Movies
Top Five: Back to School Movies
The Breakfast Club
Director: John Hughes
Stars: Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall
Tagline:They were five total strangers, with nothing in common, meeting for the first time. A brain, a beauty, a jock, a rebel and a recluse. Before the day was over, they broke the rules. Bared their souls. And touched each other in a way they never dreamed possible.
Thirty years after its debut in theaters the themes and subject matter of John Hughes’ THE BREAKFAST CLUB are as prevalent now as they were then. Transpiring over the course of an entire school day we meet five students of different social status that serve detention in the school library, wasting an entire Saturday. Breaking down walls of the stereotypes of teenage life is what makes Hughes’s comedy stand the test of time. The cliques may have changed since the ‘80s, evolving beyond the five classes presented here, but the problems they face are universal.
Memorable Quote: “Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?”
Rushmore
Director: Wes Anderson
Stars: Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Seymour Cassel, Brian Cox, Luke Wilson
Tagline: Love. Expulsion. Revolution.
Wes Anderson’s RUSHMORE is a comedy that tends to get overlooked when talking about great back to school movies. Perhaps it’s because protagonist Max Fischer (Schwartzman) spends more time with extracurricular activities – like writing and producing school plays based on Al Pacino’s SERPICO and Vietnam movies like PLATOON and FULL METAL JACKET – than doing actual schoolwork. Sentenced to academic probation, Fischer becomes infatuated with the new teacher at Rushmore Academy (Williams) and befriends industrialist Herman Blume (Murray). This is a great coming-of-age story with shades of J.D. Salinger’s THE CATCHER IN THE RYE with style and tone reminiscent of the works of Hal Ashby (HAROLD AND MAUDE). The comedy would also help establish a second career for Bill Murray who, after commercial hits like GHOSTBUSTERS, took an interest in independent cinema working with Sofia Coppola on LOST IN TRANSLATION and Jim Jarmusch with BROKEN FLOWERS. Oh, and I can’t say enough about the great soundtrack with catalog tracks from Chad & Jeremy (“A Summer Song”), Cat Stevens and Faces’ “Ooh La La” among others. Add them to your playlist. Now!
Memorable Quote: “I miss Rushmore. I miss… the seasons.”
Clueless
Director: Amy Heckerling
Stars: Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Brittany Murphy, Paul Rudd, Donald Faison, Wallace Shawn
Tagline: Sex. Clothes. Popularity. Whatever.
CLUELESS is the epitome of teenage life in the 1990s – specifically, life for white-privileged teens living in the Beverly Hills. Alicia Silverstone is a knockout as Cher, a ditsy teenage girl with no sense of direction (except “to the mall,” according to her ex-stepbrother Josh, played by the never-aging Paul Rudd), in a role that she was seemingly meant to play. Unsuspecting teens will get a quick course in English Lit as the comedy is a loose interpretation of Jane Austen’s EMMA. Beyond its plastic and plaid veneer, we see that Cher is not the bimbo she’s made out to be, but someone who is unintentionally manipulative in plotting ways to get As on her report card (the powers of persuasion, all thanks to being the daughter of a lawyer). CLUELESS is more than just another teen flick; it established its own lexicon of phrases that would become used every day. Don’t believe me? As if.
Memorable Quote: “I feel like such a heifer. I had two bowls of Special K, 3 pieces of turkey bacon, a handful of popcorn, 5 peanut butter M&M’s and like 3 pieces of licorice.”
Brick
Director: Rian Johnson
Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lukas Haas, Noah Fleiss, Matt O’Leary, Emilie de Ravin, Noah Segan, Megan Good
Tagline: A detective movie by Rian Johnson.
BRICK is neo-noir set in high school. So not only is it a high school flick, it’s a hardboiled detective story. Rian Johnson in his directorial debut draws heavily from the works of Dashiell Hammett in crafting this great film, a labyrinth mystery involving Brendan (Levitt), a moody teenager (hey, who isn’t?), who has alienated himself from the rest of cliques around school. But when he receives a frightened phone call from his ex-girlfriend Emily (de Ravin), who speaks in riddles with words like “brick,” “tug,” and “pin,” Brendan leaves his self-exile to interact with the jocks, stoners and high school socialites to look for answers. Crossing paths with nefarious types while defiant to not be a snitch to the vice-principal, it all leads to secrets and betrayal. And what is high school but not a four-year journey full of secrets, betrayal and bad cafeteria food?
Memorable Quote: “Throw one at me if you want, hash head. I’ve got all five senses and I slept last night, that puts me six up on the lot of you.”
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Director: John Hughes
Stars: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones, Jennifer Grey, Edie McClurg, Charlie Sheen, Ben Stein
Tagline: Leisure Rules.
I wanted to limit myself to just one John Hughes movie for this Top Five, but I couldn’t help myself. FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF is just too enjoyable to leave off the list. While I will say THE BREAKFAST CLUB is the high school movie that will stand the test of time, there’s just something about BUELLER that’s hard to resist. Maybe it’s the peculiarity of seeing a privileged teen take on the establishment as if high school were a prison without clemency. Ferris (Broderick) has scruples, even if he’s a slacker. (Slacker is putting it mildly – I’m sure educators have many other NSFW words to describe him.) But beyond Bueller’s spoiled upbringing we still want to root for him. Whether breaking the fourth wall when explaining how to fake out your parents when feigning sickness, or going through multiple wardrobe changes before second period, Ferris skips school so he can manipulate his best friend Cameron (Ruck) into having a good time. All because Cameron’s dad owns a classic Ferrari (So choice!) that he wants to drive. Ferris is foolish, spending the day watching the Chicago Cubs, going to a museum, and interrupting an Octoberfest parade so he can perform “Twist and Shout,” but he’s still a righteous dude.
Memorable Quote: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
