The Most Underappreciated 90s Teen Movies
You know Clueless and She's All That, but what about Pump Up the Volume and Coming Soon? Below are the most underappreciated teen movies from the 1990s and early 2000s.
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- DirectorJohn WatersStarsJohnny DeppRicki LakeAmy LocaneIn 1950s Baltimore, a bad boy with a heart of gold wins the love of a good girl, whose boyfriend sets out for revenge.
- DirectorAllan MoyleStarsChristian SlaterSamantha MathisAnthony Luke LuceroMark runs a pirate radio station and causes an uproar when he speaks his mind and enthralls fellow teens.
- DirectorStephen HerekStarsChristina ApplegateJoanna CassidyJohn GetzFive siblings are left alone all summer when their mom leaves town and the evil babysitter bites the dust.
- DirectorJohn DuiganStarsNoah TaylorThandiwe NewtonNicole KidmanTwo freethinking teenagers - a boy and a girl - confront with authoritarian teachers in their boarding schools. The other students treat this differently.
- DirectorHart BochnerStarsJeremy PivenChris YoungMegan WardA high school senior visits college for the weekend, and stays at the wildest house on campus.
- DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsJeremy DaviesAlberta WatsonBenjamin HendricksonA med student is forced by his traveling salesman dad to cancel a top summer internship and look after his hot mom, who's bedridden with a broken leg. Applying lotion to her legs arouses him.
- DirectorJonathan PrinceStarsJonathan JacksonChristopher LloydJohn PutchA group of junior high kids don't want to go to summer camps chosen by their parents. They make their own adult-free camp and "hire" an ex drama teacher to help.
- DirectorPatrick Read JohnsonStarsCharlie TalbertGeorge C. ScottKathy BatesA miserable fat teenager secretly has a crush on the class beauty, ends up becoming the surprising participant to dance with her at a high school dance, meaning he's got to get his act together with the help of his best friend.
- DirectorGregg ArakiStarsJames DuvalRose McGowanJohnathon SchaechJordan White and Amy Blue, two troubled teens, pick up an adolescent drifter, Xavier Red. Together, the threesome embark on a sex-and-violence-filled journey through an America of psychos and quickie marts.
- DirectorAllan MoyleStarsAnthony LaPagliaDebi MazarMaxwell CaulfieldTwenty-four hours in the lives of the young employees at Empire Records when they all grow up and become young adults thanks to each other and the manager. They all face the store joining a chain store with strict rules.
- DirectorMaria MaggentiStarsLaurel HollomanNicole Ari ParkerMaggie MooreAn adventurous love story between two young women of different social and economic backgrounds who find themselves going through all the typical struggles of a new romance.
- DirectorTodd SolondzStarsHeather MatarazzoChristina BrucatoVictoria DavisAn awkward seventh-grader struggles to cope with inattentive parents, snobbish class-mates, a smart older brother, an attractive younger sister and her own insecurities in suburban New Jersey.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsGiovanni RibisiSteve ZahnJayce BartokA group of suburban teenagers try to support each other through the difficult task of becoming adults.
- DirectorAlex SichelStarsAlison FollandTara SubkoffCole HauserClaude and Ellen are best friends who live in a not-so-nice area of New York. They're involved in the subculture of '90s youth, complete with drugs, live music, and homophobia. All is changed one night when a violent, meaningless death rocks their lives.
- DirectorTamara JenkinsStarsNatasha LyonneAlan ArkinBryna WeissIn 1976, a lower-middle-class teenager struggles to cope living with her neurotic family of nomads on the outskirts of Beverly Hills.
- DirectorJames MerendinoStarsMatthew LillardMichael A. GoorjianAnnabeth GishIn the early 1980s Stevo, and Heroin Bob are the only two dedicated punks in conservative Salt Lake City.
- DirectorDon RoosStarsChristina RicciMartin DonovanLisa KudrowA 16-year-old girl visits her gay half-brother and ends up seducing his boyfriend, thus wreaking havoc on all of their lives.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsEdward FurlongChristina RicciBess ArmstrongA talented young photographer, who enjoys snapping photos of his satirical, perverted Baltimore neighborhood and his wacky family, gets dragged into a world of pretentious artists from New York City and finds newfound fame.
- DirectorSimon ShoreStarsBen SilverstoneBrad GortonCharlotte BrittainA tenderly romantic coming-of-age story as two boys in a British school fall in love.
- DirectorAlan CohnStarsTom Everett ScottMark-Paul GosselaarPoppy MontgomeryTwo college roommates go out and party, resulting in bad grades. They learn of the clause that says, "If your roommate dies, you get an A," and decide to find someone who is on the verge, so to speak, to move in with them.
- DirectorDavid MoretonStarsChris StaffordTina HolmesAndersen GabrychA teenager copes with his sexuality on the last day of school in 1984. It shows him coping with being gay and being with friends.
- DirectorMichael Patrick JannStarsKirsten DunstDenise RichardsEllen BarkinA small-town beauty pageant turns deadly as it becomes clear that someone will go to any lengths to win.
- DirectorColette BursonStarsBonnie RootGaby HoffmannTricia VesseyThe trials and tribulations of wealthy young Manhattanites and their sexual coming of age, a romantic comedy set at an Upper East Side preparatory school.
- DirectorJamie BabbitStarsNatasha LyonneClea DuVallMichelle WilliamsA naive teenager is sent to rehab camp when her straitlaced parents and friends suspect her of being a lesbian.
- DirectorDarren SteinStarsRose McGowanRebecca GayheartJulie BenzThree of the most popular girls at Reagan High accidentally kill the prom queen with a jawbreaker when a kidnapping goes horribly wrong.
- DirectorKimberly PeirceStarsHilary SwankChloë SevignyPeter SarsgaardA young man named Brandon Teena navigates love, life, and being transgender in rural Nebraska.
- DirectorRodman FlenderStarsDevon SawaSeth GreenElden HensonA teenage slacker's right hand becomes possessed with murderous intent.
- DirectorAdam RifkinStarsEdward FurlongGiuseppe AndrewsJames DeBelloIn 1978, four rebellious teenagers try to scam their way into a KISS concert.
- DirectorDavid RaynrStarsShane WestMarla SokoloffJodi Lyn O'KeefeA modern-day remake of the Cyrano DeBergerac tale.
- DirectorAmy HeckerlingStarsJason BiggsMena SuvariZak OrthA college student, branded a loser by his roommates and booted from the dorm, falls in love with a coed who has eyes for their condescending professor.
- DirectorTommy O'HaverStarsKirsten DunstBen FosterMelissa SagemillerA high school senior's girlfriend breaks up with him. His friends try to make him think of something else. His friend's sister Kelly helps him with the school musical. Spending time with Kelly has an effect.
- DirectorTerry ZwigoffStarsSteve BuscemiThora BirchScarlett JohanssonTwo eccentric best friends graduate high school and respond to a man's romance-seeking newspaper ad as a gag, only to find their lives becoming increasingly complicated.
- DirectorJoel GallenStarsChyler LeighJaime PresslyChris EvansA sendup of all the teen movies that have accumulated in the past two decades.
- DirectorFrancine McDougallStarsMarla SokoloffMarley SheltonMelissa GeorgeA popular high-school cheerleader becomes pregnant by the star quarterback and turns to crime to support her desired lifestyle.
- DirectorBlair HayesStarsJake GyllenhaalSwoosie KurtzMarley SheltonBubble Boy's been in a bubble all his life due to no immune system. A cute blonde girl befriends BB. Her boyfriend proposes and BB decides to travel across USA to Niagara Falls to stop the wedding.
- DirectorMelanie MayronStarsPiper PeraboJane McGregorMichael McKeanA French foreign-exchange student comes to a small Texas high school, befriends a classmate, and practically takes over her life.
- DirectorAnthony AbramsAdam Larson BroderStarsChristina RicciHank HarrisBrenda BlethynA sorority girl finds her life falling apart after she develops romantic feelings for a mentally-challenged man.
- DirectorRoger AvaryStarsJames Van Der BeekIan SomerhalderShannyn SossamonThe incredibly spoiled and overprivileged students of Camden College are a backdrop for an unusual love triangle between a drug dealer, a virgin and a bisexual classmate.