We selected 10 extreme films from the 1990s about youth. The options listed show a bit of the exaggerated side of youth, with intense films about this very troubled period of existence.
10 – Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)
An unattractive 7th grader struggles to cope with suburban life as the middle child with inattentive parents and bullies at school.
9 – Trainspotting (1996)
Mark Renton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out, despite the allure of the drugs and influence of friends.
8 – Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
In the questionable town of Deer Meadow, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended, and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the more cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Laura Palmer hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate.
7 – True Romance (1993)
Clarence marries a girl Alabama, steals something from a man, and tries to sell it in Hollywood, while the owners of the thing try to reclaim it.
6 – Gummo (1997)
Solomon and Tummler are two teenagers killing time in Xenia, Ohio, a small town that has never recovered from the tornado that ravaged the community in the 1970s.
5 – Rushmore (1998)
When a beautiful first-grade teacher arrives at a prep school, she soon attracts the attention of an ambitious teenager named Max, who quickly falls in love with her. Max turns to the father of two of his schoolmates for advice on how to woo the teacher. However, the situation soon gets complicated when Max’s new friend becomes involved with her, setting the two pals against one another in a war for her attention.
4 – Bottle Rocket (1996)
Upon his release from a mental hospital following a nervous breakdown, the directionless Anthony joins his friend Dignan, who seems far less sane than the former. Dignan has hatched a hair-brained scheme for an as-yet-unspecified crime spree that somehow involves his former boss, the (supposedly) legendary Mr. Henry.
3 – Boyz n the Hood (1991)
Boyz n the Hood is the popular and successful film and social criticism from John Singleton about the conditions in South Central Los Angeles where teenagers are involved in gun fights and drug dealing on a daily basis.
2 – Muriel’s Wedding (1994)
A young social outcast in Australia steals money from her parents to finance a vacation where she hopes to find happiness, and perhaps love.
1 – Boys Don’t Cry (1999)
Female born, Teena Brandon adopts his male identity of Brandon Teena and attempts to find himself and love in Nebraska.