Best coming-of-age movies and tv shows
by MaharishiBibo | created - 04 Nov 2013 | updated - 1 month ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Let Me In (I) (2010)
R | 116 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A bullied young boy befriends a young female vampire who lives in secrecy with her guardian.
Director: Matt Reeves | Stars: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloë Grace Moretz, Richard Jenkins, Cara Buono
Votes: 127,292 | Gross: $12.13M
Partly horror, partly coming of age movie, it shows that every bullied young boy should have a vampire girlfriend to look out for him.
2. The Wonder Years (1988–1993)
TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Kevin Arnold recalls growing up during the late 60s and early 70s; the turbulent social times make the transition from child to adult unusually interesting.
Stars: Fred Savage, Dan Lauria, Alley Mills, Jason Hervey
Votes: 40,764
One of the defining shows of my childhood, often hilarious, but sometimes serious and heartbreaking. The 60's/70's soundtrack contributes much to the atmosphere.
3. My Girl (1991)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Vada is obsessed with death. Her mother is dead, and her father runs a funeral parlor. When Vada's father hires Shelly, a makeup expert, and begins to fall in love, Vada is outraged and does everything in her power to split them up.
Director: Howard Zieff | Stars: Anna Chlumsky, Macaulay Culkin, Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis
Votes: 88,879 | Gross: $59.85M
Saw it as a child in cinema at the time of release, but it wasn't until ten years later, when I realized how good and touching this one is.
4. Fly Away Home (1996)
PG | 107 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
A father and daughter decide to attempt to lead a flock of orphaned Canada Geese south by air.
Director: Carroll Ballard | Stars: Jeff Daniels, Anna Paquin, Dana Delany, Terry Kinney
Votes: 27,114 | Gross: $24.51M
An intimate movie about dealing with loss and grief, and the importance of family.
5. Léon: The Professional (1994)
R | 110 min | Action, Crime, Drama
12-year-old Mathilda is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.
Director: Luc Besson | Stars: Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman, Danny Aiello
Votes: 1,245,532 | Gross: $19.50M
It's a hard action movie, but it's also largely deals with the coming of age of the young orphan, famously played by an impressive Natalie Portman in her first leading role.
6. Lawn Dogs (1997)
R | 101 min | Drama
When Devon, a 10-year-old girl, forges a friendship with Trent, a 21-year-old outsider who mows the neighborhood lawns, things suddenly get very complicated and private.
Director: John Duigan | Stars: Sam Rockwell, Kathleen Quinlan, Mischa Barton, Christopher McDonald
Votes: 8,566 | Gross: $0.11M
A true gem of a movie, Sam Rockwell's great as always, as Mischa Barton suprises with an astonishing performance. A dark fairytale, and a comment on society.
7. Almost Famous (2000)
R | 122 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A high-school boy in the early 1970s is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies them on their concert tour.
Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson, Frances McDormand
Votes: 293,328 | Gross: $32.53M
Follow the crazy journey of a 15 year old writer for Rolling stone magazine, who's having the trip of his life when he goes on tour with a promising newcomer rock group. Director/writer Cameron Crowe's movie is actually about his own similar experience.
8. About a Boy (2002)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Will, who attends single parent meetings to woo women, meets Marcus, a troubled 12-year-old boy. As they become friends, Will learns to be responsible while he helps Marcus with his studies.
Directors: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz | Stars: Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, Sharon Small
Votes: 191,669 | Gross: $41.39M
A light comedy with serious undertones, great chemistry between the boy, played by Nicholas Hoult, and Hugh Grant as his unlikely friend.
9. My So-Called Life (1994–1995)
TV-14 | 912 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A 15-year-old girl and her trials and tribulations of being a teenager and dealing with friends, guys, parents, and school.
Stars: Bess Armstrong, Wilson Cruz, Claire Danes, Devon Gummersall
Votes: 21,971
One the most honest teen shows of all time, it's a shame it was cancelled after only one season.
10. The Squid and the Whale (2005)
R | 81 min | Comedy, Drama
Follows two young boys dealing with their parents' divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s.
Director: Noah Baumbach | Stars: Owen Kline, Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney, Jesse Eisenberg
Votes: 90,421 | Gross: $7.36M
A self-finding journey about divorce and coming to see your parents as normal, flawed people, with a great Jesse Eisenberg as lead.
11. Stand by Me (1986)
R | 89 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A writer recounts a childhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell
Votes: 441,500 | Gross: $52.29M
80's classic, a daring, dark road trip about friendship and growing up.
12. Thirteen (2003)
R | 100 min | Drama
A thirteen-year-old girl's relationship with her mother is put to the test as she discovers drugs, sex, and petty crime in the company of her cool but troubled best friend.
Director: Catherine Hardwicke | Stars: Evan Rachel Wood, Holly Hunter, Nikki Reed, Vanessa Hudgens
Votes: 97,996 | Gross: $4.60M
Terrifying, dark and realistic, this movie shows a 13-year old girl's descent into sex,drugs and violence. Evan Rachel Wood's acting in this is very remarkable.
13. Hick (2011)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Drama
A Nebraska teen gets more than she bargained for when she sets out for the bright lights of Las Vegas.
Director: Derick Martini | Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, Blake Lively, Rory Culkin, Eddie Redmayne
Votes: 20,832
Has its flaws, but I like road movies and Chloe Grace Moretz, and the mood and acting in this movie wins over the weak screenplay.
14. Dazed and Confused (1993)
R | 103 min | Comedy
The adventures of high school and junior high students on the last day of school in May 1976.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Jason London, Wiley Wiggins, Matthew McConaughey, Rory Cochrane
Votes: 199,427 | Gross: $7.99M
A movie practically without adults, about school, its social structures and injustices, and summer.
15. Dawson's Creek (1998–2003)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, Romance
Two childhood best friends, Dawson and Joey, go through different stages of adolescence together. Their friendship is later tested when they both start a relationship with different people.
Stars: James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, Joshua Jackson
Votes: 44,643
A classic teen soap, which went to places only a few shows dared to go to. Great soundtrack with lots of 90's indie singer-songwriter stuff to explore.
16. Hearts in Atlantis (2001)
PG-13 | 101 min | Drama, Mystery
Widowed Liz Garfield and her son Bobby change when mysterious stranger Ted Brautigan enters their lives.
Director: Scott Hicks | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Anton Yelchin, Hope Davis, Mika Boorem
Votes: 41,039 | Gross: $24.19M
A Stephen King adaption, I loved the book, and liked the movie. It captures the mood quite well. About first love and the loss of innocence and childhood.
17. Grave Decisions (2006)
104 min | Comedy, Drama
Sebastian, an 11-year-old Bavarian boy, feels responsible for his mother's death, who died during his birth, and naively attempts multiple ways to reach immortality (procreation, reincarnation, sanctification) to prevent his tenure in hell
Director: Marcus H. Rosenmüller | Stars: Markus Krojer, Fritz Karl, Jürgen Tonkel, Jule Ronstedt
Votes: 5,669
A german movie about a young boy who thinks he killed his mother(who died during his birth). Morbid, funny and moving.
18. Boyhood (I) (2014)
R | 165 min | Drama
The life of Mason, from early childhood to his arrival at college.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Elijah Smith
Votes: 367,132 | Gross: $25.38M
Takes coming of age very literally: Filmed over the course of 12 years, director Richard Linklater created a unique and intense movie experience.
19. That Special Summer (2007)
90 min | Drama
The year is 1984. It's summer, and the rebellious 12-year-old girl Kid wants to stay in Gothenburg, but her mother has other plans. Kid discovers that summer vacation in Finland isn't as ... See full summary »
Director: Nanna Marjo | Stars: Mia Saarinen, Milka Ahlroth, Jim Rautiainen, Mari Rantasila
Votes: 588
20. Tomorrow and Thereafter (2017)
91 min | Drama
Mathilde is nine. Her parents have separated and she lives alone with her mother - a fragile woman on the brink of madness - with whom she shares a unique love story.
Director: Noémie Lvovsky | Stars: Luce Rodriguez, Noémie Lvovsky, Mathieu Amalric, Micha Lescot
Votes: 327
21. The Devils (2002)
105 min | Drama
Orphaned 12-year-old twins Joseph and Chloé have been on the run together. Chloé is autistic, non-verbal and fears being touched. Joseph dearly loves her and dreams she will recover if they find their parents and fight the system.
Director: Christophe Ruggia | Stars: Vincent Rottiers, Adèle Haenel, Rochdy Labidi, Jacques Bonnaffé
Votes: 1,360
22. Lamb (I) (2015)
R | 97 min | Drama
When a man meets a young girl in a parking lot he attempts to help her avoid a bleak destiny by initiating her into the beauty of the outside world. The journey shakes them in ways neither expects.
Director: Ross Partridge | Stars: Ross Partridge, Oona Laurence, Jess Weixler, Tom Bower
Votes: 2,323 | Gross: $0.01M
23. A Brand New Life (2009)
92 min | Drama
Young Jinhee is taken by her father to an orphanage near Seoul. He leaves her there never to return, and she struggles to come to grips with her fate. Jinhee desperately believes her father will come back for her.
Directors: Lee Jong Eon, Ounie Lecomte | Stars: Kim Sae-ron, Ko Ah-sung, Sol Kyung-gu, Baek Hyun-joo
Votes: 2,533
24. A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries (1998)
R | 127 min | Drama
This fictionalized story, based on the family life of writer James Jones, is an emotionless slice-of-life story. Jones here is portrayed as Bill Willis, a former war hero and now successful... See full summary »
Director: James Ivory | Stars: Leelee Sobieski, Kris Kristofferson, Barbara Hershey, Jane Birkin
Votes: 2,489 | Gross: $1.76M
25. Off the Map (2003)
PG-13 | 105 min | Drama
An eleven-year-old girl watches her father come down with a crippling depression. Over one summer, she learns answers to several mysteries, and comes to terms with love and loss.
Director: Campbell Scott | Stars: Valentina de Angelis, Joan Allen, Sam Elliott, Amy Brenneman
Votes: 3,435 | Gross: $1.31M
26. A West Texas Children's Story (2007)
86 min | Drama, Romance
Set in the 1960s, a magical tale of two 12-year-olds embarking on an adventure to find new, cool parents and escape their neglected, overly adult existence.
Director: Brad Isaacs | Stars: Cayden Boyd, Lara Flynn Boyle, Matthew Modine, Noah Grabowski
Votes: 1,882
27. Now and Then (1995)
PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Four 12-year-old girls grow up together during an eventful small-town summer in 1970.
Director: Lesli Linka Glatter | Stars: Christina Ricci, Demi Moore, Rosie O'Donnell, Thora Birch
Votes: 32,414 | Gross: $27.40M
28. Super 8 (2011)
PG-13 | 112 min | Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi
During the summer of 1979, a group of friends witness a train crash and investigate subsequent unexplained events in their small town.
Director: J.J. Abrams | Stars: Elle Fanning, AJ Michalka, Kyle Chandler, Joel Courtney
Votes: 367,485 | Gross: $127.00M
29. Aftersun (II) (2022)
R | 102 min | Drama
Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. Memories real and imagined fill the gaps between as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn't...
Director: Charlotte Wells | Stars: Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio, Celia Rowlson-Hall, Sally Messham
Votes: 93,505
30. Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. (2023)
PG-13 | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
When her family moves from the city to the suburbs, 11-year-old Margaret navigates new friends, feelings, and the beginning of adolescence.
Director: Kelly Fremon Craig | Stars: Abby Ryder Fortson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Benny Safdie
Votes: 27,357
31. Eighth Grade (2018)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Drama
An introverted teenage girl tries to survive the last week of her disastrous eighth grade year before leaving to start high school.
Director: Bo Burnham | Stars: Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton, Emily Robinson, Jake Ryan
Votes: 82,450 | Gross: $13.54M
32. The Edge of Seventeen (2016)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama
High-school life gets even more unbearable for Nadine when her best friend, Krista, starts dating her older brother.
Director: Kelly Fremon Craig | Stars: Hailee Steinfeld, Haley Lu Richardson, Blake Jenner, Kyra Sedgwick
Votes: 140,143 | Gross: $14.43M
33. The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama
A group of Catholic school friends, after being caught drawing an obscene comic book, plan a heist that will outdo their previous prank and make them local legends.
Director: Peter Care | Stars: Kieran Culkin, Jena Malone, Emile Hirsch, Vincent D'Onofrio
Votes: 14,178 | Gross: $1.78M
A group of young teenage boys grow up together and go through many ups and downs. The movie reminded me of Stand by me, but adresses even darker aspects of life and turns out to be a pretty intense watch.
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