17 Movies To Watch Before Graduation
By Ashley Flores
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The year is coming to an end and if you’re a senior, you especially know that everything is about
to change. Whether you are ready or not, here are 17 “must-watch” movies to get you through
your last days before you leave high school forever. All of the movie posters in the slideshow
that goes with this article have been recreated using El Dorado students.
1. Forrest Gump
Life is unexpected – full of sweet and bitter surprises, which the film portrays with the life
journey of Forrest Gump. “Mama always said that life’s like a box of chocolates. You never
know what you’re gonna get.” Gump shows us that you don’t have to do what everyone else is
doing to have fun. The film is full of perspectives that could be watched any given day, but it is a
must before graduating, it will help you think about what your box of chocolates has in store for
you.
2. Grease
The classic movie known for its musical numbers completely sums up how the year goes by in a
blink of an eye. One hundred and eighty days of learning and gossip are represented on screen
with one hundred and ten minutes. Everything changes and you keep wondering if you’ll ever
see your peers and friends after graduation. The students in this film remind us to enjoy the
time you have together now, because in the end, “we go together… that’s the way it should
be.”
3. Perks of Being A Wallflower
People change and it’s inevitable to pause time. Whether it is for good or bad; you meet people
who accept you for who you are. This film is a must because it makes you recall your first love,
when you began to listen to good music and when you found your people. Keep creating
memories with them, and enjoy the little things because, “We are infinite.”
4. The Breakfast Club
You realize you are getting old when you begin to question, “My God, are we gonna be like our
parents?” Time flies by even faster after high school, but before you leave, you're trying to
makeup LOC hours, tests and detention from the last lockout. As you're stuck in the classroom
with people you've never talked to, you realize that you're not as different from others. The
film helps you reflect on yourself. Always keep in mind to, “Spend a little more time trying to
make something of yourself and a little less time trying to impress people.”
5. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Taking a day off is something we all need sometimes, to step back and look at the big picture.
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
We wish that on our day off we'd be able to go to the city and have our musical number in a
float. But maybe catching up on your Netflix show is as good as it gets to help you get your
breather and decide what's next.
6. 10 Things I Hate About You
What is high school without a little struggle? Between pleasing others and standing for what
you believe, the film is the high school experience that we wish for. But, we're all the same
when it comes to the fine line between love and hate that has you getting the relatable feels.
“Don’t let anyone ever make you feel like you don’t deserve what you want.”
7. Mean Girls
Everybody in the English-speaking world knows this movie. It's funny, quotable and “so fetch.”
As June 3 gets closer, we are settling what has happened in the past with people. If only we
could've realized earlier that holding a grudge only harms us more than letting them go. “I wish
I could bake a cake filled with rainbows and smiles and everyone would eat and be happy.”
8. Prom
The time leading up to prom night was as eventful as the prom itself. To have seen how many
people were packed on the dance floor was as breathtaking as being somewhere in the middle
of it. As we danced the night away, we really didn't care that we were all dancing shoulder to
shoulder or the area we were in. Take my advice and watch the Disney film. You'll be reliving
whatever you did that night. “Who we were, for four years of high school doesn’t matter. It’s
just all of us together and this one perfect moment.”
9. Clueless
It’s only sophomore year of high school and Cher feels like she is done, there is nothing else
that can entertain her anymore. As we can recall, the thrill of the first year is lost and we think
we know everything there is to know. But in reality, we are clueless and only know one thing
for sure; “Searching for a boy in high school is as useless as searching for meaning in a Pauly
Shore movie.”
10. Drive Me Crazy
Trying to find a date for prom can be as tricky as making your ex see what they have lost out on.
What could have been is all put in the past, when neighbors Chase and Nicole pretend to date
in front of their student body. We’ve all gone through that relationship that could have been,
then they begin to date someone else out of the blue. “Prince charming is a jerk. Bring on the
frogs.”
11. A Cinderella Story
Everyone has always wanted to be a princess, because the happy endings are uplifting. Mainly
when the underdog is the one who gets the happy ending, it’s nice to see different versions of
the story of Cinderella. Especially the one where “Cinderella” stands up to her stepmother and
her Prince Charming and goes to college without having to get married. “Never let the fear of
striking out, keep you from playing the game.”
12. 17 Again
Matthew Perry turns 17 again as Zac Efron and gets a chance to get close to his kids by reliving
high school. Something we don’t appreciate all the time is that our parents try to comfort us,
but we don't listen and dismiss them saying that they don't understand. We’ve got a lot ahead
of us and not everything is the end of the world. “When you are young, everything feels like the
end of the world. It’s not. It’s just the beginning.”
13. 13 going on 30
Before high school, we were in middle school, trying to grow up so fast; and now we wish we
could turn back time to the good old days. If that is us now, imagine what it will be like in a few
years from now. The best time of our lives are about to begin. From time to time, it is good to
remember what has gotten us to where we are now. The film also encourages us to not push
away people who have been there for us more than we can count. “I think all of us want to feel
something that we’ve forgotten or turned our backs on. Because maybe we didn’t realize how
much we were leaving behind.”
14. Saved!
The film is a comedy about a Christian girl who gets pregnant from her gay boyfriend, because
“Jesus” told her to help him. It shows the struggle of losing yourself in order to find your way
again. The film shows that we shouldn’t be judging others in life when you have baggage
yourself. We don’t always know what people are going through. “Why would God make us so
different, if he wants us all to be the same?”
15. She’s All That
The film doesn’t have to be a musical to have great tunes, with Sixpence None the Richer’s “Kiss
Me,” Rick James’ “Give It to Me Baby” and Fatboy Slim’s “The Rockafeller Skank” for it to be a
must-watch movie. It’s the classic story of the jock falling for the outcast; she gets her
makeover and doesn’t let others bring her high down. She’s cranky and artsy, while he is
persistent. It all began as a bet, but ends happily. We all want to have our moment and say, “I
feel just like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. You know, except for the whole harlot thing.”
16. A Walk To Remember
The Nicholas Sparks novel is made into a movie, that has you reaching for the tissues every time
you watch it. He’s a bad boy who gets detention and is stuck with the girl that his friends and
him made fun of, but then they become the high school seniors that fall in love. If you think
that “The Fault in Our Stars” is good trust me, this is better. “It lasted forever, and ended so
soon.”
17. High School Musical 3
We have tried to keep our “head in the game” as we countdown the seconds until summer, and
now you’re finding your place. If you are in the same situation as Troy; about not knowing
which dream to pursue, just remember to do what you love and not what others are telling you
to do. We grew up watching the Disney originals, so why not watch the movies that are what
made us have dreams. “Because once a wildcat, always a wildcat.”
Memorable Mentions
Into The Wild
Sixteen Candles
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging
Carrie 1976 & 2013
The Duff
Toy Story 3
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Never Been Kissed