There’s nothing like the feeling of finishing that senior year of high school and heading off into the world with all the promise and hope the imagination can hold; that’s probably why graduation movies are so deeply felt by people of all ages. Below are my top eight graduation movie choices, they don’t all contain an actual graduation scene but all are based on that final year of high school and the thoughts and feelings that come with it.
Say Anything (1989)
Starring John Cusack and Ione Skye
This has to be the epitome of a high school romance and happens to have a great graduation scene in it as well. Say Anything follows two characters; one who is extremely motivated and ambitious (Diane Court) and one who is passionate and impulsive, going where the wind and his heart take him (Lloyd Dobbler). The two develop a romance in the summer months following high school graduation and uncover a mystery in the process.
Pretty in Pink (1986)
Starring Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy, and James Spader
Pretty in Pink is one of my all-time favorite graduation movies and contains one of the best movie lines (wait for it…I’ll get to it in a moment). Though the film does not show a graduation scene, the prom, which the entire movie builds up to, is the equivalent.
John Hughes explores class struggles and the classic teen issue of fittingin in the 80’s cult classic, Pretty in Pink. Andie, the poor girl thinks she has officially landed the rich guy of her dreams until Mr. Dreamboat’s best friend steps in and ruins it. Andie ends up with no date on prom night and when her dad (played by Harry Dean Stanton) asks her what she’s going to do, she says that she’s going to go anyway without him. When he questions if she really wants to go alone, Andie says, “I just want to let them know that they didn’t break me.” Yes, incredibly cheesy, but that has to be one of my all-time favorite film lines.
Never Been Kissed (1999)
Starring: Drew Barrymore, David Arquette, and Michael Vartan
I seem to find myself watching this film over and over; it just doesn’t get old. What’s great about Never Been Kissed is that you get to see a senior class dealing with graduation but you also get to see two adults (Drew Barrymore and David Arquette) go back and re-live high school in an attempt to fix what went wrong the first time around.
Again, you won’t get a graduation scene in this movie, but you’ll get something even better — the baseball field scene in which Josie Geller (Drew Barrymore) anxiously waits to see if Sam Coulson (Michael Vartan) will accept her apology, and if he does indeed love her.
Lean on Me (1989)
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Beverly Todd, and Robert Guillaume
Lean on Me is the quintessential 80’s graduation movie. Not only does this film have a graduation scene, but it features a principal (Morgan Freeman), who gets locked up in jail for his extreme methods of handling the criminals who threaten the safety of the other students at Eastside High. This is one hell of an inspiring film and I would recommend it for any high school graduate who is dealing with fears of not making it at his or her chosen college/university.
Cruel Intentions (1999)
Starring, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Reese Whitherspoon
You will most definitely get a graduation scene in this modern day re-make of the 1988 film, Dangerous Liaisons, and one heck of a show-stopping one, I might add. Duplicity abounds in Cruel Intentions, you’ll see one backstabbing, conniving plot after another here, and you’ll probably thank your lucky stars that your son or daughter isn’t a member of this high school. But in the end, good triumphs over evil as the sinister Kathryn Merteuil is ousted from her place as high school queen during the senior graduation ceremony.
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Starring: Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, and Ethan Hawke
O’ Captain, my Captain…,” who can say they weren’t deeply moved by that seen in which all of John Keating’s (played by Robin Williams) student stood on top of their desks and said this for him. There’s something truly special about the innocence and honesty of this high school film which follows a class of prep school boys as they delve, for the first time, into English Literature beyond what is written in the school books. The movie covers the unreal demands and expectations of parents and what it can do to their kids, the lack of real education in schools, and the inability of some teachers to really understand and get to know their students.
Dazed and Confused (1993)
Starring Jason London, Adam Goldberg, and Matthew McConaughey
Dazed and Confused was the must see high school movie of my generation. A comedic look at the last day of school for this particular graduating class of 1976, and its brutal hazing and torment of the incoming freshman class. Dazed and Confused stars just about everyone who was big in the early 90’s, it’s a sort of modern day American Graffiti in that respect. Dazed and Confused is a good choice for a laid back humorous take on graduation, a good way for a new or soon-to-be graduate to relax for a bit and let go of the stress.
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Starring Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, and Anthony Michael Hall
Another Molly Ringwald film, I know; what can I say, she was the it girl of the 80’s. Who needs a graduation scene when you’ve got a three hour Saturday detention class? In the course of this lengthy Saturday detention class, the all-star 80’s cast grapple with peer pressure, sex, fitting in, class differences, parental pressure and abuse, and a few even find love. This film can be appreciated for its dark wit and intelligent take on the teen mind. As I said earlier, you won’t get a graduation scene or speech, but the detention essay read out loud in a voice-over narrative at the end of the film reads like a graduation day speech, and certainly serves to evoke all of the same emotions.
There you have it, my top eight graduation movie choices. I hope that these eight graduation movies will uplift, inspire, and make you and your family laugh. And even if you don’t have a son or daughter heading off to college, these are just all-around wonderful movies, so don’t let that stop you from having an at-home graduation movie fest.
Sources/Related Sites:
imdb
Related Reading:
Top Five Getting a Job Movies
My Top Mother’s Day Movie Picks
Sandra Bullock Starting Over…
Reference:
- www.associatedcontent.com/article/721445/best_graduation_songs_by_decade.html?cat=4
- www.associatedcontent.com/article/1804568/the_best_high_school_and_college_graduation
- www.associatedcontent.com/article/1722722/top_ten_things_to_do_before_college.html?ca
