Best of the '90s #3 - 1994

1994 is such a tremendous year for movies. You had your blockbusters, many of which were good movies besides raking in the cash. You had all these small independent films that were hip and cool, and then you had films that changed the movie industry forever.

1994 was such a good year that I realized I couldn't contain it in just ten spots. So I'm going 15.

First, there are a few films I didn't manage to see, critically acclaimed movies that might have made your list, so I apologize in advance for leaving out:

EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN, KILLING ZOE, QUIZ SHOW, TROIS COULEURS: ROUGE, HOOP DREAMS, OLEANNA, IMMORTAL BELOVED, LITTLE WOMEN, NELL, NOBODY’S FOOL, THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE, and BLUE SKY.

Next, there were three acclaimed films from the year that I simply hated, so much so that I am giving them my personal anti-recommendation: ED WOOD, TO DIE FOR, MIXED NUTS. How did anyone like ED WOOD?

Let's get to it.

As it coincidentally worked out, #11 - 15 all happen to be satires, black comedies, a genre Hyperion simply loves. I guess there was just something in the water that year.

#15 FEAR OF A BLACK HAT – Truly a black comedy. HAT makes fun of the rap world, but also makes fun of the people who make fun of the rap world. No ‘90s target is safe as they riff on all things rap and black culture. Some of it may seem outdated (or incomprehensible if you don’t understand rap culture), but I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard in my entire life. This movie is NOT for your parents.

#14 CLERKS – The tiny little film –shot in black and white on a budget so small he put it on his credit card—that started the Jay and Silent Bob revolution. The sets are minimal, the actors are all amateurs, and the “direction” is pretty much just static, but that’s not why you watch a Jay and Silent Bob movie; you go for the dialogue, for the conversations you wish you could have with your friends. With all the hysterical adult humor (there is no nudity or violence, but the movie was initially NC-17 simply for language), the profound message of personal responsibility often gets lost in the shuffle. And here’s my weird story: I found out about CLERKS by none other than Rush Limbaugh, who was singing that Personal Responsibility” mantra. (And if you hate him, don’t worry: most conservatives would be way too uptight to enjoy CLERKS.) An absolute must.

#13 THE REF – Until BAD SANTA, THE REF was the only Christmas anti-comedy available to us. Leary is brilliant as an exasperated thief who just wants to rob people on Christmas Eve, and never bargained for the family from hell. Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey make the film, but the entire cast adds wicked charm. This is a must see with your extended family at Christmas, especially when they are starting to act bitchy.

#12 SIRENS – Elle MacPherson is naked about 34% of the movie, and arguably she isn’t even the hottest naked chick. I’m pretty sure I don’t need to say more, but in case I do, SIRENS is a satirical look at morals, and how we define and judge who is a “good” person, and why. Hugh Grant and Sam Neill trade rhetorical barbs, but it is the women who dominate this film (in more ways than one).

#11 THE PROFESSIONAL – The whole “girls I’m legally and morally not allowed to lust after but by god I will one day soon” phenomenon started with Natalie Portman in THE PROFESSIONAL. Natalie made the movie at 13, and the director totally plays up her budding sexuality. Portman plays a girl who has lost her entire family to gangsters, and becomes attached to a French hit man (Jean Reno). Reno is one of the most underrated guys out there; always brings his A game, and this is his best role. The American version has Reno more bemused by Portman’s attachment (not quite sexual, but so damn close, in a “Early Britney” sort of way), but plays down any taboo territory. (The French version went further, which gives me hope for the CESMs.)

Up tomorrow: #10 - #6, plus a Dishonorable Mention. See you then.