Movies Like After Laughter

If you liked After Laughter (2021), a movie directed by Theodore Wright IV and Adrian Burks, 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
The Fabelmans (2022)
★ 7.5/10
Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him…
2
That's What I Am (2011)
★ 6.8/10
A coming-of-age story that follows 12-year-old Andy Nichol, a bright student who, like most kids his age, will do anything to avoid conflict for fear of suffering overwhelming ridicule and punishment from his junior…
3
The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
★ 7/10
Jimmie Fails dreams of reclaiming the Victorian home his grandfather built in the heart of San Francisco. Joined on his quest by his best friend Mont, Jimmie searches for belonging in a rapidly changing city that seems…
4
Spontaneous (2020)
★ 6.7/10
When students in their high school begin inexplicably exploding (literally), seniors Mara and Dylan struggle to survive in a world where each moment may be their last.
5
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (2023)
★ 7.5/10
Two teenage Mexican-American loners in 1987 El Paso explore a new, unusual friendship and the difficult road to self-discovery.
6
Boyhood (2014)
★ 7.5/10
The film tells a story of a divorced couple trying to raise their young son. The story follows the boy for twelve years, from first grade at age 6 through 12th grade at age 17-18, and examines his relationship with his…
7
Beautiful Boy (2018)
★ 7.6/10
After he and his first wife separate, journalist David Sheff struggles to help their teenage son, who goes from experimenting with drugs to becoming devastatingly addicted to methamphetamine.
8
I Am Not Your Negro (2017)
★ 7.7/10
Working from the text of James Baldwin’s unfinished final novel, director Raoul Peck creates a meditation on what it means to be Black in the United States.
9
28 Up (1985)
★ 7.5/10
Just two years away from turning 30, participants in Michael Apted's documentary series are facing serious questions of identity and purpose, wondering whether they've found their place in the world.
10
Nickel Boys (2024)
★ 6.6/10
Chronicles the powerful friendship between two young Black teenagers navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida.
11
My Friend Dahmer (2017)
★ 6.5/10
Jeffrey Dahmer struggles with a difficult family life as a young boy. During his teenage years he slowly transforms, edging closer to the serial killer he was to become.
12
Michael (2026)
★ 8.6/10
The story of Michael Jackson, one of the most influential artists the world has ever known, and his life beyond the music. His journey from the discovery of his extraordinary talent as the lead of the Jackson Five, to…
13
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (2016)
★ 6.9/10
A quiet teenage artist Rafe Katchadorian has a wild imagination and is sick of middle school and the rules that have been put before him. Rafe and his best friend Leo have come up with a plan: break every rule in the…
14
The Great Santini (1979)
★ 6.8/10
As he approaches manhood, Ben Meechum struggles to win the approval of his demanding alpha male father, an aggressively competitive, but frustrated marine pilot.
15
Eighth Grade (2018)
★ 7.1/10
Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school — the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year — before she begins…
16
The Mighty (1998)
★ 7.2/10
Kevin, an intelligent guy helps out Maxwell to improve his reading skills. In return, Kevin wants Maxwell to take him out places since he is not authorized to go out. Being the social outcasts of the town, Kevin and…
17
Wildflower (2023)
★ 7.4/10
The story of Bea Johnson from birth to graduation as she navigates life with an intellectually disabled parent and an extended family who can't quite agree on the best way to help.
18
Tex (1982)
★ 6.1/10
After their mother dies and their father leaves them, teenage brothers Tex and Mason McCormick struggle to make it on their own.
19
The Hate U Give (2018)
★ 8.1/10
Raised in a poverty-stricken slum, a 16-year-old girl named Starr now attends a suburban prep school. After she witnesses a police officer shoot her unarmed best friend, she's torn between her two very different worlds…
20
The True Adventures of Wolfboy (2019)
★ 5.9/10
Follows a young boy who runs away from home in the search of his estranged mother.