Teen Flicks

[HM Murdock]

The other day I was sitting in my local cinema watching trailers when the Boat Trip trailer came on. For the next 3 minutes or so, shit filled the screen! Not ANOTHER Teen Movie?! How many are there now?

Normally I wouldn't complain about this kind of thing. Its a genre and even if I didn't like the genre, I would get ennoyed by it. The reason why I'm getting pissed off is that teen movies are the same thing over and over again! American Pie was enjoyable but after that there has been an endless amount of copycat movies that feature big breasted women, bodly fluids, dead things, distusting situations, etc. etc. This type of thing has grown way old now so why do they keep coming?

Im not sure if I'v just matured but these teen flicks are pure shite! Insetad of making dumb, gross out comedys, make some intelligent comedys. More cleaver material and less cheap fart jokes please!

[flowrchild]

I hear what you're saying, but I think that is true for most genres. 95% of movies are just a recycled version of another movie which has been done before, and probably better. I can't differentiate between most teen movies in the same way I can't with most action, love stories, horror, etc.

[Downfall]

Agreed but fair is fair there are some solid teen movies like Scream and the first American Pie that are great films but just have a bad name for being called a "Teen Flick" overall teen movies are pretty much a waste of time and money but there are a few really good movies.

Key Word- FEW!

[BubbaStrangelove]

Originally posted by HM Murdock
Im not sure if I'v just matured but these teen flicks are pure shite! Insetad of making dumb, gross out comedys, make some intelligent comedys. More cleaver material and less cheap fart jokes please!



Yoda says, "Look not at the bad teen movies. Seek out and find teen movies with substance they have. Out there they are plenty. Make too much money and get popular the bad ones do. From the crowd stay away. Look with your mind, appreciate you it will. Notice the "R"-rated ones are usually not as good, I have. Substance comes with content, not excess."

[HM Murdock]

Yoda, you are right. Why have I been wasting my time watching movie that I don't like? From now on I will never watch a teen-flick!

[ec_winton]

Come on! Lets not forget the awesome teen flicks of the 80's before we bash the whole genre.
I cannot believe that with the standards that John Hughes (pre-baby) and Cameron Crowe have set that the new stuff sucks so bad....But its not just the teen movies that have been crappy lately. Movies were so terrible for a while that it took Spider-Man to help me believe in spending my $8.50 again. And when I spent that $8.50 I couldnt help but remember that the last time I saw a movie it was only 6 bucks and I was pissed.....Its a vicious cycle.....

[Kastman]

Right now my favourite teen movi is road trip = ****

American Pie = ***1/2
American Pie 2 = **



ok there more but i aint listing them.

ps- i havent seen breakfast club or ferris bueller yet.

[HM Murdock]

Originally posted by ec_winton
Come on! Lets not forget the awesome teen flicks of the 80's before we bash the whole genre.
I cannot believe that with the standards that John Hughes (pre-baby) and Cameron Crowe have set that the new stuff sucks so bad....But its not just the teen movies that have been crappy lately. Movies were so terrible for a while that it took Spider-Man to help me believe in spending my $8.50 again. And when I spent that $8.50 I couldnt help but remember that the last time I saw a movie it was only 6 bucks and I was pissed.....Its a vicious cycle.....

Don't get me wrong I like those ones. It the ones these days, post American Pie. They're terrible. I watched SwinFan the other day and that was full of teen crap.

[Kastman]

Wait..........nnnnnnnnnn...............now i have seen ferris bueller's day off.

**** very good, i love that scene with him singing in the crowd.

[Annie Hall]

So, I believe everyone admits that the 80s is the era of the good teen flicks. Cameron Crowe's Say Anything and Fast Times, John Hughes endless movies...they are classics. What about the 90s has changed this? Well, for one thing, there are more of them. And, yes, it is recycled over and over and over. But, if gone are the days that teen flicks can be "good films" at least we can be truthful, and admit that some are pretty damn adorable.

For example:

10 Things I Hate About You- Based on Shakespeare, pretty witty considering, and as I said, very adorable in its own way.

Clueless- This was a silly, dizzy, funny and (yes, I'm sounding a bit too Maltinish for my own liking) heartfelt.

Can't Hardly Wait- I really enjoyed this flick. It was possibly the best "teen flick" of the 90s...or, at least the quintissential one at that.

[Rated R]

I think the Teen Genre is the only thing the 80's got right...such as Ferris Bueller, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Say Anything, Breakfast Club, Weird Science...I love these movies and they didn't need gross out humor and an R rating save for Fast Times...but the 80's had the best...I can't believe I just gave that decade props for something...I must bathe now

[WriterManX]

I hate teen movies with a passion. Personally, I feel as though all they do is solidify the world's perception that today's teens are mindless zombies with the sole purpose of seeing how much they can drink, how many drugs they can do, and how many people they can screw before they die. I mean, according to what today's media presents, all people between ages 14 - 21 are either attractive, athletic individuals who are care-free and go out, get drunk, and get laid when they get bored, or unattractive, nerdy people who WANT to go out, get drunk, and get laid. It's B.S. The day that a movie comes out that addresses the REAL issues facing kids today is the day I'll run through the streets screaming "The Lord has returned to save us from the forces of darkness!" So far, all we've seen are MTV-ified smutfests that glorify everything that's wrong with teen culture.

I may be completely overlooking certain movies here (I'm on a rant, which is allowed given the title of this forum), but I have yet to see a teen movie with a realistic interpretation of high school life. The closest I've seen to such a film is "A Better Life," which is a great indie flick that you should check out if you haven't seen it. When I become king of the world, every high school will be forced to hold a screening of that movie.

Writer "Had a traumatic teenage life" ManX

[Annie Hall]

Originally posted by WriterManX
I hate teen movies with a passion. Personally, I feel as though all they do is solidify the world's perception that today's teens are mindless zombies with the sole purpose of seeing how much they can drink, how many drugs they can do, and how many people they can screw before they die. I mean, according to what today's media presents, all people between ages 14 - 21 are either attractive, athletic individuals who are care-free and go out, get drunk, and get laid when they get bored, or unattractive, nerdy people who WANT to go out, get drunk, and get laid.

Sadly, in recent years this point is all-too-true, even the better teen flicks such as "American Pie" are improbable. I agree with many people on the topic, that the 80s are when teenagers in movies truly became people. Now, although many of the movies from then even fall into these stereotypes, there are a couple that (a) are very good and unusual or (b) handle real issues:

Say Anything, directed by Cameron Crowe. The best teen movie ever made. It sort of transcends its age group, and truly is a classic. Not only are the characters different (main characters Lloyd is a good, sweet, kind-hearted kid who wants to be a kickboxer, and Diane a brilliant, brainiac who is getting a fellowship to England.) Although the story is similar "different side of the tracks kids fallin love" to many others, it is handled gracefully, portraying them as real people with real problems.

Also,

The Breakfast Club is about the stereotypes that people are labeled with. So, although it has many stereotypes, the point of the movie is how easily people can fall out of their given stereotypes if you give them the chance. Which, I cannot help it, gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.

Recent teen flicks like American Pie, Can't Hardly Wait and 10 Things I Hate about You have managed to squeak by and be really enjoyable movies...but the majority are not worth anyones time. I never thought I'd say this, but, the 80s really were the greatest time, at least in this respect.

[WriterManX]

I agree 100%. I haven't seen "Say Anything," but "The Breakfast Club" did a great job of delving deeper beneath the stereotypes put forth at the beginning at the movie. At the start, we get these completely one-dimensional characters who are nothing more than, well, stereotypes. As the film progresses, we get to know them more and more and realize that there are dimensional people underneath their paper-thin presentation. I've got fond memories of that movie.

Sadly, not enough films are like that nowadays. Like you said, flicks like "American Pie" manage to be enjoyable because they're absolutely hilarious (IMO), but they have no bearing in reality when it comes to characterization and the material it attempts to cover. Even "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," which could have had a paper-thin protagonist, managed to supply enough characterization to create depth and create a truly memorable and layered main character.

But, I guess they're called "teen flicks" for a reason. They're aimed at teens, and most teens don't give a s**t about character depty or realism.

WriterManX

[Kastman]

I'd say 10 things i hate about you is as ferris bueller was in the last decade or what not.

[Sam Lowry]

There are two many films in this genre. Many lack originality
and realism. Some that have both of those traits are . . .

SAY ANYTHING . . . (1989) Cameron Crowe's honest and real
portrait of teenage love.

DAZED AND CONFUSED (1993) Richard Linklater's most popular
film is also one of the most enteraining films of the last ten years.

FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH (1982) Cameron Crowe also
wrote the book this is based on. Honest and appealing featuring
Sean Penn in the role that made him a star. Also, how many
teen flicks do you know deal with abortion unapologetically.

AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973) Where were you in '62? George Lucas' loving ode to his own adolesence of hot rods and late nights. The inspiration for Happy Days, but this isn't as sweet.

FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF (1986) My favorite John Hughes flick.
Matthew Broderick has never played anyone more appealing.
Funny, with great dialogue. Unfortunately it turns into slapstick.

[Mut]

I just don't get the point of the 90-fied teen flicks. I mean, everyone seems to be in agreement that the teen movies of the 80's had depth, but then, only ten years later, this was replaced with juvenile humor, one-dimensionality, and blonde bimbos with big tits.

So why do people go for this type of movie? For the toilet humor? The gross-out "oh-look-he-just-got-soaked-by-a-cup-of-urine" gags and "dude-this-guy's-drinking-another-guy's-semen" routine? I mean, come on! Sometimes the jokes work, but most of the time they're just plain dumb.

I don't think anybody watches movies for the one-dimensionality, so let's just skip that. Which, of course, brings us to ...

BIG-BREASTED BIMBOS BOUNCING UP AND DOWN AND TAKING OFF THEIR SHIRTS.

<Pause for effect>

Teen movies are designed to appeal to (duh) teens. Probably half of all teens are male (or at least half the movie-going teens). Male teens are generally very horny. Horny male teens like to look at large-breasted women on the big-screen. Horny male teens will pay top dollar to look at large-breasted women on the big screen.

The question then becomes: if it's sex you're looking for, why don't you just go watch a porno?

I mean, seriously! Teen movies are allowed to show some nudity, but not too movie, else the MPAA might get angry and start cracking down. So if these kids are out looking for something to jerk off to, a teen flick is not the answer! Use some common sense, guys.

Oh, and stop wasting your money on this cr*p. Go watch something good, like Punch-Drunk Love. Let's see if we can't just take back the cinema for ourselves.

[freakandgeek]

ok, i LOVE 80s teen movies. they are the best. but most of the teen movies today are trying TOO HARD to be better then the movie they are copying. its annoying