Office Space, 1999
This movie will give you a glimpse into what your life will be like when you start working that well-paying job but you know you deeply despise it. After a hypnotherapy incident, an everyman begins to wipe his ass with his job at a tech company and finds the confidence to court a waitress next door to his office. This movie also has that famous printer scene, because we all need to take out our everyday frustrations on an outdated piece of crap. With a message that encourages us to roll with the punches, college students will definitely get a breath of fresh air and not set buildings on fire.
The Big Lebowski, 1998
Okay, I will say from the get-go that this has to be THE whitest movie you will ever see. Hell, it’s definitely overrated to some. Every character you see in this movie is white, and the Coen Brothers’ sense of humor will probably resonate best with white people. There is one protagonist but no clear antagonist. The plot line is an absurd farce surrounding a rug, a kidnapping, and $1 million. Think of it as your classic 1940s crime movie but with a bum on the case. Despite all this, there is still an underlying theme that will certainly resonate with college students everywhere: to sum it up in three quotes, “Life goes on,” “F**k it,” and “Let’s go bowling.”
Network, 1976
This is the best movie you’ve never heard of. It won four Oscars in 1977 and delivered one of the most iconic lines in cinema history, but it seems people have forgotten all about this movie. To put it simply, this is a satire about the television industry. A fictional news network is plummeting in ratings and they use a rogue (probably insane) anchor to reel them back in while collaborating with left-wing militants on an original show. Upon watching this for the first time, I almost thought the anchor as one of the most inspirational fictional characters in film, but that might be a stretch. The point is that this movie will help you see how ridiculous the news can be on a regular basis. (See previous article for more details.) That is why college students ought to make themselves aware of television’s message and capabilities, and no film can do that better than "Network."
Baby Driver, 2017
This movie will leave you dazzled and amazed, especially if you’re a music junkie like myself. The story revolves around a young getaway driver falling in love with a diner waitress and his attempt to leave the criminal underworld once and for all. This movie is a feast for your eyes and ears because the director tells the story through creative cinematography, editing, and an epic soundtrack. There are fantastic performances by Ansel Elgort, Jamie Foxx, and (drumroll please) Kevin Spacey. You might even find yourself hitting up Spotify a few days after seeing it searching for the soundtrack. Take it from me, I actually bought the song “Egyptian Reggae” a couple days after seeing the movie. So now I ask that you take a break from all the Top 40, Summer Hits, and party music and listen to some oldies!
Boyhood, 2014; Moonlight, 2016
I put these two in the same place because they are essentially about the same thing: growing up. I don’t advise that you watch either with your parents because somebody is going to end up crying. In a nutshell, "Boyhood" follows a young Texan boy over the course of twelve years. We see him and his family endures times of hardship from moving, to adolescence, to job loss, to dysfunctional families while seeing all the highlights in his life such as birthdays, bonding with family, high school graduation, and going to college. "Moonlight" tells the same story of growing up but with a lot less optimism. We follow a child growing in up in the rougher parts of Miami through adolescence and adulthood. Along with the story of growing up, we see the main character discover his sexuality amid emotional abuse from his mother and the drug scene in Florida. With its heavy subject matter and unorthodox filmmaking techniques, this is certainly a much more difficult film to watch compared to "Boyhood," but there is still a lot to take away from both when coming of age.
Accepted, 2006
Rejection blows! (I just realized that’s an actual line from the movie…) That’s why Justin Long and company start their own college after discovering they’ve been rejected from every college they’ve applied to. Co-starring Jonah Hill (before he lost all the weight) and legendary angry Jew Lewis Black, this might be a pretty stupid movie to most, but it’s funny as hell in all honesty.
The Lobster, 2015
WARNING: DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE ON THE FIRST DATE. Opening with a woman shooting a mule to death, this black comedy is about the absurdities of both relationships and being single. It stars Colin Farrell as a recently single man who has 45 days to find another partner at a hotel or be turned into an animal (at least he can choose which one). When I first watched it, I found myself drawn to it more and more but I just couldn’t put my finger on why. Maybe it was John C. Reilly or maybe it was just how beautifully ludicrous the setting and characters are. This movie is as dry as it is weird, which is why I challenge y’all to explore uncharted territory by watching this movie.
Get Out, 2017
There is a lot to say about this movie. When I first heard about it, I thought of it as "Stepford Wives "meets "Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner." In other words, sci-fi horror meets racial commentary. It was both surprising and not surprising for Jordan Peele to bring some comic relief to a movie that ever so subtly calls out the pandering racism of white liberal elites. To say the least, this is the most creative racial commentary I will ever see. This movie will make everyone reconsider the definition of racism.
Animal House, 1978
All I can say is that if you go through college without watching this movie, did you really go to college at all?