Some say that the golden age of teen movies was in the 1980s. With many movies geared to that age group it seemed as though once a week a high school flick was released at the local movie theatre. Whether it was about a teen and his/her unrequited crush (Some Kind of Wonderful, Pretty in Pink) or a jock pushing himself to the limits (All the Right Moves, Vision Quest), many of the films struck a chord with viewers who often saw themselves reflected on screen. No matter what your tastes, if you were a teenager in the 1980s there was a movie just for you. Here’s a list of the ten best.
10. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off(1986)
Main character Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) plays hooky from school. Instead of staying home he enlists the help of his best friend Cameron and the two steal Cameron’s dad’s convertible and pick up Ferris’ girlfriend Sloan from school. The trio then spend the day in Chicago, a trip that finds them taking in a Cubs game and singing on a float in a parade.
Memorable Quote – “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”
Memorable Song – “Twist and Shout” by The Beatles
9. Footloose (1984)
It’s Kevin Bacon’s worst nightmare when he and his mom move to a small Mid-Western town that outlaws dancing and rock music. Bacon’s character, Ren, leads his fellow students on a crusade to bring back both, all the while seducing the local Reverend’s daughter.
Memorable Quote – “If our lord wasn’t testing us, how would you account for the proliferation, these days, of this obscene rock and roll music, with its gospel of easy sexuality and relaxed morality?
Memorable Song – “Footloose” by Kenny Loggins
8. Risky Business (1983)
Though Tom Cruise starred in plenty of films in the 1980s this was perhaps his breakthrough role. Cruise plays Joel, an All-American boy next door in his senior year of high school who plans on attending Princeton. His parents leave him home alone for a weekend and that’s when everything in Joel’s life implodes. At the urging of his friends Joel throws a wild party and becomes involved with a prositute named Lana (Rebecca DeMornay) and her pimp played by Joe Pantoliano.
Memorable Quote – “Sometimes you gotta say “What the F*ck”, make your move. Joel, every now and then, saying “What the F*ck”, brings freedom. Freedom brings opportunity, opportunity brings freedom. So your parents are going out of town. You got the place all to yourself.”
Memorable Song – “Old Time Rock & Roll” by Bob Seeger
7. Pretty In Pink(1986)
This is the first Molly Ringwald film on this list. Ringwald, the “it girl” of the 1980s teen comedies, plays Andie, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks in this John Hughes written film. While her best friend Duckie (Jon Cryer) pines away for her, Andie prefers the preppy Blane (Andrew McCarthy). Andie and Blaine go out a few times before Blane, at the urging of best friend Steff (played by smarmy James Spader), dumps her. In the end when Blane comes back, Andie has to decide between him and best friend Duckie.
Memorable Quote – “His name is Blane? Oh! That’s a major appliance, that’s not a name!”
Memorable Song – If You Leave” by OMD
6. Lucas (1986)
Can you imagine Winona Ryder playing an ugly duckling? With this movie you don’t have to. She’s best friends with school geek Lucas (Corey Haim). Lucas wants nothing more than to be one of the guys and join the school football team. Unfortunately for him, he’s much too small. With some help from good guy jock (Charlie Sheen) Lucas challenges the coach to put him on the team. The movie ends with one of those pattented 1980s slow clap moments.
Memorable Quote – “You heard me, pencil-brain! I mean, who are we kidding here, who is the pissant? The second-rate coach of a third rate team or me?”
5. Heathers (1989)
A movie for all those high school outcasts. Heather, Heather, and Heather rule the school. Veronica (Winona Ryder) is sometimes part of their gang. Quickly fed up with them, she joins up with new guy JD (Christian Slater), and suddenly one of the Heathers dies. More deaths follow in this brilliant satire on high school life.
Memorable Quote – “It’s one thing to want someone out of your life, but it’s another thing to serve them a wake-up cup full of liquid drainer.”
4. Can’t Buy Me Love (1987)
Before Patrick Dempsey was Dr. McDreamy of Grey’s Anatomy he was a geek who lit up the big screen in Can’t Buy Me Love. Here he plays Ronald Miller, a guy who more than anything wants to be popular. He teams up with the beautiful Cindy who promises to make him popular, as long as he pays her. Within moments of being seen with Cindy Ronald morphs into “Donald” a much cooler version of himself. Suddenly he’s sitting with the in-crowd at lunch and hanging out with the guys who used to knock over his lunch tray. One of the highlights of this film has to be Ronald’s “African dance” he performs at the school dance.
Memorable Quote – “You ignored the Donald Miller geek for seventeen years, now you want to ride the Ronnie Miller express!”
3. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
A star studded 80s cast (Sean Penn, Phoebe Cates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold) fills this film written by Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous) and directed by Amy Heckerling (Clueless). Fast Times at Ridgemont High follows a group of California teenagers as they go to high school, work at the mall, and just hang out. Penn’s Jeff Spicoli has been generally considered as the breakout character of the film. This stoner-dude battles with the history teacher are of the most amusing moments of the film.
Memorable Quote – “All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I’m fine.”
2. Say Anything (1989)
John Cusack was in a sleu of 1980s comedies – One Crazy Summer, Better off Dead, The Sure Thing – but this was his best. Playing lovable Lloyd Dobler, Cusack asks out valedictorian Diane Court right after graduation. The two date and fall in love over the course of the summer. Diane is faced with the prospect of leaving for London at the end of the summer and must decide if she should break up with Lloyd or not. The best moments of this film are Lloyd’s monologue during dinner with Diane’s father about what he wants to do with his life and the scene where he holds the boom box above his head while it blares out In Your Eyes.
Memorable Quote – “She’s gone. She gave me a pen. I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen.”
Memorable Song – “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel
1. The Breakfast Club (1985)
While you might watch this classic from 1985 now and think it’s so cliche, at the time it wasn’t. In fact, most of the teen movies being made today owe something to The Breakfast Club, whose use of a jock, a brain, an outcast, a princess, and a criminal, is now present everywhere. The idea of these kids who all live different lives coming together in Saturday detention and battling against a common enemy, the principal, totally worked in this film. Especially because the film (via Brian) acknowledges that come Monday these five will probably go back to ignoring one another. For a brief moment though (or an hour and a haf) we get to see them all interact.
Memorable Quote – “Screws fall out all the time. The world’s an imperfect place.”
Memorable Song – “Don’t You Forget About Me” by Simple Minds
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