sazuna45 asks: Do you know some good movies for thirteen year olds? Here are the genres: 1) Comedy 2) Mystery 3) Horror 4)Romantic comdey 5) Thriller. Any help will be appreciated ?
Hi sazuna45 –
Oh I know lots of movies (Handsome’s a big movie nut). The tough question here is when you ask about ones for 13-year-olds. Some teens of that age are really mature and like very adult themes. Others get bored or scared by movies like that. So I’m going to try to aim for the middle. (And of course, I have to warn you, just as with music, my tastes are a little old!).
Comedy: So many of the big comedies of the last few years have been really raunchy and adult (from “The Hangover” to “Little Miss Sunshine”) that my suggestions will be a bit older than that. Of the last 20 years, it’s hard to go past “Home Alone,” “Napoleon Dynamite,” “A Mighty Wind,” “Elf,” “The Mask,” “Mean Girls,” or “Meet the Parents.” But my real favorites are from before that, from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” to “Sleeper” to all sorts of movies with The Marx Brothers or Laurel and Hardy or even going back to the silent movies with Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton. Pure joy!
Mystery: You mean like a whodunit, or a ghost story? Oh boy, those can be really fun! The first ones that come to my mind are “Murder on the Orient Express,” “Rear Window,” and one of my super-favorites “The Uninvited” (the one from the 1940s; I haven’t seen the more recent movie with that title). And if you’re really up for scary, “The Sixth Sense” and “The Ring” are more recent ones that I think are really brilliant!
Horror: Okay, some would put those last two into this list. Now we’re into the REALLY tough question, about which 13-year-olds we’re talking about. But a few that come to my mind from recent years, that wouldn’t be too violent or obscene for most 13s, would be “Drag Me to Hell,” “The Blair Witch Project,” and “Paranormal Activity.” But if you’re willing to go older, oh there are so many wonderful ones, from “Psycho” to “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” to all those Frankenstein and Dracula and Wolfman movies from the 30s and 40s. And you KNOW I’m gonna love those Wolfmen!!!! AHOOOOOOO!!!!
Romantic Comedy: Here again, my tastes go a bit older than most. A lot of my favorites are from probably before your parents were born, maybe even your grandparents! “It Happened One Night,” “The Awful Truth,” “Bringing Up Baby,” “The Strawberry Blonde” – I just love these movies! Later ones like “Moonstruck” and “The Graduate” are pure gold too. And while it just came out last year, “Midnight in Paris” feels very old, and is all about wanting to have lived in past times, and I just love it too. See what you think.
Thriller: Do you mean like an action movie? That’s one sort that never seems to stop producing good ones. Like that last “Mission Impossible” movie, the “Ghost Protocol” one was quite good (especially if you have a fear of heights!). But of all time, I might recommend “North by Northwest” (yes, another old one!), which kind of defines everything that makes a movie thrilling, I think!
Now, you probably know this, but just in case… sazuna45, there is one movie that covers ALL these bases. It’s funny, has lots of suspense, scary (with that big nasty rat!), romantic, and very thrilling. Definitely my favorite movie of all time. Can’t you guess? “Lady and the Tramp” of course! Now some 13-year-olds feel they’re too grown-up for it. But then they turn 18 and totally love it again. So, when you’re ready, you’re in for a treat with that one!
Thanks!
Shirelle
