Good Coming-of-Age Films

by napierslogs | created - 19 May 2014 | updated - 31 May 2014 | Public

Looking for a good coming-of-age film? Look no further than the ones on this list. Indie gems to behold!

Emphasis on indies from the last 5 years.

My film reviews site: [link]http://www.filmgatereviews.com[/link]

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1. The Paperboy (2012)

R | 107 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

45 Metascore

A reporter returns to his Florida hometown to investigate a case involving a death row inmate.

Director: Lee Daniels | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman, John Cusack, Zac Efron

Votes: 39,676 | Gross: $0.69M

2. Jolene (2008)

R | 121 min | Drama

31 Metascore

A teenage orphan spends ten years traveling cross-country experiencing life, love and heartbreak.

Director: Dan Ireland | Stars: Jessica Chastain, Frances Fisher, Rupert Friend, Dermot Mulroney

Votes: 5,151

3. Mud (2012)

PG-13 | 130 min | Adventure, Drama

76 Metascore

Two young boys encounter a fugitive and form a pact to help him evade the vigilantes that are on his trail and to reunite him with his true love.

Director: Jeff Nichols | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, Sam Shepard

Votes: 188,926 | Gross: $21.59M

4. Me and Orson Welles (2008)

PG-13 | 114 min | Comedy, Drama

73 Metascore

In 1937, a teenager is cast in the Mercury Theatre production of "Julius Caesar", directed by a young Orson Welles.

Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Zac Efron, Claire Danes, Christian McKay, Zoe Kazan

Votes: 11,824 | Gross: $1.19M

5. Ceremony (2010)

R | 89 min | Comedy, Romance

40 Metascore

Two friends are off on a weekend outing. Marshall thinks the trip is to re-establish their friendship, but Sam has ulterior motives in mind as he crashes the wedding of a woman he still loves.

Director: Max Winkler | Stars: Michael Angarano, Uma Thurman, Reece Thompson, Lee Pace

Votes: 4,477 | Gross: $0.02M

6. Short Term 12 (2013)

R | 96 min | Drama

82 Metascore

A 20-something supervising staff member of a residential treatment facility navigates the troubled waters of that world alongside her co-worker and longtime boyfriend.

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton | Stars: Brie Larson, Frantz Turner, John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn Dever

Votes: 91,841 | Gross: $1.01M

7. Margaret (I) (2011)

R | 150 min | Drama, Mystery

61 Metascore

A young woman witnesses a bus accident, and is caught up in the aftermath, where the question of whether or not it was intentional affects many people's lives.

Director: Kenneth Lonergan | Stars: Anna Paquin, Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo, J. Smith-Cameron

Votes: 18,350 | Gross: $0.05M

8. Daydream Nation (2010)

R | 98 min | Drama, Romance

57 Metascore

A city girl who moves to a small town and becomes entangled in a love triangle between her high school teacher and a stoner classmate.

Director: Michael Goldbach | Stars: Kat Dennings, Reece Thompson, Andie MacDowell, Josh Lucas

Votes: 13,056

9. That's What I Am (2011)

PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

53 Metascore

In 1965, 13 y.o. paperboy Andy's paired up with a geek on a project in the popular junior high teacher's class. Andy learns and grows from it.

Director: Michael Pavone | Stars: Ed Harris, Chase Ellison, Molly Parker, Daniel Roebuck

Votes: 10,963

10. Molly Maxwell (2013)

90 min | Drama, Romance

At Phoenix Progressive School, where everyone tries to outdo each other with creative self-expression, 16-year-old Molly Maxwell (Lola Tash) would rather be invisible than risk revealing ... See full summary »

Director: Sara St. Onge | Stars: Lola Tash, Charlie Carrick, Krista Bridges, Rob Stewart

Votes: 2,258

11. Girl in Progress (2012)

PG-13 | 93 min | Comedy, Drama

45 Metascore

As single mom Grace juggles work, bills, and her affair with a married doctor, her daughter, Ansiedad, plots a shortcut to adulthood after finding inspiration in the coming-of-age stories she's reading for school.

Director: Patricia Riggen | Stars: Eva Mendes, Cierra Ramirez, Patricia Arquette, Matthew Modine

Votes: 7,026 | Gross: $2.59M

12. Dirty Girl (2010)

R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama

37 Metascore

It's 1987 and Danielle, the high-school 'Dirty Girl', is running away. With her is chubby, gay Clarke, a bag of flour called Joa and a Walkman full of glorious '80s tunes.

Director: Abe Sylvia | Stars: Juno Temple, Jeremy Dozier, Milla Jovovich, Zach Lasry

Votes: 11,347 | Gross: $0.05M

13. Family Weekend (2013)

R | 105 min | Comedy, Drama

35 Metascore

When her family misses her jump roping competition, a 16-year-old girl and her siblings hold their parents hostage, hoping to correct their unsatisfying behavior.

Director: Benjamin Epps | Stars: Kristin Chenoweth, Matthew Modine, Olesya Rulin, Joey King

Votes: 7,153

14. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

PG-13 | 103 min | Drama

67 Metascore

Charlie, a 15-year-old introvert, enters high school and is nervous about his new life. When he befriends his seniors, he learns to cope with his friend's suicide and his tumultuous past.

Director: Stephen Chbosky | Stars: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Paul Rudd

Votes: 548,387 | Gross: $17.74M

15. Dear Lemon Lima (2009)

PG-13 | 87 min | Comedy, Drama

After being dumped by Philip, her one true love, the infatuated Nessa enrolls at his private school in the hopes of winning him back.

Director: Suzi Yoonessi | Stars: Savanah Wiltfong, Shayne Topp, Eleanor Hutchins, Kari Nissena

Votes: 1,260

16. The Way Way Back (2013)

PG-13 | 103 min | Comedy, Drama

68 Metascore

Shy 14-year-old Duncan goes on summer vacation with his mother, her overbearing boyfriend, and her boyfriend's daughter. Having a rough time fitting in, Duncan finds an unexpected friend in Owen, manager of the Water Wizz water park.

Directors: Nat Faxon, Jim Rash | Stars: Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Allison Janney, AnnaSophia Robb

Votes: 156,901 | Gross: $21.50M

17. Submarine (2010)

R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

76 Metascore

15-year-old Oliver Tate has two objectives: to lose his virginity before his next birthday, and to extinguish the flame between his mother and an ex-lover who has resurfaced in her life.

Director: Richard Ayoade | Stars: Craig Roberts, Sally Hawkins, Paddy Considine, Noah Taylor

Votes: 96,570 | Gross: $0.47M

18. Goats (2012)

R | 94 min | Comedy

38 Metascore

As Ellis prepares to leave Tucson for his freshman year at an East Coast prep school, he also faces separating from his flaky, new age mother and the only real father he has ever known: Goat Man.

Director: Christopher Neil | Stars: David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, Graham Phillips, Justin Kirk

Votes: 5,395

19. Growing Op (2008)

Not Rated | 100 min | Comedy, Drama

In an average American neighborhood, a family of four breaks all conformity making it difficult for their 18 year old son to fit in to society.

Director: Michael Melski | Stars: Steven Yaffee, Jon Cor, Wallace Langham, Rosanna Arquette

Votes: 1,605

20. Cemetery Junction (2010)

R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama

A 1970s-set comedy centered on three young working class friends in a dreary suburb of Reading.

Directors: Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant | Stars: Christian Cooke, Felicity Jones, Tom Hughes, Jack Doolan

Votes: 24,185

21. Trust (I) (2010)

R | 106 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

60 Metascore

A teenage girl is targeted by an online sexual predator.

Director: David Schwimmer | Stars: Clive Owen, Catherine Keener, Liana Liberato, Jason Clarke

Votes: 44,035 | Gross: $0.12M

22. The Kings of Summer (2013)

R | 95 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

61 Metascore

Three teenage friends, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to spend their summer building a house in the woods and living off the land.

Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts | Stars: Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias, Nick Offerman

Votes: 84,412 | Gross: $1.29M

23. The Spectacular Now (2013)

R | 95 min | Drama, Romance

82 Metascore

A hard-partying high school senior's philosophy on life changes when he meets the not-so-typical "nice girl."

Director: James Ponsoldt | Stars: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Jason Leigh

Votes: 161,437 | Gross: $6.85M



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