It’s spring break season and boy, do we ever need a vacation — from pandemics, from politics, from Katy Perry. Whether you want to get psyched up for your wild, drunken week or need a vicarious getaway because you’re broke and staying home, spring break movies are the ideal escape. While not known for their award-winning performances or groundbreaking scripts, spring break movies provide enough laughs and debauchery to make them worth watching again and again. We’ve personally picked the best of this fun-filled genre for your viewing pleasure, which we recommend watching in your swimsuit, tropical cocktail in hand.
Cover Photo: A24
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Spring Break Movies
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10. 'From Justin to Kelly'
In this spring break musical, a Texan waitress and Pennsylvania college student cross paths and discover a shared passion for singing.
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9. 'Reno 911 Miami'
A terrorist attack on a police convention in Miami during spring break renders local cops unable to protect and depend. Incompetent officers from the Reno Police Department must step in and save the day.
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8. 'Piranha 3D'
If you’re in the mood for a spring break scare, this flick features carnivorous fish that attack vacationers at Lake Victoria.
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7. 'Revenge of the Nerds 2: Nerds in Paradise'
Your favorite smarty pants are back to attend a national fraternity convention in Florida where they must once again defend themselves against their sworn enemy, the Alpha Betas.
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6. 'Shag'
Four South Carolina high school graduates road trip to Myrtle Beach for a last hurrah together in 1963. The formerly demure and polite friends let loose, indulging in casual sex, excessive alcohol consumption, and dirty dancing. Though it’s set in summer, it could be considered the thinking person’s spring break movie.
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5. 'The Real Cancun'
The creators of The Real World endeavored to make the first "reality feature film" with this flick. Sixteen college students from across the U.S. were chosen to be filmed 24/7 over a weeklong spring break in Cancun, Mexico.
Photo: New Line Cinema
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4. 'Where the Boys Are' (1984)
Four college friends head to Fort Lauderdale for a spring break filled with sexual misadventures.
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3. 'Spring Break' (1983)
Two pairs of college dudes collide in Fort Lauderdale on spring break. Forced to share a hotel room, the smooth Brooklynites and the naïve nerds must find common ground – which they do, amidst partying, a wet T-shirt contest, and women galore.
Photo: Columbia Pictures
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2. 'Spring Breakdown'
A trio of 30-somethings play chaperone to a college student desperate to win her boyfriend back over spring break on South Padre Island. The adults have just as much – if not more – fun than the co-eds.
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1. 'Spring Breakers'
Four female college students finance their spring break vacation by robbing a diner. The law catches up with them, but a drug dealer bails them out, setting them up for even more hijinks (and getting high).
