Every few years a new high school rom-com is released, and they are usually met with positive reviews. However, few succeed to withstand the test of time. Despite their release dates being 20 years ago or more, are “Sixteen Candles,” “Clueless” and “Mean Girls” reign as the supreme high school rom-coms of their respective decades. Each of these movies came out in a different decade, and each has been deemed a defining feature of their respective decade. Check Now TV discount vouchers at Latest Deals.
So, what movie is a defining feature of the 2010s? That would be the 2010 movie, “Easy A .”
To make a movie the defining high school rom-com of a decade, it has to meet some criteria. It has to be timeless, but at the same time, a product of its time. To be timeless is important for the longevity of the popularity of the movie. This can be achieved by focusing on themes that will be relatable for a long time. Gossip, friendships, and crushes are all things that have been and always will be present in every high school, making for timeless relatability in high school films. A movie that reflects the pop culture of its decade is also important for the longevity of the popularity of the movie because nostalgia will have viewers coming back and rewatching for decades to come. This can be reflected in the pop culture depicted in the movie, the fashion, and dialogue.. Timelessness and nostalgia make audiences more forgiving towards the faults of the film, stifling the critiques of the movies.
The Classics
The 1985 movie “Sixteen Candles” starring Molly Ringwaldfocuses on the character Samantha Baker. The day before her sister’s wedding is her 16th birthday, but due to the busyness caused by the wedding, her entire family forgets Samantha’s Sweet 16. Samantha navigates high school life as a sophomore,as crush on senior Jake blossoms. Samantha believes Jakes has no interest in her because she thinks lowly of herself. However, by the end of the movie, she learns that being confident in herself allowed her to form a relationship with Jake.
Released in 1995, “Clueless” but was based on the 1815 novel “Emma.” It follows the high school life of Cher Horowitz as she navigates life while juggling her own social and dating life while simultaneously doing the same for others. However, when she helps the new student. Tai Frasier. Tai soon replaces Cher in her social circles and eventually even starts to like the same boy as her, Josh. Cher’s teen life is slowly falling apart. Eventually, she fixes her friendship with Tai and enters a relationship with Josh.
“Mean Girls”has been the most financially successful movie listed in this article since its 2004 release. Cady Heron transfers to a new school and befriends Janis Ian and Damien Leigh who hate the Plastics. The Plastics is a clique comprised of Regina George, Gretchen Wieners, and Karen Smith. To get revenge on the Plastics, Cady’s new friends send her undercover to pretend to be a friend of the Plastics and get revenge from the inside of the group. However, this backfires when Cady eventually becomes a true Plastic.
“Easy A,” the 2010 movie that stars Emma Stone, focuses on the high school life of Olivia Penderghast. The whole movie is based on a small lie that Olvia tells towards the beginning of the movie that she has lost her virginity. Soon, people are asking Olivia to pretend to have sex with them so that they can use that to their advantage. This gets her stuck with being called a tramp. She tries to accept this role by playing more into it. She does this by acting in ways that people would expect a tramp to act. She even stitches a red letter A into her top, like the main character in the 1850 novel “The Scarlet Letter” has to do after being called a tramp. Eventually, she confesses her lie on her vlog, owning her personal life as her own and advising others to avoid being so nosy.
“Sixteen Candles,” “Clueless,” and “Mean Girls” all match the criteria of being the defining high school rom-com of their respective decades. They are all timeless because they have relatable topics, like navigating high school life. Revenge, crushes, and friendships are all explored in every film. They also weave this relatability with nostalgia. This nostalgia is brought out through the fashion, dialogue, and cast. Fashion is the best way to bring about feelings of nostalgia because of its omnipresence in the movie. In “Mean Girls,” 2000s staples like Juicy Couture and low-rise pants and skirts were commonly seen throughout the movie.
“Easy A”
“Easy A” fits the criteria that would define a movie as the movie of a decade because it is based in a high school setting – which is already relatable to the target audience of the movie – and it dives into topics like sex, bullying, and slut-shaming. These themes will still be prevalent in society many years later, which is important to the movie’s timelessness. Also, the fashion, references to the current technology, like vlogs, and the cast are all very prevalent aspects of the 2010s. These kinds of connections that the movie has with its time period make people nostalgic when watching it.
While the 2010s were pretty lacking in new high school rom-com releases, “Easy A” still has some competition. “The Edge of Seventeen,” “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” and “Tall Girl” were all successful movies of the 2010s, so why is “Easy A” the defining high school rom-com?
“Easy A” focuses on high school life in a comedic and likable way. These traits do not all apply to other movies of the same genre released in the 2010s. “The Edge of Seventeen” and “The Perks of Being A Wallflower” focused more on mental illnesses in teens, and “Tall Girl” was not well-received, making “Easy A” the only movie of its time to be greatly influential, while also carrying the same tone as its predecessors.
Each movie also has qualities that make it stand out in its own right. A quality that “Easy A” has that makes it stand out among other movies of the same genre is how it takes its inspiration from an old novel, “The Scarlet Letter,” but weaves modern themes into the story. Since the publication of “The Scarlet Letter,” exploring one’s sexuality has become less taboo, and is a common theme in modern coming-of-age movies. Movies like “Easy A” and “Clueless” prove that even the stories that they are based on from the 19th century are timeless enough that they are still relatable today. So, the lessons taught in “Easy A” are more modern. This movie provides a lesson to people like the main character, that being yourself is the only way to achieve happiness. This lesson can also be seen in the character arc of Cher Horowitz, Cady Heron, and Veronica Sawyer. However, this movie also teaches a lesson to people who are like Olivie Penderghast, that you should mind your own business.
Overall, “Easy A” is clearly on the same level as movies like “Sixteen Candles,” “Clueless,” and “Mean Girls,” which were all iconic parts of their respective decades.
If you haven’t watched “Easy A” already, watch it now.
