Top 10 Coming of Age Movies Review

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please visit www .grand -con .com. My best friend's

sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard

from this guy who knows this kid is going with

the girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 flavors

last night. I guess it's pretty serious. Thank

you, Simone. No problem whatsoever. Been thinking

about getting back in school though, man. Back

in JC or something like that? Yeah, man. I mean,

that's where all the girls are, right? Hello

and welcome to GeekCast Radio episode 45, continuing

our top 10 film lists. if Kevin's headset would

stop, you know, moving by itself. I am, of course,

DFJ and Mike. Joining me is Optimus Solo. Hello.

I don't know how to respond to that. Well, you

know, my headset around, you know, for people

that don't know or haven't listened to Tales

of Eternity, and why the hell haven't you listened

to that show? That's an awesome show. But In

one of the outtakes for Tales of Eternia, Kevin's

headset came alive and started moving on its

own mid -record. It does do that sometimes when

I breathe weird. Yeah, stop moving. Be a stiff

board. Wow, sounds wrong. So, we are here. Hello

to movie role Dan as well. How are you doing?

It's gonna be fun tonight, I'll tell you that.

Oh boy, we're here continuing, as I said, the

top 10 GCR film lists and this time around we

have coming -of -age movies. Shall we get to

the honorable mentions? Sure, we're getting closer

and closer to those epic geek genres, which I

don't even want to think of. Sci -fi fantasy

superhero. Yeah, when those get here, it's gonna

get interesting. It's gonna get I guarantee you

when superhero gets here. There's gonna be fighting

over this microphone We still have a few to get

through before that including family and coming

of age is coming of age is one of those interesting

ones to me because everybody kind of defines

that slightly different even though it seems

like it should have a very straight definition

And movies sometimes touch on little bits and

pieces of it and sometimes touch on all of it

I just find it an interesting genre. And unlike

the past records where everyone has been able

to have a few minutes to digest the honorable

mentions, I'm changing it up here and dropping

it on you as we record. So the honorable mentions

are there for you to look at. Again, we go through

our little point system and to get on to... Oh

my god, I'm surprised you're not... You're not

seething mad for what that third choice is. To

get onto our list you needed a 33 and the top

honorable mention received a 31 which was fast

times at ridge mod high and we have about 40

or so honorable mentions on the list that got

at least a vote from somebody and we will start

with Movie revolt, Dan there. Skimming over this

list of honorable mentions for the coming of

age films, what strikes your fancy, sir? I guess

I'll start with American Graffiti because it's

one of my personal favorites. Back when Lucas

made films that weren't Star Wars and not prequels,

I really love that movie. Basically the rest

of his filmography. It was the thing to film

right before Star Wars and I think in yeah also

stars Harrison Ford and it's just kind of a great

like one of those Some of my favorite coming

-of -age movies are those that like take place

in a day just kind of day in a life and that's

American Graffiti and I also love how it it's

so reliant on its soundtrack and The use of the

radio in that and cars and it really captures

that like 50s culture same thing with diner another

great film that's has Has a lot has a really

strong cast Mickey Rourke Steve Guttenberg a

lot of different people in that film That are

really young Kevin Bacon and his really early

career. I love diner Accepted I didn't I don't

think I voted for that but I I do have a soft

spot for that movie in a It's not the greatest

thing in the world. It's kind of lesser than

American Pie, but And some other ones that I

see here, Last Picture Show, again, another film

I really enjoy, kind of captures, I think, I

believe it takes place in Texas. It's like that

time right between television and movies kind

of going away and television kind of taking over

and also just like what it was like to be a teenager

at that time. And also stars really young Jeff

Bridges. So those are the first ones that really

stick out to me. How about you Mike? Well I'm

surprised Kevin hasn't just screamed to the top

of his lungs yet because one of his favorites

didn't make The list at all and I'm really surprised

it didn't either the JLH classic Can't hardly

wait. That's a travesty. I honestly to admit.

Yes, Jennifer is the hottest female to ever walk

the earth But I actually did not have can hardly

wait in my top 10. I did have it in my top 20

I had it in my top 20. I think I had it at number

11 actually can hardly wait is a A classic to

me as far as that last high school party type

story. I think it did it really well I think

there's a lot of cool behind -the -scenes type

things there that you can trivia bits that you

can learn about that movie And I don't know I

do really like that movie I can see it not being

in a top 10. I would fully expect as it would

have been, it would have been in our top 20,

and I think it deserves to be in the top 20 as

far as coming of age goes, but I can see it not

being in top 10. I think I'm going to throw people

off and use another one of that movie star's

famous lines. But other ones... I didn't expect

Varsity Blues to make it, but I was kind of hoping

it would. I love that movie. It's just a really

cool movie. One of its stars, Ron Lester, who

after that film had lost a bunch of weight, no

one can now make fun of him anymore in spoofs.

Like, I think it's, is it not another teen movie

that spoofs in with Reggie Ray? Yeah, yeah, Reggie

Ray. But they can't do that anymore. I'm really

surprised Karate Kid didn't make it. There isn't

anything on here that really, like, has, oh my

god, this is blasphemy, this list is horrid.

You know, there isn't any of those kind of moments

for me at all. Because most of the ones that

I really liked I didn't expect would make the

actual top ten. I was somewhat good. The only

one I would say I'm really surprised at and kind

of like a fist shaking moment. Damn you internet!

Teen Wolf. I'm surprised that didn't get more

votes. Everyone, at least everyone from our generation

used to love Teen Wolf. Except for me. Yeah,

I'm not really a fan either. You guys suck. I

was interested going into this because, you know,

this is the prototypical genre for the Brat Pack.

So I was interested to see how many Brat Pack

movies actually would make it onto our countdown.

I'm surprised 16 Candles didn't get a little

bit more love. I'm surprised I was the only one

to vote for Clueless. Well, that's not Brat Pack

though. No, I know. But I'm just saying like

Clueless is the only one, like the lowest on

the list with one vote. And I know I was that

lone vote, because I had it at number 20. You

know, St. Elmo's Fire, another one that I thought

might get a little more votes, but maybe some

people haven't seen that one. As far as me personally,

I think School Ties is kind of a prototypical

type of a coming -of -age movie, and it came

close to making it, but didn't quite get there.

I think that kind of is an underrated film. I

know for a fact Swing Kids is an underrated film

because nine out of ten people have not seen

that movie. But Swing Kids, if you have not seen

that film, you need to go see it. Because it

is a powerful powerful film Obviously, it's not

a hundred percent coming of age because there's

a lot of history and Holocaust and Nazi type

stuff going on there as well But that is a good

movie I've got risky business and say anything

or kind of some personal favorites of mine as

along with the reality bites I think reality

bites is a very good coming of age film The only

other one I voted for that didn't really get

any support with stand and deliver I think Stand

and Deliver is a quality film there. But overall,

I'm not upset with, obviously, me being the only

one that knows what's on our top 10. I'm not

upset with any of them. I was just a little surprised

that a few of these didn't get a little bit,

tiny bit more support. I just hope there isn't

any American Pie sequels that actually made the

top 10. American Pie got 16 votes. That was our

number 23, tied for 23rd. Right, but I'm saying

because... The first film didn't make it, I'm

hoping that none of the sequels made it. Now

that you've had a little bit more of a chance

to look things over, any other thoughts, Dan,

or Mike, for that matter? You talked about Swing

Kids as a really underrated film, and some other

ones that I've voted for. I'm not surprised they

didn't give me a vote because they don't really

have a huge audience. Guts fans San's Elephant,

which is really his take on the Columbine Massacre,

which is a really tough film to watch, but I

think it's really important. good film for sure.

Also The Squid and the Whale which is again not

a very tough film or a very tough film to watch

because it deals with like the divorce and and

how that can impact someone's childhood but starts

like Jeff Bridges and or sorry Jeff Daniels and

it's another great film that I really enjoy as

well and some other ones that are kind of under

the radar a New Zealand film called Railwider

and this is England which is one of the Best

portrayals of what it's like to be a kid because

it's all from a kid's perspective, but it's it's

in a really tough situation So those are some

of the ones that kind of stuck out to me All

right, any other thoughts before we get to our

number ten and me I'm venting No, like I said,

there isn't anything on here. There are certain

things that did surprise me, but there isn't

It's not like last time when I expected or hoped

that summer catch or fever pitch would have been

on the sports list. They weren't, I understand.

Not everyone's a Boston fan, fine, whatever.

But it's one of those things where I'm just really,

really surprised. It's always interesting when

we've been doing these lists that I'm just...

The actual list really does shock me because

I just can't believe what we've actually all

voted on. Before we move on, how many people

besides us three submitted lists? There was the

five main GCR and then Birdman, so six people.

Okay, that's not bad. Just before we get to the

list, I'm going to go to Dan just because some

people coming of age is not... It's not a genre

people are familiar with as much as, let's say,

just straight action or comedy, sci -fi, that

type of stuff. So Dan, when you think of coming

of age films, what defines coming of age for

you? I guess when I think of a coming of age

film, I think of something that is about dealing

with the life in some way as a kid. kind of the

realization of that big life change usually there's

some central event that you have to kind of get

over or kind of get into adulthood maybe not

adulthood in some cases sometimes it's like that

teenager going to high school or something like

that and typically I feel a great coming of age

films or those that feel authentic and are not

just geared towards teenagers but also those

who have kind of or can look back and kind of

have a nostalgia feel to it as well. So it's

usually some type of issue or some type of situation

that is seen through the eyes of a teenager or

possibly young child. I agree with most of what

you said and for me kind of the defining aspect

of what I look for when I'm thinking about what

is a coming -of -age film is kind of like a before

and after effect. There has to be some point

in the movie where one or more characters we're

dealing with in the before state of mind, whether

it be before adulthood, before teenager, before

that time in their life where they change from

being a kid to an adult. There has to be something

that's kind of like that before aspect, and then

we have to have at some point an after aspect.

And these can be comedies, these can be dramas,

these can be a lot of different things, but there

has to be something where we have a caricature

of the person beforehand, and then whatever this

event is, and then you are into your adulthood,

or you are into a realization about your life.

Things are no longer how you viewed them. You

know growing up something has changed your your

your view on life and something has changed your

your state in this world How about you mike?

Okay. Now take everything you just said. All

right and take out The teenage part take out

the going from a child or a teenager to adulthood

Off air weeks ago months ago when we were doing

this. I told I said to you technically Jerry

Maguire could have been a coming -of -age film,

because what you just stated, a before and after

moment of that character, in Jerry Maguire, he

is one way in the first part of the film, something

happens to where he writes this big... Right,

but what I was saying is any character development

is going to be a before and after, but for me

what makes the coming of age is that age part.

There has to be something of child to adult.

I understand that, but what I'm saying is...

for definition for me for coming of age is it's

not just like you can have a grown -up you know

thirty forty -year -old person that acts like

a child let me just look look at robin williams

jack okay that's a bad example but you know what

i mean where you know someone can be a child

all their life and you know act immature and

then something major happens to them and then

they grow into their adult Even though they may

already be an adult. That's my I guess I understand

main definition. I get that and that's all well

and good I'm just saying it can also apply to

people who are already adults. I Mean take it,

you know, take a look at most of geekdom work.

We all love cartoons We all love movies. We all

love comics for the most part. You know what?

I mean, that's all Technically, you know people

in their 50s and 60s now will say oh, that's

all kids stuff You know go grow up get a job

get married, you know, but anyway Alright, so

like I said, it's one of those genres that everybody

has kind of a different take on, but for me,

yeah, it's just something about that change between

what life is, and it can happen at different

ages, but it's something that changes your perspective

on things. You know, a movie that depicts an

event or a situation where your mindset changes

forever. That is what coming of age kind of is

defined for me. Going into our top ten here.

Well, wait a second. We got to take a break to

hear some trailers, right? I realized that and

what I was gonna say is that I can't be Too upset

about anything. So if I do vent at times which

is gonna happen early Don't be upset and don't

think that I thought I'm upset because literally

Eight of the top ten are movies that were on

my list So I can't complain but I will complain

right after these clips for a little bit so bear

with me They're the worst team in the league

In the worst neighborhood in the city But they're

about to get some help from the last person They

ever expected That bum guys are coached you work

for Smith and Stevie securities. Yes What deal

did you blow what well, I'm sure you're not coaching

this team by choice Okay, I got it thanks Andre

Rae Pete Now I better back the heck up! I'll

talk. Miles Penfield the second. Man, man! You

stink! What's up, Kofi? You scared of the ball?

New rule! No one can say anything bad to anyone

else on the field! I think it's wonderful that

you're teaching these boys to play baseball.

Oh my god, he caught it! I just think it's a

shame no one spends any time helping them to

read. Miss Wilkes said she had a good feeling

about you. Miss Wilkes said that? Why don't we

have dinner? What about after the game on Saturday?

Saturday. The boys would love to see you there.

You're not really trying to get Miss Wilkes,

are you? No, why? Good, because I already tried

and she ain't having it. Yeah, me too. Ready,

Miles? You want me to hold your Walkman? Paramount

Pictures presents, in association with Fireworks

Pictures. Coaching is the best thing I ever did.

I feel, for the first time. The story of ten

kids and a coach who never had a chance. Where

I'm from, to nobody far to come back. Until they

took a chance on each other. What do you do around

here for fun? Play baseball with you. You guys

will never be a team until you see it played

right. One of the most important things in life

is showing up. I'm blown away by your ability

to show up. Take a good look at yourselves and

be proud. You're gonna get charged, you know

that. You think I'm afraid of you? You're crowding

the fucking play. What is so dangerous about

a character like Ferris Bueller is he gives good

kids bad ideas. Uh -huh. Last thing I need at

this point in my career is 1 ,500 Ferris Bueller

disciples running around these halls. He jeopardizes

my ability to effectively govern this student

body. Well, makes you look like an ass is what

he does, Ed. Thank you, Grace. I think you're

wrong. Oh, well, he's very popular, Ed. The sportos,

the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, waistoids,

dweebies, dickheads. They all adore him. They

think he's a righteous dude. Mark. Yeah? Who's

your favorite singer? Axl. Well, if Axl Rose

was driving down the highway and saw Rex Manning

stranded on the side of the road, you think Axl

Rose would stop and help him? Does Axel have

a jack? No way, man! Axel would spin the wheel,

take him, pound on the gas, and take that sucker

out! Lauren! Lauren! Where do you get this hostility

from? Do you like apples? Yeah. How do you like

their maps? Hope you enjoyed those theatrical

clips. Alright Kev, what's number 10 on the list?

Alright. Number 10. Which for the record was

number 1 on my list. Wow. I don't understand

the lack of love for this movie. It literally

did not show up on anyone's list. I don't think

except for Dan and myself. And I want to beat

all of you with a big paddle for this. Number

10. You actually have to work and fly to all

of our different states to do so. It might be

worth it for this because for me this defines

coming of age. It is 1993's coming of age comedy

dazed and confused. I've never seen it, hence

why it probably never made my list. Yeah, Matthew

McConaughey, we got Ben Affleck, Parker Posey,

Adam Goldberg, Milla Jovovich, Nicky Cotts. Besides

all... Hope I ever saw Milla Jovovich in was

fifth element. If you haven't seen this film,

you need to see it because for me, this defines

the genre. This is coming of age. This is...

people at different points in not only their

teenage lives, but then it even kind of focuses

on some that are past high school. This is all

about realizations and coming of age. And I am

baffled why it only shows up on two of the six

lists. So Dan, help me out here. Talk some good

things about Dazed and Confused. Yeah. Mike,

you need to see this movie, honestly. Dazed and

Confused. I talked about it with American Graffiti.

I love it. movies that kind of take place in

a day and kind of a day in a life situation and

this is that I remember I think I watched this

first when I was a freshman in high school and

it's perfect because you know it tells that story

of those who are becoming freshmen and those

who are leaving uh and going to college or leaving

high school and I think it's a great juxtaposition

of like what those two feelings are because you

have that idea of you're leaving junior high

you're finally feeling like an adult but compared

to those that are kind of you know Leaving high

school and what that that bittersweet feeling

and then it has a lot of great characters And

it's just a great picture of this time period.

I think these Coming -of -age films tend to do

best when they're taking place in the past, in

a way. It kind of captures that nostalgic feel,

like I said. And Matthew McConaughey, I think

this is a role that defined his career for decades.

His classic lines, and when you think Matthew

McConaughey, this is him in every way. I think

he ended up taking this role and applying it

to his real life, because it so much makes me...

think of Matthew McConaughey, but I love State

of the Isn't Confused, and I'm kind of, like

you, I'm surprised it did not get more love.

Speaking of quotes, the only place where it has

ever ranked on any of AFI's list is on AFI's

100 year, 100 movie quotes for Matthew McConaughey.

That's what I love about these high school girls,

man. I get older and they stay the same age.

Oh God, that's so fucking creepy. 98%. review

on Rotten Tomatoes. It was ranked the number

17 on the top 50 cult films, third on their list

of 50 best high school movies, tenth on their

funniest movies of the past 25 years as all entertainment

weekly, and sixth on their cult 25, the essential

left field movie hits since 83 list, and Quentin

Tarantino included it on his list of the 10 greatest

films of all time. Yeah, to me it's just like

you said, that paradox or that comparison here

between people who are literally coming of age

as far as graduating high school or even in Matthew

McConaughey's situation trying to relive high

school, but those older people going off into

the world and then basically smacked right in

the face of also having those people who are

just entering high school. So you get both ends

of the spectrum those people who are just starting

the process of learning about who they are and

coming of age and those people who are more so

getting closer to Coming to a conclusion or hitting

that next leg of that journey So it's just there's

so much good stuff about this film I mean just

the opening sequences where the with the hazing

of the freshmen or the eighth graders at that

time, as they're about to be freshmen, and just

watching those characters as they develop throughout

the film, this is just a classic, and this, like

I said, screams to me coming of age, so I'm at

least glad that it is on our list, although I

wish it would have been slightly higher. All

right. Number nine, beating Dazed and Confused

by one point. Is very close is 1984 again, we're

sticking with comedy and this one is revenge

of the nerds Not surprise me at all Somebody

Take it for revenge of the nerds. I'm kind of

surprised. I didn't feel for hundred nerds I

like that film, but I guess when I think of coming

of age, it's not something I necessarily gravitate

towards but I think it's a good film. I just

I don't know it is kind of you have to give a

credit for kind of putting their culture out

there before a lot of other films a lot of other

you know pieces of entertainment but I never

really considered it really fitting in the cut

that coming of age thing but like we mentioned

earlier people's view coming of age in a lot

of different ways so Yeah, and that's kind of

what I I'm in the same boat as you I didn't necessarily

it didn't fit that my genre of come or my definition

of coming of age So I so I didn't vote for it.

But like you said everybody kind of has a different

way of Defining this category in this genre.

I don't have anything against this movie. I just

don't see it as much of a coming of age film

Mike what do you think about Revenge of Nerds?

It was on your list. So speak to us. I see it

more almost as a speak up stop bullying thing

honestly because you've got these nerds who are

being persecuted by the jocks I mean that's what

is more you know being bullied in I guess coming

of age as far as standing up for yourself and

being fine with who you are right oh yeah yeah

no but what I'm saying is when I when I watch

this back to me it felt more like bully versus

the bullied. More so than, I mean, yes, you're

right, coming of age as far as coming into their

own and finding their own way and everything

else, but I don't know. It's more about the world

accepting them than them accepting the world,

I think. It's almost like a reverse coming of

age, where they're at their certain level and

they're more dealing, trying to get people to

understand who they are and what they're about.

So I guess in a way it does have that like a

different type of paradox regarding the classic

coming of age story. Yeah, it's still a personal

journey and an identity type thing. So I can

see it in that standpoint. But like I said, when

I just on the surface think coming of age, that

movie does not come to my mind. But I'm not saying

anything against it. I'm not saying that. Right.

That it's on our list at all. Well, it wasn't

on the comedy list, so. And and Revenge of Nerds

was actually tied for Ninth or slash eight. I

don't know how you want to do that with a tie

there But it was tied with the exact same points

as our next film, which is 1995. I love this

film Surprised that it's ahead of Dazed and confused,

but I still think it deserves a spot on the list.

It's 1995 Empire Records Ethan Embry this Again,

like Dazed and Confused, this defines the genre

for me, this type of movie. It's just a fun movie,

overall. Mike, you have some opinions on this

movie, I'm sure. Oh, man. I think I saw this

movie in 97. It was kind of like the... even

back then, at least for me, because I wasn't

on the cusp of when it first came out. I was,

you know, I came to see it when I was 17 and

it was just, it was so awesome. And it's, you

know, you have all these different characters

who all work in a music store. You've got this

owner or manager of the music store who wants

to own it one day. You've got all these different

characters. This is basically, I hate to say

it, but it's kind of true. It's basically high

school without the school. It really is because

you've got all these conflicting personalities.

You've got Deb who wants to die you've got Cory

who wants to be so sexy for Rexy and whatever

else Yes, I intentionally did that You know you've

got Lucas who is by like I don't think I've ever

Come across even when I was in high school. I

don't think I ever came across a character as

strange and out there is Lucas I don't know what

high school clique he would fit into at all.

Maybe the weirdos, but. And the movie itself

starts off like it. It starts off with Lucas

going to Atlantic City and you think it's it

pulls you in a direction where you then realize,

oh crap, that's not what this movie is because

you completely think it's something else. And

then they bring it back to the store and everything

else. It's just an amazing, amazing journey because

you've got so many characters, even the kid.

The kid who steals the CDs, Warren. You know,

you've got him and he even has his little coming

of age moment and realizes, oh, I just want to

work here. I don't want to, I didn't want to

steal this stuff. I just want to work here. I

want to be one of the crew. This movie also has

a, I don't know if there's a list somewhere,

but. Rotten Tomatoes, you know, I go there a

lot and I look at their ratings a lot because

usually it is a pretty good indicator of certain

films. I don't know if I've ever seen such a

drastic difference between the review, the critics

review and the people's review. Usually there's

only guess let me guess the critics review is

bad. The people's review is good Well, usually

they're somewhat close usually they're within

10 15, you know an extreme case. You might see

a 20 % difference For the critics this got a

24 % And for the fans and the users again an

83 Yeah, that's because the fans and the users

know more about film. I've never seen a 60 %

difference between those two ratings. Dan, this

was not on your list. What do you think about

Empire Records? It's not necessarily one that

I gravitated towards. You guys seem to have a

really soft spot for the film, but it never really

kind of resonated with me. Not that I dislike

it, it's just one of those movies that I guess

I have not really seen enough times really to

kind of... have a huge opinion about, because

I think that's a big part of coming -of -age

films. There tend to be the ones you re -watch

the most, and this one is not one for me, that

I've really seen that many times. Regarding the

difference between the critics and the fans,

I think a big part of that, too, is when you

get to the films that are prior to the internet,

they have far less reviews. You're dealing with

probably 20, 30 reviews compared to now, where

it's 80, 90, above 100. The scores tend to be

a lot more lopsided in different directions.

But two, I think two, this Empire Records was

one of those cult classics that kind of really

gained an audience far after its release. Oh,

for sure. And the soundtrack didn't hurt there.

Oh, no, not at all. And this was, I think this.

Even before Maguire. This was the very first

course I had to what I find a lot of times is

I'll go back and watch films that people have

done before they're make quote -unquote make

me famous film This is one of Renee Zellweger's

like first performances ever as far as I can

tell Yeah, and I could I could be wrong. I'm

not looking at her IMDB or Wikipedia right now

at the moment, but Remember watching Jerry Maguire

and then watching this and I'm like, whoa, wait

a minute. What's she doing here? Yeah. Oh, I

can see that this to me It reminds me a lot About

reality bites and there's been a couple other

films that are that are in that same little Aspect

where you have like a group of this is usually

a little bit older like the late teens, early

20s type thing. It's usually set not in a school,

but at a job, at a location like that, whether

it be like a pizza place or a record store or

something like that, which is just a great setting

and a great setup to it. I don't know if this

is the best of that genre, but if it's not, it's

real close, or sub -genre, I guess you would

like to call it. So that is our number eight

film on our list. And our number seventh we're

gonna fast -forward a little bit to 1999 For

another slash romantic slash comedy slash coming

-of -age film It was on a lot of people's lists

and that is ten things. I hate about you Can't

believe it's not fucking high on Julia Styles

and Heath Ledger It was Not I thought I really

thought about putting this on my list I really

did and it just got beaten out by a few things

It did show up on Steve's list. It showed up

on Mike's list It showed up on Dan's list and

it showed up on JT's list So Birdman and myself

were the only ones that didn't rank it Mike you

though did by a couple spots have it the highest

out of anybody So why don't you go first with

ten things I hate about you? I love this movie

first of all The first American role for Heath

Ledger To start out have him start out with this

film move on to stuff like a night's tale the

Patriot Brokeback Mountain if you want to count

that And then I don't know pardon me. I was kind

of going towards a no Gibson reference there

anyway And then of course his quote -unquote

technically final role, even though there was

something filmed for some other movie after it,

but going from Patrick Verona in Ten Things I

Hate About You to the Joker in The Dark Knight,

I mean the most drastic change in character in

the way he acted. And this film has got so many

awesome things and what I, a lot of people don't

realize this as well. You have two, well actually

technically You have two Batman stars in this

movie Heath Ledger would go on to do the Joker

in Dark Knight Joseph Gordon -Levitt would go

on to play John Blake aka Robin in Dark Knight

Rises and Joseph Gordon -Levitt He's only he

hasn't changed since this film The only thing

that's changed is he's you know his body has

gotten older like he still sounds the same When

I listen to him and see him in interviews now

than he did back then in 10 Things I Hate About

You, as far as the overall plot, it's basically

an updated version of Taming of the Shrew. And

it makes, although while Shakespeare is awesome

in its own right, but for today's audience, this

film is something that anyone can watch. If you

want a taste of, you know, some sort of Shakespearean

thing without actually having to deal with Shakespeare

itself. How would you not want to deal with Shakespeare?

Anyway, you know, these kids today, you know,

if not, you know. I can definitely see this as

one of the only, see when I, I don't know, maybe

it's just me, but when I think of coming of age

films, I immediately think to the past, and I

don't know if that's me thinking of movies that

were coming out closer to when I was coming of

age, or if it's the point that Dan pointed out

about needing to see films over and over again

before they really resonate with you and that

coming of age films usually have a special kind

of bond with you. But 10 Things I Hate About

You is literally probably one of the only films

of the last decade or two that I would even consider

for this list. Like maybe this genre just isn't

a a thing that's explored as much reason Dan,

can you think of any more recent like modern

within the last 10 15 years? Coming -of -age

films that really were were decent. Oh, yeah,

I kind of talked about I mean, I mean, I know

you have some of the more like More like under

-the -radar type films that have come out, but

I'm talking about more so like on a you know

a wider office scale I can't think of too many.

I don't know if you'd call it coming of age.

It's around 500 days of summer. You may consider

that coming of age in a way. It's probably just

because you're talking George and Gordon Levitt,

the first thing that kind of popped in my mind.

I know some people with both that and Juneau

would consider those somewhat coming of age.

I guess Superbad, more of the comedy aspect.

I also like Adventureland, which is kind of,

I think that's maybe under the radar too, but

it's a little bit more popular than some of the

ones I mentioned. But I think if you're the one

that kind of comes to mind first would be probably

500 Days of Summer or Superbad is probably the

most famous one that's come out recently. But

there really hasn't been, we don't have like

a Brad Pack of this generation. It seems to be

more of like the things like Project X and 21

and over and those type of films that are being

made in less like breakfast clubs and less fast

time at Ridgemont Highs It's more about just

the party and that's less about the you know,

the character development Yeah, yeah this movie

is just and you've got someone who is you know

a Comedic genius when it comes to dry humor in

Larry Miller as the father I mean, that couldn't

have been more perfect casting. You know, my

mama didn't raise no fool. It's just, it's such

an endearing film because as Kevin said, you

have, it's a true coming of age movie and not

just, it's not just for one character. Granted,

the whole Patrick Cameron storyline in the film

is the main storyline, but you have the whole

thing with her, with Kat, the sister. With Bianca,

with every single character, whether it be a

good coming -of -age moment or a bad coming -of

-age moment, in Tchotchke's case, Joey Donner,

you've got everyone having some sort of coming

-of -age moment, and that's what makes the film

so great. Yeah, I think 10 Things I Hate About

You 2 was a great showcase of really young Up

-and -coming talent like you mentioned it's like

packed with like pretty quality stars like Heath

Ledger George and Gorda Levitt Julia Styles even

like Gabrielle Union a few other smaller smaller

Actors were also prevalent I just thought of

another movie to that kind of top to my head

talking about John Hughes Be easy a which is

kind of a love letter to the classic John Hughes

films that came out recently Emma Stone's movie,

but anyways talking about ten things I hate about

you this came out in 1999 like you mentioned

and that's Started that's again. Maybe why it

resonates with me more than some other people

because I started going high school around that

time and Joseph Gordon -Levitt was someone I

Grew up with watching because he was in you know

things like angels in the outfield and it's like

seeing him in this and you know and Seeing Alex

Mack from the classic You know next year next

series. It was it was surreal in a way seeing

them in high school so I think that's kind of

a big reason why I Dravitated to torture so much

as a kid and I still enjoy it. It was number

20 on my list I think there may be some better

films you could choose but just when I Again,

it's when I've countlessly be watched and I do

think it is a pretty good Modernization of classic

shapes here compared to a lot plus has Larry

Miller and I love Larry Miller I'll say one last

thing and then we can move on You know Dan said

what year in high school were you when this came

out? I was I graduated in 2003 so about ninth

grade Yeah, Dan was a freshman in high school.

I was a senior so You know, that's another reason

why this film means so much to me because it

came out the year I graduated high school and

it's just as I've said and as Tara and I said

in the MWIRE episode it's just an awesome film

and just like Empire Records. This has an amazing

soundtrack. Alright, so that is number seven

and number six on our list. We are going to 1991,

stepping away from some of the more comedic coming

-of -age films and kind of going more so straight

drama. And this one always has had a special

spot for me. It's 1991's My Girl. starring McCully

Culkin and this this film is so real yeah I know

it's kind of focusing more so on a younger maybe

coming -of -age film than the ones we've been

talking about which have all been more like high

school type stuff but talking about bringing

someone from their carefree kid days to a realization

of what life is and what life consists of and

Just Breaking the kid mold and just shattering

them with all kinds of reality Yeah, I mean this

film is to me I mean, I know some people may

not think so and may think it's cheesy or whatnot

But to me, this is a very powerful film. It was

ranked very high on both my list Steve's list

and your list Mike we all had it in our top ten.

The sad thing is I haven't seen this since the

early, you know, since probably maybe five years

after it came out. I have not seen that since

then. The only thing, other than the fact that

it stars Kevin McAllister, Macaulay Culkin, that

I remember from this is the Temptation song.

I just remember so many things about this. And

to me, like I said, Daze and Confuse defines

the genre for the more close to the high school

slash going into college age for me. But this

one defines the genre if you're looking at just

that point in time where a kid no longer lives

in that carefree kid world, whether it be the

bee scene or some of those funeral parlor scenes.

There's just Man, I don't know. I had this right

comes so much emotion. I had this right number

four I'm sorry to keep interrupting for a movie

that has children dealing with these issues This

movie is so friggin emotional. It's it's almost

a movie that makes me it makes me tear up Just

because the girl is so sweet and everything that

happens, but I literally had this ranked number

fourth on my list That's how powerful I think

it is. Dan, have you seen My Girl? I have. It's

been a long time. I remember watching it as a

kid and remember it being one of the first like

sad movies I've ever watched because at that

point I think the only thing I really watched

were like Disney and G .I. Joe. Right. So seeing

a movie like that was kind of it was one of those

things it's hard to even understand or really

grasp as a kid. But I remember it It did had

an impact, but it's been Wow, I don't know honestly

the last time I've seen the film Sorry, there's

really not much I could say about it, but I do

remember as a kid kind of Being having a huge

impact on me And for me the other reason why

it stood out so much so in this type of category

it's kind of like the same types of Emotions

that swing kids brings out on me and a couple

of the other ones, but it's one of those, you

know We have a lot of coming -of -age films which

are comedy. We have a lot more that are just

kind of like those high school fun type movies.

And for me, this stands out as the other side

of a coming of age film, which is just that straight,

serious, dramatic, passionate, impactful type

side of what happens in your life when you kind

of make that transition and come to those realizations.

And like I said, Swing Kids does it for me. You

get little bits and pieces in a couple of the

other films that I have listed in my top 10,

but My Girl really hits. hits on that, just the

more serious side of coming of age. Oh yeah,

most definitely. What are your other thoughts

on coming on My Girl overall, Mike? I just, it's

a really endearing film. It's a very emotional

film. And it's just one of those things where

you just, it keeps you on the edge of your seat,

but it's not so much from excitement. It's so

much of, oh my God, what are they going to do

to these kids now? What kind of emotions are

they going to put these children through? Exactly.

And I think it definitely warrants a spot on

our list, so I'm not upset at all that it has

warranted a spot in our top 10 and gotten that.

And going into the next five here, starting off

our final five. 1986 coming -of -age drama, staying

with the drama standpoint here, and that is Stand

By Me. Always go back and forth with stand and

deliver and stand by me just because they both

have stand in their name and they're both somewhat

coming of age films, but Stand by me is definitely

a classic. I will refer to Dan because you had

this ranked real high On your list. So what are

your thoughts on stand by me coming in at number

five? Stand by me in a lot of ways. It's it's

being a kid. I think it's something I I really

gravitated towards because it's something I've

always wanted to do. It's kind of just going

on an adventure, kind of backpacking through

the woods and trying to find a dead body. Maybe

not something I would do as a kid, but it was

something interesting. And two, the performances

in this film are extremely strong. Like River

Phoenix, it's really sad that he passed away

because he was such a strong actor, even as a

kid. Even Corey Feldman in this is pretty strong.

And, you know, Jerry O 'Connell when he was still

young and, you know, porky little kid. But I

love the movie. We talked about great soundtracks,

and that must be a common theme. Because again,

this is another great soundtrack. And again,

it's another film that takes place in the past,

getting this age where, I think it's 1950s, I

forget. But you have Corey Feldman's dad who's

dealing with World War II depression, basically.

every kid had really serious issues they were

dealing with, not just like kiddy issues, but

legitimately life and death abuse and those type

of problems. And it was not handled in a kid

way. It was it was very straightforward and it

gave a lot of respect to those kids and saying,

hey, these are kids, but they have a lot of grown

up emotions. And two, it was also not just a

drama fest. There's a lot of great comedy, a

lot of great moments like the classic scene on

the train. the scene with the leeches. Yeah,

so I've probably rewatched this movie more so

than anything on my list, but I personally love

Stand By Me when I think of coming of age films.

It's usually the first one I go to just because

it's to me when I think it exemplifies everything

you want in that genre. I never knew this about

this film, but what shocks the hell out of me

about it is it's based on a novella by Stephen

King. Oh my god. Yeah, I have not seen this in

at least 10 years. I just think the cast is amazing

just to look at. I mean, we talked about some

of them, but Will Wheaton, River Phoenix, Jerry

O 'Connell, Corey Feldman, John Cusack, Kiefer

Sutherland. Richard Dreyfuss. I mean, man. Yeah,

this is worth a rewatch. I think I'm gonna have

to rewatch it at some point Yeah, I will do most

definitely really quick though. It surprises

me that oh What year was it? That a 1971 meathead

is the director of this film It always surprises

me when Rob Reiner's name shows up because the

first thing I think of is you mate head because

he was all in the family with good ol' Archie

Bunker. I miss Carol O 'Connor. Alrighty then.

Moving on then to our number fourth selection

on our Coming of Age Top Ten. 1989, another drama

here. Directed by Peter Weir and starring Robin

Williams we have Dead. Poets Society as our number

fourth coming -of -age film also starring Ethan

Hawke As far as the most notable probably people

outside of Robin Williams Who wants to start

with Dead Poets Society? I think I will I really

love this film You would be surprised that a

lot of these actors that are in this are very

well -known now. Besides obviously Robin Williams,

I almost called him Robert, and Ethan Hawke.

Josh Charles, look him up, look at his filmography.

He is in a lot of stuff. The most recent thing

that I can think of, and granted it's 10 years

old, but he was in SWAT as one of the SWAT officers.

I think it was TJ McCabe. anyone who's anyone

knows Kurt would Smith I mean he's the dad on

that 70 show he was the voice on several Justice

League episodes so it's not just Ethan Hawke

and Robin Williams although they are technically

the main stars of the film but I just I guess

for me because around the time that this came

out I was reading and I was reading a lot you

know when I was nine around the time this came

out I was kinda getting that itch to write and

become a writer obviously that didn't really

happen over the years but it's one of those things

where anyone who wants to be a writer needs to

see this film because this along with stuff like

Finding Forrester you know movies like that are

for writers and this movie not only has such

serious Annotations to it. It also has great

comedy phone call from God if it would have been

collect it would have been daring It was on literally

Everybody's List except for one Who's the one

who's the one? I had it ranked. I had it ranked

number fifth Steve had it ranked number fourth

Uh, user had it ranked number and ninth, um,

as did Dan and Mr. Dodd had it ranked number

three. So we all ranked it pretty high. We're

all universal. See how I did that. Anyway, Dan,

what are your thoughts? Dan, what are your thoughts

on dead poet society? We talked about what is

in the confused the juxtaposition between you

know You have those kids entering high school

and those kids leaving high school and this you

have a similar dynamic where you have the kids

and Story and Robin Williams story and they're

both in this and they're both well developed

and you see how they impact each other Being

someone who wasn't part of education I think

anyone who's ever tried to become a teacher like

Robin like you you wish you could be Robin Williams

and just the impact he has and how he's just

so dynamic and Peter Weir, I think, did a lot

to kind of control Robert Williams as much as

he could. Obviously, we know Williams can go

crazy and kind of go off the walls and do all

of his own things, but he kept him contained.

Yes, he had his moments with his funny voices

and whatnot, but it worked in the moment. It's

one of Williams' best performances, and the kids

in this are just as great. We talked about Josh

Charles and Ethan Hawke. Josh Charles, he talked

things that you can ... also know him, and he's

currently in The Good Wife, which is actually

a pretty good show. I just started watching it

on Amazon, and he was in Sports Night, which

is one of my favorite TV shows from the 90s.

And then Ethan Hawke, too, is a really quality

actor as well. But I think it's, like you said,

it's a great, like, seeing these kids kind of

getting involved in literature and seeing the

kind of how that impacts their daily life and

theater and how they have to deal with their

parents who want them to kind of, you know, say

a certain track and the difficulties at that

place. And this kind of started a huge trend

with Coming of Age. You saw a lot of copycats

to try to continue the same pattern like Emperor

Club is a similar film. But I think none do it

better than Dead Poets Society. Talk about some

famous lines. How about the whole Carpe Diem?

Oh, yeah. scene there. That was one of AFI's

95th greatest movie quotes. It's also voted one

of the 100 most inspiring films of all time by

AFI. It's got an 85 % critic rating on Rotten

Tomatoes. Just a great film overall. This is,

to me, this is not just a great coming -of -age

film. This is just a great film in general. This

deserves to be on a lot of lists, not just coming

-of -age. And it definitely deserves, though.

Number four spot on our list number three. I

Find this very similar in some respects even

though it is a different film our number three

film is 1997 another somewhat drama slash coming

-of -age film and that is Robin Williams again,

but this time accompanied with Matt Damon and

Ben Affleck and good last for me Good will hunting

I had this ranked Number six, Steve had it second.

Mike, you had it first. Dan, you had it sixth.

JT did rank this in his top 20, as did Birdman.

I mean, this was ranked by all of us. So Good

Will Hunting. Go first. It's on the Bostonian

here. I'll go last because I have a lot to say

about this. All right, Dan, you can go first

then. Oh, Good Will Hunting, the movie that put

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon on the map. And rightfully

so, because the script for Good One Hunting is

really great. It's probably the best part of

that movie, not that the performances aren't

great as well. I love Matt Damon in that and

his relationship with Ben Affleck, and also that

relationship with Robert Williams' character.

We talked about Coming of Ages so far, and this

one is probably the most unique because it's

dealing with... Heavy heavy issues because man

David's dealing with heavy issues, but it's not

the the it doesn't take into consideration the

actual age part like These characters aren't

in high school anymore No, I mean they're there

people obviously since they were younger have

grown up They've probably since they were able

to walk to school on their own have been on their

own You know They're not their ones have dealt

with issues far earlier than most people and

you can tell that by you know where they are

in their lives their ethical boundaries are a

lot different. They're not necessarily bad people,

but they're complicated people, which is why

I think I really like that movie. And every time

I see a snooty person that's a know -it -all,

I just wish I could have that Matt Damon moment.

How do you like those apples? One of my favorite

moments in all movie history, just when he kind

of just tears that guy down. But yeah, it's a

great film, deservingly on this list. Kevin.

I mean, like to me, Dead Poets Society and Good

Will Hunting are both just generally good films.

Like, it doesn't have to be Coming of Age. It

doesn't have to be a genre specific. These are

good, worthy films of being on lots of different

top lists. And when you narrow it down to Coming

of Age, of course, they deserve to be on there.

They're not necessarily the films I think of

first when I think of Coming of Age. Like I said,

I think Dazed and Confused more so fits my definition

of Coming of Age over a Dead Poets Society or

Good Will Hunting, but I still rank them because

they still to me are coming of age, but I guess

for me the difference is like a Dazen confused

or even a my girl I guess for me is coming of

age first. And then other stuff. Second, and

Dead Poets Society and Goodville Hunting are

just good movies first. And it's just like a

side effect that they're also coming of age films.

So I mean, I guess it's just for me, just more

of a personal definition. But these films, these

last two that we've been talking about are just

phenomenal, phenomenal films. And I can see how

anyone could have them ranked, you know, number

three, number two, number one. I get that 100%.

And obviously you agree, Mike. Oh, yes. This

film... is just absolutely amazing. For the writing,

for the accuracy, to the... I know Robin Williams

is a good actor, but I didn't think in a million

years he could pull off a Bostonian accent, and

he does it so well. He just, he does it so well.

And still in Skarsgard, you don't need him, because,

I mean, well you need him for the film, but you

don't need him to have a Bostonian accent, because

he's from... but from what i can tell he's from

other places because in the in the whole scene

where where they're like still jerry's like oh

well you grew up in the same neighborhood by

genius from south of you know who thought you

know so you can kind of tell that the that the

that the professor jerry character is not from

boston at all and that's that's good because

you can't have all of these bostonian characters

without others like like mini driver like uh...

you know this some of the senior characters the

beautiful thing about this film is it set up

a long -standing career for matt damon an affleck

kohl hauser casey affleck ben's brother Because

Casey would go on to do gone baby gone with Ben

cuz didn't been direct that yeah That was his

first filming directed right right Ben directed

at Casey started at Casey had the main role and

again set in Massachusetts Goodwill hunting set

these people up for life And you know just as

a Bostonian myself and being from Massachusetts

the whole Seeing it even though. I know it's

a character in the film seeing someone like Sean

Talk about Fisk and the home run That that is

like Sports history that is like one of the greatest

moments in baseball history whatsoever Yankees

be damned with their 27 or 33 championships or

whatever You know, it's just an overall really

great character driven film You've got this boy

genius from Southie who doesn't know what to

do with his life and he gets a certain direction,

he gets another direction, you got these two

friends basically fighting over him. It's just,

it's such a great film and it's a damn shame

it's not number one. What the hell is wrong with

you people? Well, apparently there were films

that were voted a little bit higher, like our

number two film on our coming -of -age list.

We're going back to comedy this time. I'm going

to 1986's Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Okay, in

that case, I'm free. You take back everything

you just said. No, no, no, no, no. I still believe

personally that goodwill hunting is number one,

but I was trying to rack my brain as to what

could be the two top... That beat it and having

Ferris beat it I get I understand that all right

then Ferris Bueller the 1986 film like I said

obviously starring Matthew Broderick among other

people You know, like I said, this is not necessarily

the first thing that comes to my mind when I

think coming of age But in all intents and purposes

is It's been on all kinds of different rankings

and ratings as far as comedy goes, as far as

best high school movies. There's been a lot of

different places where this has been ranked,

and we ranked it very high as well. I had it

number three. Steve had it as his number one.

Mike, you had it as number five. Dan, you had

it at about seven or eight somewhere in there.

JT had it fourth. dad had in about eighth. So

we all rank this one as well. Dan, what are your

thoughts on Ferris Bueller? Probably gonna sound

like a broken record, but again, I love those

movies that are within one day and there's not

a better day anyone could ever have than Ferris

Bueller's Days Off. It's so iconic and there's

so many memorable moments to this that we now

have that car commercial that we can all look

at and think. You're ruining the movie. But and

besides that I love this movie. It's I think

the first time I actually saw this movie was

in school which is probably not the best message

in the world, but I I Think to this we talked

about movies that this has a really huge comedic

aspect You probably think of this movie first

as a comedy but again it also deals with some

serious issues with some of the characters and

dealing with their issues with their fathers

and how Complex that can be but it's also just

a really fun movie. It's just it doesn't take

yourself too seriously It's John Hughes and he

knows how to capture The 80s time period and

but still make it So open that those who are

older can still appreciate it Obviously by the

this time I was still a young kid, but I could

still enjoy it and now that I'm older I still

have the same Fondness for Ferris Bueller Bueller.

I can't say the name. I feel like Ben Stein Yeah,

I mean this this hits on a lot of different things

it hits a little bit on the seriousness a lot

about on the funniness But it all still has that

underlying message of you know going from a ridiculous

You know smartass full of jokes and tricks and

whatnot teenager to starting to realize some

things about you know growing up and being you

know i mean i don't think you can get it more

so than that iconic scene with the car um you

know going over the edge and being destroyed

and that realization that you know it's all fun

and games until your car gets ruined or your

dad's car gets ruined um So yeah, I mean I can

definitely see why this gets rated as high as

it does and besides just being a good coming

-of -age film, like I said, for completely different

reasons than Good Will Hunting or Dead Poets

Society, this is just a good film in general.

Mike, what do you think about Ferris? He's a

righteous dude. Oh my god, Edie McClurg was everywhere

in the 80s and 90s. You couldn't... turn around

and see a film that she wasn't in this planes

trains and automobiles 1993's airborne she's

she was everywhere and she just has such even

though she mainly gets like small roles like

the like the secretary that she gets what we

would consider a small time role but it's a small

time role where it's a big character where just

one little thing that she says can set Things

into motion. I just love this film. This film

is so, so awesome. I'm going to have fun putting

clips into the episode because of this film.

Alrighty then. We'll have to wait and see what

that exactly means. Alright, so that leaves us

with one spot. We have started at our number

10 spot. We went dazed and confused. when we

had the little revenge of the nerds. We listened

to some Empire Records and learned about 10 Things

I Hate About You, talked about My Girl, Stand

By Me, Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting,

and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, which all leads

us to our number one, not even close in the votes,

up by over 18 points over Ferris Bueller's Day

Off, our number one coming -of -age film of all

time, and that selection is 1985's The Breakfast

Club. Correction, it was 1984. February 15th,

1985. Right, but what I'm getting wrong here

is that in the film, it's 1984 in the actual

movie. Oh, gotcha. It says that it's 84. So here

is our Brad Pack representation here. The Breakfast

Club, which I am assuming without looking that

it's on all of our lists. It was number two for

me, number three for Steve, number two for Mike,

number one for Dan, number one for JT, number

one for Birdman. So none of us had it ranked

lower than three. So I will start with the one

here who had it ranked number one, Dan. Thoughts

on the Breakfast Club? Um when I was making my

list I like I knew i'm I gotta have a john hughes

film is number one just because his name is so

iconic within this genre and he's done so much

and When I think what's the best john hughes

film? It's it's the breakfast club. Um Again,

it it takes those stereotypical characters and

turns them on their head. It it expands upon

them it shows who they really are why that person

is a jock why that person is now cast and um

has a great use of voiceover a lot of people

don't like voiceover, but I It's probably best

used in this film. And again, another really

solid cast of strong actors. And this is kind

of maybe not the film that established the Brat

Pack, but I think it's the one that kind of excelled

them to a new level. And when you think of high

school and the representation of all the different

people that involved in high school, I think

there's not a better film than the Brat Pack.

To put this into perspective, we actually, in

high school, our sociology slash psychology teacher

showed this as a film because he felt it was

so good at not just outlining things and dynamics

that are going on when you're in high school,

but just the idea that it kind of pinpoints one

of the key components. What you need in a coming

-of -age film besides just being a coming -of

-age film like we talked about going from You

know one part of of your life to another and

going from that childhood to the to the adulthood

One thing that is essential in any real I mean

we kind of gloss over and we haven't touched

on it but is building your identity and coming

to terms with your identity and who you are and

no film Does that better than the Breakfast Club

with its final? voiceover speech there as they

as they read over the the letter that was written

as far as you know being a jock and being a princess

and being an outcast and being all of those things

like that to me defines Coming of age in a whole

different aspect as far as not just any individual

going from child to adult but really figuring

out one's own identity. And I think Breakfast

Club does that better than any film I've ever

seen. So I am not upset at all. Like I said,

I had days and confused in Breakfast Club one

and two, because to me, those two define the

whole genre. So very happy with where it lands.

How about you, Mike? You're upset that Good Will

Hunting didn't get - No, okay. But I wasn't thinking

what could have possibly beaten that film. But

- I'm very happy with the one and two selections

and this would be one year before a certain Hot

Rod would hold the Matrix in his hands and it's

so... I want everyone to watch The Breakfast

Club and then watch Transformers the movie to

see how different Judd Nelson is in each of these

and I know they're two very different characters,

one's animated, one's live -action, but... I

didn't think the Rotimus voice or the Hot Rod

voice was... The Hot Rod voice, I guess, could

essentially be the John Bender character, but

once he became Rotimus, it was deeper than what

his normal vocal pattern was like. This film

specifically, I love this film with all the different

characters. Of course, we cannot go without mentioning

he'd be haunting students up in heaven. uh...

paul gleason makes uh... you know vernon makes

this film he just does and i think another good

thing about this one is you can relate anybody

can relate to at least one if not more these

characters uh... it's not just where you you

know you're left alienated or whatever union

everybody has a bit of at least one of these

if not two or three of these characters within

themselves uh... and there's just so many freaking

iconic moments uh... you know, teacher versus

principal, you know, kind of the battle against

the man, I guess you could say. But just when

it comes down to it to me, personal identity

and self -realization is the key of this film.

And, you know, it can be enjoyed without the

deeper meanings and it can be enjoyed without

someone really understanding it for what it really

is. But when you not only get to enjoy it for

its surface value and its one -liners and its

scenes and classic things, but when you can also

realize what the writer and what the people behind

the movie were trying to portray and trying to

do with this film, it just becomes that much

even more special. Yeah, I agree. It's really

great at taking that stigma that is associated

with certain roles and different ideals of what

people see in with high school and kind of Removing

a lot of the mystery within them like there's

no villains in the movie it may be except for

obviously the principal But regarding the kids

they all have their positive aspects or negative

aspects Some are stronger than others I mean

everyone has an issue or problem they're dealing

with and they seem idolize each other for different

ways and then there's other ways that they kind

of rebel against each other too. There's that

whole thing where it's like, yes, we're very

different, but we're a lot more similar than

we are different. And it shows that, but not

doing it in a cheesy way, which is a hard thing

to accomplish. So there you have it our top ten

what we've done, you know in past lists where

we've looked at this stuff You know We've analyzed

the list a little bit and tried to find the ones

that didn't fit compared to some of the ones

we spoke about in the honorable mention So just

going over this list one more time and as I'm

doing that if you both could just think about

Real quickly, you know, is there anything we

got wrong? Is there anything that does not fit

on this list that should be replaced or did we

really? Regardless of the order get them the

top ten right here. We got days and confused

Revenge of the nerds empire records 10 things

I hate about you my girl stand by me dead poets

You're breaking up good will hunting Ferris Bueller's

day off and breakfast club Dan your thoughts

on the list Dan your thoughts on the list overall

Overall, I think maybe one of our strongest lists

so far. I think before this maybe the war would

but this might be even better There's not one

film on it that I'm kind of a little iffy about

I think everything is everything on here deservingly

is on here and we have a good representation

of how these films can be different. We talked

about coming of age and how it can all be seen

differently by different people and I think our

list is a great representation of that. A lot

of us didn't see Revenge of the Nerd as a coming

-of -age film, but there's a good argument there

that can be made. So I'm really happy with this

list. There's really nothing I would change about

it. I'm sure there's some films you could throw

in there, but I think you would have that no

matter what. But I'm really, I think this is

probably your best list. Yeah, I can see some,

oh, go ahead. Well, I was going to say I can

see someone throwing like a Fast Times, Ridgemont

High or something trying to like... take out

Revenge of the Nerds, but I do think, like you

said, Revenge of the Nerds does have that other

viewpoint, that other quality that some of these

other films don't have. And what I really like,

before Mike talks here, is I like the combination

of a couple different things. Number one, the

combination between serious drama and comedy

that we have. You have your more serious films

like Good Will Hunting, Dead Poet Society, My

Girl, and then you have more of your straight

up... comedic type, even though I wouldn't call

any of them straight comedies, but in Your Ferris

Bueller's Day Off, Revenge of the Nerds. So you

get a little bit of that, but you also get those

different aspects of coming of age, from the

younger aspects of My Girl, through teenage years,

high school years, and then even some of those

that could be seen maybe almost post high school.

times at days infused more so maybe with Empire

Records or some of these other films. So I do

think we have a very good variety and I honestly

wouldn't necessarily, even though I voted for

Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Can't Hardly

Wait and School Ties and some of these other

ones, I wouldn't necessarily replace anything

we have in our top 10. If I was going to replace

anything, even though I voted for it on my list,

I would probably put Teen Wolf in revenge the

nerds' place because everyone has seen that movie

everyone i would not to find college outside

of dumbasses here in this recording like that

movie uh... you know and it's just one of those

movies where it's about one kid one story and

him dealing with i would say anything on there

before i would do teen wolf okay well there you

go But no, overall, I'm very happy. Dan's happy.

Mike, are you happy with the list or not? Oh,

yeah. I do think I agree with Dan. It's one of

our best lists that we've done so far. Oh, yeah.

Most definitely, yeah. And if we had done this,

and I just want to let the listeners know, if

we didn't even do this category and we had a

different category, any of these films that would

be comedies would have most likely ended up on

the comedies honorable mentions list. I honestly

don't think if the comedies that are that we

went by That are either on the list or were honorable

mentions here in coming of age I honestly don't

think they would have made the comedy list At

all, so I'm very happy that we did this and and

yeah any other final thoughts kev No, just so

that there's some more if you like this list

or if you disagree or whatever, make sure you

comment on it. And we do have a few more lists

yet to come. What do we have coming up on our

top ten list? Next time, episode 46 of GeekCast

Radio will be the GCRN's top ten family movies.

And then it gets geeky. Yeah, pretty much. Alright,

so for GeekCast Radio, I've been Dave, you and

Mike with... Move your vault in. Adopt him a

solo. Unleash the geek in you and we will see

you next time. Dear Mr. Vernon. We accept the

fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday

in detention for whatever it was we did wrong.

But we think you're crazy to make us write an

essay telling you who we think we are. We see

us as you want to see us. In the simplest terms,

we're the most convenient definitions. But what

we found out is that each one of us is a brain

and an athlete and a basket case a princess and

a criminal Does that answer your question? Sincerely

yours the breakfast club There are several ways

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