10 Most Relatable Teenage Movies That'll Make You Happy You've Grown Up
Your teens can be both the best and the worst time in your life. If you’ve forgotten just how confusing and difficult those years could be, watch these great films.
10. Booksmart (2019)
Not all sacrifices are necessary, no matter what you’re told. Two bookworm high school grads learn that their classmates also got accepted to colleges, meaning they have been sacrificing their social lives for nothing all these years. In a dire attempt to make up for that time, they decide to at least make their graduation memorable. You can watch Booksmart on Netflix, Apple TV, and Prime Video.
9. CODA (2021)
Some teenagers need to make hard choices early in life. A young girl is the only hearing member of her deaf family and is used to helping them. When the family business is under attack, they need her more than ever — but she also has a unique, one-and-gone chance to pursue her dreams at a college of music…
You can watch CODA on Netflix, Apple TV, and Prime Video.
8. The Breakfast Club (1985)
As punishment for their misdeeds, five teenagers have to come to school on the weekend to write essays about their future. Having had nothing in common before, they quickly realize that actually, they’re really similar: all of them have no idea what to do with their lives. Now, it’s their shared struggle as they try to figure it all out.
You can watch The Breakfast Club on Hulu, Netflix, and Prime Video.
7. Eighth Grade (2018)
When you’re young, social disasters hit differently — and much harder. An introverted young girl is just trying to survive the last week of school before leaving for high school, but her thus far horrible year just keeps getting worse and worse. Just how many bad things can happen in a week to drive a 13-year-old off the rails?
You can watch Eighth Grade on Max, Hulu, Netflix, and Prime Video.
6. The Half of It (2020)
When you’re a teenager and struggling financially, writing a love letter for a local jock for money looks like the perfect opportunity. But the situation quickly spirals out of control when the shy girl who took this chance becomes friends with said jock — and to her horror, realizes that she also falls in love with her new buddy’s crush…
You can watch The Half of It on Netflix.
5. The Edge of Seventeen (2016)
Relationships are so much more difficult and dramatic when you’re in your teens, aren’t they? A young girl hates her older brother for how effortlessly he glides through life, popular and respected. She, on the contrary, has only one best friend — and when that friend starts dating her older brother, her world shatters to pieces.
You can watch The Edge of Seventeen on Netflix, Apple TV, and Prime Video.
4. Lady Bird (2017)
Being different is harder than conforming to the norms, but teenagers always choose the hard path. An artistically inclined girl hates the normalcy of her small town, her conservative Catholic school, and her traditional family. She paints her hair in a weird color, tells everyone to call her “Lady Bird,” and can’t wait to leave for New York.
You can watch Lady Bird on Max, Netflix, Apple TV, and Prime Video.
3. The Spectacular Now (2013)
Living in the moment feels great, but only for as long as you can numb the increasing feeling of a wasted life. A hard-partying teenager has no plans for the future, drinks whiskey wherever he goes, and enjoys his life… But his perspective changes after he gets dumped, drinks himself to half-death, and meets a strange and charming girl.
You can watch The Spectacular Now on Hulu, Apple TV, Disney Plus, and Prime Video.
2. The Way, Way Back (2013)
Everyone needs a parental figure even if they don’t realize it. A teenager has to spend a summer with her mother, her new boyfriend, and the man’s daughter. To escape from his overbearing control, he gets employed at a local water park, and that proves to be a great choice because there, he finds an unexpected father figure.
You can watch The Way, Way Back on Apple TV and Prime Video.
1. Dazed and Confused (1993)
Every step of growing up is exciting when you’re young, and leaving the confinement of your school for good, especially so. A group of students decides to celebrate their last day of school with a bang: everywhere they go, they cause mayhem, but all of them have something important holding them back. They just don’t show it.
You can watch Dazed and Confused on Apple TV and Prime Video.