NoBadPicks

Movies Like Breaking Away

If you loved Breaking Away's Drama and Comedy storytelling, these films deliver a similar experience — carefully selected for tone, themes, and emotional depth. Each pick includes where to watch it right now.

Top Picks

Airborne
6.0

Airborne

1993

Good-natured teen surfer Mitchell Goosen finds himself staying with his aunt and uncle in Cincinnati, Ohio when his parents head to Australia for work. There he meets his cousin, Wiley, and together they try to navigate the perils of high school—avoid the bullies, get the girl, and win a little respect.

Rebel Without a Cause
7.5

Rebel Without a Cause

1955

After moving to a new town, troublemaking teen Jim Stark is supposed to have a clean slate, although being the new kid in town brings its own problems. While searching for some stability, Stark forms a bond with a disturbed classmate, Plato, and falls for local girl Judy. However, Judy is the girlfriend of neighborhood tough, Buzz. When Buzz violently confronts Jim and challenges him to a drag race, the new kid's real troubles begin.

Skater Girl
7.3

Skater Girl

2021

Prerna, a teenager growing up in rural India, comes of age when she’s introduced to the sport of skateboarding. As a result, she has to fight the odds to follow her dreams and compete in the national championship.

Ana
6.3

Ana

2020

Ana meets Rafa in a chance encounter and they embark on a road trip to try and save him from bankruptcy, or worse.

Thunderstruck
6.1

Thunderstruck

2012

After NBA star Kevin Durant switches talent with 16 year old Brian, the teenager becomes the star of his high school team, but Durant starts struggling and eventually learns an important lesson.

Rad
6.5

Rad

1986

A BMX racer, who lives in a small town with his mother and sister, is faced with a tough decision, qualify for Helltrack or take his SATs in order to attend college.

The Wild One
6.6

The Wild One

1953

The Black Rebels Motorcycle Club ride into the small California town of Wrightsville, eager to raise hell. Brooding gang leader Johnny Strabler takes a liking to Kathie, the daughter of the local lawman, as another club rolls into town.

Weird Science
6.5

Weird Science

1985

Two unpopular teenagers, Gary and Wyatt, fail at all attempts to be accepted by their peers. Their desperation to be liked leads them to "create" a woman via their computer. Their living and breathing creation is a gorgeous woman, Lisa, whose purpose is to boost their confidence level by putting them into situations which require Gary and Wyatt to act like men.

More Movies Like Breaking Away

My Bodyguard
6.3

My Bodyguard

1980

Clifford Peache, an easygoing teenager, is finding less than easy to fit in at his new high school, where a tough-talking bully terrorizes his classmates and extorts their lunch money. Refusing to pay up, Clifford enlist the aid of an overgrown misfit whose mere presence intimidates students and teachers alike. But their "business relationship" soon turns personal as Clifford and the troubled loner forge a winning alliance against their intimidators - and a very special friendship with each other.

That's What I Am
6.8

That's What I Am

2011

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.

Playing with Fire
6.6

Playing with Fire

2019

A crew of rugged firefighters meet their match when attempting to rescue three rambunctious kids.

Coupe de Ville
6.4

Coupe de Ville

1990

Meet the Libner brothers: Marvin, the oldest, is a sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. Buddy, the middle child, is a timid dreamer. Bobby, the youngest, is a handsome rebel in reform school. As kids, they fought a lot and as adults, they barely speak. In the summer of 1963, their tough and eccentric father, Fred, gives them a task: to bring a 1954 Cadillac, bought for their mother, Betty, from Detroit to Miami. As the trip goes on, the three brothers fight and begin to reconnect with each other, while trying to keep the Caddy in mint condition.

Cooley High
6.9

Cooley High

1975

In the mid-1960s, a group of high school friends who live on the Near North Side of Chicago enjoy life to the fullest...parties, hanging out, meeting new friends. Then life changes for two of the guys when they are falsely arrested in connection with stealing a Cadillac. We follow their lives through to the dramatic end of high school.

Fast Girls
6.1

Fast Girls

2012

A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.

Roll Bounce
6.7

Roll Bounce

2005

In the summer of 1978, a teenager and his group of friends face new challenges when their neighborhood roller-skating rink closes, forcing them to visit a different rink.

The Longest Ride
7.6

The Longest Ride

2015

The lives of a young couple intertwine with a much older man as he reflects back on a lost love while he's trapped in an automobile crash.

Driveways
6.9

Driveways

2020

Eight-year-old Cody is spending the summer in an unfamiliar setting with his mom Kathy. Though he can't relate to the neighbourhood kids, things take an unexpected turn when he develops an unusual friendship with grouchy old Del from next door.

Wonderstruck
6.1

Wonderstruck

2017

The story of a young boy in the Midwest is told simultaneously with a tale about a young girl in New York from fifty years ago as they both seek the same mysterious connection.

Biker Boyz
6.3

Biker Boyz

2003

A mythic motorcycle tale of father and son, this is the story of Manuel Galloway, also known as "the King of Cali", the president of a motorcycle club whose members are all African-American men, mostly white-collar workers who exchange their suits and ties at night and on weekends for leather outfits and motorcycle helmets.

The Lizzie McGuire Movie
6.3

The Lizzie McGuire Movie

2003

Lizzie McGuire has graduated from middle school and takes a trip to Rome, Italy with her class. And what was supposed to be only a normal trip, becomes a teenager's dream come true.

Why These Movies Are Similar

These recommendations share core qualities with Breaking Away (1979): Drama and Comedy themes, similar narrative structure, and comparable emotional depth. NoBadPicks uses a combination of TMDB collaborative filtering, genre matching, and AI analysis to surface films most likely to resonate with fans of Breaking Away.

See full details for Breaking Away (1979)

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