The Top 25 Coming-of-Age Movies (RESULTS)

[The Panda]

This thread is the results of the voting thread, I will update this periodically and it may just take today or it may take longer, it depends.

[baumer]

Pinned for a few days....will move it back to Speakeasy when finished.

[Kvikk Lunsj]

I am excited to see the results. 

[The Panda]

Alright, time for our first results

 

Sixteen Candles (106 Points)

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Samantha's life is going downhill fast. The fifteen-year-old has a crush on the most popular boy in school, and the geekiest boy in school has a crush on her. Her sister's getting married, and with all the excitement the rest of her family forgets her birthday! Add all this to a pair of horrendously embarrassing grandparents, a foreign exchange student named Long Duc Dong, and we have the makings of a hilarious journey into young womanhood.

 

Tomatometer - 86% (67% Top Critics, 86% Users)

IMDb - 7.2

Metacritic - 57 (68 Users)

Averaged Scores - 72.6

 

Press Exert - "A sweet and funny movie about two of the worst things that can happen to a girl on her sixteenth birthday." - Roger Ebert

 

Box Office Analyst Exert - "I like this movie, it is pretty funny. " - scottb

 

Fun Fact - Hughes wrote the movie over 1 weekend.

 

 

If the Averaged Critical Score determined the ranking this would be ranked at #23

 

[The Panda]

Here is #24

 

Super 8

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In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth - something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined.

 

TomatoMeter - 82% (80% Top Critics, 75% Audience)

 

IMDb - 7.1

 

Metacritic - 72 (73 Audience)

 

Average Score - 75.5

 

Press Exert - "A love letter to a cinematic era, before 'blockbuster' became a synonym for 'franchise' or 'tent pole.'" - Christopher Orr, The Atlantic

 

Box Office Analyst Exert - "i`m glad someone made this thread because I forgot almost all about this movie. I vaguely remember that Elle Fanning had a lot of make-up because she played a main actress in a kid zombie flick and that there was some really hockey looking alien at the end. I don`t recall anything in between save Kyle Chandler`s face. Kids who aren`t Elle I can`t even recall their faces let alone names or what they did." - fishnets

 

Fun Fact - "Since Elle Fanning was 12 years old when filming her driving scene it was actually illegal for her to actually drive.  There is another person in the back who is actually driving the car."

 

If the Average Critical Score determined the movie's ranking it would be ranked at #19

 

Edited January 20, 2014 by The Panda

[The Panda]

I'm going to post all the way down to 20 and then take a small break.  Here is #23

 

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

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Ferris is a street-wise kid who knows all the tricks. Today he decides to take the day off school. When Ferris takes the day off, so must his best friends, Cameron and Sloane. Cameron is reluctantly persuaded to borrow his father's Ferrari, and together they hatch a plan to get Sloane out of class. Suspicious dean of students Ed Rooney knows all about Ferris, but can never catch him. Ferris' sister Jeanie is also frustrated that Ferris always gets away with his tricks and she doesn't. Furthermore, Ferris is an 'angel' in his parents eyes. It's Ferris' day off, he's out to enjoy himself, and he does!

 

TomatoMeter - 84% (29% Top Critics, 92% Audience)

 

IMDb - 7.9

 

Metacritic - 60 (82 Audience)

 

Average Critical Score - 71

 

Press Exert - "Here is a dream as old as adolescence, and it is fun to be reminded of its ageless potency, especially in a movie as good-hearted as this one." - Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine

 

Box Office Anaylst Exert - "Anyways, I've lost track of how many times I've seen this movie. So, so much fun. " - Gopher

 

Fun Fact - Ben Stein improvised his 'teaching' scenes, as in his quote, "John Hughes asked me to ad-lib two scenes: One, teaching, which was something I was familiar with, and, two, taking attendance. When I finished the [teaching] scene, everyone on the set was gathered around and started applauding. I thought they were applauding because they'd learned something about economics. I later learned they were applauding because it was so boring."

 

If the Average Critical Score determined this movie's ranking it would be ranked at #24

 

[The Panda]

Here is #22

 

Empire of the Sun

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"Based on J. G. Ballard's autobiographical novel, tells the story of a boy, James Graham, whose privileged life is upturned by the Japanese invasion of Shanghai, December 8, 1941. Separated from his parents, he is eventually captured, and taken to Soo Chow confinement camp, next to a captured Chinese airfield. Amidst the sickness and food shortages in the camp, Jim attempts to reconstruct his former life, all the while bringing spirit and dignity to those around him."

 

TomatoMeter - 82% (57% Top Critics, 90% Audience)

 

IMDb - 7.8

 

Metacritic - 60 (85 Audience)

 

Average Critical Score - 75.3

 

Press Exert - "There are many glorious moments here." - Janet Maslin, New York Times

 

 

Fun Fact - Some of the "Mustangs" and "Zeros" in the background during the attack of the airfield were radio controlled models with a wingspan of 12 feet.

 

If the Average Critical Score determined this movie's ranking it would rank at #20

 

[The Panda]

Here is #21

 

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

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Follows a group of high school students growing up in southern California, based on the real-life adventures chronicled by Cameron Crowe. Stacy Hamilton and Mark Ratner are looking for a love interest, and are helped along by their older classmates, Linda Barrett and Mike Damone, respectively. The center of the film is held by Jeff Spicoli, a perpetually stoned surfer dude who faces off with the resolute Mr. Hand, who is convinced that everyone is on dope.

 

TomatoMeter - 79% (29% Top Critics, 80% Audience)

 

IMDb - 7.2

 

Metacritic - 70 (80 Audience Rating)

 

Average Critical Rating - 67.5

 

Press Exert - "Fast Times will always be remembered for one thing: showing respect for and insight into the members of its core audience, something that was as rare in the 1980s as it is today." - James Berardinelli, Reelviews

 

Fun Fact - For his masturbation scene, Judge Reinhold brought a large dildo to work with, unbeknown to the rest of the cast. Phoebe Cates look of horror and disgust is very real.

 

If the Average Critical Score determined this movie's ranking it would be ranked at #25

 

[The Panda]

And here is #20, I am taking a bit of a break after this one

 

Donnie Darko

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Donnie Darko doesn't get along too well with his family, his teachers and his classmates; but he does manage to find a sympathetic friend in Gretchen, who agrees to date him. He has a compassionate psychiatrist, who discovers hypnosis is the means to unlock hidden secrets. His other companion may not be a true ally. Donnie has a friend named Frank - a large bunny which only Donnie can see. When an engine falls off a plane and destroys his bedroom, Donnie is not there. Both the event, and Donnie's escape, seem to have been caused by supernatural events. Donnie's mental illness, if such it is, may never allow him to find out for sure.

 

TomatoMeter - 85% (61% Top Critics, 80% Audience)

 

IMDb - 8.2

 

Metacritic - 71 (86 Audience)

 

Average Critical Rating - 77.5

 

Press Exert - "Kelly is a supple and courageous storyteller, boldly free-associating as he mixes parody and satire with earnest psychodrama and coming up with plot points no one could anticipate." - Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader

 

 

Box Office Analyst Exert - "fantastic and terrifying film, I was in tears by the end of the movie. I still have to watch it a couple of more times to understand completely, though." - Goffe Luvs 1D

 

Fun Fact - Kelly has said the spectral guide being a rabbit is not a reference to Harvey, but is instead inspired by the protagonist of Watership Down.

 

If the Average Critical Rating determined this movie's ranking it would rank at #18

 

Edited January 20, 2014 by The Panda

[Ezen Baklattan]

Interesting that Super 8 is on here, because the coming of age part of the story is the only thing that works really well. If it were just about these kids making a sci-fi movie, rather than throwing in the stuff with the monster, then it could have been something truly special. The first 30 minutes of the film are fantastic.

[baumer]

Glad to see Sixteen Candles, Fast Times and Ferris on here but they are way too low imo.  I'm impressed that Fast Times made the list though.  I didn't think it was well known here as it came out more than 30 years ago and John Hughes is not attached to it.

 

Super 8 is such a sweet movie.  I'm also glad it's on the list.

[The Panda]

#19

Slumdog Millionare

 

The story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's Kuan Banega Corepati (2000) (Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?) But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show's questions. Each chapter of Jamal's increasingly layered story reveals where he learned the answers to the show's seemingly impossible quizzes. But one question remains a mystery: what is this young man with no apparent desire for riches really doing on the game show? When the new day dawns and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the Inspector and sixty million viewers are about to find out. At the heart of its storytelling lies the question of how anyone comes to know the things they know about life and love.

 

TomatoMeter - 94% (96% Top Critics, 90% Audience)

 

IMDb - 8.1

 

Metacritic - 86 (78)

 

Average Critical Score - 87.5

 

Press Exert - "It's Oliver Twist by way of City of God." - Peter Howell, Toronto Star

 

 

Box Office Analyst Exert - "This was an amazing movie. It was suspenseful throughout and the script was just soooo well written. I loved it, and it's possibly one of my favorite movies. It's such a great story." - k1stpierre

 

Fun Fact - "Despite the Slumdog director's and producers' presumably sincere interest in assuring their long-term welfare, Ismail and Ali are still living in squalor -- Ismail under a tarpaulin he shares with his family, Ali in a shack next to an open sewer. Now that the awards have been handed out, both will presumably now return to the slum."

 

If the Average Critical Score Determined This Movie's Ranking it Would be Ranked at #8

Edited January 21, 2014 by The Panda

[The Panda]

#18

Mean Girls

 

Raised in African bush country by her zoologist parents, Cady Heron thinks she knows about survival of the fittest. But the law of the jungle takes on a whole new meaning when the home-schooled 16-year-old enters public high school for the first time and encounters psychological warfare and unwritten social rules that teenage girls face today.

 

TomatoMeter - 83% (77% Top Critics, 65% Audience)

 

IMDb - 6.9

 

Metacritic - 66 (80 Audience)

 

Average Critical Score - 73.3

 

Press Exert - "Displaying a rare mix of humor and heart, Mean Girls deserves mention along with such coming-of-age favorites as Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Sixteen Candles." - Bill Muller, Arizona Republic

 

Box Office Analyst Exert - "Oh my God, this is one of my favorite films I have ever seen. It's a classic. I remember it came out while I was in fifth grade, but no one had heard about it until the DVD release, in which everything about the film eventually become a staple in our conversations. Ah, sixth grade and Mean Girls. Easily the most influential film of that year in of our grade LOL. Terrific performances, an insanely hilarious and witty script, and most of all, it's timeless. It really is." - Noctis

 

Fun Fact - "The scene where Cady is asked if her “muffin was buttered” originally had her being asked, “Is your cherry popped?” This was changed to get a PG-13 rating.  The same with the line about the girl who “made out with a hot dog.” This was originally going to be “masturbated with a hot dog.”

 

If the Average Critical Score determined this movie's ranking it would be ranked at #22

[The Panda]

Here is #17

Juno

 

A tale told over four seasons, starting in autumn when Juno, a 16-year-old high-school junior in Minnesota, discovers she's pregnant after one event in a chair with her best friend, Bleeker. In the waiting room of an abortion clinic, the quirky and whip-sharp Juno decides to give birth and to place the child with an adoptive couple. She finds one in the PennySaver personals, contacts them, tells her dad and step-mother, and carries on with school. The chosen parents, upscale yuppies (one of whom is cool and laid back, the other meticulous and uptight), meet Juno, sign papers, and the year unfolds. Will Juno's plan work, can she improvise, and what about Bleeker?

 

TomatoMeter - 94% (100% Top Critics, 88% Audience)

 

IMDb - 7.6

 

Metacritic - 81 (84 Audience)

 

Average Critical Rating - 87.17

 

Press Exert - "By its end, Juno, in its guilelessly chatty way, touches the heart -- and yes, I had tears in my eyes. This movie works, on its own terms." - Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times

 

Box Office Analyst Exert - "Takes way too much hate on the Internet (I would know, I was kind of part of the hate brigade in early 2008). It's easily one of the sweetest and most insightful films to come out of either the teen or romantic comedy subgenres in years, and the quality of the writing, directing, and acting is superlative." - Webslinger

 

Fun Fact - "Jennifer Garner dropped her A-list salary to a percentage point agreement for Juno when it was expected to be a small, low-grossing indie film, but the decision paid off when Juno became a breakout smash at the box office - giving Garner her best payday yet."

 

If the Average Critical Score determined this movie's ranking it would be ranked at #9.

[The Panda]

And with #16 we have our first of 3 animated movies on this list

 

The Lion King

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Follows the epic adventures of a young lion cub named Simba as he struggles to accept the responsibilities of adulthood and his destined role as king of the jungle.

 

TomatoMeter - 90% (91% Top Critics, 93% Audience)

 

IMDb - 8.5

 

Metacritic - 83 (85 Audience)

 

Average Critical Rating - 87.83

 

Press Exert - "The Lion King, complete with jaunty songs by Elton John and Tim Rice, is undeniably and fully worthy of its glorious Disney heritage. It is a gorgeous triumph -- one lion in which the studio can take justified pride." - Desmond Ryan, Philadelphia Inquirer

 

Box Office Analyst Exert - "Greatest movie ever made?" - Jay Hollwood

 

Fun Fact - Nala was originally going to leave Pride Rock because of Scar's sexual advances, this stays true in the Broadway Play.

 

If The Average Critical Score determined the ranking this movie would be ranked at #5.

Edited January 21, 2014 by The Panda

[The Panda]

Here is #15

 

Almost Famous

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William Miller is a 15 year old kid, hired by Rolling Stone magazine to tour with, and write about Stillwater, an up and coming rock band. This wonderfully witty coming of age film follows William as he falls face first to confront life, love, and lingo.

 

TomatoMeter - 88% (81% Top Critics, 92% Audience)

 

IMDb - 8.0

 

Metacritic - 90 (85 Audience)

 

Average Critical Rating - 86

 

Press Exert - "The movie's so clever and endearing, you can forget the almost." - Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine

 

Box Office Analyst Exert - "My fav movie of all time. A pure delight from start to finish." - Michael Gary Scott

 

Fun Fact - "The original title for Almost Famous was actually Untitled, however Dreamworks would not allow this, so Cameron Crowe called the DVD bootleg edition Untitled instead."

 

If the Average Critical Score determined this movie's ranking it would be ranked at #10

 

Taking a break for now.

[The Panda]

Here is #14

Boogie Nights

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Eddie Adams would have been just another high-school drop-out had he not met the likes of adult film director Jack Horner. Horner transforms Eddie into Dirk Diggler, a rising-star actor with a special gift. Set in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the film is a tribute to the decor, style, culture, and social attitudes of the era.

 

TomatoMeter - 92% (100% Top Critics, 89% Audience)

 

IMDb - 7.9

 

Metacritic - 85 (81 Audience)

 

Press Exert - "Not since the mysteriously reclusive Terrence Malick has there been such an explosion of sheer talent on the American movie scene." - Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

 

Box Office Analyst Exert - "I love this movie. It was so brilliant. Acting is fantastic the screenplay is great and same with the direction. I am surprised Mark could perform such a good performance.  " - Dexter of Surburbia

 

Fun Fact - Paul Thomas Anderson simulated the dialog in the fake porn movies by adapting actual dialog from real porn movies. He said he did it so people could not say the porn dialog "sounded fake".

 

If the Average Critical Score Determined this movie's ranking it would be ranked at #7.

 

[The Panda]

And now for #13

 

Little Miss Sunshine

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In Albuquerque, Sheryl Hoover brings her suicidal brother Frank to the breast of her dysfunctional and bankrupted family. Frank is homosexual and expert in Proust, and tried to commit suicide when he was rejected by his boyfriend and his great competitor became renowned and recognized as number one in the field of Proust. Sheryl's husband Richard is unsuccessfully trying to sell his self-help and self-improvement technique using nine steps to reach success, but he is actually a complete loser. Her son Dwayne has taken a vow of silence as a follower of Nietzsche and aims to be a jet pilot. Dwayne's grandfather Edwin was sent away from the institution for elders Sunset Manor and is addicted in heroin. When her seven years old daughter Olive has a chance to dispute the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in Redondo Beach, California, the whole family travels together in their old Volkswagen Type 2 (Kombi), in a funny journey of hope of winning the talent contest and make a dream come true.

 

TomatoMeter - 91% (88% Top Critics, 91% Audience)

 

IMDb - 7.9

 

Metacritic - 80 (76 Audience)

 

Average Critical Score - 84.17

 

Press Exert - "Hilarious, profane and as much fun as you are going to have in a theater this summer." - Connie Ogle, Miami Herald

 

Box Office Analyst Exert - "One of my favorite films of all time, a wonderful Dramady that always puts a smile on my face." - Scott Pilgrim vs the Forum

 

Fun Fact - "The production crew made sure Abigal Breslin was really listening to her headphones to keep her from hearing Alan Arkin's profanity laced scene."

 

If the Average Critical Score determined the movie's ranking it would be ranked at #13.

[The Panda]

Here is #12

The Goonies

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Mikey Walsh and Brandon Walsh are brothers whose family is preparing to move because developers want to build a golf course in the place of their neighborhood -- unless enough money is raised to stop the construction of the golf course, and that's quite doubtful. But when Mikey stumbles upon a treasure map of the famed "One-Eyed" Willy's hidden fortune, Mikey, Brandon, and their friends Lawrence "Chunk" Cohen, Clark "Mouth" Devereaux, Andrea "Andy" Carmichael, Stefanie "Stef" Steinbrenner, and Richard "Data" Wang, calling themselves The Goonies, set out on a quest to find the treasure in hopes of saving their neighborhood. The treasure is in a cavern, but the entrance to the cavern is under the house of evil thief Mama Fratelli and her sons Jake Fratelli, Francis Fratelli, and the severely disfigured Lotney "Sloth" Fratelli. Sloth befriends the Goonies and decides to help them.

 

TomatoMeter - 67% (91% Audience)

 

IMDb - 7.8

 

Metacritic - 60 (77 Audience)

 

Press Exert - "The Goonies has every imaginable funhouse flourish. It has crooks, bats, cobwebs, skeletons, a lovable monster, an underground grotto and a treasure hidden by some of the most considerate, clue-loving pirates who ever lived." - Janet Maslin, New York Times

 

Fun Fact - "The pirate ship was entirely real. All the shots were filmed in the ship. After the film, it was offered to anyone who would take it. No one wanted it, so the ship was scrapped."

 

If the Average Critical Rating determined this movie's ranking it would be ranked at #21.

[The Panda]

Here is #11

 

Life of Pi

 

In Canada, a writer visits the Indian storyteller Pi Patel and asks him to tell his life story. Pi tells the story of his childhood in Pondicherry, India, and the origin of his nickname. One day, his father, a zoo owner, explains that the municipality is no longer supporting the zoo and he has hence decided to move to Canada, where the animals the family owns would also be sold. They board on a Japanese cargo ship with the animals and out of the blue, there is a storm, followed by a shipwrecking. Pi survives in a lifeboat with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a male Bengal tiger nicknamed Richard Parker. They are adrift in the Pacific Ocean, with aggressive hyena and Rickard Parker getting hungry. Pi needs to find a way to survive.

 

TomatoMeter - 87% (87% Top Critics, 85% Audience)

 

IMDb - 8.1

 

Metacritic - 78 (79 Audience)

 

Press Exert - "Mr. Lee's film is stronger as a visual experience-especially in 3-D-than an emotional one, but it has a final plot twist that may also change what you thought you knew about the ancient art of storytelling." - Joe Murgenstern, Wall Street Journal

 

Box Office Analyst Exert - "I just watched this film in 3D, wow completely fantastic in all respects. I'll do a more full review if I have time, but this is my favorite movie of the year. " - Catching Iceroll

 

Fun Fact - This was the first PG rated film to win Best Director since Out of Africa.

 

If the Average Critical Rating determined the movie's ranking it would be ranked at #15.