Friday Extras: 5 favorite back-to-school movies

Confession: I am a sucker for high school movies and TV shows. They exist in some fantasy land where a 25-year-old Heath Ledger is a carefree 17-year-old. Everyone has the benefit of looking older and more attractive without the added burden of 9-5 jobs and mortgages and kids. Watching these films and shows lets the viewer go back in time and pretend that High School was actually that cool -- that their proms had real bands and spontaneous group dance routines; that their theatre departments had broadway-style budgets and their show choirs had full orchestras to back them at any moment; that their football team always won at the last minute; that their lives resembled an updated version of some literary classic from Shakespeare, Jane Austen, or G.B. Shaw (10 things I hate about you, Clueless, and She's All That, respectively).

There are many, many movies that would go on a best-of list for High School movies, and I would need to do a completely separate post to honor my love of High School TV shows, so to make it easy, I present:

My 5 favorite movies for back-to-school:

1. Back to the Future

This movie has time travel, young love, 1950s fashion, the accidental "invention" of rock n' roll, AND the grown-up fantasy of going back in time to right the wrongs inflicted by the High School bully. The film is a classic.

2. Mean Girls

Because it's so fetch. (And funny, hyper-quotable, and a surprising source of positive, women-supporting-women kind of feminism.)

3. Dead Poets' Society

Not much needs to be said about this after Robin Williams recent death. But I dare you to watch this clip and not feel inspired about life, literature, and learning. What will your verse be?

4. Grease

Speaking of actors who are way too old to be high school students, we have the cast of Grease, whose average age was 25, with the oldest cast member, Stockard Channing, (Rizzo) clocking in at the young age of 33. Even with the high levels of suspension-of-disbelief required to accommodate the cast ages, the singing, the dancing, and the awkward dream sequences, this film will always have a special place in my heart.

5. 10 things I hate about you

My absolute favorite, for personal reasons -- here, let me list 10 of them:

1. Heath Ledger

2. Julia Stiles's wardrobe

3. The witty dialogue and high levels of quotability

4. The soundtrack, especially the contributions from "Letters to Cleo."

5. The way the film redeems Taming of the Shrew by replacing misogyny with equality

6. Heath Ledger singing "Can't Take my Eyes off of You."

7. The incredible comedic stylings of Larry Miller (previously-known to me only as "that guy on 10 things I hate about you).
8. Shakespearean garb -- at prom.
9. A real band -- at prom.
10. Girl gets mad at guy, girl writes angsty/sappy poem about it, guy buys girl a guitar.

So, what movies would make your list of favorite high school flicks?