Teen Angst @ the Movies

Compiled by Erin Helmrich of the Ann Arbor District Library.  Used with permission.

	American Graffiti The misadventures of four California high school graduates one late summer night in 1962. Directed by George Lucas.  Starring Richard Dreyfuss & Ron Howard. PG
	Bad News Bears A former baseball minor-leaguer coaches a team of tough kids. His star pitcher is a girl. Directed by Michael Ritchie.  Starring Walter Matthau, Chris Barns, & Tatum O'Neal. PG
	Breakfast Club They are five high school students with nothing in common, faced with spending a Saturday morning detention together in their school library. At 7 a.m. they had nothing to say to each other, but by 4 p.m., they had bared their souls and become good friends. Directed by John Hughes.  Starring Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, & Ally Sheedy. R
	Bring It On The Toro cheerleading squad has spirit, spunk, sass and a killer routine that's sure to land them the national championship trophy for the sixth year in a row. But for newly-elected team captain, Torrance, the Toros' road to cheer glory stumbles when she discovers their perfectly choreographed routines were stolen from a hot hip-hop squad across town. Now the squad must scramble to find a new routine to compete in this year's competition. Directed by Peyton Reed.  Starring Kirsten Dunst & Eliza Dushku. PG-13
	Clueless Fifteen-year-old Cher keeps it all together, even finding time for extracurricular projects like finding a love match for her debate class teacher, and giving a dowdy friend a fashion makeover. Directed by Amy Heckerling.  Starring Alicia Silverstone.  Based on Emma by Jane Austen. PG-13
	Cry Baby Wade " Cry -Baby" Walker is the coolest, toughest hood in his Baltimore high school. His ability to shed one single tear drives all the girls wild, especially Allison Vernon-Williams. A beautiful, rich "square," Allison finds herself drawn into the world of Cry -Baby and his "drape" pals. And soon she is eagerly inhaling the evil influences of rockabilly music and fast cars. Directed by John Waters.  Starring Johnny Depp. PG-13
	Dazed and Confused The story of the last day of school, in a small Texas town - and one rowdy night - in the lives of a group of high school students in late May, 1976. Directed by Richard Linklater. Starring Jason London & Joey Lauren Adams. R
	Dick The year is 1972, and, like most high school students. Betsy Jobs and Arlene Lorenzo just want to have a good time. But when, during a class field trip to the White House, they cluelessly wander into a behind-closed-doors, top-secret shredding session, it's time to both wag the dog and walk it. Seeking to uncover just how much the witless duo discovered, the Commander-in-Chief appoints them "Official White House Dog Walkers," and it isn't long before the girls go from taking out Checkers to taking out Tricky Dick , in this fun-raising comedy of historic distortions.  Directed by Andrew Fleming.  Starring Kirsten Dunst & Michelle Williams. PG-13
	Election Tracy Flick is a straight-A go-getter determined to be president of Carver High's student body. Popular teacher Jim McAllister decides to derail Tracy's obsessive overachieving by recruiting an opposition candidate. Mr. M. never imagines that stopping Tracy is like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube. Directed by Alexander Payne.  Starring Reese Witherspoon & Matthew Broderick. Based on the book Election by Tom Perrotta. R
	Fast Times at Ridgemont High The struggles of teenagers as they deal with independence, success, sexuality, money, maturity, school, and particularly with just making it through the formative years. Directed by Amy Heckerling.  Starring Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason-Leigh, & Judge Reinhold. R
	The Flamingo Kid Jeffrey Willis, a plumber's son, gets a job as a cabana boy at the El Flamingo Beach Club. A summer of innocence, and of change.  Directed by Garry Marshall.  Starring Matt Dillon. PG-13
	Grease The hit movie about the friendships, romances, and adventures of a group of high school kids in the 1950s. This quintessential musical is not just a nostalgic look at a simpler decade. It's an energetic and exciting musical homage to the age of rock 'n' roll.  Directed by Randal Kleiser.  Starring John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John. PG
	Heathers A high school student begins systematically to murder his fellow students. Directed by Michael Lehmann.  Starring Winona Ryder & Christian Slater. R
	Last Picture Show A bittersweet drama of the social and sexual mores in small-town 1950s Texas. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Starring Jeff Bridges & Cybill Shepherd.  Based on the book The Last Picture Show by Larry McMurtry. R
	The Outsiders On the streets of Tulsa in 1966, teenagers come two ways. If you're from the right side of the tracks, you are a "soc". You've got everything--money, cars, girls, and a future. But if you're an outsider, a "greaser," you've got nothing but your friends...and a dream that someday, somehow, you'll finally belong.  Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.  Starring C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, & Ralph Macchio.  Based on the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. PG
	Rebel Without a Cause The teen-aged son of a well-to-do family gets involved in violence when he attempts to win the approval of a gang of high-school hoodlums.  Directed by Nicholas Ray.  Starring James Dean & Natalie Wood. NR
	Risky Business Joel's parents are going on vacation and leaving him in charge of the house. They trust their college-bound 17-year-old son but they shouldn't. Every kid's dream is every parent's nightmare. No sooner do Joel's parents step on the plane when he raids the liquor cabinet, has a joyride in Dad's Porsche, and has a night of passion with a young call girl named Lana.  Directed by Paul Brickman.  Starring Tom Cruise & Rebecca De Mornay. R
	Romeo & Juliet Shakespeare's tragedy of young lovers caught in the middle of their feuding families. Directed by Franco Zeffirelli.  Starring Leonard Whiting & Olivia Hussey. Based on the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. PG
	Say Anything A young man, recently graduated from high school, wants only one thing: a date with a fellow graduate. The catch is she's beautiful, brilliant and headed to England to study, and all his friends and her father tell him she's way out of his league. When they fall in love anyway, the result is a funny, poignant and joyous celebration of first love.  Directed by Cameron Crowe.  Starring John Cusack & Ione Skye. PG-13
	Splendor in the Grass A blistering drama of frustrated first love in small town Kansas, l920's. Directed by Elia Kazan.  Starring Natalie Wood & Warren Beatty. NR
	Valley Girl Julie is, like, so over her preppy boyfriend, she dumps him on the escalator at the Galleria. And when she meets punker Randy, her eyes practically bug out because she thinks he's sexy even though he makes her friends gag! But even if Randy's ready to stop the world and melt with her, can Julie risk losing her friends and her super-popularity at school just to be with him? Directed by Martha Coolidge.  Starring Nicolas Cage & Deborah Foreman. R
	Wish You Were Here One of 1987's most talked-about and well-received films, Wish you were here deals honestly and frankly with Lynda's struggle to be loved, to be recognized and to be herself. Lynda eventually runs away to a seaside resort only to return to her home. Directed by David Leland.  Starring Emily Lloyd. R