Films and TV shows that feel like This Charming Man by The Smiths
A sparkling, sly tune about a shy, awkward outsider flustered by a flirtatious older stranger, with wit and ache hidden beneath the shimmering guitars.
- Beautiful Thing (1996): A tender, funny story of shy working-class teens finding love in a drab London estate, matching the song's bashful sweetness.
- Pride (2014): 1980s Britain, working-class solidarity and queer joy with a bright, witty energy.
- Heartstopper (2022): Awkward, hopeful schoolboy crush told with warmth and gentle humour.
- The Virgin Suicides (2000): Suburban longing and adolescent yearning wrapped in a dreamy, melancholic glow.
- Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years (2001): Wry, self-pitying British diary-voice comedy with an awkward outsider at its centre.
- This Is England (2007): Early-80s Britain, lonely youth and grey seaside towns, though harsher in its edges.
- Sex Education (2019): Awkward teen desire and wit, set in a quaint British landscape with a stylised retro feel.
- Maurice (1987): Repressed English longing and coded flirtation between men, dressed in elegance and ache.
