#1: Accepted
If you think it’s too late for you when it comes to college admissions, this movie will save your life. Released in 2006 by director Steve Pink, “Accepted” follows the trials and tribulations of senior Bartleby Gaines, portrayed by Justin Long, after he gets rejected by every college he’s applied to. While sulking at the grad party for his best friend Sherman Shrader III, played by Jonah Hill, who was admitted into the prestigious Harmon College, he finds himself surrounded by other rejects. In an attempt to please his father and dissuade any probing questions, Gaines comes to a realisation: if he can’t be accepted anywhere, he’ll create a place that will. The South Harmon Institute of Technology, also known as S.H.I.T.: Gaines’ very own freaky Frankenstein. By enlisting Shrader to create a fake website for the college, he recruits the help of the other college rejects by leasing an abandoned psychiatric hospital to act as the university’s campus. It’s foolproof. Until, of course, a glitch in the website leads to automatic acceptances for everyone who applies and hundreds of former rejects end up on the front lawn, waiting for housing.
Hilarious, witty and full of heart, “Accepted” is the perfect movie to end your senior year, especially if college decisions didn’t go the way you wanted.
#2: Superbad
This wouldn’t be a good list if it didn’t include a second movie starring a visibly older-looking Jonah Hill playing a senior in high school. Hill plays Seth and Michael Cera plays his best friend, Evan. With Emma Stone and Bill Hader making an appearance, this movie boasts a stellar cast. The two seniors have found themselves in the odd limbo between being accepted into college and finally graduating high school. It’s a shame, really, that neither have managed to adequately prepare themselves for their “romantic” life in college. Luckily, Seth’s hot lab partner is convinced he has a fake I.D. that’ll help him score them drinks for the night’s party. Unluckily, Seth might’ve fibbed and lost his chance to score both the drinks and the girl. Thank god for friends who “know a guy.”
This 2007 film by Greg Mottola is raunchy and silly and mother of the famous “McLovin” meme. It’s unskippable and a must watch.
#3: 10 Things I Hate About You
Directed by Gil Junger in 1999, “10 Things I Hate About You” is a certified classic. While most focus on the romance between Kat Stratford and Patrick Verona, played by Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger respectively, a significant plot point is Stratford’s future college plans. Cameron James, portrayed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, attempts to win over the girl of his dreams by paying Verona to ask out Stratford, the girl’s older sister. Unfortunately for James, Stratford is more focused on the important things: Bikini Kill concerts, buying herself a guitar, rebelling against the system and getting into Sarah Lawrence College.
#4: Booksmart
“Booksmart” is for all the try-hards coming to the realisation that they missed out on the formative moments that make high school worth remembering. Directed by Olivia Wilde, the movie follows two high school seniors on their last day of school, convinced they’re escaping their no-good small town for the Ivy League. Everything comes to a halt when the proclaimed “slackers” of their school have found themselves Ivy-bound as well, which makes no sense. There’s no way these people managed to have fun in high school while maintaining their academic success, right? Starring Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever, the rest of the movie follows the two seniors in their hilarious attempt to make the most of high school and prove that they were “cool,” even if they admittedly weren’t.
#5: Lady Bird
Released in 2017, this is perhaps Greta Gerwig’s greatest film; sorry “Barbie” fans. Another gold star for Saorise Ronan and Timothee Chalamet, “Lady Bird” is perfect for everyone who found themselves within arm’s reach of their dreams and inches away from severing their relationship with their parents over college stress. The film stars Ronan as she attempts to assert herself as a person to the critical eyes of her mother, one deserving to move where the poets are on the East Coast, namely New York University.
It’s sad, it’s funny, it’s unforgivably teenage. This coming of age film is perfect for everyone who didn’t immediately find the happy ending they expected or if they just have mommy issues.
