Summer is rapidly coming to an end, even if the weather doesn’t feel like it just yet, and that means it’s back to school for many. To prepare, some good back-to-school movies might help.
Whether you’re headed back to the classroom yourself — either a student or maybe a teacher — or just have a loved one getting back into the swing of things, a new school year can be daunting. So, for this list, we picked some films that can remind you how fun it is, while maybe teaching some good lessons along the way.
Here are five back-to-school movies to stream in August.
Grease
Technically, “Grease” takes place over the course of an entire school year, but it does start at the end of summer and the beginning of a new school year. Danny Zuko literally says (very cheekily, thanks to John Travolta understanding the assignment) “it’s only the beginning” at the start of the film.
“Grease” will hit extra hard for any youngins who found a summer romance, as it stars Olivia Newton-John and Travolta as somewhat star-crossed lovers, who have to figure out how to navigate life when they run into their summer fling at school. Can they even exist together as a couple when they get back to real life and their usual friends?
Granted, “Grease” doesn’t send an awesome message when Sandy (Newton-John) changes nearly everything about herself in order to keep her man and friends as she heads into the next summer. Maybe just turn it off before you get to that part, and pretend it ends just before the “Look at Me I’m Sandra Dee” reprise (though that reprise is gorgeous).
“Grease” is streaming now on Pluto TV and Paramount+.
Kicking and Screaming
Just about every cinephile knows the name Noah Baumbach, and his debut film, “Kicking and Screaming” is a perfect back-to-school movie if you want to buff up your knowledge of his work, or just enjoy a good filmmaker’s start.
“Kicking and Screaming” follows a group of college grads who, for various reasons, decided to stick around their college town instead of moving on with their lives. Now it’s a new school year, and they spend the fall semester figuring things out (or … not) while navigating situations and dynamics they no longer relate to.
It’s a beloved entry in ’90s slacker culture cinema, and boasts a stacked cast of indie darlings, including Parker Posey, Chris Eigeman, Eric Stoltz, Cara Buono and Josh Hamilton.
“Kicking and Screaming” is currently streaming on YouTube, Tubi, The Roku Channel, PLEX and Fandango.
Back to School
I mean, it’s hard to have a “Best Back-To-School Movies” list and not have “Back to School” on it. A little literal? Perhaps. But it counts!
The film stars Rodney Dangerfield as a wealthy but uneducated father, who goes to college in solidarity with his discouraged son, Jason (Keith Gordon). But here, he learns that money can’t actually take care of everything. We’ve seen plenty of similar plotlines since — at least, in the “parents go back to school and learn how different it is” genre — but this is one of the best.
It also stars a young Robert Downey Jr., which is always an added bonus.
“Back to School” is now streaming on Prime Video and Philo.
Mean Girls
When joining a new school, it’s important to figure out the cliques pretty fast, and figure out who you can trust. Otherwise, things can get messy.
This is a lesson that Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) learns pretty immediately on her first day at North Shore High. She’s just started going to public school, after being homeschooled for her entire life. Things in a real school work differently, she soon learns, but it’s not unlike the jungle environment she grew up in.
“Mean Girls” is just a classic, and may be a good reminder to your kid not to be the Regina George of their class. And maybe it’ll encourage them to join mathletes, who knows.
“Mean Girls” is currently streaming on Pluto TV, Peacock and Paramount+.
Monsters University
It’s rare that a sequel that’s actually a prequel is as good as the original, but such is the case for “Monster’s University,” and it just so happens to be a great back-to-school movie.
The animated film gives fans the story of how Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and James P. Sullivan (John Goodman) first met and became best friends. And it turns out, it was in college. At the start of their first year at Monster’s University, both are determined to be great scarers, but Sulley is a slacker and Mike is just … not that scary looking.
Though they initially butt heads, they eventually work together to help each other out, creating the bond that eventually leads to “Monsters Inc.” It’s a college story, sure, but it’s Disney and Pixar, which means it works for kids of all ages, headed to a new school year and looking to make friends.
“Monsters University” is streaming on Disney+.
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