It’s September and that means going back to school for many. Even though my school days are over, I’m constantly in the mood for new beginnings at the start of September. So it’s only fitting, that this week’s theme is all about the new kid at school.
1. HARRY POTTER & THE PHILISOPHER’S STONE (2001)
I picked this movie because it’s the obligatory movie for the fall season, this and the entire franchise really. But the first movie is all about the new kids arriving at school. Including Harry, who didn’t even know he was a wizard. We all know the story, we all know the movies, and even if the first isn’t the strongest of the franchise, it’s filled with childhood memories.
2. BRING IT ON (2001)
I’m grasping for straws here, but I really don’t know any other new kid at school movies. But in Bring It On, there’s two new kids, who enter the main characters life and change it for the better. I mean, it is a cliché filled teen comedy, but it’s fun and entertaining at least. Plus, who could forget spirit fingers!
3. MEAN GIRLS (2004)
Finally, the most important teen comedy from recent years – Mean Girls. Alright, maybe not most important, but very well loved and quoted for sure. I think the legacy of Mean Girls will last for many years. Frankly, I think I could watch Mean Girls today, and be as entertained as I was 14 years ago!
THIS SERIES IS CREATED BY WANDERING THROUGH THE SHELVES
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I LOVE all three of your picks so much!
Thank you so much!
Mean Girls is awesome! It’s such a classic and the quotes are so unforgettable
Exactly. Every Wednesday and October 3rd will be forever linked to Mean Girls.
All good fits and the second two enjoyable views. I was so dispirited by the first Harry Potter since it was such a slog to get through and was concerned that the rest would be equally botched but fortunately the series improved as it went along. I never return to that first one though.
I found that most of the new kid movies were silly teen comedies when I went looking, mostly on the bad side, so I kept going until I was able to find a few more serious ones.
Lord Love a Duck (1966)-Pretty, pert and madly ambitious Barbara Ann Greene (Tuesday Weld) is the new girl at Consolidated High (overseen by Principal Harvey Korman) who befriends outsider prodigy Alan “Mollymauk” Musgrave (Roddy McDowell) who is dazzled by her and sets out to make all her dreams come true. That begins innocuously with her admission to an exclusive girls club within the school but rapidly escalates to far more formidable plans calling for drastic measures which her eager acolyte gleefully pursues. The blackest of black comedies with a cast including Ruth Gordon and an excellent Lola Albright as Barbara Ann’s cocktail waitress mother this study in absurdity’s skewed viewpoint isn’t for everyone.
My Bodyguard (1980)-New kid in school Clifford Peache (Chris Makepeace) a shy, quiet teen becomes the target of bully Melvin Moody (Matt Dillon). Nearing the end of his rope Clifford approaches fellow student, gentle giant Ricky Linderman (Adam Baldwin) to be his bodyguard. Though initially reluctant Ricky agrees and while offering protection the two disparate boys form a friendship until circumstances put a strain on their bond. Compassionate film with a great message and wonderful naturalistic performances.
Au Revoir les Enfants (1987)-When three new students, including Jean Bonnett (Raphael Fejto), arrive at his French boarding school during WWII Julien (Gaspard Manesse) doesn’t take much notice of them thinking they are no different from the other boys. What Julien doesn’t know is that they are Jews passing as Gentiles trying to evade capture by the Nazis. While headmaster Père Jean (Philippe Morier-Genoud), works to protect the boys from the Holocaust the at first antagonistic Julien and Jean develop a tight bond. Louis Malle’s deeply moving film captures the idiosyncrasies of boyhood, structured education and the fear of a creeping menace.
For me HP picked up with the third movie, that’s when I really got into it. The darkness and the seriousness of the third film really lifted the series away from children, and into the young adult world.
My Bodyguard seems such a good movie, and yet, I haven’t even heard about it!