Classrooms are a microcosm of humanity, rife with drama, humor, romance, intrigue and tragedy — and a fertile backdrop for films. Hawaii students preparing to return to campus can earn extra credit by cramming with our back-to-school favorites.
‘Mean Girls’ had nothing on this trio
The idea of "the 99 percent" grew out of recent politics, but most high school students live it. There are the popular kids — the haughty cliques, the jocks, the cheerleaders — and then there are the rest, the 99 percent who feel invisible and victimized on campus. "Heathers" (1988) is a dark and funny revenge fantasy in which smart and sensible Veronica (Winona Ryder) finds herself in a face-off with the three Heathers — Heather Chandler, Heather Duke and Heather McNamara — who rule the campus. Enter bad boy J.D. (Christian Slater), who fascinates good girl Veronica. She enlists him to make the Heathers’ lives miserable, but when students start dropping dead, Veronica is horrified to find their apparent suicides are being glorified, while J.D. reveals more and more of his psychopathic nature. A film this twisted may not be able to get made today because of the real tragedies of school killings. The moral of the story? Don’t be a Heather. — Nadine Kam
Its title is the word
 Gear up for the start of the new school year — that’s Aug. 1 for public schools — with the Todays section’s weeklong series of back-to-school features.
SATURDAY
» Free haircuts for kids
» Let quinoa stand in for rice in an innovative sushi-inspired lunch-box wrap
» Back to school blessings
» Books to prepare for the new school year
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For me, no movie captures the promise of a new school year like "Grease." The summer has been spent away from friends and the first day back everyone can’t wait to catch up and spill their embellished tales of "summer lovin’." New faces are everywhere and you invent yourself into a jock, a cheerleader, a Pink Lady. Every time I see the 1978 musical running on late-night TV, I can’t help but stop and watch. (OK, and maybe sing along.) "Grease," I am forever "hopelessly devoted to you." — Donica Kaneshiro
Kilmer rules dorm smartly
The ’80s were thick with teen movies, and not just those written or directed by John Hughes. Other directors contributed to the decade’s boon with several great under-the-radar films. My favorite is Martha Coolidge’s "Real Genius" (1985). This early Val Kilmer vehicle takes place at a top tech university where a professor (William Atherton, perfecting the jerky vibe he’d become known for in the "Die Hard" movies) has tricked his brainy students into creating a deadly laser for the CIA. The plot is fine — especially its culmination with the testing of the laser, a scene that really pops — but what sets the film apart is Kilmer as a senior who has decided fun comes first, a lesson he is determined to impart on his naive freshman roommate (Gabriel Jarret). Along the way he turns his young protege into a man and cracks you up with his high jinks, whether it’s mercilessly skewering suck-up grad assistant Kent or freezing the dorm hallway floors to create the world’s narrowest ice rink. — Sjarif Goldstein
Belushi and co. inspired us
I was never in a fraternity, nor will I admit to re-creating what John Belushi’s Bluto did with mashed potatoes, but when I was a University of Hawaii student I attended a memorable toga party inspired in part by the 1978 classic "National Lampoon’s Animal House." Of course, my buddies and I knew that no college could really be that much fun to attend, but we wanted to believe that somewhere in America, a real-life Delta Tau Chi was hosting toga parties, drinking beer and raising hell. This movie left us howling with laughter and proud to be young college men with lots of beer, zero prospects when it came to girlfriends, and absolutely no common sense. How did we ever graduate and become upstanding citizens? Watch "Animal House" and you’ll probably ask yourself: How could they not? — Mike Gordon
Archetypes fill ‘Ridgemont High’
For children of the ’70s, "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982) was an emblem of the high school experience, with its showcase of character types who inhabit every school: the unsure freshman trying to be grown up (Jennifer Jason Leigh’s Stacy); her fast best friend (Phoebe Cates as Linda Barrett) and big-man-on-campus older brother (Judge Reinhold as Brad); the earnest, innocent nerd (Brian Backer’s Mark Ratner) and his sleazy, fast-talking friend (Robert Romanus as Mike Damone); and the pothead surfer (Sean Penn’s unforgettable Jeff Spicoli). And who didn’t have at least one bizarre teacher like Mr. Hand (Ray Walston)? Though packaged as a teen sex comedy — and it is rip-roaring fun — what makes "Fast Times" a classic is its insightful character studies that infuse the storytelling with an honest respect for the teenage experience. And the soundtrack, filled with the likes of Led Zeppelin, Jackson Browne, Tom Petty and The Cars, stamps the film with an indelible coolness. — Joleen Oshiro
Awkward is as awkward does
"Napoleon Dynamite" (2004) is a peculiar but charming film about the loser outcast in high school who gets a brief moment of glory. Jon Heder doesn’t change his deadpan expression for the entire film, making his awkwardness all the more realistic. The odd cast of characters includes an uncle who can’t quite let go of his high school hero past, a brother who believes in time travel, and various schoolmates who make up the cool and uncool crowd. You’re somewhere between laughing and crying throughout the film as you recognize aspects of people you know, including yourself. — Steven Mark
Root for teacher caught in ‘Jungle’
I admit to being a few years too young to have seen "Blackboard Jungle" when it opened in movie theaters in 1955, but when I saw it a few years later it spoke to me on several levels. Idealistic teacher Richard Dadier (Glenn Ford) is assigned to a rough inner-city high school. Most of the students are headed for dead-end jobs, don’t want to be there and can’t wait to get out. Dadier attempts to get the students — Sidney Poitier and Vic Morrow play two of them — interested in education but sometimes his earnest efforts backfire or are misinterpreted.
"Blackboard Jungle" became famous for using Bill Haley & His Comets’ megahit "Rock Around the Clock" during the opening credits. Rock ‘n’ roll and "juvenile delinquents" would be linked together for at least a generation.
Dadier is the hero of the movie, and even as a teen I wanted him to succeed. On the other hand, I’d had my own experiences with patronizing teachers and overbearing administrators, and could identify with the students. The Evan Hunter novel the film is based on is a good period read, too. — John Berger
Poitier takes temporary post
Remember when teachers could gut-punch the smart-mouthed classroom punk with impunity? Or shame the campus hootchie into acting like a proper lady? Yeah, me neither. But "To Sir with Love," featuring the charismatic Sidney Poitier (again!) as an engineer who takes a temporary post as a high school teacher in London’s East End slums, is as relevant today as when it was released in 1967. As more is revealed about the inner lives of students brought up amid soul-sucking poverty and a public school system ill-equipped to deal with their problems, you put aside first impressions and begin to sympathize with these hard-luck kids. Plus, there’s Lulu singing the title song, which became a major pop hit. — Christie Wilson
‘Club’ characters prove relatable
I loved John Hughes’ 1985 movie "The Breakfast Club," about a bunch of teens who wouldn’t be caught dead together but end up stuck in detention and uniting against "the man" (Principal Richard Vernon, played by Paul Gleason), who assigns them to write an essay about "who you think you are." Maybe it’s because I could relate to "The Brain," played by Anthony Michael Hall (not that I was smart, but some would have called me nerdy) and "The Basket Case," played by Ally Sheedy. Or maybe because there’s a bad boy (Judd Nelson’s "The Criminal") who gets "The Princess" (Molly Ringwald) to fall for him. I’ve never really thought about the whys, I just remember feeling triumph at the end of the movie when The Brain, in voice-over, reads the letter he wrote on behalf of the group telling Vernon he was "crazy for making us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us … " and Judd Nelson raises his fist in the air while walking across the football field as Simple Minds’ "Don’t You (Forget About Me)" plays over the credits. I think it’s time I rent the movie to watch again. — Michelle Ramos
Of Hughes’ films, he favors ‘Ferris’
John Hughes may be best known for such teen classics as "Pretty in Pink," "Weird Science" and "The Breakfast Club," but my favorite school movie is his "Ferris Bueller’s Day Off" (1986). This is not only because it has a really good story, but also because of the small details in certain scenes that had such a cultural impact on me. The movie introduced me to my first Beatles song, "Twist and Shout," and I can imitate the sound of dropping water because of the scene in the stock market. I was going to be an architect because I wanted to build Cameron’s home. It’s a great movie! Go watch it. You’re still here? It’s over! Go. — Joe Guinto
