Teen Party Movies

If you want to have a real party, you're going to need a little Kid N' Play magic to kick it up a notch. For those that aren't familiar, Kid N' Play was a rap duo where one guy had normal hair, and the other guy had really tall hair, like Abe Lincoln's hat tall.

The duo made three House Party films, but the first is their undisputed masterpiece. It has a dance off, a rap battle, Martin Lawrence as the DJ and three gigantic bullies to add tension. This party movie is a blast from beginning end.

The 2000s have had many teen parties, but few of real note. One possible exception is Superbad, which featured two memorable parties: the big one at the end, where everyone almost gets laid, and a smaller party where Michael Cera has to sing "These Eyes" while Jonah Hill gets a provocative stain on his pants from some dirty dancing.

Either party would pass the muster in any other comedy. The fact that Superbad has them both makes it one of the best teen party movies ever.

It's amazing how many people see this as a fun party movie considering how melancholy it is. That may be due to the realism on display, instantly recognizable to any small town kid regardless of their high school graduation date.

The nerds in Dazed and Confused remain nerds, the youthful romances are uncertain and the cool older guy who buys you beer really is a creep. There's alcohol, weed and lots of good music to get you through your horrible high school experience. Dazed and Confused wins by acknowledging these truths, while still delivering a great teen party movie.

Since the best part of most teen party movies is the inevitable giant party, why not make the whole movie one big party while also paying homage to 80s teen films we grew up with and loved? That's the basic premise of Can't Hardly Wait, and it's as sure-fire as they come.

This party has everything. Nerds come out of their shells, jocks get their just deserts, and, of course, two people who hate each other wind up having sex in the bathroom. Derivative? Maybe, but that's the point. Besides, the "Paradise City" scene alone is worth it.

Most wild 80s parties are broken up by some sort of social calamity. Not Weird Science, though. This movie's party is broken up by a furniture-sucking fireplace, a massive ballistic missile crashing through the living room floor, and a gang of mutant bikers. More so than any other movie party of the 80s, this is the one we wish we'd been invited to.

That doesn't even account for the movie-long party you have when you bring forth the world's most technologically advanced and magically adept sex doll ever. We'd wear bras on our head, too.

American Pie opens and ends with parties. Since the plot revolves around the time-tested conceit of boys making a pact to lose their virginity by prom night, you can be sure the movie's after-prom party will be memorable.

Most memorable of all, of course, is when the hopeless sophisticate Finch finds a last minute save with none other than Stifler's mom on the pool table. In one fell swoop, the nerd wins against the bullying jock in a way no other movie house party had ever thought of. Brilliant.

Five high school kids stuck in detention all day ultimately come together to get high, dance their asses off, cry about their horrible home lives, then hook up with each other (not the nerd). Except for the detention part and the fact that no one throws up, how is that different from any other high school party? We rest our case.

When your entire existence is one big party, a house full of drunk people and loud music probably seems like a quaint distraction at best.

Ferris Bueller is a bigger-thinking party animal than that. He takes his good time to the streets of Chicago and gets the whole city to take part. The ultimate irony, however, is that being the guy's best friend looks really stressful.

A lot of movie parties fail to account for the quiet group of intellectuals and what exactly they're up to huddled in their crowded corner of the party. Thanks to Say Anything, we know now that they were listening to a sad poet sing countless songs about the boy who broke up with her. No, not Adele.

Not that it's a depressing party. You can't fail to have a good time with Eric Stoltz dressed as a chicken and an aggressively drunk Jeremy Piven running around tackling everyone who might have his car keys.

The big party in Sixteen Candles kind of set the standard for these sorts of things. It's filled with people falling all over themselves destroying things, the front yard has been draped with toilet paper and the host doesn't look to happy to have so many people over. 

There are, however, some details that set it apart. For one, the Asian dude gets some action. Plus Molly Ringwald gives up her panties, and don't forget the giant wall of beer cans Anthony Michael Hall accidentally knocks over. Party or no, the three giant guys working on that thing really had to put some time and concentration into it. Maybe a massive party wasn't the best place for such arts and crafts.