Movies about college life can be a lot of fun, and they can be eye-opening too. Sometimes, films help us see things that were always out there, but that we continuously failed to spot. Movies can also have a positive effect on your life and academic performance, especially if you manage to pick the ones that are not just about storytelling but also have something educational to say. To make the job of selection easier for you, we picked the 7 best movies about college life that you should watch if you are looking for something that’s both educational and fun.
RUDY (1993)
David Anspaugh
This 1993 film has not faded in terms of its relevance and importance. Still considered one of the best college movies ever made, Rudy tells a story of perseverance and commitment, following a lanky guy with big plans to play football at the University of Notre Dame. Not only has Rudy (Sean Astin) always been told he’s too small to play football, but he doesn’t have the money and grades for a scholarship, and, on top of this, he also has dyslexia. One day, he makes the life-changing decision to quit his job at steel mill, where his father works. With the help of his friend and tutor D-Bob (Jon Favreau), Rudy manages to get into Notre Dame only to encounter a new set of challenges and barriers as a walk-on member of the football team. Lots of students draw inspiration from this film to emulate Rudy’s exceptional drive to achieve results, weather the storm of the unexpected, and turn the tide against all odds.
PITCH PERFECT (2012)
Jason Moore
The first film of Jason Moore’s Pitch Perfect trilogy is considered the best. The movie revolves around a freshman named Beca (Anna Kendrick) who is coaxed into joining Barden University’s “Bellas” as soon as the school year begins. The Bellas are the school’s all-girls singing group, pretty much consisting of a bunch of mean girls, from the badass Cynthia Rose (Ester Dean) and the flirty Stacie (Alexis Knapp) to the soft-voiced Lilly (Hana Mae Lee), the larger-than-life Jessica (Kelley Jakle), and the unforgettable Patricia “Fat Amy” Hobart (Rachel Wilson). But these mean girls can sing, and their objective is beating their male rivals, the Treblemakers. Needless to say, Beca helps them refresh their repertoire, giving them one more chance of winning the national championship.
Pitch Perfect is an engaging, hilarious and meaningful film with great musical numbers and top-class performances from Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, and Rebel Wilson. It will entertain you, make you want to sing along, and give you a new appreciation for cups.If you are short of time because of an ever-increasing workload, it makes sense to start looking for term papers for sale. Identify a reliable service with a trustworthy track record of performance. Let professionals take care of your assignment while giving yourself more time to enjoy college movies.
THE INTERNSHIP (2013)
Shawn Levy
Buddies Billy (Vince Vaughn) and Nick (Owen Wilson) enroll in an internship program only to go up against cutthroat rivalry against fresh graduates. This triggers a rat race in pursuit of prestigious jobs at Google, as they compete with a bunch of geniuses who are way younger and more tech-savvy than they are.. The film’s premise is pretty straightforward, but Shawn Levy’s The Internship is still worth watching for Wilson and Vaughn’s (also a co-writer) chemistry and a riveting story full of unexpected twists and turns.It is also a film about facing challenges and pulling things off in the face of adversity. Staying true to yourself is of critical importance under such circumstances, and o one knows this better than the two protagonists.
MONA LISA SMILE (2003)
Mike Newell
It’s 1953, and a 30-year-old graduate student named Katherine Ann Watson (Julia Roberts) becomes a art history teacher at Wellesley College. As she discovers that her students have become accustomed to memorising their textbooks and not using their own minds, she inspires them to have a broader discussion about art, in the attempt to inspire them to want more in life than just marriage and children. Katherine gradually conquers the hearts and minds of her students, and her course becomes increasingly popular. During the film, we get to see both her impact at school, where she encourages her students to be more independent, and her own personal life, from how she deals with fellow women, such as the adamant Betty Warren (Kirsten Dunst) attacking her for her progressive ideas to a blooming relationship and many affairs.
Mona Lisa Smile is an engaging movie that will teach you to think for yourself, and you need time to not only watch it but also analyze its implications. For this reason, get the reliable and trustworthy services of Lets Grade It to manage your college tasks effectively. This will give you more time to enjoy other educational activities, such as watching movies or reading books.
THE GREAT DEBATERS (2007)
Denzel Washington
Based on the true story of Wiley College (TX) professor Melvin B. Tolson, The Great Debasers shows us how Tolson (Denzel Washington, also the film’s director) inspired students to form the school’s first debate team, and contrived an interesting scheme by offering exactly the same opportunities to the two rival teams. The film is also a reminder of how damaging, discouraging, and depleting racist approaches can be on and off campus.
Though the film contains several scenes of violence, including a lynching scene and fight sequences, it’s elevated by a smart script and a great performance from Denzel Washington. The director also makes a deliberate effort not to gloss over the real-life events that were common in those years, giving us a movie that’s a little familiar but that will also make you think.
THE SOCIAL NETWORK (2010)
David Fincher
Adapted from Ben Mezrich’s 2009 book “The Accidental Billionaires” David Fincher’s 2010 movie The Social Network keeps gathering large audiences to this day. The film tells us about the origins of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg’s ascension to power and wealth – at least, as seen through the eyes of his best friend and future Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield). Fincher cleverly gives us two timelines for this story: as we get to witness the creation of Facebook, we also jump back and forth to Zuckerberg’s (here played by the Oscar-nominated Jesse Eisenberg) depositions, years later, where he has to justify his actions in the past.
After the film was released, Zuckerberg initially refused to comment and then accused the film of “making stuff up,” so we can’t know for sure if what’s depicted in the movie actually took place. But The Social Network remains a supremely engaging, cleverly written drama that will have you on the edge of your seat and give you many quotable lines, featuring convincing and impactful performances from its all-star cast.
LIFE OF THE PARTY (2018)
Ben Falcone
Ben Falcone’s Life of the Party is about a woman named Deanna (Melissa McCarthy, also the film’s co-writer), who returns to college to complete her degree when her husband tells her he has fallen in love with someone else and asks for a divorce. Since Deanna had to drop her final year of college because she was pregnant, the woman decides to give it another try, and enrols at Decatur University to complete her final year. Only, she ends up becoming quite close with her daughter’s friends and getting the full college experience – all while having to keep up her grades while dealing with stage fright and unexpected drama. Featuring a great performance from Maya Rudolph as Deanna’s best friend Christine, Life of The Party nails the balance of drama and comedy, and will make you laugh from start to end.
Movies about college life can be both entertaining and eye-opening. It does not matter how old you are, and whether or not you’re at school: college films often depict universal themes that we can all relate to, from friendship and love to dealing with failure, all with an added dose of nostalgia. These 7 movies provide great insights into college life, which you can think of as a microcosm of life in general, whether it be your personal life, professional relationships, or metaphysical deliberations.
