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Movies like Light of Day

Key Features:
Rock band, Sibling relationship, Family drama, Personal struggles, Musical performance, Working class, Ambition, Tragedy, Redemption, Brother-sister relationship
Tone:
serious, dramatic
Target Audience:
Music fans, Drama enthusiasts, Family drama viewers
Emotional Arc:
Hope → Conflict → Acceptance

Light of Day

1987-02-06
Light of Day Poster - Find Similar Movies

Cleveland siblings rise with a rock band while coping with personal problems.

Genres
Music, Drama
Cast
Michael J. Fox, Gena Rowlands, Joan Jett, Michael McKean, Thomas G. Waites, Cherry Jones, Michael Dolan, Paul J. Harkins, Billy L. Sullivan, Jason Miller
Crew
Paul Schrader, Paul Schrader
Rating
5.491(57 votes)
Light of DayLight of Day
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Sparkle
Sparkle(2012)
6.233

Musical prodigy, Sparkle struggles to become a star while overcoming issues that are tearing her family apart. From an affluent Detroit area and daughter to a single mother, she tries to balance a new romance with music manager Stix while dealing with the unexpected challenges her new life will bring as she and her two sisters strive to become a dynamic singing group during the Motown-era.



Light of My Life
6.4

Parent and child journey through the outskirts of society a decade after a pandemic has wiped out half the world's population. As a father struggles to protect his child, their bond—and the character of humanity—is tested.



The Cold Light of Day
5.371

After his family is kidnapped during their sailing trip in Spain, a young Wall Street trader is confronted by the people responsible: intelligence agents looking to recover a mysterious briefcase.



Back in the Day
3

A young boxer is taken under the wing of a mob boss after his mother dies and his father is run out of town for being an abusive alcoholic.



Blinded by the Light
6.918

In 1987, during the austere days of Thatcher’s Britain, a teenager learns to live life, understand his family, and find his own voice through the music of Bruce Springsteen.



Raise Your Voice
6.5

A coming-of-age story centered around a small-town singer brokenhearted by the death of her brother in a car crash, who had secretly submitted her for a summer session at a performing arts academy in Los Angeles. In the academy, she experiences a whole new way of life in the big city, far from the small town lifestyle she's used to.



Little Sister
6.043

After returning to her childhood home, young nun Colleen finds her old room exactly how she left it: painted black and covered in goth and metal posters. Her parents are happy enough to see her, but her brother is living as a recluse in the guesthouse since returning home from the Iraq war.



Lights Out
6.365

Rebecca must unlock the terror behind her little brother's experiences that once tested her sanity, bringing her face to face with a supernatural spirit attached to their mother.



Little Women
7.3

With their father away as a chaplain in the Civil War, Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy grow up with their mother in somewhat reduced circumstances. They are a close family who inevitably have their squabbles and tragedies. But the bond holds even when, later, male friends start to become a part of the household.



Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen

After moving to New Jersey, Lola bags a coveted role in a school play, which earns her the wrath of Carla, the most popular girl in school, who will do anything to ruin Lola's life.



White Noise 2: The Light

A man's family brought back from the verge of death, he then discovers he can identify people who are about to die.



The Rocker
6.046

In the 1980s, a drummer is abandoned by his band just before they become rock superstars. Twenty years later, the drummer sees his second chance at stardom arise when he is asked to perform with his teenage nephew's high school rock band.



Belgica
Belgica(2016)
5.992

The story of two brothers who, even though they have absolutely nothing in common, open a bar together that quickly becomes a regular hangout for nighthawks. Despite the success, they must soon face up to the difficulties inherent in running a family business. Their brotherhood turns into rivalry, through no fault of their own.



Light Sleeper
6.7

John LeTour is a recovering drug user who suffers insomnia and still deals to a high-end New York clientele, even though he’s trying to move on from the business. John’s professional midlife crisis becomes something more acute — and dangerous — when he re-encounters an old flame while a string of seemingly drug-related murders rocks the city.



Rock of Ages
6.196

A small town girl and a city boy meet on the Sunset Strip, while pursuing their Hollywood dreams.



Let There Be Light
5.6

An atheist goes through a near-death experience in an auto accident before converting to Christianity.



I Saw the Light
6.245

Singer and songwriter Hank Williams rises to fame in the 1940s, but alcohol abuse and infidelity take a toll on his career and marriage to fellow musician Audrey Mae Williams.



The Piano Lesson

A brother and sister's battle over a prized heirloom piano unleashes haunting truths about how the past is perceived — and who defines a family legacy.



Black Nativity
5

A street-wise teen from Baltimore who has been raised by a single mother travels to New York City to spend the Christmas holiday with his estranged relatives, where he embarks on a surprising and inspirational journey.



Hellion
Hellion(2014)
5.9

When motocross and heavy metal obsessed, 13-year-old Jacob's delinquent behavior forces CPS to place his little brother Wes with his aunt, Jacob and his emotionally absent father must finally take responsibility for their actions and each other in order to bring Wes home.



Mass
Mass(2021)
7.4

Two couples meet for a painful and raw conversation in the aftermath of a violent tragedy.



Inherit the Viper
5.2

Since the death of their father, the Riley siblings have kept their heads above water by illegally dealing in painkillers. Josie is managing the business with an iron fist, when her brother, War veteran Kip, is concerned that the risky business is increasingly turning them into outsiders in their small community. While Kip wants to keep his younger brother out of their illegal endeavors, his younger brother is already making plans of his own.



Beyond the Lights
6.8

Noni Jean is a hot new rising star. But not all is what it seems, and the pressure causes Noni to nearly fall apart - until she meets Kaz Nicol, a promising young cop and aspiring politician who's been assigned to her detail. Can Kaz's love give Noni the courage to find her own voice and break free to become the artist she was meant to be?



Rocks
Rocks(2019)
6.608

15-year-old Rocks fears that she and her little brother Emmanuel will be taken into care and forced apart if anyone finds out that their mother has left them. Against all odds, and with the help of her loyal friends, she evades the authorities and navigates the most defining days of her young life.



The Fabulous Baker Boys

The lives of two struggling musicians, who happen to be brothers, inevitably change when they team up with a beautiful, up-and-coming singer.



Grace Unplugged
5.9

A talented young singer and aspiring songwriter’s Christian faith and family ties are tested when she defies her worship-pastor father and pursues pop-music stardom in GRACE UNPLUGGED, a moving and inspiring new film that explores the true meaning of success.



Ray Donovan: The 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 of them struggles to overcome their violent upbringing, but destiny dies hard, and only their fierce love for each other keeps them in the fight.



Waves
Waves(2024)
7.451

At the end of the 1960s, when the air is filled with rock-and-roll and student rebellions are changing the world, the older of two brothers joins a prestigious newsroom of the public radio broadcaster. Not long after, he finds himself in the middle of a dangerous conflict between journalists and the secret service.



Let It Shine
6.95

A young teenage rapper must use his musical talent to help his friend out and win the girl of his dreams by going through several events of betrayal, trust and agreement while his religious parents have strictly dislike his interests.



Gray Matters
5.8

Sam and Gray are such a well-matched pair that it is difficult to believe they are brother and sister rather than husband and wife. They both share a love of 1940s movies and dancing, and when they meet Charlie, they have something else in common: They both fall in love with her. Sam must deal with unexpected feelings of jealousy, while Gray struggles to come to terms with her sexual orientation.



Euphoria
Euphoria(2018)
6.246

The story of two sisters on a journey, where they try to get close to each other and approach the tough questions in life. Euphoria is a contemporary drama about responsibility and reconciliation, in a world where these concepts are gradually being lost.



Life and a Day
7.87

Somaieh, the youngest daughter of an indigent family, is getting married and fear is overwhelming each and every member of the family regarding how to overcome their difficulties after she's gone.



Hillbilly Elegy
6.7

An urgent phone call pulls a Yale Law student back to his Ohio hometown, where he reflects on three generations of family history and his own future.



Sinners
Sinners(2025)
7.506

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.



Bandslam
Bandslam(2009)
5.8

A new kid in town assembles a fledgling rock band — together, they achieve their dreams and compete against the best in the biggest event of the year, a battle of the bands.



Birds of America
5.4

A regular guy struggles with a repressive home and professional life, as well as making amends for the trouble his free-spirited brother and sister cause about town.



Little Women
7.9

Four sisters come of age in America in the aftermath of the Civil War.



The Greatest
6.218

Teenagers Rose and Bennett were in love, and then a car crash claimed Bennett's life. He left behind a grieving mother, father and younger brother, and Rose was left all alone. She has no family to turn to for support, so when she finds out she's pregnant, she winds up at the Brewer's door. She needs their help, and although they can't quite admit it, they each need her so they can begin to heal.



Sun, Heart, Love
5.858

Eli has four children, an unemployed husband and a job with an almost impossible commute. Vale is single and makes ends meet by working in clubs as a dancer. Tied by a profound emotional bond of true sisterhood, the two women's lives are two sides of the same coin, but their mutual solidarity isn’t always enough to lighten the load of their difficult circumstances.



Purple Rain
6.701

A victim of his own anger, the Kid is a Minneapolis musician on the rise with his band, the Revolution, escaping a tumultuous home life through music. While trying to avoid making the same mistakes as his truculent father, the Kid navigates the club scene and a rocky relationship with a captivating singer, Apollonia. But another musician, Morris, looks to steal the Kid's spotlight -- and his girl.



Waves
Waves(2019)
7.358

A controlling father’s attempts to ensure that his two children succeed in high school backfire after his son experiences a career-ending sports injury. Their familial bonds are eventually placed under severe strain by an unexpected tragedy.



Ricki and the Flash
5.784

Meryl Streep stars as Ricki Rendazzo, a guitar heroine who made a world of mistakes as she followed her dreams of rock-and-roll stardom. Returning home, Ricki gets a shot at redemption and a chance to make things right as she faces the music with her family.



Rudderless
7.17

A grieving father in a downward spiral stumbles across a box of his recently deceased son's demo tapes and lyrics. Shocked by the discovery of this unknown talent, he forms a band in the hope of finding some catharsis.



A Question of Faith
7.359

When Tragedy Strikes three Families, their Destiny forces them on a coverging path and mercy as the challenges of their fate could also resurrect their beliefs



The Family Stone
6.297

An uptight, conservative businesswoman accompanies her boyfriend to his eccentric and outgoing family's annual Christmas celebration and finds that she's a fish out of water in their free-spirited way of life.



Joseph: King of Dreams

In this animated retelling of the story from the Bible's Book of Genesis, Joseph's gift of dream interpretation and his brilliantly colored coat inspires jealousy in his brothers.



Apostasy
Apostasy(2017)
6.8

A faithful Jehovah's Witness is forced to shun her own sister because of a religious transgression. As the separation draws out, she starts to question the meaning of God's love.



Danny Collins
6.8

An ageing hard-living 1970s rock star decides to change his life when he discovers a 40-year-old undelivered letter written to him by John Lennon.



My Days of Mercy
7.3

The daughter of a man on death row falls in love with a woman on the opposing side of her family's political cause.



Almost Famous
7.499

In 1973, 15-year-old William Miller's unabashed love of music and aspiration to become a rock journalist lands him an assignment from Rolling Stone magazine to interview and tour with the up-and-coming band, Stillwater.



Angels Sing
5.611

As a child, Michael Walker wished every day could be Christmas. That is, until a tragic accident crushed his holiday spirit. Thirty years later, Michael still can't muster any joy for the holidays, despite encouragement from his playful wife and well-intentioned parents. But when his young son faces a tragedy, Michael needs to make amends with his past. A mysterious man named Nick gives Michael a gift and instills in him the courage to find the joy that he lost.



The Tribes of Palos Verdes

When the situation at her idyllic Palos Verdes home turns volatile, young Medina attempts to surf her way to happiness.



Boulevard Nights
7.125

Raymond Avila is an ex-gang member trying to build a future. His kid brother Chuco is a sullen low-rider still caught up in the life. Despite their differences, their family bond is strong. But that bond is violently tested when rivals challenge Chuco's gang and ignite a neighborhood war.



Jem and the Holograms

As a small-town girl catapults from underground video sensation to global superstar, she and her three sisters begin a one-in-a-million journey of discovering that some talents are too special to keep hidden. Four aspiring musicians will take the world by storm when they see that the key to creating your own destiny lies in finding your own voice.



The Savages
6.875

A sister and brother face the realities of familial responsibility as they begin to care for their ailing father.



The Reunion
5.022

The Cleary brothers, Sam, Leo and Douglas took dysfunctional families to a new level: Sam and Leo have grown up hating each other and neither likes their juvenile delinquent kid brother, Douglas, to whom they've only recently been introduced. The sons share the same father, a womanizing drunk, but all have different mothers. Their father died a rich man and when they're brought together by their sister Nina to learn which of them will inherit the old man's fortune, they are handed an unpleasant surprise.



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.



Out of the Blue
6.9

A young girl whose father is an ex-convict and whose mother is a junkie finds it difficult to conform and tries to find comfort in a quirky combination of Elvis and the punk scene.



Her Smell
Her Smell(2019)
5.8

A self-destructive punk rocker struggles with sobriety while trying to recapture the creative inspiration that led her band to success.



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.



Song One
Song One(2014)
5.72

Estranged from her family, Franny returns home when an accident leaves her brother comatose. Retracing his life as an aspiring musician, she tracks down his favorite musician, James Forester. Against the backdrop of Brooklyn’s music scene, Franny and James develop an unexpected relationship and face the realities of their lives.



Our Shining Days
7.45

A youth inspirational film, about how a group of high school students try to revive Chinese orchestra ensemble. They face many challenges along the way to compete nationally, including a rivalry with the more popular Western orchestra club.



Bright Lights, Big City

A disillusioned young writer living in New York City turns to drugs and drinking to block out the memories of his dead mother and estranged wife.



CODA
CODA(2021)
7.9

As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family's fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her love of music and her fear of abandoning her parents.



The Fighter
7.4

Boxer "Irish" Micky Ward's unlikely road to the world light welterweight title. His Rocky-like rise was shepherded by half-brother Dicky, a boxer-turned-trainer who rebounded in life after nearly being KO'd by drugs and crime.



Ramona and Beezus
6.5

Ramona is a little girl with a very big imagination and a nose for mischief. Her playful antics keep everyone in her loving family on their toes, including her older sister Beezus, who's just trying to survive her first year of high school. Through all the ups and downs of childhood, Ramona and Beezus learn that anything's possible when you believe in yourself and rely on each other.



El Chicano
6.6

A pair of twin brothers from East L.A. choose to live their lives differently and end up on opposite sides of the law.



The Sun Is Also a Star

Two young New Yorkers begin to fall in love over the course of a single day, as a series of potentially life-altering meetings loom over their heads - hers concerning her family’s deportation to Jamaica, and his concerning an education at Dartmouth.



All Day and a Night
6.218

While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.



The Day
The Day(2011)
5.125

Open war against humanity rages. For five survivors – lost and on the run – the pursuit is relentless, the bullets are dwindling and the battle is everywhere. This is a 24-hour look into their lives.



Little Boxes
6.1

It's the summer before 6th grade, and Clark is the new-in-town biracial kid in a sea of white. Discovering that to be cool he needs to act 'more black,' he fumbles to meet expectations, while his urban intellectual parents Mack and Gina also strive to adjust to small-town living. Equipped for the many inherent challenges of New York, the tight-knit family are ill prepared for the drastically different set of obstacles that their new community presents, and soon find themselves struggling to understand themselves and each other in this new suburban context.



Family Blood
4.621

Ellie, a recovering drug addict, has just moved to a new city with her two teenage children. She has struggled to stay sober in the past and is determined to make it work this time, finding a stable job and regularly attending her meetings. Unfortunately, new friends, a new job, and the chance of a new life, can’t keep Ellie from slipping once again. Her life changes when she meets Christopher – a different kind of addict – which forces her daughter and son to accept a new version of Ellie.



Sweetie
Sweetie(1989)
6.005

The buttoned-down, superstitious Kay is attempting to lead a normal existence with her new boyfriend Louis. That’s until Sweetie, her rampaging, devil-may-care sister, returns home after an absence, exposing the rotten roots of their family and placing a strain on Kay and Louis’ relationship.



One More Time
5.093

Beautiful aspiring rock star Jude is stuck in a rut - relegated to recording commercial jingles and lost in a series of one night stands. When she is evicted from her Brooklyn apartment, she is forced to move into the Hamptons home of her wealthy - and selfish - father Paul Lombard, an over-the-hill, Sinatra-esque crooner angling for a musical comeback.



Ruth & Boaz
7.539

A talented singer leaves the Atlanta music scene and starts over in small-town Tennessee, where she finds love and new purpose but can't escape the past.



Gracie's Choice
7.1

For as long as she can remember, 16 year-old Gracie has been raising her four siblings, each of whom has a different, absent father and their mother is on the fast track to self-destruction. When these children's lives are about to be pulled apart, Gracie will have to do the impossible and make the ultimate sacrifices to keep her family together.



Crimes of the Heart

Three sisters try to come to grips with the meaning of their mother's suicide.



A Sun
A Sun(2019)
7.7

A family of four fractures under the weight of unmet expectations, unexpected tragedy, and uncompromising pride.



Flaming Star
6.5

Sam Burton's second wife is a Kiowa, and their son is therefore born mixed-race. When a struggle starts between the whites and the native Kiowas, the Burton family is split between loyalties.



Joshua
Joshua(2007)
5.641

The arrival of a newborn girl causes the gradual disintegration of the Cairn family; particularly for 9-year-old Joshua, an eccentric boy whose proper upbringing and refined tastes both take a sinister turn.



Bloodbrotherz
5.819

Otis and Eddie have been best friends since childhood and live in Berlin on a day-to-day basis. No prospects, only the big dream of music. When one day a record label becomes aware of them, nothing stands in the way of living out this dream. But the record label likes to interfere and the friendship is put to the test.



Killing Bono
6.229

The true story of Neil and Ivan McCormick, two Irish brothers who attempt to become rock stars but can only look on as their high school friends U2 become the biggest band in the world.



My Brother, My Sister

When their father's will forces them to live together, siblings Nik and Tesla — and Tesla's kids — try to overcome their differences to become a family.



Long Day's Journey Into Night

An Irish miser, his morphine addicted wife, their debauched older son, and a gravely ill younger son. A quiet Connecticut vacation home on one foggy day in August 1912 becomes the backdrop for domestic decline.



School of Rock
7.081

Fired from his band and hard up for cash, guitarist and vocalist Dewey Finn finagles his way into a job as a fifth-grade substitute teacher at a private school, where he secretly begins teaching his students the finer points of rock 'n' roll. The school's hard-nosed principal is rightly suspicious of Finn's activities. But Finn's roommate remains in the dark about what he's doing.



The Identical
5.1

During the Great Depression, identical twins are separated at birth. One, Drexel Hemsley becomes a wildly successful '50s rock star, while the other, Ryan Wade, struggles to balance his passion for music and pleasing his parents, who want him to become a preacher. Finally, Ryan rebels against his parents' wishes and launches his own music career -- performing the hits of Drexel Hemsley. Ryan later learns the truth about Drexel when their fates tragically collide.



Conviction
7.068

When Betty Anne Waters' older brother Kenny is arrested for murder and sentenced to life in 1983, Betty Anne, a Massachusetts wife and mother of two, dedicates her life to overturning the murder conviction. Convinced that her brother is innocent, Betty Anne puts herself through high school, college and, finally, law school in an 18 year quest to free Kenny. With the help of best friend Abra Rice, Betty Anne pores through suspicious evidence mounted by small town cop Nancy Taylor, meticulously retracing the steps that led to Kenny's arrest. Belief in her brother - and her quest for the truth - pushes Betty Anne and her team to uncover the facts and utilize DNA evidence with the hope of exonerating Kenny.



Spirited
Spirited(2022)
6.9

Each Christmas Eve, the Ghost of Christmas Present selects one dark soul to be reformed by a visit from three spirits. But this season, he picked the wrong Scrooge. Clint Briggs turns the tables on his ghostly host until Present finds himself reexamining his own past, present and future.



Pride and Glory
6.3

A saga centered on a multi-generational family of New York City Police officers. The family's moral codes are tested when Ray Tierney, investigates a case that reveals an incendiary police corruption scandal involving his own brother-in-law. For Ray, the truth is revelatory, a Pandora's Box that threatens to upend not only the Tierney legacy but the entire NYPD.



Eddie and the Cruisers

A television newswoman picks up the story of a 1960s rock band whose long-lost leader — Eddie Wilson — may still be alive, while searching for the missing tapes of the band's never-released album.



Wide Awake
5.506

The tale of a ten-year-old boy in a Catholic school who, following the death of his beloved grandfather, embarks on a quest to discover the meaning of life.



Jason's Lyric
6.745

The story of a young man who must confront his own fears about love as well as his relationships with family and friends.



Fireflies in the Garden

The semi-autobiographical story centers on the complexities of love and commitment in a family torn apart when faced with an unexpected tragedy.



A California Christmas: City Lights

Follows Callie and Joseph one year after they fell in love, now running a dairy farm and winery, but their romance is threatened when business and family obligations call Joseph back to the city.



The Song of Names
6.7

A man searches for his childhood best friend, a Polish violin prodigy orphaned in the Holocaust, who vanished decades before on the night of his first public performance.



Kings
Kings(2017)
5.653

A foster family in South Central a few weeks before the city erupts in violence following the verdict of the Rodney King trial in 1992.



Saving Zoë
6.2

A year after the murder of her sister Zoë, Echo is determined to uncover the truth. With Zoë's diary as her guide, Echo finds herself pulled into the darkness of her sister's secret life and she uncovers how one small decision can lead to tragic consequences.



Dreamgirls
6.714

A trio of female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960s, facing their own personal struggles along the way.



Fighting with My Family

Born into a tight-knit wrestling family, Paige and her brother Zak are ecstatic when they get the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to try out for the WWE. But when only Paige earns a spot in the competitive training program, she must leave her loved ones behind and face this new cutthroat world alone. Paige's journey pushes her to dig deep and ultimately prove to the world that what makes her different is the very thing that can make her a star.

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