Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for movies like Lady Bird:
Didi
Didi is the debut film from writer/director Sean Wang, who is telling an autobiographical story of growing up Asian in the late 2000s. Izaac Wang plays the impressionable 13-year-old stand-in of the director, who navigates learning to flirt, skate, and live in a three-generation household of women.
The Fabelmans
The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg’s latest movie, effectively mines through his childhood to examine his love for film. A complex set of ideas mixed in a way only the master filmmaker could pull together.
Rushmore
Even if decades have passed since Rushmore first hit movie theaters, Wes Anderson’s sophomore film still has characters and tonal inflections that he hasn’t quite matched since. Jason Schwartzman proves he’s a perfect match for Wes’ desired movie-making style.
Turning Red
Despite feeling a bit like Pixar is borrowing heavily from their contemporaries, Turning Red is the first movie from the studio to actually move the needle in a while. It’s a story for generations to enjoy, and I always prefer when Pixar aims to appeal to older audiences in conjunction with the usual kids demographic.
Dazed and Confused
There’s a short, short list of movies that, in the moment, feel like the greatest thing you’ve ever seen. Richard Linklater has somehow made a few of them across a decades-long career, and I’m not sure he’s ever been more locked-in than with Dazed and Confused. It drops you into 1976 on the last day of school, where the soon-to-be seniors are running the show and the incoming freshmen are about to take the brunt of hazing rituals that are passed down like some warped tradition. Then the sun goes down, the cars start cruising, the beer starts flowing, and the night stretches out into that specific kind of teenage summer freedom that feels infinite while you’re in it.
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. doesn’t take long to show you its worth – an easily digestible, refreshing throwback film certainly worth the price of admission. Abby Ryder Fortson and Rachel McAdams star, with the latter hopefully participating in next year’s awards season race.
Read our full review of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.
Mean Girls
Mean Girls doesn’t cover enough new ground to warrant the movie’s existence. The music is surprisingly fresh, and the performances are often the best aspects, but it’s a copy-and-paste concept executed to marginally acceptable results. Tina Fey relies heavily on the original material to render the movie passable.
Licorice Pizza
Licorice Pizza is a love letter to Paul Thomas Anderson’s childhood experience. The movie is overflowing with teenage emotional drama. One of 2021’s best films. Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman both give extraordinary first leading performances.
Barbie
Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie deliver one of 2023’s most colorful and sincere trips to the movies. Barbie is a movie that transcends style and set design, offering a visual feast with enough laughs along the way.
You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah
My skepticism was high for Adam Sandler’s new teen comedy on Netflix, You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, but the movie is genuinely funny and surprisingly endearing. Sandler enlists his whole family for this take on adolescence and the Jewish community.
Read our full review of You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah
READ MORE: Lady Bird (2017), Greta Gerwig Movies Ranked
