Pop Quiz: How Can a Teen Movie Be a Wide-Appeal Hit?

Hollywood’s all-teens-all-the-time phase kicked into high gear in 1999: So far 13 youth-oriented films have been released, with two more (“Election” and “Idle Hands”) opening by the end of this month.

But despite the popularity of “Scream,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and anything Leonardo DiCaprio, not all teen films succeed. In fact, teens can be a surprisingly discriminating audience, and the reception to these 13 films has taught the studios and filmmakers some valuable lessons about the burgeoning teen market. Here’s our report card based on the success of these youth-oriented films with audiences (which often parallels the critical response), the lessons learned and what the future might hold.

The Lessons

Timing Is Everything: “Varsity Blues” didn’t need a Hail Mary pass to be one of the big winners in the teen movie game because it had an open field, debuting ahead of the teen pack in mid-January when there wasn’t a single youth-oriented movie in theaters. Football attracted the males while the film’s star--heartthrob James Van Der Beek (TV’s “Dawson’s Creek”)--didn’t hurt a bit with females. Similarly, “She’s All That” executed an end run by opening on Super Bowl weekend luring football widows out for popcorn and soda while the guys stayed home with pretzels and beer. “We finished filming after ’10 Things I Hate About You’ and ‘Never Been Kissed,’ ” says Peter Abrams, one of “She’s All That’s” producers. “But we rushed post-production so we could get out there first.”

Keep ‘Em Cheap: If you can only depend on one part of the audience, don’t be spending $20 million to $30 million (“Wing Commander,” “Blast From the Past”). Because of its meager budget, “Go” could afford to experiment with its “Pulp Fiction”-style of storytelling without risking the farm. Aware of the challenges of going up against the more marketable “Never Been Kissed” and “10 Things,” “Go” producer Paul Rosenberg was still happy to be out there at spring break with an edgier film that cost only $7 million to make.

Nostalgia Ain’t What It Used to Be: Not only was “Carrie 2” many years late and a few dollars short, but it tapped into a nonexistent nostalgia craze among a core audience that doesn’t even remember the first movie, which was a big hit with a generation that is now busy filling out AARP enrollment forms. The same, “What were they thinking?” logic applies to “The Mod Squad,” whose appeal proved to as anachronistic as its title. (Austin Powers can be “mod,” but not supposedly hip undercover cops.) Today’s teen audience was all born in the 1980s. To them 1982 is the dark ages, according to Van Toffler, who runs MTV’s film division, which is why “200 Cigarettes” (set on New Year’s Eve that year) may have missed the target.

It’s Not the Star, It’s the Story: Merely casting a WB star doesn’t ensure teen movie success. Young women are the backbone of the teen movie renaissance and are particularly story-ensitive. So even “Buffy the Vampire Killer’s” Sarah Michelle Geller couldn’t levitate “Simply Irresistible.” Two of the hottest names with teen audiences, Ben Affleck and Courtney Love, did nothing for “200 Cigarettes,” nor did Freddie Prinze Jr. for “Wing Commander,” but teens loved him in “She’s All That.” The ultra-low-budget “Jawbreaker” proved that putting together Rebecca Gayheart, Julie Benz and Rose McGowan did not another “Heathers” make. “It’s important not to talk down to the audience,” says producer Abrams, whose “She’s All That” not only attracted young women, but date-night audiences.

“Varsity Blues” was hardly a new story, “it was just the way we told it and the combination of a sports theme and a relationship-based tale,” says Toffler.

Brush Up Your Shakespeare: Or your George Bernard Shaw or even your Choderlos de Laclos. Three of the more successful teen movies took the Classics Illustrated route to success. “She’s All That” boiled down Shaw’s “Pygmalion” to its essence, while “10 Things” set the Bard’s “The Taming of the Shrew” in high school and “Cruel Intentions” had teenagers being seduced on period chaise longues right out of Laclos’ “Les Liaisons Dangereuses.” “You have to come up with ideas that are different from the rest of the movies being made,” says “Cruel Intentions” producer Neil Moritz, “something that looks fresh and new to moviegoers.” Even if it’s something old.

When in Doubt, Get Drew Barrymore: She’s been around for so long that it’s easy to forget she’s only 24. But, as she proved with “Never Been Kissed” and “Ever After” and “The Wedding Singer” before that, Barrymore is that rare bird who brings in an older audience without turning off the kids. The folks at 20th Century Fox, which released “Kissed,” didn’t even want to talk about their film in teen terms. “We think it’s a movie for older and younger women,” said a studio spokesperson.

Repeat After Me: A Video Game Is Not a Movie: As Disney learned long ago with “Tron,” audiences are not interested in a video game dressed up to look like a motion picture. The successful Wing Commander video game series had no appeal whatsoever as a movie because sci-fi requires at least a pretense of seriousness--”The Matrix” being the best current example and “Star Wars” the all-time champ.

The Future

Get Out of the Ghetto: Since most teen movies cost under $15 million, they can do business without worrying too much about crossing over. That still doesn’t make up for a lack of multicultural casting. With the rare exceptions of casting supporting players like Usher in “She’s All That” and Taye Diggs in “Go,” of the current crop of teen movies only “Mod Squad” had a lead actor, Omar Epps, who wasn’t white. The rest reflect a primarily all-white, middle-class ghetto paying little or no attention to the African American, Latino and Asian American youth contingent. (And yes, we’re aware that Freddie Prinze Jr. is half Puerto Rican.) Combined, the teen audience of color is a potent and largely segregated (and untapped) element of the youth market. And, increasingly, many of them grew up in suburbia, the stronghold of the teen moviegoing audience.

Coming Attractions: Based on the current crop of films, romantic comedy has all the earmarks of a staple among teen movies, most producers agree. So expect to see lots more. But everyone is still a little shy about teen drama--as with adult dramas, they’re much harder to execute and sell. “Cruel Intentions” demonstrated that sex sells, says Toffler, though it usually brings with it an R rating that cuts out a part of the core audience. Still, both “Cruel” and especially “Varsity” succeeded with an R rating. Diminishing returns for such films as last year’s “The Faculty” and this year’s “Carrie” sequel indicate the horror film cycle has peaked, according to Moritz, who is banking on teen thrillers like his upcoming “Skulls,” which features a slightly older (college age) crowd. In general, subject matter will skew slightly older. And as the current young stars grow up, they’re looking to break free of high school roles. The biggest challenge for teen films, says MTV’s Toffler, is to somehow break through the limitations of the genre by making films that are hip enough to draw teens but real enough that they also attract older patrons the way “Ferris Bueller” and “Clueless” did in the past. MTV Films will attempt to lure adults to more sophisticated fare like “Election” (opening Friday) and “The Wood,” a drama opening in late summer about the origins of hip-hop.

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Teen Movie Report Card

She’s All That: A+

Varsity Blues: A

Never Been Kissed: B+

Cruel Intentions: B

10 Things I Hate About You: B

Blast From the Past: C+

Go: C

Jawbreaker: C-

200 Cigarettes: C-

Carrie 2: C-

Simply Irresistible: D

Mod Squad: D-

Wing Commander: F

* Grades are based on how much each film made compared to costs.