10 Best Teen Films Ever

When I was a teenager I loathed the lack of control in my life, the cruelties at school, and the raging hopes and fears for my uncertain future. Many of my favorite movie memories are from that time as a teenage when I could escape for a brief moment into security of another world, and another time. I could try on different characters lives as if I were trying on different outfits. In a way they became an audition for what my identity would become. I did not merely enjoy these films, they enriched me. I hope that even as some may seem a bit dated that they provide you some of the magic they offered me.

We begin with number 10 and countdown to the most important teen film of all time.

10) American Graffiti

"We're finally getting out of this turkey town, and now you wanna crawl back into your cell, right? You wanna end up like John? You just can't stay seventeen forever. " - Steve Bolander

Richard Dreyfuss and Ron Howard and the other teens in this film have some serious decisions to make on a late-summer night filled with rock music and hot rods, the kind that can only be made if they stay up 'til dawn. Should they ditch town for college? Should they stay with their gals? Whatever the choice, it infuses this most innocently joyous eve-of-adulthood film with that bittersweet feeling of leaving one's childhood behind. The film connected so strongly with theater viewers at the time that it made it possible for the television series Happy Days to be made. It made Richard Dreyfuss a star, and further cemented Ron Howard's legendary standing in American entertainment. More importantly, it gave a young filmmaker named George Lucas all the cred he needed within the Hollywood studios to secure funding and get a green light to make his magnum opus STAR WARS.

Whenever I see this film I am reminded of my parents. My Mom and Dad graduated in the era these kids represent Whenever I hear tales about their youth, I am reminded how similar teenagers are no matter how many years and generations they are apart.

Click here to purchase "American Graffiti" at Amazon.com

9) Stand and Deliver

"...Did you know that neither the Greeks nor the Romans were capable of using the concept of zero? It was your ancestors, the Mayans, who first contemplated the zero. The absence of value. True story. You *burros* have math in your blood..." - Jaime Escalante

An inspiring teen film, based on a true story, that fleshed out members of a community that frankly we as Americans didn't much about, a dilapidated Garfield High located in East L.A.

Instructor Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos) teaches in a fast-food-worker uniform and inspires with math problems about gigolos. He gives extra textbooks to a studious gangbanger (Lou Diamond Phillips) in exchange for protection, and turns a mathematical truth, ''A negative times a negative equals a positive,'' into a social one. While the film is directed from the perspective of the instructor, it inspires from the point of view of the student. It reminds me that just because I may not have achieved what I desire yet, with hard work and unrelenting determination a person can reach their dreams, especially if their instructor loves their students as much Jaime Escalante.

Click here to purchase "Stand and Deliver" from Amazon.com

8) Say Anything

"I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that." - - Lloyd Dobler

Lloyd Dobler, a recent graduate of high school who doesn't know where he is going in life, but hopes it has something to do with kickboxing, is only certain about one thing, that he is in love with fellow graduate and valedictorian Diane Court. He wants to spend the summer with her. This film taught me that its okay to not know exactly what comes next in life. Sometimes it is enough to simply know one's self. Lloyd Dobler who is unable to find a way to express his flooding emotions, taught me that raising a boombox overhead that plays Peter Gabriel's moving song "In Your Eyes" can often say more and mean more than mere words ever could.

Cameron Crowe's success with his novel turned screenplay Fast Times at Ridgement High made this directorial debut possible, and what a debut it was!

Click here to purchase "Say Anything" from Amazon.com

7) Can't Buy Me Love

"Cools, nerds, your side, my side. Man, it's all bullshit. It's just tough enough to be yourself." - Ronald Miller

Patrick Dempsey is Ronald Miller, a typical high school nerd. At an opportune moment, he makes a deal with popular cheerleader Cindy Mancini (Amanda Peterson) to spend $1,000 of his savings to replace a outfit Cindy damaged that belonged to her mother. Cindy has few options and reluctantly agrees to help him look "cool" by pretending to be his girlfriend for a month. Both agree never to reveal the pact. What begins as a teen film becomes a comment about class division in U.S. High Schools. Seth Green makes his mark in this film as Ronald's Miller's younger brother who utters the classic line "What boy? I see no boy here!"

When I saw this film I was still in junior high. This film and The Breakfast Club opened my eyes to what awaited me in high school. After the brutal teasing and hazing of being a freshman who didn't want to hire the most popular teenager or athlete to be your girlfriend/boyfriend for just a month? Especially if it meant you could live in the vaunted promised land for a month? After seeing this film I would do the Ant Eater Dance at high school proms just to see if anyone would catch the reference. Unfortunately no ever caught on.

"Cools, nerds, your side, my side. Man, it's all bullshit.It's just tough enough to be yourself." - Ronald Miller

Click here to purchase "Can't Buy Me Love" from Amazon.com

6) Better Off Dead

"Two brothers... One speaks no English, the other learned English from watching "The Wide World of Sports." So you tell me... Which is better, speaking no English at all, or speaking Howard Cosell?" - Lane Meyer

Who could forget poor high school student Lane Meyer (John Cusack) who is distraught after his girlfriend leaves him and attempts to put himself out of his misery with a variety of suicide methods. Each attempt fails with hilarious results. Lane's life is made even more miserable by a father who is convinced Lane must be doing drugs, a stepford mother, and a little brother who is not only a genius who can engineer and build anything but who can also attractive the ladies. Lane's only hope might be the French foreign exchange student from across the street whose host parents are so annoying that she pretends to be unable to speak English. The classic moment that lived long after this film was the unforgettable and diligent paperboy who constantly haunts Lane and shouts, "I want my two dollars!"

Click here to purchase "Better Off Dead" from Amazon.com

Click here to hear Director Savage Steve Holland's comments about "Better Off Dead"

5) Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

"Why would we lie to ourselves?" - Ted "Theodore" Logan

The film follows the journey of Bill S. Preston Esq. and Ted "Theodore" Logan (Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves), a pair of high school who are on the verge failing out of San Dimas High School, San Dimas, California. To graduate they must pass their upcoming history report or they will be separated as a result of Ted's father sending him to military school. But, what Bill and Ted do not know is that their efforts in their yet-to-be-created most excellent rock band ever, Wyld Stallions, will become the basis of world peace and harmony throughout the universe. Should they be separated it could mean the end of the Earth, the universe, and even time itself.

As a musician the idea that music can save the universe is appealing, but even more so I loved the simplicity of a philosophy that boiled down the secrets of life to two simple rules. One, "be excellent to each other", and Two, "party on, dude". I am often amazed that I don't see more bands with the name Wyld Stallyns than I do. Also, this film brought George Carlin to my attention. After experiencing George's work I never looked at stand-up comedy the same again.

Click here to purchase "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" from Amazon.com

Click here to read a more in-depth review of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

4) Dead Poets Society

"They're not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they're destined for great things, just like many of you, their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because, you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? - - Carpe - - hear it? - - Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary." - John Keating

I loved this movie so much that just the classic rock band Black Sabbath named their band after the 1963 Boris Karloff film, I was moved to name my band after this1989 tour de force that was nominated for five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director. It won one for Best Original Screenplay.

It is the tale of Todd Anderson, Neil Perry and their friends at Welton Academy who can hardly believe how different life is since their new English professor, the flamboyant John Keating, has challenged them to "make their lives extraordinary! " Inspired by Keating, the boys resurrect the Dead Poets Society--a secret club where, free from the constraints and expectations of school and parents, they let their passions run wild. As Keating turns the boys on to the great words of Byron, Shelley, and Keats, they discover not only the beauty of language, but the importance of making each moment count. The Dead Poets pledge soon realize that their new found freedom can have tragic consequences. Can the club and the individuality it inspires survive the pressure from authorities determined to destroy their dreams?

Click here to purchase "Dead Poets Society" from Amazon.com

Click here to hear music from the band, Dead Poets Society.

3) Fast Times at Ridgemont High

"If your here, and I'm here, doesn't that make it our time?" - Jeff Spicoli

In his early twenties, before he became a director, journalist Cameron Crowe went undercover as a high school student and came back with the full scoop on sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll in the early 1980s. The result was Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which captures some truly memorable and hilarious characters amidst a group of Southern California students carousing and vying for love. It was Amy Heckerling's sophomore effort at directing. She would make another teen classic, CLUELESS, that made my honorable mention list. The success of this film made Jennifer Jason Leigh and Sean Penn stars, elevated Phoebe Cates and her bikini and The Cars song "Moving in Stereo" into icons, put Judge Reinhold into Bevery Hills Cop, and made it possible for Cameron Crowe to write and direct SAY ANYTHING.

I had a friend with two older sisters in high school. Every time I watch this film I am reminded of them. Its all there, the roach clips, the comb in the back pocket, and the video arcades. Crowe nailed what it was like to be a teenager in 1982.

Click here to purchase "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" from Amazon.com

Click here to read about the 10 Essential Songs by The Cars You Must Hear!

2) Ferris Bueller's Day Off

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

I absolutely wanted to be Ferris Bueller in my senior year of high school. The film is an imaginative romp about the journey of a high school student who decides that a beautiful spring day in Chicago is not a day to go to school. He convinces his girlfriend Hope and his neurotic friend Cameron to join him in savoring the very marrow from one of the final days they will be a high school student. It is the second John Hughes film to make my top ten. His films Weird Science and Sixteen Candles made my Honorable Mention list. During the eighties, John Hughes just understood what made teenagers tick. For me, it always seemed that as exaggerated as a character that Ferris Bueller is, he perhaps understands more about what life is truly about than his principal, fellow students, sister and parents. He treats everyone nicely and equally, and tries to get the most out of each day. What more is there to life?

Click here to purchase "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" from Amazon.com

1) The Breakfast Club

The classic film about five students trapped together in detention who learn about the true people behind the facades, the shields that high school often forces students to put up. John Hughes directed this film just a year before FERRIS BUELLER's DAY OFF. It is a perfect bookend to that film, as an intimate look into the lives of children. It addresses issues such as suicide, abuse, and neuroticism in an honest an convincing way.

Who could forget the Brian Johnson's monologue at the end of the film, "Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us... In the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions.

But what we found out is that each

one of us is a brain... ...and an athlete......and a basket case......a princess......and a criminal..." It made some critical and important statements about the artificial walls that separate every teenager from one another, and it showed how those walls and labels could be torn down. It is a message that I think resonates well, even today, some twenty plus years after its creation.
Click here to purchase "The Breakfast Club" from Amazon.com

Honorable Mention (in no particular order): 

The Karate Kid
Never Been Kissed
Back to the Future
Donnie Darko
The Outsiders
Risky Business
Pump Up the Volume
Summer School
Lucas
Can't Hardly Wait
Heathers
Clueless
Sixteen Candles
Weird Science
Teen Wolf
Back to the Future
Stand and Deliver
American Pie
Real Genius
Footloose
Almost Famous