A coming-of-age movie follows the protagonist by way of their transition from youth to maturity as they navigate life whereas encountering life difficulties and making foolish errors. In addition to humor and drama, darkish comedy is one other strategy to analyzing these coming-of-age tales.
Coming-of-age tales usually cope with delicate points like getting pregnant out of wedlock, doubting one’s faith, or coping with sexual id points. Dark comedies can come to the rescue and might readily lighten and well deal with these topics with their satirical strategy.
‘Heathers’ (1988)
Heathers follows an unusual woman named Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder) who strives to outlive the social jungle of highschool by hanging out with the three hottest women at college, all of whom go by the identify Heather. But all the pieces goes improper when she unintentionally kills Heather Chandler (Kim Walker), the clique’s chief.
The film deftly subverts teen-movie clichés from inside by intimately familiarizing itself with them. Heathers can be a superb black satire with slicing language that explodes like fireworks, making it related 30 years later. It is undoubtedly one of many biggest black comedy, coming-of-age films of all time due to Ryder’s excellent efficiency at its middle and expert forged.
‘Drop Dead Gorgeous’ (1999)
Drop Dead Gorgeous is a couple of small-town magnificence pageant and follows Amber Atkins (Kirsten Dunst), a trailer park faucet dancer who has to compete towards massively aggressive contestants to observe in her mom’s footsteps. However, issues begin to go improper as quite a few contenders begin to mysteriously die.
Despite all of the predictability, Drop Dead Gorgeous‘s campy tone, along with its pleasurable performances and acidic, joyfully satirical comedy, are what make it so nice. Despite receiving blended critiques from critics, the film delivers a really amusing and scathing time, and beneath its prettiness is a razor-sharp wit. Moreover, Dunst’s efficiency is one more reason to revisit this title.
‘Saved!’ (2004)
Saved! revolves round a teenage woman named Mary (Jena Malone) attending a Christian highschool and engages in sexual exercise together with her boyfriend to “treatment” him of his homosexuality. As a consequence, she will get pregnant and is shunned by her classmates.
The movie incorporates a unbelievable ensemble forged that genuinely recognized with the compassion and colour of their roles, bringing these characters to life. Saved! begins as a satire and finishes with a revival of religion that aptly captures the problems with fashionable Christianity. For a lighter darkish comedy in comparison with others on this style, the film mentions many alarming topics with a witty tone.
‘Election’ (1999)
Election revolves round Jim McAllister (Matthew Broderick), a popular highschool social research trainer, and Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon), a aggressive and overachieving scholar he dislikes. When Tracy runs for the coed authorities president, Jim undermines Tracy’s marketing campaign for scholar authorities president by endorsing a challenger and meddling with the voting course of.
Election, a holdover from Alexander Payne‘s interval of argumentative writing, is simply as cunningly potent at present as when it was first launched. Broderick portrays a fabulous nebbish character, whereas younger Witherspoon takes the lead with allure and dedication, making her character one of the memorable imply women in movie historical past.
‘Jawbreaker’ (1999)
A highschool clique, a dissident member of the mentioned clique, and the unintentional homicide of its chief are the central themes of 1999’s Jawbreaker, which was impressed by the 1988 film Heathers. The movie follows three of the preferred women at a highschool whose shock birthday kidnap goes improper and kills their buddy.
Even although Jawbreaker is just not extremely praised as its inspiration, it’s a examine of energy relations and a darkish comedy for teenagers that takes a severe view on sexuality, the felony justice system, and physique picture issues which can be widespread amongst youngsters.
‘The Bling Ring’ (2013)
The Bling Ring is predicated on Nancy Jo Sales‘ 2010 Vanity Fair article, “The Suspects Wore Louboutins,” which examined the Bling Ring, a real-life gang. The plot facilities on a bunch of fame-obsessed youngsters who stalk celebrities’ whereabouts on-line to interrupt into their houses and rob their belongings.
The movie is simply as icy and ruthless as its subject. Through her creative imaginative and prescient, Sofia Coppola can spotlight the “fakeness” of the characters, whose vacuousness is obscured once they commit their crimes whereas nonetheless portraying their uncooked sophistication. Additionally, the attract of the film on celeb obsession is that it makes us really feel as if we’re a member of it.
‘But I’m a Cheerleader’ (1999)
But I’m a Cheerleader follows Megan Bloomfield (Natasha Lyonne), a highschool cheerleader, as she is being despatched to a residential inpatient conversion remedy camp by her mother and father to “cure” her lesbianism.
The film has a terrific steadiness of humor and sarcasm, but it’s forward of its time and speaks to at present’s audiences greater than it did when it was first launched. Despite the sugar-coating façade, But I’m A Cheerleader by no means lets the viewers overlook that these individuals are going by way of a horrible ordeal, making the film emotionally shifting.
‘Thoroughbred’ (2017)
Thoroughbred facilities on two upper-class teenage women, performed by Olivia Cooked and Anya Taylor-Joy, who reestablish their uncommon friendship in suburban Connecticut after years of drifting away. Together, they devise a scheme to rent a drug supplier to assassinate Lily’s (Taylor-Joy) stepfather.
Thoroughbred is scathing, clever, and humorous, with a disturbing character examine and the sick-comic thrills of a ruthless thriller. Furthermore, with slicing and darkly humorous performances from the main women, it is a captivating perception into how the spoiled higher class comes of age and exploits their benefits viciously.
‘American Beauty’ (1999)
American Beauty isn’t a typical coming-of-age film because it facilities on the daddy of the Burnham household, Lester (Kevin Spacey), who developed an unhealthy crush on his daughter’s greatest buddy. This affection prevents him from being depressed as a consequence of his remarkably mundane life. Due to those circumstances, he’s compelled to reevaluate his life, profession, spouse, and household.
One of the few coming-of-age films with an grownup as the principle character, but it surely gives viewers a brand new viewpoint on how rising older would not essentially suggest changing into wiser. American Beauty is deeply unsettling but bitingly humorous; beneath the stunning exterior, it’s a tightly wound wrath simmers delivered superbly by Sam Mendes.
‘Dear White People’ (2014)
Dear White People is a social satire movie set in an Ivy League establishment that sparks controversy when 4 Black college students attend a well-liked however grossly racist “Black-face occasion.” Through the eyes of the Black college students, the film focuses on racial tensions as issues escalate.
The movie delivers a genuinely amusing dialogue of recent racism that’s refreshingly vivid and current. Dear White People is as humorous as it’s pointed, as common as it’s private, and extra inclusive than unique, with brilliantly memorable performances from the forged and the visionary path from Justin Simien.