Movies Like Dialectic Definitions

If you liked Dialectic Definitions (1977), a movie directed by Dana Hodgdon, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Smart People (2008)
★ 5.9/10
Professor Lawrence Wetherhold might be imperiously brilliant, monumentally self-possessed and an intellectual giant -- but when it comes to solving the conundrums of love and family, he's as downright flummoxed as the…
2
The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967)
★ 6.9/10
A noted professor and his dim-witted apprentice fall prey to their inquiring vampires, while on the trail of the ominous damsel in distress.
3
42 Up (1999)
★ 7.6/10
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
4
The Professor and the Madman (2019)
★ 7.1/10
Professor James Murray begins work compiling words for the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary in the mid 19th century, and receives over 10,000 entries from a patient at Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum…
5
The Nutty Professor (1963)
★ 6.5/10
A timid, nearsighted chemistry teacher discovers a magical potion that can transform him into a suave and handsome Romeo. The Jekyll and Hyde game works well enough until the concoction starts to wear off at the most…
6
The Professor (2019)
★ 6.8/10
A world-weary college professor is given a life-changing diagnosis and decides to throw all pretense and conventions to the wind and live his life as boldly and freely as possible with a biting sense of humor, a…
7
Wit (2001)
★ 7.3/10
A renowned professor is forced to reassess her life when she is diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer.
8
The Love Hypothesis (2026)
★ 7.9/10
Olive Smith, a biology PhD candidate, and Dr. Adam Carlsen, a hotshot professor and well-known tyrant, enter into a fake relationship, seeing each of their carefully calculated theories on love get thrown into chaos.
9
The Wave (1981)
★ 6.9/10
A teacher conducts an experiment in an American high school where students learn how easy it is to be seduced by the same social forces which led to the horrors of Nazi Germany.
10
Come See Me in the Good Light (2025)
★ 7.1/10
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
11
An Evening with Kevin Smith (2002)
★ 7.4/10
Kevin Smith interacts in Q&A sessions throughout various college stops in the USA.
12
Sorry, Baby (2025)
★ 6.9/10
Agnes feels stuck. Unlike her best friend, Lydie, who’s moved to New York and is now expecting a baby, Agnes still lives in the New England house they once shared as graduate students, now working as a professor at her…
13
Submission (2018)
★ 5.9/10
A well-respected professor who is a celebrated novelist and loving husband loses himself when he becomes obsessed with an ambitious and talented student.
14
Life of the Party (2018)
★ 6.1/10
When her husband suddenly dumps her, longtime dedicated housewife Deanna turns regret into re-set by going back to college... landing in the same class and school as her daughter, who's not entirely sold on the idea…
15
Creator (1985)
★ 6.2/10
With the help of student assistant Boris and stolen university equipment, Dr. Harry Wolper plans to clone his dead wife. But then he meets Meli, an egg donor for his experiment, and they fall in love. Faced with…
16
Rememory (2017)
★ 6.1/10
The widow of a wise professor stumbles upon one of his inventions that's able to record and play a person's memory.
17
For the Love of Spock (2016)
★ 7.4/10
The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.
18
Matilda (1996)
★ 7.2/10
Matilda Wormwood is an brilliant and intelligent little girl. Unfortunately, her parents, Harry and Zinnia, fail to see that fact. As time passes, she finally starts school and has a kind teacher, loyal friends, and a…
19
Enemy (2014)
★ 6.8/10
A mild-mannered college professor discovers a look-alike actor and delves into the other man's private affairs.
20
The Rewrite (2014)
★ 6/10
An Oscar-winning writer in a slump leaves Hollywood to teach screenwriting at a college on the East Coast, where he falls for a single mom taking classes there.