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If someone were to walk up to you and ask: What are the best Macaulay Culkin movies, chances are you could spit off a few films without much hesitation. That’s because, for kids of a certain era, there are few, if any, faces as recognizable about Culkin. And for many of us, his iconic movies like Home Alone and My Girl will forever have a special place in our hearts no matter how much time goes by or how “mature” we pretend to be.

Sometimes, there’s nothing better than taking a trip down memory lane with the soon-to-be American Horror Story star Macaulay Culkin. But finding all of his best movies is a task that’s easier said than done, whether it be streaming, through digital rentals, or good old fashioned physical media. To help all those eternal children of yesteryear, we’ve put together a list of the best Macaulay Culkin movies and where you can find them. Let’s dig in…

Home Alone (1990)

Written by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus, the 1990 Christmastime classic Home Alone transformed Macaulay Culkin from a rising star to the biggest thing in Hollywood with his Golden Globe-nominated portrayal of Kevin McCallister. Left all by himself over the holidays, it’s up to the clever and diabolical 8-year-old to protect his family’s suburban Chicago home from a pair of bumbling crooks known as the Wet Bandits. With a timeless score by John Williams, one iconic scene after another, and one of the most fulfilling final acts you’ll find in a kids movie, there are plenty of reasons why Home Alone remains so beloved more than 30 years later.

Stream Home Alone on Disney+.

Rent/Buy Home Alone on Amazon.

Buy Home Alone on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Home Alone 2 (1992)

With all of the major players from the original reprising their roles (plus a few great additions), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York remains one of the best sequels of all time and is right up there with the original. In terms of story, the way it tugs at your heart-strings, and the way it makes you wince in pain whenever you think about Kevin McCallister’s (Macaulay Culkin) second run-in with Harry (Joe Pesci) and Marv (Daniel Stern), the 1992 holiday comedy is a jolly good time, even if some people call it mediocre at best.

Stream Home Alone 2 on Disney+.

Rent/Buy Home Alone 2 on Amazon.

Buy Home Alone 2 on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

My Girl (1991)

The 1991 coming-of-age story My Girl centers on Vada Sultenfuss (Anna Chlumsky), the daughter of a funeral home director whose mother died during childbirth. Over the course of a summer, the 11-year-old tomboy finds companionship in the soft-spoken and fragile yet extremely loyal Thomas J. Sennett (Macaulay Culkin) as she finds herself at the crossroads of childhood and her pre-teenage years. I’ll hold back the spoilers here, but this movie takes a devastating and heartbreaking turn with a pair of scenes that will break your heart all these years later.

Stream My Girl on HBO Max.

Rent/Buy My Girl on Amazon.

Buy My Girl on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Good Son (1993)

A major departure from most of the film roles he was taking at the time, Macaulay Culkin appears in The Good Son as the menacing and devilish Henry Evans. This frightening 1993 psychological thriller that feels like something out of the pages of a Stephen King novel centers on Mark Evans (Elijah Wood), a young boy sent to spend time with his extended family when his father sets off for a business trip not long after his mother passes away. Mark’s interactions with his cousin start off strange but take a dark turn when Henry kills a dog in cold blood and begins to turn his attention to hurting humans instead. While not the best movie of Culkin’s career, his commitment to the sinister nature of his character is astonishing if not terrifying.

Rent/Buy The Good Son on Amazon.

Buy The Good Son on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Uncle Buck (1989)

Not long before he became an international superstar with Home Alone, Macaulay Culkin appeared in another John Hughes production: 1989’s Uncle Buck. When their parents have to leave town unexpectedly, the Russell children are left under the watchful eye of their uncle, Buck Russell (John Candy), a cigar-smoking, foul-mouthed, and bowling-obsessed mess of a man. Some of the best interactions throughout the movie come whenever Buck and Miles Russell (Culkin) appear alongside one another, especially when the 8-year-old asks a series of personal questions with a deadpan expression and great comedic timing.

Stream Uncle Buck on Cinemax.

Rent/Buy Uncle Buck on Amazon.

Buy Uncle Buck on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon

Richie Rich (1994)

The 1994 comedy Richie Rich, which just so happened to be Macaulay Culkin’s final acting gig until he showed back up as an adult in the early 2000s, sees the child star take on the role of the titular comic book character. The envy of pretty much every kid who saw the movie (besides the whole missing parents part), Culkin’s millionaire had all the gadgets, gizmos, and celebrity dance and baseball instructors anyone could ask for (he even had is own McDonald’s). That is until his parents’ private plane crashes in the middle of the ocean, leaving their vast empire (and the family’s gigantic sculpture) at risk of being taken over by the conniving Laurence Van Dough (John Larroquette).

Stream Richie Rich on Hulu.

Rent/Buy Richie Rich on Amazon.

Buy Richie Rich on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Rocket Gibraltar (1988)

One of the forgotten gems of Macaulay Culkin’s early days, the 1988 drama Rocket Gibraltar centers on aging writer named Levi Rockwell (Burt Lancaster) as he spends what he thinks will be his final days with his children and grandchildren at his Hamptons beach house. When his adult children don’t want to discuss his mortality, the dying man turns to his grandchildren, especially the youngest of the bunch, Cy Blue Black (Culkin), to carry out his dying wish of having his family give him a viking funeral.

Rent/Buy Rocket Gibraltar on Amazon.

Rent/Buy Rocket Gibraltar on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Party Monster (2003)

In his first starring role since 1994’s Richie Rich, Macaulay Culkin took on the role of the infamous New York City club promoter-turned-murderer in the 2003 biographical drama Party Monster. From his arrival in the NYC club and party scene all the way to his involvement in the death of Club Kid member Andre “Angel” Melendez, Michael Alig’s story is told in a flashy yet extremely shocking manner, one that is brought to life by Culkin’s charisma and dedication to a role much different than anything he had taken before.

Stream Party Monster on Tubi.

Buy Party Monster on Amazon.

Saved (2004)

The 2004 satirical comedy Saved follows Mary Cummings (Jena Malone), a high school student who becomes pregnant when she offers her virginity to her gay ex-boyfriend, Dean Wither (Chad Faust), in order to save him. When the plan fails and Mary becomes the target of ridicule at his conservative high school, she turns to other outcasts — Roland Stockard (Macaulay Culkin) and Cassandra Edelstein (Eva Amurri) — as she tries to get through school and her former best friend Hilary Faye Stockard (Mandy Moore).

Stream Saved on Tubi.

Rent/Buy Saved on Amazon.

Buy Saved on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Jacob’s Ladder (1990)

The 1990 mind-bending horror film Jacob’s Ladder (which was later remade) follows returning Vietnam War veteran Jacob Singer (Tim Robbins) as he starts to lose his touch with reality in the 1970s New York City. Along the way, Jacob’s deteriorating mental state leads him to have interactions with his deceased son Gabe (Macaulay Culkin in an uncredited performance) as well as alternate realities where everything was fine following the war. You never know who to believe in this one, especially the damaged soldier.

Stream Jacob’s Ladder on HBO Max.

Rent/Buy Jacob’s Ladder on Amazon.

Buy Jacob’s Ladder on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

See You In The Morning (1989)

The 1989 romantic comedy See You in the Morning largely deals with the budding romance shared by Larry Livingstone (Jeff Bridges) and Beth Goodwin (Alice Krige), but as the film goes on, their respective pasts and children become major factors in the course of their relationship. With a group of talented child actors who would go on to have successful careers — Drew Barrymore, Lukas Haas, Macaulay Culkin — providing for much of the drama and heart of the story, this tale of two families coming together through tragedy and new beginnings is worth watching, even if it’s lost to time for many.

Rent/Buy See You in the Morning on Amazon.

Buy See You in the Morning on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

In addition to helping you find the best places to watch classics like Home Alone, My Girl, and Saved, hopefully this list of the best Macaulay Culkin movies helps shed light on some of the less-remembered roles from the former child actor’s career.

If you’re the mood for more to watch, check out CinemaBlend’s selection of the best movies on Netflix and best Amazon Prime movies. And don’t forget to read about all the 2021 movies coming to theaters and streaming services throughout the year while you’re at it.

While the monthly purge of films from streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu can mean that an old favorite is vanishing with the wind, it also means that a restocking of titles is in order. Call it the natural balance of the streaming media world, as new titles come into play, and old friends switch allegiances, all in the name of entertainment. Clear your schedules for the following flicks that are hitting the Hulu line-up as of next month!

Spaceballs

Mel Brooks films are almost always an occasion to celebrate, depending on how much you're willing to defend Life Stinks or Dracula: Dead and Loving It!. But at the very least, we can all agree that out of all of his fake sequels he's promised us over the years, Spaceballs is the one we wish he'd deliver on in spades. If you can, watch this one on a double bill with Galaxy Quest, and give yourself a well earned break from everything.

Election

In 1999, the story of an election between a driven woman, a popular man "not ready for prime time," and a protest candidate that looks to spoil the campaigns of both was merely fodder for really funny independent comedies. Yet almost 20 years on, Election has now taken a really funny, really scary extra dimension of humor, what with 2016's electoral process coming extremely close to the clusterfuck that's seen in Reese Witherspoon's fight against the establishment, as well as her contemporaries. Watch this gem of a film to laugh, then maybe cry a little bit thanks to reality not being nearly as funny.

The Addams Family

No, this isn't deja vu, as we previously reported this title as leaving Netflix by the end of this month. However, it looks like this and a slew of other Paramount titles are making an exodus from the home of the red envelope to the house of something green! Which is a very good thing, considering that if you're a true Addams Family fan, you won't let something as silly as the passing of Halloween stop you from enjoying this comedy classic year round!

Addams Family Values

What's better than having one Addams Family film on Hulu? Having BOTH Addams Family films available for your streaming pleasure! (Addams Family Reunion doesn't count.) Call it crazy, but there's a case to be made about Addams Family Values being the better film out of the already exemplary duology. With Fester being given a hilarious love interest in Joan Cusack's Debbie, a new baby raising Hell for Morticia and Gomez, and Wednesday and Pugsley being away at summer camp, there's more morbid excitement to be had in this underrated follow-up.

Fatal Attraction

Another migrating favorite that's jumping off the Netflix bandwagon, Fatal Attraction is one of the best thrillers the 80's has ever had to offer. However, considering Glenn Close and Michael Douglas have both featured in separate corners of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this could also be seen as a really interesting MCU spin-off, when framed in the right head-canon. Still, in its original form, Adrian Lyne's shocker about infidelity, obsession, and home cooking is a hell of a film to experience.

From Russia with Love

Bond is back! While there's no news about a new James Bond movie coming anytime soon, and with Daniel Craig's status still being in question, it's a good time to go back to the classics! And what better month than November, the unofficial month of James Bond celebrations, for some of his best outings to hit streaming! Arguably the best Sean Connery film in his tenure, From Russia With Love harkens from a time where gadgets weren't as prevalent, the action was more brutal, and the one liners were just as sharp. Robert Shaw's Red Grant is just the cherry on top of a beautifully kick-assed sundae.

The Living Daylights

Timothy Dalton never got his due as James Bond, especially because without his two extremely serious films in the series, we'd have never gotten the Casino Royale that we saw break new ground for Daniel Craig's interpretation back in 2006. The Living Daylights has more in common with traditional Bond than License To Kill ever did, but it's still an extremely solid entry in the '80s canon of the character. Dalton shines in this one, and you owe it to yourself to watch this one again.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service

A person's favorite Bond movie is something that's to be taken with the utmost care and diligence. If you're a Roger Moore fan, you're undoubtedly used to explaining yourself quite a bit, while most Sean Connery fans can fling a dart and defend any of his films with a drop of a hat. But to be a fan of On Her Majesty's Secret Service is an honor that requires the most explanation, as George Lazenby's solo performance as 007 is one of the deeper cuts of the series' history. Yet the honors it's received are well earned, and you can see why with each frame of brilliance, courtesy of Hulu.

The Manchurian Candidate

With an excellent remake in the Denzel Washington led 2004 interpretation, The Manchurian Candidate is a film that's a rare case of the revision being as good as the original. John Frankenheimer's 1962 adaptation of the novel with the same name saw Frank Sinatra and Laurence Harvey originating the roles that Washington and Liev Schrieber, as the two are ensnared in a Communist plot to assassinate a presidental candidate and install Harvey's Raymond Shaw as a puppet leader. Though if there was one highlight we had to provide from this film in order to entice you to watch it, it would be this: Angela Lansbury plays one stone cold villain in this picture, and she's amazing.

Mission: Impossible

Looking back to the beginnings of the Mission: Impossible franchise, there's no way Paramount could have seen it becoming as successful as it did. Audiences in 1996 were probably as surprised as studio execs when Tom Cruise helped turn an adaptation of a 1960's TV show into a pulse pounding franchise that's lasted for 20 years, and could probably go just as long if Cruise keeps it up. With a new film on the horizon, now's the perfect time to go back in time and see how it all began, should you choose to accept it.

Punch-Drunk Love

Every time Adam Sandler makes a new comedy, it's hard not to think back to the period in time when he looked to try new things and make drama his new home. Punch-Drunk Love is one of those experimental films that the funnyman had made earlier in his career, and has still stuck with us all this time. His portrayal of the constantly hectored Barry is sweet and earnest, while at the same time earning some of the laughs that Sandler was best known for in the late 90's / early aughts. Were we, and director Paul Thomas Anderson, ever that young?

Rounders

Did you watch Rounders like we told you to on Netflix? Are you upset that you're unable to memorize the slick dialogue and/or impressive poker skills on display? Well cheer up... because it's moving to Hulu in November! This noir-ish drama starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton is worth seeing more than once, as the acting alone is rich enough to keep coming back. Though, while we're on the subject, that rematch between Damon and John Malkovich's Teddy "KGB" is one hell of a final showdown.

Saved

Has it really been 12 years since Saved was in theaters? It honestly feels like a much longer gap, as not only has the entire cast grown older and wiser, but this sort of movie isn't like anything we've seen in some time. A dark comedy with a nicer streak than you'd think on the surface, Saved's story of a young Christian teen trying to do the right thing, and finding herself in a bigger mess than she'd ever hoped for, ultimately relies on its cast as its protagonist relies on her friends.

Showgirls

One critic's trash is another person's treasure, and nowhere is this more readily apparent than in the afterlife that Paul Verhoeven's trash-tastic classic Showgirls has enjoyed. While the film was panned in its 1995 release, it has since spawned a direct-to-video sequel, a musical parodying it, and scores of loyal fans who knew not to take the raunchy journey of Elizabeth Berkley's Nomi too seriously. Now, it's on streaming, waiting for you to take its surprisingly entertaining journey with every laugh, shock, and smile along the way. Oh, and needless to say, watch who you view this one with, as it's a hard NC-17.

Up in the Air

Up in the Air should have gotten more notice than it did the year it showed up to the Oscars. With Avatar and The Hurt Locker fighting it out for press and prestige, Jason Reitman delivered the best film of his career thus far, while also helping George Clooney and Vera Farmiga polish their stars a little brighter, and helping catapult Anna Kendrick to the heights she inhabits today. Topical for its era, yet still strongly resonant, the story of Clooney and Kendrick setting out on the road to better fire people across America has a very wry sense of humor, and an equally huge heart.

Creed

Chances are, you've already seen Creed, as it's not that old of a movie and it was quite heavily discussed during last year's awards season. However, if you haven't had the opportunity, Hulu is here to save the day, as Ryan Coogler's follow-up to the Rocky series is coming to streaming. Even better is the fact that Hulu will also become the home to every other Rocky film, allowing you to see Sylvester Stallone's climb to the top, before he shifted over to becoming Michael B. Jordan's stoic mentor. Sounds like a good Thanksgiving to us!

Mandy Moore and Amanda Bynes. Two seemingly different actresses, but when you put their movies side-by-side, well it starts to become abundantly clear that they were in pretty deep competition back in the early 2000s. The two had different character traits in many of their roles, Mandy Moore falling heavier on the disgruntled, sappy teen side, while Amanda Bynes’ conquered the comedic, quirky. But they both were in the same game when it came to teen, coming-of-age, romantic-comedies. So naturally we have to wonder, who was better at it?

Both broke into the movie industry around the same time, and though Mandy Moore is still going fairly strong while we lost Amanda Bynes to fashion or something like that, the two actresses prime years ranged from 2000-2010. From The Princess Diaries to Easy A, Mandy Moore and Amanda Bynes still rank high on our guilty pleasure movie list, and we owe it to them to figure out who really had the better career. So here we split the competition into 7 categories, the one with the most wins comes out with the title: Best Overall Career.

Best Breakout

Winner: Mandy Moore, The Princess Diaries

Loser: Amanda Bynes, Big Fat Liar

Both Mandy Moore and Amanda Bynes had substantial careers in their early years. Moore with her music, becoming a pop star at the young age of 15, and Bynes with an early Nickelodeon career on All That and then her own series The Amanda Show. The two child stars headed to the big screen around the same time, and while Bynes had a one-up on Moore with an already professional acting career in TV, Moore comes out on top in the Breakout Role category.

Mandy Moore’s role in 2001’s The Princess Diaries may be minor, but it sure does stick out. One of the highlights of The Princess Diaries has to be the "Stupid Cupid" beach scene where Mandy Moore and her popular girl posse get on stage for a sassy number. Amanda Bynes’ breakout in 2002’s Big Fat Liar is not one to be dismissed though. Her role itself may not be quite as memorable as Mandy Moore’s but, as the best friend to Frankie Muniz, Bynes’ holds her own in a hilarious adventure of trickery and wit.

Best Catty Villain

Winner: Amanda Bynes, Easy A

Loser: Mandy Moore, Saved!

Acting in the teen drama genre, these actresses are no strangers to the catty villain. If we are going by sheer number of catty villain roles, Mandy Moore would take the prize. But even with Princess Diaries to Saved! nothing tops Amanda Bynes super-Christian good girl in Easy A. It’s funny that these two villains are paired against each other, since they are pretty similar characters in their good-girl-personas with evil ways. But what makes Amanda Bynes’ villain that much better is just how catty she is.

In Easy A Amanda Bynes’ Marianne Bryant is borderline insane in how much she hates Emma Stone’s Olive Penderghast for 'sleeping around'. While she doesn’t do anything as outright evil as Mandy Moore’s Hilary Faye in Saved!, her prissiness and catty tendencies are far more annoying. This marks Bynes’ final acting role, right before the actress started making headlines for all the wrong reasons. And maybe that’s why the role was so perfect, she was already well on her way to the crazy starlet we see her as now.

Best Deception

Winner: Amanda Bynes, She’s The Man

Loser: Mandy Moore, Chasing Liberty

Can you even call it a fair competition going up against Amanda Bynes in She’s The Man? It is arguably her best movie to date. Not to discredit the adorable Chasing Liberty, but based on who had a better disguise, pretending not to be the president’s daughter versus pretending to be a dude to kick ass on a soccer team, the latter wins every time.

Amanda Bynes’ character Viola Hastings refuses to let a sexist coach kick her off the boys soccer team after her girls team is cut. So what does she do? Well put on the perfect disguise of course. And alongside Channing Tatum, Amanda Bynes comedy is in full throttle. Everyone remember the tampon in the bloody nose bit, of course. Mandy Moore’s Chasing Liberty had two disguises in it, her’s and her new boyfriend, but even with more tricksters in the movie, it doesn’t come close to She’s The Man.

Best Sappy Teen

Winner: Mandy Moore, How To Deal

Loser: Amanda Bynes, What A Girl Wants

There are too many Mandy Moore films that would win this category, but my definite favorite has to be How to Deal. Not only does the plot set up for some ultimate tearjerker moments, but Moore’s character Halley is just such a disgruntled, sappy teenager. I seem to recall more than one screaming into the pillow sequence. And on top of that Halley is so anti-love it hurts. How would you feel if your radio personality dad played by Peter Gallagher ran off with a young blonde? But alas, the end she finds what love really means, and yay the sappiness was all worth it!

On the other hand we have Amanda Bynes’ Daphne in What A Girl Wants. Now, it’s difficult to place Bynes in this category, as her comedy often shines over any dramatic portrayals, but when a girl just wants to find the father she never met, well cue the sappy. On her journey, Daphne has plenty of sappy teen moments, and this coming-of-age story tends to stay more on the drama side of the spectrum than any other Bynes film to date. It still can't top Moore's signature role though.

Best Modern Princess

Winner: Amanda Bynes, Sydney White

Loser: Mandy Moore, Tangled

I’m sure this category is going to catch some flak, considering the sheer popularity that comes along with a Disney film. But if you haven’t seen Amanda Bynes in Sydney White just yet, go rent it/download it/whatever the kids do these days, right now. It is wonderful. Bynes’ character Sydney is far from your typical Disney princess. She tries, joins her moms preppy sorority, only to find being raised solely by her father means she’s not all that fond of the girliness, which apparently translates to being a way better person.

Mandy Moore’s Rapunzel in Tangled helped start the trend of more badass, empowered princesses, since her character is the one to ultimately save the day, and her the male protagonist’s life. The modern take on the classic Brothers Grimm tale is a breath of fresh air. But Amanda Bynes’ Sydney White still takes the cake, as it promotes a message of acceptance and kindness and some quirky comedy to boot.

Best Ridiculous Rom-Com

Winner: Amanda Bynes, Love Wrecked

Loser: Mandy Moore, License To Wed

Critically, both of these films were major flops. License to Wed has a 7% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and while Love Wrecked only has a bit higher, it still at least has that Amanda Bynes charm to keep it afloat. License to Wed is just absurd. With a cast alongside Mandy Moore such as John Krasinski and Robin Williams, you would expect great things. But the plot was silly at best. The creepy robot babies are at the center of this ridiculous, but while this was Moore’s biggest commercial success, you have to wonder, is even a rom-com worth it?

There’s a line that is crossed when a rom-com becomes so incredibly implausible and ridiculous, that there’s no going back. And while some of those types of rom-coms could easily win this category, Mandy Moore’s License to Wed was too weird and creepy to even make fun of. At least with Love Wrecked, Amanda Bynes may play the extreme of a lovestruck teen meeting their pop icon for the first time, but we’ve all been there. And at least the ridiculousness of her film, Bynes carries you through laughing.

Best Musical Number

Winner: Mandy Moore, "Only Hope", A Walk To Remember

Loser: Amanda Bynes, "Without Love", Hairspray

Mandy Moore gets this category, but not without competition. Though it may be considered cheating considering she’s a pop star first, when she sings "Only Hope" in A Walk To Remember it is the by far the best moment of the movie, and arguably one of the best moments of her entire acting career. Tears every time. A Walk To Remember was Mandy Moore’s first starring role, and though cliche in many ways, the school play scene when she sings "Only Hope" is unforgettable.

Amanda Bynes’ "Without Love" also had its strength though. The girl got chops. By no means does she have the singing skills of Moore, but complete with the performance, Bynes’ musical number in 2007’s Hairspray was another of the more memorable in her film. And with a more upbeat tempo, Bynes was able to let her comedic facial expressions shine along with the singing.

Best Overall Career:

Winner: Amanda Bynes

To put it nicely, Amanda Bynes is off of our radars now when it comes to acting, but that doesn’t mean we should discount her incredibly hilarious career. Mandy Moore has a far more extensive resume, but when all's said and done, more movies don’t necessarily make you a more memorable actor. She’s The Man, Sydney White, Hairspray, Big Fat Liar, Easy A, What A Girl Wants, and Love Wrecked, Amanda Bynes only had seven feature length films, but each one stands out as uniquely hers. Whether she’s trying out a more dramatic role, or reveling in her quirky weird norm, her personality shines through every time, and always feels like a relatable character.

Basically what it comes down to is we want her back. The nice, funny, just a little bit, but not over-the-edge crazy Amanda Bynes that we all fell in love with back in her The Amanda Show days, and got the opportunity to love her a little bit more with each new film. We want the Amanda Bynes that made us laugh till our stomachs hurt in She’s the Man, the Amanda Bynes who we cheered for when she stood up for her fellow nerds in Sydney White, and even the Amanda Bynes giving us her best mean girl impression in Easy A. Amanda Bynes, please find your sanity again, we miss you.

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If you are between the ages of five and eighteen, know someone who is between the ages of five and eighteen or have used context clues to figure out why Target has way more notebooks for sale than usual, you are aware America is currently knee deep in back-to-school season. Because all of the writers at Cinema Blend fit into at least one of those categories, all of our meetings for the last week have devolved into unnecessary, yet extremely topical arguments about our favorite school movies.

So, in an attempt to get some real work done and more importantly, to prove each other wrong, we decided to come up with a formula to try and accurately pit school films against one another. The result is what you’re about to read. Twenty films were selected and each of the Cinema Blend writers were asked to rank them in the following categories: sexiness of the hot girls and guys, awesomeness of the cool kids, relatability of the main characters, overall quoteability and overall rewatchability. The five scores in the aforementioned categories were then averaged together to produce an average Hughes. Why an average Hughes? Because no one has ever or will ever do a school movie quite as well as John Hughes.

The formula was downright disrespectful to a few films, but in general, the list turned out pretty well. You can take a look at it below and then get your bitch on in the comment section…

20. Summer School

Ah, 1987. When NCIS captain Mark Harmon was considered a bankable leading man, Kirstie Alley was a convincingly sexy love interest, and a male teacher could take a legitimate interest in the well-being of a gorgeous, bleach-blonde teenage classmate without raising half-a-million red flags. Welcome to Summer School, Carl Reiner’s nearly-forgotten comedy about a slacker conned by his principal to “babysit” the outcasts forced to attend an after-semester program. It isn’t as inspirational as Dangerous Minds or Stand and Deliver. But the likeable Harmon makes a legitimate connection with the sarcastic kids in his summer school, and horror-movie fanatics “Chainsaw” and Dave were an early indicator of the “geeks shall inherit the Earth” mentality that would help film nerds seem cooler than most in 2012. Looking for a sleeper heading into the fall semester? Find Summer School.

THE STATS

Sexiness: 4.5

Coolness: 4

Relatability: 4

Quoteability: 5

Rewatchability: 3

Final Score: 4.1

19. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone

Though at home he was an outcast forced to slumber under the stairs, scarred and bespectacled Harry Potter—AKA the Boy Who Lived—entered his new school (Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry) already a legend having thwarted the evil Voldemort while still in nappies. So, unlike many of the other protagonists featured on this list, he and by extension his devoted buds, overachiever Hermione and dirt-smudged goofball Ron, were the cool kids. And even though their classes had more to do with spells and potions than algebra and composition, these magical adolescents took cliques and schoolyard bullying to new heights with the cruel kids of Slytherin, making Harry’s first adventure pretty relatable. However, since none of the students here had yet hit puberty, the cast understandably lost points in the “sexiness” department. And as one of the franchise’s lesser and therefore less re-watchable selections, it’s score likewise suffered there.

THE STATS

Sexiness: 2.9

Coolness: 6.9

Relatability: 7.1

Quoteability: 3.7

Rewatchability:5.8

Final Score: 5.2

18. Rushmore

Poor Rushmore, the most overt casualty of our ranking system. Wes Anderson’s quirky 1998 film touches on many of the same topics we expect from school movies (feelings of alienation, lust, wild rumors), but it does so with characters that are utterly bizarre. Many of them aren’t even school-aged themselves, and those who are, like Schwartzman’s Max Fischer, don’t really act it most of the time. I’m not sure I’ve ever met a single person who isn’t at least fond of the film, but because of its almost pathological weirdness, it got buried in the sexiness, coolness and relatability departments. Were it not for the incredibly high rewatch score, it would have wound up cozying up beside Summer School and all of us would have wound up with tampered breaks, bee stings and broken marriages as revenge.

THE STATS

Sexiness: 3.3

Coolness: 3.8

Relatability: 4.8

Quoteability: 7.1

Rewatchability: 9.6

Final Score: 5.7

17. Grease

One of the original high school musicals, Randal Kleiser’s Grease was based on Casey and Jacobs's ‘71 broadway show and features, shockingly, a bunch of late-twenty somethings playing teenagers but this time with perfectly melodic angst. Spanning the entire year at Rydell High, the 50s set picture features all the staples of the era - diners, drive-ins, dances, races and even a school fair - that makes it at once far removed from our experience and yet the perfect place for a fanciful musical. Not to mention the birthplace, uh birthtime of cool. Danny and Sandy fall for each other over the summer and I suppose the pair, plus their T-Birds and Pink Ladies, maybe aren’t the sexiest or full of memorable lines, but the songs sure are quotable and one of many reasons that Grease is pretty rewatchable. Check your local listings, it’s bound to show up. And the main titles remain incredible.

THE STATS

Sexiness: 5.1

Coolness: 7.3

Relatability: 4.1

Quoteability: 5.9

Rewatchability: 7

Final Score: 5.9

16. Saved!

Saved! is a little wild and can be treated as wildly offensive. The movie doesn’t go for the typical teen tropes, and it doesn’t rely on any hotness or coolness factor to intrigue audiences. The film’s pre-Juno pregnancy plot set in a Christian school makes it one of the more unique school environments to hit this list, but its success derives more from the film’s many hypocritical characters and the general wackiness of the plot than the setting, although being able to knock down a giant Jesus statue due to the backdrop is pretty top notch. In around an hour and a half, Saved! tackles teen pregnancy, gay daddies with straight moms, hypocrisy in the faith, shallow churchgoers, and intermixing faiths. It’s not serious, but it’s serious enough to matter, and it’s a hell of a lot of fun to watch over and over again.

THE STATS

Sexiness: 5.8

Coolness: 4.5

Relatability: 6.3

Quoteability: 6.3

Rewatchability: 7

Final Score: 6

15. Billy Madison

As a comedy, Billy Madison appeals most to those who appreciate Adam Sandler in his goofier characters, telling the story of a rich guy who has to return to school after his original grades are called to question. Billy Madison was once the "cool kid" (likely due at, at least in part, to his father's fortune than his personality) who got a taste of his own medicine when he returned to school and wasn't so popular the second time around, so there is an emphasis on social hierarchy, especially as Billy is often on the receiving end of the many O'Doyles' bullying tactics. But Billy's efforts to defeat his father's company's executive vice president Eric Gordon, takes some time away from the school side of the movie, which is why this one falls a bit on the lower end among school-set films. Still, O'Doyle Rules!

THE STATS

Sexiness: 3.8

Coolness: 5.8

Relatability: 4.5

Quoteability: 9

Rewatchability: 7.7

Final Score: 6.2

14. Brick

The world of Rian Johnson's Brick is pretty much nothing like any real high school, but that's the hook that makes this modern noir-- and Johnson's first-ever feature-- so fascinating. Taking all the familiar high school cliques-- the popular jocks, the burnouts, the drama geeks-- and layering them into Brendan's investigation into his ex-girlfriend's death, it takes high school seriously enough to be the setting of a grown-up mystery, just the way actual high schoolers do. It doesn't have any of the usual landmarks of a school movie, like prom or pep rallies or even teachers, which is why it ranks a little low on our list. But more than any of these others it might inspire you to see high school differently, with the kind of high stakes it had when you were there, and the potential to tell a story much bigger than most high school movies ever attempt.

THE STATS

Sexiness: 7

Coolness: 8

Relatability: 4.8

Quoteability: 6.2

Rewatchability: 8.2

Final Score: 6.8

13. Dead Poets Society

There’s nothing particularly sexy about the unkempt boys in Dead Poets Society, unless coupling Holden Caulfield’s look (sans the red hat) with T.S. Eliot’s outlook is your thing. Dead Poets Society reminds us there was a time when even Ethan Hawke looked gangly and unattractive, but it makes the annals of best school films because its plot transcends that awkward period to tell a story of a few dudes just trying to make their way in the world. Still, in many ways, the tale of boys growing up in boarding school in the late 1950s is more atmospheric than it is relatable. Regardless, when it reaches its poetic “O Captain! My Captain!” climax, it’s too inspirational to make a lick of a difference.

THE STATS

Sexiness: 7

Coolness: 7.3

Relatability: 6.3

Quoteability: 6.3

Rewatchability: 7.8

Final Score: 6.9

12. Election

Featuring Reese Witherspoon at her most detestable and Matthew Broderick at his most bumbling, Alexander Payne’s foray into the cutthroat game of high school politics is clever and fast-paced. We’re given three remarkably different student body president candidates. The first (Tracy Flick) tries way too hard at everything. The second (Paul Metzler) is naturally likeable and good at sports, and the third (Tammy Metzler) tries really hard to pretend she’s not trying. All three, while exaggerated slightly, feel familiar and honest, as does Broderick’s Jim McAllister who starts out trying to do the right thing and winds up despised by everyone he knows. Election definitely features less sex appeal and fewer snappy one-liners than most high school films, but it’s still brilliant and very rewatchable.

THE STATS

Sexiness: 6.8

Coolness: 7

Relatability: 7

Quoteability: 6.2

Rewatchability: 8.2

Final Score: 7.0

11. American Pie

The American Pie teens weren’t off-the-charts sexy. (No offense, Jason Biggs.) Nor were they the coolest kids in the school (though Seann William Scott’s Stifler certainly had an inflated sense of self). No, they make our back-to-school list because of their relatibility … especially when high-schoolers reach that age where all they want to do is hump the nearest inanimate object. A warm apple pie on the kitchen counter? Sure, stuff your junk into it. The Pie movies gradually went off the rails when it came to sexually-charged humor – giving National Lampoon’s a run for their money in the cheap-and-easy joke department – but Paul and Chris Weitz captured the camaraderie of childhood friends in the first Pie, and that why we continue to look back at it with affection.

THE STATS

Sexiness: 7.3

Coolness: 6.5

Relatability: 7.8

Quoteability: 6.7

Rewatchability: 7.2

Final Score: 7.1

10. Easy A

In its numerous attempts to pay homage to the John Hughes era of high school-set movies, Easy A becomes the epitome of movie-teen stereotyping, complete with an array of especially good-looking teens filling the cast, and a noticeably high cool-factor among the characters (including teachers and parents). Relatability falls short as a result, but the nostalgic factor makes up for that, as does Olive's narration as she repeatedly breaks the fourth wall in an effort to guide us through her journey, which has her playing up a "loose" reputation she earned when a rumor circulates that she cashed in her V-card with a guy from a community college. The film is short on amazing quotes (excluding Mr. Griffith's irritated commentary on adolescent Facebook usage), but it makes up for that with references to 80s movies ("Never had one lesson.") In the end, Easy A borders on parody, but because it never quite crosses the line, it wins points for every movie it modeled itself after, which is why it's earned relatively high marks across the board here.

THE STATS

Sexiness: 7.6

Coolness: 6

Relatability: 7.7

Quoteability: 6.6

Rewatchability: 8.3

Final Score: 7.2

9. Dazed & Confused

Given its time period and the whole paddling plotline, the characters in Dazed & Confused might not be super relatable to many of us, but the feelings of boredom the teens feel is universal. There’s about twenty-five characters and all of them are desperately rooting for anything to come along that might pass the time. By the end, they fuck around, they fight, they get drunk, they talk about football and most importantly, they begrudgingly plan to wake up the next morning and do the same thing again. Featuring arguably the most famous school quote in history (“That’s what I like about high school girls…”), some really cool seniors, though not super-seniors (sorry Ben Affleck) and a very good rewatch value, Dazed & Confused scored high in a lot of areas, but since it didn’t come close to winning any single one, it only wound up barely cracking the top ten.

THE STATS

Sexiness: 6

Coolness: 8.2

Relatability: 7.3

Quoteability: 7.3

Rewatchability: 7.5

Final Score: 7.3

8. 10 Things I Hate About You

10 Things I Hate About You mixes Heath Ledger with dark hair, Julia Styles’ youthful dimples (hey, that’s some people’s thing), an even younger Joseph Gordon Levitt, and that cute chick from The Secret World of Alex Mack. Together, that makes for an arguably sexy teenage cast, even when the characters are sometimes a bit wanting for coolness—think medieval costumes for prom and talking about Sarah Lawrence College like its their job. If some of the best lines in the flick weren’t saved for the adults in the film, including Larry Miller as the girls’ dad or Allison Janney as the feisty principle-turned-novelist, 10 Things I Hate About You could have topped this list, but as it stands, it’s still nice to know words like “tumescent” will live on in teen vocabularies for years to come.

THE STATS

Sexiness: 8.6

Coolness: 7

Relatability: 7

Quoteability: 6.1

Rewatchability: 8.3

Final Score: 7.4

7. Can’t Hardly Wait

Taking place at an epic house party immediately following high school graduation, this ‘90s classic focused on teens trying to break down the walls four years of cliques and peer pressure had constructed in pursuit of their fantasy future, be it getting the attention of a long-pined for dream girl, getting revenge on a bullying jock, or getting laid at last! Rocking some serious late ‘90s style, the cast that includes a love-struck Ethan Embry, sassy Lauren Ambrose, prom queen Jennifer Love Hewitt, meat-headed jock Peter Facinelli, and overeager poser Seth Green is decidedly hot. Yet it was the relatability of the ensemble’s storylines that scored highest here. Who among us hadn’t wished to transcend our high school status? It’s this ardent desire captured with such gusto—not to mention quotable one-liners—that makes this teen feature totally worth revisiting again and again.

THE STATS

Sexiness: 7.4

Coolness: 6.6

Relatability: 8

Quoteability: 7.8

Rewatchability: 7.9

Final Score: 7.5

6. Fast Times At Ridgemont High

Ridgemont was not only written by Cameron Crowe but was also based on his book, the research for which was conducted in a full on Never Been Kissed style situation. The excellent ensemble story spans several grades, offering a slice of exaggerated yet recognizable high school life that holds up on multiple viewings. And the Phoebe Cates pool sequence doesn’t hurt. Starring Sean Penn as surfer Jeff Spicoli, Fast Times also features bit parts from then unknown Forest Whitaker, Eric Stoltz and Nic Cage. “All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine...”

THE STATS

Sexiness: 7.3

Coolness: 8.3

Relatability: 6.8

Quoteability: 8.2

Rewatchability: 7.8

Final Score: 7.7

5. Heathers

Heathers is one of the ultimate high school-set dark comedies, with its emphasis on the social dictatorship that high school can be for some, while being a torture sentence for others. The story follows Wynona Rider's Veronica, a popular girl who's dragging her feet behind the rest of her A-group friends, when Christian Slater's J.D. arrives to snap her out of it and wreak havoc on the social structure of their school by offing the popular kids one by one. Its extreme portrayals of high school archetypes - from the jocks and teen beauties who went out of their way to make the lower-ranked kids' lives hell - to its dark twist of murder, the movie turns humor to horror, treading the line between dark and disturbing right to the end. So it loses points on relatability on that front, but what it lacks there, it makes up for in quotability (e.g. "How very." "Fuck me gently with a chainsaw," "Greetings and salutations…") and rewatchability.

THE STATS

Sexiness: 8.4

Coolness: 8

Relatability: 6.2

Quoteability: 7.8

Rewatchability: 9

Final Score: 7.9

4. The Breakfast Club

The stereotypes of high school always start to break down in small groups. Once teenagers are stripped away from their friends and away from the prying eyes of the social hierarchy, common ground can be found with just about anyone. It’s a universe truth everybody who has gone through high school has learned firsthand, and it’s the central message behind John Hughes’ classic film. Andrew, Claire, John, Brian and Allison might not think or want to speak to one another on a Monday morning, but forced to share the same space, a connection can be forged in just a few hours. Twenty-five-years later, the bonds the five students forged are just as touching, which is probably why the film didn’t receive a single score below 7.3.

THE STATS

Sexiness: 7.3

Coolness: 8

Relatability: 8.1

Quoteability: 8

Rewatchability: 8

Final Score: 8.0

3. Clueless

This marks undersung writer-director Amy Hecklerling’s second appearance of this list, proving no one short of John Hughes better understands the plights and passions of American teens. 13 years after making one of the defining ‘80s teen comedies with Fast Times, this savvy filmmaker with an ear for dialogue and a comprehensive understanding of the ways of a teenager’s heart captured lightning in a bottle once more with her spirited re-interpretation of Jane Austen’s Emma. Alicia Silverstone became the idol of girls everywhere as kindhearted but clueless matchmaker Cher…even if she was “a virgin who can’t drive.” Elevating plaid from grunge and spouting outrage with “as if” and “whatever,” Cher and her gal pals were enviably chic, and untouchably cool, though painfully naïve. With this balance, Heckerling both celebrated and commiserated with the teen experience, making Clueless one of the best high school comedies ever made.

THE STATS

Sexiness: 8.4

Coolness: 9.3

Relatability: 6.7

Quoteability: 9.1

Rewatchability: 9.1

Final Score: 8.5

2. Mean Girls

Mean Girls isn't the kind of modern classic that usually makes all-time top 10 lists, but as one of the most quotable and consistently hilarious films of the last decade, maybe it ought to be. At the very least it's one of the all-time best depictions of high school, as groups of cliques ("Unfriendly black hotties, girls who eat their feelings, girls who don't eat anything…") who both worship and loathe the social structure that makes people like Regina George queen bee of them all. With killer performances from everyone, but especially Rachel McAdams as Regina and Lindsay Lohan at her most witty as the hapless Cady, Mean Girls gets away with both subtly sharp cynicism (Regina's little sister dancing to "Milkshake"after school) and knee-slapping silliness ("Oh my God, Karen, you can't just ask people why they're white!") that somehow sums up the ridiculousness of high school, just much funnier than it was when we all went through it.

THE STATS

Sexiness: 8.7

Coolness: 8.1

Relatability: 8

Quoteability: 9.1

Rewatchability: 9.1

Final Score: 8.6

1. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

It’s telling that our favorite “school” movie centers around a kid who moves Heaven and Earth so that he won’t have to attend. Yet John Hughes reminds us why Ferris (Matthew Broderick) risks it all by routinely looking in on the classroom hell our hero is avoiding, from the monotonous teachers to the principal who’s dying to bring him down. Hughes knew there was a little bit of Ferris in all of us. And we can practically guarantee that teenagers around the world who are heading back to school this week are faking stomach cramps, licking the palms of their hands, and moaning and groaning so they can have one last day of summer vacation. Godspeed, little Ferris disciples.

THE STATS

Sexiness: 7.4

Coolness: 9.6

Relatability: 8

Quoteability: 8.8

Rewatchability: 9.5

Final Score: 8.7

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