EW’s Top 50 High School Movies Ever

In the September 15th issue, Entertainment Weekly picks their Top 50 High School Movies Ever and two of Cameron’s films make the grade:

#2. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

When screenwriter Cameron Crowe went undercover to observe the species Teenagerus americanus, he returned with more than the usual grab-bag of anecdotes about horny, apple-pie-humping guys and the popularity-obsessed girls who must fight them off with a stick. He returned with 24-karat truth. To watch Fast Times today is to know exactly what it felt like to be fixated on sex, drugs, and rock & roll in Southern California circa 1982. It also launched careers and dished out still-relevant life lessons: Jennifer Jason Leigh (relax your throat muscles when fellating a carrot), Phoebe Cates (always knock before entering a bathroom), and Judge Reinhold (see above). And Sean Penn’s Jeff Spicoli, with his checkerboard Vans and bong-hit grin, was a geyser of catchphrases (‘’Aloha, Mr. Hand!’’). The film never strains for coming-of-age treacle. Maybe that’s why it still feels so…right. Especially Damone’s sage advice: ‘’When it comes down to making out, whenever possible put on side one of Led Zeppelin IV. – Chris Nashawaty

#11. Say Anything (1989)

Go on: Hoist that boom box above your head and turn up ‘’In Your Eyes.’’ Stand motionless with a fixed expression of unrequited but determined love. And watch Cameron Crowe’s ode to young passion, which made John Cusack the thinking teen’s heartthrob and should have done the same for Ione Skye. If the postgraduation romance between an earnest kickboxer and a sheltered valedictorian doesn’t win you over, repeat steps one and two and listen closer. — Hannah Tucker