Backpacks, dismissal bells and hallways don’t normally inspire big laughs and smiles, but these fictional students always bring fun times during their off period. Whether you turn on the TV or queue up Netflix, you’ll love going back to these small-screen schools.
You couldn’t have the high school subgenre without John Hughes, whose teen movies “Sixteen Candles,” “Pretty In Pink” and “Some Kind of Wonderful” defined the ’80s. “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” takes you through a downtown Chicago joyride, but you may want to hold off on skipping school, otherwise you'll wind up in detention along with the criminal, athlete, brain, princess and basket case from “The Breakfast Club.” Tom Cruise, Jason Biggs and Jonah Hill are all after one thing in “Risky Business,” “American Pie” and “Superbad,” and the only thing worse than Rachel McAdams in “Mean Girls” is Jon Heder’s acting in “Napoleon Dynamite.”
Move on with the after-school shenanigans of Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis in their television debut of “That ’70s Show.” You’ll love the geekiness of Eric Foreman and his crew, though maybe not as much as Cory Mathews’ adorable charm in “Boy Meets World.” Zach Morris’ academic antics in “Saved By The Bell” can only be matched by “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide.” And if you’re looking for a poppy twist to teenage drama, “High School Musical” will have you singing along.
John Cusack breaks out the boombox in 1989’s “Say Anything,” while “Grease,” “American Graffiti” and “Fast Times At Ridgemont High” all show off slick rides that will have your jaw dropping. Like Matthew McConaughey observes in “Dazed and Confused,” high school is alright, alright, alright.