Top 20 2000s Teen Movie Moments That Wouldn't Work Today

#20: Not Eating

“A Cinderella Story” (2004)

Who doesn’t love a young Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray in this adorable modern day fairytale? While most of this film has held up over the years, it does have a few flaws. And no, we’re not talking about the fact that Austin couldn’t recognize Sam even though she wore the tiniest mask known to man. We’re talking about Shelby making a cringe-worthy order at Sam’s family’s diner. She requests food that’s basically nothing and then she and her friends shame Sam for not knowing about water from Norway. The implication is that they don’t eat carbs, sugar, or fat, and opt for water as a meal, and it’s not a good look through today’s lens.

#19: Mike & Maggie

“17 Again” (2009)

This comedy from the late aughts featured some of our favorite actors and some seriously hilarious moments. Even still, we don’t think the storyline between Mike, AKA, Mark, and his daughter Maggie would fly today. When Mike becomes 17 again, he’s known as Mark, and his daughter Maggie unknowingly falls for him. It sounds “Back to the Future” - esque, but really, it’s a hard storyline to stomach. Maggie becomes flirty and then fairly explicit in what she wants to do to him, and the fact that we know it’s her dad the whole time makes these scenes awkward to watch.

#18: Viola the Womanizer

“She’s the Man” (2006)

Amanda Bynes absolutely slayed her role as Viola Hastings, or Sebastian, if you prefer. She plays a very convincing teenage boy, which comes with some less than tasteful moments throughout the film. It’s a bit uncomfortable when she starts to talk about women with the other guys in a derogatory manner, but things get real weird when her friends pose as Sebastian’s girlfriends. He dismisses them and treats them terribly in front of the guys to impress them, and it’s not cool. Also, we can’t see the scene where Sebastian and Viola flash the entire school going over well today either.

#17: Coach Carr

“Mean Girls” (2004)

Tina Fey created an endlessly quotable and relatable masterpiece in “Mean Girls,” however, there’s a few storylines that would never see the light of day today. One that comes to mind immediately is the relationship between Coach Carr and a student named Trang Pak. When Cady tries to get Aaron to catch Regina cheating on him, Carr and Pak are caught in the act instead. It’s a horribly inappropriate moment and aspect of this movie, and we can only hope Principal Duvall canned Coach Carr because of it. Are there more aspects of the film that didn’t age well? Stay tuned.

#16: Noah & Allie’s Relationship

“The Notebook” (2004)

This movie has often been admired for its charming and romantic depiction of young love, and we seriously can’t get enough of the older versions of Noah and Allie. However, their relationship was just a touch problematic in retrospect. Noah’s immediate and intense obsession with Allie is off-putting to say the least, as he hangs from a ferris wheel until she agrees to go out with him and borderline stalks her until she eventually falls for him. Their relationship never truly balances out, with Noah pining for her for years afterwards and never really moving on. In the end, it all works out, but they sure got off to a messy and potentially toxic start.

#15: Mrs. Griffith & Micah’s Relationship

“Easy A” (2010)

This movie is basically flawless, and we’re still wishing we had Olive Penderghast’s parents as our very own. But, the relationship between Mrs. Griffith, the school counsellor, and senior student Micah, is seriously troublesome. Not only does she cheat on her husband, who also works at the school, she does so with a student, who she ends up giving a disease to. We don’t feel bad for Mrs. Griffith or Micah, and the fact that they try to blame this all on Olive solidifies them as being bad people. We know that Olive feels bad for playing a part in ruining her favorite teacher’s marriage, but his wife is the one who put the final nail in the coffin.

#14: The Period Scene

“Superbad” (2007)

When the plot of a movie revolves around teens trying to get drunk, laid, or away with anything, some crazy stories are inevitable. The craziest one from this film that would probably not land well with audiences these days is when Seth is dancing with a girl and afterwards finds blood on his pants. While that’s an awkward moment, the way it’s handled is definitely not cool. Seth is embarrassed, the other guys make fun of him, and the girl herself is upset at him. Can we make menstruation less taboo? Thanks so much.

#13: The Makeover

“The Princess Diaries” (2001)

We know, we know; the makeover montage and reveal scene is iconic. But, the entire idea that Mia needs thinner eyebrows, sleeker hair, and no glasses to be worthy of being a royal is degrading. It would be one thing if Mia herself wanted to change her appearance, but the fact that it’s essentially forced on her is not okay. On top of that, while she grapples with her new look, she receives mixed and confusing reactions from her friends, compounding how troubling this whole situation is. When it comes to Mia Thermopolis, I give you, a princess, no matter what she looks like.

#12: William & Penny

“Almost Famous” (2000)

We’ll always belt out “Tiny Dancer” right alongside this eclectic bunch, but that doesn’t mean we can ignore some glaring problems in this movie. While it’s questionable in general that high schooler William joins this group as they tour the country, what’s even more concerning is his relationship and infatuation with Penny. He loves and would do anything for her, which comes to a head when she’s on lots of drugs and William rescues her. Things go from weird to flat-out wrong when William kisses the nearly unconscious Penny, and we hardly think modern day audiences would approve.

#11: Mark & Juno’s Relationship

“Juno” (2007)

Juno’s story is as unique as the witty one liners in this film, and her path through pregnancy is an interesting and unusual one. She’s a teenager, impregnated by her best friend, who decides to give up the baby to a nice suburban couple named Mark and Vanessa, who are eager to adopt. But, as she gets to know them, she and Mark form a strangely close bond, which culminates in him implying he has grown feelings for her. In the end, Vanessa and Mark split up, throwing a wrench in everything, and we feel about as uncomfortable about this situation as Juno feels by the end of her pregnancy.

#10: Disordered Eating

“Mean Girls” (2004)

While “Mean Girls” still feels incredibly current, it was actually released all the way back in 2004, if you can believe it. It’s one of the most beloved and revered teen movies of all time, and in many ways feels timeless. But one of the major plotlines is one that we don’t think would be included if the story were written today instead. Regina George, the film’s villain, is obsessed with losing weight even though she’s already thin. In a plotline that’s supposed to be played for laughs, Cady gives her nutrition bars that actually make her gain weight, though she lies and tells her they’re for weight loss. As Regina gains weight, she becomes ostracized and even mocked for being fat.

#9: Gay Stereotype

“Legally Blonde” (2001)

Just like “Mean Girls”, we can’t get enough of “Legally Blonde”, and in most ways it stands up to rewatchings today with its message of female empowerment and plenty of fun “girl power” moments. But there’s one part that doesn’t sit as well with us nearly two decades after it was released. In the final court case, Elle encounters one of the witnesses, Enrique the poolboy, in the hall and he mocks her footwear in a very specific way. Based on his knowledge of fashion, she surmises that he’s gay, which thwarts one of the prosecutor's lines of inquiry. While this scene is a triumphant one, it does use a pretty basic gay stereotype.

#8: Jenna Hanging Out with Kids

“13 Going on 30” (2004)

In 2004’s "13 Going on 30”, 13 year old Jenna Rink finds herself magically transformed into a 30 year old version of herself, as though time has sped up after she makes a wish to be “30, flirty and thriving”. She’s living her dream life, but finds that in a lot of ways she’s not actually ready to be grown up. She ends up spending time hanging out with “kids her own age”, i.e. actual 13 year olds. While this kind of makes sense considering the movie’s plot, it’s still pretty weird that she spends her time with young teens when to everyone else in the movie, she’s a full on adult.

#7: Dennis Outing His Friend

“I Love You, Beth Cooper” (2009)

While the films we’ve discussed so far have become modern classics, this one is more likely to be forgotten in the history of teen movies. “I Love You, Beth Cooper” wasn’t well received when it came out, but today it fares even worse. The movie starts with the main character, Denis, making a confession in his graduation speech that he’s in love with cheerleader Beth Cooper. But he also outs his best friend as being gay in front of the whole school, which is deeply not cool. For the rest of the movie, the friend’s sexuality is played for laughs, which makes it all even worse.

#6: Lizzie & Paolo

“The Lizzie McGuire Movie” (2003)

In “The Lizzie McGuire Movie”, Lizzie has just graduated from junior high and goes on a class trip to Rome. While she’s there she ends up meeting an Italian pop star, and sneaking away from her group to go off on adventures with him. The thing is though, Lizzie was about 14 years old in this movie and Paolo is allegedly 17, though he looks like a certified adult and acts like one too. If this movie were to ever be remade (which we hope it will be), we have a feeling they’d make Lizzie a little older so it wasn’t so questionable that she was going off with a total stranger in a foreign country.

#5: Sexism, Racism, Transphobia

“The Hot Chick” (2002)

While some movies from this time period have aged well, this is certainly not one of them. It’s pretty much impossible to pick just one moment from “The Hot Chick” that wouldn’t make it into a movie today because the reality is, the entire thing would just be scrapped. The entire premise lends itself easily to rampant sexism, considering it’s about a girl who finds herself trapped in a man’s body. Rob Schneider performs femininity in an exaggerated and offensive way throughout - but that’s not the end of it. There’s also racism and transphobia to boot!

#4: Edward Watching Bella Sleep

“Twilight” (2008)

The “Twilight” movies were a massive success upon their release, beginning in 2008. From the onset, the first film had a seemingly equal share of fans and detractors. Many things about the movie were criticized, and we admit, a decade on there are a lot of cringey moments. But the one that we think is next level creepy is Edward sneaking into Bella’s house and watching her sleep. Not only is this troubling behavior, it’s portrayed as being romantic, which makes it even worse. In the

#3: Bridget & Her Coach

“The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” (2005)

“The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” was adapted from a book of the same name, and features the stories of four friends who find themselves separated for the summer, but have a pair of pants that magically fits them all to keep them together. In Bridget’s story, she attends a soccer camp and becomes infatuated with her older coach. While at first he pushes off her advances, he eventually gives in, despite his position of authority. He apologizes for his actions after Bridget is devastated - but in a modern day film, we have a feeling this story would have gone a different way and he wouldn’t be seen as a good guy.

#2: John Taking ‘Feminine’ Hormones

“John Tucker Must Die” (2006)

“John Tucker Must Die” is your classic revenge movie, with a teen twist. A group of girls wants to get back at a guy who has played them all, and they try a variety of tactics to give him his just desserts. One of their attempts involves sneaking estrogen into his protein powder (in an effort to make him understand what it’s like to be a woman, which is totally misguided) and the results are pretty offensive. The estrogen makes him act in an exaggeratedly feminine way, crying and complaining about his thighs being fat. Just describing it makes us cringe!

#1: Harassment

“Bring It On” (2000)

While there’s a lot to like about 2000’s fun cheerleading flick “Bring It On”, there’s one part that’s unsettling all these years later. After being asked if he’s gay, the character Jan asserts that one of the other cheerleaders, Courtney, doesn’t wear underwear with her uniform, and that he takes advantage of that fact during their routines. Everyone seems to think it’s hilarious, and we eventually get to see him do it, and Courtney slaps him afterwards. Jan doesn’t have any negative consequences, and the entire thing is played as comedic. Yuck!

Which 2000s teen movie moment made you cringe? Let us know in the comments!