Turning 21: Top 10 Coming-Of-Age-Movies

Hello, reader!

I turned 21 years old last week, so I figured I should celebrate by doing a list of the best coming-of-age films. This is a hard genre to define, with a lot of movies sort-of belonging to the genre but not quite. I resolved this dilemma by ruling that any film can make it to this list, even if their primary genre isn't coming-of-age, but I will be judging them purely on how good they are as coming-of-age movies, instead of overall movie quality. Therefore the ranking doesn't 100% represent how I'd rank these individual movies on some other list, but it does represent how well they deal with coming-of-age themes and what they bring to that genre. I hope you enjoy!

Here are my honorable mentions: Bridge To Terabithia (2007), Call Me By Your Name (2017), Kielletty Hedelmä (2009), Spirited Away (2001), The Karate Kid (1984)

10. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

One of the many genre infusions to make this list, Spider-Man: Homecoming combines the superhero genre with the coming-of-age genre beautifully. While pretty much all Spider-Man films do have coming-of-age elements to them, Homecoming has arguably the most focus on said elements. We follow Peter Parker (Tom Holland) navigating his way through high school, crushes, friendship and a layered relationship with sort-of father-figure Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), while also navigating the less typical teenage challenges of guarding one's crime-fighting secret identity and battling a guy in a menacing bird suit. Tom Holland is brilliant in the role of the kind-hearted, slightly awkward teenage superhero, and watching him grow as a person throughout the film's runtime is quite heartwarming.

9. La La Land (2016)

Dammit! I did it again. I meant to put Moonlight here, not La La Land. Don't know why this keeps happening...let me try again.

9. Moonlight (2016)

There we go.

Growing up has its challenges for everyone. Growing up African-American, gay and poor is an experience I can only try to picture. Director Barry Jenkins masterfully tackles the intricacies of finding oneself at a young age while belonging to a racial and sexual minority in the thought-provoking Best Picture -winner Moonlight. The protagonist Chiron is followed in three stages of his life: child actor Alex Hibbert portrays him is a troubled kid beginning to grasp his sexual identity and his societal surroundings; Ashton Sanders portrays him in his teenage years as he faces bullying, first love and a further dive into who he wants to be in life; and finally Trevante Rhodes portrays him as a young man whose identity has been built. Throughout these three acts the viewer becomes thoroughly invested in Chiron's story, and watching him grow up and find himself is a fascinating experience.

8. Rebel Without A Cause (1955)

Released about a month after the tragic death of its main star James Dean, Rebel Without A Cause is the foremost of the films that truly immortalized his career. Dean stars as troubled youth Jim Stark, an iconic character for a good reason. Rebel Without A Cause is considered groundbreaking in cinema history, due to its fleshed-out portrayal of young troublemaker personalities. Coinciding with the rise of youth culture in America in the 50's, this film explored the various reasons why teenagers act out and rebel against the world they live in: poor parenting, a sense of not belonging and the overall wanting to find oneself and make a life outside the will of one's parents are all shown as the background elements leading to the rebellious actions of Stark, as well as the other major characters Judy (Natalie Wood) and Plato (Sal Mineo).

The film has an important message about the need for understanding between generations. Its story takes the phenomenon of parents simply punishing their children without trying to understand their actions, as well as youngsters taking their actions too far, to an extreme by showing what sort of tragedies it can lead to. I'd imagine that especially at the time of its release, the film was an eye-opening experience to quite a few parents as well as teenagers - to some, it could very well be relevant even today. The film immortalized James Dean and his character as a cinematic monument to cool and rebellious adolescence, yet it doesn't simply glorify that persona: it's a complex look at growing up and looking for one's place in the world, and the rebellion that often goes with it.

7. It (2017)

You thought combining coming-of-age with superheroes was strange? Then brace yourself for the signature horror movie of the coming-of-age genre.

The combination of these two genres is odd, but it works flawlessly - much thanks to Stephen King, whose original book was just as much growing pains and sweet moments of youthful bliss as it was creepy lore and scary monsters. The central characters of the film are a group of seven youngsters who call themselves the Losers Club - all of them are different from the norms and have faced bullying for various reasons (one of them is picked on for having a stutter, one is fat-shamed, one slut-shamed and so on). Especially for viewers with experiences of bullying, the movie (just as the book it's based on) can be very therapeutic as you follow these misfits finding solace with one another and building a beautiful friendship that cuts seven ways. The bond between the heroes has just as strong of an impact as any of the tense horror sequences and jump-scares provided by the film's horror elements.

6. Lady Bird (2017)

I'm starting to notice a pattern on my list: each of these films is especially relatable for a certain type of person: It for victims of bullying, Rebel Without A Cause for rebellious youths, Moonlight for gay and/or POC youngsters, Spider-Man: Homecoming for high-schoolers who get bitten by radioactive spiders, et cetera...and to continue the pattern, Lady Bird is definitely the coming-of-age movie for artistic individuals.

Greta Gerwig's artistic style of directing works in flawless harmony with the artistic inclinations of protagonist Lady Bird (played in an amazing performance by Saoirse Ronan). As a sharp contrast to the dreamy art life that the main character pursues, her mother (played by Laurie Metcalf in another strong performance) tries to keep her head out of the clouds, often in an unnecessarily controlling and passive-aggressive way. The adversarial relationship between mother and daughter is quite gripping, yet the film has a lot of humor and heartfelt moments to balance it out. The film's vibrant depiction of growing up and becoming your own person has an amusing balance with its completely non-vibrant depiction of life in Sacramento.

5. Dead Poets Society (1989)

If this list were based purely on how good the movie is, this one would jump right to first place (it's one of my top 5 favorite films of all time, after all). Judged purely as how good of a coming-of-age story it is, Dead Poets Society gets slightly edged out by four individuals that represent the perfection of the genre - still, fifth place isn't too bad.

The film centers on a group of students at a strict and by-the-book boarding school, and their relationship with their thoroughly out-of-the-box English teacher John Keating (Robin Williams). While Williams's character is the film's most iconic one, the impact of the student characters cannot be understated: a group of relatable, realistic and absolutely lovable youngsters are brought to life by actors such as Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard and Josh Charles. The bond between them and the growth they experience throughout the movie is beautiful and inspiring, making this masterpiece one of the best coming-of-age films out there.

4. Stand By Me (1986)

This one hits hard. A breathtakingly beautiful ode to childhood innocence and youthful nostalgia, Stand By Me has its share of lessons and a whole lot of heart. The story is essentially a series of flashbacks, as the main character recounts an important event from his childhood after finding out about the death of a friend as an adult. The film follows a group of four friends as they go on a journey to find the body of a missing boy, while encountering their share of obstacles and learning a lot from one another. Pretty much every element in the film contributes to an atmosphere of blissful childhood summer memories: the Stephen King source material, Rob Reiner's directing, and of course the immortal Ben E. King song in the soundtrack.

The child acting is also some of the best I've seen: the impressive quartet of Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman and Jerry O'Connell bring their characters to life magnificently. A young Kiefer Sutherland is also memorable as teenage tough-guy Ace Merrill, who gets in the way of the main characters. All in all, Stand By Me is a sweet and moving story that pretty much anyone can relate to on some level.

3. Boyhood (2014)

Kudos to Richard Linklater for coming up with this ingenious idea. Boyhood is quite a unique coming-of-age film, as it was filmed during a span of twelve years, thus allowing the characters to grow up in a gradual and realistic manner. The main character, Mason, is played by Ellar Coltrane, who was 7 years old when the filming started, and 19 when it ended. It is absolutely magnificent to follow Mason and his family growing up slowly with each passing year, as the 2-hour-and-45-minute runtime tackles various challenges and milestones of early childhood, puberty, teenage life and becoming an adult.

In addition to the visually impressive gimmick of seeing the cast grow older moment by moment, the actors also bring a whole bunch of skill to the table: Coltrane shows off their range in the leading role, while Patricia Arquette rightfully won an Oscar for her layered performance as the family's mother, and Ethan Hawke is complex and compelling as the father. Funny how Hawke was one of the kids in coming-of-age movie Dead Poets Society, and 25 years later he played the parent in this film of the same genre - quite the full circle.

2. The Breakfast Club (1985)

The princess. The athlete. The criminal. The brain. And the basket case. And, of course, the Simple Minds song Don't You Forget About Me in the soundtrack. Now there's a recipe for a masterpiece.

The Breakfast Club is an amazing story about five very different kids bonding while in detention. Parts of the film are gripping and emotional, while other parts are some of the most chill and feel-good moments in all of cinema. There's heart-wrenching dialogue as the main characters open up to each other about their hardships, and there's hilarious dialogue as their pitch-perfect chemistry leads to a lot of wonderful moments. There's an ending scene that will put just the widest smile on the average viewer's face. So, all in all, The Breakfast Club is quite an incredible film about different people finding common ground, friendship and personal growth.

1. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012)

One of the hands-down best films of the 2010's, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is a heartbreaking yet ultimately heartwarming coming-of-age film that everyone might benefit from seeing. There may be a very subjective reason for it being nudged all the way to first place on my list: the film tackles themes and experiences very close to my own life, and no other movie has had such an emotional impact on me on a personal level as this one. To me, Perks is the very definition of art having a therapeutic healing effect.

But that's far from being the only reason! The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is a great coming-of-age film by pretty much any standard, as it deals with important life lessons, the challenges of growth and the journey to find one's identity and place in the world. Logan Lerman is absolutely perfect in the lead role, as are Emma Watson and Ezra Miller as his offbeat friends, and Paul Rudd as the mentor-like teacher in his school. The story has some very gripping moments, but just as many wholesome and heartfelt ones, as many youthful struggles are portrayed realistically but so is the act of getting past said struggles. The film's ending monologue is one of my favorite movie moments ever, as it hits on some profound truths about life and moves me to tears every damn time. Seriously, if you haven't seen this film, I thoroughly recommend it.

Thank you for reading - be sure to check out my list of top 10 July 4th Movie Recommendations next week!