SimilarScreen
Educating Rita

Educating Rita

Sometimes students end up being the best teachers.

19836.81h 46m

Overview

Rita, a witty 26-year-old hairdresser, wants to 'discover' herself, so she joins the Open University where she meets the disillusioned professor of literature, Dr. Frank Bryant. His marriage has failed, his new girlfriend is having an affair with his best friend and he can't get through the day without downing a bottle or two of whisky. What Frank needs is a challenge... and along comes Rita.

Directed by Lewis Gilbert
Written by Willy Russell
Produced by Lewis Gilbert
0

Top Cast

Michael Caine

Michael Caine

Dr. Frank Bryant

Julie Walters

Julie Walters

Rita Susan White

Michael Williams

Michael Williams

Brian

Maureen Lipman

Maureen Lipman

Trish

Jeananne Crowley

Jeananne Crowley

Julia

Malcolm Douglas

Malcolm Douglas

Denny

Godfrey Quigley

Godfrey Quigley

Rita's Father

Dearbhla Molloy

Dearbhla Molloy

Elaine

K

Kim Fortune

Collins

P

Pat Daly

Bursar

Themes & Keywords

hairdresserliterature professorbased on play or musicaluniversityalcoholic

About Educating Rita

Educating Rita is a drama, comedy film released in 1983 exploring themes of hairdresser, literature professor, based on play or musical, university, alcoholic. Directed by Lewis Gilbert, it stars Michael Caine, Julie Walters, Michael Williams. Rita, a witty 26-year-old hairdresser, wants to 'discover' herself, so she joins the Open University where she meets the disillusioned professor of literature, Dr. Frank Bryant. His marriage has failed, his new girlfriend is having an affair with his best friend and he can't get through the day without downing a bottle or two of whisky. What Frank needs is a challenge... and along comes Rita.

Movies Similar to Educating Rita

Discover titles like Educating Rita — ranked by similarity and community votes

We found 15 movies similar to Educating Rita

If you enjoyed Educating Rita, you'll love these handpicked recommendations. Each title below shares similar themes, tone, and storytelling style. Our algorithm analyzes genres, keywords, director filmography, and cast connections to find the closest matches. Whether you're looking for the same emotional depth, narrative structure, or visual style, these picks are curated to deliver the best viewing experience for fans of Educating Rita.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
29% Match

A history professor and his wife entertain a young couple who are new to the university's faculty. As the drinks flow, secrets come to light, and the middle-aged couple unload onto their guests the full force of the bitterness, dysfunction, and animosity that defines their marriage.

Shampoo
28% Match

Shampoo(1975)

Movie6.0/10

On Election Day, 1968, irresponsible hairdresser and ladies' man George Roundy is too busy cutting hair and dealing with his girlfriends and mistress Felicia Karpf, whose husband Lester is having an affair with his ex-girlfriend Jackie.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
28% Match

An alcoholic ex-football player drinks his days away, having failed to come to terms with his sexuality and his real feelings for his football buddy who died after an ambiguous accident. His wife is crucified by her desperation to make him desire her: but he resists the affections of his wife. His reunion with his father—who is dying of cancer—jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.

Barbershop
26% Match

Barbershop(2002)

Movie6.4/10

A day in the life of a barbershop on the south side of Chicago. Calvin, who inherited the struggling business from his deceased father, views the shop as nothing but a burden and waste of his time. After selling the shop to a local loan shark, Calvin slowly begins to see his father's vision and legacy and struggles with the notion that he just sold it out.

Lolita
26% Match

Lolita(1962)

Movie7.3/10

Humbert Humbert is a middle-aged British novelist who is both appalled by and attracted to the vulgarity of American culture. When he comes to stay at the boarding house run by Charlotte Haze, he soon becomes obsessed with Lolita, the woman's teenaged daughter.

Orange County
26% Match

Shaun Brumder is a local surfer kid from Orange County who dreams of going to Stanford to become a writer and to get away from his dysfunctional family household. Except Shaun runs into one complication after another, starting when his application is rejected after his dim-witted guidance counselor sends in the wrong form.

Babylon
24% Match

Babylon(2022)

Movie7.4/10

A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, tracing the rise and fall of multiple characters in an era of unbridled decadence and depravity during Hollywood's transition from silent films to sound films in the late 1920s.

Starter for 10
23% Match

In 1985, against the backdrop of Thatcherism, Brian Jackson enrolls in the University of Bristol, a scholarship boy from seaside Essex with a love of knowledge for its own sake and a childhood spent watching University Challenge, a college quiz show. At Bristol he tries out for the Challenge team and falls under the spell of Alice, a lovely blond with an extensive sexual past.

The Whale
23% Match

The Whale(2022)

Movie7.8/10

A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.

Madea's Family Reunion
23% Match

Southern matriarch Madea has a lot on her plate. Her nieces, Vanessa and Lisa, have relationship troubles - Vanessa moves into Madea's house with her 2 young children and Lisa is engaged to a controlling man that her mother set her up with. In addition, Madea has just been court-ordered to become the guardian of Nikki, a rebellious runaway teenager. Madea must keep the peace and her family together while simultaneously planning her clan's reunion.

The Mirror Has Two Faces
23% Match

Rose Morgan, who still lives with her mother, is a professor of Romantic Literature who desperately longs for passion in her life. Gregory Larkin, a mathematics professor, has been burned by passionate relationships and longs for a sexless union based on friendship and respect.