Labor Day weekend marks the end of the summer. For kids, it’s the last hoorah before school sets in. For adults, it’s the final chance to escape to a beach house or experience a weekend getaway. Hopefully, you work at a job where you’re lucky enough to have Labor Day off, so you can enjoy the rare three-day weekend.
If you have some downtime, sneak in a movie. Amazon Prime Video has thousands of movies ready to be streamed with the push of a button. Need a recommendation? These five movies revolve around high school teens or young adults. Our picks include an early comedy from Bill Murray, an underrated buddy cop movie, and a sweet film set at an amusement park.
Meatballs (1979)
Just before Murray launched into movie superstardom with 1980’s Caddyshack, he starred in Ivan Reitman‘s breakout film, 1979’s Meatballs. Tripper Harrison (Murray) is the head counselor at Camp North Star, a middle-of-the-road summer camp. Tripper spends most of his days conspiring with the counselors-in-training and pranking the camp’s director, Morty Melnick (Harvey Atkin).
However, the prankster does have a heart, as he bonds with Rudy (Chris Makepeace), a lonely camper, and Roxanne (Kate Lynch), a female counselor. The summer builds toward an Olympic-inspired showdown against their rivals at the affluent Camp Mohawk. Meatballs lays the groundwork for Murray’s movie career, where he often played characters who are charming, witty, and the funniest guy in the room.
Stream Meatballs on Prime Video.
21 Jump Street (2012)
21 Jump Street is on the list of the best buddy comedies of the 21st century thanks to the innate chemistry between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, 21 Jump Street follows Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Tatum), former high school enemies who became friends while studying to be cops. Schmidt and Jenko are assigned to the Jump Street division because of their youthful appearances.
The duo enrolls as high school students to stop the spread of a new synthetic drug. When they enter high school, their roles reverse. The nerdy Schmidt becomes popular, while the jock-like Jenko hangs with the geeks. Much to their surprise, today’s high school kids have the same anxieties and problems they faced back in the day. Luckily for Schmidt and Jenko, they get the opportunity to fix their previous mistakes.
Stream 21 Jump Street on Prime Video.
Adventureland (2009)
Adventureland is a shining example of a film that captures the fears many postgraduates face before entering the real world. It’s the summer of 1987 in Pittsburgh, and James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) has recently graduated college. James plans to live his best life by spending the entire summer in Europe. Unfortunately, James’ must cancel his European excursion when his parents are short on cash.
Now, James must get a job to support himself. His only option is Adventureland, a run-down amusement park. Expecting it to be the worst summer ever, James falls in love with his fellow employee, Em (Kristen Stewart). Backed by a sensational soundtrack and a likable cast, Adventureland is a surprisingly sweet and affectionate movie.
Stream Adventureland on Prime Video.
Mean Girls (2024)
Not to be confused with the 2004 film, 2024’s Mean Girls is based on the stage musical of the same name that was itself based on the original movie. However, the story is the same, besides the extra singing and dancing. After living in Kenya, teenager Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) returns to the U.S. and transfers to North Shore High School. As the new kid, Cady struggles to make friends.
However, she eventually bonds with Janis ʻImiʻike (Auliʻi Cravalho) and Damian Hubbard (Jaquel Spivey), who explain the school’s groups to Cady. The one group Cady must avoid is the “Plastics,” a group of stuck-up popular girls led by the ruthless Regina George (Reneé Rapp). When Cady receives an invite into the Plastics, Janice convinces her to join so they can destroy the group. Over time, Cady slowly embraces the Plastics’ lifestyle, but in doing so, forgets her morals and beliefs. In Mean Girls, it’s never too late to change.
Stream Mean Girls on Prime Video.
The Other Zoey (2023)
College student Zoey Miller (Josephine Langford) hates love. She dislikes conventional dating and voices her displeasure at any chance she gets. Zoey has even created an app that will match people based on science, not love. When she’s not spending her days on campus, Zoey works at a local bookstore. One day, the school’s soccer star, Zach MacLaren (Drew Starkey), walks in and buys a book, but forgets his credit card on the desk. When Zoey catches up to Zach, he gets hit by a car and blacks out.
When he wakes up, Zach thinks Zoey is his girlfriend. Zach has a girlfriend named Zoey, who’s not the one who works at the bookstore. Not wanting to upset Zach, Zoey decides to go along with the charade and pose as his girlfriend. Every rom-com expert can predict where this goes, but The Other Zoey is likable and charming enough that such predictability is A-OK.
Stream The Other Zoey on Prime Video.
