Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Explain Which Teen Movies Made Them Think 'The Older I Get, The More I Agree With The Adult'

People Explain Which Teen Movies Made Them Think 'The Older I Get, The More I Agree With The Adult'
woman lying on bed while eating puff corn
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

There's a fairly common formula in movies geared toward a teenage audience.

A group of teenagers face one central conflict, to varying degrees of importance and severity, but manage to solve it in a surprisingly short manner of time.

The heroes of these films are usually a hodgepodge of traditional high school archetypes (star athlete, math nerd, girl whose beauty is disguised by a pair of glasses), all of whom the intended audience can completely relate to and root for.

And then we have the adult characters, who are often buffoonish stereotypes, or the outright villain, whose sole mission is to ensure the protagonist will not achieve their ultimate goal.

As teenagers, we often find ourselves ready to boo these grown-ups from the minute they appear on the screen.

But when we revisit these movies as adults, we find ourselves noticing that their behavior isn't quite as bad as we remembered.

Or, more shockingly, we actually find ourselves rooting for them!


Redditor roix_ducat was curious to hear which teen movies people found their loyalty shifting from the teen hero to the adult villain when rewatching it as a grown up, leading them to ask:
"What teen movie is the epitome of 'the older I get, the more I agree with the adult?'"

The Teacher Was Right All Along...

"Rewatching 'Scrubs', I realize I’m no longer a JD., I’ve become a Cox."- RenegadeRinker

They Were Just Being Protective!

"I watched 'Sixteen Candles' recently and I now do not approve of Samantha going anywhere near Jake Ryan."-goblininstigator

All It Takes Is A Little Perspective

"Sadly, 'The Wonder Years'."

"I always couldn’t believe the dad was real, with his pissed off attitude from work."

"Now I understand."- hashn

The Wonder Years Thumbs Down GIFGiphy

Nothing Wrong With A Little Precision And Order!

"The movie 'Juno'."

"Jennifer Garner's character is at first portrayed as a 'square', then you realize she's a mature adult and her husband is a man-baby."- DaveFarted

Add It Up, The Wedding Cost Nearly $150,00!

"Not a teen movie, but 'Father of the Bride'."

"Watching it as a kid, Steve Martin seemed like an old grump."

"Rewatching it as an adult, holy sh*t he is the only sane person in that movie."- DrOctopusMD

It Was Literally His Job To Protect Them!

"'The Lion King'."

"Oh I thought Zazu was just an old fun-killer."

"What do you mean, Simba can't be king?"

"Why would you prevent the kids from going where they want?"

"As an adult and father, I'm 100% Team Zazu."- Oneiric86

the lion king GIF by DisneyGiphy

Seriously, Would Your Dad Have Been So Cool About It?...

"'American Pie'."

"As a new father, I hope to be like Jim’s dad when my little one is a teenager."

"Caring, loving and a complete embarrassment to them."- BanjoPhatterson

It's A Parent's Job To Worry.

"The mom in 'Ice Princess'."

"So you have a daughter who has a talent for and seems to like physics and has a shot of getting into Harvard."

"This girl throws it away for ice skating where she has only been competing for less than a year, where if she gets injured she's done and when she reaches 30 she's pretty much done."

"There is no way she is at an olympic level at that point she would need years of training! "

"Hell yes I would advise against it to!"- testmonkey254

Always Be Respectful Of Your Roommate!

"Goob, 'Meet the Robinsons'."- beepboop232

Meet The Robinsons Google GIFGiphy

People Are Complicated

"Dr Doofenschmirtz."

"He’s just trying to do something right and being a good dad."- LukeLJS123

Dancing

"In Dirty Dancing, Jerry Orbach just wanted a family summer vacation and instead learned entirely too much about his daughters’ sex lives." - User Deleted

Menace

"Mr. Wilson in Dennis the Menace. Seriously, f**k that little miscreant and his parents that turn a blind eye to his shenanigans." -HotTub_MKE

Wimpy

"Haven't watched the movies, but I assume that the movies are similar enough, Diary of a wimpy kid, bro, your mom just wants to stop being a housewife and have a job and you complain that she isn't in the house anymore to be your personal slave, when you get from school you don't even greet her, you just give her your back pack, you little sh*t, do one thing in your life, did you ever thank her for anything Gregory?" - Torture-Dancer

Wonka

"Gene Wilder in original Charlie and the Chocolate factory “stop, don’t... come back” - isaacmorton

Good Will

"Good Will Hunting."

"A great film to watch as a smug, witty underachiever, however genuinely smart & funny you might be (at least according to your friends)."

"But go back to it 15 or 20 years later, perhaps after losing your wife to cancer, and you'll freak out at this scene."

"Source: No idea how smart or funny I really used to be, but I was definitely smug. I married the person I'd been with since we were both 16. She died at 33." - cdeverett

Rugrats

"Rugrats. The parents were so young and just doing their best. I like it was a group of neighbors that were best friends too. I get really stressed out on their behalf now. Especially the one where didi just wants to make it home before her banana tree she bought died in the car but no one could get their sh*t together." - cunexttuesday12

Daria

"Way late to the party; but I’m gonna say “Daria”."

"I used to be a disaffected teen too. All my problems were SO HUGE! And Daria’s parents just DIDN’T UNDERSTAND!"

"I watch it now, and Jake Morgendorffer is who I identify best with. He’s supposed to seem silly and crazy and out of touch, but now I just see a guy who worries so much about providing for his family, dealing with insecurity about his masculinity, and trying to relate to his daughters any way he can in spite of being completely baffled by them, because his hypermasculine upbringing left him ill-equipped to relate to girls."

"Poor Jake. He just wants to be a better dad than his dad. And in spite of his goofiness, I think he does an okay job." - corran450

As teens we're inclined to revolt from our parents and teachers, or even be revolted by them.

But the older we get, the more we understand that nine times out of ten, they were just looking out for us.

Just as we realize that Mr. Hall of Clueless was being pretty generous giving a C to a student who didn't seem to know how to pronounce "Haitian"...

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Donald Trump
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

People Bring Receipts After White House Claims Photo Of Trump Asleep During Oval Office Event Was Just Him 'Blinking'

After President Donald Trump appeared to fall asleep during an event on maternal health in the Oval Office on Monday, people brought the receipts when an official White House account claimed he was simply "blinking."

The event was used to launch moms.gov, a new federal resource hub focused on prenatal care, nutrition, and postpartum support, along with information on employer fertility benefits and expanded childcare options, including assistance for stay-at-home parents.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dr. Mehmet Oz
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Dr. Oz Just Made An Alarming Comment About Fertility Rates That Sounds Straight Out Of 'The Handmaid's Tale'

Dr. Mehmet Oz, President Donald Trump's administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, made an alarming comment about fertility rates, declaring that 1 in 3 Americans are "under-babied."

In the United States, infertility affects roughly 9% of men and 11% of women, while globally the figure is estimated at about one in six people.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump Jr.; Donald Trump
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Don Jr.'s Old Tweet Praising His Father For Avoiding War With Iran Just Resurfaced—And It's Aged Like Milk

As President Donald Trump's war with Iran rages on, his son Donald Trump Jr. is facing criticism after an old tweet he wrote praising his father for avoiding war with Iran resurfaced.

Back in April 2024, the president's eldest son wrote the following on X:

Keep ReadingShow less
Images of Savannah and Nancy Guthrie
@savannahguthrie/Instagram

Savannah Guthrie Shares Heartfelt Video Of Her Missing Mom On Mother's Day: 'We Miss You With Every Breath'

Today co-host Savannah Guthrie's mother, 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, was declared missing on February 1, 2026, after she did not routinely arrive at church that morning, and a well-check confirmed that her home was empty and the door was left wide open.

Due to her need for multiple medications, including for her pacemaker, and her limited mobility, the Pima County Police Department deemed her case a high priority, soon welcoming the help of the FBI.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Robert Jeffress
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images; Fox News

Trump Backs Pastor's Claim That He Has A 'Better Understanding' Of The Bible Than Pope Leo—And People Are Furious

On Saturday, MAGA Republican President Donald Trump chose to promote an interview with controversial anti-LGBTQ+ Baptist minister Robert Jeffress by posting a clip from Fox News on Truth Social. In the interview, Jeffress repeatedly stroked Trump's ego, flattering him incessantly.

A Fox News contributor, Jeffress was on to talk about Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to the Vatican to give Pope Leo XIV a crystal football.

Keep ReadingShow less