Movies Like The Wanderers (1979)

The Wanderers is a 1979 drama film from Philip Kaufman with a MovieMagicScore of 7.0/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with American Graffiti and Once Upon a Time in America.

Drama

American Graffiti

1973

A couple of high school graduates spend one final night cruising the strip with their buddies before they go off to college.

7.0

MagicScore

Once Upon a Time in America

1984

A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.

8.4

MagicScore

8 Mile

2002

For Jimmy Smith, Jr., life is a daily fight just to keep hope alive. Feeding his dreams in Detroit's vibrant music scene, Jimmy wages an extraordinary personal struggle to find his own voice - and earn a place in a world where rhymes rule, legends are born and every moment… is another chance.

7.1

MagicScore

Four Friends

1981

A young immigrant comes to America in the 60s and is caught up in the counterculture movement which tests his bonds of friendship and love.

6.8

MagicScore

Toast

2010

Young Nigel Slater has big culinary aspirations, even though all his mother knows how to make is toast. When his mother dies, relations grow strained between Nigel and his father, especially when he remarries a woman who wins his heart with a lemon meringue pie. Nigel enters culinary school, starts working in a pub, and finds himself competing with his stepmother - both in the kitchen and for his father's attention.

6.6

MagicScore

Good Morning, Vietnam

1987

A disk jockey goes to Vietnam to work for the Armed Forces Radio Service. While he becomes popular among the troops, his superiors disapprove of his humor.

7.3

MagicScore

The Boat That Rocked

2009

When a group of rebellious deejays decides to defy the ban on government-censored music, they take to the seas to broadcast music and mayhem to millions of adoring fans.

7.2

MagicScore

Love & Mercy

2015

In the late 1960s, the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson stops touring, produces "Pet Sounds" and begins to lose his grip on reality. By the 1980s, under the sway of a controlling therapist, he finds a savior in Melinda Ledbetter.

7.1

MagicScore

Le Bal

1983

In a French nightclub, choreographed song and dance routines are performed, rather than a streamlined narrative. They tell the story of Parisian culture and politics from the 1920s—1980s. A disparate, anachronistic series of characters, including an ordinary waiter, a Nazi collaborator, resistance fighters, and 1960s student protestors gather to celebrate and satirize 20th century France's icons, demons, and social changes.

7.0

MagicScore

#10

The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes

2022

Urashima Tunnel – Once you enter that tunnel, you can get whatever you want, but at a price. Kaoru Tohno, who seems to have an elusive personality and traumatic past, and Anzu Hanashiro, who is struggling to reconcile her ideal image and true-to-heart attitude, team up to investigate the Urashima Tunnel and get what they want. This is an unforgettable summer story of nostalgia and sprinting in a remote countryside.

7.7

MagicScore

#11

Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie

1999

In a loose retelling of the Revolutionary Girl Utena TV series, Utena Tenjou arrives at Ohtori Academy, only to be immediately swept up in a series of duels for the hand of her classmate Anthy Himemiya and the power she supposedly holds. At the same time, Utena reunites with Touga Kiryuu, a friend from her childhood who seems to know the secrets behind the duels. Utena must discover those secrets for herself, before the power that rules Ohtori claims her and her friends, new and old.

7.4

MagicScore

#12

Y Tu Mamá También

2001

In Mexico, two teenage boys and an attractive older woman embark on a road trip and learn a thing or two about life, friendship, sex, and each other.

7.4

MagicScore

#13

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

2023

When her family moves from New York City to New Jersey, an 11-year-old girl navigates new friends, feelings, and the beginning of adolescence.

7.2

MagicScore

#14

Eighth Grade

2018

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

7.2

MagicScore

#15

Show Me Love

1998

Two teenage girls in small-town Sweden. Elin is beautiful, popular, and bored with life. Agnes is friendless, sad, and secretly in love with Elin.

7.1

MagicScore

#16

A Swedish Love Story

1970

The puppy love of two teenagers is set against a backdrop of adults struggling with their own lives. As a couple in love, they don't care about anything but themselves and seem totally unaware about everything that surrounds them.

7.0

MagicScore

#17

Ninjababy

2021

When Rakel finds out she's six months pregnant after a one-night stand, her world changes. She is absolutely not ready to be a mother, but since abortion is no longer an option, adoption is the only answer. That's when Ninjababy, an animated character who makes Rakel's life a living hell, turns up.

7.0

MagicScore

#18

An Education

2009

Despite her sheltered upbringing, Jenny is a teen with a bright future; she's smart, pretty, and has aspirations of attending Oxford University. When David, a charming but much older suitor, motors into her life in a shiny automobile, Jenny gets a taste of adult life that she won't soon forget.

6.9

MagicScore

#19

Schoolgirls

2020

In early 1990s Spain, eleven-year-old Celia lives with her mother and studies at a convent school in Zaragoza. When Brisa, a confident new classmate from Barcelona, arrives, Celia is drawn into a world that challenges the strict religious teachings and sheltered life she has known. Their friendship pushes her to confront hidden truths at home and the uncertainties of adolescence, leading her to explore questions of identity, independence, and belonging.

6.6

MagicScore

#20

All These Small Moments

2019

A teenage boy's infatuation with a woman he sees on the bus further complicates his already tumultuous adolescence.

6.6

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Wanderers?

The top films similar to The Wanderers by MovieMagicScore are American Graffiti (7.0), Once Upon a Time in America (8.4), 8 Mile (7.1). Each shares drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Wanderers worth watching?

The Wanderers holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.0/10 from 208 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is The Wanderers?

The Wanderers (1979) is a drama film directed by Philip Kaufman, starring Ken Wahl, John Friedrich, Karen Allen.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Wanderers?

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

Keep exploring

Movies like American Graffiti Movies like Once Upon a Time in America Movies like 8 Mile Movies like Four Friends Movies like Toast Movies like Good Morning, Vietnam

About movies like The Wanderers

This ranked list pairs The Wanderers (1979), a drama film from Philip Kaufman, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Ken Wahl 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.

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