Image credit: Picturehouse, Paramount Pictures, Fox Searchlight, SPE, Summit Entertainment, DreamWorks, MGM, Focus Features, United Artists, Walt Disney Studios
So you've watched "Mean Girls" a million times and can quote "10 Things I Hate About You" like it's your second language?
Awesome, but let's give some lesser-known high school movies from the 2000s their due credit. Trust me, you're gonna wanna check these out.
10. "Rocket Science" (2007) Debating, the battlefield of words. So imagine Hal, a stuttering high schooler, joining the debate team to win over his crush, Ginny. Doesn't sound like the smartest move, right? Well, Ginny bolts, and Hal is left struggling to prove himself in the fast-talking world of high school debates. From tongue-twisters to straight-up humiliation, this kid goes through the wringer.
The movie was a box office miss but honestly, its portrayal of teenage awkwardness is pure gold.
9. "The Perfect Score" (2004) Remember stressing about the SATs? This movie makes it a team sport. Six high schoolers, each with their own reasons, band together to steal the answers to the SAT exam.
The crew is a mixed bag – there's the basketball star who needs a good score to secure a scholarship, a stoner who just doesn't want to disappoint his parents, and a high-strung overachiever. They break into the testing center, dodge security guards, and even deal with a freakin' guard dog.
8. "Bandslam" (2009) Will is the new kid in town, and he's obsessed with music trivia. He teams up with the school's popular girl, Charlotte, to transform a group of misfit musicians into a competitive rock band. Their aim? To win the ultimate high school rock competition called – wait for it – Bandslam. The catch is that they're up against Charlotte's ex-boyfriend's band.
7. "Brick" (2005) Who says high school movies can't be intense? "Brick" is like a neo-noir film set in the hallways of a high school. A student named Brendan finds his ex-girlfriend dead and decides to solve the mystery himself. He plunges into the seedy underworld of high school drug dealers and kingpins, even facing off with a crime lord named "The Pin" who walks with a cane.
6. "Saved!" (2004) A devout Christian high school girl named Mary gets pregnant while trying to 'cure' her gay boyfriend. You can guess that things go haywire pretty quickly. She finds herself ostracized by her holier-than-thou best friend and starts hanging out with the school's other outcasts, including a rebellious Jewish girl and a wheelchair-bound skeptic.
This film goes to places you wouldn't expect, like a prom showdown involving a giant Jesus cardboard cutout.
5. "Sky High" (2005) Ever wondered what it's like to go to a high school for superheroes? Enter Will Stronghold, the son of the world's greatest superheroes, who's got zilch in the powers department. The school sorts students into Heroes and Sidekicks, and guess where Will ends up? Yep, Sidekick class, a.k.a. "Hero Support."
But all isn't lost; Will eventually discovers his super strength, just in time to thwart a villainous plot aimed at his school and, by extension, the world.
4. "Thirteen" (2003) Tracy, a straight-A student, befriends Evie, the school's queen bee of bad behavior. What follows is a dizzying spiral into adolescence – shoplifting, piercings, and drugs. It gets so intense that Tracy's mom steps in, but good luck taming a teenage rebellion.
This film had parents clutching their pearls and kids feeling seen, making it a real game-changer back in the day. It also propelled Nikki Reed's career, who years later reunited with the director Catherine Hardwicke on set of "Twilight".
3. "EuroTrip" (2004) After getting dumped and graduating high school, Scotty decides to travel across Europe to meet his German pen pal, whom he thinks has feelings for him. Joined by his friends, they gallivant through London, Paris, Amsterdam – you name it. Along the way, they encounter soccer hooligans, nude beaches, and even a creepy Italian guy.
It grossed a modest $20.8 million but remains a cult classic for a reason.
2. "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" (2008) Nick is the only straight guy in a queercore band and is still pining for his ex-girlfriend. Norah, another heartbroken teen, asks him to pretend to be her boyfriend for five minutes to ward off her frenemy.
The pair end up spending the entire night together, hunting for a secret gig by their favorite band. As they roam the streets of New York City, their five-minute fake relationship starts to feel incredibly real.
1. "Charlie Bartlett" (2007) Charlie is a wealthy teen expelled from a private academy for making fake IDs. He enrolls in a public school and decides to play psychiatrist to his peers, complete with a 'therapy office' in the boys' bathroom. He even starts dispensing prescription meds, which he gets from his own psychiatrist. But as he becomes a high school sensation, he also starts grappling with the ethics of what he's doing.
