Not only are the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe inspired by the comics they’re based on; they're also clearly influenced by other movies. Captain America: The Winter Soldier calls back to paranoid post-Watergate thrillers like Three Days of the Condor. Guardians of the Galaxy is a self-aware riff on Star Wars and Indiana Jones.
And the MCU’s Far From Home, check out these classic teen comedies.
Booksmart (2019)
Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut fully convincing chemistry as lifelong best friends, Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein star as a pair of straight-A students who realize they have one last chance to have fun in high school.
Much like the MCU’s Spider-Man movies, Booksmart moves past the one-dimensional nerd archetypes seen in John Hughes’ classics and presents intelligent teenagers as real, three-dimensional human beings.
Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
The MCU’s Spider-Man movies have wrung a lot of gags out of Peter Parker’s incessant awkwardness. This kind of gawky teen angst is hilariously exaggerated in Jon Heder’s performance as the title character in Jared Hess’ low-budget cult hit Napoleon Dynamite.
If Peter never got bitten by a radioactive spider and instead spent his time drawing ligers badly, he might have turned out a lot like Napoleon.
Say Anything... (1989)
One of the most infectious love stories in movie history, Say Anything... follows the romance that brews between the class valedictorian, played by Ione Skye, and an endearing underachiever, played by John Cusack.
The boombox scene might be the most iconic moment in the film, but the whole movie is fantastic. It’s one of the finest entries in writer-director Cameron Crowe’s filmography.
Superbad (2007)
Greg Mottola’s Superbad masterfully represents the cringier aspects of high school life and the utter desperation that most teenagers have to be older, wiser, and cooler than they actually are.
Jonah Hill and Michael Cera share impeccable chemistry as Seth and Evan, who desperately try to get a hold of some booze so they can go to a party where their crushes will be. But, the most memorable character might be Fogell, better known to most of the world as McLovin.
Mean Girls (2004)
In the now-iconic Mean Girls, Lindsay Lohan stars as a 16-year-old who s an American public school for the first time and finds that the whole environment is terrifyingly cutthroat. And writer and star Tina Fey injects her trademark comedic sensibilities into what could otherwise have wound up as an average teen movie.
The safe PG-13 barbing between the Plastics and the kids they pick on is reminiscent of Flash Thompson’s family-friendly bullying of Peter in the MCU’s Spider-Man movies.
Risky Business (1983)
While it’s mainly ed for the scene in which Tom Cruise dances to Bob Seger in his underwear, Risky Business as a whole is essentially the Superbad of the ‘80s.
Cruise stars as Joel, a hard-working student who decides to let loose when his parents go on a trip and leave him home alone. He unwittingly enlists the services of a prostitute, provoking the ire of her pimp, and he also accidentally rolls his dad’s car into a lake. Like all the best comedies, Risky Business draws its humor from relatably absurd situations.
Rushmore (1998)
A director’s second movie after a well-received debut feature can make or break their career. Wes Anderson’s high school comedy Rushmore, his follow-up to Bottle Rocket, still holds up as one of his funniest movies to this day. Jason Schwartzman stars as Max Fischer, a precocious 15-year-old who’s more interested in mounting theatrical productions than doing his actual schoolwork.
Max falls in love with a teacher named Miss Cross, played by Olivia Williams, and befriends a wealthy industrialist named Herman Blume, played by Bill Murray, setting up a uniquely quirky love triangle.
Lady Bird (2017)
Greta Gerwig’s solo directorial debut a coming-of-age masterpiece that charts its title character’s evolution throughout her final year of high school. The movie covers all aspects of Lady Bird’s life, but it primarily focuses on her tumultuous relationship with her mother, played beautifully by Laurie Metcalf.
Much like Tom Holland’s portrayal of Peter Parker, Saoirse Ronan’s performance in Lady Bird perfectly captures the painful awkwardness of teenagers.
Dazed And Confused (1993)
Richard Linklater’s classic hangout comedy Dazed and Confused has a much more R-rated sensibility than the Spider-Man movies. But it has the same mix of humor and violence, because the seniors all set out to paddle the freshmen.
Dazed and Confused doesn’t follow a traditional plot; rather, it follows a bunch of kids on the last day of school as they hang out, get drunk, smoke pot, and enjoy the freedom of youth. Linklater perfectly captured the feeling of being young and free, when the world feels full of possibilities.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
While Jon Watts’ Spider-Man movies have been broadly influenced by the general tone of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. A life-affirming gem, the movie captures the tenets of “carpe diem” through the tale of a popular high schooler ditching class to spend the day in Chicago with his friends.
When Spidey is racing through people’s backyards in Spider-Man: Homecoming, it’s an overt homage to Ferris doing the same. The scene from Ferris Bueller can even be seen playing on a TV during Homecoming’s affectionate parody.
