Top 10 Best Coming-of-Age Movies

I don't know if this applies to other schools, but I've come across many people in my former high school who declared that they outright HATED The Breakfast Club. And I immediately thought to myself, "What?"

I didn't think it was possible to downright hate this movie. It's a great film that makes the statement that even though you may come from different backgrounds and social cliques, everybody has their own personal issues and problems underneath their surface. It's a funny yet compelling movie with relatable people that anyone who went to high school can identify with. It gives the great commentary that being a teenager and growing up is easy for NOBODY.

Out of all the movies that portray kids and childhood friends, I always think of Stand By Me as the most accurate depiction. Everything about this movie is 100% genuine. I hate how some movies portray kids as clean, innocent little angels. In this movie, kids swear, smoke, and get into trouble, and it doesn't portray that as a bad thing. It's just giving an accurate portrayal of how childhood pals act.

They all have flaws, they all have their issues, and the movie gloriously tells a story about these four friends going on a journey that welcomes them into their adolescence. It's a fantastic film that's funny, dramatic, and intense at the same time, and features some of the greatest child acting ever captured on film.

I might as well call this "List Where Phillysports Praises Inside Out #20". But in all seriousness, Inside Out masterfully tells a story of what is going on in a young girl's head when her family leaves her childhood home to start a new life in a big city.

Its genius script details what it's like to be in a situation where you're unsure of yourself at a young age. It shows several aspects of growing up, such as imaginary friends, and how it's okay to let go of them in order to advance as a person. It's a movie that kids can relate to because they're the ones going through the process of growing up, and adults can relate to it because they knew what that whole process was like.

I'm just gushing all over this movie again. It's my all-time favorite for a reason.

As someone who's going to be entering their first year of college, I have a sinking suspicion that I'm going to be going through the same exact crisis that Ben went through by the time I'm through with the whole university experience. Now, I'll guarantee you that I won't be having an affair with one of my neighbors, but Ben reflects all the uncertainty and aimlessness of someone who has no idea what to do with their life once they become an adult.

Dustin Hoffman masterfully portrays the nervous and rattled demeanor of someone who is longing for some sort of purpose in their life. The beauty of the film is truly defined in the ending scene where Ben and Elaine stare blankly ahead at their future, not sure if they made the best or worst decision of their lives. That perfectly sums up the uncertainty of life as a whole.

There's a reason why James Dean is considered a legend despite having a film career of only five years. He encapsulated exactly what it felt like to be a teenager in the 1950s, and even now to an extent. It touches upon many subjects like teenage angst and differences between generations. It was a classic then, and will continue to be a classic in the future.

If it wasn't for this movie, I don't think that teen movies would be a thing!

Before Big hit theaters, Tom Hanks was mostly known as a pure comedic actor. This was the film that launched Hanks's career into more dramatic territory and gave him his first Oscar nomination. And for good reason. This is a movie that takes full advantage of its creative premise and takes a comedic and dramatic route with it. This could have just been an easy wacky '80s comedy, but the people behind the film were smart enough to realize that they could make a broad statement about childhood and growing up.

This was (and still is) one of my favorites. I still enjoy it for an occasional watch.

Similarly to Stand By Me, I really appreciate A Bronx Tale for portraying children and young adults in such a realistic manner. This was the first of two films that Robert De Niro directed in his career, and it really is a poignant story that delves into many subjects such as childhood, race relations, the crime world, and first love.

It's a gripping story about a young Italian-American boy growing up under two father figures: one being his biological father and the other being a powerful crime boss. One of the most important parts of the process of growing up is learning morality, and this film encapsulates that perfectly.

Quentin Tarantino has said that Richard Linklater's 1991 comedy is one of his favorite movies of all time. To quote him, "The greatest hang-out movie ever made. One of the things about Dazed and Confused that is so terrific is that every time you watch it, if you watch it every three years or four years, the characters are like your friends. It's like you're hanging out with them again, it's like your old friends." Can't argue with that.

Fast Times tells many different stories about high schoolers and nails it with great accuracy. In high school movies, the small details are always important to create authenticity, and this film is able to do that throughout its whole running time. Sean Penn's Spicoli is the slacker that should be nobody's role model, and yet he does all the things that we wish we could do. He's like a teenage version of The Dude.

Overall, Fast Times is another great movie that came out during the best era of high school films.

Superbad is a movie that modernizes and updates the style of youth comedy that was prevalent in films of the 1970s and 1980s. You can tell that films like Animal House and Fast Times had a large impact on this movie. Superbad is one of the funniest movies to come out during the 2000s, and helped to launch the film careers of both Jonah Hill and Michael Cera. It's a great movie with relatable characters that will leave you laughing throughout the whole running time.

Not a big fan of Zac Efron, but this film is acceptable. This movie was so inspirational that it makes me want to go back to the day I was born and have another chance at life. A great movie.