Top 10 characters from high school movies

From the shy geeks, to the misunderstood princesses, to the party animals, high school movies have introduced to some of the most iconic characters in the history of film.

Directors such as John Hughes and Amy Heckerling have helped create characters that perfectly personify some of our former classmates, and perhaps that is why we enjoy watching our favorite high school movies over and over again.

Taking a look at the influence these characters had on popculture years after their movie released, along with their best moments on screen, here is a list of the best characters we have ever seen in high school movies. Take a trip down memory lane and look at some of the characters who we either idolized ourselves, or enjoyed to hate.

Is one of your favorite characters missing from the list? Let us know who you think deserved to make the cut in the comments below.

Credit: Nancy Rivera/ACE/INFphoto.com

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10) McLovin, Superbad (2007)

Jonah Hill and Michael Cera may have used Superbad (2007) as the launching pad for their careers, but at the time of its release, Christopher Mintz-Plasse’s character, McLovin was all anyone could talk about. Fogell was the actual name of Mintz-Plasse in the film, but “McLovin” beat out “Muhammad” for the name he decided to get on his fake ID, which said he was 25 instead of 21, to avoided suspicion. After all, every fake ID says the kid is 21, it’s called strategy. Throughout the movie we see Fogell, a nervous virgin who can barely look a girl in the eyes, transform himself into the confident ladies’ man that is McLovin. Mintz-Plasse used the fame from Superbad to get himself roles in Kick-Ass (2010) and Role Models (2008) though he will always be known for his ability to take a sucker punch like a champ.

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9) Regina George, Mean Girls (2004)

Regina George was the queen bee of the high school Lindsay Lohan’s character, Cady, transferred into after being homeschooled in Africa for most of her life. Played to perfection by Rachael McAdams, Regina George was shallow, superficial, and mean-spirited. But she was popular, and she knew it. The leader of The Plastics, Regina George took an interest in Cady and they eventually became friends, though Cady was serving as a spy to try and bring George down. Despite Cady and her friend Janis Ian’s (Lizzy Caplan) attempts to sabotage her, Regina still managed to be the girl who every guy wanted, and who every girl wanted to be. Lindsey Lohan may have been the bigger star at the time, but McAdams used her role as the quintessential mean, popular girl to become America’s sweetheart.

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8) Steve Stifler, American Pie (1999)
The party animal of East Great Falls High, Steve Stifler (better known as just Stifler), played by Seann William Scott, was the unrelenting jerk that managed to become everyone's favorite character in American Pie (1999). When Stifler wasn't trying to get girls in the most skeevy of ways, he was tormenting his friend/enemy Finch, who once paid girls in their high school to spread a rumor that he had beaten up Stifler in a fight. Stifler responded the only way he knew how, by slipping laxatives into Finch's drink, forcing him to use one of the school's toilets, which Finch had a phobia of. Stifler did open the bathroom door open for Finch however, the girls bathroom door. Finch did ultimately get his revenge on Stifler when he met his mom at one of Stifler's infamous parties... Stifler was always up for a good time, though it usually came at the expense of one of his friend's. Even still, Stifler's over the top and hilarious antics earn him a spot on the list.

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7) Cher Horowitz, Clueless (1995)
As if Alicia Silverstone's character of Cher Horowitz wasn't going to make the list. The most popular girl at school, Cher was incredibly superficial and often made cringe worthy comments. That being said, Cher was likable and usually had the best of intentions, which is why both popular and unpopular teenage girls looked up to her. The knockout blonde was incredibly wealthy and lived in a Beverly Hills mansion, which led to her being a little out of touch with reality. Even still, she was something of an expert on picking up on social cues, and was always willing to give advice to her friends when it came to boys, fashion, or anything else a 16-year-old popular girl can be well-versed in. Cher dropped knowledge for thousands of preteen and teenage girls with lines like "Searching for a boy in high school is as useless as searching for meaning in a Pauly Shore movie."

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6) Napoleon Dynamite, Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

2004 just seems to have been a good year for high school movies, as Jon Heder's character of Napoleon Dynamite joins Regina George on the list. Napoleon Dynamite swept the country when it was released, with anyone from preteens to college students walking around with "Vote for Pedro" t-shirts and casually dropping Napoleon's catchphrases such as "gosh!" and "freakin' idiot" into conversations. A typical day in Napoleon's life would consist of getting slammed into lockers by a bully at school, and then getting a steak thrown in his face by his uncle Rico as he got home. Napoleon's sad existence took a turn for the better when he became friends with Pedro and Deb. Napoleon's shining moment was when he performed his dance routine in front of the entire high school to help his pal Pedro win the class presidency over the most popular girl in school, Summer. A proud member of the Happy Hands Club, Napoleon Dynamite is not a character that will soon be forgotten. Here is Napoleon figuring out that Uncle Rico's time machine does not work.

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5) Danny Zuko, Grease (1978)

How ya doing Zuko baby? John Travolta's iconic character of Danny Zuko personified what it meant to be cool in the 1950's. Zuko was the leader of the baddest gang at Rydell High, The T-Birds, and had previously had a fling with the desirable Cha Cha DiGregorio, the best dancer at St. Bernadette..with the worst reputation. That was all before his summer sweetheart, Sandy, ended up transferring to Rydell for their senior year rather than moving home to Australia. Throughout Grease we see Danny walk the fine line between being a good boyfriend around Sandy, and still being a macho tough guy around his pals. However, with John Travolta being the coolest guy in Hollywood at the time, as Saturday Night Fever (1977) came out the year before, there was never any question that Danny would get the girl, and still be the idol of all his friends.

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4) Claire Standish, The Breakfast Club (1985)

Molly Ringwald could have made this list for her role as Samantha Baker in 16 Candles (1984) but Breakfast Club is the quintessential high school movie, which is why it needed some representation on the list. All the characters who were serving a Saturday detention at Shermer High School are deserving of a spot, but Claire will have to due. The "Princess" of the group, Claire revealed the struggles that go into being the most popular girl in school. Claire earned her spot among the Brat Pack in detention for skipping class to go shopping. Throughout the movie we see Claire soften up towards John Bender, the criminal of the group, who at first acted like he just wanted some of her sushi. The redhead became an obsession for thousands of adolescent boys during the 80's, and her legacy earns her a well-deserved spot at number 3.

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3) Jim Stark, Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

Unlike most of the feel-good movies mentioned on this list, Rebel Without a Cause is a tragic story of two young men dying over nothing, and how James Dean's character, Jim Stark, was in the middle of it all. When Stark moves to Los Angeles with his family, he is dealing with some of the issues that are no uncommon for adolescents: his parents not understanding him, not knowing what his purpose in life is, and all that good stuff. Stark draws the attention from some of the bullies at Dawson High School, which leads to him being challenged to a "chicken run" by Buzz, a bully who Stark had already beaten in a fight. Buzz dies in the contest, and Stark goes into hiding with his female interest, Judy, and a younger boy who looks up to him, Plato. Though he was a toughie, Stark was a moral and sensible character, and tried to avoid any further tragedy when the police discovered the three hiding out in a abandoned mansion. While things did not end well for all the characters involved, Stark was able to reconcile with his parents, making him even more likable.

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2) Jeff Spicoli, Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

There's a way of looking at this list and being like, hey bud, let's party. It is hard to believe that the respected Oscar winning actor, Sean Penn, got his start as a laid-back surfer in 1982's Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Even though Penn's Jeff Spicoli was not the main character, he stole the show with his irreverent attitude towards life. Spicoli made a habit of being late to class, and taking his shirt off in public places, as he lived the type of carefree life that we all wish we had at times. Spicoli may have been a stoner, but he was no fool, as he cleverly figured out a way to blame the destruction of his friend's older brother's car on their rival high school, even though it was Spicoli who crashed the car into a wall of cinder blocks . Jeff Spicoli is no doubt the influence for so many of the surfer-dude characters we have since seen in high school movies since the release of Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Here is Spicoli's first interaction with his nemesis, his U.S. History teacher, Mr. Hand.

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1) Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

There have been cool characters in high school movies, and there has been Ferris Bueller. The smooth talker who could weasel his way out of any situation, Matthew Broderick's Ferris Bueller is the only choice for the top spot on the list. In a single day Ferris managed to drive around in a Ferrari, catch a ball at a Chicago Cubs game, fix his damaged relationship with his sister, and bring the Dean of Students at his high school, Edward Rooney, to the verge of insanity. He did all this and managed to get home in time to convince his parents that he was still sick. Broderick often broke the fourth wall throughout the movie, as he gave tips to the audience on the best ways to fake an illness, and explaining his predicament with his girlfriend Sloane, who was a year behind Ferris in school. Ferris Bueller is what every high school guy aspired to be, as the sportos, motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, all thought he was a righteous dude.