the Bedroom" centers on the inner dynamics of a family in transition. Matt Fowler is a doctor practicing in his native Maine and is married to New York born Ruth Fowler, a music teacher. He is involved ...
Style: realistic, bleak, heartbreaking, depressing, suspense ...
Plot: older woman younger man relationship, age difference, family in crisis, dysfunctional family, revenge, grief, family drama, small town, jealousy, family relations, character study, dysfunctional marriage ...
Time: 2000s, 21st century
Place: maine, detroit, new england
Is relevant ?
 7.7
 142K
Billy Elliot (2000)
Genre: Drama, Music
Country: UK, France
Duration: 110 min.
Story: Set against the background of the 1984 Miner's Strike, Billy Elliot is an 11 year old boy who stumbles out of the boxing ring and onto the ballet floor. He faces many trials and triumphs as he strives to conquer his family's set ways, ...
Style: inspirational, touching, feel good, uplifting, emotional ...
Audience: date night, family outing, kids, teens, girls' night ...
Plot: coming of age, ballet, working class, father son relationship, dancing, friendship, childhood, gay, audition, poverty, follow your dream, boxing ...
Time: year 1984, 20th century, y2k, year 2000, 90s ...
Place: england, northern england, london, europe
Is relevant ?
Life as a House (2001)
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min.
Story: When a man is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he takes custody of his misanthropic teenage son, for whom quality time means getting high, engaging in small-time prostitution, and avoiding his father.
Style: emotional, sentimental, touching, sincere, sad ...
Audience: teens, chick flick, teen drama
Plot: terminal illness, father son relationship, dying, cancer, dysfunctional family, relationships, reconciliation, illness, divorce, fighting illness, redemption, family relations ...
Time: year 2001
Place: california, usa
Is relevant ?
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
Genre: Biography, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 135 min.
Story: At Princeton University, John Nash struggles to make a worthwhile contribution to serve as his legacy to the world of mathematics. He finally makes a revolutionary breakthrough that will eventually earn him the Nobel Prize. After graduate school he ...
Style: psychological, touching, cerebral, dramatic, intellectual ...
Audience: teens, date night, family friendly, chick flick
Plot: mathematics, mental illness, schizophrenia, genius, paranoia, insanity, scientist, mathematician, imaginary friend, nobel prize, obsession, prodigy ...
Time: year 2001, 60s, 20th century, 1940s, 2000s ...
Place: boston, harvard university, new jersey, persia, detroit ...
Is relevant ?
 7.5
 138K
The Hours (2002)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: USA, UK, France, Canada, Germany
Duration: 110 min.
Story: "The Hours" is the story of three women searching for more potent, meaningful lives. Each is alive at a different time and place, all are linked by their yearnings and their fears. Their stories intertwine, and finally come together in a ...
Style: depressing, psychological, intellectual, touching, serious ...
Audience: girls' night, chick flick
Plot: suicide, mental illness, depression, aids, writers, lesbian, bipolar disorder, writer's life, literature, introspection, poet, borderline personality disorder ...
Time: year 2002, 1940s, 90s, 1920s, 20th century ...
Place: new york, england, california, los angeles, europe ...
Is relevant ?
 7.5
 23K
Away from Her (2006)
Genre: Drama
Country: Canada, UK, USA
Duration: 110 min.
Story: A man coping with the institutionalization of his wife because of Alzheimer's disease faces an epiphany when she transfers her affections to another man, a wheel chair-bound mute who also is a patient at the nursing home.
Style: sincere, melancholic, sentimental, depressing, realistic ...
Plot: elderly, alzheimer's disease, mental illness, true love, loneliness, love, tragedy, existentialism, marriage, human spirit, fighting illness, hopes ...
Time: 2000s, year 2006, 21st century
Place: canada, iceland, ontario canada
Is relevant ?
 6.7
 55K
The Soloist (2009)
Genre: Biography, Drama, Music
Country: UK, France, USA
Duration: 117 min.
Story: A Los Angeles journalist befriends a homeless Juilliard-trained musician, while looking for a new article for the paper.
Style: inspirational, touching, sincere, sad, intense ...
Audience: date night, adult
Plot: music, schizophrenia, homeless, prodigy, journalism, street musician, friendship, musician, cello, mental illness, biopic, artist ...
Time: year 2009
Place: los angeles, new york, usa, ohio
Is relevant ?
Related movie lists
 7.4
 259K
The Bucket List (2007)
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story: Corporate billionaire Edward Cole and working class mechanic Carter Chambers are worlds apart. At a crossroads in their lives, they share a hospital room and discover they have two things in common: a desire to spend the time they have left doing ...
Style: feel good, inspirational, philosophical, sentimental, touching ...
Audience: chick flick, date night
Plot: friendship, road trip, elderly, terminal illness, unlikely friendships, journey, human spirit, philosophy, bucket list, dying, follow your dream, self discovery ...
Time: year 2007, 21st century
Place: usa, africa, cote d'azur, tanzania, mount everest ...
Is relevant ?
The Kids Are All Right (2010)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA, France
Duration: 106 min.
Story: Two women, Nic and Jules, brought a son and daughter into the world through artificial insemination. When one of their children reaches age, both kids go behind their mothers' backs to meet with the donor. Life becomes so much more interesting ...
Style: touching, independent film, sexy, witty, sexual ...
Audience: chick flick, teens
Plot: lesbian, coming of age, lesbian relationship, gender, lgbt, lesbian love, gay, biological father, infidelity, father son relationship, adultery, family relations ...
Time: year 2010, 2010s, 21st century
Place: los angeles, usa, california, southern california, buenos aires argentina
Is relevant ?
Revolutionary Road (2008)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 119 min.
Story: A young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children. Based on a novel by Richard Yates.
Style: bad ending, depressing, heartbreaking, crying, bleak ...
Audience: girls' night, date night, chick flick
Plot: adultery, marriage, abortion, mental illness, infidelity, dysfunctional family, depression, death of wife, under the surface, family problems, cheating wife, midlife crisis ...
Time: 1950s, 50s, year 1955, year 2008, 20th century ...
Place: usa, new york, paris france, connecticut
Is relevant ?
 7.5
 179K
Milk (2008)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min.
Story: The story of California's first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk, who became an outspoken agent for change, seeking equal rights and opportunities for all. His great love for the city and its people brought him backing from young and ...
Style: thought provoking, political, realistic, touching, sincere ...
Plot: gay, politics, homosexuality, protest, homosexual, murder, gays and lesbians, discrimination, male homosexuality, politician, biopic, gender ...
Time: 70s, 2000s, year 2008, 20th century, year 1973 ...
Place: san francisco, california, new york, america, bay area ...
Is relevant ?
Rachel Getting Married (2008)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min.
Story: A young woman who has been in and out from rehab for the past 10 years returns home for the weekend for her sister's wedding.
Style: independent film, emotional, serious, talky, intellectual ...
Plot: wedding, dysfunctional family, drug addiction, addiction, favoritism among siblings, marriage, sisters, wedding preparations and rituals, sister sister relationship, character study, family problems, self destructing ...
Time: year 2008, 21st century
Place: connecticut, usa, hawaii
Is relevant ?
 7.4
 348K
Up in the Air (2009)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min.
Story: George Clooney plays the dry cynical character of Ryan Bingham, an executive who specializes in "downsizing". Ryan lives out of his suitcase, traveling the country for the sole purpose terminating unwanted employees day after day. Just as ...
Style: touching, romantic, emotional, heartbreaking, sexy ...
Audience: date night, chick flick, adult
Plot: on the road, travel, loneliness, business, couples, business trip, hotel, airport, downsizing, introspection, love affair, airplane ...
Time: year 2009, 2000s, 21st century
Place: san francisco, las vegas, iran, dallas texas, usa ...
Is relevant ?
 8.2
 32K
Temple Grandin (2010)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min.
Story: A biopic of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who has become one of top scientists in humane livestock handling.
Style: touching, inspirational, sincere, compassionate, emotional ...
Audience: kids
Plot: autism, human spirit, teacher, disability, genius, female protagonist, scientist, against the odds, biopic, inventor, asperger's syndrome, ambition ...
Time: 20th century, y2k, 60s, 70s, year 1951 ...
Place: arizona, new hampshire, boston, texas, usa ...
Is relevant ?
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