Breaking Away (1979) - about 4 friends who are outsiders and hang out together a year or two after high school. Each is drifting in their own way and trying to figure out who they are and what they are going to do in life. It was cited as an influence by Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah who were producers on Freaks and Geeks. Amy Wright, who played Moocher's girlfriend, would go on to be cast as Steven Karp's mom on Undeclared.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) - Based on the 1981 book by Cameron Crowe about his experience going undercover at a California high school during the 1979 or 1980 school year. Funny, and fairly accurate depiction of that time, though culturally, it seems far removed from Michigan. Apatow and Feig both cited this as an influence, and Crowe is one of Apatow's fav film makers.
Over the Edge (1979) - Matt Dillon's first movie. The most realistic casting of a teen movie I've ever seen. Teens playing teens, and they all look the part. Some are handsome, some are ugly, some have zits, some are really small. The plot is based on a true story where a city closed a youth center and there was nowhere else for kids to hang out, so they start making trouble. I don't know if the last 15 minutes are realistic, but everything else about this movie is spot on about that time period.
Suburbia (1983) - This is about disaffected teens drawn to the punk scene in southern California around 80-82. Realistic casting. No one in the movie had any real acting experience, and they all look the part. Not like posers. It's about kids who have dropped out of school and been kicked out of their homes and look to each other as a surrogate family.
SubUrbia (1996) - Richard Linklater did this after Dazed and Confused. A group of friends hangs out in front of a convenience store drinking beer all night. It's after high school and they are all kind of aimless. I like the scenes in Freaks and Geeks where the geeks are just sitting around talking, and that's what this whole movie is like.
reply
share