A few weeks ago
A few notes before we start
• The films featured in this post are included because they fall under my arbitrary definition of what a "teen movie" is. Some of them might skew a bit younger, some of them feature characters that are no longer teenagers in the story. If the movie had ads playing during the afternoon blocks on programming on MTV, Nickelodeon, or ABC Family, I am considering them teen movies.
• This list is largely white, reflective of the lack of diversity in Hollywood back then (diversity that Hollywood still lacks today).
These Movies Are So 2004, It Hurts - Hilary Duff Edition
Raise Your Voice (October 2004):
Stop me if you've heard this one before: nice, blonde every-girl feels like an outsider at school and through a series of misadventures she falls in love, finds her place, and wins everyone over. It's a forgettable movie, that touches on grief in a way that makes it a bit more poignant than a lot of Hilary's teen movie fare. But let's be real we only remember it for the choir room scene.
A Cinderella Story (July 2004)
Whenever I watch the scene where Hilary storms into the locker room to yell at Chad Michael Murray, I think about how one of the characters from Lauren Myracle's Internet Girls series was obsessed with watching that scene over and over again. Instead of including the trailer I'm gonna leave a link to Yhara Zayd's excellent video essay that explores the idea of teen idols and discusses all of Hilary's early 2000s film roles.
These Movies Are So 2004 It Hurts - Lindsay Lohan Edition
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (February 2004)
Yeah I didn't realize this one was released before Mean Girls either. Based on a YA novel of the same name, the movie follows Manhattanite Lola Steppe who moves to a New Jersey suburb and lies to her new friend about every aspect of her life for the sake of Drama. Mostly remembered for the song and for being one of Megan Fox's first big film roles.
Mean Girls (April 2004)
We know it, we love it, we hate it, and we can probably quote every single line in the trailer.
Movies That a Certain Portion of Film Twitter Considers to be The Peak of Franchise Filmmaking
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (June 4, 2004)
Probably the first Alfonso Cuarón film many younger millennials and gen-z-ers watched. In recent years it's become more divisive but many still claim that it is the best film of the series. It features some of Cuaróns stylistic trademarks -including several long takes- and introduces a darker feel and a shabby, retro aesthetic that sets the tone for the rest of the series. (the film was so influential to the franchise that noted Bad Movie, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), ripped off Remus Lupin's famous boggart lesson).
Spider-Man 2 (June 30, 2004)
As much as I love Tom Holland, I still think that this is the definitive live action Spider-Man movie (don't @ me Spider-Verse stans, if I was ranking all Spidey movies Into The Spider-Verse would be first). Alfred Molina gives a wonderful performance Doc Ock, the movie actually takes the time to explore how being Spider-Man has had a negative impact on Peter's personal life, and the train scene makes me cry every time I watch it.
Movies That Are Decidedly NOT The Peak of Franchise Filmmaking
A Series of Unfortunate Events (December 2004)
Barry Sonnenfeld just couldn't find the right tone to make ASOUE work back in 2004. Netflix gave him another chance to adapt the series, and the end result was a charming and very twee version of the story. If you watched this as a tween or teen you either came out of it with a huge crush on the kid who played Klaus or on Emily Browning. Also Jim Carrey's Count Olaf >>> NPH's Count Olaf.
Why Did They Even Bother Making These When Movies About The 'First Daughter' Were Perfected In The 1998 DCOM Classic My Date With The President's Daughter?
Chasing Liberty (January 2004)
Mandy Moore plays an amalgamation of the Bush Twins and her character falls in love with a member of the secret service, only she didn't know he was a member of the secret service until she had already fallen in love with him.
First Daughter (September 2004)
Katie Holmes plays a Chelsea Clinton type who falls in love with a member of the secret service, only she didn't know he was a member of the secret service until she had already fallen in love with him.
For The Indie Teens
Saved! (January 2004)
A biting satirical film that takes aim at fundamentalist Christian culture of the early 2000s. It's a little sweeter than it sounds, and ultimately it's a little nicer towards certain characters than it needs to be. Mandy Moore is an icon.
Napoleon Dynamite (June 2004)
The most unlikely indie hit ever? ONTD, did you have a 'Vote for Pedro' t-shirt?
Instant Sleepover Faves
The Prince & Me (April 2004)
Honestly kind of boring, and I can't believe it spawned three sequels.
13 Going on 30 (April 2004)
I know this is a flawed movie, but I will hear no bad words against it. Judy Greer is so good in this movie, Jennifer Garner is at her rom-com best, and I would risk it all for Mark Ruffalo in this movie.
Sleepover (July 2004)
The fluffiest, most low-stake film you'll ever see. Features a killer soundtrack and before-they-were-famous roles for Brie Larson and Evan Peters.
Princess Diaries 2 (August 2004)
The original Princess Diaries was different from the source material, but the sequel somehow manages to deviate even further from Meg Cabot's books. Chris Pine and Anne Hathaway make this movie, can't believe they haven't been in another movie together. Also Mia is like 22 in this movie, I have no idea why her bachelorette party is a sleepover with girls who are at the very least five years younger than her.
These Movies Walked So an Enjoyable Franchise and a Great TV Show Could Run
You Got Served (January 2004)
I sought out this movie specifically for this list and it was okay. The dancing and Meagan Good were the only great things about this in my opinion. But I could see the influence this film had on the Step Up series. From the opening dance routine to establish the characters, to the training montages, and climatic dance battles. This movie's got it all
Friday Night Lights (October 2004)
Some might think that if they've seen the film they shouldn't watch the series (or vice versa). But despite being based on the same book and sharing nearly the exact same creative team, they're far from the same story told over again. The only thing this movie does wrong? It completely underused Connie Britton, a mistake they didn't repeat in the series.
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