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.
2013 Honour Role:
The Way Way Back
Fourteen-year-old Duncan (Liam James) heads on summer holiday with his mum (Toni Collette) and her horrendously arrogant, controlling boyfriend (Steve Carell). As the adults unwind and regress, introverted Duncan heads toward adulthood, learning responsibility and life lessons in his summer job at Water Wizz Park. Written and directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash and starring everyone (Sam Rockwell, Allison Janney, Maya Rudolph, Amanda Peet), The Way Way Back is a fun, Bildungsroman film.
Warm Bodies
Romeo and Juliet could be considered the ultimate teen drama, with Shakespeare kicking arse before John Hughes’ mum’s mum’s mum was even a twinkle in her mum’s eye. Or something. Adopting Shakespeare’s framework is not new to teen movies with Ten Things I Hate About You‘s take on Taming Of The Shrew being the standout example. In Warm Bodies, Shakespeare’s teen tragedy has been successfully melded with the schlock zombie genre and the self-depreciating style of late ’90s/early ’00s teen romance comedies. Parodying the apathy of youth and touching on the angst and frustration of teen life (sexual, cultural, social), Nicholas Hoult plays R, a zombie, whose sardonic inner monologue leads us, staggering, through his thoughts and feelings as he falls for human, Julie (Teresa Palmer).
The Kings Of Summer
Fed up of their tyrannical parents, lack of social status and the restrictions imposed by ‘real life’, The Kings Of Summer sees three teen mates (two best friends and one “oddball”) head out into the woods to live off the land and as they please over summer. Along the way they have fun, learn some serious life lessons, and a lot about themselves. Boys just want to have fun, you know? Bonus: features Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally.
–
Stephanie Van Schilt is Deputy Editor of The Lifted Brow and a freelance writer. She’s been published in Crikey, Cineaste and Killings. Follow her on twitter at @steph_adele.