7 Throwback High School Movies That Are Perfect for Binge-Watching on a Snow Day
Let’s face it: snow days are the bomb dot com. They’re an unexpected day off from your normal routine — and the responsibilities that go with it. No school, no work, no homework, and no shower or real clothes required. They’re a vacation from the real world, a break from reality, a period of time where you are allowed — nay, encouraged — to stay in pajamas, sip hot chocolate, and take a moment of silence for those poor souls in Florida who are currently sitting in homeroom. (Sucks to be them, huh?) But perhaps the best part about snow days is that, because of the weather, you are pretty much forced to stay home and become one with your couch. Snow days do not allow for productivity. They allow for movie marathons, frozen pizza, and the kind of naps where you wake up and wonder if it is dinnertime or the year 2021. Though there is obviously no such thing as a bad snow day, in order to have a great one, you need to be prepared. As soon as the days start getting shorter and the hair on your legs starts getting longer, you need to put your game face on. Snow day season is upon us. The time to prepare is now. While your kitchen should always be stocked with frozen pizzas, mac and cheese, hot chocolate, ice cream, and cookie dough, it’s especially important that you keep a close eye on your rations during the winter months. Ain’t nobody got time to die in a snowstorm while attempting to score a bottle of ranch dipping sauce from the neighbors. In addition to food that will send you into a diabetic coma and quite possibly an early grave, you need to make sure that your entertainment for the day is prepped and ready. Because of the weather, there’s a decent possibility that your cable and internet will be out, meaning you'll be super chilly but without any Netflix to speak of. Instead, you’re going to have to rely on good, old-fashioned DVDs like some sort of child of the '80s. But that’s okay. Snow days are about going back to the basics — and you, with your Stone Age DVDS, will do just that. Below, we’ve put together perhaps the best-ever list of movies that will absolutely make your snow day. We’re kicking it old school with these (feel free to switch out those DVDs for VHSs if you’re really feeling inspired), so put on your pajamas, grab your hot chocolate and your hamburger phone, and let yourself ignore the incessant tweets and snaps of today.
1/7Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Ferris easily slides into first place because this movie is about skipping school and the day to day responsibilities that go with it — and, hey, whaddya know, you’re doing just that too. Let Ferris’ easy going attitude inspire you to live one day at a time and take what life throws at you. This is your time. Have fun, be wild, live a little, and don’t be a Cameron (that’s what your adult years are for).
2/7The Breakfast Club
“They were five total strangers, with nothing in common, meeting for the first time. A brain, a beauty, a jock, a rebel and a recluse. Before the day was over, they broke the rules. Bared their souls and touched each other in a way they never dreamed possible.”
If you’re in high school, you need to stop what you’re doing and watch this immediately. Don’t wait for a snow day. Watch it now — and then watch it again. The Breakfast Club takes five kids from all different groups and backgrounds and shows them that at the end of the day, they’re really not all that different. It’ll make you view your peers in a different light. A good light. High school is tough — no one’s ever said it’s easy — but this movie will make it a little bit easier to get through.
3/7Clueless
Clueless is one of those American cult classics that will probably be known and regaled by high school girls forever. Between the outlandish fashion, the falling in love with stepbrothers, and the rolling with the homies, the movie is over the top amazing. And while the ridiculous catchphrases and neon plaids were likely your initial takeaways, we want you to go back and really watch the movie. Study the characters, listen to their lines, pay attention to their problems. On the surface this movie is superficial and silly, but at its core, there are real lessons to learn.
Be nice to others. Stand your ground. Be true to yourself. Don’t let people put you down. And follow your dreams — even if no one thinks you can.
4/7Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing is another one of those coming-of-age movies that will make you laugh, cry, and want to abandon your dreams of becoming a lawyer and instead go out and take dance lessons.
The film follows Baby, a rising college freshman who is spending the summer vacationing with her wealthy family. She meets a boy from the “wrong side of the tracks” and falls in love — despite her family’s disapproval.
The movie digs into social issues and shows that you’re never too young to be exposed to life’s harsh truths. But with the right people supporting you, you can handle whatever is thrown in your way.
5/7Dazed and Confused
Taking place over just one day, the movie follows the last day of school before summer break for a group of rising seniors in the '70s. While Dazed and Confused is strife with silliness, humor, and all out ridiculousness, the movie at its core is about that moment when you realize you’re growing up and things won’t stay the same forever. As Bob Dylan famously sang, times they are a changin’, and nothing sums up Dazed and Confused more perfectly than that lyric. Caught between adolescence and adulthood, fun and responsibilities, and a world that is dramatically changing around them, the all-star cast — which includes Matthew McConaughey, Ben Affleck, Parker Posey, Jason London, and Milla Jovovich — elects to have one final night of fun before facing the real world that is barreling toward them at lightning speed. It’s a coming-of-age movie that shows no matter how “real” life is quickly becoming, it’s never too late to stop and enjoy the present day. Adulthood can wait; you don’t get these days back, so enjoy them while you can.
6/7Dead Poets Society
Alright, there’s no way around it: this movie will make you sob, but it will also inspire you to live like there is no freaking tomorrow. You win some, you lose some. The film, set in the late 1950s, takes place at an elite boarding school, Welton Academy. There, a group of young men are introduced to a new teacher, played by Robin Williams, and are taught to both love poetry and seize the day. Through ups, downs, and serious sob fests, the movie sticks true to its message: you have one life; live it.
Dead Poets Society will remind you to let the little things go, grab life by the horns, and stay true to yourself. Life was meant to be enjoyed and experienced. Time is precious. Don’t waste it.
7/7Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion
If you’re in the mood for something uplifting, look no further. Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion is the hilarious journey about two best friends and former misfits who view their upcoming high school reunion to show their classmates just how far they’ve come. The only problem? They’re not really doing a whole lot with their lives. Thus, a plan is hatched and the two goofballs pretend to be the “serious business women” inventors of the post it note. Obviously, nothing goes as predicted, but it doesn’t matter. The movie is all about friendship and proving that it doesn’t matter what you do, it’s who you do it with. Prepare yourself for belly laughs, touching moments, and a reminder that you should always, always fly your freak flag proudly.
