Films That Helped Us Grow Up

The Makeover

By TrésSugar

Clueless may be the best-known makeover movie ("Ooh! Project!") and Tina Fey later put her twist on it in Mean Girls.

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Virginity Lost

Losing one's virginity is practically the main ingredient of a coming-of-age movie, but nowhere is it more memorable and central to the plot than in Dirty Dancing.

That One Crazy Summer

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants isn't so much crazy — unless you consider shipping a pair of jeans around the world crazy — as it is a portrayal of a life-changing summer.

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The Awkward Years

The usual message is that deep down, unpopular kids are more fascinating than popular ones. In Juno a gawky teen possesses a magical self-confidence that only a screenplay could provide.

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Revenge of the Nerd

The nerd outsmarts his oppressors and find his own coolness in Almost Famous — we love it when the unpopular kid skips right past snooty high-school girls only to find, and get, the older woman.

First Crush

In Sixteen Candles, socially underrated Samantha gets Jake, the jock, and he turns out to be just as sweet as he looks.

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