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Movies like Boys State

Key Features:
Coming-of-age, Dictatorship, American politics, Leadership, Social experiment, Texas, Youth, Ambition
Tone:
serious, earnest, dramatic
Target Audience:
Political documentary viewers, Civic-minded individuals, Coming-of-age story enthusiasts
Emotional Arc:
Hope → Conflict → Reflection

Boys State

2020-01-24
Boys State Poster - Find Similar Movies

This raucous journey into the heart of democracy captures an unusual rite of passage: 1,100 teenage boys from across Texas coming together to build a representative government from the ground up.

Genres
Documentary
Cast
Ben Feinstein, Steven Garza, Robert MacDougall, René Otero, Eddy Proietti Conti
Crew
Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss
Rating
7.1(106 votes)
Boys StateBoys State
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Tex
Tex(1982)
6.052

After their mother dies and their father leaves them, teenage brothers Tex and Mason McCormick struggle to make it on their own.



Nickel Boys
6.6

Chronicles the powerful friendship between two young Black teenagers navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida.



Boys
Boys(2014)
7.7

Two teen track stars discover first love as they train for the biggest relay race of their young lives.



7 Virgins
7 Virgins(2005)
6.012

Tano is 16-years-old and is already sitting in jail. In 48 hours he’s a free man and off to the wedding of his brother. In the two days he recounts his neighborhood in a section of Sevilla.



Incoming
Incoming(2024)
6.234

Their first week of high school. The biggest party of the year. Mistakes will be made as four teenage boys navigate a night of mayhem and debauchery.



Hoop Dreams
7.6

Every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, a predominately white suburban school well-known for the excellence of its basketball program. Gates and Agee dream of NBA stardom, and with the support of their close-knit families, they battle the social and physical obstacles that stand in their way. This acclaimed documentary was shot over the course of five years.



Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower

When the Chinese Communist Party backtracks on its promise of autonomy to Hong Kong, teenager Joshua Wong decides to save his city. Rallying thousands of kids to skip school and occupy the streets, Joshua becomes an unlikely leader in Hong Kong and one of China’s most notorious dissidents.



Geography Club
6.2

A coming-of-age movie that tells a story unfolding in every high school around the country -- a story of kids hiding their true identities in plain sight, even as they feverishly pursue their hearts' desires.



How to Build a Better Boy

After inadvertently inputting the qualities of the ideal boyfriend into a high-tech government computer, two social outcasts named Mae and Gabby must contend with Albert, a cybernetic sweetheart with only one directive: to treat Mae to the perfect highschool romance.



Speech & Debate
5.878

Frustrated by the hypocrisy they see in their parents, teachers, and the entire school board, an unlikely trio set out to find a common truth and make their voices heard as they revive a defunct school club and take on the world.



Red State
Red State(2011)
6.052

Set in Middle America, a group of teens receive an online invitation for sex, though they soon encounter Christian fundamentalists with a much more sinister agenda.



Amateur
Amateur(2018)
6.4

14-year-old basketball phenom Terron Forte has to navigate the under-the-table world of amateur athletics when he is recruited to an elite NCAA prep school.



Wassup Rockers
5.6

Instead of adhering to the norms of their South Central neighborhood, a group of skater boys opt to bus into Hollywood and Beverly Hills, where they attract local rich girls - and plenty of trouble with the police, jealous boyfriends, and nervous parents.



The Kings of Summer

Joe Toy, on the verge of adolescence, finds himself increasingly frustrated by his single father, Frank's attempts to manage his life. Declaring his freedom once and for all, he escapes to a clearing in the woods with his best friend, Patrick, and a strange kid named Biaggio. He announces that they are going to build a house there, free from responsibility and parents. Once their makeshift abode is finished, the three young men find themselves masters of their own destiny, alone in the woods.



Marfa Girl
4.871

A disaffected Texas teen spends his 16th birthday getting high, hanging out and having casual sex.



Everybody Wants Some!!

A comedy that follows a group of friends as they navigate their way through the freedoms and responsibilities of unsupervised adulthood.



Blue State
5.608

A disgruntled Democrat follows through on a drunken campaign promise to move to Canada if George "Dubya" Bush gets re-elected.



My Year of Dicks
6.4

An imaginative 15-year-old is stubbornly determined to lose her virginity despite the pathetic pickings in the outskirts of Houston in the early '90s.



15+ Coming of Age
4.8

With their teen hormones raging, three high school boys help one another explore their curiosity about the opposite sex and love in this raunchy comedy.



Boychoir
Boychoir(2015)
6.8

A troubled and angry 11-year-old orphan from a small Texas town, ends up at a Boy Choir school after the death of his single mother. Completely out of his element, he finds himself in a battle of wills with a demanding Choir Master who recognises a unique talent in this young boy as he pushes him to discover his creative heart and soul in music.



Good Boys
Good Boys(2019)
6.8

A group of young boys on the cusp of becoming teenagers embark on an epic quest to fix their broken drone before their parents get home.



Election
Election(1999)
6.9

Tracy Flick is running unopposed for this year’s high school student election. But Jim McAllister has a different plan. Partly to establish a more democratic election, and partly to satisfy some deep personal anger toward Tracy, Jim talks football player Paul Metzler to run for president as well.



Adolescents
7.4

Emma and Anaïs are best friends and yet everything in their life seems to set them apart, their social backgrounds but also their personalities. From the age of thirteen to eighteen, Adolescentes follows the two teenagers during these years where radical transformations and first times punctuate daily life. Through their personal stories, the film offers a rare portrait of France and its recent history.



The Sandlot
7.538

During a summer of friendship and adventure, one boy becomes a part of the gang, nine boys become a team and their leader becomes a legend by confronting the terrifying mystery beyond the right field wall.



Chicuarotes
7.8

Cagalera and Moloteco are two teenagers from San Gregorio Atlapulco who are desperate to get out and move up and away from oppressive circumstances. When they hear of an opportunity to buy a spot in the electrician’s union, which could transform their lives, they quickly devolve into the criminal, adult underworld of Mexico City in a bid to buy their freedom.



Minding the Gap
7.7

Three young men bond together to escape volatile families in their Rust Belt hometown. As they face adult responsibilities, unexpected revelations threaten their decade-long friendship.



Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Two teenage Mexican-American loners in 1987 El Paso explore a new, unusual friendship and the difficult road to self-discovery.



The Boys Next Door
6.2

Roy and Bo leave their small town the weekend after graduation for a short road trip to LA. Soon, they find themselves lashing out and leaving a trail of bodies behind them. The violence escalates throughout.



Gully
Gully(2021)
5.3

A slightly dystopian vision of LA, we follow three disaffected teenagers, Jessie, Calvin and Nicky, all victims of extreme childhoods, running supreme hedonistic riot as they try to work out a way in life.



The Lost Boys
7.1

When an unsuspecting town newcomer is drawn to local blood fiends, the Frog brothers and other unlikely heroes gear up to rescue him.



The Golden Dream
6.818

A group of Central-American teen-agers depart from the slums of Guatemala City escaping poverty and violence, towards the promised land of California.



Fandango
Fandango(1985)
6.7

In 1971, five college buddies from the University of Texas embark on a final road trip odyssey across the Mexican border before facing up to uncertain futures, in Vietnam and otherwise.



The Brotherhood of Justice

High-school students start a vigilante group in their neighbourhood but, as their power increases, they become more abusive and dangerous.



Sun and Concrete
6.986

The four friends Lukas, Julius, Gino and Sanchez are trying to survive the everyday life in Neukölln, Berlin between drugs, gangs, rap, violence and boredom. Until they are one day making a serious decision with serious consequences because of a dead certain plan.



Gridiron Gang
7

Under the leadership of their counselor, teenagers at a juvenile detention center gain self-esteem by playing football together. Based on a true story.



The Long Walk
6.928

In a dystopian, alternate-America ruled by a totalitarian regime, 50 teenage boys take part in a deadly annual walking contest, forced to maintain a minimum pace or be executed, until only one survivor remains.



Jamesy Boy
6.404

Based on the true story of teenager James Burns who goes from a suburban street gang to a maximum-security prison cell surrounded by hardened criminals. He turns his life around in prison thanks to the unexpected friendship he forms with a convicted murderer who becomes his mentor.



Billionaire Boys Club

A group of wealthy boys in Los Angeles during the early 1980s establishes a get rich quick scam that turns deadly.



Bomb City
Bomb City(2017)
7.109

An ongoing feud between punk rockers and a more affluent clique in a small Texas town leads to a hate crime.



Boyhood
Boyhood(2014)
7.491

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 parents as he grows.



mid90s
mid90s(2018)
7.5

In 1990s Los Angeles, a 13-year-old spends his summer navigating between a troubled home life and a crew of new friends he meets at a skate shop.



Kicks
Kicks(2016)
6.797

When his hard-earned kicks get snatched by a local hood, fifteen-year old Brandon and his two best friends go on an ill-advised mission across the Bay Area to retrieve the stolen sneakers.



Superbad
Superbad(2007)
7.258

Two co-dependent high school seniors are forced to deal with separation anxiety after their plan to stage a booze-soaked party goes awry.



Sex, Party and Lies

A youth group is preparing for what will be the summer of their life, including secrets, lies, sex, confusion, evenings and holidays.



This Is Not Berlin
6.945

Seventeen-year-old Carlos doesn't fit in anywhere, not in his family nor with the friends he has chosen in school. But everything changes when he is invited to a mythical nightclub where he discovers the underground LGBTQ nightlife scene: punk, sexual liberty and drugs.



Lula, the Son of Brazil

The true story of a working class boy who moves to the nation's financial capital at a young age and becomes one the most influential politicians in Brazilian history.



The Lost Boys
6.879

In a youth correctional facility, Joe is preparing his return to society. But William’s arrival turns his desire for freedom into desire of another kind. Behind fences and cell walls, passions begin to play havoc with the need for liberty.



Class Rank
6.9

Two high school misfits join forces in an attempt to overtake the local school board. Guided by their families, they enter the perilous word of politics and, in the process, learn a thing or two about love.



The Mask You Live In

Compared to girls, research shows that boys in the United States are more likely to be diagnosed with a behaviour disorder, prescribed stimulant medications, fail out of school, binge drink, commit a violent crime, and/or take their own lives. The Mask You Live In asks: as a society, how are we failing our boys?



Halfaouine: Boy of the Terraces

Twelve-year-old Noura dangles uncertainly in that difficult netherworld between childhood and adulthood. His growing libido has gotten him banned from the women's baths, where his mother took him when he was younger, but he's not yet old enough to participate in grown-up discussions with the men of his Tunisian village. Noura's only real friend is a troublemaker named Salih -- the village political outcast.



The Pregnancy Project
6.673

The Pregnancy project tells the real story of Gaby Rodriguez, a seventeen-year-old who attended a Washington state high-school and made her senior school project the treatment of pregnant teenagers by pretending to be pregnant.



Kids
Kids(1995)
6.9

A day in the life of a group of teens as they travel around New York City skating, drinking, smoking and deflowering virgins.



Lone Star State of Mind

Earl and Baby, two young lovers with a plan to escape their small Texas town. But when Baby's dim-witted cousin Junior gets tangled up in a whole heap of trouble, Earl has just 48 hours to save the day, rescue Junior and keep his promise to get his Baby to Los Angeles in time for sweeps.



SODA: le rêve américain

Everything is going wrong for Adam: he just failed his baccalaureate, his friends Slimane and Ludovic are about to go their separate ways, his girlfriend is leaving him for another guy, and his parents are constantly arguing. Sinking into despair, the young man regains hope when he discovers a contest where the winner gets a one-year visa to the United States—the place he should have gone on vacation if he had passed his exam.



LBJ
LBJ(2017)
6.4

The story of U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson from his young days in West Texas to the White House.



That's What I Am
6.8

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 high school peers.



State of Play
6.799

When a congressional aide is killed, a Washington, D.C. journalist starts investigating the case involving the Representative, his old college friend.



Bravetown
Bravetown(2015)
6.719

After an accidental drug overdose, a talented teenage DJ goes to live with his estranged father in a small Army town, where he gets to the bottom of his own pain and learns empathy for others.



More than a Game
7.26

This documentary follows NBA superstar LeBron James and four of his talented teammates through the trials and tribulations of high school basketball in Ohio and James' journey to fame.



Whip It
Whip It(2009)
6.7

In Bodeen, Texas, an indie-rock loving misfit finds a way of dealing with her small-town misery after she discovers a roller derby league in nearby Austin.



Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood

A man narrates stories of his life as a 10-year-old boy in 1969 Houston, weaving tales of nostalgia with a fantastical account of a journey to the moon.



Boys on the Outside
6.75

Young men with no future have little in the present as well. Natale is released from prison: he takes up with his friends again but none can find work. Claudio, from Palermo, gets out of juvenile detention in Naples and he's met by Vita, a girl who's come from home to run away with him. Where can they go? A young dad, whose potato stall at the market is shut down because he has no permit, takes his two small children to the beach and yells at them. Mario, gay, a prostitute in drag, gets a visit from his mom; he offers tea, then finds the water to his apartment is shut off. Social workers drop by, parole officers file reports. What hope is there? What options besides crime?



The Breakfast Club
7.727

Five high school students from different walks of life endure a Saturday detention under a power-hungry principal. The disparate group includes rebel John, princess Claire, outcast Allison, brainy Brian and Andrew, the jock. Each has a chance to tell his or her story, making the others see them a little differently -- and when the day ends, they question whether school will ever be the same.



Seventeen
Seventeen(2019)
7.315

To find his therapy dog, a 17-year-old escapes from juvie and embarks on a journey of reconnection with his brother and grandmother through Cantabria.



Bigger Stronger Faster*

In America, we define ourselves in the superlative: we are the biggest, strongest, fastest country in the world. Is it any wonder that so many of our heroes are on performance enhancing drugs? Director Christopher Bell explores America's win-at-all-cost culture by examining how his two brothers became members of the steroid-subculture in an effort to realize their American dream.



Brainstorm
7.9

Neto is a middle class teenager living a normal life. After his father finds a marijuana cigarette on his pocket, he is sent to a mental institution, where he gets to know a completely absurd and inhumane reality in which people are devoured by a corrupt and cruel system.



The Electric State
6.504

An orphaned teen hits the road with a mysterious robot to find her long-lost brother, teaming up with a smuggler and his wisecracking sidekick.



City Hall
City Hall(1996)
5.9

The accidental shooting of a boy in New York City leads to an investigation by the Deputy Mayor, and unexpectedly far-reaching consequences.



School Dance
7.3

High schooler Jason has found his dream girl—the gorgeous Anastacia. There’s just one problem: she doesn’t know he exists. If he can win a spot on the school’s hottest dance crew, Jason might have a shot. But before he does, he’ll have to overcome his battle-ax of a mother, survive Anastacia’s gangsta brother, and pass the crew’s initiation—in this fresh, sexy, and outrageously funny comedy.



Life of a King
7.213

The true story of one man's mission to give inner city kids of Washington DC something he never had - a future. After being incarcerated for eighteen years, Eugene Brown established the Big Chair Chess Club to get kids off the streets and working towards lives they never believed they were capable of. This is his inspirational story.



Good Kids
Good Kids(2016)
6.286

Four high school students look to redefine themselves after graduation.



High School
7.262

Documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside Northeast High School as a fly on the wall to observe the teachers and how they interact with the students.



The Boys from Fengkuei

Ah-Ching and his friends have just finished school in their island fishing village, and now spend most of their time drinking and fighting. Three of them decide to go to the port city of Kaohsiung to look for work. They find an apartment through relatives, and Ah-Ching is attracted to the girlfriend of a neighbor. There they face the harsh realities of the big city.



Of Fathers and Sons
7.026

Talal Derki returns to his homeland where he gains the trust of a radical Islamist family, sharing their daily life for over two years. His camera focuses on Osama and his younger brother Ayman, providing an extremely rare insight into what it means to grow up in an Islamic Caliphate.



Dazed and Confused
7.3

The adventures of a group of Texas teens on their last day of school in 1976, centering on student Randall Floyd, who moves easily among stoners, jocks and geeks. Floyd is a star athlete, but he also likes smoking weed, which presents a conundrum when his football coach demands he sign a "no drugs" pledge.



The Trotsky
6.667

Leon Bronstein is not your average Montreal West high school student. For one thing, none of his peers can claim to be the reincarnation of early 20th century Soviet iconoclast and Red Army hero, Leon Trotsky. When his father sends Leon to public school as punishment for starting a hunger strike at Papa's clothing factory, Leon quickly lends new meaning to the term 'student union', determined as he is to live out his pre-ordained destiny to the fullest and change the world.



Man Up!
Man Up!(2019)
6.7

Tom, 16, is a sensitive teenager who is about to enter a new high school after being expelled. He intends to find his place, make friends and seduce the girl he loves. Tom needs the support of his older brother, Leo, a true mentor, who is working to make him a “cool kid”. However, Leo's fraternal benevolence hides a destructive temperament... Will Tom be able to grow up finding his own path?



Where the Day Takes You

King is a young man, but he's already a veteran of life on the streets of Los Angeles. The de facto leader of a group of teenage runaways, King acts as a mentor to troubled kids such as gay hustler Little J and junkie Greg. When Heather, a beautiful girl from Chicago, starts hanging out with King and his crew, it changes the dynamic of the gang. However, it seems as though nothing will alter their dangerous lifestyle.



Lords of Dogtown
7.1

The radical true story behind three teenage surfers from Venice Beach, California, who took skateboarding to the extreme and changed the world of sports forever. Stacy Peralta, Tony Alva and Jay Adams are the Z-Boys, a bunch of nobodies until they create a new style of skateboarding that becomes a worldwide phenomenon. But when their hobby becomes a business, the success shreds their friendship.



Güeros
Güeros(2014)
7.542

Set amidst the 1999 student strikes in Mexico City, this coming-of-age tale finds two brothers venturing through the city in a sentimental search for an aging legendary musician. Shot in black-and-white, Güeros brims with youthful exuberance.



Big Time Adolescence
7.186

A seemingly bright and mostly innocent 16-year-old named Mo attempts to navigate high school under the guidance of his best friend Zeke, an unmotivated-yet-charismatic college dropout. Although Zeke genuinely cares about Mo, things start to go awry as he teaches Mo nontraditional life lessons in drug dealing, partying, and dating. Meanwhile, Mo’s well-meaning dad tries to step in and take back the reins of his son’s upbringing.



1:54
1:54(2016)
6.6

Tim, a shy 16-year-old athlete with a natural gift for running, is dealing with the loss of his mother, as well as his sexuality. After a personal video is posted to social media, Tim's private life is about to explode into the public eye.



Varsity Blues
6.1

In small-town Texas, high school football is a religion, 17-year-old schoolboys carry the hopes of an entire community onto the gridiron every Friday night. When star quarterback Lance Harbor suffers an injury, the Coyotes are forced to regroup under the questionable leadership of John Moxon, a second-string quarterback with a slightly irreverent approach to the game.



The Kings of the World

Rá, Culebro, Sere, Winny and Nano. Five boys who live on the streets of Medellín. Five kings with no kingdom, no law, no family, set out on a journey in search of the promised land. A subversive tale told through a wild and endearing clan, somewhere between reality and delirium. A journey to nowhere, where everything happens.



Rich Hill
Rich Hill(2014)
6.9

If you ever find yourself traveling down Interstate 49 through Missouri, try not to blink—you may miss Rich Hill, population 1,396. Rich Hill is easy to overlook, but its inhabitants are as woven into the fabric of America as those living in any small town in the country. This movie intimately chronicles the turbulent lives of three boys living in said Midwestern town and the fragile family bonds that sustain them.



The Perfect Game
7.1

Based on a true story, a group of boys from Monterrey, Mexico who become the first non-U.S. team to win the Little League World Series.



Knock Down the House
7.201

In 2018, a young bartender in the Bronx, a coal miner’s daughter in West Virginia, a grieving mother in Nevada and a registered nurse in Missouri join a movement of insurgent candidates challenging powerful incumbents in Congress. Without political experience or corporate money, these four women are attempting to do what many consider impossible.



Ghosts of Sugar Land

Shocked when their friend embraces extremism, a group of Muslim Americans in Texas recount their time with him and theories about his fate.



Bad Turn Worse
5.4

Three teenage friends get in way over their head when they cross a down-home crime syndicate. They hope to make a break for it and escape their dead-end existence in a cotton-mill town but get sucked into the seedy underbelly of organized crime when one of them steals from the wrong man.



Have Dreams, Will Travel

West Texas, in the 1960's. A tale of two 12-year-olds who embark on an adventure to find new parents in order to escape their unhappy and emotionally unsatisfying family life.



BRATS
BRATS(2024)
5.912

In the 1980s, Andrew McCarthy was part of a young generation of actors who were set to take over Hollywood after a string of successful teen movies. However, when the New York magazine cover story in 1985 dubs them the Brat Pack, stars in the making suddenly find themselves losing control over the trajectory of their careers. Now, almost forty years later, McCarthy looks to reconnect with peers and co-stars so that together they can reflect on their respective legacies.



The Misfits Club
6.831

Valeria has just moved to Madrid after her parent's separation. What at first seems a bad start for her new life becomes the beginning of an amazing life experience. New friendships, a city full of possibilities, first love...



The History Boys
6.6

The story of an unruly class of bright, funny history students at a Yorkshire grammar school in pursuit of an undergraduate place at Oxford or Cambridge. Bounced between their maverick English master, a young and shrewd teacher hired to up their test scores, a grossly out-numbered history teacher, and a headmaster obsessed with results, the boys attempt to pass.



Palo Alto
Palo Alto(2014)
6.1

A lack of parental guidance encourages teens in an affluent California town to rebel with substance abuse and casual sex.



Seven Days War
6.494

In the town of Saima, when summer is about to begin, a group of six high school students intend to live a secret adventure by spending seven carefree days in a ruined mining facility.



Footloose
Footloose(1984)
6.7

When teenager Ren and his family move from big-city Chicago to a small town in the West, he's in for a real case of culture shock after discovering he's living in a place where music and dancing are illegal.



Mean Creek
6.8

Teenagers living in small-town Oregon take a boat trip for a birthday celebration. When they get an idea to play a mean trick on the town bully, it suddenly goes too far. Soon they're forced to deal with the unexpected consequences of their actions.



Youth in Revolt
6.152

As a fan of Albert Camus and Jean-Luc Godard, teenage Nick Twisp is definitely out of his element when his mother and her boyfriend move the family to a trailer park. When a pretty neighbor named Sheeni plays records by French crooners, it's love at first sight for frustrated and inexperienced Nick. Learning that she is dating someone, Nick launches a hilarious quest to find his way into Sheeni's heart -- and bed.



Tough Enough
6.788

From the youth directed novel of the same name by Greogor Tressnow comes a film by Detlev Buck that is a realistic portrait of life in the section of Berlin called Neukölln. It’s about power and weakness, delinquents and victims, and the difficulties a 15-year-old faces in a poor and criminal environment.

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