Based on the book of the same name, the 2012 movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of the most loved coming of age movies. Starring Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, and Ezra Miller, the book and movie deals with issues including homosexuality/ internalized homophobia, loneliness, mental health issues, sexism, and other topics that teenagers may have to deal with on the path to adulthood.
If one has just watched Perks of Being a Wallflower and/or read the book, one may be looking out for similar media they can enjoy. Fortunately, there is a wealth of coming of age movies that can help fill that gap left by the ending of the Perks of Being a Wallflower.
Booksmart
Booksmart is one of the most important movies of the past decade. The movie centres around two friends who, despite spending all of their high school lives studying, decide to go completely wild on their final school day.
The movie explores issues including homosexuality and societal expectations of women, while also managing to craft a beautiful tale that combines the hilarious with the sentimental.
Lady Bird
Lady Bird is one of the most unique and memorable movies of the past decade. The film follows the titular Lady Bird as she clashes with her mother while journeying on her path to adulthood, learning important lessons along the way.
The film explores important topics in a reality and subtle manner, showing Lady Bird’s journey and her clashes with her mother along the way. It truly is a must-watch for fans of coming of age movies.
An Education
Starring Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, and Rosamund Pike, with a screenplay by seminal British novelist Nick Hornby, An Education follows Jenny, an intelligent schoolgirl who starts dating an older man (Sarsgaard).
The film follows Jenny as she is rushed into a world of adulthood that she isn’t necessarily ready for. The film is an incredible story, with powerful performances from across the board.
Billy Elliot
Billy Elliot tells the story of a miner’s son from North East England who unwittingly finds a love for ballet. Set in the background of the miner’s strike in the 1980s, the film follows Billy as he struggles to balance his love for ballet with the societal expectations of his working class community and family.
Starring Jamie Bell as Billy Elliot, Julie Walters as his ballet teacher (Mrs. Wilkinson), and Gary Lewis as Billy’s father, the film is a touching and subtle exploration of growing up, touching on themes of class, social expectations, and sexuality.
Blinded By The Light
Blinded by the Light is a wonderful exploration of the life of first generation migrants, showing the struggles that the children of migrants face and how they’re drawn between the culture of their birth country and the culture of their parents.
Starring Vikeik Kalra, Kulvinder Ghir, and Hayley Atwell, the film shows how Kalra’s Javed discovers the music of Springsteen and is launched onto a journey of self discovery that would ultimately test his relationship with his parents.
Juno
Juno is a quirky coming of age tale that explores the issue of teenage pregnancy with intelligent and poignant humor, combined with one of the best movie soundtracks of the past several decades.
Directed by Jason Reitman and starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jason Bateman, and Jennifer Garner, the film was a critical success and is a must-watch for any fans of coming of age movies.
Pride
While this film isn’t a traditional coming of age movie, it does show several characters struggling with acceptance of their own identities, and in this manner, it certainly qualifies as a coming of age movie.
Pride is based on the true story of how a group of lesbians and gays decided to support a small mining town in Wales during the miners’ strike of the 1980s. The film shows how solidarity was formed between the lesbians and gays, despite initial struggles in overcoming the homophobia of this working-class town.
Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is one of the most iconic movies of all time, with Tim Curry turning in one of the most memorable musical performances of all time in his role as Frank ‘N’ Furter for the movie.
Any viewer or reader of the Perks of Being a Wallflower will know that the Rocky Horror Picture Show is an important element of Perks, so it is almost required viewing for any fan of the movie.
10 Things I Hate About You
10 Things I Hate About You was a seminal movie from the 1990s, helping to launch the careers of Heath Ledger, Julia Styles, and Joseph Gordon Levitt in the process. The film itself is a modern, high school retelling of the William Shakespeare play, the Taming of the Shrew.
The film has some important themes that rise above the humor of the film, including the expectations of women in society.
Love, Simon
Love, Simon may be one of the most important movies of the past few decades. On the face of it, Love, Simon is just another high school love story. However, it is very important to acknowledge that this is, indeed, just ‘another high school love story’ but it focusses on a homosexual relationship and it is this that makes it so important.
Love, Simon masterfully normalizes homosexuality in the high school setting, grappling with the struggles of acceptance that those struggling with their sexuality at high school age typically go through.