Film

All Together Now

A 2020 indie drama about an accomplished teenage girl concealing homelessness while living in a school bus. It's earnest and character-driven, built on Auliʻi Cravalho's grounded performance. Made for viewers who want emotion without sentimentality, and who believe small stories about resilience matter.

TMDb rating3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a warm, straightforward coming-of-age story about a kid hiding her circumstances behind a bright face, and you don't mind it leaning on familiar uplift to get there.

Skip it if you want gritty realism about homelessness, because this one stays gentle and eager to reassure, and its emotions are spelled out rather than earned.

What it asks of you: Ninety-two minutes, no wasted scenes; it moves at an easy clip, keeps a sunny surface throughout, and asks little more than an open heart.

If you liked this

The Florida Project2017

Intimate portrait of a family in motels and poverty, told with dignity and specificity. Like All Together Now, it refuses pity and finds joy in friendships forged in hardship.

But Shot in bright, almost magical realism that some find at odds with its subject matter. The resolution is deliberately unresolved.

The Florida Project poster

Waves2019

Family drama that fractures and rebuilds, anchored by strong young performances and genuine emotion. Explores how secrets and shame corrode connection, then how forgiveness restarts it.

But The first half is darker and more chaotic than the second. Some find the tonal shift jarring rather than earned.

Waves poster

The Farewell2019

Quiet, intelligent film about cultural collision and familial love. Awkwafina carries it with natural grace, and the emotional payoff comes from specificity, not manipulation.

But The pacing is deliberate. If you want plot momentum, this privileges conversation and observation instead.

The Farewell poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from All Together Now

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Hoop Dreams1994

Both trace how a young person's talent and determination run up against circumstance—family economics, institutional barriers, the gap between hope and what the world actually provides. Both refuse easy uplift.

A documentary that reads like fiction, following two basketball players over five years with cinematic narrative arc. It's the template for intimate social portraiture: specific lives reveal larger systems.

But At 2h 50m, it's a genuine commitment. The pacing is documentary-real, not dramatized, which means nothing is rushed for your comfort.

Hoop Dreams poster
More like this (7)

Eighth Grade2018

Bo Burnham's directorial debut captures adolescent anxiety with painful accuracy. Genuine connection between parent and child at its core, no easy answers offered.

But Intentionally awkward and uncomfortable to watch. The social media sequences will make you squirm on purpose.

Eighth Grade poster

Never Rarely Sometimes Always2020

Spare, empathetic portrait of two girls navigating a crisis with practical love. The emotional truth arrives in glances and silences rather than declarations.

But Minimal dialogue and plot. Its power depends entirely on your patience with stillness and subtext.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always poster

The Hate U Give2018

Urgent and intelligent drama about code-switching, justice, and finding your voice. Amandla Stenberg gives a star-making performance; the film earns its anger.

But Occasionally tips into didacticism. Some scenes feel shaped more by message than character.

The Hate U Give poster

Moonlight2016

Poetic, three-part meditation on identity, desire, and quiet devastation. Shot with extraordinary tenderness; vulnerability never feels performed.

But Very slow and internal. There's no plot to carry you; you have to meet it emotionally.

Moonlight poster

Tallulah2016

Ellen Page anchors a strange, kind film about two women and an abandoned child. It's weird and tender and genuinely unconventional in how it treats its characters.

But The premise sounds more scandalous than the film is. It's deliberately quiet when you might expect it to escalate.

Tallulah poster

mid90s2018

Jonah Hill's directorial debut captures teen friendship with unfiltered honesty. Funny and painful by turns, with a real sense of how kids find shelter in each other.

But Shot on 16mm in a deliberately grainy style. Some violence and behavior are depicted without softening.

mid90s poster

The Half of It2020

Both centre on a talented, isolated girl who sustains herself through wit and keeping secrets. Both understand how intelligence can be both armour and cage.

A gender-swapped *Cyrano* written and directed by Alice Wu, witty and alive, with Leah Lewis delivering the year's best teenage performance. It's funny about loneliness and genuine about love.

But Delightfully talky. If you want action or plot propulsion, this is two hours of conversation and observation.

The Half of It poster

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