Movies Like In Search of America

If you liked In Search of America (1971), a drama and tv movie movie directed by Paul Bogart, 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
Scarecrow (1973)
★ 7/10Also drama
Two drifters bum around, visit earthy women and discuss opening a car wash in Pittsburgh.
2
Hello Sister, Goodbye Life (2006)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and tv movie
A college student must take care of her 7-year-old half sister after the death of their parents.
3
Head Full of Honey (2018)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
A young girl tries to help her grandfather, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, navigate his increasing forgetfulness, and ends up going on a remarkable adventure with him.
4
True Grit (1969)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy on a mission of 'justice', which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, 'Rooster' Cogburn because he has 'true grit', and a reputation of…
5
Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding (2003)
★ 6/10Also drama and tv movie
Mitch Buchannon, believed to have died in a boating accident survived and only has amnesia, he has been recovering in a Los Angeles hospital. His new fiancée, Allison Ford, resembles his old lover, Lt. Stephanie Holden…
6
Angels in the Snow (2015)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and tv movie
The affluent, yet troubled Montgomery family hits the road for a special Christmas in the mountains.
7
Jacob (1994)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and tv movie
Isaac's son Jacob deprives his brother Esau of his birthright and has to flee for his life. He finds shelter with his uncle Laban, but is himself deceived. Finally, Jacob has to face both his uncle and brother.
8
Girl in the Box (2016)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and tv movie
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
9
Paris, Texas (1984)
★ 8.1/10Also drama
A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked out on his family and disappeared four years earlier.
10
Samantha: An American Girl Holiday (2004)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and tv movie
Kindhearted Samantha Parkington's world starts to change the day Nellie O'Malley walks into her life. Nellie, her father, and her two little sisters have moved in next door to be servants for the Ryland family. Though…
11
Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and tv movie
Based on a true story. Liz Murray is a young girl who is taken care of by her loving, but drug-addicted parents. Liz becomes homeless at 15 and after a tragedy comes upon her, she begins her work to finish high school.
12
Dog Gone (2023)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
When his beloved dog goes missing, a young man embarks on an incredible search with his parents to find him and give him life-saving medication.
13
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1980)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and tv movie
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…
14
Propeller One-Way Night Coach (2026)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
During the golden age of aviation, a young airplane enthusiast and his mother embark on a cross-country journey to Hollywood—and their simple flight transforms into the trip of a lifetime.
15
Ray Donovan: The Movie (2022)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and tv movie
A showdown decades in the making brings the Donovan family legacy full circle. As the events that made Ray who he is today finally come to light, the Donovans find themselves drawn back to Boston to face the past. Each…
16
Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors (2015)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and tv movie
"Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors" is based on the inspiring true story of living legend Dolly Parton's remarkable upbringing. This once-in-a-lifetime movie special takes place inside the tight-knit Parton family as…
17
Where the Red Fern Grows (2003)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
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…
18
End of Sentence (2019)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
Newly widowed Frank Fogle embarks on a journey to Ireland to scatter his late wife’s ashes. His estranged son, Sean, recently released from prison, agrees to join only when his father promises that they’ll never see…
19
Cheaters (2000)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and tv movie
In the fall of 1994, a teacher at Chicago's run-down Steinmetz High conspires with the school's academic decathlon team to cheat on an academic competition.
20
Don't Make Me Go (2022)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
A terminally ill man and his teenage daughter embark on a road trip from California to New Orleans for his 20th college reunion. While there, he secretly hopes she can reunite with the mother who left them long ago.