Movies Like California Dreaming (1979)

California Dreaming is a 1979 comedy, drama, romance film from John D. Hancock with a MovieMagicScore of 4.4/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Age of Summer and Shelter.

Comedy Drama Romance

Age of Summer

2018

A determined teenage boy struggles to find acceptance within the Jr. Lifeguards of Hermosa Beach while juggling relationships and challenges in the summer of 1986.

6.0

MagicScore

Shelter

2007

Forced to give up his dreams of art school, Zach works dead-end jobs to support his sister and her son. Questioning his life, he paints, surfs and hangs out with his best friend, Gabe. When Gabe's older brother returns home for the summer, Zach suddenly finds himself drawn into a relationship he didn't expect.

7.7

MagicScore

Big Wednesday

1978

Three 1960s California surfers fool around, drift apart and reunite years later to ride epic waves.

6.9

MagicScore

National Lampoon Presents: Endless Bummer

2009

From National Lampoon, the masters of raunchy comedy, comes a summer tale of beers, babes, and bros! In the surf town of Ventura, California, JD's surf board is stolen by a surfer from Los Angeles...a crime that cannot go unpunished. Gathering his friends and the local surf hero, Mike Mooney, they take a road trip to LA to get the surfboard back, then return to Ventura for the wildest summer party ever!

5.0

MagicScore

The Tribes of Palos Verdes

2017

When the situation at her idyllic Palos Verdes home turns volatile, young Medina attempts to surf her way to happiness.

5.4

MagicScore

Riding Giants

2004

Riding Giants is story about big wave surfers who have become heroes and legends in their sport. Directed by the skateboard guru Stacy Peralta.

7.6

MagicScore

Dìdi (弟弟)

2024

In 2008, during the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can't teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom.

7.2

MagicScore

Calendar Girl

1993

Three young men go on an end of the summer trip to Hollywood, California. Their quest: to fulfill the fantasy of meeting Marilyn Monroe.

5.1

MagicScore

Ride Your Wave

2019

Hinako is a surf-loving college student who has just moved to a small seaside town. When a sudden fire breaks out at her apartment building, she is rescued by Minato, a handsome firefighter, and the two soon fall in love.

7.6

MagicScore

#10

A Scene at the Sea

1991

A deaf garbage collector happens upon a broken and discarded surfboard. The discovery plants in him dreams of becoming a surf champion. Encouraged by his also deaf girlfriend, he persists against all odds.

7.4

MagicScore

#11

Ride

2014

Overbearing mom, Jackie, travels cross-country to be with her son, Angelo, after he drops out of college to become a surfer. She meets a surf instructor who convinces her to try to accept her son's wishes and allow him to follow his dreams.

5.7

MagicScore

#12

Flirting with Forty

2008

A divorcee has a passionate affair with a much younger surfing instructor in Hawaii.

5.2

MagicScore

#13

Blue Crush

2002

Nothing gets between Anne Marie and her board. Living in a beach shack with three roommates, she is up before dawn every morning to conquer the waves and count the days until the Pipe Masters competition. Having transplanted herself to Hawaii with no one's blessing but her own, Anne Marie finds all she needs in the adrenaline-charged surf scene - until pro quarterback Matt Tollman comes along...

6.0

MagicScore

#14

North Shore

1987

On a small stretch of coastline as powerful as a man's will, Rick Kane came to surf the big waves. He found a woman who would show him how to survive, and a challenge unlike any other.

5.8

MagicScore

#15

Windrider

1986

A rock star falls for a rich man's son who competitively board-sails the coast of Western Australia.

5.2

MagicScore

#16

Tan Lines

2005

Cute teen Midget Hollow wanders through life riding big waves and partying with surfer boys. When Midget's best friend's gay brother Cass arrives on the scene, the two quickly dive head first into a clandestine sea of sexual awakening.

4.9

MagicScore

#17

Newcastle

2008

17-year old Jesse lives in the shadow of his older brother Victor's failure to become surfing's Next Big Thing. Even when he's in his natural habitat of magnificent surf breaks, his blue-collar future is brought home by the coal barges that constantly line his horizon. Jesse has the natural skills to surf his way out of this reality and onto the international circuit but can he overcome his equally natural ability to sabotage himself? A momentous weekend away with his mates that includes first love and tragedy leads him to discover what's really important, and also to the performance of a lifetime.

4.8

MagicScore

#18

Summer

2008

Because he can't accompany his father, a German army officer, on his next deployment in Somalia, 15-year-old Tim has to move in with his grandmother on the North Sea island of Amrum. There, the cool skater from Berlin, who seems to magically attract problems, immediately loses his reputation as a freak and difficult outsider. Only chubby Eric, who suffers teasing and attacks from the surfer clique around rich Lars, stands by him. When Tim also falls in love with pretty Vic, Lars' girlfriend, a fight is inevitable.

4.8

MagicScore

#19

Blue Juice

1995

JC is the hero of the Cornish surfing community. Staring thirty hard in the face, he fears that the wave that has carried him through a prolonged adolescence is heading for the rocks as his girlfriend pressures him for commitment and his friends contemplate growing up.

4.0

MagicScore

#20

Step Into Liquid

2003

No special effects. No stuntmen. No stereotypes. No other feeling comes close. Surfers and secret spots from around the world are profiled in this documentary.

7.2

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like California Dreaming?

The top films similar to California Dreaming by MovieMagicScore are Age of Summer (6.0), Shelter (7.7), Big Wednesday (6.9). Each shares comedy/drama/romance themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is California Dreaming worth watching?

California Dreaming holds a MovieMagicScore of 4.4/10 from 18 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is California Dreaming?

California Dreaming (1979) is a comedy, drama, romance film directed by John D. Hancock, starring Dennis Christopher, Glynnis O'Connor, Seymour Cassel.

Where can I find more recommendations like California Dreaming?

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 Age of Summer Movies like Shelter Movies like Big Wednesday Movies like National Lampoon Presents: Endless Bummer Movies like The Tribes of Palos Verdes Movies like Riding Giants

About movies like California Dreaming

This ranked list pairs California Dreaming (1979), a comedy and drama and romance film from John D. Hancock, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Dennis Christopher 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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