Mean Girls:

A surprisingly thoughtful depiction of the rules of a high school teenage girl’s game, the smash hit teenage comedy Mean Girls exposed everything its title suggested, and then some. Tina Fey’s insightful script, adapted by the Rosalind Wiseman self-help book Queen Bees and Wannabees, managed to pinch some extra spice into a dried out genre, but never at the cost of losing grips on reality (albeit, a Hollywood-hyperbolized reality). On the surface, Mean Girls merely looked like another in a long series of teenage high school cruelties - I mean comedies - but underneath it all, was a fresh take on the spectacle of backstabbing betrayals so eminently prominent in the lives of high school students. Lesson learned? Well, does a teenager mean it when he or she apologizes? Indeed, that is why movies like Mean Girls are made.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off:

At some point or another, most of us have at least attempted to pull off what Ferris Bueller had so ‘smoothly’ executed in Ferris Bueller's Day Off: fake being sick to our parents so that we didn't have to go to school, and then, after our parents have gone to work, hit up our respective towns like it was summer in the city. Directed by the late John Hughes, the master of high school movies, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a lasting testament to the restlessness and passionate aspirations of the common teenager, and, for better or worse, sparked a generation of Ferris Bueller wannabes (including myself).

American Pie:

“So bye-bye, miss American pie…” So begins one of the most famous lines in the history of rock and roll music. Coincidentally enough, these famous lyrics are also applicable to the summarization of the gross-out teen comedy American Pie and its utter annihilation of the wholesomeness of the classic American staple. Released in 1999, American Pie is a teenage comedy for the 21st Century teenager. Even though it is filled with one crude sex joke after another, Pie still manages to retain at least one or two of the core values of America’s past (whatever that means). Who am I kidding? One of the movie’s crucial turning points occurs (*SPOILER ALERT* - for those of you who have yet to see American Pie or have somehow avoided hearing about the origin of the movie’s title, do not read on) when the lead character Jim (played by Jason Biggs) makes love to an apple pie. But don’t worry; just like any main character from a teenage movie, Jim eventually learns his lesson.

The Breakfast Club:

Considered by many to be the ultimate high school movie, The Breakfast Club had it all: comedy, drama, eccentric/restless teenagers, after-school detention, and a coming-of age morality tale. Directed by the ever-insightful John Hughes, The Breakfast Club is a masterpiece of honest, heart-felt emotion, and, despite having been released in 1985, has something to say for every generation of high school teenagers. It is the staple of its genre, and should be seen by all High School students (new or returning) every Labour Day Monday. *SPOILER ALERT* - the following clip is the last scene from The Breakfast Club; even though it doesn't give away any 'major' plot twists, it is still the ending of the movie. Thus, you've been warned: