Twenty years ago, a good bit of the press coverage about Hollywood was devoted to the long-awaited fourth installment of the uber-popular Star Wars Saga: The Phantom Menace. Though it went on to become the series' first billion-dollar movie (unadjusted for inflation), it turned out to be hot garbage. Fortunately for movie-lovers, a few of the films released in 1999 were actually pretty good.
5. Any Given Sunday
The year's second-best gridiron movie revolves around a Black quarterback on his way up and his veteran coach, as they confront the football industrial complex and all the nastiness that the highest level of the sport has to offer, including: corrupt physicians; exploitative team owners; institutional racism; and more.
4. Black and White
Black and White explores contemporary nuances of race relations seldom
acknowledged in mainstream media. It's also the rare film that features
characters pursuing rap careers that isn't lame. Anyone who hasn't seen it
will probably have trouble believing that a cast studded with such a
diverse array of stars (an NBA player, a handful of Wu-Tang Clan members,
Mike Tyson, and a supermodel) could be so good. But Black and White is an
exceptional movie that perfectly captures the racial zeitgeist of its time
-- and today.
3. American Pie
American Pie keeps with the 1980s high school comedy tradition of showcasing teens who can't wait to lose their respective virginities. But it somehow balances relatable experiences with over-the-top shenanigans. What the dozens of imitators (and the sequels) got wrong was the need to include the relatable experiences -- and actual humor. Band geeks, prom, house parties, nerds with fictional girlfriends, foreign exchange students -- American Pie's got 'em all.
2. Analyze This
Leave it to Robert DeNiro to imbue a mob boss with authenticity even in a comedy. Alongside A Bronx Tale, Analyze This also proves once and for all that he can make a pretty good gangster movie without the help of Martin Scorcese or Francis Ford Coppola.
On the eve of an upcoming mob summit, psychiatrist Dr. Ben Sobel accidentally rear-ends mobster Paul Vitti's car and afterwards, he gives one of the gangster's enforcers, Jelly, his business card so that he can provide his insurance information later. When Vitti later suffers a panic attack and orders him to quietly arrange a session with a shrink, Jelly turns to Dr. Sobel.
Vitti subsequently barges into Sobel's office and after confirming that the doctor recognizes him from news stories, aggressively insists that he keep their conversation secret. Vitti then explains his problem, under the guise of soliciting advice for a friend -- lie that Sobel assures him is unnecessary. Impressed by Sobel's insight, Vitti declares the former his therapist and threatens to have him killed should he develop feminine feelings as a result of their sessions.
After following Dr. Sobel to Miami (for the latter's impending nuptials), the mobster has his new therapist brought to his hotel room for an impromptu session. By the time he returns to New York, Sobel's been coerced into another session and his wedding's been interrupted by a homicide (a result of an unsuccessful attempt on Vitti's life).
Upon returning home, Sobel's coerced again -- this time by the FBI (they also manipulate audio recordings so as to deceive the doctor into believing that Vitti plans to murder him). They want him to help make a case against his new patient. After hearing the fake tape, Sobel agrees to wear a wire to his next meet with Vitti. But upon realizing that much of Paul's anxiety stems from witnessing his father's murder as a child,
he has a change of heart and ditches the listening device in the restroom.
Unfortunately for Sobel, Vitti was already aware of the former's meeting with the feds and has, in fact, decided to murder him.
"The Sopranos", which debuted two months before Analyze This, rode the films exact same premise to six highly-rated seasons, a boat-load of Emmys and a guaranteed spot in the television Hall of Fame. But the movie has De Niro.
The film's biggest flaw is that De Niro's co-star (Billy Crystal) has one of the most obnoxious screen presences in the history of cinema.
Some of the best lines:
Captain McNamara: "You're Paul Vitti, the mobster."
Vitti: "Now is that polite? I'm trying to be nice over here. Do I walk up to you and say, 'It's so-and-so, the hard-on.'"?
1. Varsity Blues
Varsity Blues bucks tradition and reminds us that "jock" is not synonymous with "dumbass". Johnny Moxon is on his high school's football team for two reasons: His dad pushed him to follow in his athletic footsteps and he happens to be a talented quarterback. When his friend, first-string QB, Lance, is placed on the injured list indefinitely, Mox, who's counting on his academic prowess getting him into an Ivy League school as opposed to his throwing arm getting him into an NCAA powerhouse, inherits the job.
What's high school without football? Varsity Blues is high school -- southern style. It has everything you'd expect in a great high school movie: run-ins with the law; girl problems; and nudity -- in the form of both students and teachers, in this case. As entertaining and funny as Varsity is, it still manages to tackle such heady subjects as concussions, performance-enhancing drug abuse, racism and underpaid teachers.
Originally Posted 7/13/19
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