Best High School Movie

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In honor of all high schoolers, former high schoolers, those who act like high-schoolers (not necessarily a bad thing to me, anyway) or are the equivalent of high-schoolers--overseas (what would that be?)

What's your favored HIGH SCHOOL film where its geek vs. popular, nerds vs. athletes, students vs. faculty and all the permutations in between?

I'm haven't made up my mind about a high school picture. Too many to count. Maybe 16 CANDLES. But for now, I'll just mention THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE cuz its the only British film I remember which has something to do with school.
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I personally like Can't Hardly Wait. I loved it just because I've been to lots of parties like that. I thought it was very well done.
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I saw some of "Can't Hardly Wait," and it didn't suck as bad as I had expected it to. Anyway, I thought "10 Things I Hate About You" was surprisingly good. Well acted, and entertaining, even if the dialogue was pretty stupid at times. At least it's based on the main man, Billy Shakespeare.



Now With Moveable Parts
-Sixteen Candles
-Breakfast Club
-Ferris Bueller's Day Off
-Clueless
-Fast Times...
-and then the best highschool oriented T.V.shows were:Freaks & Geeks,My So Called Life,and Wonder Years.Sorry...I had to throw those in there.



1. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
2. Election (1999)
3. Say Anything... (1989)
4. The Breakfast Club (1985)
5. American Graffiti (1973)
6. The Chocolate War (1988)
7. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
8. The Virgin Suicides (1999)
9. Stand & Deliver (1987)
10. Better Off Dead (1985)



What the hell is wrong with me? "10 Things..." is good and all, but Ferris is #1...as he always will be. What a great friggin' movie. I usually hate a smarta** who skips school and such, but Ferris does it because he's so much smarter than everyone else. Great, great movie. First time I saw it I was really, really sick, and felt like crap (ironic, isn't it, given the subject matter?), but that didn't stop me from cracking up big time while watching it...especially during the part where he starts a play the "cough song" on his keyboard. Oh man, I totally lost it.



I love it Ferris Bueller when his Mom assures Mr. Rooney that Ferris is a very sick boy and then they cut to Ferris playing the clarinet horribly. And his line still cracks me up a full 15 years after I first saw it. "Never had one lesson". Comic gold.



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Clearly Election (can't you just tell?). It is blasphemous to say otherwise (especially seeing how most high school movies suck)



bigvalbowski's Avatar
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I gotta agree with Mr M here. Election was the most realistic high school movie and best.

Every school has got a Tracey Flick, a Paul Metzler and a Tammy Metzler. And you better believe there are teachers like Mr McAllister who really, really hate a few students of theirs. And there is no doubt that some male teachers must find some of their older female students attractive. Especially if they're wearing clothes that are 8 years too young for them as Tracey does.

Ferris Bueller was a great character as was Paul Rudd's but it wasn't set so much in high school.

I think American Pie was successful in showing true teenage problems. I know that I was sex-obsessed in high school. I still am by the way.

Ten Things I hate about you only worked because of the two leads chemistry (Ledger and Stiles). The rest of the film was pretty unrealistic. All the teachers were caricatures as were the jock and the pretty girl.

Oh and I have to agree with sadesdrk about the high school TV shows. Freaks and Geeks continues where The Wonders left off in showing what high school is really all about.

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I agree.Election is a great highschool movie.It's so sardonic;and Broderick was in that and my other favorite,Ferris Bueller.Cameron Fry has to be one of the greatest movie charactors of all time(oooh,new thread? )"When Cameron was in Egypt's land....let my Cameron...go."



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A lot of my favorite films have already been mentioned (especially FERRIS BEULLER). Just like to addtl:

NEVER BEEN KISSED where Drew Barrymore goes back to high school for her paper. Didn't think she could pull it off as Josie Grossy but she did!

CLUELESS with my favorite scene of Cher going through her closet to take skis and ski clothes to help the homeless in the Pismo Beach Disaster Fund

And inanely unforgettable: LONG DUK DONG in 16 CANDLES with "What's happening, HotStuff."

Also likes PRETTY IN PINK. Keep thinking of it as a sequel to 16 CANDLES even though I know it isn't. Who is that crazy friend of hers? I can't recall the name but he was hilarious



The Breakfast Club.

And I second Freaks and Geeks as being the best TV show about High School. Now they've even taken it out of syndication, which really sucks.



John Hughes's teen movies suck. That's the long and short of things. I pick Say Anything and Almost Famous. Booyah. If someone equals either of those I'll be greatly impressed. Oh yeah, Dazed and Confused is a great movie too... Clueless is awesome, I love that flick...OG, Can't Hardly Wait? Better not let it get around the sewing circle that you've been watching crap like that. They'll kick you out on your dainty little posterior.

At least no one's said American Graffiti. That movie is weak. I like American Pie though, the second one was a good flick too. I hope they don't make a third, that's all. I didn't like 10 things I hate about you, even though I've got a wicked crush on Julia Stiles. It was too "cool" for its own good. (same deal with Can't Hardly Wait.)

And, risking backlash from every single MoFo now posting, I'd like to say that I think Ferris Bueller is overrated.
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Almost Famous shouldn't count as a high school movie. It didn't acutally take place in a high school. But if it did count, it would obviously be the best (haven't seen Say Anything yet, so I can't comment on that movie).

I also liked Dazed and Confused, mainly because it's more realistic than the majority of teen movies.



i think American pie was a classic, and American pie 2 was also funny
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BrodieMan's Avatar
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hey, ferris bueller is awesome! does anyone remember the short-lived tv series that was based on the movie? ok, you would have to be some sort of wacko trivia buff to remember that because it was only on for a week or two, but somehow it just stuck in my head. it wasn't that good. that movie is so cool, though.

"the key to faking out the parents is the clammy hands. It's a good non-specific sympton, I'm a big believer in it. A lot of people will tell you that a good phony fever is a dead lock, but uh, you get a nervous mother you could wind up in a doctor's office, that's worse than school. You fake a stomach cramp, then when you're bent over moaning and wailing, you lick your palms. It's a little childish and stupid but then so it high school."

that movie is the guidebook for ditching school.. it would never work, but how many times did i cut senior year and think of that movie?



Now With Moveable Parts
oh...my...goodness.I totally remember that show.The "ferris"charactor had that blonde frisbee looking hair cut and the principal was that lady...and there was some big guy named...I don't know some weird one word nick-name.My sisters and I used to watch it all the time.Hey Mr.Dent...Freaks and Geeks runs on the Lifetime network now.I watch it all the time



Sadesdrk - you and Brodie are remembering two different shows.

There was a mecrifully short-lived TV sitcom version of the movie actually called "Ferris Bueller" (1990). It starred Charlie Schlatter (18 Again, "Diagnosis Murder") as Ferris, Ami Dolenz (She's Out of Control) as Slaon Peterson, Richard Riehle (Office Space, "Grounded for Life") as Ed Rooney, and Jennifer Aniston (yes, THAT Jennifer Aniston) as Jeanie Bueller. It aired on NBC.

The show you're thinking of was called "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" (1990 -1993), which aired on Fox and was definitely trying very much to be like the John Hughes movie. They sure did it better than the NBC "Ferris" show anyway. This one starred Corin 'Corky' Nemec ("The Stand") as Parker Lewis, Maia Brewton (Adventures in Babysitting) as his pesky little sister Shelly, Melanie Chartoff (who now voices Didi Pickles on "Rugrats") as Principal Grace Musso, and Abraham Benrubi (Jerry on "e.r.") as the hulking Larry Kubiac.


And Steve N., I mentioned Lucas' American Graffiti. Love that movie - though technically, American Graffiti and Say Anything... aren't REALLY High School movies, since they take place during the Summers AFTER graduation. Even so, they're both great flicks.



Now With Moveable Parts
Yeah you're right.I was thinking about Parker Lewis can't loose.That was kinda based on the Ferris Bueller idea right?
-Almost Famous,shouldn't count either.Really has nothing to do with highschool.Great movie though.Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure is a cool highschool movie...I loved the actual presentation at the end.