# Top 50 High School Movies of All Time **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 8, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911 "2006-09-08T14:26:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911/21 "2006-09-08T18:23:30Z")
[QUOTE=h.sapiens] Breakfast Club is #1 Dazed and Confused is #3 (Fast Times at Ridgemont High is #2, in case you wondered) [/QUOTE] I would have wondered after your answer. Well, then, I can’t really argue. BC and D&C are my two faves. I’d like to get it to load, though. I love crap like this. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911/22 "2006-09-08T18:29:10Z")
[QUOTE=Clothahump] Blackboard Jungle should be in the #1 slot, instead of nonexistant. [/QUOTE] Agreed. Blackboard Jungle set the standard for this type of genre. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911/23 "2006-09-08T18:49:34Z")
No _Not Another Teen movie_? Feh! (I’m only half-kidding.) ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911/24 "2006-09-08T18:58:08Z")
I’d put The Breakfast Club much lower on the list, and Pretty in Pink much higher. The thing that bugs me the most about Breakfast Club is how Molly Ringwald’s character forgives Bender so quickly for how he treats her- I mean, he stuck his face in her crotch (this was before they were a couple) and she acted like it was normal! Maybe that’s what I should do next time I see an attractive woman: I’ll just sneak up and put my face between her legs and then she’ll become my girlfriend. ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911/25 "2006-09-08T22:02:16Z")
Aaaagh, some of my favorites don’t even make the list - Better Off Dead (would have been in my personal top 10) One Crazy Summer Kidz How I Got Into College Secret Admirer Can’t Buy Me Love OK, three of my six are Savage Steve Holland movies, but he is a 80’ film god. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911/26 "2006-09-08T22:10:36Z")
[QUOTE=Hampshire] Wierd Science? Varsity Blues? Mallrats? [/QUOTE] School Ties? Three O’ Clock High? Remember the Titans? Dump the half dozen or so films I’ve never even heard of: Gregory’s Girl? Get Real? High School ? WTF ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911/27 "2006-09-08T22:18:35Z")
Ok, hell with it – I’ll take the bullet and put the list together. Spoiler boxed for those who wish to go through the annoyance of reading 19 pages for this info: 1. Splendor in the Grass 2. Sixteen Candles 3. Just One of the Guys 4. Napoleon Dynamite 5. Flirting 6. My Bodyguard 7. Can’t Hardly Wait 8. Stand and Deliver 9. Fame 10. Can’t Buy Me Love 11. Risky Business 12. The Virgin Suicides 13. Bye Bye Birdie 14. Friday Night Lights 15. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 16. Brick 17. Get Real 18. Hoop Dreams 19. Scream 20. The Karate Kid 21. Bring It On 22. Gregory’s Girl 23. Back to the Future 24. To Sir, With Love 25. Pretty in Pink 26. Hoosiers 27. Rushmore 28. Cooley High 29. American Pie 30. Grease 31. Dead Poets Society 32. The Last Picture Show 33. Rock ‘n’ Roll High School 34. Peggy Sue Got Married 35. Lucas 36. Carrie 37. Donnie Darko 38. High School 39. Mean Girls 40. Say Anything 41. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off 42. Election 43. Boyz N the Hood 44. Clueless 45. American Graffiti 46. Heathers 47. Rebel Without a Cause 48. Dazed and Confused 49. Fast Times at Ridgemont High 50. The Breakfast Club ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2006, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911/28 "2006-09-08T23:26:23Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] And where, may I ask, is _Buffy_? [/QUOTE] Right next to Porky’s II on the “Not on the Top 50 List” list, and rightfully so. I thought _Hollywood Knights_ should have made the lower part of the list. Like **Silenus** I’d have switched the #1 and #2 spots, but possibly for less noble reasons. Two less noble reasons. Both of which were glorious and deserving of more screen time. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911/29 "2006-09-09T00:50:31Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] Good list, but one MAJOR oversight… **IF…** starring Malcolm Mcdowell, should easily be top 10. [/QUOTE] Oooh…good one. But apparently not American enough. I can agree with most of it, but Breakfast Club at number 1??? Better than Rebel Without a Cause? Better than Heathers? Better than Fast Times at Ridgemont High? Better than American Graffiti??? I’d move it down to ten and movie the rest of them up a notch. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911/30 "2006-09-09T06:29:13Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] Dump the half dozen or so films I’ve never even heard of: Gregory’s Girl? Get Real? High School ? [/QUOTE] So, if you haven’t seen it — it’s not worth seeing, right? (P.S. I’ve seen _Gregory’s Girl_ and _High School_, and yes they belong on the list.) ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911/31 "2006-09-09T06:34:09Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] Dump the half dozen or so films I’ve never even heard of: Gregory’s Girl? Get Real? High School ? WTF [/QUOTE] Wow. Solipsitic much? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911/32 "2006-09-09T09:01:13Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] So, if you haven’t seen it — it’s not worth seeing, right? [/QUOTE] Did I say that? No. I simply said there are other high school movies which might make a better choice for top 50. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911/33 "2006-09-09T09:13:36Z")
While Breakfast Club is nowhere near the best movie on the list, it is the quintessential High School Movie, just because of how it embrases all stereotypes. I was a bit too old when it came out (24) but not old enough to have forgotten what those teens years really felt like. Hughes may have cardboard characters, played by not very accomplished actors who deliver their lines awkwardly, but the again, teenagers often behave awkwardly and life, when you’re living thorugh those years, tend to be all black or white, all good or evil. Being nuanced and insightful is not part of being 16. I think this is why the movie works so well and deserves being #1. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911/34 "2006-09-09T15:37:34Z")
The list makers don’t seem all too critical about their definition of ‘high school movie’. Anything that takes place in a high school seems fine to be fine by their standards. For me, a high school movie is where the scenario being a high school fills an important \*point \*or part of the plot (as in Breakfast Club) and isn’t just where the story happens to take place (as in Carrie). ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911/35 "2006-09-09T17:52:11Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] Did I say that? No. I simply said there are other high school movies which might make a better choice for top 50. [/QUOTE] Nah, Gregory’s Girl deserves its place - top ten probably. I was pleased to see Dazed and Confused, American Graffiti and Clueless up there. Very good films. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911/36 "2006-09-09T17:54:16Z")
[QUOTE=cactus waltz] The list makers don’t seem all too critical about their definition of ‘high school movie’. Anything that takes place in a high school seems fine to be fine by their standards. [/QUOTE] I know what you mean, but as a starting point for the list it’s hard to see what else they could have done. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911/37 "2006-09-09T22:03:35Z")
[QUOTE=cactus waltz] The list makers don’t seem all too critical about their definition of ‘high school movie’. Anything that takes place in a high school seems fine to be fine by their standards. For me, a high school movie is where the scenario being a high school fills an important \*point \*or part of the plot (as in Breakfast Club) and isn’t just where the story happens to take place (as in Carrie). [/QUOTE] Actually, it’s quite important that “Carrie” be set in a high school; the coming-of-age and high school outcast themes are rather central to the story. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911/38 "2006-09-09T22:17:15Z")
[QUOTE=msmith537] Did I say that? No. I simply said there are other high school movies which might make a better choice for top 50. [/QUOTE] If the **High School** the list is referring to is the Frederick Wiseman documentary, then there is no film you can think of that deserves to be on that list more (even the very good _Blackboard_). In fact, #13 is too low. ---
**Author:** ![2lazy2pee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/4bbf92/32.png) [@2lazy2pee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2lazy2pee)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911/39 "2006-09-10T01:09:14Z")
Another omission from the list: All The Right Moves Should have been somewhere in the top 50. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2006, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911/40 "2006-09-10T04:48:14Z")
[QUOTE=Reloy3] Aaaagh, some of my favorites don’t even make the list - Better Off Dead (would have been in my personal top 10) [/QUOTE] Better Off Dead should definitely be on that list. I’m glad to see Heathers in the top 5. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-50-high-school-movies-of-all-time/371911.md?page=3)