5 Films That’ll Make You Long To Be A Teenager Again
Ah, to be a teenager again. To be carefree, innocent, and have your whole life in front of you.
Wait, that’s not right. No one ever feels like that as a teenager. It’s a confusing and weird time, since you aren’t quite an adult yet – nor are you a child anymore – so what the hell are you then?! Or does anyone ever truly know the answer to this?
The teenage years are about experiencing life – the ups, the downs, the broken hearts, the triumphs. So, let’s head back to our vault to find the five best films that make us long for being teenagers again.
Detroit Rock City (1999)
It’s usually in the teenage years where someone develops a deeper appreciation for music. Certain bands and artists connect with teenagers and set off a journey of musical- and self-discovery. In Detroit Rock City, that’s exactly what happens when Kiss tribute band Mystery – featuring Hawk (Edward Furlong), Lex (Giuseppe Andrews), Trip (James DeBello), and Jam (Sam Huntington) – embark on a madcap adventure to watch Kiss live in concert. These four teenagers adore Kiss and refuse to give up on their dreams to watch the band tearing it up on stage and putting their brand on anything that moves, so the teens risk it all for an unforgettable night in Detroit Rock City.
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
Best friends make life infinitely better. Quite often, they’re the person you share history and stories with that no one else could quite understand. Look at Bill S. Preston, Esq. (Alex Winters) and Ted Logan (Keanu Reeves) in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. The fate of their friendship rests on the result of their oral presentation of historical figures, so they take a time-travel journey to different points in history in an effort to pass their class. Of course, no one would ever believe that someone from the future called Rufus (George Carlin) arrived in a phone booth that transported them through space and time, but that’s a special story that Bill and Ted share and cherish. It doesn’t matter if no one else gets it.
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Let’s be real here: Spider-Man: Homecoming is a John Hughes movie clad in a superhero mask. While the central plot involves Peter Parker (Tom Holland) trying to prove himself as a hero and potential Avenger, the underlying theme is about Peter coming of age. In this movie, he develops a crush on Liz (Laura Harrier) and asks her to homecoming, though this is complicated by the fact that Liz’s father, Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), is Spider-Man’s archnemesis. Yikes! For Peter, though, he’s able to get through this weird period because of his friends like Ned (Jacob Batalon) and Michelle (Zendaya). If anything, Spider-Man: Homecoming also proves that even superheroes don’t have the answer to surviving teenage woes and worries.
License to Drive (1988)
There comes a point in every teenager’s life where they dream about the open road and the symbolic freedom of getting their driver’s license. License to Drive demonstrates how it isn’t always a clear-cut case of taking a driver’s test and passing – in fact, a lot of people fail the first time around. For Les Anderson (Corey Haim), he doesn’t let this derail his dream of taking his crush, Mercedes Lane (Heather Graham), on a date. He sneaks out, steals his grandfather’s Cadillac, and heads on a joyride with Mercedes. The night takes many wild turns. Les enlists his best friend Dean’s (Corey Feldman) help to deal with the situation, but he ends up totaling the car. License to Drive captures the teen desperation of getting behind the wheel and how it represents one of the first (fun) steps into adulthood.
Clueless (1995)
Imagine if Clueless wasn’t on this list. Ugh! As if. While the plot of Clueless reels in a variety of different characters and scenarios as Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone) attempts to do good, it’s largely about the teenage ecosystem. In simple terms: Teenagers live in their own worlds, and everything outside of it doesn’t appear to exist. Their family, friends, and teachers are central to their lives to the point that no one imagines a life without them. While people might question what else is out there and the future, their focus strictly remains on the here and now. It might sound myopic and close minded to think like that, but there’s something earnest about it and living in the moment. So, who’s the real chump then?
