Movies similar to ‘Freaks and Geeks’
‘Charlie Barlett’
Released quite a few years ago with little fanfare, Charlie Bartlett is a charming look at teenagers’ daily lives in high school. More than that, it shows how high school students see themselves, how they interact with each other, and how adults see them. It’s clever and emotional, as well as uplifting and humorous. Plus, it has a pretty star-studded cast which includes Anton Yelchin, Kat Dennings, and the Robert Downey, Jr. (pre-Iron Man, but just by a year). It’s a fantastic film about freaks, geeks, fitting in, and standing out.
‘Empire Records’
Like Freaks and Geeks, Empire Records is a cult classic. It’s a “coming of age” film that follows a group of teens who work in a record store over the course of one pretty eventful day. This movie is a bit like The Breakfast Club if it were to have taken place in a record store on a day when the country’s most famous and beloved superstar was visiting. If you’ve ever heard of “Rex Manning Day,” this movie is where that comes from. It’s a must-see for fans of high school movies, especially those about the “out” crowd (although we’re still not sure how Liv Tyler and Renée Zellweger could ever not be considered part of the “in” crowd).
‘Dazed and Confused’
This movie is a bonafide classic. Dazed and Confused follows a group of high school upperclassmen and the incoming freshmen they’re hazing on the last day of school. We recommend this movie to Freaks and Geeks fans not only because it’s nostalgic (it takes place in 1976), but also because you can really see these characters trying to figure out who they are without letting others know that that’s what they’re doing. The incoming freshmen are scared of what awaits them in high school and the upperclassmen are scared of what awaits them after graduation. If anything, watch it for Matthew McConaughey’s most famous line ever: “Alright, alright, alright.”
‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’
Based on Jason Segel’s break-up experience with Linda Cardellini (and a few other women), Forgetting Sarah Marshall is, in our opinion, the best thing that Jason Segel has done since Freaks and Geeks. It’s absolutely hilarious and features so many familiar faces (including that of Paul Rudd who’s to blame for every time we sing “Oh the weather outside is weather!”). This movie was co-produced by Judd Apatow (the creator of Freaks and Geeks), which means that you’ll definitely feel similar vibes here and there (especially in scenes where characters are embarrassing themselves terribly). We love this movie so much that we need to buy another copy because ours is scratched up too much from overuse.
‘Heavyweights’
We’ve talked about it on ReWatchable previously when one of the actors guest-starred on the show, but we love Heavyweights. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the movie, it’s a fantastic ’90s comedy that’s all about overweight kids being sent to fat camp. We know, that sounds really insensitive but we promise that it isn’t. You see, the camp used to be about having fun while being active until Ben Stiller’s character turns it into a crazy weight-loss infomercial. The kids then team together to defeat him and learn about self-respect along the way. It’s the perfect pro-freak/geek movie. We love it so much.
On the hunt for a few more post-Freaks and Geeks binge recommendations? Check out this post on ReWatchable‘s Tumblr!
Do you think that any of these shows or movies will be able to fill the ‘Freaks and Geeks’ void in your heart?
Related: Freaks and Geeks: Where are they now?
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