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School Intentions
With the school year just around the bend, we count down our 10 favorite high school flicks.
By Kim Morgan
MSN Entertainment
There's a reason Alice Cooper's anthem "School's Out" has left such a lasting impression upon generation after generation. We all love it when "school's out for summer." And especially, when "school's out forever" ... especially high school. It's the time when dramatic life moments occur, leaving us gripped with neurosis or interesting self-reflection for years. Why do you think the "American Pie" series so engaged us?
As you'll see here, the high school movie has always been a popular, drama-filled genre. So in honor of all those seniors, freshman and Sweat Hogs trudging back to the bricks in the wall, here's a list of our ten favorite high school movies. Some are fun, some sad, some masterful and some musical. Like all those nutty, surging hormones we had to endure, they swing wild and also prove, in some way, that we do need an education. You may want to take notes.
10. Rock n Roll High School (1979)
This was designed to be a cult movie and has stayed one since its release in 1979. Helping its canonical status is the film's focal point: Punk rock super group The Ramones, a band that's maintained this picture's cool factor for the last two decades. '70s hottie PJ Soles plays a cheerleader who's so nutty about The Ramones that she'll stop at almost nothing to get tickets for their show. Meanwhile, principle Mary Woronov threatens "suspension for life." The kids? Well, they generally run amuck, attempting to ditch hall monitors and genuflecting to The Ramones, especially how Joey "slithers pizza into his mouth." Stupid, rockin' fun.
9. High School Confidential (1958)
It's tough not to love this '50s exploitation flick simply for its title song by Jerry Lee Lewis, who opens the film pounding on his piano in the back of a truck. Hysterically based around the dangers of drugs (people go nutty for their "Mary Jane"), the picture stars Russ Tamblyn as a tough Chicago kid who's the new kid in town, pining for pretty Diane Jergens, a babe who belongs to John Drew Barrymore. Trouble brews for Russ, who also experiences the passes of his sex crazed Aunt (played by curvy B- goddess Mamie Van Doren -- um, can you imagine if she were your Aunt?), heavy flirting with his hot teacher (played by sexy Jan Sterling) and a boatload of hep lingo. A lot of words end with "ville" (like "squaresville") and you'll hear what's "nowhere" or what causes a "flipout" or the greatest line: "Tomorrow's a drag, the future's a flake." Campy, beatnik-inspired, funny and even, oddly profound in its silly way, this movie is the swingingest, man. You dig?
8. Heathers (1989)
A startling, darkly funny teen picture, "Heathers" -- starring Winona Ryder and a Jack Nicholson-impersonating Christian Slater -- remains a nice antidote to all those life positive '80s John Hughes' films. Here, the jocks and the snobs, particularly a Nazi-like regime clique of girls all named Heather, get theirs in creative, incredibly mean style. Heather-ette Ryder (who's name is Veronica but she manages to get in with the cool chicks), longs for something more than the "diet coke heads." When new boy Slater swaggers into the lunchroom, she's smitten. The two become a homicidal duo, engaging in a murder spree that look like a rash of suicides (one involves a cup of Drano). The humor's positively black and the dialogue is priceless: "Heather why do you have to be such a mega *****?" Answer? "Because I can be."
7. Grease (1978)
Classic story: Bad boy meets good girl. The two fall in love during a wildly romantic summer break but when school starts, what to do? They can't run around in bathing suits, hiding the fact that one's an Australian goody-goody (that would be Sandy played by Olivia Newton-John), while the other's an all out greaser (yes, Danny played by John Travolta). The film follows the shenanigans of the 1950's gangs the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies while they generally hate school, mess around at a mixer, toy with fresh faced Sandy, neck, and sing and dance. A musical that has stood the test of time and one that fills a certain population of Gen-X-er's with great memories (come on, how many times did you see it in the theater?). "Grease" is the classic that taught you how to get your man. Teased hair and black hot pants. Terrific fun, especially for all those songs ("Summer Nights," "Greased Lightin'", "Hopelessly Devoted to You") and most particularly for the charismatic Travolta. Ouch. Was he ever hotter?
6. Carrie (1976)
Wow, High School can really suck. Especially if you're a quiet little red-haired wallflower with a psychotic overly-religious mother and a violent dose of telekinetic powers that are unleashed when angry. And if you're Carrie White (the fabulous Sissy Spacek), you've got plenty to make you angry. Brian De Palma adapted Stephen King's novel perfectly, making High School a playground for the cruel and unusual, reflecting the real-life horrors of later, adult life and the surging, hormonal complications of becoming a teen. When Carrie is invited to the prom as a trick, we watch with deep compassion as she dresses herself into the truly beautiful young woman she is, only to be doused with pig's blood when crowned Prom Queen. Spacek made history with this role speaking for all the teenage disenfranchised with her finale act of retribution (destroy ALL!). The finale is strangely liberating but also terribly sad. This remains an absolutely touching classic that transcends its genre.
5. Donnie Darko (2001)
OK, there's much more to "Donnie Darko" than simply high school but it belongs here because the film wouldn't work in any different milieu. Young filmmaker Richard Kelly directed Jake Gyllenhaal as our titular hero Donnie Darko in this intriguing combination of science fiction, teen drama, romance, '80s nostalgia and teen film satire. And more. Its 1988 in affluent Middlesex, Virginia where a sleepwalking Donnie Darko receives news from a horrifying six foot charred bunny -- in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 16 seconds away the world's gonna end. When a jet engine smashes into the bedroom of his house while Donnie's walking the night, he realizes that creepy rabbit just saved his life. What to do? Explore the significance of the event while attending school, arguing about the sexuality of The Smurfs, falling in love, outing a pedophile teacher, attending hypnosis sessions with a psychiatrist and enduring the self help mumbo jumbo of a teacher who feels love and fear are the polar extremes that guide our life. You know, normal high school stuff. The film also features some brilliant musical sequences showcasing Tears for Fears and Echo and the Bunnymen tunes. Unseen on first release but discovered on DVD, "Donnie Darko" is now a deserved, bona-fide cult classic where popular revivals are filled with the rightfully obsessed.
4. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
You were probably wondering when we'd get to this one. Writer Cameron Crowe went undercover in an '80s Southern California High School (when you see his auto-biographical "Almost Famous" you understand how he was able to achieve such a feat) coming up with a smorgasbord of inside info that is now part of our popular vernacular. Directed by Amy Heckerling, the picture follows the new sexual exploits of mall-working Valley Girl Jennifer Jason Leigh and her more experienced older friend Phoebe Cates (who gets one of cinema's -- or locker room's -- most talked about bikini moments). Poor Leigh takes advice from all the wrong people, resulting in some sexual moments that never play as merely titillating, but incredibly pathetic and disturbing, especially in a comedy like this. Making up for Leigh's dramatic dilemma's however, is the comedic icon of surfer/pot-head Jeff Spicoli (yes, remember that was Sean Penn all those year's ago), whose stoned-out stupidity belies a clever sarcasm that's not as dumb as it looks. Terrific music, smart, funny performances and genuinely touching, "Fast Times" still works. Must we quote? OK one: "All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine." Alright one more, "Aloha, Mr. Hand."
3. Dazed and Confused (1993)
We know some of you will get angry not seeing George Lucas' "American Graffiti" gracing this list but Richard Linklater's "Dazed and Confused," a film that's been compared to Lucas' is better. Chronicling one day in the life of a group of Texas high school students circa 1976, the picture walks us through the drama of eight seniors who wonder about their future, search for Aerosmith tickets and haze (and we really mean haze, '70s style) incoming Freshmen. The picture's filled with future stars, all who give terrific, authentic performances, like Matthew McConaughey (in the greatest role of his career,), Ben Affleck (ditto), Parker Posey, Adam Goldberg, Joey Lauren Adams, Cole Hauser and the lovely Milla Jovovich. Linklater really captures what the last day of school feels like (then and now) but also the issues of the era, like drugs, Watergate, feminism and other topics relevant to the '70s. Like "Graffiti," we really wonder and care about what'll happen to these teens as they cruise around to some of the era's greatest music. And we also laugh a lot. A landmark in teen cinema.
2. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
"You're tearing me apart!" Who can forget young James Dean struggling with his meek father and shrew of a mother while attempting to fit in as the new kid in a '50s Los Angeles High School? Directed by the great Nicholas Ray in vibrant color and gorgeously stylized eschew angles, the film's title alone has become a catch phrase for the smart loner who wants to make any kind of mark, but living in such an existential world, only ends up lashing out. In Dean's most popular movie, the method actor begins life in town first in a police station where he's picked up for being publicly drunk. There he meets two other misfits who will later become his best friends, Sal Mineo (who's charged with killing a bunch of puppies -- harsh!) and Natalie Wood, who's got some serious daddy issues. The three form a deep, but somewhat bizarre bond after a deadly chicken race, holing up in an abandoned house where the cops and other gang members can't find them. A deeply philosophical film, Ray's picture is filled with layered musings. Dean's family life involves a lot of talking but not listening (timeless) while high school means initiation by knife. The picture is also incredibly homoerotic with Mineo and Dean engaging in some intriguing subtext attraction. There's a reason this film's so famous, of course for the iconic performance, cool, sensitivity and gorgeousness of Dean, but also for its emotionally charged subject matter. "The Catcher in the Rye" of cinema, generations of young men and women have deeply related to this film.
1. Rushmore (1999)
Co-written and directed by then-relatively unknown Wes Anderson and co-written and co-produced by Owen Wilson, "Rushmore" is one of the most creative, touching, and hilarious pictures to come out in the past few decades. For some, "Rushmore" is more than a movie -- it's a sublime milestone. "Rushmore" is named for the posh prep-school academy that the film's main character, 15-year-old Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman), attends with an enthusiasm that borders on pathological. Unlike the rich kids at Rushmore, Max is there on a scholarship, though he's barely passing any of his classes. But he's got tons of spirit (he heads about every extracurricular school club) and heavy doses of arrogance. He's driving the administrators at Rushmore crazy but he's also made a friend in Herman Blume (Bill Murray), a millionaire, whose speech to the students of Rushmore makes a strong impression on Max. However, thanks to a bizarre love triangle, Max will learn what heartbreak is and in one of the film's saddest moments, be kicked out of Rushmore, only to attend the drabness of regular high school. Beautifully filmed, scored, acted and so genuinely sweet, "Rushmore's" the kind of movie that makes you cry from your well of bittersweet memories, many from your high school years. And it's got one of the greatest soundtracks in film history. When Blume asks Max, "What's the secret?" Max tells him: "Find what you like to do and do it for the rest of your life. For me it's going to Rushmore." Amen.
The Honor Roll:
"The Virgin Suicides" | "To Sir With Love" | "Sixteen Candles" | "American Graffiti" | "Valley Girl"
http://entertainment.msn.com/news/article.aspx?news=130321
With the school year just around the bend, we count down our 10 favorite high school flicks.
By Kim Morgan
MSN Entertainment
There's a reason Alice Cooper's anthem "School's Out" has left such a lasting impression upon generation after generation. We all love it when "school's out for summer." And especially, when "school's out forever" ... especially high school. It's the time when dramatic life moments occur, leaving us gripped with neurosis or interesting self-reflection for years. Why do you think the "American Pie" series so engaged us?
As you'll see here, the high school movie has always been a popular, drama-filled genre. So in honor of all those seniors, freshman and Sweat Hogs trudging back to the bricks in the wall, here's a list of our ten favorite high school movies. Some are fun, some sad, some masterful and some musical. Like all those nutty, surging hormones we had to endure, they swing wild and also prove, in some way, that we do need an education. You may want to take notes.
10. Rock n Roll High School (1979)
This was designed to be a cult movie and has stayed one since its release in 1979. Helping its canonical status is the film's focal point: Punk rock super group The Ramones, a band that's maintained this picture's cool factor for the last two decades. '70s hottie PJ Soles plays a cheerleader who's so nutty about The Ramones that she'll stop at almost nothing to get tickets for their show. Meanwhile, principle Mary Woronov threatens "suspension for life." The kids? Well, they generally run amuck, attempting to ditch hall monitors and genuflecting to The Ramones, especially how Joey "slithers pizza into his mouth." Stupid, rockin' fun.
9. High School Confidential (1958)
It's tough not to love this '50s exploitation flick simply for its title song by Jerry Lee Lewis, who opens the film pounding on his piano in the back of a truck. Hysterically based around the dangers of drugs (people go nutty for their "Mary Jane"), the picture stars Russ Tamblyn as a tough Chicago kid who's the new kid in town, pining for pretty Diane Jergens, a babe who belongs to John Drew Barrymore. Trouble brews for Russ, who also experiences the passes of his sex crazed Aunt (played by curvy B- goddess Mamie Van Doren -- um, can you imagine if she were your Aunt?), heavy flirting with his hot teacher (played by sexy Jan Sterling) and a boatload of hep lingo. A lot of words end with "ville" (like "squaresville") and you'll hear what's "nowhere" or what causes a "flipout" or the greatest line: "Tomorrow's a drag, the future's a flake." Campy, beatnik-inspired, funny and even, oddly profound in its silly way, this movie is the swingingest, man. You dig?
8. Heathers (1989)
A startling, darkly funny teen picture, "Heathers" -- starring Winona Ryder and a Jack Nicholson-impersonating Christian Slater -- remains a nice antidote to all those life positive '80s John Hughes' films. Here, the jocks and the snobs, particularly a Nazi-like regime clique of girls all named Heather, get theirs in creative, incredibly mean style. Heather-ette Ryder (who's name is Veronica but she manages to get in with the cool chicks), longs for something more than the "diet coke heads." When new boy Slater swaggers into the lunchroom, she's smitten. The two become a homicidal duo, engaging in a murder spree that look like a rash of suicides (one involves a cup of Drano). The humor's positively black and the dialogue is priceless: "Heather why do you have to be such a mega *****?" Answer? "Because I can be."
7. Grease (1978)
Classic story: Bad boy meets good girl. The two fall in love during a wildly romantic summer break but when school starts, what to do? They can't run around in bathing suits, hiding the fact that one's an Australian goody-goody (that would be Sandy played by Olivia Newton-John), while the other's an all out greaser (yes, Danny played by John Travolta). The film follows the shenanigans of the 1950's gangs the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies while they generally hate school, mess around at a mixer, toy with fresh faced Sandy, neck, and sing and dance. A musical that has stood the test of time and one that fills a certain population of Gen-X-er's with great memories (come on, how many times did you see it in the theater?). "Grease" is the classic that taught you how to get your man. Teased hair and black hot pants. Terrific fun, especially for all those songs ("Summer Nights," "Greased Lightin'", "Hopelessly Devoted to You") and most particularly for the charismatic Travolta. Ouch. Was he ever hotter?
6. Carrie (1976)
Wow, High School can really suck. Especially if you're a quiet little red-haired wallflower with a psychotic overly-religious mother and a violent dose of telekinetic powers that are unleashed when angry. And if you're Carrie White (the fabulous Sissy Spacek), you've got plenty to make you angry. Brian De Palma adapted Stephen King's novel perfectly, making High School a playground for the cruel and unusual, reflecting the real-life horrors of later, adult life and the surging, hormonal complications of becoming a teen. When Carrie is invited to the prom as a trick, we watch with deep compassion as she dresses herself into the truly beautiful young woman she is, only to be doused with pig's blood when crowned Prom Queen. Spacek made history with this role speaking for all the teenage disenfranchised with her finale act of retribution (destroy ALL!). The finale is strangely liberating but also terribly sad. This remains an absolutely touching classic that transcends its genre.
5. Donnie Darko (2001)
OK, there's much more to "Donnie Darko" than simply high school but it belongs here because the film wouldn't work in any different milieu. Young filmmaker Richard Kelly directed Jake Gyllenhaal as our titular hero Donnie Darko in this intriguing combination of science fiction, teen drama, romance, '80s nostalgia and teen film satire. And more. Its 1988 in affluent Middlesex, Virginia where a sleepwalking Donnie Darko receives news from a horrifying six foot charred bunny -- in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 16 seconds away the world's gonna end. When a jet engine smashes into the bedroom of his house while Donnie's walking the night, he realizes that creepy rabbit just saved his life. What to do? Explore the significance of the event while attending school, arguing about the sexuality of The Smurfs, falling in love, outing a pedophile teacher, attending hypnosis sessions with a psychiatrist and enduring the self help mumbo jumbo of a teacher who feels love and fear are the polar extremes that guide our life. You know, normal high school stuff. The film also features some brilliant musical sequences showcasing Tears for Fears and Echo and the Bunnymen tunes. Unseen on first release but discovered on DVD, "Donnie Darko" is now a deserved, bona-fide cult classic where popular revivals are filled with the rightfully obsessed.
4. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
You were probably wondering when we'd get to this one. Writer Cameron Crowe went undercover in an '80s Southern California High School (when you see his auto-biographical "Almost Famous" you understand how he was able to achieve such a feat) coming up with a smorgasbord of inside info that is now part of our popular vernacular. Directed by Amy Heckerling, the picture follows the new sexual exploits of mall-working Valley Girl Jennifer Jason Leigh and her more experienced older friend Phoebe Cates (who gets one of cinema's -- or locker room's -- most talked about bikini moments). Poor Leigh takes advice from all the wrong people, resulting in some sexual moments that never play as merely titillating, but incredibly pathetic and disturbing, especially in a comedy like this. Making up for Leigh's dramatic dilemma's however, is the comedic icon of surfer/pot-head Jeff Spicoli (yes, remember that was Sean Penn all those year's ago), whose stoned-out stupidity belies a clever sarcasm that's not as dumb as it looks. Terrific music, smart, funny performances and genuinely touching, "Fast Times" still works. Must we quote? OK one: "All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine." Alright one more, "Aloha, Mr. Hand."
3. Dazed and Confused (1993)
We know some of you will get angry not seeing George Lucas' "American Graffiti" gracing this list but Richard Linklater's "Dazed and Confused," a film that's been compared to Lucas' is better. Chronicling one day in the life of a group of Texas high school students circa 1976, the picture walks us through the drama of eight seniors who wonder about their future, search for Aerosmith tickets and haze (and we really mean haze, '70s style) incoming Freshmen. The picture's filled with future stars, all who give terrific, authentic performances, like Matthew McConaughey (in the greatest role of his career,), Ben Affleck (ditto), Parker Posey, Adam Goldberg, Joey Lauren Adams, Cole Hauser and the lovely Milla Jovovich. Linklater really captures what the last day of school feels like (then and now) but also the issues of the era, like drugs, Watergate, feminism and other topics relevant to the '70s. Like "Graffiti," we really wonder and care about what'll happen to these teens as they cruise around to some of the era's greatest music. And we also laugh a lot. A landmark in teen cinema.
2. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
"You're tearing me apart!" Who can forget young James Dean struggling with his meek father and shrew of a mother while attempting to fit in as the new kid in a '50s Los Angeles High School? Directed by the great Nicholas Ray in vibrant color and gorgeously stylized eschew angles, the film's title alone has become a catch phrase for the smart loner who wants to make any kind of mark, but living in such an existential world, only ends up lashing out. In Dean's most popular movie, the method actor begins life in town first in a police station where he's picked up for being publicly drunk. There he meets two other misfits who will later become his best friends, Sal Mineo (who's charged with killing a bunch of puppies -- harsh!) and Natalie Wood, who's got some serious daddy issues. The three form a deep, but somewhat bizarre bond after a deadly chicken race, holing up in an abandoned house where the cops and other gang members can't find them. A deeply philosophical film, Ray's picture is filled with layered musings. Dean's family life involves a lot of talking but not listening (timeless) while high school means initiation by knife. The picture is also incredibly homoerotic with Mineo and Dean engaging in some intriguing subtext attraction. There's a reason this film's so famous, of course for the iconic performance, cool, sensitivity and gorgeousness of Dean, but also for its emotionally charged subject matter. "The Catcher in the Rye" of cinema, generations of young men and women have deeply related to this film.
1. Rushmore (1999)
Co-written and directed by then-relatively unknown Wes Anderson and co-written and co-produced by Owen Wilson, "Rushmore" is one of the most creative, touching, and hilarious pictures to come out in the past few decades. For some, "Rushmore" is more than a movie -- it's a sublime milestone. "Rushmore" is named for the posh prep-school academy that the film's main character, 15-year-old Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman), attends with an enthusiasm that borders on pathological. Unlike the rich kids at Rushmore, Max is there on a scholarship, though he's barely passing any of his classes. But he's got tons of spirit (he heads about every extracurricular school club) and heavy doses of arrogance. He's driving the administrators at Rushmore crazy but he's also made a friend in Herman Blume (Bill Murray), a millionaire, whose speech to the students of Rushmore makes a strong impression on Max. However, thanks to a bizarre love triangle, Max will learn what heartbreak is and in one of the film's saddest moments, be kicked out of Rushmore, only to attend the drabness of regular high school. Beautifully filmed, scored, acted and so genuinely sweet, "Rushmore's" the kind of movie that makes you cry from your well of bittersweet memories, many from your high school years. And it's got one of the greatest soundtracks in film history. When Blume asks Max, "What's the secret?" Max tells him: "Find what you like to do and do it for the rest of your life. For me it's going to Rushmore." Amen.
The Honor Roll:
"The Virgin Suicides" | "To Sir With Love" | "Sixteen Candles" | "American Graffiti" | "Valley Girl"
http://entertainment.msn.com/news/article.aspx?news=130321
Dazed and Confused! That is one of my favorites! I also liked Heathers, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Carrie.
