Team Top Ten: Back to School Edition
Friday, September 4, 2015 at 1:21PM 
Amir here, bringing you Team Experience’s latest top ten list.
It’s hard to think of a genre that gets less respect than the high school film, but try contemplating a list of the best high school films of all time and a never-ending stream of classics seems to rush forward. That’s exactly what our team decided to do this month, and to make things difficult for ourselves, we expanded our horizons to include school films about kids of all ages, from all countries. After all, teenagers aren’t the only ones going back to school next week. What about the younger kids?
As it turned out, our team was more enthusiastic about this poll than any we had done before. With more ballots and more votes than ever before, this list was a real hoot for me to compile; and the range and quality of the films that were left off the final ten only serves to highlight the wealth of options at our disposal. From bonafide classics like Splendor in the Grass and If…, to influential foreign films like Zero for Conduct and Where Is the Friend’s Home?, to more recent films like Elephant and Perks of Being Wallflower, to documentaries like Hoop Dreams, back to school gives everyone with any cinematic taste something to savor. And those are just the stuff that didn’t make the cut! Well, those along with Grease, Boyz n the Hood, American Graffiti, Heathers, Wet Hot American Summer, Back to the Future, Dead Poet’s Society, and… you get the picture.
So, without further ado...
Team Experience’s Top Ten School Films
10. Bring It On (2000)
Bring It On is the rare high school comedy where social status within the school ecosystem is barely given a passing thought: the cheerleading world is an insular one, but not a superior or bigoted one. Male cheerleader Jan confirms that he "speaks fag" and no one is outraged or offended or disgusted. The mainly-white girl privilege of the Toros' school is given wonderful context by their rivalry with the East Compton Clovers, with the thievery of their routines an immediate scandal to new captain Torrance. The film deals smartly, deftly and hilariously with having this cultural appropriation whip the Toros illusion of dominance out from under their feet, feeding this into a celebration of ingenuity, invention and education as the team learn about a multitude of approaches to their craft. This may be Torrance's only success and passion in her schooling, but that doesn't mean for a second that it is without merit. Peyton Reed's film is also simply an enormous chunk of effervescent fun, chock-full of tart dialogue, cheer-tastic linguistic teen wordplay, and physical acrobatics that dazzle and amuse in equal measure. Fifteen years on, its transgressive feminist bent and sociocultural intelligence have maintained a sturdy base for a film that continues to make our spirit fingers dance. – David Upton
9. Dazed & Confused (1993)
“Cool” is a word that comes up frequently when describing Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused. Said in a bit of a drawl, pouring from the lips of any of the plethora of characters in the film, the word is both perfect and reductive as a way to boil down Linklater’s film to its core. It’s been the director’s trademark to let the audience drop in on the conversations of others, such as Slacker, Waking Life, and his Celine and Jesse Forever Trilogy, but it’s in Dazed and Confused that we’re not merely eavesdropping on anxious, restless, lackadaisical, excited, furious, lusty, real teenagers; we get to be a part of those conversations. Every discussion is an open invitation from the characters to roll on up, crack open a beer, and talk about you and me and everyone we know. – Kyle Turner
8. The Breakfast Club (1985)
"...each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal."
Most high school movies present a vision of some mythical High School with sharply defined cliques and often cartoonishly drawn lines between them; or, even more magically, a group of friends that contains exactly one of each teenage stereotype. What makes The Breakfast Club so great, then, is that although it's even more contrived in putting together archetypal high school characters, it feels more true to the universal high school/teenage experience than any other film. Each one of us may not be ALL of those archetypes, nor do we have bits of them all within us. But what John Hughes understood perhaps better than anyone else, is that we are each more than whatever labels we get assigned by our peers. That's pretty powerful stuff, whether you're a teenager or an adult. And what's even better is that Hughes acknowledges that adults may be even worse about this than teenagers. No matter how old we get, The Breakfast Club serves as a reminder that empathy is what makes us the best versions of ourselves. Don't you forget about it! – Daniel Bayer
7. The Class (2008)
There's inspiring teacher dramas and then there's The Class, which is written by and stars a real life teacher, François Bégaudeau as "Mr Marin" and takes place over a single school year. He's inspiring specifically because he doesn't place himself on a pedestal, makes human mistakes, and can't begin to solve the the out-of-school dramas that plague so many of his students. Bégaudeau fictionalizies and dramatizes his own actual experiences which bear multiple similarities to popular "inspirational teacher dramas" without succumbing to their smoothed edges and reductive "white savior" complexes, as Mr. Marin struggles to connect with his multicultural students. One terrifically incisive scene has restless students wondering why his grammar examples default to generic names like"Bill" (why not an ethnic name?). The original French title Entre Les Murs translates to "Between the Walls" which is arguably a more accurate description of the film's ambitions. The Class is not just an inspirational teacher drama. Neither is it merely a portrait of this particular classroom in Paris (though we never leave the school grounds). It's both at once and also a portrait of education itself, with all its promises of personal growth, struggles for understanding, difficult communal dynamics, and frustrating bureaucracies. The last shot of an empty classroom stings and lingers. Not just because of the prismatic humanity it held during the school year and the film but the knowledge that it all starts again next year, with new faces and similar odds against success. – Nathaniel R.
6. The 400 Blows (1959)
Let’s take a moment to think about all the films — both great and grating — that have been made about sulky, sassy, and estranging boys in the 56 years since The 400 Blows. Have any of these films ever located such comparably varied, lively layers of humor and heartbreak within the personal predicaments of nascent boyhood? Even excluding Truffaut’s spare aesthetics and nimble montage, our first introduction to Jean-Pierre Léaud’s Antoine Doinel remains the criterion by so vigorously and attentively plumbing Antoine’s everyday existence for larger and, yes, universal effect: the family turmoil; the banal hilarity of all that classroom chaos; the unbreakable bond shared with Patrick Auffay’s René, heart-stirringly adorable without an ounce of pushy sentimentality. Truffaut got what too many of his imitators failed to realize: Antoine became a cinematic hero precisely because his creators respected his right to be just another ordinary and indecisive young boy. – Matthew Eng
5. Rebel without a Cause (1955)
Prior to WWII, teenage culture as we know it simply didn't exist. With the post-war emergence of rock and roll, drive-in movies, and the indulgence of a new generation that suddenly had time, technology, and cash all ready at their disposal, the life of a teenager was born. And from the cookie-cutter cul-de-sacs of the American suburbs created the nonconformist, rebelling against what had become the new normal. Certainly teen angst had been captured on film prior to the release of Nicholas Ray's 1955 seminal classic Rebel without a Cause, but after experiencing it through the brooding intensity of James Dean's charismatic Jim Stark, the outsider found its patron saint. That the young actor would die before the film was even released guaranteed that he would be memorialized in our minds forever young. A cigarette dangling from his lips, his red windbreaker with the collar popped, and a little boy lost look in his gaze that decades of troubled youths have recognized as their own. –Andrew Stewart
4. Carrie (1976)
“They are all gonna laugh at you”. That’s everybody’s nightmare in high school. It’s the universal fear we all carry around, that we will do something or say something that will trigger ridicule and shame. Brian de Palma takes that fear and turns it in a very real palpable nightmare that doesn’t quit. Add to that confusion about religion, awkward teenage bodies, sex and you got one hell of a potent horror story. To add even more horror there is the mother; the manifestation of all of Carrie’s fears and insecurities and all the societal and religious pressures she’s feeling. No wonder she rebels and tries to kill her. Furthermore, Carrie is enduring because of the incredible performance at its center. Sissy Spacek was in her mid-20s when Carrie was filmed, but she embodies the reality of being a teenager, and all the discomfort it entails, with expert ease. When “the crazy” starts to trickle in, she grounds all the fantastical and horrific elements as this one young woman’s confusion and frustration with those around her who are cajoling her into serving their own dubious agendas. Isn’t that exactly what high school feels like? – Murtada Elfadl
3. Clueless (1995)
Clueless has every element of a perfect teen movie: irresistibly quotable dialogue, trend-sparking clothing, dreamy guys, makeover montages, a killer soundtrack. Amy Heckerling's film has certainly never suffered from being underappreciated – as the annual wave of retrospectives and reunion specials and oral histories prove – but like many of the best 'teen movies' it rarely gets credit for being a great movie, or for that razor-sharp screenplay, or the expert tonal balance of satire and earnestness. It's a worthy adaptation of a literary classic and a fluffy comedy, a send-up of teen culture that also loves and respects its young characters. At its centre is a small miracle of a performance from Alicia Silverstone, playing a valley girl whose interest in shopping and boys is secondary to her principal character dilemma: deciding what kind of person she wants to be. Was Clueless ever anywhere but #1 on my ballot? As if. – Margaret de Larios
2. Mean Girls (2004)
One has to try pretty hard not to love Mean Girls. The 2004 blockbuster gave the world yet another reminder that “girls comedies” can rake in the dough and introduced us to Tina Fey’s edgy, feminist, bubble-wrap-light voice (though we should not totally discount director Mark Waters, who also gave us 1997’s House of Yes). Its story of a girl facing down the predatory pink-wearing conformists of Midwestern high school life after spending twelve years in Africa hones in on that aspect of school stories that so often makes them relevant to audiences of all ages: friendship. Cady’s story is not some bullshit path to “finding herself.” When Cady finally, triumphantly denounces the titular lasses, she’s not perpetuating the cycle of girls judging girls. What she also means is, it’s not me it’s you: I don’t like who I am with you. It’s a good lesson. – Kyle Stevens
1. Election (1999)
Not just a brilliant satire of American presidential politics, Alexander Payne’s Election also happens to be a sharp-eyed, darkly hilarious portrait of how high school politics serves as both an echo (for the adults) and a preview (for the students) of the arbitrariness of the outside world. No one who has gone to high school in the U.S. can fail to recognize the archetypes embodied by Reese Witherspoon’s intensely annoying go-getter, Chris Klein’s happy-go-lucky jock, or Jessica Campbell’s angry, disaffected outsider – or Matthew Broderick’s outwardly well-intentioned teacher, inwardly cross-hatched with subconscious resentments. The genius of Election is that they all emerge as fully realized characters, all of whom we sympathize with at least a little even as we laugh at their mishaps and follies. Perhaps it’s because, to paraphrase a quote from another great high school movie, there’s a little of all of these characters in all of us. – Lynn Lee
What's your favorite school movie and do you love all of these?
Reader Comments (34)
Maybe it's on my brain because of Craven's recent passing but Scream is one of my favorite school-set films.
My personal favorite is more of an ensemble, but still mostly about the end of High School: The Last Picture Show.
My all-time favorite is definitely Clueless, but Rushmore also ranks very high with me.
Precious (2009)
Mädchen in Uniform (1931)
Mädchen in Uniform (1958)
To Sir, With Love (1967)
Fame (1980)
A Child Is Waiting (1963)
The Children's Hour (1961)
off the top of my head...
Not that I don't love every single one of these films, but...
Number EIGHT?!?!?!?! WHAT is happening?!?!?!
To add to Paul and Dave’s list
Blackboard Jungle, ( the first ever to include rock and roll in its soundtrack )
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Footloose,
Ten Things I Hate about You
and the aforementioned American Graffiti
Everything about it is great, but I am weirdly annoyed at Dazed and Confused being so low. Still, love all ten of these. So that's fine.
Welcome to the Dollhouse, Scream, Last Picture Show, Superbad, and most recently the Duff stand out for me.
I'm a sucker for the teen film.
Peggy Sue Got Married, Valley Girl, Flirting, Knights and Emeralds, Strangers with Candy, Saved, Hairspray (1988), and Ginger Snaps are all ones I love.
Great job to come up with an excellent 10, but there are so many more movies that could've made the cut. Some others I haven't seen anyone mention:
Ferris Beuller's Day Off
Porky's
Remember the Titans
Dead Poets Society
School Daze
The Great Debaters
Sixteen Candles
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Stand and Deliver
It's weird to see Election top the list despite that we hardly ever write about it. But i L-O-V-E that movie so i'm not complaining. just found it peculiar.
Dave -- end of high school. i kept thinking of Breaking Away and then realized that wasn't a school film at all since it was all summertime restlessness.
Since my dad was a teacher, I'm a sucker for these:
To Sir, With Love
Stand and Deliver
The Principal
Dead Poets Society
Hoosiers
Lean on Me
School of Rock
October Sky
Mona Lisa Smiles (but set at Wellesley, not high school)
My favorites are The Last Picture Show, Sixteen Candles, Election, Good Morning Miss Dove, Halloween and Carrie,
La mala educación, The History Boys and Another Country, how could I forget?
(Pam: doesn't have to be high school)
HEATHERS!!!
Election is clearly Alexander Payne's best film. I think only Sideways comes close.
Election was my #1 so happy it was the collective #1 as well.
My number one was PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK!
One of my favorite genres. My top 10 is quite different: 1) The Perks of Being a Wallflower, 2) Rushmore, 3) The Last Picture Show, 4) Brick, 5) Jawbreaker, 6) Easy A, 7) The History Boys, 8) The Way He Looks, 9) Sixteen Candles, 10 Drive Me Crazy.
But there are so many good ones and on any day my last 2 might be replaced with any of these 10: The Wise Kids, Elephant, Rebel Without a Cause, Pretty in Pink, In the House, Can't Hardly Wait, Less Than Zero, Wet Hot American Summer, Clueless, and Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.
BVR, I love all of Payne's films. I think The Descendants is the weakest but it's not bad. I haven't seen Citizen Ruth.
I have tried several times, but the charms of "Dazed and Confused" totally elude me - when it's not blank, it's mean-spirited. Would stick "To Sir, With Love" in its place on this list.
Dave S -- i feel kind of the same with Dazed and Confused. you are not alone.
No, Dave, you're definitely not.
I've never connected to Election, except for Jessica Campbell, who is brill. It's like "Fetch" for me, even though it clearly did happen.
I can't even remember what my #1 was on my ballot, because I'm so dismayed to have forgotten Margaret completely.
Nathaniel, you forgot to mention how totally smokin' M. Bégaudeau is.
I cannot — cannot — believe I forgot Margaret.
I'm not sure if it counts, but Louis Malle's "Au revoir, les enfants" would definitely make my ballot.
Fun list!
Hm, interesting to learn that Mean Girls is that much better than 400 Blows.
I do love Mean Girls of course, but come on.
Also Breakfast Club is diabolical.
But I like/love the rest of the list!
Especially the no. 1. Which would probably be my no. 1
I think my Top 5 would be roughly: Election, 400 Blows, The Class, Clueless, Romy & Michele's High School Reunion (I know I know! But the heart wants what it wants)
Oh my f*ing god - Margaret was eligible?! That's my no. 1 then
c'mon AMIR, tell us what made 11-20?
Nathaniel - Here's 11 to 33 (because of ties) in order:
splendor in the grass, perks of being a wallflower, where's the friend's home?, grease, an education, boyz n the hood, rushmore, hoop dreams, zero for conduct, dead poet's society, elephant, back to the future, brick, american graffiti, heathers, wet hot american summer, cruel intentions, harry potter & prisoner of azkaban, picnic at the hanging rock, the last picture show, to be and to have, half nelson, margaret
And this feels like our first top ten without ties somehow so i guess they were all from 11 down. Sad that Splendor in the Grass didn't make it! (I don't really understand Wet Hot American Summer being on this list though I freely admit. How is it a school film?
I'm somewhat surprised to see ELECTION at the top since it's not a film that people tend to bring up a lot like they do Clueless or Mean Girls from the teen comedy set or 400 Blows from the classic set. I'm a fan of it, but it didn't make my top ten. For whatever it's worth, I tried to convince people ZERO FOR CONDUCT was better than 400 BLOWS (which I've always been somewhat lukewarm on).
As for SCREAM, which some are mentioning, lord knows I would have put it on if I consider it a high school at all. It's about teenagers and they go to school, but it doesn't have anything to say about high school (or boarding school, obvs) itself, which I think was one of the key criteria in selecting the list.
Also, as I look at the top ten I submitted, I realized that I somehow forgot to include REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, which is only in my top five of all time. So... umm... I'm an idiot in that regard. I had Breakfast Club, Carrie, Bring It On, Elephant, Hoop Dreams, American Graffiti, Clueless, Zero for Conduct, Splendor in the Grass, Flirting.
Nathaniel- well, it's precisely a "back to school" film as it's entirely structured around the last day of camp and everyone going back to school.
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