In their original films and series alike, Netflix has become a proud home to some of the best teen comedies and high school romances in the industry. And wouldn't you just know it, they struck gold again with Alice Wu's The Half of It.
Leah Lewis stars as Ellie Chu, a quiet top-of-her-class student who makes extra money to keep her family’s lights on by writing papers for her cohorts. But when a friendly but not-so-eloquent football player (Daniel Diemer) comes asking for help, it’s not with school, it’s with his love life. He’s fallen for Aster (Alexxis Lamire), a girl at their school, and he wants Ellie’s help writing her a love letter. The problem is, Ellie and Aster bond through their intimate communication, and Ellie ends up falling hard too.
Wu frames her narrative in sensual, luminous lighting and shots, and her script digs deep for the faults in all her characters, tackling small-town biases and bigotries, the raging hormones of burgeoning sexuality and tense emotions of closeted queerness, and the power of friendship and family as you try to carve out your place in the world.
If you found yourself falling for The Half of It and now find yourself looking for something similar to watch, we've got you covered. Now, the reason Wu's film set such a spark is because it's so singular, but there are plenty of movies that share similar themes, imagery, and that good ol' frenzied feeling of teenage love. Check out our list below and be sure to sound of in the comments with your favorite movies like The Half of It.
Love, Simon
When it comes to recent films that set the bar for queer representation in teen romance, Love, Simon is a celebrated entry into the coming-of-age teen cannon for a reason. Directed by TV producing powerhouse Greg Berlanti, the 2018 rom-com is a heartwarming and subversive teen comedy that hits all the essential notes of the teen rom-com genre and thoughtfully embraces them while also embracing the responsibility of being one of the first studio teen movies to put a queer character front and center. Nick Robinson stars as Simon, an all-American teen who happens to be keeping his sexuality tightly locked in the closet, but when he meets a mystery classmate online who shares the same secret, the two strike up a bond that threatens to reveal those secrets and guides them towards accept themselves and each other at the same time. It’s a sensitive film that’s also fun and funny, fueled by the mystery identity of Simon’s pen-pal, and while it’s no doubt got a shiny studio polish, there are tender universal truths a-plenty about the trials of being your most honest self in public.
To All the Boys I've Loved Before
There are a few obvious overlaps between The Half of It and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, they’re both breakout Netflix teen rom-coms, they’re both invested in culturally rich storytelling and feature Asian American leads (and a shared love of bonding over Yakult), and they both feature self-sufficient teenage girls who share a strong bond with their father after the early death of their mothers. However, beyond the surface similarities, The Half of It and To All the Boys are tonally quite different and To All the Boys is definitely the one you should turn on when you want a 100% feel-good rom-com. The reigning fandom champ of Netflix’s ever-growing teen catalogue, To All the Boys introduced audiences to the Internet’s boyfriend of 2018, Noah Centineo, reminded everyone of Lana Condor’s scene-stealing powers, and made viewers around the world fall in love with Lara Jean and Peter’s love story. And if you want more, there'a already a sequel to fire up as soon as the credits role.
But I'm a Cheerleader
If you’re looking at the history of queer cinema, you’d be hard-pressed to find a teen romance more iconic than Jamie Babbit’s 1999 rom-com satire, But I’m a Cheerleader. Natasha Lyonne stars as a bubbly teenager cheerleader, the all-American teen dream but for one small detail – her parents think she’s a lesbian. So they pack her up and send her to a conversion therapy camp, where they, oops, also send her to the first queer community she’s ever known. Where The Half of It is subtle and naturalistic, But I’m a Cheerleader is all vibrant pastels and heightened humor, and both films are clever and insightful looks at young women confronting their ideal version of themselves versus who they actually are and the friendships that allow them to make those discoveries.
The Edge of Seventeen
Kelly Freeman Craig’s 2016 coming-of-age drama is deservedly considered one of the best teen movies of the 21st century. Hailee Steinfeld walks a razor-thin line between insufferable and irresistible as Nadine, a high schooler still dealing with the grief of her father’s death a few years earlier, who finds her whole life turned around when her best friend starts dating her older brother, aka her nemesis. Or more accurately, she turns her whole life around, careening from one self-destructive and impulsive decision to the next. Like The Half of It, The Edge of Seventeen digs deep into a young protagonist struggling to find themselves, unable to stop doing the things they know are wrong. It’s pensive, but with big, bold, sometimes overwhelming emotions, and it features incredible performances around the board, not just from its magnetic star, but Woody Harrelson, Kyra Sedgwick, Blake Jenner and breakout Haley Lu Richardson in supporting roles.
The Spectacular Now
If you were drawn to the more somber, longing approach to the coming-of-age story in The Half of It, set your sights on The Spectacular Now, James Pondsoldt’s sensitive and mature-minded look at first love in the intersection of innocence and adulthood. The story centers on Sutter (Miles Teller), a popular kid with a burgeoning alcohol problem that’s spinning out of control, and Aimee (Shailene Woodley), a quiet but charming classmate who falls for him and then starts to fall into his dangerous habits. Teller and Woodley are both outstanding in their roles, and Pondsolt captures their performances with a sharp eye and a light touch, letting moments breathe while honing in on the microexpressions that tell the truth beneath the romance. Like The Half of It, The Spectacular Now isn’t very interested in fantasy and easy answers, trading familiar teen tropes for smart, challenging characters, and shedding shallow heart-warming sentiment in favor of the complications of candor.
Call Me By Your Name
If you were all about the dreamy, gorgeously shot ambiance of slow burn of desire and feeling out the rough edges of sexual discovery in The Half of It, you’ll love Call Me By Your Name. Luca Guadagnino’s breathless, sweaty 2017 coming of age romance stars Timothée Chalamet as Elio, a high school student spending a lush summer at his family’s home in Italy, and Armie Hammer as Oliver, his father’s grad student and the gentlemen witch which he falls hopelessly in love. Elegant and lyrical, with messy, molten passions bubbling beneath the picturesque reserve, Call Me By Your Name transports you into Elio and Oliver’s seductive, impossible, impossibly seductive romance with all the intoxicating giddiness that comes with self-discovery and first love, and a secret one at that.
Chalamet is nothing short of transcendent in his breakout role, and Hammer deserves more credit than he gets for his steady, subtle performance, and Guadagnino captures it all with the awe and loveliness true love deserves while resisting saccharine platitudes. Were you all swept up in the unspoken desires and stunning cinematography in The Half of It? Call Me by Your Name is your best bet for recapturing the thrill of romance while also looking like a dang fine art exhibit.
The Truth About Cats and Dogs
If you’re looking for an obvious recommendation for a romance inspired by Cyrano de Bergerac, you’re probably going to get a lot of people pointing you towards Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, Netflix’s 2018 teen rom-com original based on the literary classic. But I cannot in good conscious recommend Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, a genuinely creepy and unsettling movie that crosses the line from the requisite catfishing inherent in the tale straight into outright violations of decency and consent. It’s icky and it’s not very good. But if you’re looking for another romance that revolves around pen pals and secret identities, check out The Truth About Cats and Dogs.
The 1996 comedy stars Janeane Garofalo as a radio host who asks her model friend (Uma Thurman) to stand in for her when a handsome listener (Ben Chaplin) falls for the voice on the other side of the radio and asks to meet. The Truth About Cats and Dogs is about adults rather than teens so it doesn’t quite have that heady hormonal intensity of first love, and it’s a decidedly lighter romance, but the cast is charming across the board and if you’re in the mood for another Cyrano-inspired romance, you can’t do much better than the warm-hearted, quick-witted 90s rom-com.
Booksmart
Another critically celebrated, female-directed, and queer-inclusive teen comedy from recent years, Booksmart swept onto the scene like a breath of fresh air. Directed by Olivia Wilde in her feature debut, the 2019 critical darling is decidedly breezier, more lighthearted, and more absurd than The Half of It, but if you were drawn to the subversion of familiar types and the honest exploration of how the friendships of youth change and grow as we approach adulthood, you’ll find a lot to love in Booksmart. Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever co-star as a pair of inseparable overachievers who realize high school is almost over and it’s their last chance to get in one wild night of partying. What follows is a chaotic ride to the would-be ultimate party, a night that recontextualizes their friendship, helps them understand what they really want in life, and involves a little hallucinogenics, as a treat. Where The Half of It is pensive and meditative, Booksmart is chaotic and vibrant, but they’re both casual and understated in their depiction of LGBTQ+ romance and boundary-pushing depictions of what it means to be a good person while pursuing what you love.
The DUFF
If you were all-in on the “mismatched teens from the other side of the social tracks teaming up to their mutual advantage” riff in The Half of It, set your sights on The Duff. Ari Sandel’s 2015 teen comedy stars the always-welcome Mae Witman in one of her most charismatic comedic roles. Witman stars as Bianca Piper, an average sorta gal’ with a pair of super-hot BFFs who discovers she’s the so-called DUFF (designated ugly fat friend, yeaaaah) and teams up with her hot jock boy next door (Robbie Amell) to transform her into dating material. It sounds gross and regressive, but Josh A. Cagan’s script (based on Kody Keplinger’s novel of the same name) is smart enough to know when to lean into the beloved stapes of teen rom-coms and when to subvert the stale genre tropes. Whitman is a delight, hamming it up with an impressive arsenal of expressions and line deliveries, and she’s got killer chemistry with Ammel, not to mention the one and only Allison Janney as her powersuit-rockin' mom.