By Geno McGahee
The 1990s get a bad reputation. We were coming off the 1980s and the world was changing with our demeanor as a society moving in a different direction. Sadly, hair bands and slasher films were on their way out, but what goes around, comes around, and we can still hope for their return. The year 1990 saw Tom Cruise voted People’s sexiest man alive. They did not have any award for sexiest man dead, I don’t think. Some of the top songs were Hold On by Wilson Phillips and Vision of Love by Mariah Carey. My dear lord, what were people listening to in 1990. This was also the year that Vanilla Ice had his hit “Ice Ice Baby.” To go. To go.
The biggest upset in boxing history happened in Tokyo when 42-1 underdog, James “Buster” Douglas knocked out the undefeated and undisputed heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson. In another upset in a “combat sport”, the Ultimate Warrior defeated Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania VI. We also saw the birth of the long-running animated TV show “THE SIMPSONS.” So, this was a historic year.
The year 1990 saw the rise and the fall of some series and stars. It was not a bad year for film at all and after a close examination, it’s fair to say that Hollywood treated their fans right…with a few exceptions that I will get to.
A YEAR OF SEQUELS
The typical safe bet is to double down on a hit movie and we saw a lot of that in 1990. We begin with the best sequel of the year and possibly the best sequel of all time, DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER. We see the flawed hero, played by Bruce Willis, return after his huge battle with terrorists in a skyscraper, to face more sophisticated terrorists that take over an airport in this follow up. It was more explosive and proved to be a great follow up to the original. ROBOCOP 2 was also released and although it pales in comparison to the first one, they upped the death count and added some new elements to make it interesting. It was fun and was good enough to prompt a third. BACK TO THE FUTURE III did well at the box office, but was a terrible film and ended the series. The setting of the old west and the reliance on old gags made it nearly unwatchable but the fans still paid to see it because of the likability of the characters and loyalty to the story.
Another terrible sequel was LEATHERFACE: TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE III. Considering the incredible success of other franchises like A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and FRIDAY THE 13TH, it wasn’t surprising that they dusted off the leatherface mask and put him back to work. It turned out to be project that no director wanted his name on and rightfully so. GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH was another terrible retread, adding nothing new to the series and taking away the little edge that the first one had. A movie like GREMLINS shouldn’t take itself too seriously, but this approach was basically a joke from the start and took a fun topic and made it boring. YOUNG GUNS 2 was released and I don’t watch cowboy movies…so if you like cowboy movies, you will probably like this one. I know it has cowboys.
A surprise was THE EXORCIST III. Considering how terrible was the second one was, it was easy to imagine that a third movie in the series would be worse. Instead, we got a quality horror film with plenty of scares and great imagery. Chuck Norris returned in DELTA FORCE 2: THE COLUMBIAN CONNECTION and provided the action fans with another somewhat memorable film. Norris usually shines brighter when alone in films. The team effort in the DELTA FORCE series tends to take away from that, but they are absolutely still worth a watch.
The infamous TROLL 2 was released this year. This film was panned and called the worst film of all time by many, but it has grown to be loved and has become a cult classic. At this time in 1990 though, it was seen as pure trash. CHILD’S PLAY 2 brought back Chucky, the killer doll, to the screen and it wasn’t as good as the first one, but it wasn’t that bad either. It was basically what we expected of it. Sylvester Stallone had a bad year with his film ROCKY V. I am a huge ROCKY fan, but the people were not receptive to his fifth entry, partially because he didn’t box in a ring, lost all his money, and his real-life son, the late Sage Stallone, wasn’t a good actor. ROCKY V isn’t as bad as they say, but ROCKY IV was so loved, the follow-up didn’t satisfy.
THREE MEN AND A LITTLE LADY was a follow-up to THREE MEN AND A BABY and any movie with Steve Guttenberg, I cannot handle. I’m sorry. I’m not anti-Guttenberg, but ever since I saw him in that El Debarge music video for SHORT CIRCUIT, I just can’t handle him. Sure, it was only a cardboard cutout, but the ventriloquist-like mouth on that cutout made it quite disturbing. THREE MEN AND A LITTLE LADY was cute and didn’t try to be what it wasn’t. It was a family comedy that fit the bill, although it was very forgettable. Another of the same mold is LOOK WHO’S TALKING TOO, which almost blurs together with THREE MEN AND A LITTLE LADY. These two series of films are equally forgettable but they struck gold and were popular for that time. Now, I don’t think they would do so well. THE GODFATHER PART III was another stinker released this year, banking on the name value but didn’t have much more than that.
Following the great Arnold Schwarzenegger is not an easy task, but it was one given to Danny Glover, co-star of the LETHAL WEAPON series. The alien from PREDATOR was back in PREDATOR 2, and he was placed in the city this time, which was a nice change. Not a bad movie, but the Arnie shoes were too big to fill for Glover, an actor that did the role well, but was perceived as more of a supporting actor. Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy returned in the mediocre “ANOTHER 48 HRS.” It was OK but forgettable.
A YEAR OF SURPRISES
The year saw some surprises. Most notably, HOME ALONE became a huge smash, making nearly five hundred million dollars at the box office. Panned by some critics, it became the right movie at the right time, and became an influential film that impacted many other family comedies. Another shocker was the biggest film of the year, GHOST. A drama about a murdered husband trying to save his wife and move onto the other side brought home over five hundred million dollars and furthered the careers of Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg. The budget for the film was only 22 million dollars.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES made history, becoming the most successful independent film of all time, at the time. Bringing in over two hundred million at the box office, the heroes in a half shell gave the fans what they wanted and satisfied the fans that went to see it. It would give birth to sequels and remakes.
Another big surprise of the year was the 14 million dollar production, PRETTY WOMAN. Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in a romantic comedy brought in nearly five hundred million dollars and led to a huge run of films for Roberts as a new A lister. HOUSE PARTY was made on a 2 million dollar budget and brought home over 25 million at the box office. The charm of the musical duo known as Kid ‘n Play translated well to film and led to a string of movies with this talented pair. HOME ALONE featured a kid versus adult scenario and so did another big winner in PROBLEM CHILD with John Ritter and Gilbert Gottfried. It was raw and funny and hit at the box office, making over forty million in profit.
UNDER THE RADAR
The year had many films that were quality films that didn’t make the impact that they should have. DARKMAN, a superhero movie by Sam Raimi, featured Liam Neeson of TAKEN fame, in the lead role. It was an amazing film and it made money at the box office, but it failed to really capture the imagination of the public until after its run on video. I never understood why QUICK CHANGE never caught on. Starring and directed by Bill Murray, the film features a great cast including Randy Quaid and Geena Davis. It broke even at the box office, but was a very smart and funny comedy that has gotten more respect as time goes by but is one of the most forgotten by those that discuss Murray and his film library. Another comedy that bombed and has been long forgotten is SHORT TIME with Dabney Coleman. Coleman can be hilarious and can play a role dramatically and his portrayal of a detective with only so much time to live and desperately attempting to be killed on the job worked. It just didn’t hit, but it should have.
Box office bomb, I COME IN PEACE, was a push for budding action star, Dolph Lundgren, of ROCKY IV fame. A cop against a bad alien that “comes in peace” should be a can’t lose, but it lost and showed that maybe Lundgren isn’t the right guy to make that move. The movie is quite good. It’s a mystery why it did not take off.
Another film to scratch your head about is the remake of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. In 1968, the original was released and made quite the stir, becoming one of the most memorable horror films of all time. In 1990, they revisited it with a budget and following the original very closely. Out of all the remakes that I have seen, this one is one of the best, but it bombed at the box office. Another of note is CLASS OF 1999, a loser at the box office, but a remarkable film, borrowing elements from TERMINATOR. With stars like Stacy Keach, Patrick Kilpatrick and Malcolm McDowell, and an intense and fun experience, this should have been a hit. It did well on video and we saw a sequel in 1994 with Sasha Mitchell….just in case you didn’t get enough of him in the KICKBOXER sequels.
STAR POWER
Arnold Schwarzenegger had two of the biggest films of the year with TOTAL RECALL and KINDERGARTEN COP. Both films further solidified his stranglehold on the action genre, but also branched him out into the comedy and sci-brand that much more. Schwarzenegger was nearing his peak at this point and gaining steam. He was a safe bet. Tom Hanks had a mediocre year with the box office bomb “BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES”, but he shared that honor with another mega-star in Bruce Willis. Willis had his huge success with DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER and Hanks had a money-maker in the underrated comedy, JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO. Kevin Costner had one of the biggest films of the year with DANCES WITH WOLVES, but his other film “REVENGE” wasn’t so great received.
Sean Connery showed he had drawing power with his HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, which made over 120 million at the box office, and featured stars like Alec Baldwin, Tim Curry and James Earl Jones. Mel Gibson did well with A BIRD ON A WIRE, a mediocre action/comedy with Goldie Hawn, but the name value was enough to prompt the audience to come. Gibson could not do that with the bomb “AIR AMERICA”, which featured a young Robert Downey, JR., as a co-star. The film nearly broke even but lost a few million and didn’t awe the crowds. Tom Cruise had a semi-hit with his car-racing film “DAYS OF THUNDER.” Steven Seagal made major noise with HARD TO KILL and MARKED FOR DEATH, solidifying himself as a true force at the box office, making nearly one hundred million in profit collectively.
NOT REALLY FUNNY…
The comedies of 1990 left a lot to be desired. QUICK CHANGE and SHORT TIME proved to be funny, but the other entries were not nearly as impressive. The unfunny Dana Carvey was featured in OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS, a terrible film that turned enough of a buck to lead to more opportunity. MADHOUSE with John Larroquette and Kirstie Alley had the elements to be good but never came together. NUNS ON THE RUN was decent but forgettable. ERNEST GOES TO JAIL actually made money. I think that Ernest can be funny and that some of his movies are OK, but the majority of his films are rather poor. Even his better ones like ERNEST SCARED STUPID and ERNEST RIDES AGAIN weren’t great films. I find them more amusing on a personal level because Ernest looks like my aunt…a lot.
Tommy Chong was brought into the terrible stoner comedy “FAR OUT MAN.” Robin Williams had a mediocre entry in 1990 with CADILLAC MAN, and Bill Cosby failed to impress with GHOST DAD. I could have made several Cosby jokes. I have decided not to.
THE ADVENTURES OF FORD FAIRLANE with comedian Andrew “Dice” Clay bombed and rightfully so. Clay has always been a one trick pony with his comedy and it could never translate well to film. Remarkably, Clay can act, but his routine was stale and it became evident with this film. Although it wasn’t a big hit, ARACHNOPHOBIA was a good horror/comedy with the versatile and talented Jeff Daniels in the lead role. It had a nice balance of humor and scares. It was a bright spot in a low year or comedy. MY BLUE HEAVEN featured the great Steve Martin and two of the most annoying people on earth, Rick Moranis and Joan Cusack, in a mobster comedy. It is rare time when the talent of Martin cannot save a film. MR. DESTINY bordered on a drama with comedic elements, featuring James Belushi in the lead role. It had charm but wasn’t going to make you laugh that often.
AWARDS
I know it’s late to give awards and these awards don’t even come with trophies…so I’m guessing that the excitement of these stars will be minimal, but let’s have some fun anyway.
BEST ACTION – DIE HARD 2: DIE HARDER. The running for this spot was tough with Arnie, Seagal and even Van Damme having rather good films this year, but you just cannot beat this film for 1990.
BEST COMEDY – HOME ALONE. Although I do like QUICK CHANGE, SHORT TIME and PROBLEM CHILD, I find HOME ALONE to have the magical mix of holiday cheer and laughs.
BEST HORROR – NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD Remake. Other films of note were MISERY and THE EXORCIST III. Not a great year for horror films.
BEST SCI-FI – TOTAL RECALL. You cannot beat this film for this category, but the competition wasn’t weak with CLASS OF 1999, I COME IN PEACE and ROBOCOP 2 vying for the spot.
BEST GHOST MOVIE – GHOST. OK, this category is only created to show that GHOST was better than GHOST DAD.
STAR OF THE YEAR – Arnold Schwarzenegger had a great year with TOTAL RECALL and KINDERGARTEN COP, both making large amounts of money at the box office and both in the top ten films of the year.
Overall, 1990 proved to be a good decent year with some memorable films. The action genre was the best of the year with some great entries. Some of the bigger stars didn’t produce their best work, but they remained in the game. It was an interesting year and one of transition. It provided a lot of surprises and a lot of familiar faces. It was a decent year for Hollywood.
