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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
00:05helped define the decade have practically vanished.
00:08So allow yourself to be transported back to a world of new metal and snake on your cell phone, because
00:13we'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
00:2010 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
00:33days?
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
00:44seconds?
00:45What the hell was that all about?
00:46In an effort to save the almighty dollar and drown fans in content, film studios and producers immediately think franchise
00:53as 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
01:11were 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 film, as the 90s was stacked with great movies about the genre and
01:54the lifestyle that accompanied it.
01:56Speaking of music specifically, these movies all had banging soundtracks as well.
02:011992's Juice had songs by Uruk B and Rakim and Salt and Pepper.
02:05House Party had contributions from Flavor Flav and LL Cool J.
02:09Coolio performed Gangster's Paradise for the Dangerous Mind soundtrack.
02:12Yes, we still have hip-hop in films today, but it really lacks that classic 90s feel.
02:17It was a different time, and one will never get back.
02:21Number 8, Small Shades and Black Trench Coats
02:24As everything is cyclical, small sunglasses have come back into fashion since the 90s.
02:29You've got the likes of Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner to thank for that.
02:33Wait, were they even alive in the 90s?
02:35But nothing quite tops the ultra-cool, ultra-muggy combination of tiny black shades and a long black trench coat.
02:42Before they were seen as a sign to stay away from a dodgy man in the street,
02:46trench coats were all arranged amongst 90s action heroes.
02:49Neo in The Matrix had one, so did Eric Draven in The Crow.
02:53And don't even get us started on Blade's slinky number.
02:55He could bite our necks any day.
02:57As for the shades, well, they actually had a socio-political subtext to them.
03:01The 80s was a time of excess and flaunting one's wealth,
03:04whilst the 90s were much more subdued,
03:07hence why the big glasses of the previous decade were significantly shrunk.
03:11That, and they looked cool.
03:13This entry is more about 90s fashion in general, which is gradually making a comeback.
03:17The day you see a kid pretending to dodge bullets whilst tripping over his giant black coat,
03:21well, that's when you know we've come full circle.
03:24Number 7, Empty House Parties
03:26The teen movie really hit its stride in the 90s,
03:30as youth culture started to take over the mainstream.
03:32Films like Clueless and Welcome to the Dollhouse
03:35showed what it was like to be a young woman at different stages of life,
03:38whilst American Pie and Never Been Kissed
03:40tracked teenagers trying to get lucky in love,
03:42albeit from radically different perspectives.
03:45Almost all 90s movies had one thing in common though,
03:48a giant house party sequence.
03:5010 Things I Hate About You's House Party is pivotal to its plot.
03:53Can't Hardly Wait takes place almost entirely
03:56at a house party.
03:57There's literally a movie called House Party.
04:00What further proof could you possibly need?
04:02Yes, modern films have house parties too,
04:04but they just don't feel the same.
04:06The wildness and craziness is missing from this bygone era
04:10where health and safety hadn't been invented yet,
04:12and the drink driving limit was more of a recommendation than a law.
04:15The 90s perfected the house party scene in films,
04:18and for that, we owe it quite a lot.
04:20But please, don't drink and drive, we'll get in trouble.
04:23Number 6, A Set Piece Opening Scene
04:26A film's opening is extremely important.
04:29Not only does it set the scene for what you're about to see,
04:32but it can also establish character, setting, and tone
04:35in one fluid motion.
04:36The 90s had this trait down to a T,
04:39and one of the clearest examples is the opening
04:41to the Jim Carrey vehicle Ace Ventura Pet Detective from 1994.
04:45In it, we meet the titular character
04:47when he's working as a delivery driver.
04:49He's carrying a box clearly marked fragile,
04:51but takes little to no care with what's inside of it.
04:54He throws it around, drops it,
04:56gets it stuck in an elevator door,
04:57and just starts smashing it into a post at one point.
05:00It's all very silly and some of Carrey's trademark physical comedy,
05:04but it's more than just amusing.
05:06It establishes that the audience of this film
05:08is in for a stupid time in the best possible way.
05:11This type of scene, usually set to upbeat music,
05:14has appeared in recent cinema outings,
05:15check 2017's Baby Driver,
05:17but if you're after a vintage example,
05:19then the 90s are your best bet.
05:22Number 5, Big Passionate Speeches
05:25Who doesn't love a big speech?
05:28History has been shaped by them.
05:29Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill, JFK.
05:33You can go back as far as the Sermon on the Mount
05:35to find examples of people coming together
05:37to listen to someone talk very loudly
05:39about something very important.
05:41The 90s are no exception.
05:43With more impassioned speeches
05:44in the decade's film output,
05:46then you can shake a megaphone at.
05:47The classic example is Independence Day,
05:50when the president rallies the Earth's troops
05:51for one last battle against the aliens.
05:54Bill Pullman does a terrific job with the monologue,
05:57getting a reaction most actual presidents
05:59could only ever dream of.
06:00But it's not just the leader of the free world
06:02who got to make these kinds of grand proclamations.
06:05A football coach did it in any given Sunday,
06:08a blind war veteran did it in Scent of a Woman,
06:10and other characters not played by Al Pacino
06:13got to have a go too.
06:14It might be cliched now,
06:16but that's because the 90s made it so.
06:18In a world full of doubt and dishonesty,
06:20maybe a good old-fashioned rousing speech
06:22is precisely what the world needs.
06:24Number 4
06:26Random Serenades
06:28The scene in 10 Things I Hate About You
06:30where Patrick sings to Kat
06:32is a stone-cold classic,
06:34and ensured that Frankie Valli
06:35will be rolling in royalties
06:37until the day he dies.
06:38He's ledger belting out
06:39Can't Take My Eyes Off You,
06:41a song that is not called
06:42I Love You Baby
06:43and People Need to Learn That,
06:45whilst a marching band plays in the background
06:47is the stuff of cinema legend.
06:49But it's not the only time
06:50something like this happened in 90s movies.
06:52The Wedding Singer, Scream 2,
06:54My Best Friend's Wedding,
06:56the iconic John Cusack boombox scene
06:58comes from Say Anything,
06:59which came out in 1989.
07:01That's basically the 90s.
07:03Anytime a character, usually male,
07:05wanted to express their love
07:06for another character, usually female,
07:08then there's at least a 60% chance
07:10that a classic ballad was about to unfold.
07:13Whilst these serenades
07:14were sometimes the focus of ridicule,
07:16they were often sincerely received
07:18by their targets.
07:19They're really sweet scenes,
07:20if a little overused,
07:22and an odd standout
07:23in what was generally quite a cynical decade.
07:26Number 3,
07:27Underdog Sports Teams Movies
07:30There's a reason why
07:31there are so many beloved movies
07:32about sports.
07:34The formula is simple.
07:35Underdog person or team
07:37is about to give up on their dreams,
07:38their life is turned around
07:40by either a special person
07:41or a tragic event,
07:42they overcome the odds
07:43and win the big one.
07:45Or at the very least,
07:46they lose in the final
07:47and learn something.
07:48Whilst there have been many great sports pictures
07:51since the 90s,
07:52Invictus,
07:52The Blind Side,
07:53Million Dollar Baby,
07:54etc,
07:55no decade has produced better quirky films
07:57about underdog sports teams.
07:59Just look at any of the Mighty Ducks movies,
08:02which, confusingly,
08:03all have the suffix,
08:04the Mighty Ducks.
08:05Emilio Estevez heads up
08:07a ragtag group of peewee hockey players
08:09on their quest to win the championships.
08:11Is it revolutionary?
08:12No.
08:13Does it have to be?
08:14No.
08:14Because it's honest
08:16and endearing
08:17and full of great characters
08:18you can really get behind.
08:20This blueprint helped movies
08:21like Angels in the Outfield
08:22and Cool Runnings
08:23claim success in the 90s.
08:25They're all beautiful human stories
08:27set within the very simple confines of a sport.
08:30And that's just fine.
08:32Number 2.
08:33Bruce Willis
08:34Oh Bruce.
08:36The recent news of his retirement
08:37sent shockwaves around the film industry,
08:40as it was revealed
08:41that he's been dealing
08:41with a severe brain condition
08:43for some time now.
08:44As fans come to turn
08:45with the fact that
08:46Bruce may never act again,
08:48there is some comfort to be taken
08:49in the amazing cinematic legacy
08:51the man has already crafted.
08:5312 Monkeys,
08:54Pulp Fiction,
08:55The Fifth Element,
08:56The Sixth Sense.
08:57Want to know what they've all got in common?
08:59They all star Bruce Willis.
09:01Oh, and they're all from the 90s.
09:03Whilst Bruce Ascending to the Top of the Mountain
09:05started in 1988
09:06with one particular film,
09:08hint,
09:08it rhymes with
09:09Haidard.
09:10The 90s was his most successful period.
09:12His films grossed
09:13hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide
09:15and he became a megastar.
09:18We'll always love this great run.
09:20Number 1.
09:22Trailer Voice Overs
09:23In a World
09:24Those three words are enough
09:26to stir up a thousand different emotions
09:28at once in the hearts of film fans.
09:30And thanks to the incredible voiceovers
09:32that dominated movie trailers
09:34in the 1990s,
09:35usually provided by the deep throaty tones
09:37of men like Hal Douglas or Don LaFontaine,
09:40these voiceovers would sometimes appear
09:42right at the start of the trailer
09:43or, if you were really lucky,
09:45you got them the whole way through.
09:47And then, for some reason,
09:49these voiceovers just disappeared.
09:51You never hear anything other than
09:53in-movie dialogue on trailers these days
09:55and you know what?
09:56That's a real shame.
09:57They may have been a bit silly,
09:59over-the-top and campy,
10:00but sometimes that's what a movie needs to be.
10:03The 90s was all about having fun
10:05and these voiceovers on movie trailers
10:07were just that.
10:08These days,
10:08trailers take themselves far too seriously,
10:11with every animated comedy
10:12sounding like it's trying to win
10:14a Best Picture Oscar.
10:15Do we want to see these voiceovers
10:17come back for every movie trailer?
10:19No.
10:19Do we think there should be more of them?
10:21Absolutely.
10:22But what did you think of our listings there?
10:24Please do let us know in the comments section
10:26and also tell us
10:27which is your favourite movie from the 90s.
10:30If I'm honest,
10:31I can't pick one
10:32and I'd have to go with
10:33The Matrix,
10:34Terminator 2
10:34and Good Will Hunting.
10:36Ugh,
10:36always a place in my heart for that movie.
10:38If you want to follow me on socials,
10:40I am at
10:41strown87
10:41on Instagram
10:42and on Twitter.
10:43Thank you for watching everybody.
10:45I hope you enjoy the rest of your day
10:46and until next time,
10:47take care.
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