Film
I Love You, Beth Cooper
A geeky valedictorian confesses his love for the popular cheerleader in his graduation speech, sparking a chaotic night of parties, chases, and unexpected connections. It's a lightweight teen comedy that trusts charm over wit, betting everything on the chemistry between its leads and the universal awkwardness of wanting something you think you can't have. Earnest, silly, and utterly unpretentious.
If you liked this
10 Things I Hate About You1999
A smart, funny teen romance that earned genuine affection by making its characters likeable rather than aspirational. Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles have real spark, and the writing finds humour in honest emotional beats.
But The late-90s culture has calcified. Some of the jokes land like relics, and if you can't forgive high-school-movie conventions, you won't find much new here.

Can't Hardly Wait1998
A graduation-night ensemble comedy that nails the particular sadness of high school endings. It moves between funny and sincere without announcing the shift, and the cast feels genuinely fond of each other.
But The structure is messy, hopping between too many characters. If you want narrative propulsion, this wanders. Some jokes are broad enough to feel dated now.

Superbad2007
Two best friends trying to navigate a party on their last night before college. Hilarious, touching, and utterly unsentimental about why friendships matter. The chemistry between the leads is electric.
But It's cruder and darker than Beth Cooper—more interested in awkwardness as humiliation than as charm. If you want warmth, this can feel mean-spirited.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from I Love You, Beth Cooper
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Election1999
Both centre on a protagonist's yearning for someone perceived as unreachable, but Election inverts the entire emotional tone, asking whether the wanting itself is the real problem worth examining.
A high-school comedy that uses its setting to examine ambition, desire, and the self-delusion we all practice. Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon are brilliant, and it's darkly funny about wanting and not being wanted.
But It's satirical and acidic in ways that feel cruel to all its characters. If you want a film that actually likes its people, this isn't it—it's more interested in skewering them.

More like this (8)
Say Anything...1989
A romantic comedy that actually believes in romance and in its protagonist's sincerity. John Cusack plays a guy pursuing someone 'out of his league' with genuine sweetness, and the film never punishes him for trying.
But It's earnest in ways modern audiences can find almost cringey. The pacing is slack by contemporary standards, and some scenes feel like they're testing your patience.

Sixteen Candles1984
Molly Ringwald carries an entire film on her shoulders with grace and humour. It's fundamentally about wanting to matter, to be noticed, and the party sequences have real energy and joy.
But The racial stereotyping and sexual politics are indefensible by any modern standard. Those aren't period details—they're ugliness you'll have to sit through.

She's the Man2006
Amanda Bynes commits entirely to the chaos of its premise. It's silly, colourful, and genuinely funny about the pressure to perform gender. The supporting cast elevates material that could have been thin.
But The plot mechanics are convoluted and frequently don't make sense. It relies on you not questioning the logic, which takes effort to surrender to.

Clueless1995
Witty, visually inventive, and warm about its characters even when mocking them. Alicia Silverstone is charming without being dumb, and the film's perspective on adolescence rings true underneath the comedy.
But The 90s fashion dominates the frame in ways that can feel more dated than the jokes themselves. Some viewers find the heroine too self-absorbed to root for.

Never Been Kissed1999
Drew Barrymore plays a woman returning to high school undercover as a student. It's fundamentally kind to its characters, especially its nerdy protagonist, and the romance feels earned rather than imposed.
But The plot hinges on a problematic relationship dynamic that the film never quite acknowledges as troubling. Pacing sags in the middle, and some comedy lands awkwardly.

Road Trip2000
An ensemble road-trip comedy where no one is particularly bright but everyone is genuinely likeable. It's dumb in an innocent way, and there's something endearing about how it treats its characters' good intentions as enough.
But The humour is broad and frequently juvenile. There's no intelligence to it, even of the clever kind. If you want wit or originality, this isn't the film.

Licorice Pizza2021
Both are unironic celebrations of the persistence of unrequited feeling, finding something beautiful in the willingness to try despite the odds. But where Beth Cooper is earnest and light, this is romantic and strange.
Paul Thomas Anderson's semi-autobiographical romance between mismatched teenagers navigating Los Angeles in the 1970s. It's joyful about young desire, funny without condescension, and gorgeously shot. The performances are extraordinary.
But It's long and digressive—the plot meanders deliberately. More importantly, the protagonist's persistence borders on harassment in ways some viewers won't forgive, even if the film seems charmed by it.

Everything Everywhere All at Once2022
Both are fundamentally about the courage required to reach across the gap between who you are and who someone else is, and the discovery that being seen matters more than being perfect.
A woman estranged from her daughter is pulled into a multiverse adventure to prevent reality's collapse. It's bonkers and heartfelt simultaneously, urgent about connection and forgiveness. Funny, moving, visually wild—it earns its emotional stakes.
But It's exhausting: dense plotting, genre-hopping constantly, paced like it's afraid of losing you. If you want something gentle or linear, this will overwhelm you. Subtitles required for the meaning underneath the spectacle.

People
Cast
Hayden PanettiereBeth Cooper
Paul RustDenis Cooverman
Jack CarpenterRich Munsch
Lauren LondonCammy
Lauren StormTreece
Shawn RobertsKevin
Jared KeesoDustin
Brendan PennySean
Marie AvgeropoulosValli Wooley
Josh EmersonGreg Saloga
Alan RuckMr. C
Cynthia StevensonMrs. C
Directing
- Chris ColumbusDirector
- Bob BrownSecond Unit Director
Writing
- Larry DoyleNovel
- Larry DoyleScreenplay
Production
- Jennifer BlumExecutive Producer
- Michael FlynnExecutive Producer
- Chris ColumbusProducer
- Mark RadcliffeProducer
- Michael BarnathanProducer