The Breakfast Club (1985)

Rated R

Perhaps one of the most iconic films of the 1980s is “The Breakfast Club”, a comedy-drama film from 1985 directed by John Hughes. Considered to be one of the greatest films of all time about teens, the film follows five high school students from different social cliques and how they explore each other’s different lives and see past the stereotypes of the other.

The film stars five teen stars from the ‘80s, with Emilio Estevez (“St. Elmo’s Fire”, “The Outsiders”), Molly Ringwald (“Pretty in Pink”, “Sixteen Candles”), Anthony Michael Hall (“Weird Science”, “Sixteen Candles”), Judd Nelson (“St. Elmo’s Fire”, “Fandango”), and Ally Sheedy (“Short Circuit”, “Bad Boys”). The film itself is worth watching due to its timeless message about challenging stereotypes in life, engaging humour, and its lasting impact as a coming-of-age story.

Mean Girls (2004)

Rated PG-13

Adapted from the novel “Queen Bees and Wannabees” by Rosalind Wiseman, the 2004 comedy-drama film “Mean Girls”, directed by Mark Waters, showcases lessons about popularity and social hierarchy and how judging others won’t make you better than them. Lindsey Lohan (Freaky Friday, The Parent Trap) stars as Cady, a teenage girl who has been homeschooled all her life. When her family decides to move from Africa to Illinois, she is put in the local high school to learn. There, she meets Janice, who tells her to spy on the most popular girls in school for her so they can humiliate them; the infamous “Plastics”. Over time, Cady grows to hang out with these girls more and truly realizes they’re reputation.

As the “Plastics”, Amanda Seyfried (Jennifer’s Body, Mamma Mia!) Lacey Chabert (Party of Five, Daddy Day Care) and Rachel McAdams (The Notebook, About Time) shine in this film, depicting the true “mean girl” in them and becoming all the more iconic. Mean Girls offers lessons in the girl world of high school and how tough it can be, but it also shows us some iconic parts of the film that are still revolutionary over twenty years later.

“I think people should watch Mean Girls because it shows a really big lesson on bullying, sisterhood, and hatred in general. I think it really applies to us because we’re an all girl school,” said freshman Kashni Chopra.

Clueless (1995)

Rated PG-13

A modern-day adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, director Amy Heckerling brings this showstopper 1995 rom/com to life with an amazing cast, starring a young Paul Rudd (Ant-Man, Death of a Unicorn) and Alicia Silverstone (The Crush, Batman & Robin). The film follows popular fashionista Cher Horowitz who attempts to matchmake the new girl played by Brittany Murphy (Girl, Interrupted, Uptown Girls). The film shows lessons on friendship, love, and the importance of not meddling with other people’s lives, and also gives great fashion inspiration!

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

Rated PG-13

A modernized version of Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew”, this classic from 1999 offers a vibrant insight into being a teenager in the late ‘90s. The story follows a new senior named Cameron, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception, 500 Days of Summer) who falls in love with a sophomore, Bianca (Larisa Oleynik). The catch with attempting to date Bianca is that she and her independent, moody sister Kat aren’t allowed to date. Their father makes a rule that Bianca can date when Kat does, so Cameron races to find Kat a date to the prom, and settles with the bad boy, Patrick, played by Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight, Brokeback Mountain). This top teen film has just the right amount of comedy and high school love.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

Rated PG-13

Post The Breakfast Club, John Hughes wasn’t finished in the teen film category. Bringing up “Brat Pack” star Matthew Broderick (“Godzilla”, “The Lion King”), the film revolves around a daring senior in high school who skips school for the last time with his best friend (Alan Ruck) and his girlfriend (Mia Sara), all while being chased by their annoyed dean of students (Jeffrey Jones). The film has loads of laugh-out-loud laughs that keep you engaged throughout the entire film and doesn’t disappoint.

“…it (the movie) seems like a fun, nonsense adventure high school movie on the surface, but at the end, you realize the motivations of the characters,” said senior Elie Buchard.

Bring It On (1999)

Rated PG-13

Calling all cheerleaders! This is a must watch comedy-sport film starring ‘90s “it girl” Kirsten Dunst (“Spiderman”, “Jumanji”). The film follows competitive new cheerleading captain Torrence Shipman (Dunst) and her fight for glory with her high school team when they find out all of their previous cheerleading routines have been stolen by another high school team. Torrence fights to put the team back together, all while catching the eye of the new boy in her grade, Cliff (Jessie Bradford). We spoke to freshman Andrea Busbee, “I love the movie Bring it On because it really shows how differences can bring people together and it’s fun and energetic and can show how rivalry is in high school”.The film has lots of laughs and the stunting is very cool to watch!

“I love the movie Bring it On because it shows how differences can bring people together and it’s fun and energetic,” said freshman Andrea Busbee.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

Rated PG-13

One of the more melancholy but thought provoking films on this list, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” follows a shy and introverted freshman named Charlie (Logan Lerman) and his journey through his first year of high school while coping with his dark past. He befriends two outcast seniors, Sam (Emma Watson) and Patrick (Ezra Miller) who show him the ropes of high school and become his only friends. The film depicts self-discovery, connection with others, and embracing life.

Freshman Arsema Aron told us, “I think everyone should watch The Perks of Being a Wallflower because it documents the challenges of the transition to high school”. Although speaking about heavier topics, the film is also very moving and gets you to think.

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower documents the challenges from the transition from middle school to high school”, said freshman Arsema Aron.

Heathers (1988)

Rated R

A comedy-crime film with acclaimed actress Winona Ryder (“Beetlejuice”, “Edward Scissorhands”), this iconic film tells the story of a highschooler named Veronica (Ryder) and her “friend group”, the most popular girls in school who are all named Heather. As she spends more time with “the Heathers”, she begins to see their cruel nature to other girls in their school. She sees eye to eye about this matter with bad boy JD, played by Christian Slater (“Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves”, “True Romance”). As they join together and plot to take away the other girls’ power, JD and Veronica accidentally kill the clique’s leader, Heather Chandler. Soon, Veronica realizes that JD is killing off students he doesn’t like. The film balances out the violence and angst of teens with nostalgia and social lessons.

She’s All That (1999)

Rated PG-13

A hidden gem, “She’s All That” tells the story of popular high school senior Zack Siler and how he claims that he can make any girl prom queen because of him. He receives a bet from his friend Dean, played by Paul Walker (“The Fast and the Furious”, “Into the Blue”) to turn a nerdy and outcast classmate Laney (Rachael Leigh Cook) into his date to the prom queen, despite her moody demeanor. This rom/com brings out love and laughter, a feel good movie that won’t disappoint.

Grease (1978)

Rated PG

A timeless classic of song and dance, this showstopping soundtrack and cast live up to the hype after 47 years of release. The story follows the school days for two seniors Danny, played by John Travolta (“Pulp Fiction”, “Saturday Night Fever”) and Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) post-summer romance and how they try to be together again in the 1950s. The film’s nostalgia gives an insight on what living as a 1950s teenager was like and features popular musical highlights such as “You’re the One That I Want” and “Summer Nights” that made a staple in filmed musicals. “Grease” is a classic that continues to be enjoyed by people all over the world.

“My favorite thing about “Grease” is the music and the costumes,” said senior Zoe Hart.