Teen Movies: The Class Of 2013
From the Prom Couple to the Most Likely To Succeed, let's look back at the best and worst of this year's graduating class.
Most Likely To Succeed: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
No need to volunteer, the second Hunger Games movie was always going to win this tribute: It’s Katniss Everdeen. It’s Jennifer Lawrence. It’s the shit.
With its fiery gowns, big budget, names and franchise, Katniss is easily 2013’s teen movie Prom Queen. Peeta (on a stack of phonebooks) is her King while Gale watches on, pouting in the crowd. These characters are the popular kids and contrary to what She’s All That or even Carrie tell us, it’s the popular kids who win at Prom… and at the box office.
But Catching Fire succeeded as a film in its own right, too. This time around Katniss is tested when her and Peeta are thrown into the arena once more for the Quarter Quell. How does she handle it this time, haunted by the initial games’ ghosts and President Snow’s hold over her?
Catching Fire‘s a fun, action-packed, YA drama full of emotionally challenging moments that genuinely engage the viewer. Power, control, conflict, love — all the good teen themes remain central here. Francis Lawrence (who will also direct the subsequent Mockingjay instalments) handles the source material neatly, balancing bleaker moments with requisite suspense.
Coming Up: Least Likely To Succeed…