Ten Back-to-School Movies for Parents

Part two

Grease

• Rated: PG Year: 1978• Cast: Olivia Newton-John, John Travolta,

Stockard Channing• Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta may be

the oldest high school students in the Guinness Book of World Records, but they're still cool. This musical about drag racers, Pink Ladies, and sock hops rules with corny dialogue and bubble-gum perfect songs.

Grease

• What Parents Like: A nostalgic movie that makes parents feel young again.

• What Makes Our Inner Kid Squeal: Forget about Zuko's moves on the dance floor -- everyone is floored when good girl Sandy goes bad! "I got chills and they're multiplyin'..." Who said nice girls finish last?

Poster of Grease

Mean Girls

• Rated: PG-13• Year: 2004• Cast: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Tina Fey• Survival of the Fittest: Cady is the homeschooled

daughter of zoologists who enters public high school for the first time. There she encounters a new species: alpha-females called the Plastics, and quickly trades the veldt for the svelte.

Mean Girls

• What Parents Like: See what happens when you hang out with the wrong crowd? Honestly, this has less bite than Heathers -- and no suicidal subplots.

• What Makes Our Inner Kid Squeal: Catty humor and plots of revenge.

Poster of Mean Girls

October Sky

• Rated: PG• Year: 1999• Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Laura Dern• It's 1957, Sputnik has launched, and a young

high school student looks skyward for inspiration. Homer is a determined coal miner's son in West Virginia who likes to build rockets. His burning ambition leads him to a winning science fair project.

October Sky

• What Parents Like: Yes, blowing up things in the backyard can lead to a wonderful future, a college scholarship, and becoming an engineer for NASA...

• What Makes Our Inner Kid Squeal: Anyone who has ever tried to fold a paper airplane can relate to the thrill Homer feels when his rocket gets off the ground.

Poster of October Sky

Say Anything

• Rated: PG-13 Year: 1989• Cast: John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney• Underachieving boy meets overachieving girl in

this sweet and quirky romance. Diane is the class valedictorian with her sights set on England. Lloyd's only ambition is to be with Diane. As he confesses to her strict father, "What I really want to do with my life -- what I want to do for a living -- is I want to be with your daughter. I'm good at it."

Say Anything

• What Parents Like: There are priceless moments of teenage angst: Lloyd holding up his boom box to play Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" under Diane's window, or an obsessive Corey penning 65 songs to commemorate her breakup with Joe.

• What Makes Our Inner Kid Squeal: Young love conquers all; overprotective parents get sent to jail for fraud and tax evasion. As Diane's dad bleats, "I'm incarcerated, Lloyd!"

Poster of Say Anything

Sixteen Candles

• Rated: PG• Year: 1984• Cast: Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall,

Michael Schoeffling• Poor Samantha. Turning 16 is no fun when your

family has forgotten your birthday, your grandparents have moved into your room, you have a crush on an unattainable senior, and find yourself pursued by a geek.

Sixteen Candles

• What Parents Like: Um, would this be a good time to play "The Way We Were."

• What Makes Our Inner Kid Squeal: John Hughes captures the embarrassing moments of adolescence really, really well.

Poster of Sixteen Candles

Have Fun With Those Movies