Favorite 80s High School Teen Movies
by edwin-vargas1970 | created - 06 May 2022 | updated - 1 month ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Pretty in Pink (1986)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A poor girl must choose between the affections of dating her childhood sweetheart or a rich but sensitive playboy.
Director: Howard Deutch | Stars: Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer, Harry Dean Stanton, Annie Potts
Votes: 88,558 | Gross: $40.47M
This classic John Hughes' film was the one I related to the most during high school in the 80s. Hughes' captured the different emotions and situations that most teenagers were going through in high school. When it comes 80s high school films, "Pretty in Pink" is the BEST classic high school related movie which will resinate for years to come and it's a go-to 80s high school film. Some of today's teens will still relate with some of the issues in this film: Love and Acceptance. Thank you John Hughes and rest in peace!
2. Can't Buy Me Love (1987)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An outcast secretly pays the most popular girl in school one thousand dollars to pretend to be his girlfriend for a month.
Director: Steve Rash | Stars: Patrick Dempsey, Amanda Peterson, Courtney Gains, Tina Caspary
Votes: 41,960 | Gross: $31.62M
The main message in this 80s high school movie is: "Be Yourself."
3. Secret Admirer (1985)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Romance
An anonymous love letter left in Michael Ryan's locker on the last day of school wreaks havoc on his life and the lives of everyone who come in contact with it.
Director: David Greenwalt | Stars: C. Thomas Howell, Lori Loughlin, Kelly Preston, Dee Wallace
Votes: 8,015 | Gross: $8.62M
4. Mischief (1985)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Romance
Guided by James Dean, the eternal symbol of youthful rebellion, a gawky high school student obsessed with the hottest girl in class takes a crash course in teenage coolness from his motorcycle-rebel neighbor.
Director: Mel Damski | Stars: Doug McKeon, Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelly Preston, Chris Nash
Votes: 7,032 | Gross: $8.69M
5. Sixteen Candles (1984)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Romance
A girl's "sweet" sixteenth birthday is anything but special: her family forgets about it, and she suffers from every embarrassment possible.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Justin Henry, Michael Schoeffling
Votes: 126,290 | Gross: $23.69M
6. Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)
PG-13 | 95 min | Drama, Romance
When Keith goes out with Amanda, the girl of his dreams, Amanda's ex-boyfriend plans to get back at Keith. Meanwhile, Keith's best friend, tomboy Watts, realizes she has feelings for Keith.
Director: Howard Deutch | Stars: Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson, Lea Thompson, Craig Sheffer
Votes: 34,646 | Gross: $18.55M
7. Reckless (1984)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A motorbike riding loner rebel on the high school football team wins a date with a cute, rich cheerleader. At the high school dance, her boyfriend's behavior leads to a breakup - opening doors.
Director: James Foley | Stars: Aidan Quinn, Daryl Hannah, Kenneth McMillan, Cliff De Young
Votes: 2,362 | Gross: $8.29M
8. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama
A group of Southern California high school students are enjoying their most important subjects: sex, drugs and rock n' roll.
Director: Amy Heckerling | Stars: Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Robert Romanus
Votes: 115,707 | Gross: $27.09M
9. Just One of the Guys (1985)
PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Romance
Terry feels discriminated against when the summer jobs at the Sun Tribune go to two guys. She decides to do something about it. She dresses like a guy and gets a haircut. Will students at the other high school notice? Girls notice "him".
Director: Lisa Gottlieb | Stars: Joyce Hyser, Clayton Rohner, Billy Jayne, Toni Hudson
Votes: 17,848 | Gross: $11.50M
10. Back to the Future (1985)
PG | 116 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Marty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover
Votes: 1,306,411 | Gross: $210.61M
11. Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)
PG-13 | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Peggy Sue faints at a high school reunion. When she wakes up, she finds herself in her own past, just before she finished school.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Kathleen Turner, Nicolas Cage, Barry Miller, Catherine Hicks
Votes: 40,808 | Gross: $41.38M
12. Valley Girl (1983)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Romance
Julie, a girl from the valley, meets Randy, a punk from the city. They are from different worlds and find love. Somehow they need to stay together in spite of her trendy, shallow friends.
Director: Martha Coolidge | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman, Elizabeth Daily, Michael Bowen
Votes: 18,423 | Gross: $16.80M
13. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
PG-13 | 103 min | Comedy
A popular high school student, admired by his peers, decides to take a day off from school and goes to extreme lengths to pull it off, to the chagrin of his Dean, who'll do anything to stop him.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones
Votes: 386,358 | Gross: $70.14M
14. The Breakfast Club (1985)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama
Five high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy
Votes: 436,412 | Gross: $45.88M
15. Weird Science (1985)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Two high-school nerds use a computer program to literally create the perfect woman, who promptly turns their lives upside-down.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Kelly LeBrock, Bill Paxton
Votes: 97,396 | Gross: $23.83M
16. Say Anything (1989)
PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college.
Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney, Lili Taylor
Votes: 95,911 | Gross: $20.78M
17. Class (1983)
R | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young man in private school spends one crazy night out, and only later does he learn more about the woman who enlivened his night.
Director: Lewis John Carlino | Stars: Jacqueline Bisset, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Cliff Robertson
Votes: 12,041
18. Vision Quest (1985)
R | 107 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
A high school wrestler in Spokane, Washington has trouble focusing on his training regimen when a beautiful young drifter takes up temporary residence at his home.
Director: Harold Becker | Stars: Matthew Modine, Linda Fiorentino, Michael Schoeffling, Ronny Cox
Votes: 10,248 | Gross: $12.90M
19. Summer School (1987)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Romance
Freddy the gym teacher has to teach remedial English in summer (high) school, if he wants tenure. As he can only teach gym and his students want fun, emphasis is on "field trips" - until he's fired unless all his students pass the test.
Director: Carl Reiner | Stars: Mark Harmon, Kirstie Alley, Robin Thomas, Patrick Labyorteaux
Votes: 22,129 | Gross: $35.66M
20. Heaven Help Us (1985)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A new transfer student to St. Basil's Boys' Prep School tries to fit in while romantically pursuing a troubled young girl.
Director: Michael Dinner | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Andrew McCarthy, John Heard, Mary Stuart Masterson
Votes: 4,982 | Gross: $6.07M
21. Teen Wolf (1985)
PG | 91 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
An ordinary high school student discovers that his family has an unusual pedigree.
Director: Rod Daniel | Stars: Michael J. Fox, James Hampton, Susan Ursitti, Jerry Levine
Votes: 59,636 | Gross: $33.09M
22. The Principal (1987)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A teacher is assigned to be the principal of a violent, crime-ridden high school.
Director: Christopher Cain | Stars: Jim Belushi, Louis Gossett Jr., Rae Dawn Chong, Michael Wright
Votes: 11,796 | Gross: $19.73M
23. Wildcats (1986)
R | 106 min | Comedy, Sport
A rookie high school football coach has a harder time than she expected trying to whip her tough inner city team into shape.
Director: Michael Ritchie | Stars: Goldie Hawn, Swoosie Kurtz, Robyn Lively, Brandy Gold
Votes: 14,610 | Gross: $26.29M
24. Lean on Me (1989)
PG-13 | 108 min | Drama
The dedicated but tyrannical Joe Clark is appointed the principal of a decaying inner-city school he is determined to improve by any and all means.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Beverly Todd, Robert Guillaume, Alan North
Votes: 22,980 | Gross: $31.91M
25. Three O'Clock High (1987)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy
A nerd gets himself in hot water with the new bully, a quiet bad boy who challenges him to fight on the grounds of their high school after the day's end.
Director: Phil Joanou | Stars: Casey Siemaszko, Annie Ryan, Richard Tyson, Stacey Glick
Votes: 13,171 | Gross: $3.69M
26. The Karate Kid (1984)
PG | 126 min | Action, Drama, Family
A martial arts master agrees to teach karate to a bullied teenager.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue, Martin Kove
Votes: 244,420 | Gross: $90.82M
27. The Last American Virgin (1982)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Pizza delivery boy Gary, loudmouth David and hunky Rick are three high school students out to lose their virginity any way they can. Gary falls for transfer student Karen, who gets involved with Rick.
Director: Boaz Davidson | Stars: Lawrence Monoson, Diane Franklin, Steve Antin, Joe Rubbo
Votes: 9,776 | Gross: $5.83M
28. Footloose (1984)
PG | 107 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A city teenager moves to a small town where rock music and dancing have been banned, and his rebellious spirit shakes up the populace.
Director: Herbert Ross | Stars: Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest
Votes: 92,226 | Gross: $80.04M
29. The Wild Life (1984)
R | 96 min | Comedy, Drama
A high-school wrestler parties with his buddy at a swinging-singles apartment complex.
Director: Art Linson | Stars: Chris Penn, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Eric Stoltz, Jenny Wright
Votes: 3,151 | Gross: $11.02M
30. Porky's (1981)
R | 94 min | Comedy
In 1954, a group of Florida high-school guys try to help their buddy lose his virginity, which leads them to seek revenge on a sleazy nightclub owner and his redneck sheriff brother for harassing them.
Director: Bob Clark | Stars: Dan Monahan, Mark Herrier, Wyatt Knight, Roger Wilson
Votes: 45,746 | Gross: $111.29M
31. The Wanderers (1979)
R | 112 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
The Wanderers is a teenage, Italian gang in Bronx, NYC, 1963. They have their confrontations with other gangs. Drugs and weapons are uncool. Adult life awaits them.
Director: Philip Kaufman | Stars: Ken Wahl, Karen Allen, John Friedrich, Toni Kalem
Votes: 12,362 | Gross: $0.01M
32. My Bodyguard (1980)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
When a boy comes to a new school and gets harassed by a bully, he acquires the services of the school's most feared kid as a bodyguard.
Director: Tony Bill | Stars: Chris Makepeace, Adam Baldwin, Matt Dillon, Paul Quandt
Votes: 10,836 | Gross: $22.48M
33. Back to the Future Part II (1989)
PG | 108 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
After visiting 2015, Marty McFly must repeat his visit to 1955 to prevent disastrous changes to 1985...without interfering with his first trip.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Tom Wilson
Votes: 572,436 | Gross: $118.50M
34. WarGames (1983)
PG | 114 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
A young man finds a back door into a military central computer in which reality is confused with game-playing, possibly starting World War III.
Director: John Badham | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, John Wood, Dabney Coleman
Votes: 110,708 | Gross: $79.57M
35. Private School (1983)
R | 89 min | Comedy, Romance
Chris from a girls' boarding school loves Jim from a nearby boys' boarding school. Jordan also wants Jim and plays dirty. Jim and two friends visit the girls' school posing as girls.
Director: Noel Black | Stars: Phoebe Cates, Betsy Russell, Matthew Modine, Michael Zorek
Votes: 7,260 | Gross: $14.05M
36. Uncle Buck (1989)
PG | 100 min | Comedy
Laid back commitment-phobe Buck babysits his brother's rebellious teenage daughter and her cute younger brother and sister.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: John Candy, Macaulay Culkin, Jean Louisa Kelly, Gaby Hoffmann
Votes: 107,695 | Gross: $66.76M
Tell Your Friends