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Big poster

Movies that feel likeBig (1988)

When a young boy makes a wish at a carnival machine to be big, he wakes up the following morning to find that it has been granted and his body has grown older overnight, but he is still the same 13-year-old boy inside. Now he must learn how to cope with the unfamiliar world of grown-ups, including getting a job and having his first romantic encounter with a woman.

If you loved Big, the closest films we have are Rushmore (1998), Breaking Away (1979) and Slums of Beverly Hills (1998). All three share Big's contemplative and witty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Squid and the Whale (2005).

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If Big hit the spot, these will too

Rushmore poster
Rushmore
1998 Β· dir. Wes Anderson
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7.6comedy Β· drama

Both are built on the same subject: growing up

The difference: Takes it somewhere less dreamlike than Big does

When a beautiful first-grade teacher arrives at a prep school, she soon attracts the attention of an ambitious teenager named Max, who quickly falls in love with her. Max turns to the father of two of his schoolmates for advice on how to woo the teacher. However, the situation soon gets complicated when Max's new friend becomes involved with her, setting the two pals against one another in a war for her attention.

Breaking Away poster
Breaking Away
1979 Β· dir. Peter Yates
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.7drama Β· comedy

One thread runs through both: growing up

Dave, nineteen, has just graduated high school, with his three friends: the comical Cyril, the warm hearted but short-tempered Moocher, and the athletic, spiteful but good-hearted Mike. Now, Dave enjoys racing bikes and hopes to race the Italians one day, and even takes up the Italian culture, much to his friends' and parents' annoyance.

Slums of Beverly Hills poster
Slums of Beverly Hills
1998 Β· dir. Tamara Jenkins
πŸ… 82%β˜… 6.7comedy Β· drama

The same mix in both: stillness, then wit

In 1976, a teenage girl struggles to cope while living with her neurotic lower-middle-class family of nomads on the outskirts of Beverly Hills.

Amarcord poster
Amarcord
1973 Β· dir. Federico Fellini
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.8comedy Β· dramaMax

Both land dream logic and play at once

In an Italian seaside town, young Titta gets into trouble with his friends and watches various local eccentrics as they engage in often absurd behavior. Frequently clashing with his stern father and defended by his doting mother, Titta witnesses the actions of a wide range of characters, from his extended family to Fascist loyalists to sensual women, with certain moments shifting into fantastical scenarios.

The Squid and the Whale poster
The Squid and the Whale
2005 Β· dir. Noah Baumbach
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.3comedy Β· dramaNetflix

Wistful drama in both cases

Based on the true childhood experiences of Noah Baumbach and his brother, The Squid and the Whale tells the touching story of two young boys dealing with their parents' divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s.

The Breakfast Club poster
The Breakfast Club
1985 Β· dir. John Hughes
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7.8comedy Β· dramaHulu

Comedy built on stillness, twice over

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.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off poster
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
1986 Β· dir. John Hughes
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.8comedyApple TV+Paramount+

Fantasy with a pulse of wit, in both cases

After high school slacker Ferris Bueller successfully fakes an illness in order to skip school for the day, he goes on a series of adventures throughout Chicago with his girlfriend Sloane and best friend Cameron, all the while trying to outwit his wily school principal and fed-up sister.

3 Idiots poster
3 Idiots
2009 Β· dir. Rajkumar Hirani
πŸ… 94%β˜… 8.4drama Β· comedy

Playful drama, and it commits to that

The difference: 21 years apart, and the 2000s show

Rascal. Joker. Dreamer. Genius... You've never met a college student quite like "Rancho." From the moment he arrives at India's most prestigious university, Rancho's outlandish schemes turn the campus upside downβ€”along with the lives of his two newfound best friends. Together, they make life miserable for "Virus," the school’s uptight and heartless dean. But when Rancho catches the eye of the dean's daughter, Virus sets his sights on flunking out the "3 idiots" once and for all.

Eighth Grade poster
Eighth Grade
2018 Β· dir. Bo Burnham
πŸ… 99%β˜… 7.3comedy Β· dramaNetflix

Both lean on wistfulness more than on comedy

Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school β€” the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year β€” before she begins high school.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl poster
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
2015 Β· dir. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
πŸ… 81%β˜… 7.7drama Β· comedyRent or buy

Contemplative fantasy in both cases

Greg is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But both his anonymity and friendship threaten to unravel when his mother forces him to befriend a classmate with leukemia.

13 Going on 30 poster
13 Going on 30
2004 Β· dir. Gary Winick
πŸ… 65%β˜… 6.3comedy Β· fantasy Β· romanceNetflix

The same preoccupation in both: nostalgic

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

After total humiliation at her thirteenth birthday party, Jenna Rink wants to just hide until she's thirty. Thanks to some magic wishing dust, Jenna's prayer has been answered. With a knockout body, a fabulous wardrobe, an athlete boyfriend, a dream job, and superstar friends, this can't be a better life. But soon Jenna realizes that adult life isn’t as easy as she hoped for.

If I Were You poster
If I Were You
2006 Β· dir. Daniel Filho
πŸ… 13%β˜… 6.1comedy Β· fantasy

Both keep coming back to the same thing: body-swap

The publicist Claudio and the housewife and choral teacher Helena have been married for many years, but they do not understand and respect the feelings and view point of the partner. Claudio sees Helena as a shopper and "little teacher of a choral" and Helena sees Claudio as an insensitive and rough man. On the night before the fiftieth anniversary of Claudio, they changed places with each other.

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The best-reviewed films that share Big’s defining feeling.