As we approach the new beginning of this school year with different expectations in mind, I present to you a list of my top 10 must-watch films for this back-to-school season. These will set a standard for you as to how high school will be, and though unrealistic, they will definitely have you missing the hallways and classrooms where you spent the best and worst times. If not to perform a musical, at least to bond with your teachers or make friends in detention, and maybe even form a band… 

1. The High School Musical Trilogy (2006-2008) 

        First up, we have the movies that made us all want to go to high school in the first place. If it weren’t for Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montes’ high school experience, we would never be able to truly understand what it means to be a Wildcat and much less a Firebird. Through these three movies, we follow along on their journey beginning their sophomore year of high school to the very end of their senior year. For most, it will probably be a rewatch, but if for some insane reason you still haven’t seen it, expect to listen to the soundtrack that will change your life forever.

2. The Breakfast Club (1985) 1h 37m 

        Out of a jock, a nerd, a princess, a basket case, and a criminal, rest assured that there will be at least one character in this film that you can relate to. In the Breakfast Club, all of these people come together on a Saturday morning for detention, and the last thing they expect is to leave as friends. Though they are stuck in a high school library for the next nine hours with an essay to write on the topic of “who you think you are,” they get to know each other… on a deeper level. As they bond over the experience and reluctantly dive into their personal lives, they realize that beyond the previously established high school stereotypes, they are not so different after all. With one of the most iconic endings, this film leaves you feeling quite a lot of feelings. 

3. Lemonade Mouth (2011) 1h 46m 

        As the modern musical-Disney-version of the Breakfast Club, Lemonade Mouth also brings you a group of kids that realistically shouldn’t be friends but end up bonding over detention. Yet this time… they form a band, inevitably making a masterpiece out of the soundtrack. As all good Disney musicals do, the plot of this movie revolves around a singing competition which they strive to win. While they prepare for Rising Star, these five freshmen also become best friends, finding a home in each other while respectively going through a tough time in theirs. For most of Gen-Z, it will also most likely be a rewatch. Still, I personally don’t think I’ll ever get tired of singing along to Determinate and attempting to learn the rap. 

4. Stand and Deliver (1998) 1h 43m

        Based on a true story, this film encaptures the life of Jaime Escalante, a math teacher, and his students, who, while attending a low-resourced school in East Los Angeles, have a difficult time prioritizing their education above their social, economic, and domestic problems. Intending to help his students excel in academics and change the school’s culture, Escalante encourages his class to fall in love with learning. He does this by setting the goal of having them take AP Calculus by the end of their senior year. Once realizing the true potential that his students have, he does everything in his power to help them excel, including standing up to anyone who doubts or impedes them from learning. This film, above all, teaches you lessons you didn’t know you needed and inspires you to fall in love with your education as well. It is definitely worth watching at least once in your life, even if it’s in Mr. V’s classroom.

5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) 1h 45m

        As a freshman, Charlie Kelmeckis (Logan Lerman) doesn’t seem to fit in; he writes to an unnamed friend and struggles with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder after a tragic accident with his aunt. When he begins his journey in high school, the only person he befriends is his English teacher, as they share a love for books. That is until he meets Sam and Patrick, who, even though are misfits themselves, are seniors and have already learned to find their place in a world where no one else understands them. Charlie bonds with them over music and survives his freshman year alongside them. Through a series of unprecedented events, we experience Charlie’s world and mind with a rollercoaster of emotions and an incredible soundtrack to accompany it. Featuring “Heroes” by David Bowie in the memorable tunnel scene with the beautiful Emma Watson, this film makes us feel as if “we are infinite,” making this coming-of-age movie unlike any other.

6. Matilda (1996) 1h 42 m

       Matilda Wormwood is a genius little girl with a love for knowledge. Though she comes from a disreputable family, to say the least, she is well-mannered, kind, and immeasurably intelligent. Delighted to enter elementary for the first time, she stumbles with some complications along the way. Apart from her parents, who do not value her education at all whatsoever, she is fronted with Agatha Trunchbull, the school principal, whose intentions seem to only be making her students suffer. On the other extreme, her teacher, Miss Jennifer Honey, is the only adult that Matilda has encountered who seems to care for her and truly notices the potential she holds. Using all her suppressed feelings towards the adults in her life, Matilda develops telekinetic powers and uses them to improve her home and school life conditions. This film is truly a classic, and well, if you didn’t try developing your mindpower like her at least once as a kid, you didn’t have a childhood.

7. Dead Poets Society (1989) 2h 20m

        Starring the beautiful soul that is Robin Williams, this film is going to make you think, it is going to make you cry, and it is going to make you wish you had watched it sooner. Set in 1959 at an elite conservative boarding school in Vermont, it tells the story of an inspirational and unconventional English teacher who wishes to teach his all-male students that poetry is a beautiful language and that there is more to life than they know. You will find yourself in these kids, and if anything, it will serve as a reminder of why teachers should get paid more.

8. Mean Girls (2004) 1h 37m

        With an outstanding cast and unforgettable quotes, Mean Girls has become the movie of our generation. On the surface, it is a great introduction to what is a high school dynamic, as it presents you with the extremes, but it is also a take on female high school social cliques and the detrimental effects that they can have on young girls. It is definitely a must-watch, coming back to school or not, because if you haven’t watched it… you can’t sit with us.

9. Freedom Writers (2007) 2h 3m

        Also based on a true story similar to that of Stand and Deliver, this film portrays the life of English teacher Erin Gruwell, whose primary purpose coming to Woodrow Wilson Classical High School is solely to educate, encourage and help her students. Yet, as she familiarizes herself with the school and her class, she realizes that racial tensions are incredibly high, as well as gang activity and other issues that tend to overrule their education. As she begins to gain their trust, she encourages them to write out their stories and experiences as a form of catharsis, which later on she turns into a book. With a story in every character and a lesson in every scene, Gruwell demonstrates a prime example of how a teacher should be and allows us to experience and therefore understand some very relevant social and cultural themes. 

10. Grease (1978) 1h 51m

        The film that created the standard of coming of age films. The one and only, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. A soundtrack that changed film history, and essentially the way we saw musicals as well… Grease. One of the most classic movies of all time, probably due to its perpetual plot, humor, and love stories. It will leave you singing, laughing, crying, and dancing, coming back for more.