ENDEARING, FUNNY & THOUGHT-PROVOKING FILMS about TEENS

I liked the movie "Clueless." I've seen it two or three times and get a laugh every time. The dialogue is wonderful.

"Boyz in the Hood." Too sad and rough to be endearing or funny but definitely thought-provoking.

The Man From Snowy River

Lolita

The Bad Seed

Some great suggestions here!
Some I know & can comment on, & others that look interesting enough to seek out for a viewing.
Adolescence is such a crucial (& often painful) time, isn't it? So it doesn't surprise me at all that so many books & films about the experience tend to be autobiographical. And it doesn't surprise me, either, that "adults" remain intrigued with that period in their lives & are attracted to films about it. Me, I've taught adolescents for years, so the trials, tribulations & joys are very fresh to me because of this.

Gala

Unfortunately I'm not familiar with the films you mentioned (& am not an "expert") so I can't comment. Can you say more about them?

flyboy

You mean the b&w version of Lord of The Flies? Terrific movie. Very frightening! (Great novel, too!)

Lightwizard

Yes, the 400 Blows was about a adolescence. Apparently Truffaut (sp?) based the story on his own troubled childhood & adolescence. A sad little film.

quinn

You're really into these movies, aren't you? Thankyou for the link. Looks interesting & fun.

Raggedy

Lucas Sounds interesting. Must try to find a copy.
To Sir With Love always makes me smile ... The reality is so different! (If only you could win their difficult little hearts & minds over in so short a time! A very common theme isn't it: the outsider who transforms a very difficult & anti-social group! Still, very entertaining!)

LarryBS

Exactly .. I relate to the "lost" characters too. But, come to think of it, who had an easy time of adolescence? There wouldn't have been so much material for films & novels if it was easy, the transition from childhood to adulthood.
You've mentioned a few of my favourites in your post. My Life As A Dog was so moving in parts, yet so funny in others. Loved it!
I relate to The Year My Voice Broke in a big way! A very accurate description of how it feels to be "different" in a small Oz country town. The Noah Taylor character reminds me of so many "late blossomers" who had to leave to grow, survive, just to be able to be accepted as themselves ...

Hazlitt

I think you're the 2nd person whose mentioned Clueless. I'm familiar with the title, but haven't yet seen it. Hmmm, must get on the net & find out more.

eoe

Ditto Boyz In the Hood ... Wish I knew more about it. Sad & rough, you say?

Joanne

Ah, The Man From Snowy River! Quite a change from the more angst-ridden Oz films I usually see!

A couple of questions for those of you who are interested:

* Is there a particular character in any teen film that is incredibly like you were at that age? Who? And in what ways do they resemble you?

* What do you think are the vital ingredients of a really, really good teen film?

Msolga many have mentioned Ferris Bueller's Day Off, I love that movie and I guess it represents innocent rebellion. They have fun, fool the teachers and all ends well. To me it was so much fun to watch.

Clueless is a good one, Alicia Silverstone is perfect in her role. msolga, see if you can find King of the Hill, a real sleeper - about a kid growing up in the depression.

Which reminds of one of the great movies of this kind, Paper Moon. See it if you haven't - Tatum O'Neal is great.

Yes, Joanne .. And wasn't that a wonderful performance by the actor that played the school principal?
And I LOVED the classroom scene where the teacher is in the process of boring the class stupid! And the student who was so comatose with it all that he was dribbling on the desk!

LarryBS

Was King Of The Hill an English production? When was it produced, do you know?

Its an american film from 1993 directed by Stephen Soderbergh (Sex, Lies and Videotape, Traffic, Solaris, Erin Brockovich, The Limey, Kafka). Among others in the film are Adrien Brody, Elizabeth McGovern, Karen Allen, and Spalding Gray. Its just a quiet, sweet film about a kid and his little brother having to make it on their own during the depression.

Just Say Anything
Little Darlings...did anyone put that in there...which also brings about memories of Heathers, Mall Rats..etc etc

Over the Edge -- with characters most like myself and my peers..scarey as that is...still, its teens

yep..movie lover, for certain.

Better Off Dead - the race car scene, the dork and his mother, standing in front of the mirror with Q-Tips up his nose.....a goofy movie, but one that always makes me laugh and reminds me of the stupidity that was high school.

msolga, well Some Kind of Wonderful is a tale about angst-ridden teen love in the competitive world of high school. It stars Mary Stuart Masterson and Eric Stoltz, before he became super-cool and self-conscious.

Election is a dark film starring a very young looking Reese Witherspoon as the manipulative high school student trying to win the role as class president (I believe that's what she was vying for). The film also stars Matthew Broderick. It's not an easy film to watch, but the performances are really great and in the end as dark as the film is there is still something very comical about it.

LarryBS mentioned My Life As A Dog. This is one of my all time favorite films. If you rent it make sure you get the subtitled version, not the dubbed version. It's by the same guy who did Who's Eating Gilbert Grape, which I did not really like.

One other film about teens that was really good was This Boys Life, starring Robert Deniro and a very undiscovered Leonardo DiCaprio. This was the first film I ever saw DiCaprio in, long before Titanic (hell) and I thought he was amazing.