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It was a great decade, but where did these classic cliches go?
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00:00The 90s gave us plenty of great movies that still hold up to this day, but these 10 tropes that helped define the decade have practically vanished.
00:07So allow yourself to be transported back to a world of new metal and snake on your cell phone, because we're going back to the 90s.
00:15With that in mind, come and jump in the DeLorean with me, Adam from WhatCulture, as we look back on 10 things about 90s movies everyone misses today.
00:25Number 10, Fewer Franchises
00:27Not to sound too much like an old man yelling at a cloud, but why is everything a universe these days?
00:33Marvel is certainly the biggest offender, but they're not the only culprits.
00:37DC, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, that stupid dark universe idea that Universal dropped after about 30 seconds?
00:45What the hell was that all about?
00:47In an effort to save the almighty dollar and drown fans in content, film studios and producers immediately think franchise as soon as anything new gets put in front of them.
00:55Whilst the 90s certainly had its fair share of big film series, they weren't so in your face about it.
01:01Some of the most popular films of the decade were standalones.
01:04Titanic, Forrest Gump, Armageddon, and Ghost all rank amongst the highest grossing releases from the time, and none of them were part of a wider plan.
01:13What's even worse is that subsequent decades gave us sequels to 90s movies that nobody wanted.
01:18A Men in Black 2, anyone?
01:19How about a follow-up to Independence Day 20 years later that only half the original cast are involved in?
01:25It's sickening.
01:26It truly is.
01:28Number 9, Old School Hip-Hop Soundtracks
01:30Though it got going in the 80s, hip-hop and rap exploded into pop culture in the early 90s.
01:36Biggie, Tupac, Missy Elliott, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and countless other artists all became megastars in the decade
01:43as their brand of angsty, anti-authoritarian hip-hop spoke to the disenfranchised 90s youth.
01:49This was reflected in the world of-
01:51Number 8, Small Shades and Black Trench Co-
01:54Sunglasses have come back into fashion since the 90s.
01:59You've got the likes of Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner to thank for that.
02:03Wait, were they even alive in the 90s?
02:06But nothing quite tops the ultra-cool, ultra-muggy combination of tiny black shades and a long black trench coat.
02:12Before they were seen as a sign to stay away from a dodgy man in the street,
02:16trench coats were all arranged amongst 90s action heroes.
02:19Neo in The Matrix had one, so did Eric Draven in The Crow.
02:23And don't even get us started on Blade's slinky number.
02:26He could bite our necks any day.
02:28As for the shades, well, they actually had a socio-political subtext to them.
02:31The 80s was a time of excess and flaunting one's wealth,
02:35whilst the 90s were much more subdued,
02:37hence why the big glasses of the previous decade were significantly shrunk.
02:41That, and they looked cool.
02:43This entry is more about 90s fashion in general,
02:45which is gradually making a comeback.
02:47The day you see a kid pretending to dodge bullets whilst tripping over his giant black coat,
02:51well, that's when you know we've come full circle.
02:54Number 7, Empty House Parties
02:56The teen movie really hit its stride in the 90s,
03:00as youth culture started to take over the mainstream.
03:02Films like Clueless and Welcome to the Dollhouse
03:05showed what it was like to be a young woman at different stages of life.
03:08Whilst American Pie and Never Been Kissed tracked teenagers trying to get lucky in love,
03:13albeit from radically different perspectives.
03:15Almost all 90s movies had one thing in common though,
03:18a giant house party sequence.
03:2010 Things I Hate About You's House Party is pivotal to its plot.
03:23Can't Hardly Wait takes place almost entirely at a house party.
03:27There's literally a movie called House Party.
03:30What further proof could you possibly need?
03:32Yes, modern films have house parties too,
03:34but they just don't feel the same.
03:36The wildness and craziness is missing from this bygone era
03:40where health and safety hadn't been invented yet,
03:42and the drink driving limit was more of a recommendation than a law.
03:45The 90s perfected the house party scene in films,
03:48and for that, we owe it quite a lot.
03:50But please, don't drink and drive, we'll get in trouble.
03:53Number 6, A Set Piece Opening Scene
03:56A film's opening is extremely important.
03:59Not only does it set the scene for what you're about to see,
04:02but it can also establish character, setting, and tone in one fluid motion.
04:06The 90s had this trait down to a T,
04:09and one of the clearest examples is the opening to the Jim Carrey Vehicle
04:12Ace Ventura Pet Detective from 1994.
04:15In it, we meet the titular character when he's working as a delivery driver.
04:19He's carrying a box clearly marked fragile,
04:21but takes little to no care with what's inside of it.
04:24He throws it around, drops it, gets it stuck in an elevator door,
04:27and just starts smashing it into a post at one point.
04:30It's all very silly, and some of Carrey's trademark physical comedy,
04:34but it's more than just amusing.
04:36It establishes that the audience of this film
04:38is in for a stupid time in the best possible way.
04:41This type of scene, usually set to upbeat music,
04:43has appeared in recent cinema outings,
04:45check 2017's Baby Driver,
04:47but if you're after a vintage example,
04:49then the 90s are your best bet.
04:52Number 5, Big Passionate Speeches
04:55Who doesn't love a big speech?
04:58History has been shaped by them.
05:00Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, JFK.
05:03You can go back as far as the Sermon on the Mount
05:05to find examples of people coming together
05:07to listen to someone talk very loudly
05:09about something very important.
05:11The 90s are no exception.
05:13With more impassioned speeches in the decades film output,
05:16then you can shake a megaphone at.
05:17The classic example is Independence Day,
05:20when the president rallies the Earth's troops
05:21for one last battle against the aliens.
05:24Bill Pullman does a terrific job with the monologue,
05:27getting a reaction most actual presidents
05:29could only ever dream of.
05:30But it's not just the leader of the free world
05:32who got to make these kinds of grand proclamations.
05:35A football coach did it in any given Sunday,
05:38a blind war veteran did it in Scent of a Woman,
05:40and other characters, not played by Al Pacino,
05:43got to have a go too.
05:44It might be cliched now,
05:46but that's because the 90s made it so.
05:48In a world full of doubt and dishonesty,
05:50maybe a good old-fashioned rousing speech
05:52is precisely what the world needs.
05:55Number 4, Random Serenades
05:58The scene in 10 Things I Hate About You
06:00where Patrick sings to Kat
06:02is a stone-cold classic,
06:04and ensured that Frankie Valli
06:05will be rolling in royalties until the day he dies.
06:08He's led to Belting Out Can't Take My Eyes Off You,
06:11a song that is not called
06:12I Love You Baby and People Need To Learn That,
06:14whilst a marching band plays in the background
06:17is the stuff of cinema legend,
06:19but it's not the only time
06:20something like this happened in 90s movies.
06:22The Wedding Singer,
06:23Scream 2,
06:24My Best Friend's Wedding,
06:26the iconic John Cusack boombox scene
06:28comes from Say Anything,
06:29which came out in 1989.
06:31That's basically the 90s.
06:33Anytime a character, usually male,
06:35wanted to express their love for another character,
06:37usually female,
06:38then there's at least a 60% chance
06:40that a classic ballad was about to unfold.
06:43Whilst these serenades were sometimes
06:45the focus of ridicule,
06:46they were often sincerely received by their targets.
06:49They're really sweet scenes,
06:50if a little overused,
06:52and an odd standout in what was generally
06:54quite a cynical decade.
06:56Number 3,
06:57Underdog Sports Teams Movies
06:59There's a reason why there are so many
07:02beloved movies about sports.
07:04The formula is simple,
07:05underdog person or team is about to give up
07:08on their dreams,
07:08their life is turned around
07:10by either a special person or a tragic event,
07:12they overcome the odds
07:13and win the big one.
07:15Or at the very least,
07:16they lose in the final and learn something.
07:19Whilst there have been many great sports pictures
07:21since the 90s,
07:22Invictus,
07:22The Blind Side,
07:23Million Dollar Baby,
07:24etc.
07:25No decade has produced better quirky films
07:27about underdog sports teams.
07:29Just look at any of the Mighty Ducks movies,
07:32which, confusingly,
07:33all have the suffix,
07:34the Mighty Ducks.
07:35Emilio Estevez heads up a ragtag group
07:37with peewee hockey players
07:39on their quest to win the championships.
07:41Is it revolutionary?
07:42No.
07:43Does it have to be?
07:44No.
07:45Because it's honest
07:46and endearing
07:47and full of great characters
07:48you can really get behind.
07:50This blueprint helped movies
07:51like Angels in the Outfield
07:52and Cool Runnings
07:53claim success in the 90s.
07:55They're all beautiful human stories
07:57set within the very simple confines of a sport.
08:00And that's just fine.
08:02Number 2,
08:03Bruce Willis
08:04Oh, Bruce.
08:06The recent news of his retirement
08:07sent shockwaves around the film industry
08:10as it was revealed
08:11that he's been dealing
08:11with a severe brain condition
08:13for some time now.
08:14As fans come to turn
08:15with the fact that Bruce may never act again,
08:18there is some comfort to be taken
08:19in the amazing cinematic legacy
08:21the man has already crafted.
08:2312 Monkeys,
08:24Pulp Fiction,
08:25The Fifth Element,
08:26The Sixth Sense.
08:27Want to know what they've all got in common?
08:29They all star Bruce Willis.
08:31Oh,
08:31and they're all from the 90s.
08:33Whilst Bruce ascending
08:34to the top of the mountain
08:35started in 1988
08:36with one particular film
08:38hint,
08:38it rhymes with
08:39high-dard.
08:40The 90s was his most successful period.
08:42His films grossed
08:43hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide
08:46and he became a megastar.
08:47We'll always love this great run.
08:50Number 1,
08:51Trailer Voice Overs
08:53In a World
08:54Those three words are enough
08:56to stir up a thousand different emotions
08:58at once in the hearts of film fans.
09:00And thanks to the incredible voiceovers
09:02that dominated movie trailers
09:04in the 1990s.
09:05Usually provided by
09:06the deep throaty tones of men
09:08like Hal Douglas
09:09or Don LaFontaine,
09:10these voiceovers would sometimes appear
09:12right at the start of the trailer
09:13or,
09:14if you were really lucky,
09:15you got them the whole way through.
09:17And then,
09:18for some reason,
09:19these voiceovers just disappeared.
09:21You never hear anything other than
09:23in-movie dialogue on trailers these days.
09:25And you know what?
09:26That's a real shame.
09:27They may have been a bit silly,
09:29over-the-top and campy,
09:30but sometimes that's what a movie needs to be.
09:33The 90s was all about having fun
09:35and these voiceovers on movie trailers
09:37were just that.
09:38These days,
09:38trailers take themselves far too seriously,
09:41with every animated comedy
09:42sounding like it's trying to win
09:44a Best Picture Oscar.
09:45Do we want to see these voiceovers
09:47come back for every movie trailer?
09:49No.
09:49Do we think there should be more of them?
09:51Absolutely.
09:52But what did you think of our listings there?
09:54Please do let us know in the comments section
09:56and also tell us
09:57which is your favourite movie from the 90s.
10:00If I'm honest,
10:01I can't pick one
10:02and I'd have to go with
10:03The Matrix,
10:04Terminator 2
10:04and Good Will Hunting.
10:06Ugh,
10:06always a place in my heart for that movie.
10:08If you want to follow me on socials,
10:10I am at strown87
10:11on Instagram and on Twitter.
10:13Thank you for watching, everybody.
10:14I hope you enjoy the rest of your day
10:16and until next time,
10:17take care.
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