Sometimes, nothing is more of an escape than the halls of high school. I know, we all lived through it and, for most of us, it probably kind of sucked. But there's something so perfectly nostalgic about a classic teen movie. The lockers, the cliques, the drama, the fashion! If you're in the mood to disappear from the adult world for a few hours, we've pulled together an extensive list of the best teen movies to watch when you're hit with the craving.
From Netflix's To All The Boys I Loved Before to Emma Stone's Easy A and Saoirse Ronan's incredible turn in Lady Bird, there's a story full of coming-of-age teen angst and joy for everyone's taste.
From heroin chic to extreme porn gone mainstream, did we ever really stand a chance?
Here's Glamour's round-up of the best teen movies, from 10 Things I Hate About You to The Hate U Give and The Perks of Being A Wallflower.
Easy A
Emma Stone is at her absolute best here as a high schooler who lies to her best friend about losing her virginity, and her story spreads like wild fire – based on classic novel The Scarlet Letter.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Lady Bird
A stellar coming-of-age story starring Saoirse Ronan, who plays high school senior Lady Bird trying to navigate what she wants to do with her life and relationships, as well as how she feels about her home town.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, NOW
The Hate U Give
When she witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend, Starr (Amandla Stenberg) faces pressure from different parts of her community. She must find it within herself to stand up for what's right. Starring Regina Hall, Anthony Mackie, Issa Rae and Sabrina Carpenter.
Where to watch: Disney+
Clueless
As if! Alicia Silverstone is legendary as wealthy high school student Cher, who takes a new student Tai (Brittany Murphy) under her wing to make her popular.
Where to watch: Netflix, Disney+
Love, Simon
The sweet, empowering story of a teen boy named Simon in the closet who is blackmailed by someone who threatens to reveal his sexuality. Starring Nick Robinson and Jennifer Garner.
Where to watch: Disney+
The Perks of Being A Wallflower
Starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller and based on the wonderful novel of the same name, the movie follows a story of high school friendships, romances and mental health journeys. Gorgeous.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Wild Child
A Noughties classic. Emma Roberts plays rebellious Poppy Moore, who is shipped off to an English boarding school and sets herself a mission to be expelled and sent back home.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Booksmart
Best pals Amy and Molly (Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein) prepare to graduate, and realise their peers have been living a more balanced life when it comes to studying and partying – and they decide to make up for lost time on the partying front.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Eighth Grade
Tells the story of the last week of a teenage girl protagonist's time in eighth grade before she starts high school, looking closely at her crisis of self-confidence and how she posts about it on the Internet.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging
A perfect film adaptation of the Georgia Nicholson novels by Louise Rennison, looking at the truly cringeworthy things about being a British teenager. Starring Georgia Groome and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, it's a truly amazing throwback.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Love & Basketball
Two childhood sweethearts grow up together, with the only thing potentially standing in the way being their mutual love for basketball and their drive to be the best.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
The Edge of Seventeen
Stars Hailee Steinfeld as Nadine, who navigates her best friend dating her brother and problems within her family, with her father as her ultimate ally.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Cruel Intentions
A twisted game begins when Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) bets her stepbrother Sebastian (Ryan Phillippe) that he can't seduce their headmaster's daughter Annette (Reese Witherspoon).
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
Lara-Jean (Lara Condor) writes letters to all of the boys she loves – until her sister releases them all as a means of trying to find her a boyfriend. Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) responds, and the two throw together a “fake” relationship for show that soon looks to develop into something real.
Where to watch: Netflix
Scream
A masked killer stalks a group of high school teens, launching a huge movie franchise that continues to this day.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
American Pie
A group of four friends are on a mission to have sex for the first time before prom night, and of course, various hilarities ensue.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Mean Girls
Lindsay Lohan stars as Cady, who begins high school after being homeschooled and discovers a whole new world. She soon encounters and joins popular group The Plastics, consisting of Regina George (Rachel McAdams), Gretchen Wieners (Lacey Chabert) and Karen Smith (Amanda Seyfried) and falls down a rabbit hole of hierarchies and rules.
Where to watch: Disney+
10 Things I Hate About You
Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) must find Kat, the sister of the object of her affections, a date. So he recruits Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger), a semi-scary loner, for the job, and all involved get way more than they bargained for.
Where to watch: Disney+
John Tucker Must Die
A true teen classic. When a group of girls from different high school cliques discover that their boyfriend has been dating all of them at once, they recruit an unpopular girl to get him to fall in love with her and break his heart.
Where to watch: Disney+
Super Bad
The ultimate crazy house party movie, centred around a group of friends who want to have one more night of celebration before university and the next stage of their lives.
Where to watch: Netflix, NOW
Project X
When a group of high school seniors plan the ultimate epic party, everything spins out of control when news of the celebration goes public.
Where to watch: Netflix
17 Again
37-year-old Mike (Matthew Perry) transforms into his 17-year-old self (played by Zac Efron) to recapture his glory days. But what he ends up doing is reconnecting with his children and wife, and realising he already had everything he wanted.
Where to watch: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video
Do Revenge
Starring Maya Hawke and Camila Mendes, Do Revenge sees Drea (Mendes) wreak revenge on her boyfriend for leaking a sex tape, leading to her teaming up with exchange student Eleanor to get back at their enemies.
Where to watch: Netflix
Romy and Michele's High School Reunion
The funniest movie you'll ever see, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion is a teen movie starring a cast of fully grown adults. Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino are Michele and Romy, respectively, besties and former high school losers determined to make a splash at their high school reunion. You will never unsee that dance with Alan Cumming.
Where to watch: Disney+
Sixteen Candles
A true classic, this John Hughes movie is basically the teen movie blueprint. Samantha is turning 16, her whole family forgets, and a love triangle ensues.
Where to watch: NOW
Juno
Elliot Page stars as Juno, a teen dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. A heartfelt coming-of-age tale with some killer performances, Juno proves that teen movies can be surprisingly grown-up.
Where to watch: Disney+
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
The ultimate teen fantasy really is just bunking off school for a day — and in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, this fantasy is taken to the extreme. Ferris, his best friend and his girlfriend have the ultimate day playing hooky, all while being chased around by an increasingly obsessed, deranged dean of students.
Where to watch: Channel 4
She's the Man
A spin on the classic Shakespeare play Twelfth Night, this high school movie sees Amanda Bynes disguising herself as her twin brother in order to spend a year playing football on the boys' team. She's a hunky dude!
Where to watch: ITVX
The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club is a true '80s classic by the king of the teen movie, John Hughes. The coming-of-age film sees an oddball group of students spending the day together in detention.
Where to watch: NOW
Heathers
A quirky black comedy, Heathers stars Winona Ryder as Veronica, a girl who weasles her way into the popular group — which is three girls who all happen to be named Heather. Things take a dark turn for the Heathers when Veronica's new boyfriend turns out to have a taste for murder.
Where to watch: ITVX
She's All That
Another classic play-turned-teen movie, She's All That draws inspiration from George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, telling the ultimate glow-up story.
Where to watch: Apple TV
Bottoms
A modern-day teen classic, Bottoms stars co-creators Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edibiri as misfit teens dealing with unrealistic crushes. An ode to the classic Y2K teen flicks, this is one for fans of the genre.
Where to watch: MUBI
A Cinderella Story
Hilary Duff is a modern-day Cinderella who, somehow, becomes unrecognisable with a tiny white eye mask, leaving Chad Michael Murray flummoxed. Waiting for him is like waiting for rain in this drought!
Where to watch: Apple TV
The Princess Diaries
An iconic teen movie that feels like a comfort blanket to watch. A baby Anne Hathaway plays Mia, a dorky teen thrust into a new role as princess of Genovia.
Where to watch: ITVX
Bend It Like Beckham
Bend It Like Beckham predicted the boom of women's football! Jess is an Indian-British teen with a passion for football — her parents are less keen. But of course her coach understands — he's Irish! IYKYK.
Where to watch: Prime Video
