But that was embarrassing when it was new.
Encourage her to read the book instead.
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There are a few movies I’d consider modern classics, but it’s likely your daughter’s seen them already: the Princess Bride, Stardust, the Mummy and the Mummy Returns (feel free to skip the third, it’s nowhere near as good as the first two.) Continuing the Brendan Fraser love, George of the Jungle is a very sweet all-ages comedy that never fails to make me feel better.
I don’t know if Man In the Iron Mask could be considered a classic movie or not. The tale is certainly classic, and the movie’s solid. I particularly liked John Malkovich, Gerard Depardieu and Jeremy Irons as the Musketeers, more than Leonardo DiCaprio. It would probably pair well with 1973’s the Three Musketeers.
And if the youngling hasn’t seen Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet, she really should-- it is excellent, and a good gateway to Shakespeare. (There’s a tiny bit of nudity in it, we see Romeo’s behind, but it’s brief and tastefully done, probably not too much for a thirteen-year-old.) That could lead into either the Branagh or Whedon versions of Much Ado About Nothing… although the Hero subplot is problematic and worthy of a discussion.
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Modern Times
The Thin Man
The General
Sherlock, Jr.
The Gold Rush
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Age, sex, or gender socialization/construct of the viewer shouldn’t matter for general audience classic films. Some classic films don’t age well, some go in and out of vogue. One classic film my husband and I enjoyed, my husband loved it more for the lines the beleaguered patriarch got to say, I love the main actors in the piece. My son and I watched this, and we saw how manipulative and immature the lead character was, and the film soured.
Modern Times is still relevant when one considers as a 21st-century analogy the poor Amazon workers stressed from dehumanizing mechanisms to increase productivity. Lunch feeding machine = water bottles suspended at work stations like workers are hamsters; corporate surveillance; piss jugs in delivery vehicles because time is lost with comfort station breaks. Yes it’s a comedy. It has a happy ending, and it’s about triumph of the soul, with an anarchosocialist slant.
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i definitely second this. also, she’s about the age of the protagonists, i think.
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How classic are we talking? Some may have unsuitable themes or moments but I’m thinking:
Goonies
Grease
Stand by me
Lost Boys
Mask (the one with Cher)
Some Kind of Wonderful
Wizard of Oz
Annie (original)
Babe
Bill and Ted’s excellent adventure
Wayne’s World
Napoleon Dynamite
Blades of Glory
Finding Nemo
That’s all I can think of for the moment. Will pop back in if more come to mind!
Omg can’t believe I forgot… Dirty Dancing!
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ooh! i have another one: Harold and Maude!
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My mistake - it was Alan Hale, SENIOR, who appeared in “They Drive by Night”.
One of the best scene-stealers of all time. Also an inventor.
Alan Hale Sr. - Wikipedia.
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Pick Flick!
good flick.
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A vote for Jacques Tati films “Mon Oncle,” “Les Vacances de M. Hulot”. Visual storytelling and gags, gentle humour.
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My husband and daughter are actually reading the book together now! He hasn’t read it in many, many years, and his comment to me about it: “It’s a great book, but the thing I love about the movie is that it’s a love story and the book is not in the same way.” I’m not a huge Capote fan so I declined to join them. 
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She absolutely is! What a fantastic suggestion. I remember the first time I saw this movie – I think I must have been in college and watched it on a black and white TV in a crappy, crappy studio apartment.
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YES, yes, yes. I’m overwhelmed and out of practice with BBS, so forgive me for multiple responses. Thank you all for these! I’m frantically scribbling them down.
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Glad to see you back in the fray!
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And might as well mention/recommend Some Like It Hot, which is possibly even more potentially appealing to the younger set.
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It’s very good. Honest. It is a love story, just not a typical one.
A few of the great classics everyone should see:
- 12 Angry Men (1957)
- Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
- It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
- The Sound of Music (1965)
- Cool Hand Luke (1967)
- The Warriors (1979)
- The Outsiders (1983)
- The Breakfast Club (1985)
- The Lost Boys (1987)
- Eraserhead (1977)
- Brazil (1985)
And a couple that are on my list but I haven’t watched since at least I was a kid:
I know my daughter might not like some of those, but overall they’re each pretty powerful, and generally good enough to hold someone’s interest, even a 13 year old. At least a couple of them will come up again in their life, since they are frequently referenced, so it’ll be good that they get those references.
Eraserhead and Brazil are both pretty intense if you need one to get them interested again.
Easy Rider (1969) is another great classic, but I would not recommend it in this case. I watched it for the first time as a teen and that ending really hit hard. If you are looking for impactful endings to discuss, that one should do it. But you might want to watch it yourself first.
Well, there’s Carrie Fisher 
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Any definition of “classic” that would exclude Time Bandits is just wrong
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We haven’t watched many of the classic or older movies here, but my kids loved the Mel Gibson Hamlet. We’ve actually watched it more than once, which is unusual for us.
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