Movies Like Back to School (1986)

Back to School is a 1986 comedy film from Alan Metter with a MovieMagicScore of 6.3/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Larry Crowne and I'll Be Home for Christmas.

Comedy

Larry Crowne

2011

When he suddenly finds himself without his long-standing blue-collar job, Larry Crowne enrolls at his local college to start over. There, he becomes part of an eclectic community of students and develops a crush on his teacher.

6.0

MagicScore

I'll Be Home for Christmas

1998

Estranged from his father, college student Jake is lured home to New York for Christmas with the promise of receiving a classic Porsche as a gift. When the bullying football team dumps him in the desert in a Santa suit, Jake is left without identification or money to help him make the journey. Meanwhile, his girlfriend, Allie, does not know where he is, and accepts a cross-country ride from Jake's rival, Eddie.

6.0

MagicScore

Nobel Son

2007

Soon after his insufferably arrogant father wins the Nobel Prize for chemistry, Barkley Michaelson is kidnapped by Thaddeus James, a young genius who claims to be Barkley's illegitimate half-brother. Motivated not so much by money as revenge, Thaddeus tries to convince Barkley to help him carry out a multimillion-dollar extortion plot against their patriarch.

6.0

MagicScore

I Know Where I'm Going!

1945

Plucky Englishwoman Joan Webster travels to the remote islands of the Scottish Hebrides in order to marry a wealthy industrialist. Trapped by inclement weather on the Isle of Mull and unable to continue to her destination, Joan finds herself charmed by the straightforward, no-nonsense islanders around her, and becomes increasingly attracted to naval officer Torquil MacNeil, who holds a secret that may change her life forever.

7.0

MagicScore

Insidious: The Red Door

2023

To put their demons to rest once and for all, Josh Lambert and a college-aged Dalton Lambert must go deeper into The Further than ever before, facing their family's dark past and a host of new and more horrifying terrors that lurk behind the red door.

6.5

MagicScore

Summer in the City

2016

When a small town woman with southern charm is given a big promotion managing a store in the Big Apple, she tries to adopt a big city personality and it leads to disastrous results.

6.0

MagicScore

Throbs at the Desk

1963

Lisa is a student, pretending the sick not to go to school. Her parents are worried about her health and call the doctor to examine her. He realizes her lies but he covers her. Soon, they fall in love and eventually get married. However, after the honeymoon she begins to yearn school and her classmates and she returns to it without saying anything to her husband. Soon, her husband begins to suspect her because of her frequent absences from home and her secret meetings with the professor seem to confirm his suspicions.

6.4

MagicScore

Darling

2007

Eva is beautiful, irresponsible, self-absorbed and emotionally disconnected. Her life is all about the right clothes, the right people and the right places. Her life is turned upside down when she loses her job and alienates her friends by cheating on her boyfriend. She soon finds herself among "common" people where she makes a surprising new acquaintance.

6.0

MagicScore

Billy Madison

1995

Billy Madison is the 27 year-old son of Bryan Madison, a very rich man who has made his living in the hotel industry. Billy stands to inherit his father's empire, but only if he can make it through all 12 grades, 2 weeks per grade, to prove that he has what it takes to run the family business.

6.2

MagicScore

#10

Nil Battey Sannata

2016

Behind the magnificent Taj Mahal lies a cluster of dingy homes where Chanda (35), a domestic help, lives with her 14-year-old daughter Appu. Chanda aspires and dreams that her daughter will study and embrace a better fate. When Appu tells her she wants to quit school and become a maid like her, Chanda takes a strong decision: she will herself go back to school, and even join the class of her daughter.

7.2

MagicScore

#11

Mill Horse

1982

Ali, an honest and honorable man, moves to Istanbul when he is transferred there. He moves in with his sister Hacer and brother-in-law Yakup. Yakup's niece Ayşe also lives in the same house. From the day he starts his job as a civil servant, Ali reacts against the swindlers and bribe-takers around him. As a result, his boss and other civil servants become uncomfortable with the situation. When Yakup runs away with the money he collected to build a mosque, Ali and Ayşe are left alone. Not wanting to leave each other, the two get married. Ali is fired from his job for preventing the civil servants from taking bribes and goes to the village with Ayşe. Yakup, who has fled to Istanbul, calls Ali and Ayşe to join him at his insistence. Ali and his family, who go to Yakup's side out of desperation, will never be able to escape their troubles.

7.0

MagicScore

#12

A Serious Man

2009

It is 1967, and Larry Gopnik, a physics professor at a quiet Midwestern university, has just been informed by his wife Judith that she is leaving him. She has fallen in love with one of his more pompous acquaintances Sy Ableman.

6.7

MagicScore

#13

Il Ministro

2016

Franco Lucci is an entrepreneur on the verge of bankruptcy. The salvation of his company hangs on a large public contract that he could obtain thanks to the intervention of a minister who has become a friend and whom he has invited to dinner. Together with Michele, his partner and brother-in-law, Franco has organized the perfect evening: in addition to paying him a large bribe, the two arrange for him to find a girl willing to sleep with him in exchange for a recommendation. All under the eyes of Rita, Franco's wife, who tries to indulge her husband in his last desperate attempt to obtain the million-dollar contract. Because of the girl, the evening takes an unexpected turn.

5.6

MagicScore

#14

Traffic

2011

An emotional thriller based on a road trip from Kochi to Palakkad. Inspired from the real events that happened in Chennai.

6.9

MagicScore

#15

The Bribe

1949

United States Federal agent Rigby travels to the Central American island Carlotta to investigate a stolen aircraft engines smuggling racket.

6.2

MagicScore

#16

Capone

1975

Young Al Capone catches the eye of Johnny Torrio, a criminal visiting New York from Chicago. Torrio invites Capone to move to Illinois to help run his Prohibition-era alcohol sales operation. Capone rises through the ranks of Torrio's gang and eventually takes over. On top, he works to consolidate his power by eliminating his enemies, fixing elections to his advantage and getting rich. In his spare time, Capone courts the principled Iris Crawford.

5.8

MagicScore

#17

Sabotage

2014

John 'Breacher' Wharton leads an elite DEA task force that takes on the world's deadliest drug cartels. When the team successfully executes a high-stakes raid on a cartel safe house, they think their work is done – until, one-by-one, the team members mysteriously start to be eliminated. As the body count rises, everyone is a suspect.

5.6

MagicScore

#18

My Fair Lady

1964

A snobbish phonetics professor agrees to a wager that he can take a flower girl and make her presentable in high society.

7.5

MagicScore

#19

The Swan

1956

Princess Beatrice's days of enjoying the regal life are numbered unless her only daughter, Princess Alexandra, makes a good impression on a distant cousin when he pays a surprise visit to their palace. Prince Albert has searched all over Europe for a bride and he's bored by the whole courtship routine. He is more interested in the estate's dairy than Alexandra's rose garden. And then he starts playing football with the tutor and Alexandra's brothers. Invite the tutor to the ball that night and watch how gracefully Alexandra dances with him.

6.8

MagicScore

#20

The Family Game

1983

A sendup of the stereotypical Japanese family: dad is a salaryman jerk, unable to relate to anyone; mom is a hopeless housewife; the older son is a moderate academic success; but the younger son is a rebellious goof-off for whom a tutor must be hired. The tutor, played by the prototypical bad boy actor Matsuda Yusaku, proceeds to blow the entire family apart.

6.8

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Back to School?

The top films similar to Back to School by MovieMagicScore are Larry Crowne (6.0), I'll Be Home for Christmas (6.0), Nobel Son (6.0). Each shares comedy themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Back to School worth watching?

Back to School holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.3/10 from 470 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Back to School?

Back to School (1986) is a comedy film directed by Alan Metter, starring Rodney Dangerfield, Sally Kellerman, Burt Young.

Where can I find more recommendations like Back to School?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more comedy recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Larry Crowne Movies like I'll Be Home for Christmas Movies like Nobel Son Movies like I Know Where I'm Going!Movies like Insidious: The Red Door Movies like Summer in the City

About movies like Back to School

This ranked list pairs Back to School (1986), a comedy film from Alan Metter, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Rodney Dangerfield take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

← Back to Back to School