These rebels have a cause

Girls go crazy for two things: rebels and Robert Pattinson. And, lucky us, RPattz is ditching his Twilight body glitter and fangs to play a brooding -- but sexy -- loner in his new movie Remember Me. (Oh, if only someone could tame him! Or at least run a comb through his hair!) He's hardly the first dreamy bad boy to hit the big screen. These rebels have a cause: to make your dad worry.

Pike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 1992)

With a leather jacket, a broken-down van and an ill-advised soul patch, it's almost as though Pike (Luke Perry) read the official "How to Be a Rebellious Loner" handbook. But even with his devil-may-care attitude, Pike is the one who needs protecting when gangs of blood-sucking vampires begin to inhabit his no-good town. Luckily, he's got Buffy, the cheerleading vampire slayer, to watch his back -- and she also gets him to shave off that awful, awful soul patch. Teenage rebellion is no excuse for bad facial hair, folks.

Cry-Baby (Cry-Baby, 1990)

Vulnerable teenage girls can't resist a bad boy, and they're completely hopeless when that bad boy looks like Johnny Depp, sings like Elvis and sheds a single tear at the end of every song. But that's the trouble with being the charismatic leader of a greaser gang: the rival gangs will get jealous and frame you for starting a riot. But even in jail, Cry-Baby's love for his best girl keeps him strong. After his supporters stage a campaign to get him released, he teaches the rival gang leader a lesson by beating him in a drag race. No wonder the girls go wild for him.

Ren (Footloose, 1984)

He doesn't ride a motorcycle (he rocks a beat-up VW Bug), he doesn't own a badass leather jacket (at one point he even wears a maroon tuxedo). But Ren McCormack (Kevin Bacon) is the baddest boy in town ... because he loves to jazz dance. Anyone who practises "punch-dancing" routines in the barn after school is bound to be a bit of an outsider. But the podunk town Ren calls home is particularly intolerant. Dancing -- or the "Devil's Perambulation," as the good townsfolk probably call it -- is outlawed. The enforcer: the town reverend (a.k.a. the daddy of Ren's sassy girlfriend). In the end, love and a killer '80s soundtrack conquer all.

Danny Zuko (Grease, 1978)

Danny Zuko (John Travolta) might put up a tough front -- exaggerating his sexual prowess to his friends, dry-humping his souped-up car, slicking back his hair while hitting high notes only dogs can hear -- but even tough guys need love. And when it comes down to keeping up his rebel persona or finding happiness with his peppy Australian girlfriend, Sandy (Olivia Newton-John), Danny chooses the latter, even joining the track team to prove he can be a good guy. But luckily, that doesn't last long, since Sandy turns herself into a spandex-wearing, cigarette-smoking bad girl, which allows them to drive Danny's sweet ride into the sky. (That ending never made much sense to us, either.)

Bender (The Breakfast Club, 1985)

Want to piss off your parents? By his own admission, John Bender (Judd Nelson) would be "OUTSTANDING in that capacity." The "Criminal" among the Breakfast Club's roster of a Brain, an Athlete, a Basket Case and a Princess, Bender landed himself in detention for (spoiler!) pulling the school fire alarm -- and earned another dozen or so for not shying from telling the crusty ol' principal to "eat my shorts." Underneath his flannel and floppy hair, though, Bender's more of a misunderstood smartass than a badass, and just wants to be loved. Just don't accept any invitations to Bender Family Christmas.

J.D. (Heathers, 1988)

Westerberg High has pretty much got "an open-door policy for a--holes," and alpha-girl clique the Heathers are chief among them, ruling the school with fear tactics and unattainable style. (Their scrunchies are divine!) So when J.D. (Christian Slater) turns up at Westerberg High, he's a perfect teen dream to Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder): a rebel boy who isn't afraid of authorities, or Heathers. And the fact that he looks like Christian Slater doesn't hurt. At first, life is sunshine and strip croquet for Veronica and J.D. -- until a prank against one of the Heathers turns into murder-by-Drano, and she's dragged into a homicidal high school crime spree of J.D.'s engineering. Just consider it another reason to second-guess dating bad boys, ladies.

Jim Stark (Rebel Without a Cause, 1955)

Will Smith was right: parents just don't understand. As your typical, alienated teen in the '50s, Jim Stark (James Dean) is so frustrated by his unmanly father, he sees no other option but to get into knife fights and play deadly games of chicken in his sports car. Yes, underneath Jim's red leather jacket is one big chip on his shoulder. But the love of a good woman (Natalie Wood) and the tragic death of a friend (Sal Mineo) helps him turn his life around.

-- Canwest News Service

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 14, 2010 ??65490