5 most memorable teen-angst movies
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) — The ‘tween girls who are fanatical about the Twilight series may not be aware of this, but Bella, Edward and Jacob did not invent teen angst. Sure, every word and glance between them feels like the end of the world, but it has felt that way for a long time now.
With the release this week of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the third film in the franchise, here is a look at some other movies in which, like OMG, everything was super-dramatic:
— Rebel Without a Cause (1955): The mother of all teen-angst movies, full of parents who just do not understand and kids who eloquently express their frustration and disillusionment. Looking at Robert Pattinson as teen vampire Edward Cullen in the Twilight films, it is clear that Dean is the inspiration: the wavy hair and sideburns, the jeans, the perpetually sullen expression. If only Dean could have sparkled in the sun.
— American Graffiti (1973): Directed and co-written by pre-Star Wars George Lucas and inspired by his own teenage years in Modesto, California, this coming-of-age dramedy nonetheless has great universality. Ron Howard and Richard Dreyfuss lead a great, young cast.
— Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982): Bracingly honest about the way teens talk and relate, this comedy is an early demonstration of writer Cameron Crowe’s excellent ear for dialogue. The plot basically follows a year in the life of a group of high school students, but it consists of a series of perfectly observed moments. It is a classic and a quintessential example of the genre.
— The Breakfast Club (1985): You could also insert Sixteen Candles in this space, or Pretty in Pink, or any number of John Hughes movies. Teen narcissism was the man’s bread and butter, but this was the heaviest of them all
— Say Anything … (1989): That image of John Cusack, holding a boom box over his head and blaring Peter Gabriel’s In Your Eyes, has become iconic, shorthand, even a bit of a cliche, but it says it all. Once again from Crowe, this time directing as well as writing, but here he shows his romantic side.
