The Edge of Seventeen
Hailee Steinfeld channels a new-age Molly Ringwald in this sharp spin on the classic teenaged dramedy. The film is as radically honest as it is quick-witted, following high school junior Nadine’s self-aware quest to endure the awkwardness of her salad days. Not to mention, it doesn’t hurt that her teacher mentor is played by Woody Harrelson.
Dead Poets Society
Robin Williams stars as John Keating, an English teacher at an elite all-boys boarding school, who is determined to encourage his students to break the mold of their regimented education through poetry. The cinematic “seize the day” manifesto is a celebration of the late-Williams’s ability to communicate the wise and the worldly in the most offbeat of characters.
Lady Bird
Ah, the first documented instance of the natural phenomenon that is Greta Gerwig directing Saiorse Ronan. This semi-autobiographical film stars Ronan as Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson, a pink-haired firecracker who is trapped within the monotonous confines of her Catholic school adolescence in Sacramento, California. The heartwarming flick features outstanding performances from Laurie Metcalf, Timothée Chalamet, Lucas Hedges, and Beanie Feldstein.
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Perks of Being a Wallflower
If an angsty indie anthem were a film, it would be Perks of Being a Wallflower. Logan Lerman stars as a doe-eyed high school freshman whose fate takes a twist when two boldly offbeat seniors, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller, take him under their wing. From kisses in twinkly-light-draped bedrooms, to dancing on the bed of trucks in traffic tunnels, this coming-of-age is something out of a Tumblr teen’s dreams.
Booksmart
Olivia Wilde’s feature directorial debut Booksmart has been frequently referred to as “Superbad for girls,” and it’s not just because it stars Jonah Hill’s little sister. The instant coming-of-age classic follows two academic overachievers, played by Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever, as they embark on their final night of high school with one assignment: to cram in all of the fun they missed over the last four years while they played by the rules.
Superbad
Columbia PicturesSeth Rogen and Evan Goldberg wrote the perfect contemporary teen sex comedy which follows, naturally, two teenage boys who vow to lose their virginity before graduation. Jonah Hill and Michael Cera play fictional versions of the screenwriters (with Rogen appearing in the film as a bumbling cop), while Emma Stone delivers a star-making turn as Hill's love interest.
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Carrie
United ArtistsHigh school is literally hell in Brian De Palma's adaptation of Stephen King's debut novel. Sissy Spacek earned her first Oscar nomination for this horror film, playing the outcast Carrie White who is abused by her evangelical mother and bullied by her mean classmates. But she eventually has her revenge when she uses her telekinetic powers against her enemies.
Bring It On
Universal PicturesOne of the best high school sports movies is undoubtedly this cheerleading-focused comedy, which stars Kirsten Dunst as the head of a troupe who learns that their former captain stole their routines from an inner-city Los Angeles squad.
Sixteen Candles
Universal PicturesMolly Ringwald stars in this John Hughes-directed classic as a misfit teen whose 16th birthday is completely ruined when her parents overlook her in favor of her sister's upcoming wedding. Add to that an endless string of humiliations, from bullying classmates to a insufferably horny geek who won't leave her alone.
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Cooley High
American International PicturesSet in mid-'60s Chicago, Cooley High follows a group of friends who are celebrating the end of the school year—an exciting time that is put to a halt when two of the group are falsely accused of stealing a car.
Fame
Metro-Goldwyn-MayerFour students enter a prestigious high school in New York City dedicated to the performing arts. All of them are tested throughout the school year to express themselves and try to fit into the rigorous world of theater as they discover their own individual identities as young adults.
Grease
Paramount PicturesThe classic musical starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John is a crowd-pleasing nostalgia fest for the blissfully innocent 1950s. The duo play an unlikely romantic pair—the greaser Danny Zuko and the virginal Sandy—whose classmates scheme to keep them from finding true love together.
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American Graffiti
Universal PicturesYears before Star Wars, George Lucas wrote and directed this Oscar-nominated ensemble comedy about a group of high school graduates who spend one last night together in 1962 cruising around and reflecting on their future. The inspiration for the long-running series Happy Days, the all-star cast includes Ron Howard and launched the careers of Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams, Mackenzie Phillips, and Suzanne Somers.
The Last Picture Show
Columbia PicturesNominated for eight Oscars including Best Picture (and winning two for Best Supporting Actor and Actress), Peter Bogdanovich's stark adaptation of Larry McMurtry's novel remains one of the most realistic and somber reflections of teenage life. Set in a small north Texas town that's on the brink of ruin, the film stars Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms, and Cybil Shepard as high school seniors who must reckon with their dying hometown and the paths their futures have in store for them.
Heathers
New World PicturesThis disarmingly dark comedy remains one of the ballsiest teen movies ever made. Winona Ryder stars as the whip-smart Veronica Sawyer, a popular girl who hates her best friends (a trio of queen bees, all named Heather). Her life spins out of control when she falls for the new kid at school—the trench coat-wearing, gun-toting J.D., played by Christian Slater—who convinces her to kill off her clique
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Rebel Without a Cause
Warner Bros.Nicolas Ray's searing drama essentially invented the American teenager—and teenage angst—and made a Hollywood icon out of its star, James Dean. Dean plays a Los Angeles teenager who rebels against his strict parents and becomes friends with the lonely Plato (Sal Mineo) and the defiant Judy (Natalie Wood)
Hoop Dreams
Fine Line FeaturesThe high school sports movie—Hoosiers, Remember the Titans, Varsity Blues—is a film staple, but none have the heart and soul of Steve James's stirring documentary about two teenagers from Chicago who are recruited by a scout to attend a privileged (and predominantly white) suburban high school to participate in its basketball program.
Mean Girls
Paramount PicturesTina Fey's sole screenplay is based on the sociological study Queen Bees and Wannabes, which she ingeniously turned into a hilarious comedy that stars Lindsay Lohan as new girl Cady who is tapped by her high school's reigning popular girls to join their clique. As she attempts to dismantle their power, she only becomes more ruthless and mean herself.
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To Sir, With Love
Columbia PicturesSidney Poitier stars in this iconic film, one that inspired countless imitations, as an American teacher in an inner-city London high school who shepherds his class of unruly, disrespectful pupils and inspires them to embrace their education and personal responsibility.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Paramount PicturesUndoubtedly the best high school movie that doesn't even take place in high school, this John Hughes comedy stars Matthew Broderick in the role that made him a star. The titular character skips out of school for a day with his girlfriend and best friend, which sees the trio embarking on a madcap tour of Chicago while the school principal—and Ferris's surly sister—are hellbent on catching him playing hooky.
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