Eighties’ teen movies are considered a classical genre in movie history. These movies center on teens’ lives and their challenges in high school.
“My favorite ‘80s’ teen movie is ‘The Breakfast Club,’ which centers around five students on detention from different cliques who realize that they may have more in common than they thought,” said senior Jacqui Rodriguez. “The main theme in this movie is to bring together different groups of kids to realize their similarities instead of emphasizing their differences which is something people could learn from today.”
Many of today’s teens favor these movies over newer films.
“My favorite movie is ‘Say Anything’ because of John Cusak’s character,” said junior Zoe Shimizu. “Cusak plays Lloyd Dobler, an underachiever who falls in love with the smartest girl in school. He’s a lost, sweet, innocent guy who believes he doesn’t have much to live for, but then he meets Diane Court. She helps him find something he’s good at: loving and caring for her,” said Shimizu.
John Hughes wrote and directed several of these iconoclastic movies that contributed to the genre, including “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “The Breakfast Club” and “Sixteen Candles.”
“Molly Ringwald appeared frequently in Hughes’ films,” said Rodriguez. “His films often use the same actors but their characters are always very different,”
These movies were known as Brat Pack films, with the same actors appearing together in different movies, usually with the same director.
The most notable movies were “Sixteen Candles” (1984), “The Breakfast Club” (1985), “Pretty in Pink” (1986), “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (1986), and “Say Anything” (1989).
These movies reflect many aspects of teenage life.
“The Breakfast Club” looks at the dark side of being a teenager while “Pretty in Pink” examines teenage castes and cliques. Matthew Broderick’s character in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” defines teenage rebellion.
“Like Olive Penderghast from ‘Easy A,’ I too wish that John Hughes had directed my life. Who wouldn’t want John Cusack holding a boombox outside her house, riding off on a lawn mower with Patrick Dempsey, having Jake from ‘Sixteen Candles’ waiting outside the church? I want Judd Nelson thrusting his fist into the air because he knows he got me,” junior Katherine Wong said.
Other movies revolve around fantasy and adventure in high school, most notably “Adventures in Babysitting,” “Back to the Future” and “Teen Witch.”
“Today teen movies are things like magic and vampires and supernatural elements, but in the ‘80s there were real issues that kids faced which made much more sense,” Rodriguez said.
“My favorite eighties’ movie is ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.’ I can easily relate to the character since we both face the same struggles in high school,” said junior Melissa Hahn.
“I love that characters are relatable and are all incredibly unique,” Rodriguez said. “Eighties’ movies are so idealistic and offer sweet romantic endings, but at the same time they are realistic.”
