As a self-proclaimed Romance movie connoisseur, I must admit that teen movies hold a big place in my heart. Within the teen romance genre, one theme seems to reoccur and that is the popular boy and the not-so-popular girl. Let’s explore the movies that include this
The Duff (2015)
In this movie the Robbie Amell plays the popular boy in school Wesley and is the captain of the football team. This is a contrast to the less popular Bianca played by Mae Whitman. Although Bianca is not at the bottom of the food chain she is at the bottom of her friend group. As Bianca deals with self-discovery and acceptance she also finds herself falling for the popular childhood friend Wesley.
A Walk to Remember (2002)
Landon Carter played by Shane West is our popular/bad boy in this movie. Landon is in the in-crowd and gets in trouble for underage drinking. This behaviour results in his punishment of participating in the school play which leads him to meet the good girl, Jamie Sullivan played by Mandy Moore. Jamie helps Landon as he prepares for the play and over time they begin to fall for each other.
She's all That (1999)
In this movie, our popular boy Zack Siler accepts a bet to turn an unsuspecting girl into the school’s next prom queen. The target of this bet is Lancey Boggs played by Rachael Leigh Cook. With a classic transformation (taking off her glasses) we get to see Laney come out of her shell and get closer to Zack.
Hairspray (2007)
The only musical on this list, Hairspray is set in 1962. The characters in the leading relationship are Tracy Turnblad and Link Larkin played by Nikki Blonsky and Zac Efron respectively. Tracy is the unpopular and overweight girl who suddenly gets the opportunity to audition for ‘The Corny Collins Show’ where her crush Link works as a lead dancer. Link is popular and every girl’s crush with a great voice and smooth moves. With topics such as beauty standards and race relations, Tracy and Link navigate through these injustices to find a way to each other.
To all the Boys I've Loved Before (2018)
The first film in this trilogy sees the union of Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky. Lara Jean is a shy high school student who had a crush on her childhood friend Josh. The only problem is he just so happens to be her sister’s boyfriend. In an attempt to divert Josh from knowing about this crush, she pretends to be in a relationship with Peter. Of course, they end up falling for each other and continue to navigate their relationship in the films that follow.
Sixteen Candles (1984)
Samantha Baker (Molly Ringwald) is the unpopular girl, who even doesn’t have the attention of her family on her 16th birthday. She has a crush on Jake, a popular senior who hardly knows she exists at first. With things not working out in his relationship, Jake takes an interest in Sam but neither is sure that the other is interested. Regardless, the two manage to sort it out and get together.
Mean Girls (2004)
In this classic movie, Cady who we all know is played by Lindsay Lohan begins a new school after being in ‘Africa’. Initially, she starts off as one of the outsiders before slowly being taken under the wings of ‘The Plastics’. Cady becomes attracted to Aaron Samuels, the most popular boy in the school, on the football and soccer team and Regina’s Ex. Devious plans unfold and Cady gets her man.
Cinderella (1950-2021)
For this number, we are just going to group the many Cinderella movies as they all share a similar premise. We all know the story of Cinderella. The young girl tormented and taken advantage of by her evil stepmother and sisters meets the prince who changes her life. Within these different iterations, Cinderella is always the shy unpopular girl stuck at home and can’t go to fancy events. And the prince is, well the prince. Then they all live happily ever after. The end.
It's a Boy Girl Thing (2006)
The plot of this Rom-Com is sworn enemies of the opposite sex swapping bodies. Woody Dean is the popular Varsity football player with an important game coming up and Nell Bedworth is the socially awkward high school girl. They both experience life from the other perspective and end up falling for each other.
She's the Man (2006)
In this teen comedy sports movie, we have the girl soccer player Viola Hastings portrayed by Amanda Bynes and Duke Orsino portrayed by Channing Tatum. Viola, in a bid to continue playing soccer, disguises herself as her twin brother Sebastian. In doing so she ends up being roommates with Duke who she begins to fall for. Duke is the popular soccer team captain. As you can imagine when he finds out things are not plain sailing. But Duke comes around and it all works out.
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