The 50 Best Teen Movies from the 1990s
Here is a chronological list of the best teen-centered films from the year 1990-1999 (as chosen by me).
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50 titles
- DirectorAllan MoyleStarsChristian SlaterSamantha MathisAnthony Luke LuceroMark runs a pirate radio station and causes an uproar when he speaks his mind and enthralls fellow teens.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsJohnny DeppRicki LakeAmy LocaneIn 1950s Baltimore, a bad boy with a heart of gold wins the love of a good girl, whose boyfriend sets out for revenge.
- DirectorStephen HerekStarsChristina ApplegateJoanna CassidyJohn GetzFive siblings are left alone all summer when their mom leaves town and the evil babysitter bites the dust.
- DirectorJohn SingletonStarsCuba Gooding Jr.Laurence FishburneHudhail Al-AmirFollows the lives of three young males living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, dissecting questions of race, relationships, violence, and future prospects.
- DirectorPeter HewittStarsKeanu ReevesAlex WinterWilliam SadlerA tyrant from the future creates evil android doubles of Bill and Ted and sends them back to eliminate the originals.
- DirectorLes MayfieldStarsSean AstinBrendan FraserPauly ShoreWhen they find a frozen caveman in their back yard, two high school outcasts thaw him and introduce him to modern life while he in turn gets them to actually enjoy life.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsJason LondonWiley WigginsMatthew McConaugheyThe adventures of high school and junior high students on the last day of school in May 1976.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsMelanie LynskeyKate WinsletSarah PeirseTwo teenage girls share a unique bond; their parents, concerned that the friendship is too intense, separate them, and the girls take revenge.
- DirectorAmy HeckerlingStarsAlicia SilverstoneStacey DashBrittany MurphyShallow, rich and socially successful Cher is at the top of her Beverly Hills high school's pecking scale. Seeing herself as a matchmaker, Cher first coaxes two teachers into dating each other.
- DirectorAllan MoyleStarsAnthony LaPagliaDebi MazarMaxwell CaulfieldTwenty-four hours in the lives of the young employees at Empire Records when they all grow up and become young adults thanks to each other and the manager. They all face the store joining a chain store with strict rules.
- DirectorGregg ArakiStarsJames DuvalRose McGowanJohnathon SchaechJordan White and Amy Blue, two troubled teens, pick up an adolescent drifter, Xavier Red. Together, the threesome embark on a sex-and-violence-filled journey through an America of psychos and quickie marts.
- DirectorIain SoftleyStarsJonny Lee MillerAngelina JolieJesse BradfordTeenage hackers discover a criminal conspiracy with plans to use a computer virus that will capsize five oil tankers.
- DirectorLarry ClarkStarsLeo FitzpatrickJustin PierceChloë SevignyA day in the life of a group of teens as they travel around New York City skating, drinking, smoking and deflowering virgins.
- DirectorTodd SolondzStarsHeather MatarazzoChristina BrucatoVictoria DavisAn awkward seventh-grader struggles to cope with inattentive parents, snobbish class-mates, a smart older brother, an attractive younger sister and her own insecurities in suburban New Jersey.
- DirectorPatrick Read JohnsonStarsCharlie TalbertGeorge C. ScottKathy BatesA miserable fat teenager secretly has a crush on the class beauty, ends up becoming the surprising participant to dance with her at a high school dance, meaning he's got to get his act together with the help of his best friend.
- DirectorKevin SmithStarsShannen DohertyJeremy LondonJason LeeBoth dumped by their girlfriends, two best friends seek refuge in the local mall.
- DirectorMaria MaggentiStarsLaurel HollomanNicole Ari ParkerMaggie MooreAn adventurous love story between two young women of different social and economic backgrounds who find themselves going through all the typical struggles of a new romance.
- DirectorScott KalvertStarsLeonardo DiCaprioLorraine BraccoMarilyn SokolA teenager finds his dreams of becoming a basketball star threatened after he free falls into the harrowing world of drug addiction.
- DirectorWes CravenStarsNeve CampbellCourteney CoxDavid ArquetteA year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a masked killer who targets her and her friends by using scary movies as part of a deadly game.
- DirectorHettie MacdonaldStarsGlen BerryLinda HenryScott NealJamie is a shy teenager, often bullied at school. His neighbour Ste has a rough time at home, being beaten by his father and brother. This issues bring them together and they find that what they feel for each other is more than friendship.
- DirectorJames FoleyStarsMark WahlbergReese WitherspoonWilliam PetersenWhen Nicole met David; handsome, charming, affectionate, he was everything. It seemed perfect, but soon she sees that David has a darker side. And his adoration turns to obsession, their dream into a nightmare, and her love into fear.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsGiovanni RibisiSteve ZahnJayce BartokA group of suburban teenagers try to support each other through the difficult task of becoming adults.
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsLeonardo DiCaprioClaire DanesJohn LeguizamoShakespeare's famous play is updated to the hip modern suburb of Verona still retaining its original dialogue.
- DirectorAndrew FlemingStarsRobin TunneyFairuza BalkNeve CampbellA newcomer to a Catholic prep high school falls in with a trio of outcast teenage girls who practice witchcraft, and they all soon conjure up various spells and curses against those who anger them.
- DirectorJim GillespieStarsJennifer Love HewittSarah Michelle GellarAnne HecheFour young friends bound by a tragic accident are reunited when they find themselves being stalked by a hook-wielding maniac in their small seaside town.
- DirectorDavid MirkinStarsMira SorvinoLisa KudrowJaneane GarofaloTwo dim-witted, inseparable friends hit the road for their ten-year high school reunion and concoct an elaborate lie about their lives in order to impress their classmates.
- DirectorRobert RodriguezStarsJordana BrewsterClea DuVallLaura HarrisWhen Casey Connor, Herrington High School's newspaper photographer, witnesses the murder of a nurse and sees her alive again, he decides to investigate the bizarre happenings.
- DirectorHarry ElfontDeborah KaplanStarsJennifer Love HewittEthan EmbryCharlie KorsmoA complete graduating class, consisting of beautiful girls, geeks and promising footballers, assemble at a rich classmate's residence for a party. Interesting developments follow at the get-together.
- DirectorDavid NutterStarsJames MarsdenKatie HolmesNick StahlThe new kid in Cradle Bay, Washington stumbles across something sinister about the town's method of transforming its unruly teens into upstanding citizens.
- DirectorDavid MoretonStarsChris StaffordTina HolmesAndersen GabrychA teenager copes with his sexuality on the last day of school in 1984. It shows him coping with being gay and being with friends.
- DirectorTamara JenkinsStarsNatasha LyonneAlan ArkinBryna WeissIn 1976, a lower-middle-class teenager struggles to cope living with her neurotic family of nomads on the outskirts of Beverly Hills.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsEdward FurlongChristina RicciBess ArmstrongA talented young photographer, who enjoys snapping photos of his satirical, perverted Baltimore neighborhood and his wacky family, gets dragged into a world of pretentious artists from New York City and finds newfound fame.
- DirectorSimon ShoreStarsBen SilverstoneBrad GortonCharlotte BrittainA tenderly romantic coming-of-age story as two boys in a British school fall in love.
- DirectorGary RossStarsTobey MaguireJeff DanielsJoan AllenTwo 1990s teenage siblings find themselves transported to a 1950s sitcom where their influence begins to profoundly change that colorless, complacent world.
- DirectorGil JungerStarsHeath LedgerJulia StilesJoseph Gordon-LevittA high-school boy, Cameron, cannot date Bianca until her anti-social older sister, Kat, has a boyfriend. So, Cameron pays a mysterious boy, Patrick, to charm Kat.
- DirectorRoger KumbleStarsSarah Michelle GellarRyan PhillippeReese WitherspoonTwo vicious step-siblings of an elite Manhattan prep school make a wager: to deflower the new headmaster's daughter before the start of term.
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsMatthew BroderickReese WitherspoonLoren NelsonA high school teacher meets his match in an over-achieving student politician.
- DirectorPaul WeitzChris WeitzStarsJason BiggsChris KleinThomas Ian NicholasFour teenage boys enter a pact to lose their virginity by prom night.
- DirectorRaja GosnellStarsDrew BarrymoreDavid ArquetteMichael VartanA newspaper reporter enrolls in high school as part of research for a story.
- DirectorJohn SchultzStarsMelissa Joan HartAdrian GrenierStephen CollinsNicole and Chase used to be BFFs, then junior high happened. The high school centennial dance is coming but Nicole gets dumped. So does Chase. They stage a relationship to get at their exes. They visit each other's worlds. Love in the air?
- DirectorRobert IscoveStarsFreddie Prinze Jr.Rachael Leigh CookMatthew LillardA high school jock makes a bet that he can turn an unattractive girl into the school's prom queen.
- DirectorDarren SteinStarsRose McGowanRebecca GayheartJulie BenzThree of the most popular girls at Reagan High accidentally kill the prom queen with a jawbreaker when a kidnapping goes horribly wrong.
- DirectorSofia CoppolaStarsKirsten DunstJosh HartnettJames WoodsA group of male friends become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents in suburban Detroit in the mid 1970s.
- DirectorBrian RobbinsStarsJames Van Der BeekJon VoightPaul WalkerA back-up quarterback is chosen to lead a Texas football team to victory after the star quarterback is injured.
- DirectorAdam RifkinStarsEdward FurlongGiuseppe AndrewsJames DeBelloIn 1978, four rebellious teenagers try to scam their way into a KISS concert.
- DirectorRodman FlenderStarsDevon SawaSeth GreenElden HensonA teenage slacker's right hand becomes possessed with murderous intent.
- DirectorJamie BabbitStarsNatasha LyonneClea DuVallMichelle WilliamsA naive teenager is sent to rehab camp when her straitlaced parents and friends suspect her of being a lesbian.
- DirectorBruce McCullochStarsMolly ShannonWill FerrellElaine HendrixA nerdy Catholic schoolgirl, Mary Katherine Gallagher, dreams of superstardom.
- DirectorDoug LimanStarsSarah PolleyJay MohrScott WolfThe aftermath of a drug deal as told from three different points of view.
- DirectorKevin WilliamsonStarsHelen MirrenMarisa CoughlanKatie HolmesThe story of a girl who is willing to do anything to become Valedictorian, even if it means murdering the teacher that stands in her way.