It's a classic. I have to admit--I grew up in the 1980s and did not ever see this movie. It wasn't until college that I did, so I can honestly say the movie is great (I'm not speaking from a nostalgic perspective at all). It has sex, comedy, drama, silliness, love, (a little bit of) violence, and lots of music and fun. Each of the characters, no matter how despicable her/his behavior, you will find somehow endearing, even the slimeball scalper who gets a girl pregnant and doesn't call her again. I'm not sure if, as Cameron Crowe asserts in commentary, the film really captures what
high school is like, but it certainly gets the feel for how life is--even when it's funny, it's serious, and even if it's serious, it's funny. Very few things in life are exclusively dramatic or comedic.
--A.Y.