Prepare to head back to class with our look at the 10 best high school movies, and five of the worst

By Kim Morgan
Special to MSN Movies

There's a reason Alice Cooper's anthem "School's Out" has left such a lasting impression upon generation after generation. Who's not excited when "school's out for summer"? And especially when, as the song goes, "school's out forever," as they say after high school. A time when dramatic life moments occur, leaving us usually saddled with neurosis well into adulthood, high school is clearly fertile ground for terrific big-screen entertainment.

As you'll see here, the high school movie has always been a popular, drama-comedy filled genre. And with the critically heralded, uproarious "Superbad" now released, the genre looks to be getting even better. Judd Apatow (who created "Freaks and Geeks"; if it hadn't been a TV show, it would have been No. 1 on this list) produced the comedy about two friends (Jonah Hill and Michael Cera) looking for sex, booze and basically all kinds of new experiences and trouble before they leave for separate colleges the next year. In honor of "Superbad," and to get you ready to get back to class, we've listed our 10 favorite high school movies and five not so favorites. Some are fun, some sad, some masterful and some demented. Like all those nutty, surging hormones we had to endure, they swing wildly and also prove, in some way, that we do need an education. You may want to take notes.

10. "Brick" (2005)

Rian Johnson achieved an almost impossible feat with "Brick" -- he created a neo-noir and set in a contemporary California high school with characters gabbing dialogue straight from 1940s crime fiction, and it wasn't ridiculous. A sensational Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Brendan, an outsider high schooler who channels Sam Spade while investigating the mysterious death of his ex-girlfriend (Emilie de Ravin, from "Lost") while his trusty friend The Brain (Matt O'Leary) shares clues and quips. Brendan contends with all sorts of characters, including teenage femmes fatales; bossy, Moose Malloy-ish dumbbell athletes; useless stoners (one he slaps around with Bogart panache spitting out: "Throw one at me if you want, hash head. I've got all five senses and I slept last night, that puts me six up on the lot of you"). The greatest creation, however, is Lukas Haas' brilliant sociopathic drug dealer named The Pin, a bug-eyed and quietly menacing cross between Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet. The drama, tension and fantasy of high school is astutely observed via the picture's shadowy style and clever one-liners (who wouldn't want to be that quick-witted when a bully puts up his dukes?) and though adults hang in the periphery of the film, you'll never forget a scene involving The Pin, his mom, milk and cookies.

9. "My Bodyguard" (1980)

Tony Bill's "My Bodyguard" is better than it has any right to be. Its David and Goliath story is a cookie cutter set for yucks, easy inspiration and a big payoff that, as a critic looking to get quoted might write, leaves the audience cheering. But then it becomes a lot more than the nerdy new kid Clifford (Chris Makepeace) enduring the high school bully (Matt Dillon) who steals his lunch money when the 98-pound weakling hires himself a real Goliath, a moody, brooding hulk named Linderman (Adam Baldwin). In spite of the scary rumors surrounding Linderman (that he raped a teacher and murdered his brother), Clifford seeks out the bad boy, at first to simply make his hellish high school existence endurable. But as the two hang out, he learns more about the so-called school "psycho" -- that the poor kid is gripped with guilt about the accidental death of his brother, his family life is tragic and he's reverted to a shell because his life contains little joy. Both performances are astoundingly touching (especially Baldwin, who manages to be incredibly real, poignant and then actually kind of scary) and the movie works as a darkly sweet ode to all of the freaks and geeks slouching through the hallways, hoping for a real friend.

8. "Heathers" (1989)

A startling, darkly funny teen picture, "Heathers" -- starring Winona Ryder and a Jack Nicholson-impersonating Christian Slater -- remains a nice antidote to all those life-positive '80s John Hughes films. Here, the jocks and the snobs, particularly a Nazi-like clique of girls all named Heather, get theirs in creative, incredibly mean style. Heather-ette Ryder (her name is Veronica but she manages to get in with the cool chicks), longs for something more than the "diet coke heads." When new boy Slater swaggers into the lunchroom, she's smitten. The two become a homicidal duo, engaging in a murder spree that looks like a rash of suicides (one involves a cup of Drano). The humor's positively black and the dialogue is priceless: "Heather why do you have to be such a mega bitch?" Answer? "Because I can be."

7. "Election" (1999)

This movie isn't just a dead-on satire about the tumultuous, dog-eat-doggedness of high school overachievers (and popular underachievers), it's also a savvy satire about U.S. politics in general. Written and directed by Alexander Payne (before he skewered oldsters in "About Schmidt" and dumpy oenophiles in "Sideways") the brilliant "Election" stars Reese Witherspoon as the hysterically and insanely ambitious Tracy Flick, an A student who is running for class president. She's so earnest and single-minded that the movie could simply revolve around what an unlikable, secretly contemptuous brown-nose she is. But instead it reveals that her archenemy is none other than a likable teacher, Mr. McAllister (Mathew Broderick), who is still upset with her getting his creepy colleague fired for having an affair with the teenager. So, yes, he's not exactly one-note sympathetic either. When he convinces the dim bulb but nice school jock (Chris Klein) to run against Tracy, her world spins out of control when she realizes her hard work means nothing in the face of massive popularity. When the jock's lesbian, anarchistic sister enters the race, the movie becomes an accidental examination of the Bush, Gore and Nader campaign (I'm not saying which character represents any of these candidates). The acerbic, witty and wickedly funny movie only goes to show that life is always like high school.

6. "Carrie" (1976)

High school can really suck. Especially if you're a quiet little red-haired wallflower with a psychotic overly religious mother and a violent dose of telekinetic powers that are unleashed when angry. And if you're Carrie White (the fabulous Sissy Spacek), you've got plenty to make you angry. Brian De Palma adapted Stephen King's novel perfectly, making high school a playground for the cruel and unusual, reflecting the real-life horrors of later, adult life and the surging, hormonal complications of becoming a teen. When Carrie is invited to the prom as a trick, we watch with deep compassion as she dresses herself into the truly beautiful young woman she is, only to be doused with pig's blood when crowned prom queen. Spacek made history with this role speaking for all the teenage disenfranchised with her final act of retribution (destroy ALL!). The finale is strangely liberating but also terribly sad. This remains an absolutely touching classic that transcends its genre.

Next: "Donnie Darko," "Fast Times," "Dazed" and more