So much has changed over the past 40 years or so that it would have been impossible for those making media back then to have anticipated all of the things that would so quickly become at best, a faux pax.
Still, there are some movies our nostalgic hearts want to love, regardless of when we last viewed them (and through what lens).
If you’re thinking of pulling them out for friends (or your kids) you might want to re-watch yourself first.
No one disapproves.
Manhattan.
Forty-four year old Woody Allen has affair with 17 year old Mariel Hemingway. How art imitates life.
Made obsolete.
The Last Exorcism. Made obsolete by The Last Exorcism 2.
That is not the way.
Revenge of the Nerds.
The worst part is it’s alright because it was really really good rape. So remember folks rape is fine as long as she enjoyed it.
Nothing to see here.
Never Been Kissed.
drew barrymore posing as a teenager and having a relationship w the teacher who gets MAD when he finds out shes not a teenager and is his age, then we’re just supposed to smooth it over at the end.
A bit too meta.
Scream 3 and it’s plotline of a movie producer who sexually assaulted young actresses. Miramax (i.e. Harvey Weinstein) made that movie.
If you know, you know.
Rochelle, Rochelle (A young girl’s strange, erotic journey from Milan to Minsk)
Prognosis Negative being a close 2nd to Rochelle, Rochelle.
Good quotes aside.
Blank Check. Grown woman kisses a boy on the mouth.
but I still quote it to this day.
“You ever hear that expression? More than one way to skin a cat? Who skins cats? And why would you want to do it more than one way?”
I’ve never thought about that.
The 1990s (I think) Muppets movie where someone shows Kermit what the world would be like if Kermit was never born. I think it fast forwards to NYC 2002 and in the movie, the Twin Towers were still standing, so canonically Kermit being born somehow caused 9/11
Questionable is one word for it.
Lethal Weapon 6. Mac’s choice to go with blackface was questionable at best.
We’ve made it farther than that, anyway.
The movie about the world ending in 2012.
Who ever thought this was a good idea?!
Overboard
A man takes advantage of a woman that has amnesia and forces her to raise his kids.
Have we stopped making these?
The entire sub-genre of romantic comedy that can be described as “stalker gets the girl”.
The 90s were wild.
American Pie. Using a secret camera to broadcast naked high school students on the internet.
Just a nightmare.
Pretty Baby with a NAKED 11yr old Brooke Shields.
How is that not child pornography? According to synopsis of the movie her character is made a prostitute, so I assume the nudity is depicted in a sexual nature as well. That is so messed up.
There’s not much good about it, honestly.
Grease… I thought to watch it with my kids and was like WTF am I watching?
Eh this one is borderline.
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)
Kevin Spacey is a rich closeted homosexual who murders his much younger lover.
You can’t defend it.
Sixteen Candles. I still enjoy it for what it is for the most part, but there are a few things that are pretty problematic, first and foremost being Jake Ryan telling Ted to take advantage of his girlfriend while she’s passed out.
Long Duk Dong’s character is an insanely racist depiction of an Asian person.
The whole underwear show is so wrong too.
The original is a classic.
The new Jurassic world films already look more out of date than the original.
It’s still not ok.
Wedding crashers- it has a full on rape scene and because it’s a guy he’s supposed to move on and ends up with the girl.
So many issues.
40 days and 40 Nights.
No one lives like that in San Francisco or works at a tech firm designing websites to make money like that…
But most importantly, that ending would not fly. Victim blaming when he gets raped by his ex-girlfriend??? It’s just so wrong.
Yeah, all of these have at least parts that are super cringe.
Sometimes we just have to let things go, you know?
