- 2 days ago
Get ready to revisit the 90s! We're diving into the era of grunge, boy bands, and middle parts to spotlight some truly overlooked coming-of-age films. These cinematic treasures may not have gotten the mainstream recognition they deserved upon release, but they're packed with heart, humor, and authentic teen experiences. Join us as we shine a light on the hidden gems that shaped a generation, proving that some of the best stories were quietly waiting to be discovered, tackling everything from identity and conformity to horror and high school drama.
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00:00Pull a turn, herse! They think we're nothing! Are we nothing?
00:04No!
00:04Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the undersung coming-of-age movies from the 90s,
00:11the decade of boy bands, grunge, and middle parts.
00:14Okay, let's see who goes first! I got a brown! Anybody got brown?
00:21Number 20, Edge of Seventeen.
00:23Almost perfect. Sit. Honey, you've shown up at the local queer bar with your makeup smudged.
00:30That's no way to make an entrance.
00:32Even in a decade as permissive as the 1990s, it was a rarity to find a gay coming-of-age story treated with delicacy and care.
00:39Edge of Seventeen follows Eric, a high school senior exploring his sexuality in the 1980s.
00:44What do we do? Let's go someplace else.
00:48As he pushes the boundaries of his identity and comfort, the movie goes to some potentially dark places as he tries to figure out how to be his authentic self.
00:58Due to its subject matter, mature content, and the era in which it was released, it was never going to find mainstream appeal.
01:05But its success at film festivals and its poignant approach to a neglected subject make it well worth reappraisal.
01:11Blue skies, smiling at me. Nothing but those blue skies do I see.
01:25Number 19, The Doom Generation.
01:27I don't know what it is, but I feel really weird tonight. Like something's gonna happen.
01:36Me too.
01:36As the second entry in Greg Araki's Teenage Apocalypse trilogy, this isn't just another teen movie.
01:42Rose McGowan and James Duvall play a couple who meet a mysterious drifter and form a psychosexual love triangle that naturally leads them on a violent crime spree.
01:50Jordan, I just want to go home and forget this whole entire nightmare.
01:55It's alright, Amy. Really. In the morning, we'll figure it all out.
02:01With graphic scenes and an epic, bleak tone, The Doom Generation is more Quentin Tarantino than John Hughes.
02:07Even critics who hated it had to admit it was well-made.
02:10But given its twisted comedic streak and cultural commentary, it had as many fans as it did haters.
02:16For all the controversy it caused, it's gone under the radar for everyone except indie movie and arthouse lovers.
02:21You're the bright red cherry on top of my sundae.
02:30Beautiful.
02:31Number 18. Pump Up the Volume.
02:33Guess who? It's 10 o'clock. Do you care where your parents are?
02:37Because after all, it is a jungle out there.
02:39Christian Slater stars as a shy and disaffected suburban high schooler who finds his voice broadcasting passionate, inflammatory monologues about the state of society via pirate radio.
02:49Pump Up the Volume is like Network for Generation X.
02:53They say I'm disturbed.
02:55Of course I'm disturbed.
02:57I mean, we're all disturbed and if we're not, why not?
03:00Doesn't this blend of blindness and blandness want to make you do something crazy?
03:05Slater's shock jock gives voice to the angst of the MTV generation, highlighting their struggle against conformity and the adults who enforce it.
03:12While respected, the movie's largely been buried by other 90s teen fare that left a bigger cultural footprint and more memorable one-liners.
03:19But its unflinching sincerity and red-hot takes still resonate over three decades on.
03:25You see, there's nothing to do anymore.
03:28Everything decent's been done.
03:30All the great themes have been used up, turned into theme parks.
03:34So I don't really find it exactly cheerful to be living in the middle of a totally, like, exhausted decade where there's nothing to look forward to and no one to look up to.
03:44Number 17. Suburbia.
03:45Anything is possible.
03:48It is night on planet Earth and I'm alive.
03:56And someday I'll be dead.
03:58Someday I'll just be bones in a box.
04:00But right now I'm not.
04:03And anything is possible.
04:04Richard Linklater's brand of ambling, naturalistic filmmaking made 1993's Dazed and Confused a bona fide classic.
04:11But with 1996's Suburbia, his tale of disillusioned young people facing an uncertain future and a lack of ambition didn't hit the same way.
04:20We have a saying back home.
04:22Either the salt is rotten or the meat.
04:25Yeah, well, you're not so smart, Chief, because I'm moving out to L.A.
04:36Oh, that's nice.
04:37They have many convenience stores there for you to stand in front of them.
04:40Adapted from a play by Eric Bogosian, it's dialogue-heavy and raw.
04:45However, it was roundly criticized for its bleak tone and supposedly uneventful narrative.
04:50But it's also deeply honest, with a very real pain behind it.
04:54The ensemble, led by Giovanni Ribisi and Steve Zahn, is full of sharp and studied performances that make this one a worthwhile revisit.
05:02That sounds so depressing.
05:04Oh, come on, man. Tell me you wouldn't love it.
05:06No, I'm not saying I wouldn't love it.
05:07Number 16. Disturbing Behavior
05:10The faculty meets the Stepford Wives in this teen thriller about a new kid, played by James Marsden,
05:15who discovers that his new high school is replacing its students with obedient copies.
05:20The premise should have been a slam dunk.
05:22Here we go.
05:23What?
05:24Gavin thinks some sinister force is taking over the cradle by meatheads.
05:28No, you know what it is. You know.
05:30Lost in a gray area where genre is concerned, critics and audiences left the film feeling like it was unfinished and lacking in consistency.
05:38There's a reason for that.
05:39You signed me up for the program?
05:41We want what's best for you.
05:42What about what I want?
05:43Studio interference and recuts robbed Disturbing Behavior of a lot of its thematic punch about intolerance and the conformity of the suburbs.
05:51Viewers willing to give it a chance might find that it has aged up since the late 90s.
05:55Whoa, appropriate sparks are flying.
06:00Somebody cue up the power ballad, man.
06:03Number 15. But I'm a cheerleader.
06:05What's going on?
06:06Hi, Megan.
06:08My name is Mike.
06:10Your parents and your friends want to have a conversation with you.
06:14And I'm here to help facilitate that dialogue.
06:17Natasha Lyonne stars as a high school cheerleader shocked when her family confronts her with their suspicion that she's gay,
06:23only to send her to a conversion camp.
06:25There, she and her fellow campers are put through a deeply satirical program to make them straight.
06:30In a very clean line, you go in, you go up, you go down.
06:37Girls, is everybody paying attention to us?
06:39But I'm a cheerleader finds a way to have its cake and eat it, too.
06:42It is stupidly funny, skewering this entire endeavor for how ludicrous it is while honoring the very serious damage these programs can do.
06:50But by making smart choices, such as casting RuPaul as a camp counselor, it never feels too overwhelming or mean-spirited.
06:58The whole thing is a farce with heart.
07:00One, two, three, four.
07:02You're the one that I adore.
07:05Five, six, seven, eight.
07:07Don't run from me, because this is fate.
07:10Number 14. Don't tell mom the babysitter's dead.
07:13Christina Applegate lives out every American teen's dream in this Gen X classic.
07:17When their sadistic elderly babysitter dies unexpectedly, a group of siblings decides to keep that fact from their mother, who is on a weeks-long overseas vacation.
07:26Can't you lose this your X car?
07:31Zach, life goes on.
07:34I mean, come on, this car's a classic.
07:37I think that she'd want it this way.
07:39Don't you?
07:39The high school graduate lies her way into a position at a fashion company and finally gets a taste of adulthood.
07:45And it's not as liberating as she imagined.
07:48I don't know, I'll call him in a few weeks when all this is over.
07:52I can just go to the beach and take a towel and a Walkman and lie in the sand and rub oil on myself and I won't have to interface with anybody and get tan.
08:02Critics were not charmed by its iconic dialogue and quirky fashions.
08:06Despite underperforming at the box office, it became a hit on home video.
08:10And viewers still respond to its life lessons about what it really means to grow up.
08:14I get to drive home in gridlock, in a Volvo, with no air conditioning, just so I can take care of you guys and put food on the damn table.
08:22It's a rat race and it sucks, Kenny.
08:24Number 13, Idle Hands.
08:26Aren't you a little old for ding-dong ditch?
08:31Sorry about your bush.
08:32Devin Sawa and Jessica Alba star in this horror comedy about a stoner whose hand develops a mind of its own and goes on a killing spree.
08:42Despite some truly absurd and dazzling touches, Idle Hands bombed with critics and audiences.
08:48It's not hard to see why.
08:50I was gonna get some.
08:52I really doubt it.
08:54Released less than two weeks after the Columbine tragedy, its mixture of comedy and violence marketed to a teenage audience was a tough sell in such a fraught climate.
09:03Call it bad timing or bad taste, Idle Hands didn't do well.
09:07Since then, it's found new life in a devoted group of fans who hail it as a Y2K-era cult treasure.
09:13We're supposed to monitor you and make sure you don't revert back to your evil ways.
09:18But you seem fine now.
09:20Let's see the snack master in the hall.
09:21Alright.
09:22Do you want anything, Anton?
09:23Yeah, give me some crunch nuggets.
09:25These things are awesome.
09:26Number 12, Angus.
09:28Would Angus Bethune please come up to the stage?
09:32Please?
09:33Angus Bethune is an overweight social misfit whose torment at the hands of his classmates culminates in his being elected as the Winter Ball King.
09:45Though it's just one more prank.
09:47His longtime crush Melissa is elected as his queen.
09:50How am I gonna pull this off?
09:52We're gonna turn you from a large, pathetic virgin into a large, pathetic virgin with a new look!
10:00Newcomer Charlie Talbert plays Angus.
10:02Jurassic Park star Ariana Richards plays his crush.
10:05And Dawson's Creek star James Van Der Beek plays his popular nemesis.
10:09With Oscar winners Kathy Bates and George C. Scott in key roles,
10:13Angus is an unfairly forgotten, heartfelt, and funny look at high school life from the point of view of a true outsider.
10:19It also has an incredible soundtrack full of alternative and punk rock gems that are pure 90s.
10:25Angus!
10:27Would you walk me home?
10:32No?
10:33Do you need tonight?
10:34After the dance?
10:35Down in time, live with me tonight.
10:39Love, love, love, love...
10:44Number 11.
10:46Can't Hardly Wait.
10:47I have the letter.
10:49You're not gonna give her the letter.
10:52Why wouldn't I give her the letter?
10:53The setting is a high school graduation party.
10:56A group of teenagers on the cusp of adulthood struggle to tie up the loose ends of their teen years.
11:00What follows is a series of hijinks that's part romantic comedy, part slice of life.
11:05Okay, now you remember the time on the field trip when we went to the meatpack implant and you like threw it all in your book bag?
11:12That wasn't me.
11:14Can't Hardly Wait is stacked with some talented young actors of the era.
11:17Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ethan Embry, Lauren Ambrose, and Seth Green get starring roles.
11:22With actors who would later go on to bigger things appearing in small roles.
11:26Although it was profitable enough, it wasn't a runaway success.
11:29Its nice and breezy tone might have been out of place with the vulgar teen comedies surrounding it.
11:34Who's gonna want you now?
11:40Somebody.
11:40Number 10. Never Been Kissed.
11:43Never Been Kissed feels forgotten these days despite its big name cast.
11:46The movie not only stars Drew Barrymore as Josie Gellar,
11:49but also boasts the involvement of David Arquette, John C. Reilly, Jessica Alba, and James Franco.
11:55Yo, this is gonna be Rufalicious.
11:57No, Jason's not a stick of gum.
11:59It's Rufus.
12:01Rufus.
12:02Drew plays a copy editor for the Chicago Sun-Times who returns to high school for an assignment.
12:07Only, she wasn't very popular the first time around, and going back proves to be just as difficult.
12:12Josie, in my classroom, tardiness is unacceptable.
12:16I'm sorry.
12:18Well, not as sorry as I am.
12:23Olay!
12:25Ten minutes in that hat, you'll never be late again.
12:27The plot is an intriguing what-if scenario that most of us have probably played out in our heads once or twice,
12:32and Drew Barrymore is as excellent as ever in the role of the endearingly geeky Josie.
12:37It's cute and funny, and really, what more can you ask for?
12:40Penguins, they spend their whole lives looking for that one other penguin,
12:46and when they meet them, they know.
12:48And they spend the rest of their lives together.
12:51But I'm not a penguin.
12:53Oh, it's an analogy.
12:55Number nine, Newsies.
12:57Come on, you drafters, cross the line.
13:01All right, everyone remain calm.
13:08Let's soak them for crutches!
13:10Let's go!
13:10Let's go!
13:11Let's go!
13:11Let's go!
13:11Let's go!
13:11Let's go!
13:11Let's go!
13:12Newsies has thankfully been rescued from obscurity.
13:16When it was first released in 1992, it received poor reviews and failed at the box office,
13:21making just $2.8 million, which seemingly destined it to be forgotten.
13:26Luckily, it has undergone a bit of a critical re-evaluation in the 21st century.
13:30It also received a second chance at relevance when it was adapted for Broadway in 2012,
13:35and the production would go on to be nominated for eight Tony Awards.
13:40Look at me!
13:41I'm the king of New York!
13:45While the movie doesn't quite reach the heights of its stage adaptation,
13:48Newsies is still a kinetic musical with great production values,
13:52some catchy tunes,
13:53and a wonderful lead performance from none other than Christian Bale.
13:57I mean, they own this city!
13:59So do you really think a bunch of street rats like us can make any difference?
14:04I mean, the choice has got to be yours!
14:06Are we just going to take what they give us,
14:08or are we going to strike?
14:09Drop Dead Gorgeous is certainly a different and unconventional kind of teen movie,
14:31and as such, it has never received much recognition,
14:34despite its relatively high-profile cast.
14:36The movie is shot in a mockumentary format similar to The Office,
14:39and it follows the contestants of a small-town beauty pageant
14:42who begin dying in mysterious ways.
14:45The black comedy stars actresses like Kirsten Dunst,
14:47Brittany Murphy,
14:48Allison Janney,
14:49and Amy Adams,
14:50each of whom turn in respectable and hilarious performances.
14:54The question on everyone's mind,
14:57what is
14:58Soylent Green?
15:00The unique story and filmmaking style helped distinguish it from the plethora of teen flicks
15:09that were released in the 90s,
15:10as does its distinctly dark subject matter.
15:13It's probably unlike any teen movie you've ever seen.
15:16I chose Mount Rushmore because to live in a country where you can take an ugly old mountain
15:22and put faces on it,
15:24faces of great Americans who did so much to make our country super great,
15:28well, that makes me Rebecca Lehman,
15:31proud to be an American.
15:32If you prefer something a little more realistic,
15:56then Slums of Beverly Hills may just be it.
15:59This is a touching and hilarious story about a teenage girl struggling with her lower-class nomadic family,
16:04which continues to move apartments every couple of months.
16:07It sounds depressing, and it certainly can be,
16:10but it's mostly a hilarious and accurate portrayal of teenage life in a lower-income family,
16:15led by an absolutely brilliant and criminally underrated Natasha Lyonne.
16:19What are you doing?
16:23Taking off my pants?
16:25I'm not gonna do it in the laundry room.
16:28I wasn't talking about that.
16:29Just breasts, second base, that's it, not all the way.
16:32I'm sorry.
16:34Can I take off my shirt?
16:35Her relatives are also well-cast,
16:37especially Marissa Tomei as her cousin and Alan Arkin as her father.
16:41You're not old.
16:42No, no, no, no, no.
16:43I'm like a horse.
16:44I'm like a rock.
16:45Yes, you are.
16:45Take a poke.
16:46Go on.
16:47You're a horse.
16:47Give me a hit.
16:49Okay.
16:50Hard.
16:52I'm in the best shape of my life.
16:55Couple the deadpan and poignant acting with the gloriously recreated 1970s,
17:00and you have yourself an underappreciated teen classic.
17:04Dad.
17:04Dad.
17:06She won't wake up.
17:07Where's Ben?
17:08Guys and dolls.
17:09I came home and found her like this.
17:11Number six, The Faculty.
17:13This is for the best, Zeke.
17:14The Faculty is a glorious throwback to old school horror,
17:18mixed in with some signature teen movie drama.
17:21It tells the story of a group of students,
17:23played by the likes of Elijah Wood and Josh Hartnett,
17:25who begin to suspect that their teachers are being manipulated by aliens.
17:29It can survive on its own, but it's merely part of a greater organism.
17:33Look, it has the ability to replicate, but it needs a host.
17:36Something moist.
17:39See what it did to Oscar's insides?
17:40It dried them out.
17:41Isn't a human body composed mainly of water?
17:43They're using us.
17:45The Faculty was directed by Robert Rodriguez,
17:47and like Rodriguez's Grindhouse,
17:49it serves as an inspired shout-out to older genre movies,
17:53owing much to the likes of The Thing,
17:55Invasion of the Body Snatchers,
17:57and The Stepford Wives.
17:58In addition to those is a little dose of John Hughes' The Breakfast Club,
18:01as writer Aaliyah Whiteley mentions,
18:03and what we end up with is probably the wackiest
18:06and most outlandish teen movie you will ever see.
18:09Maybe not.
18:10I might have smorsky.
18:12Where?
18:12In my trunk.
18:13In your trunk.
18:16In your car.
18:18Amongst the aliens.
18:19Oh, that's convenient.
18:21You got a better idea?
18:23Number 5.
18:24Welcome to the Dollhouse.
18:25Oh, the junior high school sucks.
18:27High school's better.
18:28It's closer to college.
18:29I can't tell you.
18:30They'll call you names,
18:31but not as much to your face.
18:34Welcome to the Dollhouse sounds like a movie you've seen a thousand times before.
18:37An unattractive outcast has trouble coping with her classmates and suburban family,
18:42and just generally struggles with integration and her conflicting emotions.
18:46Heck, that almost sounds like Slums of Beverly Hills.
18:48Hi, Dawn.
18:49Sorry to bother you, but we were just wondering, are you a lesbian?
18:53Well, are you?
19:00No.
19:01Liar.
19:03She made a pass at me.
19:04But it's the way the story is told that makes Welcome to the Dollhouse such a memorable motion picture.
19:10The filmmaking and acting capture teenage angst in a brutal and unflinching manner,
19:15creating one of the most realistic and cringe-inducing teen flicks of the 90s and beyond.
19:19I want to see it with my own eyes.
19:23Why do you hate me?
19:25Because you're ugly.
19:27The black comedy is also helped tremendously by Heather Matarazzo,
19:31who portrays Dawn Wiener with pathos, humor, and humanity.
19:35She's an absolute revelation.
19:37Missy has always been like a sister to me.
19:41And a friend.
19:44Number four, Pleasantville.
19:46Pleasantville is an ingenious movie.
19:48It stars Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon as two modern-day siblings
19:52who find themselves transported into the world of a 50s sitcom.
19:55This is only the most important moment of my whole life.
19:58Forget it, Jen. I've waited a year for this.
20:01God, David, just give it to me.
20:03Forget it!
20:04No way, bud.
20:07Get it, Mary Sue.
20:08Come on, that's fine.
20:10Come back.
20:11Help!
20:12While there, the film brilliantly juxtaposes the faux sanitization and perfection of the decade
20:18with the harsh realities of the time.
20:21It's about how we tend to look back on the past with admiration
20:23rather than with legitimate reflection,
20:25and how painful it can be to change our traditions.
20:28You're going to be home at 6 o'clock every night,
20:31and you're going to have dinner ready on this table.
20:34The movie is also shot in stylized black and white while mixing in hints of color,
20:45which is necessary for both the story and the symbolism.
20:48It's one of those rare teen-centric movies that can be studied,
20:51respected, and acknowledged for being a genuinely great piece of cinema.
20:55Hey, bud.
20:56Why aren't you at the town meeting right now?
20:59No reason.
20:59How come you're not?
21:01No.
21:02We were supposed to go around and let everyone know about it.
21:05I thought maybe it was because you were too busy entertaining your colored girlfriend.
21:10Hey, why don't you guys get the hell out of here?
21:12Number three, Empire Records.
21:15Now, Mark, you've got to understand something here.
21:19This music is the glue of the world, Mark.
21:22It holds it all together.
21:23Without this, life would be meaningless.
21:27Empire Records is like Clerks meets The Breakfast Club.
21:30And yes, it is every bit as good as that sounds.
21:33It follows one day in the life of the employees of Empire Records,
21:37a music store on the brink of being purchased by a major corporation.
21:40Throughout the day, the employees get to know each other better,
21:43make connections, fall in love, etc.
21:45Listen to me, that skirt made me realize that, I mean, if I can,
21:48if I can offer in that skirt, then this must really be it.
21:51You know the story.
21:52It's a great comedy drama about growing up,
21:55complete with a killer soundtrack that includes the Cranberries and Gin Blossoms,
21:59while the film itself features ACDC and Dire Straits.
22:02Much of its then-unknown cast also went on to bigger and better things,
22:05especially Liv Tyler and Renee Zellweger.
22:08The boys will come a-runnin'.
22:09Let's not fight, let's just rip.
22:12If you like teen movies mixed with amazing music,
22:15you need to check out Empire Records.
22:17Crybaby is certainly an acquired taste,
22:22but those adventurous enough to give it a shot will be handsomely rewarded.
22:26Grandmother, Uncle Belvedere.
22:31You've made me the happiest juvenile delinquent in Baltimore.
22:34The story is reminiscent of Grease,
22:36as it takes place in the 50s and follows a rebel,
22:38played by Johnny Depp,
22:39who falls in love with an innocent good girl.
22:41It also has shades of Romeo and Juliet,
23:01as the two subcultures are enemies,
23:03and the central relationship inevitably causes upheaval and drama within the town.
23:07It's a wonderful ode to the rebel genre that dominated the 1950s,
23:10and it's filled with intentional camp and ridiculous situations.
23:15It is a John Waters film after all.
23:17And while its zany style may be divisive,
23:19it is also incredibly daring and entirely unique.
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23:49Number 1. Jawbreaker.
23:51That was really good.
23:54What do you mean?
23:55The way you imitated Liz's mom.
23:57I'm just saying you're in control.
24:00Oh.
24:01I know.
24:02Don't let the scathing reviews fool you.
24:04Jawbreaker is well worth watching.
24:06At the time,
24:07it was compared negatively to Heather's,
24:09as the two follow similar storylines
24:11and share a pitch black sense of humor.
24:14But despite its initial failure,
24:16Jawbreaker has become a cult classic.
24:17I know the truth.
24:20I know what really happened, Courtney.
24:26I made you.
24:28And I can break you just as easily.
24:31Good idea.
24:33Kill me like you did Liz.
24:35Rose McGowan's performance as Courtney Shane
24:37is deliriously fierce and memorable.
24:39The film's costumes are iconic
24:41and it has found a devout following
24:43within the LGBTQ plus community.
24:46In fact,
24:46actress Rebecca Gayhart
24:48and director Darren Stein
24:49did a Q&A at RuPaul's Drag Con
24:51where the movie was screened for attendees.
24:53It has also been credited by various outlets
24:55for inspiring mean girls.
24:57And really,
24:58there is no better commendation than that.
25:00Why didn't you call me back?
25:01And I'd be like,
25:02why are you so obsessed with me?
25:04Which of these movies do you think
25:05deserves more appreciation?
25:07Let us know in the comments.
25:09Let us know in the comments.
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