In 1996, the minimum hourly wage was raised to $5.15. Mad Cow Disease hit Britain. eBay and Ask Jeeves were launched. Joe Klein admitted that he is "Anonymous", the author of Primary Colors. The Spice Girls invaded America's shores and had a No. 1 hit with "Wannabe." Los Del Rio tortured the organized dance-averse with "Macarena." No Doubt permeated air waves with "Just a Girl" and "Spiderwebs." Little Miss Sunshine herself, Abigail Breslin, was born. Tiny Tim died. On TV, 3rd Rock from the Sun and Everybody Loves Raymond debuted, while The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air called it quits.
It's no wonder that Will Smith was leaving television - his movie career was white hot. After impressive turns in Made in America and Bad Boys, Smith broke free and became a bona fide A-list action hero with his turn in Independence Day - the biggest movie of '96. There were plenty of solid movies that year, and the following just barely missed the cut: Courage Under Fire, From Dusk Till Dawn, Beautiful Girls, The Birdcage, That Thing You Do, A Time To Kill, Bottle Rocket, and The Cable Guy.
Other choice selections released in '96 include Twister, Mission: Impossible, Ransom, Eraser, People vs. Larry Flynt, Bound, Broken Arrow, The Nutty Professor, The First Wives Club, The Frighteners, Kingpin, The Long Kiss Goodnight, One Fine Day, Sleepers, and Star Trek: First Contact. Notice how I left off any mention of The English Patient up until now. And here are your Essentials:
Stupid, bombastic, epic, kick-ass, lame, funny, groundbreaking, incompetent, competent. Say what you will about the merits of Independence Day as a work of art, but as a crowd-pleasing, summertime blockbuster - it's hard to top. Anytime you've got Harvey Fierstein, Judd Hirsch, Jeff Goldblum, Vivica A. Fox, and Brent Spiner in a movie, and it still works, you've got to pay your respects. I love the arc of the movie - the jaw-dropping attack, the Empire Strikes Back-type depressing middle section, and the rousing climax. Will Smith became a movie star overnight and hasn't looked back since.Okay, so maybe it seems a tad dated, and the jokey horror movie has been done to death. But I still think Scream holds up as a pillar of the genre. Wes Craven's direction and Kevin Williamson's script are well-versed and appropriately knowing. Scream is funny when it needs to be, and scary when it needs to be. The opening scene with Drew Barrymore is a real nail-biter. Scream was so successful with audiences that it reinvigorated the horror flick, and spawned two sequels - one of which, Scream 2, is a worthy follow-up. A fourth movie is on its way in Spring 2011.It probably doesn't mean much, but this is Michael Bay's best movie. The elements just came together on The Rock: smart script, exciting action, complex villain (Ed Harris), and two charismatic, perfectly matched leads played by Sean Connery and the gonzo Nicolas Cage. Sure, Bay has his moments where he almost lets the production get away from him, but he always manages to reign it in at the right time. One of the best action movies of the '90s. "Your best? Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and f**k the prom queen."Fans of This is Spinal Tap had to wait nearly 12 years for Christopher Guest and company to make another mockumentary, but this proves that the wait was worth it. I find it hard to pick between this, Spinal Tap, and Best in Show as my favorite, but one thing's for sure: Corky St. Clair rocks. Who didn't want a Remains of the Day lunchbox after seeing this? I still sing "Nothing ever happens on Mars", "Stool boom", and "A Penny for Your Thoughts" at odd times of the day. For anyone who doesn't like it, I just have this to say, "you people are Bastard People."Drug use on screen - particularly heroin - is one of the least pleasant things to see, but darn it if Trainspotting doesn't make it hella entertaining. Danny Boyle established himself as a director to keep your eye on, and Ewan McGregor became a star. Sick and fiendishly clever, with some truly harrowing set pieces, awesome visuals, and a kick-ass soundtrack. I still get chills whenever I hear Underworld's "Born Slippy."
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Hands down, Adam Sandler's funniest movie. I wish the Sandler of today could go back to 1996, watch Happy Gilmore, and figure out how to be truly funny again. There are enough classic gags and jokes in Happy Gilmore to fill out an entire career highlight reel. This is an inspired comedy - again, highly quotable ("The Price is Wrong, bitch!") and, for my money, it kicks Caddyshack's ass.Watch this one on a double bill with 1995's The Usual Suspects if you want to see twist endings at their finest. This one packs a wallop thanks to Edward Norton's amazing performance. Nobody knew Norton before this movie, but he blew up almost immediately after Primal Fear came out. It's a star-making performance. And the movie's pretty damn good too - a nifty courtroom thriller, with a killer payoff.I find myself resisting the immediate urge to just come right out and shout, "Vegas, baby, Vegas!" Well, at least I waited a couple of words. Swingers put Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau on the map. Deservedly so. Vaughn is incredible in this movie, and though he'd later ape the same schtick for other characters, none compare to Trent. Favreau gets so much right with the L.A. scene and the bond between guy friends. Swingers gives independent film a good name.I'm amazed sometimes by the Coen Brothers. They turn out almost a film a year, and while some are certainly better than others, including this one, each of their movies is unique and worth seeing at least once. Fargo is widely hailed as their masterpiece and it's easy to see why. The snowy MN landscape proves a fertile backdrop for a plot rife with inept kidnappers (the great William H. Macy), a deadly wood chipper, and a pregnant cop with a killer accent. I was so happy to see Frances McDormand win Best Actress in '96. Her Marge Gunderson is a classic.A Hollywood rarity: a four-quadrant hit with great appeal to men, women, kids, and bees who can smell fear. It is a perfect film. Kudos to Cameron Crowe, who has never seemed more confident - both on the page and behind the camera. The role of sports agent with a conscience was tailor-made for Tom Cruise and he is brilliant in the movie. I know Geoffrey Rush was great and all in Shine, but the kind of star performance that Cruise gives here is hard to do and should have been rewarded on Oscar night. The supporting cast is uniformly excellent - from Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Regina King to Jay Mohr (Bob Sugar!). Hell, even Jonathan Lipnicki manages to charm. This movie still has me at hello.
I'm a Chicago native, former Latin teacher, sometime singer, sometime cook, most of the time parent, not enough time writer, and too-much-time TV watcher.
