The 20 Best Movies That Defined the 90s (2024)

Heath Ledger as a bad boy who’s trying to win a bet. Julia Stiles as a feminist, guitar-playing badass. Teeny Joseph Gordon-Levitt in one of his first breakout roles. A romantic paintball fight. A poetic confession of feelings. A Shakespearean source material. What is there not to love about 10 Things I Hate About You? — Joel Calfee, Editorial and Social Media Assistant

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As a gay teen, watching But I’m a Cheerleader for the first time was truly life-changing. Before there was Heartstopper and Love, Simon, it wasn’t often that you got to see queer people represented on screen, let alone in a funny and full-out camp way. The crass and non-PC humor of this movie preceded the Ryan Murphy-style writing we’ve come to know today, which helps it to still feel fresh. Not to mention, the film features a star-studded cast, from Natasha Lyonne and Melanie Lynskey to RuPaul and Clea DuVall, who are all still dominating our screens today. Talk about timeless. — Joel Calfee, Editorial and Social Media Assistant

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Has there ever been a more perfect teen comedy? The cast is wildly charismatic. Every single line of the script is funny. (I still say “I totally paused!” every time I break at a stop sign.) And the plot is fundamentally generous to high school girls in a way that has aged really nicely. Unlike so many teen movies, it’s not a film that delights in watching a popular girl being cruel and then getting her comeuppance — if there’s any message, it’s that there are lots of ways to be a girl and a good person. And what’s more 2024 than that? — Izzy Grinspan, Digital Director

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It was sexy, it was provocative, and it squeaked in right under the wire of Y2K to become one of the defining movies of the '90s when it came to the fashion and attitude a whole generation of cool kids wanted to emulate. — Nojan Aminosharei, Special Projects Editor

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If you want evidence of this camp classic's enduring appeal, just wait until Halloween. Dress up as Meryl Streep (dress on backwards to recreate her head being twisted in a 180), Goldie Hawn (complete with a see-through shotgun wound), or Isabella Rossellini (no mortal injury, just a killer plunging neckline) and become the center of any costume party. — Nojan Aminosharei, Special Projects Editor

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Even in the '90s, this movie — about a group of indie record store employees whose jobs are about to go corporate — felt almost too '90s. The themes (selling out is bad, pop music is corny, "Damn the man! Save the Empire!") feel far removed from our current reality, but the atmosphere is perfect, especially if you like '90s fashion. Liv Tyler's fuzzy sweater and miniskirt alone make this worth watching. — Izzy Grinspan, Digital Director

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I recently showed this to my Gen Alpha tween. His review: "Mom, this movie is literally just people yelling 'Oh shit!' and then getting eaten by dinosaurs." And?? They don't make action movies like this any more. Come for the completely non-CGI thrills, stay for the performances by young Laura Dern and (alarmingly smoldering) Jeff Goldblum. — Izzy Grinspan, Digital Director

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Something in me irrevocably shifted when I saw this movie for the first time at 15 years old. The combination of Julia Roberts and Dermot Mulroney’s fiery chemistry, the preposterous premise, the subversion of the happily-ever-after ending, and—of course—the impromptu restaurant performance of “I Say a Little Prayer” set a golden standard for rom-coms that few other films have achieved for me since. Roberts plays Julianne, a food critic who made a pact to marry her former-lover-turned-best-friend, Michael, if they were both still single at 28. Weeks before her 28th birthday, Michael calls Julianne to let her know that he intends to get married—to another woman. Now, Julianne has just a few days to sabotage Michael’s wedding and make him realize that they do belong together after all. — Chelsey Sanchez, Associate Editor

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If there’s one thing I know for certain, it’s that I’m just a girl, sitting in front of a computer, asking you to love this movie. This is arguably one of the best films in the Hugh Grant cinematic universe. Julia Roberts and Grant have incredible chemistry in this perfect 90’s rom-com. It’s romantic, charming, and effortlessly quotable. — Olivia Alchek, Senior Designer

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Party Girl is lesser-known in the canon of 90s-era films, but no less a formative fashion watch. The outfits alone make it worth it, and a young Parker Posey as it-girl turned librarian is the sort of story line that could have only been green-lit in the 1990s. It’s also a love letter to a bygone era of New York City. — Lynette Nylander, Executive Digital Director

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If September 1 marks the official start of the annual Gilmore Girls rewatch, then October 1 belongs to Practical Magic. This 1998 delicacy is the perfect movie to watch if you, like me, can’t stomach real horror films. Infusing the best parts of the supernatural genre (witches, whimsigoth, and cozy New England) with an ill-fated lovers’ romance, Practical Magic casts a bright beacon on ‘90s cult classics. It certainly helps that the cast involves Hollywood legends Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, who star as cursed witch sisters. — Chelsey Sanchez, Associate Editor

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I have to be honest: I'm not really a Shakespeare girly. I am however, a 90s Leonardo DiCaprio girly, through and through. You don't have to be a bonafide literary historian to fully enjoy Baz Luhrmann's 1996 reimagining of the famed playwright's most notable work, however. DiCaprio's chemistry with costar Claire Danes is simply electric and the film's accompanying grunge-centric soundtrack featuring tracks from Garbage, The Cardigans, Radiohead, and more perfectly encapsulate the teenage angst of the decade. — Bianca Betancourt, Culture Editor

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Almost every horror movie I’ve seen in the past twenty years has, in some way, been trying to be Scream. The way this film fused satire and scares was pure genius, and despite all the imitations, no other movie has been able to hold up in the same way. Scream is a true time capsule of some of the biggest stars of the ’90s (Courteney Cox, Neve Campbell, Drew Barrymore), and it also contains one of my favorite twist endings. Not to mention, it even spurred some really great sequels… which not a lot of horror movie franchises can say. Thank God for Wes Craven. — Joel Calfee, Editorial and Social Media Assistant

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I don't like horror movies now that I'm a wimpy adult, but I loved them as a '90s teen, and this is the ultimate '90s horror movie. Directed by David Fincher with a Nine Inch Nails soundtrack, it draws on the era's grunge aesthetics to tell a tightly constructed serial killer tale with a legendary twist. Warning: It's also absolutely disgusting. I will probably never watch this movie again, but I find myself referencing it regularly. — Izzy Grinspan, Digital Director

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Whoopi Goldberg playing a lounge singer in witness protection as a nun, belting out a jukebox medley of old-school R&B hits with a gospel choir of nuns-gone-wild? Thank God for the '90s. — Nojan Aminosharei, Special Projects Editor

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The Mike Nichols comedy starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane was not only a hysterically funny showcase of the two actors at their best, but it was a rare movie for the time: a gay story not haunted by trauma or the spectre of the HIV/AIDS crisis, but instead a joyful celebration of the LGBTQ community. It centered a loving gay relationship and caring friendships between gay and straight people, it featured drag queens, and it skewered homophobia with its farcical hijinks. — Nojan Aminosharei, Special Projects Editor

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The Truman Show and I have a complicated history. When I first saw this movie as a kid, the plot terrified me. I was suddenly convinced that everyone in my life was a paid actor (and isn’t that the most Leo thing you’ve ever heard?). Now, as a less-anxious adult, I’ve come to adore this heartwarming classic, which sees a rare dramatic performance from Jim Carrey, who’s in top form. Plus, despite its age, this movie continues to feel fresh for the Orwellian ways in which it foresaw the rise of reality television, and more generally, the surveillance state. — Joel Calfee, Editorial and Social Media Assistant

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Not to be dramatic but Titanic basically defined 90s cinema and I don't think there's ever been a more masterful, sweeping romance onscreen since. Leonardo DiCaprio (in prime form) portrays nomadic artist Jack, alongside a star-making performance from Kate Winslet as a British socialite. The two young lovers from different worlds become instantly enamored with each other, but of course their love is fleeting due to...the shipwreck of it all. A box of tissues and singing along to Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" are all mandatory viewing requirements. — Bianca Betancourt, Culture Editor

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Also grungy, also disgusting, also worth watching if you like dark but highly stylized worlds. Following a group of heroin-addicted friends in Scotland, this is the movie that made Ewan MacGregor famous. You could also skip the film entirely (it’s like one big trigger warning — the ‘90s were weird) and just dig up the soundtrack, which mixes Britpop, ‘80s post-punk, and electronica to absolutely flawless effect. — Izzy Grinspan, Digital Director

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Made right before the onset of the CGI era, director Jan de Bont put Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt, and the movie's stacked cast of character actors (including Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jami Gertz) through the ringer to make the disaster flick jump off the screen. We're talking pelting balls of ice at Paxton and giving Hunt a concussion while racing a car through a cornfield. And it's a testament to what fun the movie turned out to be that the cast still spoke of it with such affection. And 28 years later, the success of its sequel, Twisters—especially in 4DX—proves that audiences are still craving those old-school, big-budget thrills. — Nojan Aminosharei, Special Projects Editor

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