Ten Things To Watch For That Back-To-School Feeling
For almost everybody, heading back to school doesn’t look the same as it used to. Whether you’re having to learn online this year, do a version of homeschool or go back to an abbreviated schedule or a lack of extracurricular activities, it’s all a bit new.
Whether you’re a student pining for getting to spend time with your friends 40 hours a week or a parent wishing your kid was experiencing ‘normal’ schooling, I found a couple of streaming options for you to hopefully make you smile (and probably wistfully stare off into the distance as you dream about when football games, field trips and chorus competitions will be the norm again).
1. To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (Netflix)
If you have some nostalgia for the sweet feeling of a first crush in school, Lara Jean will take you back. In these extremely adorable but not-overly-cheesy couple of films. Sure, there are some run-ins with some mean girls now and then, but it focuses on the tale of a romantic teen who accidentally seems to have fallen into her own love story.
2. All-American (Netflix)
Naturally, there has to be a teen drama on this list, but instead of going for the classics, I have to share one that I feel like is incredibly underrated. This CW show hasn’t been around for long, but it’s a great combination of rich kid drama, a tale of how hard it is to be a self-made person when everyone else seems to have been handed everything and just how much being on a good high school football can matter.
3. Never Have I Ever (Netflix)
Mindy Kaling takes you straight back to high school with this short, cute Netflix series. There’s secondhand embarrassment, there’s a determination to be cool and there’s the confusing dynamic that surrounds almost all school-aged relationships. It’s truly fun, occasionally laugh-out-loud funny and easily a show the whole family can enjoy.
4. Love Victor (Hulu)
What would high school be without a bit of emotional turmoil? While this short series may not be as amazing as its film predecessor (Love Simon), it is still so well written that it is easy to accidentally binge the entire thing in one fell swoop. The lead character is charming, and it shares a coming-of-age story that isn’t often told, but deserves to be heard.
5. Booksmart (Hulu)
I’m pretty sure I’ve already written about this movie on a different list, but I will take any opportunity possible to rave about it. It may be a story about the end of high school, but it would be a failure on my part if I didn’t put it on this list. May not be the most appropriate for all school-aged kids to watch, but this film is so good that I think I may have to revisit it despite being out of high school for ten years.
6. Community (Hulu)
Okay, I can’t ignore the fact that there are some college students (no matter the age) that aren’t getting the “normal” experience right about now either. So if you need a laugh to keep you from focusing on the dumpster fire that a lot of us feel the world is right now, you can’t do much better than Community. A great cast and witty banter will be able to distract anyone for a little bit.
7. Friday Night Lights (HBO Max)
If your heart is hurting more for a lack of sports than a lack of classrooms, Friday Night Lights is the obvious choice. It doesn’t get more quintessential than the story of Texas high school football. Hardly anything can beat out the promise of a game on a Friday night, so you may as well join in with them by checking out the movie (or the show if you can find it).
8. John Tucker Must Die (HBO Max)
Due to my deep, devoted love of 2000s teen comedy/romance/dramas, I had to throw one on this list, and it’s definitely one of my favorites. It’s so perfectly dated that the nostalgia comes back in full force. And how often can you watch a movie with Ashanti and Dan-from-Gossip-Girl-before-he-only-played creepers? It’s so hard to turn this one down once you see it’s on, even if there are a couple of problematic moments.
9. Saved (Prime)
Saved is one of those movies I randomly ended up watching and then proceeded to go, “Wait, they’re in this??” This movie is a bit ridiculous in the best way and features baby Jena Malone, Macaulay Culkin, Heather Matarazzo and Mandy Moore. If this one somehow escaped you, please sit down with some wine or popcorn or both and enjoy the show.
10. Monsters University (Disney+)
Sure, maybe your school experience wouldn’t be like that, but between this and the more mystical Harry Potter series (on HBO Max at the moment), you can imagine that you were going to some fantasy or animated school in a totally different world. And right now, who couldn’t use a bit of escapism?
What is some of your favorite back-to-school media? I would have basically just waxed poetic about Gilmore Girls for my pick, but I figured a lot of people already know about that one. Let me know in the comments!