Not all of the best ‘90s movies were built to last for all time. Even though the films we’re about to discuss are popular titles from cinematic history, they sadly haven’t had the best second life.
Forrest Gump
Life may be like a box of chocolates, but this mega-hit from the ‘90s is likened by some movie watchers to one of those pieces you leave in the box. Even producer Wendy Finerman admits that Forrest Gump would be difficult to pitch today. Between its special brand of nostalgia and some questionable character decisions, one could see why.
JFK
It’s not that Oliver Stone’s JFK isn’t an enthralling movie, in fact, it still contains amazing performances and scenes like the one shared by Kevin Costner and the late Donald Sutherland. However, the conspiratorial nature of the picture’s plot was already a problem when it was released in 1991; and those issues haven’t gotten any better over time.
Titanic
Forget Titanic’s classic Jack and Rose door problem, the bigger issue with James Cameron’s Academy Award-winning ship of dreams is its story. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet’s whirlwind romance doesn’t hold up, despite their A-game performances. Honestly, the drama during the sinking is where the true action has always been.
Léon: The Professional
Gary Oldman’s iconic shouting aside, Luc Besson’s action-drama is a bit creepy when it comes to the central relationship between its titular hitman (Jean Reno) and 12-year-old Mathilda (Natalie Portman). And to be honest, the more time has passed, stories of Besson’s alleged misconduct have only soured this would-be classic even more.
American Pie
Watching the American Pie movies in order, you can sense the exact point where the raunchy humor gives way to more relatable, and relatively mature comedy. The 1999 origin story is perhaps the series at its rawest and most questionable; and that’s even when trying to give the accidental webcam broadcast of the failed seduction between Jim (Jason Biggs) and Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth) a pass.
Chasing Amy
For a time, Kevin Smith’s Chasing Amy was criticized for portraying lesbian Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams) as falling in love all too easily with her straight friend Holden (Ben Affleck), even if the results didn’t work in the long term. While it’s still a bit of a flashpoint of discussion, Smith himself has owned up to his own youthful naivety, and has even done right by his characters through further developments in the View Askew-niverse.
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
Any kid who grew up loving Jim Carrey’s Ace Ventura: Pet Detective has probably had a moment where upon revisiting it as an adult, they’ve been shocked to see what sort of adult-oriented jokes went over their heads. Not to mention, the surprise reveal involving Lt. Einhorn (Sean Young) is definitely a problematic scene that adds outdated transphobia to the mix.
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Kevin Costner is an actor that can do almost anything he sets his mind to. Unfortunately, playing the lead in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is a rare example of the Yellowstone alum proving that statement to be accurate. Not even Alan Rickman’s delicious villainy can make up for the accent-adjacent miscasting of this epic hero.
Blank Check
Disney was admittedly pushing it in Blank Check by pitting a young Preston Waters (Brian Bonsall) against a criminal conspiracy to launder $1 million. But this Home Alone knockoff sealed its fate with a joke where his adult FBI Agent crush Shay Stanley (Karen Duffy) tells him to call her in 10 years…and gives him a kiss anyway.
Never Been Kissed
Rom-coms are a hard genre to craft for longevity, as social attitudes on what type of stories are acceptable change quite rapidly. Needless to say, a story involving an adult reporter (Drew Barrymore) going undercover as a high school student with a massive crush on her teacher (Michael Vartan) raises a ton of questions nowadays.
She’s All That
If all it took to give a person a makeover was to remove their glasses and apply makeup, the world would be a much more confusing place. She’s All That was the start of a trend in the ‘90s that took the “ugly duckling” that is Rachel Leigh Cook and transformed her in the name of love. Dreamy Sixpence None The Richer track aside, this teen rom-com is totally a product of its era.
The Net
It’s hard to criticize a Sandra Bullock-starring movie, as the woman’s acting prowess is as strong as her likability. So don’t think knocking The Net down a few pegs for its ridiculously simple internet literacy is a dark mark on her record. Also, any movie that hinges its plot on falsifying HIV test records leading to a character’s death kind of needs to be taken to task; especially in the ‘90s.
Hackers
Sure, it’s fun to yell “Hack the planet!” with your friends after watching Hackers. And you can’t deny that watching Jonny Lee Miller, Angelina Jolie, and their merry band of mischief makers protect the world from Fisher Stevens’ cyber baddie is a ton of fun. Unfortunately, not even that sort of charm and entertainment can override the fact that this early internet thriller doesn’t totally understand how computers work.
American Beauty
When it comes to best pictures that should have lost, director Sam Mendes’ American Beauty is one of the most infamous. Whether it’s the perceived pretentiousness that soaks writer Alan Ball’s script, or the questionable plot points revolving around Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) and his mid-life crisis, it’s kind of hard to watch the movie that told us to “look closer” so long ago.
Space Jam
If there’s anything the 2021 disaster Space Jam: A New Legacy should have done, it’s highlight the fact that Space Jam’s status as a ‘90s hit was lightning in a bottle. Considering its reputation as a feature-length adaptation of Michael Jordan’s iconic Super Bowl commercial for Nike, it’s kind of surprising it was positively regarded for as long as it was.
In & Out
Outdated homosexual stereotypes litter the entire length of the ‘90s comedy In & Out. While the Kevin Kline starring film doesn’t have a mean bone in its body, and never punches down on the subject matter, it’s a picture that shows its age in displaying what passed as progressive subject matter back in the day.
Jerry Maguire
If it’s not the schmaltzy romance that takes you out of Cameron Crowe’s rom-com-drama starring Tom Cruise, then it’s definitely going to be the new age “quit your job and forge your own fortunes” adventure. Not to mention it inspired Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav to take one of its more cutthroat adages to heart: “It’s not show friends. It’s show business.”
Mrs. Doubtfire
On one hand, Mrs. Doubtfire is a dramedy that showed the range of stars like Robin Williams and Sally Field, as it mixed slapstick comedy with a heartfelt examination of divorce’s effect on families. On the other hand, there are a lot of questionable practices and interpretations that have risen from the legacy of this still-entertaining film.
While You Were Sleeping
A lot of people would probably consider it a dream come true if they woke up to Sandra Bullock claiming she’s engaged to marry them. And while the misunderstanding that underlies the ‘90s rom-com While You Were Sleeping isn’t malicious, or even her character’s fault, the situation is one that still makes you want to yell at the screen. Especially when she starts romancing the dreamy Bill Pullman!
There’s Something About Mary
Much like It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, There’s Something About Mary is a comedy full of horrible people making selfish decisions. The big difference between this Farrelly Brothers hit and the long-running FXX comedy series is we’re not supposed to root for any of those characters in the same way we’re supposed to want Ted (Ben Stiller) to make off with the object of his affections (Cameron Diaz).
Face/Off
Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage/John Travolta) is a person you’re supposed to despise. But between accosting a young woman in a choir, and eyeing up the underage daughter he’s pretending to play father to (Dominique Swain), there’s so much more than attempted terroristic acts to book this creep on.
Falling Down
In its era Falling Down was a cutting-edge satire in which a random man (Michael Douglas) crusades against modern society, with a gun in hand and principles in mind. In the current world, it plays as a reminder of worse atrocities, even if we can still agree that fast food chains shouldn’t be so arbitrary in their breakfast serving hours.
Junior
Pregnant Arnold Schwarzenegger. You shouldn’t need any other string of words to tell you how Junior was a horrific misfire, even in its contemporary release period. And yes, between the choices of this and Sylvester Stallone’s Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, Ivan Reitman’s directing vehicle is the loser.
Pocahontas
Is Disney’s attempt at trying to tell the story of Pocahontas full of lush imagery, beautiful songs, and captivating drama? Yes. Does that excuse the horrific history it kind of sidesteps in the name of introducing animal sidekicks and fairy tale romance into the formula? Sorry to say, it doesn’t.
Three To Tango
Matthew Perry’s romantic comedy career at the movies has some winning hits like Fools Rush In and The Whole Nine Yards. And then there’s the somewhat good-natured, but still morally confused Three to Tango; in which Perry’s lovelorn protagonist has to pretend he’s a homosexual in order for the comedy to ensue.
Outbreak
Science has no place in the gripping drama-thriller that is Outbreak. We’d all love to believe that a viral antidote would work as quickly as it does on Rene Russo in this film’s conclusion, but we know more than well enough that’s not how it works. And yet, an uncredited J.T. Walsh's barn-burning White House speech gets high marks every time this irresistible pop thriller is on.
Patch Adams
When the subject of your biopic abhors the movie you’ve made about their own life, you’ve messed up in grand fashion. Even the kind-hearted Robin Williams couldn’t save Patch Adams from being savaged by the man himself, both for misrepresenting his life and the production’s claims to fund his hospital being unfulfilled. The latter claim arose from one of Adams’ speeches back in 2010.
Congo
Michael Crichton’s literary works are prime fuel for page-turning sci-fi, but they’re also the inspiration for some of the biggest swings and misses in Hollywood. Case in point: the film adaptation of Congo is something that audiences can appreciate as a camp classic, but in no way is it as good as Jurassic Park or other prime movies based on his work.
Godzilla (1998)
Roland Emmerich’s Godzilla was a mid-’90s hype machine that felt like it was too big to fail. That was, until the world feasted its eyes on a schlocky misinterpretation of Toho’s epic creation that was so misguided the company took some massive shots against it in Godzilla 2000.
Home Alone 2: Lost In New York
How in the world do the McCallisters, despite taking all the precautions in the world, lose Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) two Christmases in a row? Home Alone 2: Lost in New York has kind of earned a reputation for making this repeatedly nasty family look even worse, and that’s before even considering it's not the first movie retold in the Big Apple. At least Gremlins 2 made that sort of thing work.
You’ve Got Mail
Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks are a timeless duo when it comes to their on-screen chemistry. And yet, if it wasn’t for You’ve Got Mail’s AOL-based love story, we might be looking a little harder at Sleepless in Seattle’s radio call-in show as a vehicle for romance. Emailing your crush is a totally ‘90s thing to do, as most would just text or DM for quicker responses at this point.
Cool World
Creator Ralph Bakshi has always been a pioneer when it comes to adult-oriented animation. So the decision to let him make a movie like Cool World, but saddle it with a PG-13 rating, was never going to work. If “Rule 34” was a movie, watered down in the name of box office potential while wasting a perfectly noir performance by Brad Pitt, this is it.
