My Top 5 Teen Rom-Coms
There is no limit to teen rom-coms, but only a favored few make my “Top 5” list. While there isn’t an empirical way to measure their amazingness, I would stake my life on them being the best of the brooding, prepubescent bunch. There are some that you have most definitely heard of and others that are perhaps novel recommendations. However, age was not a factor in this decision-making process and, to be totally honest, not much has changed when it comes to the fundamentals of being a teenager; there’s unrequited love, a serendipitous turn of events, and a conclusion where all - if not most - parties leave happy. But I’ll say no more on the subject - you’ll just have to watch to see what I mean.
Well hello to you too!
Sixteen Candles (1984)
A classic of epic proportions, Sixteen Candles is perhaps the most well known of the teen rom-com genre, and with good reason. The ‘80s should have been dubbed “The Decade of Molly Ringwald” because she was bringin’ in hits year after year, with this 1984 release being no exception. Besides the utter relatability of her character, Samantha Baker, the plot carried with it a nearly unfathomable feat: the popular, older boy actually pursuing the younger, slightly - or, in my case, greatly - awkward female protagonist.
I mean, not only did Jake Ryan (the boy in question) inquire with his friends about Samantha, but he also called her up at home (geez, remember when people did that?) and engaged her endearingly nerdy stalker in a line of questioning that could only have been reserved for someone deeply interested. Not to mention Jake lying in wait, almost too casually, propped up against his red 1983 Porsche 944, outside the church where Samantha’s sister was being wed *sigh*. Everything about Sixteen Candles alludes to a dream that has leapt from subconsciousness into reality, like one of those moments you have when you’re not quite awake enough to really believe what’s happening in front of you is real. Well, for Samantha Baker - and the throngs of swollen-hearted teenage girls (and boys) of the ’80s - it was.
Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)
Some Kind of Wonderful is some kind of wonderful (“Wow, real original Kate”). It entertains the classic trope of youth from the “wrong side of the tracks” making their rise through the ranks of the high school hierarchy. Amanda Jones, the quintessential up-and-comer, may have been from the seedier part of town, but she was born for popularity. Her counterparts, Watts and Keith, were not so inclined. But that didn’t stop Keith from fostering an epic crush on her anyways. And we’re talking about the forlorn-staring-and-clandestine-portrait-painting kind of crush, not your average check-yes-if-you-like-me-and-no-if-you-don’t fleeting infatuation. However, as the relationship between Keith and Amanda bloomed, the underlying feelings Watts had for Keith began to bubble to the surface.
It was an interesting take on the usual unrequited love theme that we see in these sorts of films and one that struck a chord with me as a former friend-lover myself. Some Kind of Wonderful presented an alternative to pining for the one you can’t have - forsaking the one that was in front of you the whole time until it’s too late to make a difference. Thankfully, though, Watts got her shot and, in what I find to be a tear-jerking moment of mutual revelation, she and Keith revel in the most unrealistically cute scene at the close of the film. As if it wasn’t already perfect enough, we saw a recycled theme in the exchange of diamond earrings that paid homage to the conclusion of The Breakfast Club (1985). Up until the ‘80s, I don’t think the cliché “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend” really held meaning.
Can’t Hardly Wait (1998)
Can’t Hardly Wait was the sole reason I had a burning crush on Ethan Embry for years. He was the living manifestation of his character, Preston Meyers, to the point where I can’t imagine anyone else having performed in that role - and I don’t want to. Amanda Beckett (why are all popular girls named Amanda?) had it all - the beauty, the brains, the boys - but you could tell that the same old shtick of perpetual partying and vain existence just wasn’t cutting it for her anymore (hmmm, where have we seen this theme before?). Enter Preston Meyers - the adorable, pining crush that remembers the very moment he saw Amanda for the first time. In a lot of ways, it’s the only thing he feels stakes some sort of claim on her heart, even when she is otherwise taken.
However, Preston falls prey to the one thing that probably kills more kids in high school than the infamous missent text message: fear. It’s not until just weeks before graduation that he even considers telling Amanda how he feels and, even then, he opts to do so in the form of a letter. Naturally, the letter finds its way to her in a mysterious and misguided way because it couldn’t possibly have just changed hands between the two 🙄 (obviously - what fun would that be?). Nonetheless, the pair is united in a last-minute rendezvous at a train station where, for a split second, we think all hope is lost until Preston pulls through with an uncharacteristically bold move that ends with a kiss that I am not ashamed to say I play on repeat every time I watch the film. And if you’ve seen it, you’d understand why my Ethan Embry crush lasted as long as it did.
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Ohhh, the classic I-hate-you-but-I-love-you narrative - it’s a tale as old as time. But when you add one ‘90s Heath Ledger into the mix, it’s the stuff of legend. What happens when you put the two most ostracized people in high school together? Sweet Jesus, the perfect love story - that’s what! Not only did 10 Things I Hate About You breathe new life into Frankie Valli and the 4 Seasons, but it also made you take a second look at all the bad boys you’d skimmed over in your high school years, crediting them with nothing more than a fleeting afterthought than the deep consideration they perhaps deserved thanks to Ledger’s performance.
What began as a paid venture turned into the epic love story we never knew we needed until we saw it laid out before our eyes. Kat Stratford, the resident tomboy and renegade rebel, went against the grain on just about everything, until she was forced to fall for Patrick Verona, the reserved freak show that no one knew anything about and, as such, became the embodiment of every misadventured guess as to who he was. Together, Patrick and Kat were two warring teens whose individual ambivalence to authority complemented the other’s. Of course, when the walls came tumbling down, it seemed a sure thing that the duo was destined for divisiveness but, in a last ditch effort to not be the superficially strong-willed girl that she’d imitated for so long, Kat came through with a verse of poetry that had me steeping in all the feels. The lesson the be learned here? The dark and surly ones are probably closeted romantics just waiting for their moment to shine.
No, but I am…
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)
This film took me by surprise. What began as a casual night browsing Netflix’s “New Releases” page turned into a double feature of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. I still don’t know what exactly attracted me to this movie. Was it the relatability, the beauty in the reluctance to love, or perhaps the innocence of it all? Lara Jean Covey doesn’t just tell her crushes she loves them, at least not in any conventional way. Instead, she opts for a pen and paper to scribe her affections and then closes the door (or envelope, in this case) on her feelings.
That is, until her letters get posted and those crushes come a-knocking. I - and many other people, I would assume - saw myself in Lara Jean. Rather than risk the pain of heartbreak, it seems more pragmatic to explore love at a distance through the musings of another that has been in the throes of passion and shared their story with the world. Even when Lara Jean reluctantly advanced in her relationship with her male love interest, Peter Kavinsky, she did so under the guise of it being a mutually-beneficial business deal, although we all know that there was a little sliver of her that wanted it to be real the whole time. Peter, being the pro that he is, sees through the bullshit and gives her the space she needs to grow until she’s ready to admit that his feelings are shared. What a film… and one I could watch over and over again if for no other reason than to relive my own adolescence.
There you have it. All my favorite teenage rom-coms summed up in one blog post. It almost doesn’t seem like I’m giving these gems the recognition they deserve, but I figure they’ll prove their own worth after you’ve seen them. If there’s anything you take from this article, it should be: (1) if you’re name is Amanda, you’re probably popular, (2) all the best love stories come from letters that were (possibly) never intended to be read, and (3) don’t go for the low-hanging jock fruit - try out the somber outcast who may be packing some aces up his sleeve where romance is concerned. Oh and, if someone is named Jake, Preston, Peter, Patrick, or Keith, they’re probably total catches 👌.