e all have those movies that hit a little too close to home when we watch them. The main character feels a bit too much like us, even though he or she does not have things together for themselves. Here’s some of the movies we’re watching in 2024 that remind us of us– whether that’s a good thing, or a bad thing.Â
1. The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
The Devil Wears Prada is a classic that every person needs to watch in their lifetime. As with most Anne Hathaway movies, you will most likely learn a lesson about adulting that you never thought you needed. When it comes to starting your career after college, it takes a lot to admit to yourself what you are willing to give up and how hard you are willing to work to get to be recognized within your field. Sometimes hard work means making sacrifices for yourself and those around you to get what you want.Â
2. 13 Going on 30 (2004)
13 Going on 30 will always be a relatable movie for ladies, whatever the age may be. We all know and understand the feeling of being a pre-teen and wishing that we could grow up fast and finally be an adult. But, once you are an adult (or at least, almost an adult), you start to realize that it is not all it’s cracked up to be. There are so many things that adults do behind the scenes that we don’t see as a kid because our parents are trying to make our lives easier. This movie is all about learning what adulting really means, and holding onto childhood just a little bit longer. You do not want to grow up too fast.Â
3. Amèlie (2001)
When you're younger, life seems like it's all about the big moments -- the graduations and weddings, moving cross country or taking the trip of a lifetime. But as it turns out, most of life happens in the small moments... so choosing how you'll approach everyday life makes a big difference.
Amelie Poulain is an ordinary girl trying to decide who she wants to be. Since she was a child, people have pigeon-holed her for being shy and introverted. But a series of seemingly unrelated events lead Amelie to a choice:Â will she carry on being what the world says she is, or will she find the magic in everyday life and seize her dreams for herself?
4. Garden State (2004)
No matter how many pop punk songs about getting out of your hometown you've listened to, there's something bittersweet about returning as an adult to see all of the things that have changed and all of the things that haven't. After being estranged from his family for a decade, Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff)Â returns home for his mother's funeral. Which is enough to deal with on its own, but his psychiatrist dad also keeps blaming him for his mother's death and prescribing him tons of medication to cope with it all.
When Andrew decides to start making his own choices and see life for what it really is, he can finally start to experience what life is about -- the good things, and the bad.
5. 500 Days of Summer (2007)
Like anything else, adulting tends to look a lot different than we imagined it would. Maybe we thought we'd have a house by 25, or 2 kids and a white picket fence by 30. But real life is more complicated than that.
500 Days of Summer follows hopeless romantic Tom Hansen (Joseph Gordon -Levitt) as he falls for and is subsequently dumped by the supposed girl of his dreams (Zooey Deschanel). It's a charming indie rom-dram-com that will have you seeing bits of yourself in both of the protagonists -- whether it's relating to the sting of rejection or the way love just doesn't make sense until it does. And what could be more 20something-coded than that?
6. St. Elmo's Fire (1985)
After college graduation, everything is changing for a group of seven friends. They pursue love and careers, agree with each other and don't, and through it all, there's killing time at local hangout St. Elmo's Bar. With so much going on in early adulthood, will their friendship survive?
7. Charlie Bartlett (2007)
Charliet Bartlett (Anton Yelchin) has it all figured out -- or at least, he's pretty sure he does. When he starts at a new school, he quickly makes a name for himself as the student body's self-appointed psychiatrist. He's been kicked out of every private school in the area for victimless crimes, and with his father gone and his mom loopy, is anyone really surprised? Charlie is smart, friendly, and funny -- and he's finally fitting in the way he always dreamed he would. By going into business with the bully -- listening to kids' problems and getting them prescription drugs for what they're dealing with -- he's a hit.
But things get complicated when Charlie finds himself falling for Susan (Kat Dennings). She's the daughter of the school's principal (Robert Downey Jr.), who has some problems of his own. But eventually, Charlie's playing pretend lands him with some very real consequences. Can the student body's resident shrink learn how to heal himself and admit to himself that he's still just a kid?
8. Someone Great (2019)
Growing up sometimes means growing pains, especially where romantic partners are concerned. When she's offered her dream job, Jenny (Gina Rodriguez) decides to make the move from NYCÂ to San Francisco, but it will also mean leaving her 9 year relationship behind. To mend her heartbreak and celebrate the next chapter, Jenny and her two best friends decide to go on one last adventure before she leaves New York -- which turns out to be a hilarious, heartfelt, and very real depiction of what it means to let go of your twenties and step forward into adulthood.
9. Pariah (2011)
Pariah is all about trying to find your identity within yourself as you grow into an adult. Often, it may feel like your identity is being chosen by those around you– your parents, friends, family, or mentors. This film is about just that, and more. Learning how to be your own person and how not to let yourself drift away from that can be a difficult feat to accomplish on your own. Identity comes in different forms for different people, and carefully choosing who you let into your life can be a huge factor in finding out who you really are on the inside.
Watch now on Amazon Prime (free with STARZ) >
10. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
The Royal Tenenbaums tells the story of siblings who were prodigies in their younger years, but realized upon arriving into adulthood that those were not their paths– something that many of us realize, graduating highschool, graduating college, and even into post college years. This film is a great reminder that it is always alright to change your path to better suit your needs, even if you believed that was what you were meant to do in life. Looking within yourself and not comparing yourself to your past (or anyone else's) is also a necessary, yet occasionally difficult, task as well.Â
11. Kicking and Screaming (1995)
In this relatable comedy, the main characters fear life after graduation, so they decide to hang around their college town a bit longer than necessary. This movie is all about finding out about yourself, figuring things out after you graduate– like getting a job, and learning how to “adult.” Movies like this are a reminder, for many people, that things could be much worse, and that you have it much more together than you may think. There is absolutely nothing wrong with staying in your college town forever, but eventually you need to figure out how to be a “grown up” in your college town, whether you choose to utilize your degree, or not.Â
12. Booksmart (2019)
FOMO is a very real part of being an adult. After all, how do you know if you've made the right choices? And is it too late to change directions?
In this hilarious coming of age story, two bookish best friends on the eve of graduation decide to do it all over -- cramming four years of fun into one night.
Rent or Buy on Amazon Prime >Â
13. Adult World (2014)
This one is for anyone who's putting in the work to make their dreams happen, even when it isn't glamorous. Amy (Emma Roberts) is a (somewhat naive)Â recent college grad who believes she destined for poetic greatness. In order to pursue a mentorship with reclusive genius Rat Billings (John Cusack), she begrudgingly accepts a job in an adult shop. As her employment situation fluctuates, and she works on getting closer with her literary idol, she also finds that she's developed feelings for her boss Alex (Evan Peters).
But what Amy discovers is not only that professional paths can be tangled and strange, but that in order to create real art and fulfill her creative potential, she has to spend less time wrapped up in academics and more time living first.
Watch on the CW, Philo, or AMC+.
14. A Walk to Remember (2002)
Adulting is not always about learning how to make things go right– it can also mean learning that things do not always go the way you originally planned them to. A Walk to Remember is a great reminder of that sentiment. It is also a great reminder that growing up means finding love in unexpected places, and makes us realize that we need to be open to new people and ideas. You have to be open with others in order to encourage others to be open with you. Keeping this in mind will help you create better relationships and make it easier for you to understand yourself.Â
Watch on Amazon Prime (free with Passionflix trial) >
15. Post Grad (2009)
Pretty much any movie or TV show with Alexis Bledel is going to teach you about becoming an adult and life after your teenage years. Post Grad is no exception to that rule. This movie is all about learning how to function as an adult after graduating college, and how difficult it sometimes is to go back to living in your childhood home when you are trying to figure out your future. Making the decision of whether you let your family help you, or letting them move out of your way is a huge part of becoming an adult, as well.Â
16. Reality Bites (1994)
This Rom-Com is filled with relatable, “learning how to be an adult” content. Reality Bites is a film about four recent college grads trying to figure out how to be adults together. Losing jobs, finding love, finding your own identity, and trying to keep old friendships intact are all a part of growing up, which the characters in this movie exemplify. It is normal to feel like you are stuck after college, or even if you don’t go to college at all. You just have to take things one day at a time, and try new things in life to see what is right for you. You never know, you could change your mind again– and that is completely okay. It is never too late to restart and reset.Â
17. Into the Wild (2007)
Not everyone has the conventional post-grad or “into adulthood” route. If you choose to take an unconventional route, Into the Wild might be a movie you would be interested in. In this movie, the main character gives away all of his belongings and leaves to explore the Alaskan wilderness on his own. If nature and exploration is what you need to find your identity and to help understand yourself better, we encourage it– as long as it is done under safe measures. So go and let nature guide you, you never know what you’ll find out about yourself!
Watch now on Pluto TV.
18. Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Perks of Being a Wallflower is a coming-of-age classic, and you don't have to be speeding towards high school graduation to appreciate the feeling. Charlie (Logan Leman) is a socially awkward teen who's tired of watching life go by from the sidelines. When he's swept up by two of his charismatic classmates, Sam (Emma Watson) and her stepbrother Patrick (Ezra Miller), his life is about to change for the better. They'll introduce him to the joys of friendship, love, music, and driving through the Liberty Tubes toward downtown Pittsburgh with the wind in his hair.
But as Charlie's new friends prepare to head off to college, will Charlie's inner sadness catch up with him yet again?
19. Dead Poets Society (1989)
It seems like over the course of figuring out what you want to do with your life, everyone has an emotional support English teacher who helps guide them on their way. For the lads at a prestigious and very traditional all-boys prep school, that teacher is John Keating (Robin Williams). His unorthodox methods allow him to reach his students and really connect with them, even as they struggle to face enormous pressure from their school, their parents, and most of all, themselves.
20. Liberal Arts (2012)
When Jesse (Josh Radnor)Â returns to his alma mater as a 30-something to attend a professor's retirement party, his visit takes an unexpected turn. He was expecting to share some laughs, reminisce, maybe give a toast... not meet college student Zibby (Elizabeth Olsen), or face the powerful attraction that springs up between the two of them.
Can going back to school teach him how to get his life back on track?
Watch on Amazon Prime (free with IFCÂ trial)Â >
Also available to stream on AMC+, Philo, and Sling TV.
One thing you may notice is that many of these movies are not recent. This is because although the media changes with the times, the process of growing into an adult never really does. For generations, your parents, their parents, and their parents all struggled with the fear of getting older, and being confused on how to do that properly. Don’t be afraid to ask people questions, and to ask for help sometimes. There were other people who have gone through this before you, and there will always be people who go through it after you. That is the way of life!
Everyone is on their own path, so try not to compare yourself to others. We all operate at different speeds, and everyone’s destination is a different one. Keep this in mind as you work through your own personal journey.
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Originally published on 2/1/23. Last updated 9/4/24/
