25 Movies to Watch in Your 20s — No Excuses!

In Lost in Translation, an aging actor (Bill Murray) befriends a young college graduate (Scarlett Johansson) while he's in Japan to shoot an ad for Suntory whisky. Besides exploring Tokyo together, they confide in each other about their personal problems. Sofia Coppola juxtaposes a midlife crisis with a quarter-life crisis to examine themes of purpose and friendship in her film, which received two BAFTAs and one Academy Award.

In this classic '90s romantic drama, four friends live together in Houston, Texas after graduating from college. Starring Ethan Hawke, Winona Ryder, and Ben Stiller, the movie portrays the romantic complications and career struggles that people face throughout their 20s. Ryder plays an aspiring documentary filmmaker who ends up taking a job as a production assistant for an obnoxious TV host. She falls for her guitarist friend (Hawke) who also struggles to find his place in the world, but finds herself dating a TV executive (Stiller).

Zach Braff and Natalie Portman will move you in this simultaneously heartbreaking and hopeful indie drama. In Garden State, a young, struggling actor returns home for his mother's funeral and reconnects with old friends, finds love, and grapples with familial drama. The movie captures the struggles of developing a career and confronting your family about your life choices, all while putting mental health at the front of its story. Its Grammy-winning soundtrack incorporates songs from The Shins, Frou Frou, and Coldplay.

St. Elmo's Fire depicts the anxieties that a group of Georgetown graduates feel as they take their first steps into the real world. The characters undergo financial and emotional troubles as they figure out their careers and relationships. The star-studded cast includes Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Andie MacDowell, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, and Ally Sheedy.

Rather than backpacking through Europe, James (Jesse Eisenberg) ends up taking a part-time job at an amusement park before going to grad school to study journalism. There, he befriends a girl named Em (Kristen Stewart) and develops feelings for her. Adventureland is the spiritual salve for listless 20-somethings who find themselves craving meaningful friendships and purpose in life.

Andy (Anne Hathaway) is a fresh-faced college graduate with dreams of becoming a writer. She ends up working as an assistant for one of the most powerful fashion editors in New York, Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). The Devil Wears Prada takes the struggles of being a young, vulnerable employee and amplifies it to an extreme. Streep earned critical acclaim for her portrayal of the film's sartorial powerhouse, nabbing an Oscar bid, as well as winning a Golden Globe for her performance.

In the heartbreaking (and often heartwarming) drama 50/50, Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Adam, a 27-year-old radio reporter who learns that he has cancer. Over the course of his treatment, Adam reflects upon everything from his friendships to his family as he wonders how much time he has left. The film also stars Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, and Bryce Dallas Howard.

Southside With You is a breezy romantic drama about Barack and Michelle Obama's first date in Chicago. Besides reminding us that true love exists, the film also captures the struggles of fighting for your values while you are still young in your career. Talking with her future husband, Michelle confides that though she is at a corporate law firm, she wanted to work in Chicago to make a difference.

This sweet Netflix original tells the story of two exhausted assistants who plan to have their bosses fall in love so that they'll have more free time of their own. Besides showcasing the adorable chemistry between its two leads (Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell), the film also explores what it means to be relatively inexperienced in your career and romantic ventures. Set It Up has already received positive comparisons to classic Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks rom-coms, so you know it's good.

Related:

If You Miss Classic Rom-Coms, These 24 Reactions Will Convince You to Watch Set It Up

In Other People, Jesse Plemons portrays David, a gay 29-year-old comedian who moves back to his suburban home in Sacramento to help care for his ill mother, who is played by SNL alum Molly Shannon. While he's back in town, David faces backlash from his father (Bradley Whitford). Full of heart and empathy, Other People examines loss, deferred dreams, and the complicated ties of family, which feel all the more difficult when you're in your 20s.

Before directing and writing Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig illuminated the big screen as the titular character in Frances Ha. In the slice-of-life indie movie, Frances is a 27-year-old dancer who lives with her best friend in Brooklyn. When forced to move out, she travels to various places, including Chinatown, her hometown in Sacramento, and even Paris. The film will resonate with anyone who knows what it feels like to be young, broke, and lost in life.

Anyone in need of cheering up will find joy in the Netflix original rom-com The Incredible Jessica James. Formerly a correspondent on The Daily Show, Jessica Williams plays a struggling playwright who's reeling over a bad breakup while developing a relationship with a charming divorcee. The movie is a rom-com at its core, but it also puts forth a message about persistence as its protagonist continues working hard towards her goals despite facing countless rejections.

In Good Will Hunting, a 20-year-old janitor with hidden mathematical talents (Matt Damon) develops a rapport with a psychiatrist (Robin Williams). It's a great movie about being emotionally vulnerable and taking risks while you are young. It accrued nine Academy Award nominations and brought home two.

Barry tells the story of a 20-year-old Barack Obama who transfers into Columbia University. While he's adjusting to life at his new school, the college student struggles to choose between his idealistic love for art and his political civic duties. While Barry is a biopic, it offers a relatable depiction of finding one's place in the world at a young age. The Netflix drama features a powerhouse cast that includes Devvon Terrell, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jason Mitchell, and Ashley Judd.

Kogonada's quiet, gorgeously filmed movie follows Casey (Haley Lu Richardson), a young architecture enthusiast who defers a potential career in architecture to care for her mother, a recovering drug addict. She befriends an middle-aged translator (John Cho) who struggles to rekindle his relationship with his ailing father, an architect theorist. Set in the striking town of Columbus, IN, the film explores what it means to form your identity outside of and within your family.

Before capturing our hearts in Lady Bird, Saoirse Ronan charmed us in Brooklyn. She plays a self-sufficient young Irish woman named Eilis who moves to America for better opportunities. Besides finding love, Eilis works hard at her job and takes night classes to find better opportunities when she's in the States. At its core, Brooklyn shows how a young woman learns to support herself and make tough decisions even when she's homesick.

Kumail Nanjiani plays a fictionalized version of himself in The Big Sick, a movie about a struggling Pakistani comedian who, much to his parents' consternation, falls for a white woman. It's a romantic comedy, but it'll also teach you about being your most authentic self and fighting for your career and loved ones even when things get hard. Its touching, character-driven script earned Nanjiani and his cowriter (and wife!) Emily V. Gordon a nomination for best original screenplay at the Academy Awards.

Rory Gilmore fans will delight in Alexis Bledel's upbeat performance in Post Grad, in which she plays a high achiever who slowly realizes the cold, hard truths of reality upon graduating from college. Post Grad is a film for all of the Rory Gilmores out there who find themselves panicking over the lack of structure outside of school. Full of heart, the movie celebrates the uncertainties of life and encourages you to take things one step at a time.

Known for playing Mona Lisa Saperstein on Parks and Recreation, Jenny Slate stars in Obvious Child as a comic who becomes pregnant after a one-night stand. She schedules an abortion on Valentine's Day, and most of the film is about whether or not she will tell her fling about her appointment. The movie handles a sensitive topic with maturity and intelligence, while also giving you those light rom-com feelings. Besides drumming up adult conversations about safe sex and family planning, it'll also teach you about taking control of your life when you're at your lowest.

Elle Woods is a role model for many young career women, who all too often know how it feels to be underestimated. Jilted by her boyfriend, fashionista Elle applies to Harvard Law School and much to everyone's surprise, becomes one of its top students. Besides her performance as Tracy Flick in Election, Reese Witherspoon is best known for her role as the Ivy League sartorial icon in Legally Blonde.

Up in the Air stars Anna Kendrick in her breakout role as Natalie Keener, an upbeat college graduate who develops a video conferencing system for firing people. While working with her mentor Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), Natalie questions what she actually knows about life and whether or not her work is ethically sound. The drama instantly became a critical darling upon its release, winning a Golden Globe for best screenplay.

This hilarious dark comedy comments on millennial obsession over status, popularity, and of course, Instagram. A disturbed young woman named Ingrid (Aubrey Plaza) depletes her inheritance money to win the affections of an Instagram celebrity (Elizabeth Olsen). The comedy quickly becomes a cautionary tale when Ingrid crosses personal and legal boundaries to impress her idol.

Anyone with a dream will fall in love with Damien Chazelle's colorful, romantic comedy musical La La Land. In it, a struggling actress named Mia (Emma Stone) enters a relationship with Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a jazz player who is unwilling to compromise his artistic values. If you're lost or uninspired, give the soundtrack a listen — you'll be humming along to "Fools Who Dream" before you know it. Because of its lush cinematography and catchy soundtrack, the movie dominated awards season in 2017, winning six Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and five British Academy Film Awards.

Spike Lee took a snapshot of modern romance all the way back in 1986 in the indie She's Gotta Have It. The protagonist Nola Darling concerns herself with her personal freedom and ignores the advances of her three suitors. The film defines the struggle between selfhood and the pressures to find love. In recent years, Netflix adapted it into a modern-day series starring DeWanda Wise.

Although trained to be an architect, Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) works at a greeting card company begrudgingly until he meets his boss' new assistant Summer (Zooey Deschanel). Simultaneously quirky and melancholy, 500 Days of Summer creates a narrative around the pressures of finding "the one" when you're young and lost. Besides exploring the precarious and fleeting nature of love, the movie also has an iconic soundtrack, which features artists like The Smiths, Regina Spektor, The Temper Trap, and Hall & Oates.