Ali Plumb Gives Us His Top Five Favourite 21st Century Teen Movies

What is a teen movie? It's not an easy question to answer, but I've done my best to put together my top five favourites of that beloved genre, all chosen from the past two decades.

Straight away I'll flag up two obvious ones that aren't on the list, namely 17 Again and Easy A, as I included them in my favourite 21st century rom-coms list.

Also, I tried to avoid the harsher, harder, more difficult ones like the utterly amazing Eighth Grade and or Richard Linklater's jaw-dropping Boyhood - and does Donnie Darko count as a teen movie? - as well as bloodier fare like Rian Johnson's Brick. Oh, and I just couldn't inclue Not Another Teen Movie, oh no. It has its moments - mostly involving Chris Evans - but no. Just no.

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I wanted to put in a properly sad one like Me, Earl And The Dying Girl or The Fault In Our Stars in my top five but I just don't know if we're collectively in that headspace right now. But, I did want to include a "realer" teen film, and the underappreciated Edge Of Seventeen ticks that box perfectly. It stars the prodigiously talented singer-cum-actress Hailee Steinfeld - isn't it strange to think she's the same Oscar-nominated Hailee Steinfeld from 2010's True Grit - as a Portland teenager enduring a feud with her best friend and trying to navigate the nightmare that is high school. Steinfeld is exceptional, and so is Woody Harrelson as her understanding teacher. This is an understated, heartfelt film that lacks the "Shapow!" of others on this list, but if you're a fan of the genre, this is definitely worth seeking out.

Fun fact: During much of the movie, Steinfeld wears an 8-bit "ABIDE" hoodie with a picture of The Dude from The Big Lebowski on it. The directors of that film - The Coen Brothers - also directed Steinfeld in True Grit.

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I just had to, you know? The soundtrack alone makes it worth a rewatch - influenced heavily by Ellen Page's own suggestions, which explains the heavy use of The Moldy Peaches - but there's so much to enjoy. There's the Oscar-winning script from Diablo Cody, Ellen Page's fantastic lead performance, a pitch perfect Michael Cera at his Michael Cera-iest, and if that wasn't enough, the supporting adult characters are played by all of your favourites: Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney and J. K. Simmons. It's funny, witty, dry and above all true. What people might forget is that Page was Oscar-nominated for this, and the film itself received a Best Picture nod. Now if you want me, I'll be speaking to my best friends on my hamburger phone.

Fun fact: Juno had such a low budget, Page did her own hair and make-up everyday. And thanks to a freak March snowstorm, the production managed to get real snow for the scenes when it was meant to be autumn / winter, saving them a lot of money. Oh, and that burger phone? It's actually Diablo Cody's.

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Based on the much-loved graphic novels of the same name by Bryan Lee O'Malley, Edgar Wright's cult classic teen film is full of that "Shapow!" I was talking about earlier. Bursting at the seams with visual invention, snappy dialogue and incredible (and not so incredible) music, it's a lot of movie, but in a good way. And let's be honest: the castlist reads like some sort of joke, headed up by Michael Cera (him again) but also featuring the likes of Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin (recently seen in HBO's Succession), Chris Evans (not that one), Anna Kendrick, the now Oscar-winning Brie Larson, Alison Pill (recently seen in Amazon Prime's Star Trek: Picard), Aubrey Plaza (of Parks And Rec Fame), Brandon Routh (AKA Superman) and Wes Anderson's favourite (aside from Bill Murray) Jason Schwartzman. Cool as all hell and with a monster of a soundtrack, Scott Pilgrim is a film you need to see again right about now.

Fun fact: Director, co-writer and co-producer Edgar Wright has said that he thinks of the film as a musical, but instead of breaking into a song, the characters break into a fight.

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I'm cheating here, jamming in two films into the number two slot - with the only direct connection being that Beanie Feldstein stars in both - but I really do love them so very much, so you'll have to indulge me. I've wanged on about both of these movies so much now I must sound like a broken record, what with Olivia Wilde's Booksmart being my 'Best Film Of 2019' and Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird being my 'Best Film Of 2018'. They're both excellent and I enthusiastically encourage you to seek them out. I believe Booksmart is available on Amazon Prime in the UK and Lady Bird is on Netflix UK, just so you know.

Fun Booksmart fact: Jason Sudeikis plays the school principal and Sudeikis just so happens to be Olivia Wilde's husband.

Fun Lady Bird fact: This Sacramento-set film has proved so popular that there are now 'Lady Bird walking tours' available for fans who want to see where the movie was shot.

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It couldn't be any other movie, now could it? The Queen Bee of 21st century teen movies is undoubtedly Mean Girls, the Tina Fey-written masterpiece of the genre - yep, I said it - a funny and increasingly relevant film that has managed to continuously maintain its popularity over the 16 years since it first hit cinemas. Lindsay Lohan has never been better, Rachel McAdams (blonde wig and all) is superb as Regina George, the leader of The Plastics, not forgetting just how brilliant Amanda Seyfried and Lacey Chabert are alongside her. In fact, everyone is at the top of their game here, including Amy Poehler as everyone's favourite "cool mom", as well as the pink shirt-loving duo of Lizzy Caplan's Janis and Daniel Franzese's Damien. Damn it, they're just all so good. This film is almost absurdly rewatchable, and I truly have lost count of the number of times I've seen it. I may even check it out again tonight, if only to see that brilliant phone call sequence, or the bus-based incident, or the trust fall exercises, or, or, or... It's got such a cultural impact that even the Obama household are big fans, something that surprised Rachel McAdams when I brought it up with her during her Movies That Made Me interview.

Fun fact: Lindsay Lohan was originally meant to play Regina, while Amanda Seyfried was set to play Cady, before the pieces on the chess board were (sensibly) moved around.