nadira berman

19 must-watch high school movies

ahhh, high school. the time of prom, sats, rumors, drama and college applications. here are 19 classic movies about these pivotal four years between childhood and adulthood.

 

grease (1978)

1mwhsm_img1

high school has changed a lot since the fifties (or a 1970s representation of the fifties?), but a few things remain the same. there have always been cliques, rumors and lots of prom drama.

 

the breakfast club (1985)

msdbrcl ec016

what happens when you put a criminal, a jock, a basket case, a princess, and a brain all in one saturday morning detention? guess you’ll just have to watch to find out…

 

pretty in pink (1986)

1mwhsm_img3

the poor outsider falls in love with the rich popular boy. can two kids from such different backgrounds ever have a successful relationship?

 

ferris bueller’s day off  (1986)

1mwhsm_img4

this movie is perfect for those of you dreaming of ditching class for a day and having an adventure. fun and hilarious from start to finish.

 

can’t buy me love (1987)

1mwhsm_img5any grey’s anatomy fans out there? here’s some vintage mcdreamy for you. patrick dempsey pays a popular girl to date him for a month. but will she fall for him somewhere along the way?

 

heathers (1988)

1mwhsm_img6

do you ever wish you could get revenge on that annoying popular kid, your high school nemesis? but how far would you go? total humiliation? a punch in the face? murder?

 

say anything (1989)

1mwhsm_img7

a romance during the summer after high school graduation. the average, underachieving boy. the seemingly perfect and unattainable girl. an overly protective father. will love conquer all?

 

clueless (1995)

1mwhsm_img8

“as if!”

like mean girls, clueless is becoming of one the most quotable teen movies of all time. watch it so that you understand everyone’s references.

 

she’s all that (1999)

1mwhsm_img9

oh, how i love a good makeover movie. a popular jock is dared to turn a girl from a nerd to a prom queen in six weeks.

 

10 things i hate about you (1999)

1mwhsm_img10

mr. stratford has a frustrating rule for his daughter bianca. she is not allowed to date until her older sister kat does. but unfortunately, kat refuses to pursue a boyfriend, so bianca decides to set her up with a handsome bad boy. will kat stick to her morals or fall for the heartbreaker?

 

election (1999)

1mwhsm_img11

before reese witherspoon was elle woods in legally blonde, she played an obnoxious overachiever whose dream was to be student body president. but what lengths will she go to in order to win the election?

 

mean girls (2004)

1mwhsm_img12

all you need to know about mean girls is that it’s so fetch!

 

napolean dynamite (2004)

1mwhsm_img13

llamas. tater tots. pedro. what more could you possibly want?

 

high school musical (2006)

1mwhsm_img14

this high school movie classic is so bad that it’s good. don’t be afraid to sing along!

 

she’s the man (2006)

1mwhsm_img15

based off of shakespeare’s twelfth night, she’s the man focuses on a girl who pretends to be her twin brother in order to show off her soccer skills on the boy’s team. but problems arise when she falls in love with her roommate, played by channing tatum.

 

superbad (2007)

1mwhsm_img16

in an extremely hilarious adventure, three high school seniors attempt to obtain some alcohol to impress girls at a party, but run into trouble along the way.

 

juno (2007)

1mwhsm_img17

an emotional, quirky, and humorous story about teen pregnancy.

 

easy a (2010)

1mwhsm_img18

when false rumors about olive’s sexual activity circulate the school, she decides to stop caring what others think and even pretends that the rumors are true. but will the harsh words of others eventually get to her?

 

21 jump street (2012)

1mwhsm_img19

undercover cops masquerade as students at their old high school in order to shut down a drug ring.

 

author

  • nadira berman

    as a summer marketing intern, nadira is excited to help high schoolers prepare for the sat and act. as a freshman at the university of pennsylvania, she is considering studying economics. in her free time, she reports for the school newspaper and styles photo shoots for the school’s fashion magazine. besides fashion and journalism, her passions include bagels, smoothies and netflix.

more from magoosh