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The 20 Most Tolerable Party Movies

In honor of 21 and Over, the latest party movie to hit screens, here are our 20 party movies worth watching. Some on this list are Party Movies, others are movies with a party in them. (We've arranged from least tolerable to the most tolerable.) We've thrown in the ones you know as well as a few unorthodox choices, and strangely Tom Cruise ended up here a few times, too. Ranked by Alan Scherstuhl, blurbs by Nick Lucchesi.

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20. Take Me Home Tonight (2011)

Starring Topher Grace (That '70s Show) and a pre-Warm Bodies Teresa Palmer, this throwback, coming-of-age comedy memorably features a Ziploc bag full of cocaine and a scene on a trampoline that just sags.

19. PCU (1994)

Before he was Ari on Entourage, Jeremy Piven played "Droz", a 30-something college student-alpha-male in the movie that spawned a zillion frat catch-phrases ("Chips! Chips! Chips!"). PCU also features P-Funk playing Prince's "Erotic City," and a bunch of mid-90s frat-libertarian frustrated "white-dudes-rule!"-isms. You have likely seen shown this on Comedy Central at some point in your life.

18. Losin' It (1983)

Another retro movie -- this time it's the '50s -- Losin' It stars Tom Cruise and Shelley Long (just after she began her run on Cheers) as teenagers getting into trouble in Tijuana. Thinking about watching it? Take the 22 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes into mind.

17. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

A movie with a party in it but not a Party Movie -- unless your definition party includes infidelity and a lot of orgies, which, OK. Eyes Wide Shut was Kubrick's final film, and during production, conjecture and rumors swirled around what its plot may include. It turned out to be a lot of sex, and a tiny Tom Cruise being roughed-up by some kids on the street in Manhattan.

16. Donnie Darko (2001)

Another retro movie: Fans of the cult favorite have determined this fantasy-drama took place around 1988. It includes a jet engine falling from the sky, a vortex over Donnie's house, a Halloween party and frequent use of "Mad World" by Tears for Fears as underscoring.

15. American Pie (1999)

This 1999 raunch-com launched a franchise of four films that ended -- maybe? -- just last year with American Reunion. The original's gross-out scene included Jim (Jason Biggs) fucking a pie, because it was gross, and gross-out comedies were a cornerstone of '90s cinema, of course.

14. Bachelor Party (1984)

Before The Hangover, there was this 1984 movie, starring Tom Hanks as Rick Gassko, a man-child who decides to married. The plot goes like this:
1. Marriage proposal
2. ???
3. Honeymoon

13. Can't Hardly Wait (1998)

100 percent of people under thirty immediately cite this as the best party movie ever. Can't Hardly Wait has Jennifer Love Hewitt getting dumped, then falling for the unorthodox nerd, which is awesome for the rest of us as viewers. It should be noted that the film has one of the most memorable epilogue scenes -- a staple of any good party or coming-of-age movie.

12. Risky Business (1983)

The third Tom Cruise party movie on this countdown has Cruise -- just four months after Losin' It hit theaters -- as an upper-class high school student in Chicago, getting into trouble and of course, throwing an epic party while his parents are out of town. The only downside to the party? Watch it again if you can't remember. It's on YouTube. It's worth it.

11. Weird Science (1985)

The story of Gary (Anthony Michael Hall) and Wyatt (Ilan Mitchell-Smith) and Lisa (Kelly LeBrock), who encourages and prods these nerds to have a party, in order to boost their confidence and popularity. After a rocky start, both boys get girlfriends, Lisa vanishes and later turns up as a gym teacher. And if you've forgotten, Lisa was created in a plot stolen from Frankenstein. If made today, the plot might involve a 3D printer instead of a Memotech MTX computer.