Movies Like My Friend Joe

If you liked My Friend Joe (1996), a family and drama movie directed by Chris Bould, 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
I Believe (2019)
★ 7.8/10Also family and drama
A 9 year old boy experiences God's power in a supernatural way.
2
Flicka (2006)
★ 6.9/10Also family and drama
Katy McLaughlin desires to work on her family's mountainside horse ranch, although her father insists she finish boarding school. Katy finds a mustang in the hills near her ranch. The headstrong 16 year old then sets…
3
Skater Girl (2021)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and family
Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.
4
The Good Neighbor (2022)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and…
5
Eye for an Eye (1996)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
It's fire and brimstone time as grieving mother Karen McCann takes justice into her own hands when a kangaroo court in Los Angeles fails to convict Robert Doob, the monster who raped and murdered her 17-year-old…
6
Heidi (2005)
★ 7.8/10Also drama and family
Swiss girl Adelheid 'Heidi' is orphaned young. Aunt Detie brings her to grandpa Alp and his wife, who live isolated in the Alps since his murder charge. Heidi soon takes to the wild country, especially accompanying…
7
The Greening of Whitney Brown (2011)
★ 5.9/10Also drama and family
Whitney, a spoiled pre-teen from Philadelphia, is forced to move to the country when her parents feel the squeeze of economic hard times. A fish out of water, far from her comfort zone, she befriends an amazing horse…
8
Unbreakable (2000)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
An ordinary man makes an extraordinary discovery when a train accident leaves his fellow passengers dead — and him unscathed. The answer to this mystery could lie with the mysterious Elijah Price, a man who suffers…
9
Embattled (2020)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.
10
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980)
★ 7.3/10Also family and drama
Young Cedric Errol and his widowed mother live in genteel poverty in 1880s Brooklyn after the death of his father. Cedric's grandfather, the Earl of Dorincourt, has long ago disowned his son for marrying an American…
11
Damage (2009)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
An ex-con battles it out in the cage to pay for the operation that would save the daughter of his victim. Along the way he finds fatherly love, and friendship, in the most unlikely of places.
12
Holy Lands (2019)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
When lapsed Jew and former cardiologist Harry suddenly decides to spend his retirement as a pig farmer in Nazareth, Israel, the move deeply shocks his family and his new neighbours. Back in New York, Harry’s ex-wife…
13
A Thousand and One (2023)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
Struggling but unapologetically living on her own terms, Inez is moving from shelter to shelter in mid-1990s New York City. With her 6-year-old son Terry in foster care and unable to leave him again, she kidnaps him so…
14
LEGO Marvel Avengers: Code Red (2023)
★ 6.5/10Also family
The Avengers gather to celebrate their latest victory, but their celebration is quickly interrupted by the mysterious disappearance of Black Widow's father, Red Guardian. As the Avengers investigate, they discover that…
15
Where the Red Fern Grows (2003)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and family
Set in the Ozark Mountains during the Great Depression, Billy Coleman works hard and saves his earnings for 2 years to achieve his dream of buying two coonhound pups. He develops a new trust in God as he faces…
16
Hellion (2014)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
When motocross and heavy metal obsessed, 13-year-old Jacob's delinquent behavior forces CPS to place his little brother Wes with his aunt, Jacob and his emotionally absent father must finally take responsibility for…
17
Snoopy Presents: It's the Small Things, Charlie Brown (2022)
★ 7.3/10Also family
Charlie Brown is determined to win the big baseball game. But things turn into a fiasco right before the matchup, when Sally bonds with a little flower on the pitcher's mound and vows to protect it at all costs.
18
Bird (2024)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
12-year-old Bailey lives with her single dad Bug and brother Hunter in a squat in North Kent. Bug doesn’t have much time for his kids, and Bailey, who is approaching puberty, seeks attention and adventure elsewhere.
19
Not Without Hope (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
A group of friends' fishing boat capsizes off the coast of Mexico and they're left alone stranded at sea and struggling for survival.
20
Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (1998)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
Young teen girl Xiu Xiu is sent away to a remote corner of the Sichuan steppes for manual labor in 1975 (sending young people to there was a part of Cultural Revolution in China). A year later, she agrees to go to even…