The Long-Form and Short of It

Disclaimer: I came of age just before the turn of the century, and so my impression of the pop culture landscape of that time is unavoidably colored with personal memories; I will never look back at that decade without fondness.

So as shiny and sleek as modern-day remakes of ‘90s classics have been, the homages just pale in comparison. After all, how do you recapture the innocence, the sheer naiveté and gumption of the time? Even the latest in CGI technology and contemporized storytelling are no match to a lack of artifice borne from small production budgets and creative experimentation.

The decade also saw the surge in stories of the Black and LGBTQ experiences being told by members of these communities onscreen, creating a diverse tapestry of filmic work produced during the time. Not all products were great, of course; a lot certainly didn’t age well. But the fact that so many green filmmakers then—a number of whom are regarded as masters now—got to bring their visions to fruition made the film industry a little more democratic than it used to.

My selection may very well come off as juvenile to film connoisseurs, but hey—imagine the degree of precociousness required for an 18-year-old to find the fucked-up adults in American Beauty relatable. I was never that precocious, and so I’m staying in my ‘90s kid lane.

Clueless (1995)

*Stacy Dash as Dionne Murphy, Alicia Silverstone as Cher Horowitz, and Brittany Murphy as Tai Frasier*

In a decade full of cinematic adaptations of literary classics, Amy Heckerling’s flick easily ranks high. Arguably, it’s the best adaptation of Emma, given how accessible it makes the Jane Austen novel to a young crowd. Who could resist the fashion? The music? The clever dialogue? (I admit, a lot of the innuendo went over my teenage head.)

There’s also a sweetness to the movie that goes beyond having rich girl Cher, played to perfection by Alicia Silverstone, be a basically kind if clueless (get it?) person who wants to help those around her become their best selves, though she soon understands that makeovers have their limits.

Despite the casual mentions of cosmetic surgery, sex, and drugs among the students of Bronson Alcott High, it still feels like a safe world where the harshest repercussion would be getting insulted for one’s lack of sexual experience and driver’s license. Of course, these are privileged Beverly Hills kids we’re talking about, but the world of Clueless just feels devoid of real malice that often characterizes other high school-set flicks. In that aspect, it’s true to form to Cher’s and her predecessor Emma’s rosy-colored worldview.

That isn’t to say that the movie doesn’t have bite: It makes fun of rich kid culture, but somehow, you also know that the characters are aware of how ridiculous they can be and are in on the joke. While it’s a world none of us would ever get to inhabit, we gladly, happily laugh along with them.

Showgirls (1995)

I still remember the outrage that this now-cult classic elicited when it was released. Funny how, in a decade where pop music’s cheesy exuberance coexisted right beside grunge’s nihilism and hip-hop’s bootstrapping bravado, people were still scandalized by the sex and nudity shown in this pretty simple—if very campy—story of survival.

Simple doesn’t mean straightforward, though. Nomi Malone’s growth from a showgirl-wannabe to a ruthless star who has shoved her way to the top has its insane twists and turns, a lot of them ridiculous, even unnecessary. Some examples: the murder-suicide part of her backstory for the former and the unexpected rape of her friend Molly for the latter.

Then there are the laughable moments, such as that infamous pool sex scene that has to be watched to be believed. Writer Joe Eszterhas has gone on record to say that he and director Paul Verhoeven intentionally set out to create a “darkly funny” film. For some reason, though, its brand of humor flew over most people’s heads at the time of its release.

Perhaps part of that could be credited to lead star Elizabeth Berkley. Fresh from her Saved by the Bell stint, her sitcom-style of over-emoting makes Nomi seem…unhinged, especially in contrast to Gina Gershon’s cool relish in playing Cristal. Showgirls wouldn’t be the classic it is without Berkley’s acting, though. And just like the film, the actress deserves respect for the work she did, even if it’s paid decades after the fact.

William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (1996)

*Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio as Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague*

People either hate or love Baz Luhrmann’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet. Purists tend to hate it, but the movie deserves points for how ballsy it is.

Keeping the dialogue faithful to its material, Romeo + Juliet then goes off to be as audacious as possible in every other way. Its cinematography features a pastiche of elements that we have now come to recognize as part of Luhrmann’s extravagant style. More is definitely more in the world of this multicultural Verona, where the Montagues and the Capulets are re-imagined as competing mafia empires. An A+ soundtrack accompanies the film, featuring songs by Des’ree, Garbage, and The Cardigans. In fact, the movie feels like an extended music video, an audiovisual spectacle that takes glee in spiraling into chaos.

Framed by that chaos is the love story between Romeo and Juliet, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, both of whom look unbelievably young and beautiful. In contrast to the anarchy in Verona, their courtship is dreamily set and beautifully lit, highlighting the fragility (even the triviality) of their love in the face of their feuding families’ free-for-all rivalry. And really, isn’t that how young love is supposed to feel?

That Thing You Do! (1996)

*From left to right: Ethan Embry as T.B. Player, Jonathon Schaech as James Mattingly II, Tom Everett Scott as Guy Patterson, and Steve Zahn as Leonard Haise of the one-hit wonder The Wonders*

Tom Hanks’ first writing and directing effort gave us this fun and charming movie that takes everyone back to the summer of ’64, a time when the Beatles was all the rage and every guy who could play a musical instrument dreams of recreating their magic someway, somehow.

When Guy Patterson gets invited by Jimmy Mattingly, Lenny Haise, and T.B. Player to be the replacement drummer for their new band The Oneders, he jumps on the opportunity. At a local talent show, he takes the liberty of picking up the tempo of the song they’re performing, turning it into a hit among the crowd. Thus starts the band’s rise, especially after they catch the attention of music exec Amos White who changes their name to The Wonders and guides them through the showbiz aspects of a music career. Powered by one hit song, The Wonders make their way to Hollywood.

Much like Hanks, That Thing You Do! feels good and comforting to watch. Even as the band threatens to splinter due to developing problems between the boys, there’s no hint of drugs, sex, or other lurid causes seen in most real-life band breakups. In the end, there’s just an acceptance that things are maybe meant to play out the way they do. Set in a more innocent time, the movie’s unpretentious plot is backed with an original soundtrack, and the film’s title song, written by the late Adam Schlesinger, is as great and timeless as any pop classic. (Spot baby Charlize Theron in the clip below.)

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

*Heath Ledger as Patrick Verona and Julia Stiles as Katherine Stratford*

Another creative re-telling of a literary classic for the youths (this time William Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew), 10 Things I Hate About You hits the right note in presenting teenagers who are smart—but not too smart—with its sharp and funny dialogue. (“I know you can be overwhelmed, and you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?” “I think you can in Europe.”)

A boy pretending to like a girl for self-serving purposes, only to find himself falling for her, is a well-trod plot. And 10 Things is not exempt from the tropes that populate many a teen movie. But its cast is so charming that no one minds at all. As the class brain Kat, a.k.a. the shrew, Julia Stiles channels the right amount of contempt of someone who knows that high school is a hell to be endured but has a soft teenage heart beating within; I dare anyone to watch the scene where she reads her poem in class and not feel heartbroken themselves. And as resident bad boy Patrick, the late Heath Ledger is dreamy even when sullen, testament to his onscreen charm. His character’s Grand Gesture of Love™ could have felt ridiculously OTT, but ends up exuberant and delightful in his talented hands.

Notable mentions are Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a cute if dorky new kid on the block, Daryl Mitchell as the exasperated English teacher who spits Shakespeare sonnets like rap rhymes, and Allison Janney as the school guidance counselor who moonlights as a writer of erotic literature.

Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (1997)

*Clockwise from top left: Alan Cumming as Sandy Frink, Mira Sorvino as Romy White, and Lisa Kudrow as Michele Weinberger*

Was anyone ever happy in high school? Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion seems to say no, and that’s all right.

It baffles me how this movie isn’t a bigger cult favorite than it is. It’s such a fun, goofy, and at times surreal flick that doesn’t take itself seriously, yet it also leaves audiences rooting for two women who refuse to be bogged down by unpleasant memories of being bullied in high school. And even though they’re clearly stuck in arrested development, with no job prospects and no boyfriends, Romy White (Mira Sorvino) and Michele Weinberger (Lisa Kudrow) know how to keep each other’s head up high—even if it involves lying about inventing Post-Its at their 10th high school reunion.

There are also the other characters who’ve come back to Sagebrush High School to reckon with their miserable teenage lives, only to realize that the past has a hold on them only if they let it. For all of Heather Mooney’s (Janeane Garofalo) acid-tongued angst then, she actually turned out pretty great—and has actually invented the quick-burning paper for Lady Fair cigarettes. And school nerd Sandy Frink (Alan Cumming)? He’s gotten so rich, he was able to buy himself a new face (at least, that’s what he tells Michele in her dream).

With all of its weird hilarity, it’s only apt that Romy and Michele culminates in a three-way interpretative dance. If only all high school traumas could be fixed that way.

Not your collection of seminal ‘90s flicks: A ‘90s kid’s reviews of select ‘90s films