Some Kind of Wonderful

Howard Deutch, 1987 (8.5*)
One of the best sophmoric love stories ever, it's reputation seems to have grown with age. Pretty boy Eric Stoltz has a crush on unattainable and popular Lea Thompson (the mom in Back to the Future), while his best platonic friend Mary Stuart Masterson hides her real feelings from her guy, fearing she may drive him away if she openly displays affection. She actually agrees to chauffeur him on his first date with Thompson.

I'm not sure exactly what it is about this film, but I think it's Masterson's performance that has the audience pulling for her the entire film, while in reality all of us guys fell for the glamour of the high school cheerleader type babes and secretly wanted them instead of our true friends who loved us in spite of ourselves.

This is a mature film, usually described as thoughtful and perceptive, in spite of the high school subjects, and rises far above the pack of typical John Hughes films like Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink. It's endured for two decades now, and is often mentioned as a favorite romance by people today.

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Thirteen

Catherine Hardwicke, 2003 (8.4*)
Tough, edgy, and gritty, this realistic look at a young teenage girl in L.A. is very disturbing. The film is carried by terrific performances by Holly Hunter as the mother of 13-yr old Tracy, brilliantly portrayed by Evan Rachel Wood. Hunter is actually more like a big sister or a friend to Tracy, as she's struggling to make ends meet with little support from her ex-husband.

When Tracy begins the 7th grade, she sees a popular teen who looks and acts far beyond her age, Evie, played by the screenplay's co-author Nikki Reed, who was just 15 when she wrote this in just six days, and who also received one acting award as best newcomer. Until that day, Tracy had been a good mommy's girl, but goes through changes nearly overnight in her desire to be as popular as Evie. The two start hanging out together and in order to keep up, Tracy begins stealing money, going on mindless shopping sprees, and partaking in drugs with Evie. The two become inseparable, and Tracy begins to disobey her mother, avoid school altogether, and seems to be only interested in shallow and temporary pleasures.

The transformation is frightening to watch, as both girls are beyond control or self-discipline, and have no real goals in life other than instant gratification. This is an almost entirely female-produced film, from Hunter as star and producer, to the screenplay by Reed and director Hardwicke, to the cast, whose only males are Tracy's brother, dad, and a few male high school friends. It makes an important statement about parenthood, and though R-rated, seems to be a film that should be watched by parents with their teenaged kids, as a warning of how not to act if you want to reach adulthood with any semblance of maturity. This is a film that makes me glad I never had kids, as they often seem to rebel out of boredom or an impatience to become adult.

Hunter was nominated for a supporting actress Oscar®, and the film won 13 awards out of 35 nominations

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The Chorus

Christophe Barratier, France, 2004 (8.8*)
One of the few really good films about teachers, a worthy successor to 1939's classic school drama Goodbye, Mr. Chips. Clément Mathieu, a new teacher, played by Gérard Jugnot, volunteers for a remote music teaching post. He thinks it's maybe a small private school, but it turns out to be a near prison for juvenile delinquents, and he's basically a warden as well as a teacher.

This story is about how he gains the affection of his students, as well as shaping their dormant musical talents. This simple story never overreaches nor preaches, but remains perfectly within itself. This heartwarming film was nominated for two Oscars, foreign language film and music, and won 11 international awards (Awards Page at IMDB), 3 for music, 7 for director Barratier. On a short list with Mr. Chips and The Paper Chase (James Bridges, 1973) as great films about influential teachers.

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Heathers

Michael Lehman, 1989 (8.8*)
This is a rare and unique black comedy about high school. Remember all those snobbish cliques with the hottest girls? – well in this high school they’re all named Heather so they’re known collectively as 'Heathers'. Enter the picture a new student, dark and ominous, therefore alluring, played by Winona Ryder. For some reason the Heathers invite her in, even without the proper name. Her ultra-cool boyfriend Christian Slater decides they should prank one of them and the results are both surprising and unpredictable for all, an event that starts a chain reaction of crime that spirals out of control with hilarious results. This is one of the more unique high school comedies you’ll ever see, with an unforgettable cigarette lighting method, and is definitely wish fulfillment on film. Described as 'inventive, irreverant, and offensive', it the perfect comedy for the new millenium.

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Say Anything

Cameron Crowe, 1989 (7.8*)
Very enjoyable teen romance, one of the first efforts from director Crowe (Almost Famous, Jerry McGuire, Vanilla Sky); the former Rolling Stone rock writer had only written Fast Times at Ridgmont High before this. Average guy John Cusack has fallen for beautiful and brainy Ione Skye, who seems to not be interested, but of course Cusack persists, else there wouldn't be a film. Light romance, just entertainment but very much worth watching.

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Ferris Bueller's Day Off

John Hughes, 1986 (7.6*)
This sophmoric high school comedy was a Hughes' (16 Candles, Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink) specialty in the 80's, and this was the most successful of the batch, and still the most watchable years later. Matthew Broderick plays high schooler Bueller who fakes feeling ill in order to skip a day of school, but what starts a just another slacker day eventually turns into a local cause as nearly the entire town seems to get involved eventually. Jeffrey Jones (Amadeus, Beetlejuice) has a hissable part as the fascist school principal who becomes obsessed with busting Bueller; Jennifer Grey, in her original recognizable face, is the angel/devil sister that you both love and hate; Mia Sara is the eye candy; Cindy Pickett is the gullible mom. Don't look for much intelligence, just an entertaining ride down juvenile boulevard.

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Animal House

a.k.a. National Lampoon’s Animal House
Dir: John Landis, 1978 (8.1*)

This film had its moments, but was really pretty inconsistent overall. Noted for John Belushi’s extravagence ("food fight!") as Bluto, but the story really centers on freshman pledges Tom Hulce ("Pinto", which, in the screenplay, came b/c he had a speckled 'willie'!) and roomie Ken Dorfman (Stephen Furst) joining Belushi’s low-rent fraternity of animals (run by Tim Matheson), who are in so much trouble that Dean Wormer says of them "they’re on double-secret probation", and about to be booted from campus if there are any more infractions found, ie, underaged drinking or girls sleeping over. Look for Donald Sutherland as a professor who has an eye for Peter Riegert’s girlfriend Karen Allen, and a rival right-wing military fraternity specializing in sado-masochistic fun and games, as in spanking pledges, who respond with "please sir, can I have another?"
Quote: Can we dance with yo dates?

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A Christmas Story

Dir: Bob Clark, 1983 (8.8*)

This touching and nostalgic story is as much about growing up in middle America as it is about a kid's Christmas, beautifully adapted from Jean Shepherd's book of humorous stories "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash". An adult Shepherd (as Ralph "grown up" and looking back) narrates the tale and co-wrote the screenplay. The film actually merges several stories, but is primarily concerned with Ralphie's (played by Peter Billingsley, where did he go?) desperation to get the "Red Ryder range model 100-shot carbine action air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time", and everyone he mentions that to says "You'll shoot your eye out, kid!"

Melinda Dillon and Darren McGavin are perfect as his jaded and lifeworn parents ("mom hadn't had a hot meal in eight years"), the entire cast is perfect, and the film is now a bona-fide Christmas classic. PBS filmed two others of his: "The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Coznowski" and "Ollie Hoopnoodle's Haven of Bliss". This should inspire everyone to read Shepherd's award-winning stories, they're terrific, the best of their type and better even than this adaptation.
Some Shepherd characters: Grover Dill, Scut Farkas, Leopold Doppler, Delbert Bumpass, Ludlow Kissel, Flick and Schwartz

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