Happy Tuesday dear readers! Each week, we’ll rank the top 10 films in a specific category. While we aim to tie these lists to big releases, that won’t always be the case. Our goal? For you to enjoy, share your own lists, and join in on a lively, friendly debate. This is an interactive space to build community here at The Contending.
No fancy intros, no long essays – just a category and a list. Sound good?
Today, my eldest son graduates from high school, so this week’s list felt pretty timely and inevitable. Few periods of life have inspired filmmakers more than the highs, lows, awkwardness, uncertainty, heartbreak, friendships, and freedom that come with those formative teenage years. Whether wildly exaggerated or painfully relatable, the best high school movies tend to capture something honest about growing up, losing innocence, and trying to figure out who you are before the real world suddenly arrives.
From comedies and coming-of-age stories to dramas and romances, the genre has remained one of Hollywood’s most enduring playgrounds because the very best of them evoke a powerful sense of nostalgia. Nearly everyone can see a piece of themselves somewhere in these stories, whether they graduated five years ago or fifty.
So, in honor of my son and the graduating class of 2026, here are the 10 greatest high school movies of all time.
10. To Sir, with Love (1967)
9. Rushmore (1998)
8. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
7. The Breakfast Club (1985)
6. Hoosiers (1986)
5. Dead Poets Society (1989)
4. Hoop Dreams (1994)
3. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
2. Back to the Future (1985)
1. American Graffiti (1973)
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Nice list!
As is common with lists like these, there's no gay representation. Even though being gay could be a motivating factor for many of the supporting characters in these films, I don't believe any of them even address the possibility.
A great film for a gay teen, or maybe one who you think might be struggling with the topic, is Handsome Devil, a 2016 British charmer about a gay kid bullied by the popular rugby team who attends a boarding school and is just trying to get by. Then his new roommate, a star rugby player, shows up. Andrew Scott has a great supporting role whose influence on these kids is strong and the kids influence on him is even stronger. It's a solid Scott performance that deserves to be scene. And with a phenomenal needle drop over the climactic moments (Hooray for Rufus Wainwright) it's a very solid film, one that deserves a better fate than it has now.
You can watch it for free on Kanopy or You Tube. If you want a lighthearted film that tackles serious topics, it's the film for you. And definitely a film for your kids.
Also this list seems to be curiously missing The Perks of Being a Wallflower.