The teen genre has become more and more popular in Hollywood since studios realized that teenagers contribute to a large portion of ticket sales. The teen comedy, like most comedies, is built upon a series of tropes that act like building blocks when a writer is creating a movie.
Even though some of these tropes have been beaten down and become cliches, it's still common to see tropes pop up in teen comedies quite often. While the genre is expanding with movies that redefine teen comedies like Booksmart, there are still a series of tropes that will always be present.
The Evil Teacher/Principal
While most teenagers would be able to pick out a teacher or staff member they'd consider to be evil, it is very uncommon that there are actual teachers who hate children. However, movies tend to use this trope often and will have a teacher or principal actively work against a student they don't like solely to see them fail.
An example of this is shown with the principal in two of John Hughes' most famous movies, The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. However, between the two, the principal from The Breakfast Club is far worse, scaring audiences in a scene where he yells at and belittles one of the main characters.
Nobody To Somebody
Every teenager who has lived in the shadows of their school has secretly hoped that one day, they would suddenly become the most popular person. This common trope plays upon this idea, having an unpopular kid suddenly rise the ranks of popularity at school, usually due to one incident and happening overnight.
This trope is played up in a lot of teen comedies, one of the most famous being The Princess Diaries, in which the main character finds out she is a princess. While at the beginning of the movie, she is a nobody, as soon as the information is leaked, there are news reporters everywhere and old bullies claiming to be best friends.
Big Party
The "big party to end all parties" is one of the most common themes in teen comedies. It gives the main character a chance to earn their place in history at their school by throwing the rager that made it onto the nightly news. Typically, these parties a bit over the top, often fully stocked with alcohol, and sometimes they even include a DJ.
One movie that is known for the "party to end all parties" is Project X, the 'found footage' teen comedy which sees the main character throw a large party while his parents are away. This movie does play upon the ridiculousness behind the large party by having police and the news show up, even having a news helicopter fly by.
Quest To Lose Virginity
One of the most common tropes in teen comedies is the journey of a single teenager, or a group of teenagers, working to lose their virginity. Oftentimes, the main characters aren't in a relationship and at that natural phase in their lives, but instead, feel like they are missing out and need to lose their V card before college.
One movie that is known for using this trope is the hit teen comedy Superbad, which was successful due to its realistic approach to teens and their lives. The movie sees best friends go through a series of small and crazy adventures with the goal to get alcohol to the girls they like so they will have sex with them, however, the movie ends up focusing more on the relationship between the two friends.
Group Of Outcasts
A friend group is an essential part of any teen movie, but it tends to play an even bigger role in teen comedies. Most often, the main character in a teen comedy is considered an outsider or a weirdo, but they will have a core group of friends that is just as "unique" as them. Together, the group will make their way through the movie, and aside from a few moments that may cause them to take a temporary break, the group is usually loyal.
One movie that uses this idea fully is the beloved classic, The Goonies. The group of friends is made up of multiple weirdos and outsiders who are fiercely faithful to one another, and due to their differences and loyalty, they make their way through a dangerous treasure hunt and find the hidden treasure in question.
Alcohol And Drugs
While it is widely known that most teenagers will engage in underage drinking or drug use at one point in their life, it's also known that movies have a tendency to overdo it to the fullest. In many teen comedies, the main character may have large quantities of alcohol that they miraculously received or come into the possession of an endless supply of various drugs.
Some movies will have protagonists go through insane lengths to get a small amount of alcohol, while other movies see the teens go to one source and walk away with a surplus of alcoholic beverages. One movie that uses this trope is Staten Island Summer, where a group of young lifeguards goes to two local cops who supply them with kegs and bottles of liquor.
Nerdy Girl Gets A Makeover
One of the beliefs in teen comedies is that the nerdy girl is always the unpopular and unattractive girl in the school. However, to get the man they want, all they need to do is get a makeover and suddenly, they're the most popular person in school. While some movies, like The Princess Diaries, don't have a make-over for the main purpose of attracting a man, there are plenty that do use that as the reason.
One movie that fully embraces this trope is the hit teen comedy musical, Grease, in which the main character undergoes a drastic makeover to make the love interest realize what he's been missing. Even though this trope, and Grease itself, has been often seen as extremely sexist, it still manages to make its appearance in Hollywood films.
The Big Breakfast
While this particular trope may not be considered a building block for movie plots, it is one of the most common things to see in movies, particularly teen movies. The idea is that the main character, usually a teenager, will wake up every day to a fully cooked breakfast already on the table but will choose a piece of fruit and leave.
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The reason this particular trope has become so popular is due to the ridiculousness of the idea of a full breakfast made for a high school student every morning. One movie that sees this is in Love, Simon, where Simon would often come downstairs to his sister making some complex breakfast dish, but he ends up only taking a bite and heading out to school.
Taking Down The Popular Kids
When it comes to being an outsider, teens often dream of the moment they are able to take down the popular kids and give them a taste of their own medicine. For the most part, this trope is seen in comedies and gives the bullies a chance to lose their popularity and their friend groups, while audiences watch the "bullied" rise in their place.
One of the more aggressive but classic takes on this trope is Heathers, the 80s teen comedy starring Winona Ryder. This movie sees Ryder star as a newly popular girl who secretly hates her friend group. When she meets the mysterious bad boy, they both agree to prank the popular girl but end up killing her. The movie follows the two while they go on a killing spree in order to rid the school of popular kids.
The New Kid
The "new kid" is one of the most beloved tropes in movie history. In these stories, audiences see a new kid come into school and catch the eye of the popular kids, typically right after finding a good friend group of outsiders. The new kid is often left in the middle, torn between choosing which friend group they want, but they often end up going with the more loyal group of outsiders.
One movie that takes this trope to the fullest is Mean Girls, in which new student Cady Heron, makes friends with the two loners in the school while also faking a friendship with the popular girls. While she does get lost in the role and ignores the two loyal friends, she ends up gaining their trust back and rebuilding the friendship by the end.