By David Young · November 18, 2024
As one of the most universal experiences for the audiences watching these movies, everyone can hearken back to their schooldays and the drama that ensued. But what good comes of that drama? Well, whether it’s a school of magic, a prep school, or an undercover assignment, there will be lessons learned—though not always the intended curriculum.
Screenplay by: Steve Kloves and J.K. Rowling
The most magical school story came to audiences years ago through the eyes of a boy named Harry Potter. In Sorcerer’s Stone, he’s invited to join Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry for the first year of his seven-year journey—the start of an eight-movie saga that has grabbed the hearts of fans worldwide.
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Screenplay by: John Hughes
Playing hooky never looked so wild as when Ferris Bueller ropes his friend and girlfriend into calling in sick. In this iconic 1980s romp starring Matthew Broderick, there are plenty of high jinks to follow as this trio risks getting caught while they have the time of their lives skipping school.
Download the script!Read More: How John Hughes and Ferris Bueller Taught Us All to Relax
Screenplay by: Michael Bacall, Jonah Hill, and Patrick Hasburgh
In the spirit of the TV show of the same name, two cops go undercover at a high school to bust a drug ring. Little do they expect that their covers will become a much bigger problem as they get further entrenched in this adolescent environment—to the point of detriment.
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Screenplay by: Daniel Waters
Politics is definitely a key part of many successful high school stories, but other great stories deal with death. Veronica finds herself caught up in both when her new bad-boy boyfriend’s solution to the Heathers—the “it” girls of her school—seems to be murder.
Download the script!Read More: Comedy Gone Dark: Dark Comedy Movies That Make Us Grin into the Abyss
Screenplay by: Bert V. Royal and Will Gluck
Olive, starved for excitement as one of the “good kids,” begins to lie about losing her virginity and sells her reputation by letting fellow students make up sexual escapades with her as their imaginary partner. After all that, it’s not long before Olive learns the hard way how lies and secrets really make their way around school.
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Screenplay by: John Hughes
Stuck in school on a Saturday, five kids sit in detention at odds with each other before realizing they’re not all that different. Their long day and the apparent strangeness of the situation highlight their hidden selves and help them understand each other a lot better by the end of it all.
Download the script!Read More: Once Upon a Generation: The Prolific John Hughes
Screenplay by: Mike White
An out-of-work musician pretending to be his buddy takes on a job as a substitute teacher, finding himself ill-prepared to teach anything but the subject he knows best: how to play in a rock band. Of course, his agenda changes quickly when he realizes he has a talented group on his hands.
Download the script!Read More: Sonic Stories: The Cinematic Magic of Movies About Music
Screenplay by: Amy Heckerling
Her thinly veiled attempt to serve her needs by matchmaking for the teacher who has failed her—and her vain attitude toward the new kid in school—make Cher feel pretty invincible until her work backfires. Making the new kid popular and seeing a downturn in her own romantic feats, Cher seems to heed more and more the idealistic wisdom of her former stepbrother, even falling for him to boot.
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Screenplay by: Tom Schulman
John Keating begins teaching the boys of a tradition-bound prep school all about “seizing the day”—encouraging them to embrace the soul of art rather than just the academic pursuit itself. As they start to question the rigidity of their school lives, the pushback of authority and family becomes an unexpected and dangerous source of hardship.
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Screenplay by: Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess
As the pop culture kickstart of deadpan comedy in American film, Napoleon Dynamite features a slice of the titular character’s socially awkward life as he makes his first lasting friendships and navigates a crush. Napoleon makes it through with fewer guardrails than ever before, as his brother and grandma can no longer provide as much hands-on guidance for his high school experience.
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Screenplay by: Lawrence D. Cohen and Stephen King
Adolescence can be hell, and that’s a theme of Stephen King’s first published novel, Carrie, where a girl faces changes that go way past normal puberty. Carrie now has powers that can change how she deals with the abuse she receives at home and at school—but that power in her hands might still have grave consequences.
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Screenplay by: David Hemingson
Set during the 1970s, two faculty are left to spend their Christmas break at a prep school to stay with the only kid left. A blunt, unfriendly teacher, a cook in mourning, and their sole student holdover are forced to bond and work through their personal hangups together.
Download the script!Read More: 7 Best Christmas Movies to Celebrate the Holiday Season
Screenplay by: Joss Whedon
High school is all about change: new friends, new responsibilities, new powers… at least in Buffy’s case. After all, she’s the chosen one, a vampire slayer destined to use her powers to keep darkness at bay. But isn’t it more important to enjoy your teen years? Buffy’s faced with the same question, but—well, you know what they say about great power.
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Screenplay by: John Hughes
Keeping up appearances has its costs. On either side of “the tracks,” you’ve got Andie ashamed of her socioeconomic status, and you’ve got the popular kids pressuring preppy boy Blane to distance himself from her—despite their prom plans. When who you are is at odds with who you want to be with, you’re experiencing this effortless John Hughes depiction of high school.
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Screenplay by: Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith
In a modern retelling of The Taming of the Shrew, Cameron starts arranging a complex solution after learning his crush has a strict no-dating edict from her family until her relatively antisocial sister begins dating herself. With time, this arrangement blossoms into a timeless romantic tale—as if Shakespeare himself wrote a ’90s rom-com.
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Screenplay by: Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale
It’s about time! And yes, this movie actually involves time travel. A schoolboy and scientist in the 1980s find themselves stuck 30 years in the past. In the effort to get back to “when” they came from, Marty must also protect the future from his actions in this new version of the past.
Download the script!Read More: 15 Most Quotable Movies of All Time
Screenplay by: Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson
Revenge stories are an easy thing to contrive in the high school setting—as are love triangles—but it’s not always as complex as in Rushmore. In this story, student Max Fischer makes friends with a rich tycoon who is romantically involved with his own crush, a schoolteacher. The ensuing conflicts of this dramedy make his extracurriculars the least of Max’s worries.
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Screenplay by: Tina Fey
Speaking of revenge, October 3rd has come and gone, but queen bee rivalries last much longer! This punchy comedy written by Tina Fey pits “girl against girl,” beginning with a surreptitious coup of the social structure within this high school monarchy.
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Learning lessons of life, disassembling a social hierarchy, or protecting the future from yourself are all good reasons to become a different person or to see the world in a different way. After all, that’s what school is all about!
So, whether it’s a fantasy, a drama, a comedy, or a thriller, there are school-year shenanigans that can inspire your storytelling in the collection above. All you need to do is find the ones that resonate with you and the vibe of your current semester.
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