Viewers who are still reeling from the frenetic energy of Bottoms won’t find another movie out there about a lesbian fight club, but they can fill the void with some other great teen sex comedies. With a screenplay from Shiva Baby duo Emma Seligman, who also directs, and Rachel Sennott, Bottoms chronicles best pals PJ (Sennott) and Josie’s (The Bear‘s Ayo Edebiri) attempts to impress – and hook up with – their cheerleader crushes before high school ends. Naturally, they start a “fight club.”
The idea that stems from some outrageous lies and only continues to snowball until PJ and Josie are in over their heads. In casting LGBTQ+ women as its leads, the incredibly self-aware Bottoms subverts the genre’s tropes and paints the teens’ high-school world with a brush so hyperbolic that it feels, somehow, exactly right. Although other classic and contemporary teen sex comedies don’t quite capture Bottoms‘ singular magic, they do serve as stellar follow-ups to 2023’s soon-to-be cult classic.
10 American Pie
Released in 1999, American Pie is one of the most iconic teen sex comedies in film history. Not only did it influence numerous films that came after it, but it spawned a multi-film franchise. True to the genre’s tropes, high schooler Jim (Jason Biggs) and his friends make a pact to lose their virginity before graduation. Along the way, Jim receives awkward sexual advice from his father (Eugene Levy) and, infamously, gets caught performing a solo sex act with the titular baked good.
Apart from Biggs and Levy, other now-famous actors and comedic greats appear in American Pie, including Alyson Hannigan (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll), Mena Suvari (American Beauty), and Jennifer Coolidge (White Lotus). Credited with bringing back the teen movie genre, the first American Pie is still remembered as a sleeper hit. Much like Bottoms, this ’90s classic is so ridiculous and cringe-worthy that it can’t help but feel like an accurate depiction of high school.
9 The To Do List
Written and directed by Maggie Carey, The To Do List is the rare teen sex comedy that centers on a female character. The 2013 film stars comedic great Aubrey Plaza, but sees her shrugging off her signature deadpan from works like Parks and Rec and Safety Not Guaranteed. Instead, Plaza portrays the overachieving, socially awkward Brandy. After a drunken make-out session that results in her longtime crush, Rusty (Scott Porter), ditching her, Brandy resolves to up her sex game.
Determined to have more sexual experiences before college, Brandy makes a checklist – like any high school valedictorian would. To spend more time with Rusty, she becomes a lifeguard, though her inept boss (Bill Hader) makes it more challenging than her to-do list. Other wonderful comedy actors show up throughout the film, including Superbad‘s Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Alia Shawkat, Andy Samberg, Connie Britton, Donald Glover, Jack McBrayer, Lauren Lapkus, and Adam Pally, making The To Do List a fun romp, even if it isn’t the genre’s crowning achievement.
8 Can’t Hardly Wait
Written and directed by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont, Can’t Hardly Wait is a cult classic, though it received more mixed reviews upon its release in 1998. Aside from its chart-topping soundtrack, the movie is most well-remembered for the sheer number of before-they-were-famous appearances by ’90s greats, including Ethan Embry, Charlie Korsmo, Lauren Ambrose, Peter Facinelli, Seth Green, and Jennifer Love Hewitt.
Taking inspiration from 1980s teen films, Can’t Hardly Wait is primarily set at a post-graduation house party. It also features a cast of teens doing all the typical things teens do when faced with the prospect of high school’s end. One character struggles to profess his love for the popular girl, who herself is dealing with a breakup. And then there’s Kenny Fish (Green), who’s dead set on losing his virginity at the party. Although it’s plagued by a lot of recycled material, the movie also boasts some inventive moments that capture the break-neck exuberance of teenage life.
7 Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Infamously, Oscar-winning filmmaker Cameron Crowe went undercover at a San Diego-area high school before penning Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The 1982 coming-of-age classic also marks Amy Heckerling’s (Clueless) directorial debut. The film gives equal weight to multiple teenager’s stories, but it’s the subplot of Sean Penn’s stoned surfer Spicoli that’s perhaps most well-remembered.
Originally, Fast Times received an X rating from the MPAA due to a brief moment of full-frontal nudity. Although Heckerling eventually blurred the scene to achieve an R rating, the director stands by her approach to portraying teen sexuality in all its realistic awkwardness. More than a great teen sex comedy, Fast Times at Ridgemont High remains one of the best high school movies of all time because it delves into all the details, from the monotony of part-time jobs and school work to teen adventures with friends.
6 Booksmart
Although not as raunchy as other teen comedies, Booksmart is a decidedly more feminist take on the genre. Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut and is, in large part, also responsible for launching its co-leads, Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever, to new heights of stardom. The duo, who play Molly and Amy respectively, are very academically minded, but, when they realize their partying peers also got into top-notch colleges, they lament their high school experience.
Booksmart is a typical up-all-night teen comedy told through a fresh lens, and it deftly balances humor and heart. While Molly and Amy are looking to do more than just hook up with their crushes, the out-in-a-blaze-of-glory, frenetic energy of Booksmart recalls the best elements of the teen sex comedy genre. The movie will endure for plenty of reasons, from its killer soundtrack to its “who’s who” of upcoming stars, but what makes it a true classic is its depiction of friendship. Molly and Amy realize they can grow in different directions, all while cherishing what shaped them.
5 Superbad
Much like American Pie, Superbad was a sleeper hit in its day, and owes much to teen comedies of yesteryear, like Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Dazed and Confused. The buddy comedy centers on two teens (Michael Cera and Jonah Hill) who make a sex pact. However, their efforts to lose their virginity before grad night are complicated, thanks in part to an alcohol run gone awry and the fake ID of their buddy Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), which notoriously reads, “McLovin.” Produced by Judd Apatow and co-written by Seth Rogen, Superbad is the mid-2000s’ defining teen sex comedy.
4 Not Another Teen Movie
The 2001 comedy Not Another Teen Movie parodies some of the all-time great coming-of-age and teen sex comedies, making it a must-watch for fans of the genres. For the most part, the film’s plot mashes up She’s All That with Varsity Blues, tosses in a dash of 10 Things I Hate About You and Can’t Hardly Wait, and a twist of John Hughes’ Pretty in Pink. That said, viewers will find plenty to keep them entertained thanks to Not Another Teen Movie‘s plethora of Easter eggs and movie references.
Set at the appropriately on-the-nose John Hughes High, the film centers on stereotypical characters – blends of the personalities from the various movies it’s parodying. For example, Chyler Leigh plays “The Pretty Ugly Girl,” Chris Evans plays “The Popular Jock,” and Mia Kirshner plays “The Cruelest Girl.” While not as well-received in its day as Scary Movie, Not Another Teen Movie serves up plenty of laughs and familiar faces.
3 Everybody Wants Some!!
Director Richard Linklater considers Everybody Wants Some!! a spiritual sequel to his classic 1993 film Dazed and Confused, a movie that undeniably feels like summer and manages to be one of the best teen movies ever made. However, Everybody Wants Some!! trades lackadaisical high ’70s schoolers for ’80s college-aged baseball players. Still, the 2016 movie features some of its predecessor’s hallmarks, from its stellar classic rock soundtrack to its meandering narrative. While cruising culture is a huge part of the flick, it still manages to be nostalgic and amiable in the best ways.
2 Plan B
With a sharp script and brilliant leads, Natalie Morales’ Plan B is one of the best coming-of-age movies of the last decade. At the start of the film, Sunny (Kuhoo Verma) is convinced by her more rebellious best friend, Lupe (Victoria Moroles), to throw a house party. At the said gathering, Sunny hooks up with a guy to get over her crush. An incident with Sunny’s chosen form of contraception, however, leaves her fearful that she might wind up pregnant.
Lupe takes Sunny to a local pharmacy to obtain the titular birth control pill, but their home state of South Dakota requires parental consent. In typical teen movie fashion, the two then embark on a road trip to the closest Planned Parenthood. In a way, Plan B subverts the traditional teen sex comedy formula. It centers around sex, but its character begins the film with a hookup. Instead, how sex complicates and informs her life is the focus, making Plan B refreshing, essential, and timely viewing.
1 Blockers
In 2018’s Blockers, best friends Julie (Kathryn Newton), Kayla (Geraldine Viswanathan), and Sam (Gideon Adlon) make a pact: to have sex with their crushes on prom night. The only problem is that their parents – played by the always-hilarious John Cena, Leslie Mann, and Ike Barinholtz – discover their plans and, as the title suggests, attempt to thwart their hookups. Bolstered by strong performances across the board, the sharp, thoughtful film brings a fresh perspective to the genre.
Not only that, but Blockers actively subverts so many teen sex comedy tropes for the better. For starters, this modern American Pie flips the script on the parent-child dynamics, casting the adults as those who have something to learn about life and the teens as empowered, responsible individuals. If it weren’t for Bottoms, Blockers would easily take the top teen sex comedy of the last decade spot, which is high praise for both must-watch films.
