I’m back from my midterm. Relatively unscathed. But I hate tests. Did I mention that? It’s not that I don’t do well on them, it’s just that they stress me out. And I’d recently thought I was done with them. I mean, I’m so over that sort of thing. Shouldn’t I be over that? Hello? Mid 30s. Have an advanced degree. Not to mention house, husband and now offspring. But studying for a test makes me feel like I’m back in high school. [Shudder.]
Thinking about high school made me think about high school movies. Some of which are way more fun to watch than going to high school. So, here’s a list. Think of it as a syllabus. And yes, there will be a test.
High school movies that are more fun than high school
The movie’s not quite as much fun as the show, but still fun nonetheless. Valley girls and vampires. Plus Paul Reubens (a.k.a. Pee Wee Herman) has this hilarious extended death scene that is such a treat.
Cliques. Cruelty. Croquet. A wonderfully dark comedy that reminds me that I’m oh-so-glad to be done with high school. Eskimo.
Based on Jane Austen’s Emma. This one’s actually quite sweet. And also has a cool soundtrack.
Based on Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew,” and features at least one fairly kick-ass teenage girl character.
Dude. A totally righteous high school movie. With bodacious time travel.
The classic Michael J. Fox work. More time travelling, more high school.
I love John Cusack. Especially his earlier works. And it has raisins in it. You like raisins.
This movie appealed to me more when I was actually a teenager than it does now, but it’s still fun. It bears no resemblance to my own high school experience.
Having gone to high school in the 80s, I must include a token of the brat pack oeuvre.
collecting tokens 
I have to add “Pretty in Pink”. I had such a thing for Andrew McCarthy. I had a stuffed animal that I named Andrew and practiced kissing on it. (Have I said too much?)
I am also a total sucker for “Bring it on”. Okay. Now I’ve said too much.
“I blame not Heather, but rather a society that tells its youth that the answers to life can be found in the MTV video games.
We must pray that the other teenagers of Sherwood, Ohio know the name of that righteous dude who can solve their problems. It’s Jesus Christ, and he’s in the book.”
What of all the Harry Potter movies? Or don’t they count since they’re not set in an American high school?
KC-
Okay. I’ll accept “Pretty in Pink.” (Which is also a great song by the Psychedelic Furs.) Though I’ll try not to think too much about the stuffed animal business…And I actually don’t know “Bring it on,” so I will spare you judgment on that.
jeanerz-
Did you have that memorized?
YTSL-
It’s funny. I hadn’t actually considered the Harry Potter ones high school movies. They’re definitely school movies. And fun. Though the first few, at least, take place during pre-high school years. But aside from that, perhaps my definition of “high school movies” is biased towards the American public high school experience. I don’t seem to have any private school or boarding school movies on my list.
Hi again Alejna —
Yeah, I think that the very term “high school” seems to preclude non-American works (and experiences). E.g., in Britain and countries that follow the British system, there’s no differentiation of “high school” vis a vis “junior high”. Rather, those two get conflated into “secondary school” (AKA “senior school”) — which Hogwarts looks like being since the usual age for boys to go to boarding school in England is 13 years.
Okay, so instead of the Harry Potter movies, I’ll nominate “High School Musical” then! ;b
YTSL-
I guess I am less familiar with the “secondary school” film genre. And I haven’t heard of “High School Musical”! I’ll have to look it up.
firstly i will agree with you for choosing high school musicals because the movie is so nice and everything you havr mentioned is great
All highschool movies are more fun than any actual Highschool
highschool is a nightmare of a melting pot. So all movies by comparison look like the alternative you long for… but bravo on the choices i agree with them all