Missed Out on 30 Years of the Teen Scene
September 13, 2019 2:01 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for movies and TV shows that are really good, but just happen to star a bunch of teenagers. I've avoided teen-oriented movies and TV shows my whole life...but I'm starting to think that I've been missing out on some good stuff.
I generally avoid entertainment that is about teenagers. Even when I WAS a teenager, I looked down my nose at it. While my friends were watching Party of Five and I Know What You Did Last Summer, I was watching two hours of Star Trek: the Next Generation every night. I really had no interest in watching High School Drama #14980 or Teen Sex Comedy #98895 or Teen Stoner Movie #420247, and as I got older that trend kind of continued and I didn't think I was missing out on anything much.
But! Just in the last year or so I’ve watched Veronica Mars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Brick, and you know what? They were all awesome. Entertainment starring teenagers that is actually compelling, entertaining, and fun!
Sokath, his eyes uncovered!!
Now I’m wondering what I’ve been missing out on. Mefites, do you have any recommendations of good TV shows/movies that are really good and just happen to star/be about the lives of teenagers? I’m going to cast a wide genre net here because I think I’m finally ready to be open-minded about this. However, I'm going to request that we stick to the 90's or later. Thanks!!!
I generally avoid entertainment that is about teenagers. Even when I WAS a teenager, I looked down my nose at it. While my friends were watching Party of Five and I Know What You Did Last Summer, I was watching two hours of Star Trek: the Next Generation every night. I really had no interest in watching High School Drama #14980 or Teen Sex Comedy #98895 or Teen Stoner Movie #420247, and as I got older that trend kind of continued and I didn't think I was missing out on anything much.
But! Just in the last year or so I’ve watched Veronica Mars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Brick, and you know what? They were all awesome. Entertainment starring teenagers that is actually compelling, entertaining, and fun!
Sokath, his eyes uncovered!!
Now I’m wondering what I’ve been missing out on. Mefites, do you have any recommendations of good TV shows/movies that are really good and just happen to star/be about the lives of teenagers? I’m going to cast a wide genre net here because I think I’m finally ready to be open-minded about this. However, I'm going to request that we stick to the 90's or later. Thanks!!!
Sex Education (on Netflix)
posted by Grunyon at 2:03 PM on September 13, 2019 [11 favorites]
posted by Grunyon at 2:03 PM on September 13, 2019 [11 favorites]
It's a parody, but I really dig Cabin in the Woods - the actors are a little older than teens but play teens.
posted by porpoise at 2:07 PM on September 13, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by porpoise at 2:07 PM on September 13, 2019 [6 favorites]
Response by poster: Oh, and help me out by letting me know why the show/movie is awesome! Thanks!
posted by Gray Duck at 2:11 PM on September 13, 2019
posted by Gray Duck at 2:11 PM on September 13, 2019
You might have already encountered it because its prime audience is people who are cynical about teenagers, but I think the animated show Daria is great and smartly skewers a particular teenage experience.
The recent film Booksmart is wonderful and very funny.
posted by cpatterson at 2:11 PM on September 13, 2019 [18 favorites]
The recent film Booksmart is wonderful and very funny.
posted by cpatterson at 2:11 PM on September 13, 2019 [18 favorites]
A Little Romance is Diane Lane's first screen appearance and one of Sir Laurence Olivier's last screen appearances.
The Breakfast Club.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
posted by Melismata at 2:23 PM on September 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
The Breakfast Club.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
posted by Melismata at 2:23 PM on September 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
My wife went through something kind of similar a few years ago, and I had her watch American Pie. It's reasonably enjoyable. The enjoyment declines as the sequels progress. It's kind of the essence of the 90s teen comedy - if you only watch one, this will give you the most complete picture.
Can't Hardly Wait was also pretty good. It seems horribly dated now, but I have fond memories of watching it in college.
If you're interested in expanding your boundaries beyond movies and TV, I maintain that Blink-182's Dude Ranch is an album that holds up remarkably well. It was really important to me as an actual teen, because it felt like there was a realness to it beneath all the scatological humor, and whenever I've revisited it, that has indeed proven to be the case. I'd recommend giving it a listen. Enema of the State has its moments, but I don't care for it as much as I did at the time.
Seconding My So-Called Life: teen TV for people who didn't like teen TV. 25 years after the fact it might not grab you, but for the people who experienced it as teens, it will never let them go. People will get in actual fights about the show. Very intense fandom.
posted by kevinbelt at 2:30 PM on September 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
Can't Hardly Wait was also pretty good. It seems horribly dated now, but I have fond memories of watching it in college.
If you're interested in expanding your boundaries beyond movies and TV, I maintain that Blink-182's Dude Ranch is an album that holds up remarkably well. It was really important to me as an actual teen, because it felt like there was a realness to it beneath all the scatological humor, and whenever I've revisited it, that has indeed proven to be the case. I'd recommend giving it a listen. Enema of the State has its moments, but I don't care for it as much as I did at the time.
Seconding My So-Called Life: teen TV for people who didn't like teen TV. 25 years after the fact it might not grab you, but for the people who experienced it as teens, it will never let them go. People will get in actual fights about the show. Very intense fandom.
posted by kevinbelt at 2:30 PM on September 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Friday Night Lights - lots of drama involving teens but also strong adult characters. It’s about a high school football team but really about being human. Well made with very thoughtful writing.
My So-Called Life captured what it was like to be a younger teenage girl better than most other things I’ve ever seen.
posted by sallybrown at 2:31 PM on September 13, 2019 [27 favorites]
My So-Called Life captured what it was like to be a younger teenage girl better than most other things I’ve ever seen.
posted by sallybrown at 2:31 PM on September 13, 2019 [27 favorites]
Best answer: 10 Things I Hate About You is an excellent movie; I have watched it so many times that I'm not sure how it will look with fresh eyes at this point, but Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, AND Joseph Gordon Levitt in their youth--one-liners and '90s girl-punk and just lots of yes.
posted by gideonfrog at 2:34 PM on September 13, 2019 [33 favorites]
posted by gideonfrog at 2:34 PM on September 13, 2019 [33 favorites]
To expand on my answer a little bit. Daria does what the best satire does, in that it has really broad character types instantly recognizable to anyone who's been through high school (the airhead, the jock, the outcast) BUT over its run, it was also able to drill down into the specifics of how those characters feel and think and relate to each other, and offer some surprising insights. I think it's often dismissed as just being deadpan jokes when the best moments come from a place of real sincerity. And it really captures the feeling of being "stuck in suburbia" while also having little to no actual life experience; Daria might be the snarkiest cynic in her high school but she's still, really, a kid.
Booksmart is just a really good, funny movie that felt very true to teenagers in 2019 (well, from what I can tell, I'm in my 30s so what do I know). It gets at that kind of heady, first-love kind of feeling and also explores female friendship, figuring out your identity, and what I think is a common experience of looking down on something for years, and then realizing you actually kind of want it.
posted by cpatterson at 2:38 PM on September 13, 2019 [9 favorites]
Booksmart is just a really good, funny movie that felt very true to teenagers in 2019 (well, from what I can tell, I'm in my 30s so what do I know). It gets at that kind of heady, first-love kind of feeling and also explores female friendship, figuring out your identity, and what I think is a common experience of looking down on something for years, and then realizing you actually kind of want it.
posted by cpatterson at 2:38 PM on September 13, 2019 [9 favorites]
Can I recommend Not Another Teen Movie - first all the leads basically became stars and superstars, it's parodies are pretty funny -it's got physical, art, music, and familial hardship jokes in addition to the gross-out humor, and great throwaway lines and I still think it's pretty funny.
posted by The_Vegetables at 2:39 PM on September 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by The_Vegetables at 2:39 PM on September 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
Heathers is a cultural touchstone. Better Off Dead is sort of a cult favorite. I never got into the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (it was adapted from a movie), but a lot of people did. +1 to Daria. Loved that.
posted by adamrice at 2:42 PM on September 13, 2019 [8 favorites]
posted by adamrice at 2:42 PM on September 13, 2019 [8 favorites]
Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home are very much about the teenage experience, with wonderful teen performances from Zendaya, Tom Holland, Jacob Batalon and others. Very funny, very fun.
posted by ejs at 2:43 PM on September 13, 2019 [8 favorites]
posted by ejs at 2:43 PM on September 13, 2019 [8 favorites]
Heathers is dark and funny and painful and helped me grow into the cynical person I am when I watched it as a teen - it was the first movie I had seen where the popular kids (the bane of my existence) were the bad guys.
Mean Girls - Basically the same as Heathers, but a bit gentler and not so dark
And run, don't walk to see Clueless, which is pretty much the best adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma that I've ever seen
posted by Mchelly at 2:45 PM on September 13, 2019 [26 favorites]
Mean Girls - Basically the same as Heathers, but a bit gentler and not so dark
And run, don't walk to see Clueless, which is pretty much the best adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma that I've ever seen
posted by Mchelly at 2:45 PM on September 13, 2019 [26 favorites]
I think you’d like Skins and The Inbetweeners (the latter, a TV series, also spawned two films). Both are British takes on teenagehood!
posted by HandfulOfDust at 3:01 PM on September 13, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by HandfulOfDust at 3:01 PM on September 13, 2019 [5 favorites]
Virtually everyone at my school was quoting Napoleon Dynamite when it came out.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 3:02 PM on September 13, 2019 [12 favorites]
posted by J.K. Seazer at 3:02 PM on September 13, 2019 [12 favorites]
Seconding Freaks & Geeks. It walks the line between Drama and Comedy, and it generally died because of the difficulty the network had finding a way to sell it to audiences (not to mention the general screwing with the schedule that often kills shows). It build some really superb characters with a lot of real-life challenges that they couldn't overcome in one episode. Everyone got some terrific writing, main characters Sam and Lindsey Weir had fully dimensional parents who broke out of the mold of embarrassing party poopers that one normally finds in such TV shows.
This is TV you won't forget and, though it was canned after 1 season, served as a launchpad for the careers of an assload of talented young folks, as well as the writers.
I enjoyed the "American Vandal," a pseudodocumentary series, styled a bit like the "Serial" podcast and alot of other true-crime content, but set in the smallish world of teenagers-- essentially a film-nerd trying to vindicate a stoner at his high school who was wrongfully expelled for vandalizing all the cars in the staff parking lot. The second season covered the systematic investigation of some scatalogical attacks on the student body of a different school.
On preview: Inbetweeners was great. I had to hang on to my chair to endure their humiliations, but at the same time the chemistry of the 4 friends really rang true.
posted by Sunburnt at 3:05 PM on September 13, 2019 [11 favorites]
This is TV you won't forget and, though it was canned after 1 season, served as a launchpad for the careers of an assload of talented young folks, as well as the writers.
I enjoyed the "American Vandal," a pseudodocumentary series, styled a bit like the "Serial" podcast and alot of other true-crime content, but set in the smallish world of teenagers-- essentially a film-nerd trying to vindicate a stoner at his high school who was wrongfully expelled for vandalizing all the cars in the staff parking lot. The second season covered the systematic investigation of some scatalogical attacks on the student body of a different school.
On preview: Inbetweeners was great. I had to hang on to my chair to endure their humiliations, but at the same time the chemistry of the 4 friends really rang true.
posted by Sunburnt at 3:05 PM on September 13, 2019 [11 favorites]
Best answer: Bring It On (2000) is a silly movie about competitive cheerleading that follows the same basic formula as every other competitive dance/sport movie, but does it with a great cast, likeable characters, and excellent performances of the actual cheerleading routines.
posted by mbrubeck at 3:06 PM on September 13, 2019 [24 favorites]
posted by mbrubeck at 3:06 PM on September 13, 2019 [24 favorites]
I might be the opposite of you in that I seem to only consume media about teenagers!
TV:
Freaks and Geeks came out in 1999, but is set in 1980s suburban Michigan. Funny and dramatic and just really nails the ennui of being an outsider in high school. Primarily from the points of view of Lindsay Weir, who rebels by starting to hang out with the "freaks", and her younger brother, Sam, who is part of a group of freshman geeks. This launched the Judd Apatow and Paul Feig empire, as well as the careers of James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Linda Cardellini, Martin Starr, etc! Killer soundtrack and score too.
I'll nth Friday Night Lights, the best high school show about football that's not really about football. Season 1 is perfection -- everyone I know who has watched the first episode gets hooked.
Derry Girls for hilarious 90s Northern Ireland teens! (set in the 90s, but made now)
Movies:
There are several movies from the last few years about teenage girlhood that are all great! Edge of Seventeen, Eighth Grade, Lady Bird, and Booksmart.
nthing Clueless, Mean Girls, Can't Hardly Wait, 10 Things I Hate About You as classic 90s/early 00s teen comedies and will add Bring It On.
Whip It is fun roller derby teens! And feminist!
Saved! is a really fun take on Christian culture and how it plays out in high school.
Ghost World is based on the graphic novel of the same name about two disaffected teen girls as they drift apart at the end of high school. Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi!
Sing Street is about a teen boy in 1980s Dublin starting a band to impress a girl. Charming and great music!
posted by wsquared at 3:07 PM on September 13, 2019 [15 favorites]
TV:
Freaks and Geeks came out in 1999, but is set in 1980s suburban Michigan. Funny and dramatic and just really nails the ennui of being an outsider in high school. Primarily from the points of view of Lindsay Weir, who rebels by starting to hang out with the "freaks", and her younger brother, Sam, who is part of a group of freshman geeks. This launched the Judd Apatow and Paul Feig empire, as well as the careers of James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Linda Cardellini, Martin Starr, etc! Killer soundtrack and score too.
I'll nth Friday Night Lights, the best high school show about football that's not really about football. Season 1 is perfection -- everyone I know who has watched the first episode gets hooked.
Derry Girls for hilarious 90s Northern Ireland teens! (set in the 90s, but made now)
Movies:
There are several movies from the last few years about teenage girlhood that are all great! Edge of Seventeen, Eighth Grade, Lady Bird, and Booksmart.
nthing Clueless, Mean Girls, Can't Hardly Wait, 10 Things I Hate About You as classic 90s/early 00s teen comedies and will add Bring It On.
Whip It is fun roller derby teens! And feminist!
Saved! is a really fun take on Christian culture and how it plays out in high school.
Ghost World is based on the graphic novel of the same name about two disaffected teen girls as they drift apart at the end of high school. Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi!
Sing Street is about a teen boy in 1980s Dublin starting a band to impress a girl. Charming and great music!
posted by wsquared at 3:07 PM on September 13, 2019 [15 favorites]
Derry Girls on Netflix, which is about a group of friends in Northern Ireland during The Troubles is very funny, occasionally heartfelt, and does a great job capturing the unique self centeredness of teenagers.
From an NPR article on the show:
In Derry Girls, the [sectarian] conflict is in the background. As Erin Quinn (Saoirse-Monica Jackson) says in one episode, while describing her own hilariously self-affected essay writing: "It's about The Troubles in a political sense but also about my own troubles in a personal sense."
posted by cimton at 3:09 PM on September 13, 2019 [8 favorites]
From an NPR article on the show:
In Derry Girls, the [sectarian] conflict is in the background. As Erin Quinn (Saoirse-Monica Jackson) says in one episode, while describing her own hilariously self-affected essay writing: "It's about The Troubles in a political sense but also about my own troubles in a personal sense."
posted by cimton at 3:09 PM on September 13, 2019 [8 favorites]
Skam is great, if you don't mind subtitles too much. I loved it so much that I ended up visiting Norway when it ended.
Dance Academy is an Australian show that's currently on Netflix, and I really liked watching that when it first aired.
Oh, and Euphoria was decent! The first few episodes seemed like they went for shock value more than anything else but it gets better.
posted by mollywas at 3:11 PM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
Dance Academy is an Australian show that's currently on Netflix, and I really liked watching that when it first aired.
Oh, and Euphoria was decent! The first few episodes seemed like they went for shock value more than anything else but it gets better.
posted by mollywas at 3:11 PM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
Can’t Hardly Wait is amazing, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 3:16 PM on September 13, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 3:16 PM on September 13, 2019 [4 favorites]
Buffy, the series not the feeble movie. It’s awesome because it shows normal teen issues while killing vampires, becoming a witch, turning into a werewolf and having sex.
posted by Ideefixe at 3:41 PM on September 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Ideefixe at 3:41 PM on September 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a show that I thought I'd watch the first episode of for a distraction one day and ended up quite liking. There is a lot of depth to the show with embedded commentary on religion and social issues, with an overall message of tolerance and progressiveness (though there is a plot to drive, so you will see some of the opposite of that, generally from characters that have some sort of bad side to them). More "minor" characters turned out to have their own stories, even when events separated them from the main character, and there are many different things in play at once with different characters having different motivations and goals. There are many characters who are adults, but the story is very teen centered, and most of the adults are either someone's parent or work at a school.
You probably weren't missing out on anything much back when you were a teenager though -- in general, quality has gone up a lot over the last 20 years.
posted by yohko at 3:55 PM on September 13, 2019 [5 favorites]
You probably weren't missing out on anything much back when you were a teenager though -- in general, quality has gone up a lot over the last 20 years.
posted by yohko at 3:55 PM on September 13, 2019 [5 favorites]
Attack the Block. So good.
Agreed with those above suggesting Clueless and Mean Girls.
Starship Troopers is, I guess, a teen movie with teens?
posted by tavegyl at 4:06 PM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
Agreed with those above suggesting Clueless and Mean Girls.
Starship Troopers is, I guess, a teen movie with teens?
posted by tavegyl at 4:06 PM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
Oh yeah, you should watch Your Name! It's a very popular, recently released anime film, so not in the Anglophone teen movie canon, but it hits all the essential emotional beats of earnest young love, wacky hijinks and grownups who just don't get it, maaan.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 4:22 PM on September 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by J.K. Seazer at 4:22 PM on September 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
I think a lot of people would call this totally silly or bad, but I love Riverdale. It’s over the top, campy, ridiculous soap opera-ish teen noir. I seriously love it. I’m also a huge fan of Buffy and Veronica Mars.
posted by JenMarie at 4:31 PM on September 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by JenMarie at 4:31 PM on September 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
There's a lot of excellent suggestions upthread, but I'll pop in to suggest just one more gem from the 90's: Singles. There are some great and funny moments in that one.
posted by cleverevans at 4:37 PM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by cleverevans at 4:37 PM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
Agree 100% with Clueless and Friday night lights! Clueless is a classic and FNL is just a really great portrayal of relationships (all kinds) in a small town in America.
I'll also suggest The Perks of being a Wallflower, which I loved bc it depicted that slightly out of control element of being a teenager and coming into your own, while also being a good depiction of a character's depression and the effects of trauma. It is a heartfelt, silly/fun and also sad movie. Plus I love Emma Watson who plays one of the main characters.
posted by DTMFA at 4:40 PM on September 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
I'll also suggest The Perks of being a Wallflower, which I loved bc it depicted that slightly out of control element of being a teenager and coming into your own, while also being a good depiction of a character's depression and the effects of trauma. It is a heartfelt, silly/fun and also sad movie. Plus I love Emma Watson who plays one of the main characters.
posted by DTMFA at 4:40 PM on September 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
Only one teenager in Harold and Maude, but if you haven't already seen it... A refreshing turn on the coming-of-age story.
posted by bricoleur at 4:48 PM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by bricoleur at 4:48 PM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
The Sure Thing (movie) is about college freshman, but they're probably still teenagers. Excellent movie -- very funny. John Cusack stars in it. And I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned Risky Business, with Tom Cruise (one of the only movies of his that I liked).
posted by alex1965 at 4:55 PM on September 13, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by alex1965 at 4:55 PM on September 13, 2019 [5 favorites]
Pump Up the Volume from 1990 that I watched kind of obsessively as a teenager - out of many good things about it, one is the music - it introduced me to Concrete Blonde, who I fell in love with, and also had the Jesus and Mary Chain, Ice T, and a bunch of others. About a boy who has a bootleg radio station and fights the Man.
And Welcome to the Dollhouse - I’m not sure how to describe it other than as painfully embarrassing, but for some reason I watched it over and over again.
posted by frobozz at 5:03 PM on September 13, 2019 [4 favorites]
And Welcome to the Dollhouse - I’m not sure how to describe it other than as painfully embarrassing, but for some reason I watched it over and over again.
posted by frobozz at 5:03 PM on September 13, 2019 [4 favorites]
The recent Book Smart, directed by Olivia Wilde. A *very* funny and smart girl-buddy movie.
Edge of Seventeen. Halee Steinfeld. She's such a skilled actor.
Eighth Grade. Really heart-rending story of contemporary middle school. I would not survive being a teen in today's social ecology.
posted by j_curiouser at 5:04 PM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
Edge of Seventeen. Halee Steinfeld. She's such a skilled actor.
Eighth Grade. Really heart-rending story of contemporary middle school. I would not survive being a teen in today's social ecology.
posted by j_curiouser at 5:04 PM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
@alex1965: Seconding The Sure Thing. Watch for a young Tim Robbins in a bit part (CW: show tunes!).
posted by HillbillyInBC at 5:05 PM on September 13, 2019
posted by HillbillyInBC at 5:05 PM on September 13, 2019
Dazed and Confused is a mostly good movie that captures the feel of 1970s teenagerness, unlike that piece of crap That Seventies Show.
posted by FencingGal at 5:08 PM on September 13, 2019 [7 favorites]
posted by FencingGal at 5:08 PM on September 13, 2019 [7 favorites]
My So Called Life (which aged well, in my opinion, as you may relate to Angela's parents, too)
Drop Dead Gorgeous (filmed in MN!) about farm town beauty queens who have a deadly competition
Dazed and Confused (the last weekend of the school year in a hot Texas town during the bicentennial, with great music, drunken shenanigans, Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, and other great young actors from the 90s, and endlessly quotable)
Empire Records (teens in a record store with Liv Tyler, Renée Zellweger, great music, misguided shenanigans, endlessly quotable)
Better Luck Tomorrow ("about Asian American overachievers who become bored with their lives and enter a world of petty crime and material excess")
Ghost World (as mentioned above)
10 Things I Hate About You (above)
posted by jillithd at 5:17 PM on September 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
Drop Dead Gorgeous (filmed in MN!) about farm town beauty queens who have a deadly competition
Dazed and Confused (the last weekend of the school year in a hot Texas town during the bicentennial, with great music, drunken shenanigans, Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, and other great young actors from the 90s, and endlessly quotable)
Empire Records (teens in a record store with Liv Tyler, Renée Zellweger, great music, misguided shenanigans, endlessly quotable)
Better Luck Tomorrow ("about Asian American overachievers who become bored with their lives and enter a world of petty crime and material excess")
Ghost World (as mentioned above)
10 Things I Hate About You (above)
posted by jillithd at 5:17 PM on September 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
Freeway (with Reese Witherspoon and Keifer Sutherland. You think Reese is good in Legally Blonde? She is fucking FANTASTIC in this film, too)
posted by jillithd at 5:19 PM on September 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by jillithd at 5:19 PM on September 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina! Don't bother with the old "Sabrina the Teenaged Witch," just go straight into the current Chilling Adventures. As a person who still loves Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the show, not the movie), Sabrina is GREAT!
posted by erst at 5:39 PM on September 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by erst at 5:39 PM on September 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
We Are The Best! is a great Swedish film about teenage girls forming a punk band in the early '80s, based on a semi-autobiographical graphic novel. Charming cast and a balanced mix of teenage silliness, emotional growing pains and girl power.
posted by EvaDestruction at 6:24 PM on September 13, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by EvaDestruction at 6:24 PM on September 13, 2019 [5 favorites]
Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High. Both are excellent. I haven't watched the more recent Degrassi series (Degrassi: The Next Generation and Degrassi: Next Class), but I've heard good things about them. All of them are available to watch for free on the Degrassi Youtube channel.
I'll also mention Beverly Hills 90210, especially the first few seasons.
posted by SisterHavana at 6:28 PM on September 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
I'll also mention Beverly Hills 90210, especially the first few seasons.
posted by SisterHavana at 6:28 PM on September 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
Another for Derry Girls- Northern Irish comedy which is laugh out loud funny, features hilarious characters with eccentric personalities, and really captures that recklessness naivety unique to adolescence .
Looking for Alabrandi- an Australian drama/comedy film about an Italian/Australian teenager that really captures the sad poignancy of discovering who you are as a teenager.
For books, Tomorrow When the War Began (there was a film years later, but the books were the cultural landmark) a book series that written by an Australian English teacher before Young Adult fiction was as rich as it was now. The gateway book to adulthood for many teenagers about kids in a difficult situation and how they grow up- action/drama but very relatable.
The same author, John Marsden, also wrote another completely lovely novella called
So Much To Tell You about a teenage girl who doesn't fit in which really resonates with that sense of teenage loneliness.
posted by hotcoroner at 6:34 PM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
Looking for Alabrandi- an Australian drama/comedy film about an Italian/Australian teenager that really captures the sad poignancy of discovering who you are as a teenager.
For books, Tomorrow When the War Began (there was a film years later, but the books were the cultural landmark) a book series that written by an Australian English teacher before Young Adult fiction was as rich as it was now. The gateway book to adulthood for many teenagers about kids in a difficult situation and how they grow up- action/drama but very relatable.
The same author, John Marsden, also wrote another completely lovely novella called
So Much To Tell You about a teenage girl who doesn't fit in which really resonates with that sense of teenage loneliness.
posted by hotcoroner at 6:34 PM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
Heathers reads a little strangely to modern eyes because some aspects of it that at the time marked it as extreme black comedy and absurdist satire have unfortunately crept closer to our daily life, but, oh boy, it is everything.
Going to second Spiderman: Homecoming in particular, because it's just uncontrollably charming as well as a solid superhero story.
The 14-year-old heroine of the Coen Brothers' remake of True Grit, out on a classic Western revenge quest with inadequate assistance, is quite something. The movie itself is one of the handful Coen pieces that (while involving a fair amount of comedy) seems to be completely sincere in spirit.
posted by praemunire at 6:34 PM on September 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
Going to second Spiderman: Homecoming in particular, because it's just uncontrollably charming as well as a solid superhero story.
The 14-year-old heroine of the Coen Brothers' remake of True Grit, out on a classic Western revenge quest with inadequate assistance, is quite something. The movie itself is one of the handful Coen pieces that (while involving a fair amount of comedy) seems to be completely sincere in spirit.
posted by praemunire at 6:34 PM on September 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
Beavis and Butt-Head.
Two dimwitted teenagers watched MTV, plotted ways to score, and engaged in other destructive tomfoolery. There are those who loved B&B and sought to emulate them. There were those who loved B&B and mocked what they represented. The movie is fair.
posted by Fukiyama at 7:22 PM on September 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
Two dimwitted teenagers watched MTV, plotted ways to score, and engaged in other destructive tomfoolery. There are those who loved B&B and sought to emulate them. There were those who loved B&B and mocked what they represented. The movie is fair.
posted by Fukiyama at 7:22 PM on September 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
My So Called Life (which aged well, in my opinion, as you may relate to Angela's parents, too)
Unlike so many other teen-oriented movies/TV shows (Secret Admirer, anyone?), MSCL actually treated Adults as real people instead of caricatures, jokes, and/or straight wo/men for wisecracks. Which is probably one of the reasons why it's aged better than other teen-oriented features of the time (esp. considering its target audience broke or will soon break the "40" barrier.
There's also Decline of Western Civilization Pt. 3, focusing on teenage or just barely post-teenage gutter street punks, but that might not be what you're looking for.
posted by gtrwolf at 7:44 PM on September 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
Unlike so many other teen-oriented movies/TV shows (Secret Admirer, anyone?), MSCL actually treated Adults as real people instead of caricatures, jokes, and/or straight wo/men for wisecracks. Which is probably one of the reasons why it's aged better than other teen-oriented features of the time (esp. considering its target audience broke or will soon break the "40" barrier.
There's also Decline of Western Civilization Pt. 3, focusing on teenage or just barely post-teenage gutter street punks, but that might not be what you're looking for.
posted by gtrwolf at 7:44 PM on September 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
Grease - it’s a musical, set in the 50’s and shows high school teens sorting out the importance of friendships, reputation, and maybe finding love. The original is good, but I also liked the live version they did recently on tv.
Footloose. Same as grease but 80’s instead of 50’s. Also has been remade recently, and I liked both well enough. Good 80’s tunes, even in the remake.
Dirty dancing - upper class and waitstaff intermingling at a resort in the 60’s, interclass love story, and a good musical soundtrack, mostly.
The OC - tv show about teen lives and parents with an infusion of upper class absorbing kid from a rougher area.
One tree hill - same as the OC with much basketball and cheerleading and a few other surprises.
Also like Buffy, too. Especially Season 6 Episode 7 “Once More With Feeling”. Aka, Buffy the musical!
I kinda like musicals a bit.
posted by kabong the wiser at 7:57 PM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
Footloose. Same as grease but 80’s instead of 50’s. Also has been remade recently, and I liked both well enough. Good 80’s tunes, even in the remake.
Dirty dancing - upper class and waitstaff intermingling at a resort in the 60’s, interclass love story, and a good musical soundtrack, mostly.
The OC - tv show about teen lives and parents with an infusion of upper class absorbing kid from a rougher area.
One tree hill - same as the OC with much basketball and cheerleading and a few other surprises.
Also like Buffy, too. Especially Season 6 Episode 7 “Once More With Feeling”. Aka, Buffy the musical!
I kinda like musicals a bit.
posted by kabong the wiser at 7:57 PM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
Pump Up The Volume - Cause what teenager doesn't think their ideas would/could/should start a revolution. And Leonard Cohen.
Not about teenagers but if you liked Veronica Mars, you should be watching I Zombie.
posted by ixipkcams at 9:12 PM on September 13, 2019
Not about teenagers but if you liked Veronica Mars, you should be watching I Zombie.
posted by ixipkcams at 9:12 PM on September 13, 2019
I do not think I am alone in liking the movie Holes more than I should. I think there is some good acting in it from the youth and adult cast. The story is a little out there, but somewhat original, and overall is fairly entertaining.
posted by Short End Of A Wishbone at 9:53 PM on September 13, 2019 [7 favorites]
posted by Short End Of A Wishbone at 9:53 PM on September 13, 2019 [7 favorites]
10 Things I Hate About You forever and ever, especially for the Heath Ledger song scene.
Here are a few that I didn't see mentioned:
Blockers, kind of a spiritual sequel to American Pie, but more focused on girls navigating their prom night. They all make a pact to lose their virginity and their parents find out and try to stop it. The trailer makes it look dumber than it actually is, but it is a very sweet movie.
But I'm A Cheerleader is a queer satire of romantic comedies. Megan, who does not realize she is a lesbian, is sent to a conversion therapy camp, where she meets other queer kids. Hijinks ensue.
Surprised no one mentioned Center Stage yet, which is a movie about teenage ballet dancers competing with each other and also falling in love. The dancing is gorgeous, and it's really funny.
posted by toastyk at 10:57 PM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
Here are a few that I didn't see mentioned:
Blockers, kind of a spiritual sequel to American Pie, but more focused on girls navigating their prom night. They all make a pact to lose their virginity and their parents find out and try to stop it. The trailer makes it look dumber than it actually is, but it is a very sweet movie.
But I'm A Cheerleader is a queer satire of romantic comedies. Megan, who does not realize she is a lesbian, is sent to a conversion therapy camp, where she meets other queer kids. Hijinks ensue.
Surprised no one mentioned Center Stage yet, which is a movie about teenage ballet dancers competing with each other and also falling in love. The dancing is gorgeous, and it's really funny.
posted by toastyk at 10:57 PM on September 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
At the low end of teenage show, Disney's Andi Mack. I happened to catch one of the "OMG What?" episodes and was hooked.
posted by zengargoyle at 1:54 AM on September 14, 2019
posted by zengargoyle at 1:54 AM on September 14, 2019
Seconding the UK version of The Inbetweeners (don't bother with the movies though). Perfectly captures the big talk and little lives of desperately-trying-not-to-be-dorky teenagers.
I also have a soft spot for the TV version of My Mat Fat Diary. It's poignant, honest and funny, with a brilliant 90s alternative/Britpop soundtrack. (Plus, the main character's best friend is played by Killing Eve's Jodie Comer).
posted by brushtailedphascogale at 1:57 AM on September 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
I also have a soft spot for the TV version of My Mat Fat Diary. It's poignant, honest and funny, with a brilliant 90s alternative/Britpop soundtrack. (Plus, the main character's best friend is played by Killing Eve's Jodie Comer).
posted by brushtailedphascogale at 1:57 AM on September 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
Donnie Darko
posted by Glomar response at 4:52 AM on September 14, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Glomar response at 4:52 AM on September 14, 2019 [2 favorites]
I thoroughly enjoyed the "Freaky Friday" movie that came out in 2003 or so, with Lindsay Lohan (and was not expecting to).
putting in another vote for Mean Girls and My So-Called Life.
OMG- Ghostworld is one of my favorite movies ever. Not really a "teen movie", but about two teen girls. It's so great (and so is the graphic novel it's based on)
posted by bearette at 5:32 AM on September 14, 2019
putting in another vote for Mean Girls and My So-Called Life.
OMG- Ghostworld is one of my favorite movies ever. Not really a "teen movie", but about two teen girls. It's so great (and so is the graphic novel it's based on)
posted by bearette at 5:32 AM on September 14, 2019
In a totally different vein from most of the winsome recommendations above, the mid-80's film River's Edge tells a story of offhand murder and moral emptiness. Very dark.
posted by baseballpajamas at 7:24 AM on September 14, 2019
posted by baseballpajamas at 7:24 AM on September 14, 2019
No one's going to mention Superbad? Superbad. Surprisingly tender depiction of two best buds growing apart as college approaches. Also hilarious.
posted by Bron at 10:05 AM on September 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Bron at 10:05 AM on September 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
I enjoyed DOPE (2015) quite a bit!
posted by hannahelastic at 11:41 AM on September 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by hannahelastic at 11:41 AM on September 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
Breaking Away (1979) is a poignant, hilarious treasure and very smart. Follows a townie kid and his friends in a college town as figure out the next steps of adulthood after high school.
On the more typical "teen" movie side, I liked Easy A a lot, which stars Emma Stone and is far more nuanced and smart than I expected.
posted by veery at 11:54 AM on September 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
On the more typical "teen" movie side, I liked Easy A a lot, which stars Emma Stone and is far more nuanced and smart than I expected.
posted by veery at 11:54 AM on September 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
Over the Edge (1979) Bored suburban teens and Matt Dillon's first movie. Would make a good double feature with River's Edge.
Blackboard Jungle (1955) Some say the first of the genre.
posted by rhizome at 1:07 PM on September 14, 2019
Blackboard Jungle (1955) Some say the first of the genre.
posted by rhizome at 1:07 PM on September 14, 2019
Wait, has no one mentioned Twin Peaks? Twin Peaks.
posted by 826628 at 6:36 PM on September 14, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by 826628 at 6:36 PM on September 14, 2019 [2 favorites]
Also I don't know if this counts as a teen movie or not because only the two main characters are teenagers, but Dick is one of the smartest, funniest movies, and Kirsten Dunst and Michelle Williams are *kisses fingers* in it.
I'd also give a recco for The Craft which is maybe the ur-text for all the teen witch movies and has a great cast.
posted by Mchelly at 8:53 PM on September 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
I'd also give a recco for The Craft which is maybe the ur-text for all the teen witch movies and has a great cast.
posted by Mchelly at 8:53 PM on September 14, 2019 [1 favorite]
“Romy & Michelle’s High School Reunion”
Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino are a hoot. You see them during & after high school so it’s even more fun with the clothes and hairstyles of both.
“Election”
Reese Witherspoon in one of her best roles.
“Rushmore”
Bill Murray is not a teenager but he acts like one in competition with teenager, Jason Schwartzman.
”Pleasantville”
Juxtaposes 50s TV show teen “perfection” with 90s teen life. Reese Witherspoon and Toby Maguire are siblings with a realistic dynamic as I recall.
“Circle of Friends”
Minnie Driver’s first major role in a movie about 1950s Dublin students.
posted by narancia at 2:48 PM on September 16, 2019 [1 favorite]
Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino are a hoot. You see them during & after high school so it’s even more fun with the clothes and hairstyles of both.
“Election”
Reese Witherspoon in one of her best roles.
“Rushmore”
Bill Murray is not a teenager but he acts like one in competition with teenager, Jason Schwartzman.
”Pleasantville”
Juxtaposes 50s TV show teen “perfection” with 90s teen life. Reese Witherspoon and Toby Maguire are siblings with a realistic dynamic as I recall.
“Circle of Friends”
Minnie Driver’s first major role in a movie about 1950s Dublin students.
posted by narancia at 2:48 PM on September 16, 2019 [1 favorite]
Wonder Years
posted by soelo at 10:03 AM on September 17, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by soelo at 10:03 AM on September 17, 2019 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Wow, this is a lot to go through! I've favorited the ones that I'm going to start with.
I watched My So-Called Life when it aired - it may have been at the very end of my teen-movie/show-watching experience. I was the same age as the kids on the show and it was so dead-on that it was scary. I still remember watching the scene where Jordan Catalano took Angela's hand in the hallway at school. I'm sure that my heart nearly exploded. Hell, I still get goosebumps just thinking of it. Maybe I stopped watching teen movie/shows because nothing else could compare.
posted by Gray Duck at 9:48 AM on October 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
I watched My So-Called Life when it aired - it may have been at the very end of my teen-movie/show-watching experience. I was the same age as the kids on the show and it was so dead-on that it was scary. I still remember watching the scene where Jordan Catalano took Angela's hand in the hallway at school. I'm sure that my heart nearly exploded. Hell, I still get goosebumps just thinking of it. Maybe I stopped watching teen movie/shows because nothing else could compare.
posted by Gray Duck at 9:48 AM on October 7, 2019 [1 favorite]
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My So-Called Life
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 2:02 PM on September 13, 2019 [33 favorites]