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Home/Boys on the Outside/Similar Movies

Boys on the Outside

Movies Like Boys on the Outside (1990)

Boys on the Outside is a 1990 drama film from Marco Risi with a MovieMagicScore of 6.8/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Mary Forever and Cop.

Mary Forever poster

Mary Forever

1989

A teacher discovers his calling. Marco relocates to Palermo from Milan and takes a job teaching in a reform school while he waits for a high school position. He tries to understand and motivate his handful of students, reading them colloquial poetry, encouraging them to stand up for their rights, finding out about their histories. Natale, in for murder, enamoured of the Mafia, the King Rat within the group; Mery, a drag queen, arrested for assault when defending himself, in love with Mario and, in daylight, rejected by all; Pietro, illiterate, muscular, believing his destiny is set; the callow Claudio, vulnerable, learning to harden himself. What can Mario learn and do in such a short time?

Cop poster

Cop

1988

An obsessive, insubordinate homicide cop is convinced a serial killer is loose in the Hollywood area and disobeys orders in order to catch him.

Jet Boy poster

Jet Boy

2001

A coming-of-age story of a reluctant 13-year-old hustler named Nathan who will do whatever it takes to feel loved.

The Violent Years poster

The Violent Years

1956

A newspaper publisher's daughter suffers from neglect by her parents. She and her friends turn to crime by dressing up like men, holding up gas stations, raping young men at gunpoint, and having makeout parties when her parents are away. Their "fence" gets them to trash the school on request of sinister un-American clients, and they run afoul of the law, apple pie, and God himself.

Trash poster

Trash

1970

The movie follows Joe, a heroin addict, throughout his quest to score more drugs. The episodic plot occurs over a single day and centers on Joe's problematic relationship with his on-off, sexually frustrated girlfriend. During the course of the day, Joe overdoses in front of an upper-class couple, attempts to fool Welfare into approving his methadone treatment by having Holly fake a pregnancy, and frustrates the women in his life with his drug-induced impotence.

Perro callejero poster

Perro callejero

1980

An abandoned child steals to survive and has problems when he decides to steal from the priest who helps him.

Street Warriors poster

Street Warriors

1977

Perros Callejeros is based on the juvenile delinquency of the 1970s and 80s in Spain. The story is set in Barrio de la Mina in Barcelona one of the most conflict neighbourhoods in Spain. The characters chosen were real juvenile delinquents all with criminal records, which the director used to give the film a realistic touch. This film is very powerful and dramatic, it shows how these kids were brought up to survive on the streets.

Navajeros poster

Navajeros

1980

A chronicle of the life of Jaro, the leader of a juvenile delinquent gang, depicting his rise from street urchin to outlaw anti-hero on the way to his inevitable end.

Pals poster

Pals

1982

José is an unemployed 18-year-old living in a cramped apartment in the slums of Madrid. Marginalized by poverty, José spends his time with his friend Antonio. However, when Antonio gets his girlfriend, Rosario, pregnant, the two friends try anything to get the money to pay for her to have an abortion.

Street Warriors II poster

Street Warriors II

1979

A veteran policeman named Fernando feels a lot of hatred against Ángel because the boy ran him over with a car leaving him lame. Now Fernando accuses the young crook of having participated in a robbery at a gas station in which a murder has occurred. Helped by his friends, Ángel rebuilds the facts that serve him as an alibi, but while he is in pre-trial detention in La Modelo prison (Barcelona) a terrible mutiny will take place.

I, 'The Heifer' poster

I, 'The Heifer'

1985

Juan Jose Moreno Cuenca, alias the Heifer, is 23 years old and tells his story as a criminal offender from 1 Ocaña Toledo. Fatherless, the offender has his childhood and how everything changed when her mother went to prison.

Female Trouble poster

Female Trouble

1974

Dawn Davenport progresses from a teenage nightmare hell-bent on getting cha-cha heels for Christmas to a fame monster whose egomaniacal impulses land her in the electric chair.

Five Times Two poster

Five Times Two

2004

As young French couple Gilles and Marion officially separate, we see, in reverse order, the milestone moments in their relationship: Gilles revealing his unfaithfulness at a tense dinner party; Marion giving birth to their premature son while Gilles is elsewhere; Gilles and Marion's joyous wedding; and, finally, the fateful moment when they meet as acquaintances at an Italian beach resort, and their love affair begins.

L.I.E. poster

L.I.E.

2001

With his mother dead and his father busy at work, Howie feels adrift in his New York suburb. He and his friend Gary spend their time burglarizing their neighbors' homes — until they make the mistake of robbing the house of Big John, a macho former Marine who is also an unrepentant pedophile. He propositions Howie, who declines, but the two eventually develop an unlikely and dangerous friendship.

Never Goin' Back poster

Never Goin' Back

2018

Angela and Jessie are best friends intent on taking a wild beach trip, but when their roommate loses all of their money in a drug scam, the girls -- blissfully stoned -- go to increasingly daring and absurd lengths to get it back.

El Pico 2 poster

El Pico 2

1984

Following the events of El pico, the heroin-addicted Paco faces jail time due to his involvement in a double murder.

Billy Elliot poster

Billy Elliot

2000

County Durham, England, 1984. The miners' strike has started and the police have started coming up from Bethnal Green, starting a class war with the lower classes suffering. Caught in the middle of the conflict is 11-year old Billy Elliot, who, after leaving his boxing club for the day, stumbles upon a ballet class and finds out that he's naturally talented. He practices with his teacher Mrs. Wilkinson for an upcoming audition in Newcastle-upon Tyne for the royal Ballet school in London.

Breakfast on Pluto poster

Breakfast on Pluto

2005

In the 1970s, a young transgender woman called “Kitten” leaves her small Irish town for London in search of love, acceptance, and her long-lost mother.

Shoeshine poster

Shoeshine

1946

Two shoeshine boys in postwar Rome, Italy save up to buy a horse, but their involvement as dupes in a burglary lands them in juvenile prison; the experience take a devastating toll on their friendship.

Manhunt in the City poster

Manhunt in the City

1975

A man's daughter is killed by thieves during a bank robbery. Due to the incompetence of the corrupt authorities, he decides to take to law into his own hands and track down the killers.

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Boys on the Outside?

The top films similar to Boys on the Outside by MovieMagicScore are Mary Forever (7.4), Cop (6.2), Jet Boy (6.3). Each shares drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Boys on the Outside worth watching?

Boys on the Outside holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.8/10 from 112 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Boys on the Outside?

Boys on the Outside (1990) is a drama film directed by Marco Risi, starring Francesco Benigno, Alessandra Di Sanzo, Roberto Mariano.

Where can I find more recommendations like Boys on the Outside?

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 Mary Forever Movies like Cop Movies like Jet Boy Movies like The Violent Years Movies like Trash Movies like Perro callejero

About movies like Boys on the Outside

This ranked list pairs Boys on the Outside (1990), a drama film from Marco Risi, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Francesco Benigno 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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