BY THOMAS WOOD

Many movies have homecoming scenes; after all, a dance is the be-all-end-all for teenagers. One fateful night serves as a break from the ripped jeans and hoodies of the school day and breaks into actual formalwear. One night can make or break your popularity among the student body: which is important, I assure you. Since these dance scenes are so plentiful in teen drama movies, their quality fluctuates. So, I present to you five of the most iconic high school dance scenes, ranked.

Grease

Grease is an all time classic movie: this cannot be denied. However, I think it may have the weakest homecoming scene of those on this list. Although it features the iconic “Born to Hand Jive” song and dance, it doesn’t really give the viewer a greater emotion. On top of this, all the attendees of the dance are in their 20s and 30s, which is honestly pretty strange for a high school dance. Overall, this homecoming scene goes at the bottom of the list.

High School Musical 3

While there isn’t technically a prom scene in this movie, there is by all accounts a musical rehearsal of a prom scene, which can and should be counted. For all intents and purposes, the song is pretty good, and the choreography performance is nothing to shake a stick at. The scene isn’t really a scene used for closure, but to advance the story, although it is done pretty well. I’ll place this dance scene in fourth place, just above Grease.

Back to the Future

The homecoming scene in Back to the Future serves as another way for Marty to keep his parents together. When he’s informed the band doesn’t have a guitarist, Marty takes it upon himself to play the songs with the homecoming band to give his father the courage to stay with his mother. It’s a pretty solid homecoming scene, all things considered, and it isn’t stuck to the traditional high school drama formula. I’ll place this movie smack dab in the middle, above High School Musical 3.

Mean Girls

Although Mean Girls does not have a homecoming scene per se, it does have an apex dance event similar to a prom. After the main character Cady realizes that she does not in fact wish to be a titular Mean Girl, she’s crowned “Spring Fling Queen” and gives a heartwarming speech. Since this dance scene concludes the movie, it’s an extremely satisfying one. It ties up lots of loose ends and adds a neat bow to many plotlines. As much as I love this scene, I have to place it in second place.

Napoleon Dynamite

Napoleon Dynamite’s school dance scene has to be one of the most iconic in all pop culture. After Napoleon is abandoned by his date, Trisha, he reconvenes with his friends Pedro and Deb to watch the crowd of happy couples dance to “Forever Young.” Pedro tells Napoleon he can dance with Deb for a few songs, and Napoleon accepts. However awkward the following dance scene is, there’s no doubt of its charm. It perfectly slides into the tone of the rest of the movie, while still making the plot feel somehow profound. While Napoleon and Deb dance to “Time After Time,” we get a happy sense of closure for our characters. This scene is amazing, and deserves first place in this ranking.

Final Ranking:

Napoleon Dynamite

Mean Girls

Back to the Future

High School Musical 3

Grease