Freakonomics
An accessible documentary anthology applies behavioral economics to provocative questions about names, cheating, crime, and educational motivation.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- curious
- witty
- investigative
- educational viewing
- discussion night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the anthology engaging and provocative in its application of economic reasoning to social behavior, though uneven in execution.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Separate documentary segments examine names, sumo cheating, crime reduction, and cash incentives for students under a common behavioral-economics premise.
The school experiment directly tests whether cash prizes can motivate struggling students to improve academically.
The investigations question assumptions about names, cheating, crime trends, and academic motivation through economic reasoning.
The segments connect individual conduct with honor systems, crime policy, educational structures, and social opportunity.
Films like Freakonomics, and why
The Corporation
social science documentary using provocative questions and accessible evidence to examine everyday behavior
HyperNormalisation
anthology documentary structure connecting individual lives to broader social systems and public policy
Waiting for Superman
engaging investigative documentary combining interviews, experiments, and critiques of institutions
Movie Details
- Directors
- Rachel Grady, Heidi Ewing, Alex Gibney, Seth Gordon, Eugene Jarecki, Morgan Spurlock
- Release Date
- 2010-10-01
- Runtime
- 93 min
- Rating
- 6.1 / 10 (132)
Cast
- Zoe Sloane
- Jade Viggiano
- Amancaya Aguilar
- Kahiry Bess
- Alisha Nagarsheth
- Alyssa Wheeldon
- Samuel Soifer
- Kellie Geradi
- Greg Crowe
- Andrew Greiche
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Dox Amazon Channel, Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Freakonomics about?
- An accessible documentary anthology applies behavioral economics to provocative questions about names, cheating, crime, and educational motivation.
- What is Freakonomics like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Freakonomics as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Freakonomics violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Freakonomics.
- What did critics think of Freakonomics?
- Critics broadly found the anthology engaging and provocative in its application of economic reasoning to social behavior, though uneven in execution.
- Which films are like Freakonomics?
- Films with a similar feel include The Corporation, HyperNormalisation, and Waiting for Superman.
- How long is Freakonomics?
- Freakonomics runs 93 minutes.
- Where can I watch Freakonomics?
- In United States, Freakonomics streams on Amazon Prime Video, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Dox Amazon Channel, Magnolia Selects Amazon Channel.
