The 22 Best Teen Movies of the 21st Century (So Far)

“Ghost World” (2001)

It’s wild to look back and see Scarlett Johansson as Becky with the mediocre hair. There’s also something that feels almost anthropological about “Ghost World,” that the film is a series of events that can’t quite be now that the internet is so prevalent, but look at these teenage girls browsing a video store! Johansson’s Becky and Thora Birch’s Enid are Tumblr edgelords waiting to happen: wielding their aesthetic as a weapon to slice through the bullshit of American consumerist culture, the smallness of their world post-high-school, and, eventually, each other.

But within the confines of this (haunted, haunted) world and the (breathtakingly, gloriously) sardonic dialogue that outwardly seems to be the star, Terry Zwigoff’s camera always finds just the right esoteric set detail to linger on, or the perfect song for Steve Buscemi to dance to. The work of the film is showing how these characters are trying, really, even when trying seems like the scariest possible thing. Framing up just how weird and awkward and vulnerable being alive is, Zwigoff’s furtive empathy for these characters set the template for alienated teens in 21st Century film. But few do it as well as the original. —SS

“Mean Girls” (2004)

Mark Waters’ classic 2004 teen comedy introduced audiences to Regina George (Rachel McAdams), the definitive cinematic high school mean girl. As the leader of her pink-clad clique the Plastics, Regina terrorizes the other girls of her high school — until new arrival Cady (Lindsay Lohan) begins sabotaging her from the inside, leading to a high school Cold War. And a very funny war, at that; there’s a solid case to be made that “Mean Girls” is the most often quoted American movie of the entire 21st century.

“On Wednesdays we wear pink.” “We should totally just stab Caesar.” “That was so fetch.” “Her hair is so big, it’s full of secrets.” “I’m a cool mom.” “Raise your hand if you have ever been personally victimized by Regina George.” “I don’t think my father, the inventor of Toaster Strudel, would be too pleased to hear about this.” Tina Fey’s ruthlessly mean and unquestionably iconic script is full of memorable punchlines that dug deep into an entire generation’s collective consciousness, and is fully embedded in the way people communicate online. Regina George rules North Shore with an iron fist, and she rules the internet as well. —WC 

“Brick” (2005)

Before he was churning out murder mysteries via the “Knives Out” franchise, Rian Johnson made his directorial debut with 2005’s “Brick,” which took the hardboiled detective formula and plopped it in a high school to thrilling results. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, in one of his final teen roles before he began the transition to adult stardom, plays Brendan, a loner high school student who receives a mysterious call from his ex Emily (Emilie de Ravin) begging him for help. When Emily turns up dead the next day, Brendan is sent on a chase around town and school looking for answers, and ends up uncovering a dangerous drug ring embeded in his school targeting students. Many films would take this teen detective story as a bit of a joke, but “Brick” plays it almost completely seriously, and that makes for a thrilling, effective yarn in the process. —WC

“Juno” (2007)

“Juno” proved a bit divisive when it premiered in 2007, with many audience members finding the snarky dialogue courtesy of Diablo Cody’s script supremely irritating. And the film’s somewhat wobbly treatment of abortion hasn’t aged perfectly in the years since its release. But Jason Reitman’s indie darling remains a delight all these years later, thanks to the phenomenal performance from Elliot Page as the title character: a teenager who gets pregnant and decides to give the baby up for adoption. Page, Michael Cera as Juno’s love interest, and Allison Janney and J. K. Simmons as Juno’s loving parents, give lovely performances in the film, which walks the perfect line between tender emotion and laugh-out-loud comedy. —WC

“Jennifer’s Body” (2009)

Cruelly overlooked at its release in 2009, it didn’t take too long for Karyn Kusama’s subversive feminist possession flick to receive its rightful reevaluation. As ften happens to movies about women and girls, “Jennifer’s Body” was originally written off as fluff, despite a killer script from Diablo Cody, fresh off the success of “Juno.” The movie revolves around two best friends, one popular (Megan Fox) and one not (Amanda Seyfried), and plays with the blurred lines of the intense bond that can develop between teenage girls. Offered as a virgin sacrifice to serve the male ego’s needs, Megan Fox’s Jennifer becomes possessed due to, well, not actually being a virgin.

With satirical aplomb, Cody transformed the iconography of possession into an allegory for the way women’s sexuality is demonized in the service of patriarchy. Add to that some explicitly Sapphic overtones and Kusama’s expert direction, and it’s no surprise that “Jennifer’s Body” became a cult hit. —JD

“Easy A” (2010)

A lively spin on “The Scarlet Letter,” Will Gluck’s 2010 take on the classic novel of gossip, backstabbing, and slutshaming translates almost too well to the modern American high school. The premise alone is smart enough — a misunderstood geek is suddenly believed to be an insatiable harlot, gasp! — but with Emma Stone turning in her finest comedic performance yet, the entire thing is elevated. 

“The Myth of the American Sleepover” (2010)

Before David Robert Mitchell debuted the terrifying “It Follows” and the head-scratching LA noir “Under the Silver Lake,” the first-time feature filmmaker took his winsome debut to SXSW and Cannes. A rambling coming-of-age tale that follows four very different teens as they move through their final night of summer vacation, Mitchell’s film elevates classic teen movie tropes into something artful and deeply felt.

Unfussy performances from his young stars, including Claire Sloma, Marlon Morton, Amanda Bauer, and Brett Jacobsen help, as does Mitchell’s low-key rejection of the time-honored teen movie bent towards “one big night” changing everything for regular kids. It doesn’t, but it doesn’t matter, because when you’re this young, everything changes you.

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (2012)

In 2012, Stephen Chbosky attempted something kind of insane: decades after directing his directorial debut, the filmmaker-turned-author tried to turn filmmaker again. Adapting his own beloved epistolary novel “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” for the big screen, Chbosky jumped back into filmmaking and the one story that had defined his legacy for so long. It worked.

The plot of “Perks” is pretty simple – centered on high school freshman Charlie (Logan Lerman), the film follows the outsider as he attempts to navigate high school and his family while also trying to do something that seems almost impossible early on: make friends. Charlie is an outcast and a loser for heartbreaking reasons – he’s not emotionally stable, his best friend just committed suicide, and there’s a secret lurking just inside his mind that he’s routinely busy trying to push away. High school is brutal as ever, but for Charlie, it’s nearly impossible.

While the principal plotline of the film may be simple, what always made the source material stand out (and what has also made the book subject to challenges) is the darkness lingering just underneath its “classic” high school story. The deeper questions haunt the book – what happened to Charlie’s best friend, Michael, what happened to his Aunt Helen (Melanie Lynskey), what is happening to his sister, Candace, etc. — and Chbosky hasn’t chopped any of that from his film.

“Palo Alto” (2013)

Much like “Sleepover,” Gia Coppola’s 2013 feature directorial debut also follows a group of interconnected teens as they stumble through their high school experience, but with a signifcantly darker edge. Adapted from the short stories of James Franco, who also co-stars in the film, it’s fairly obvious that the film has been cobbled together from assorted stories, but what else is high school but random encounters crashing into each other? 

At its heart, “Palo Alto” is about the almost-not-quite relationship between April (an excellent Emma Roberts) and Teddy (Jack Kilmer), a pair of high school students who are prone to getting into spats of trouble, or at least hanging around people who don’t have their best interests at heart. There’s a lot of ill-advised hanging around in “Palo Alto,” and as the film moves towards inevitable bad ends (or not…), but it all captures teenage malaise in a way that the Coppola family seems especially adept at doing. 

“The Spectacular Now” (2013)

James Ponsoldt has always excelled at bringing tough-talking, hard-drinking tales to the big screen with grace and humor, and his 2013 Tim Tharp adaptation is no exception. It might even be the rule: a heartbreaking spin on the “mismatched lovers” trope that has run through the genre for decades, the Scott Neustadter- and Michael H. Weber-penned take on Tharp’s YA novel never talks down to its characters or audience, resulting in something that hurts in the best possible ways.

Sutter Keely (a breakout Miles Teller) is the prototypical cool kid, but one who is harboring a big secret: he’s an alcoholic, not just some party-loving dude like everyone thinks. He has a problem. Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley) is a hard-working wallflower that Sutter has attended school with for years, though he doesn’t even know her name. Brought together by happenstance (and a hangover), the pair slowly move from being strangers to friends, and more.

High school movies don’t get much more tender than this one, which wounds just as much as it heals.

“The To Do List” (2013)

Maggie Carey’s criminally overlooked 2013 directorial debut puts a wild, raunchy spin on the teen sex comedy subgenre, wih excellent (and eye-opening) results. Aubrey Plaza is at her awkward best as recent high school grad Brandy Klark, who’s shocked to discover that, while she knows plenty about academia, her knowledge is seriously lacking when it comes to S-E-X.

Brandy sets out to check off a number of items from a literal “to do” list on her way to sexual liberation (and snagging the hottie of her dreams). And while we all know how it’s going to go — there are many lessons to be learned, Brandy is changed by the events of her last crazy summer, you can’t make love happen with a list — Carey’s film puts such a fresh and vital spin on a played out (and male-dominated) stripe of teen film that every part of it feels revelatory. (And incredibly, disgustingly funny.)

“Girlhood” (2014)

Céline Sciamma’s 2014 festival favorite – it debuted at Cannes’ lauded Directors’ Fortnight, later making stops at Toronto, London, Hamburg, and more – is a highly relatable coming-of-age tale set against an indelible backdrop. The filmmaker was inspired by the various “girl gangs” she saw around the Paris suburbs, and “Girlhood” focuses on one such girl: Marieme (Karidja Touré, hailed for her breakout turn in the feature). Marieme’s circumstances aren’t great – she lives in a poor neighborhood, struggles in school, and has a real jerk for a brother – but when she joins up with a group of street smart girls, she finds a tight-knit gang that is as tough as they are loving.

Sciamma’s film doesn’t romanticize Marieme’s new lifestyle (though there is at least one instant classic party scene set to a Rihanna jam that is super-cool), but it does shine a light on the intensity of female friendships in a way that is deeply heartening.

“The Diary of a Teenage Girl” (2015)

Marielle Heller’s 2015 Sundance hit “The Diary of a Teenage Girl” is not your average coming-of-age story. Based on Phoebe Gloeckner’s 2002 graphic novel “The Diary of a Teenage Girl: An Account in Words and Pictures,” the film brazenly turns its taboo subject matter — the sexual awakening of a teenage girl — into a funny, smart, and honest story that entertains as much as it educates. Bel Powley stars as Minnie Goetze, a precocious 15-year-old muddling her way through the swinging scene of 1970s-era San Francisco. 

Like many girls her age, Minnie is struggling to find her place in the world, a journey made all the more difficult by her seemingly unstoppable hormones. As Minnie taps into her burgeoning sexual desires, her life takes a turn — straight into the arms of Monroe (Alexander Skarsgard), her mother’s boyfriend. Heller deftly navigates questions of consent and issues of age, and Minnie makes it clear that she’s making her own decisions, even if they’re probably bad ones.

“Dope” (2015)

Rick Famuyiwa’s energetic Sundance standout electrified audiences at the festival back when it premiered in 2015. Bolstered by a cast filled with up-and-comers — including Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Quincy Brown, and Zoë Kravitz — the film zips along with a wild, adventure-filled script. Mostly a coming-of-age story about Moore’s ambitious Malcolm, who has set his sights on the Ivy League (there’s nothing like a good “gotta get into college” plot to drive any high school-set film), the film threads in contemporary worries and concerns alongside a traditional plot. 

While the specificity of Famuyiwa’s film is one of its greatest assets, as the filmmaker digs lovingly into the “post-hip hop” culture of ’80s-era Los Angeles, it’s also a wonderfully relatable offering. Underneath dated (but still cool) clothing, hairstyles, and pop culture obsessions, “Dope” leans into a question that will never go out of style: who, exactly, are the kids it chronicles? They’re trying to figure that out, too, and by the time the film zooms towards its final scenes, everyone has a better idea of what it all means. 

“The Edge of Seventeen” (2016)

Kelly Fremon Craig’s 2016 film eschews the kind of glossy veneer that so often coats current high school-based offerings, instead opting to deliver a charmingly flawed lead character who is thrust into some very relatable situations. In “The Edge of Seventeen,” Hailee Steinfeld plays Nadine, a life-long outcast who has navigated her way through all sorts of setbacks – a cool older brother, a dead father, an out-of-touch mother, and a profound inability to fit in with pretty much everyone else – if only because she has a dedicated best pal at her side.

But when said BFF Krista (Haley Lu Richardson, who is just great in everything) starts dating Nadine’s loathed older brother Darian (Blake Jenner), Nadine is woefully unable to deal with the fallout. Instead of responding with positivity and maturity, she basically implodes her entire life, all in the hopes of cratering the burgeoning relationship and hoarding Krista all to herself. In true coming-of-age fashion, once Nadine begins to realize that her projections of the world around her – and particularly the people around her – are false, she actually starts to grow as a person.

“Lady Bird” (2017)

Early in Greta Gerwig’s Oscar-nominated 2017 coming-of-age charmer “Lady Bird,” eponymous leading lady Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan) is asked by a teacher if her preferred nickname is actually her given name (it isn’t, of course). Chin set, shoulders back, she declares, “I gave it to myself. It’s given to me by me.” That’s Lady Bird’s entire ethos in a nutshell.

Tasked with a character as refreshingly winsome – a walking, talking embodiment of millennial ennui – the Oscar-nominated actress never verges into cheap tricks or bad tropes. Her Lady Bird is very real, deeply relatable, and always engaging. She’s every surly teen, but she’s also every person who’s ever been a surly teen (you know, most of us).

Bonus: the breakout talents of “Booksmart” star Beanie Feldstein, as Lady Bird’s wonderful best pal Julie. 

“Eighth Grade” (2018)

As the breakout star (and eventual Golden Globe nominee) of Bo Burnham’s 2018 feature directorial debut, “Eighth Grade,” Elsie Fisher was tasked with carrying an entire film — an achingly real and modern coming-of-age tale – with honesty and vulnerability to spare. The moment audiences meet Fisher’s character, soon-to-be middle school grad Kayla, she’s staring straight into her computer, delivering a motivational speech about “being yourself” that she will then upload on to her YouTube channel.

But Kayla isn’t some social media star, and her video ends with a halting plea for more likes and shares. For a kid like Kayla, an outcast who is mostly ignored by her peers, the internet provides just another place for her voice to go unheard.

She ends her video, like all the others, with a single word: “Gucci.” It’s a cool-kid thing, hip slang that her youngsters are using these days, and in Kayla’s voice, it sounds terribly wrong. It’s also terribly funny. Burnham, best known for his stand-up comedy, music, and, oh yes, his own YouTube career, has certainly made a funny film, but he’s angled for the kind of laughter spawned by recognition, and there is so much to recognize in Kayla.

“Eighth Grade” isn’t a documentary, but it hews as close to the modern coming-of-age experience as currently seems possible.

“Love, Simon” (2018)

Greg Berlanti’s 2018 film is straight from the John Hughes mold: It’s focused on a handsome, well-liked kid (Nick Robinson, the rising star of films such as “The Kings of Summer” and “Jurassic World”) who has a nice family and good friends, but who feels personally defined by a big secret. Hughes’ characters often concealed (sometimes, not so well) various issues related to class, family life, and emotional health — specific dramas, speaking to the sense that everyone has some sort of cross to bear.

The hope, of course, was that through some kind of reckoning — Saturday detention, a wedding, a really great prom dress — characters could reach a new place of honesty with both themselves and everyone around them. That’s exactly what Simon goes through in Berlanti’s film, as Robinson’s closeted character discovers that at least one of his fellow classmates is also gay, and making tentative moves towards coming out. The pair take to emailing each other, even as Simon attempts to find his new friend (and perhaps more) in the wilds of their high school.

From the outside, Simon might not seem like an outsider, but he feels like one, and that’s the person viewers get to know. What teenager hasn’t felt that way?

“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” (2018)

Netflix’s 2018 smash hit builds off of Jenny Han’s popular YA novel series of the same name (with a sequel in the works!) to deliver the kind of woozy, romantic charmer the genre has been lacking. Breakout star Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor) is the kind of heroine that used to dominate the world of high school-set movies: an outsider, just a little bit, with plenty on her mind and little in the way of romantic possibilities.

The inciting incident of the Susan Johnson film is years in the making, and reveals itself in ways that are so unnerving, audiences can’t help but remember what it was like to be a lovestruck teen that made their very own bad decisions. Lara Jean buries her emotions deep, deep down, refusing to get too close to anyone (especially cute boys she likes) beyond the close confines of her family. Then, when that becomes too much to bear, she lets loose by penning love letters to her dearest crushes (when the film opens, they number five), which she hides away in her closet.

So what happens when those letters are let out into the world? The film provides plenty of wish fulfillment for both Lara Jean and her audience (like the introduction of Noah Centineo as a big man on campus with a real heart who helps her out of her wild jam), but it’s also filled with horrifyingly relatable scenes powered by the kind of embarassment that can only happen when you’re a teen. (Well, hopefully.)

“Booksmart” (2019)

Olivia Wilde’s feature directorial debut is an instant classic for reason: it’s incredibly funny, emotion, and a loving shoutout to smart ladies of any age. Set during the waning days of senior year, a made-for-the-movies time period that continues to serve as the backdrop for many high school films, Wilde’s film follows BFFs Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever), who have dedicated their young lives to academic pursuits. It’s paid off for the pair: they’ve got excellent grades, stellar resumes, and are ready to embark on the next chapter of their brilliant lives.

But while Molly and Amy have been busy busting their butts with books, the rest of their co-ed cohorts have been off living it up, with some surprising results: they all got good grades too. And they are going to good colleges. And they have bright futures. Oh, and they had so much fun, the kind Molly and Amy have studiously (literally) eschewed for so many years.

As “Booksmart” unfolds, the duo set about changing all of that, at least for one last glorious night of high school freedom. It’s both a raucous teen party movie and an ode to the power of best friendship, anchored by a pair of all-star leads and a sterling supporting cast of delightful weirdos.

“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” (2023)

Okay, maybe it’s more accurate to call it one of the best tween movies of the 21st century. But Kelly Fremon Craig’s “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” is a minor miracle, a lovely and spirited adaptation that makes Judy Blume’s classic 1970 novel feel fresh and new again. Abby Ryder Fortson, as the precocious titular eleven-year-old at the center, is an instantly likable lead, guiding the audience through Margaret’s struggles after her family moves to the suburbs where she encounters puberty, boys, and religious conflicts. And Rachel McAdams has maybe never been better than as Margaret’s mom, who struggles to find her place in the suburbs while dealing with her estranged parents. Both women’s struggles are very specific to themselves, but the power of the movie is how it makes this story of religion and family in the 1970s feel so new and true to our current time, a coming-of-age tale that strikes a deep chord with both the young and the old. —WC

“Bottoms” (2023)

A watershed moment of representation for ugly, untalented gays, Emma Seligman’s “Bottoms” feels like a miracle in 2023: an honest to god mainstream teen sex comedy, centering on lesbians, with the boldness and confidence to make those lesbians terrible people. Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott star as Josie and PJ, two unpopular high school seniors who desperately lust after unattainable cheerleader hotties Isabel (Havana Rose Liu) and Brittany (Kaia Gerber). After a misunderstanding causes the entire school to think the two spent the summer fighting other girls to the death in juvie, the pair parlay their sudden notoriety into starting a “female self-defense class” (glorified fight club) in the hopes of getting closer to the objects of their desire. 

The film’s wild premise fits perfectly in the almost surrealist teen comedy world it creates, where classes end after one minute and the rival football team literally attempts to murder the star quarterback, and Sennott and Edebiri’s incredible comedic chops ensures the joke-a-millisecond script is in good hands. It’s an incredibly queer take on sex comedies, but isn’t precious or cloying about representation — letting its leads fit comfortably in the dirtbag sex comedy protagonist hall of fame. —WC