A few weeks back while deep into hours upon hours of research for a Pauly Shore blog post -- joking -- I came to realize that 1992 was a big year for movies. It's unsettling to think that all of these movies are two decades old, because in 1992 when these flicks were released, 1972 was only twenty years in the past.
Did you know that kids born in 1992 can now vote, buy cigarettes, be in porn films, and buy industrial paint and glue from a hardware store? Where is my cane? Do I even need a cane? Who am I kidding, I'm only 28.
Just a few weeks ago, I chronicled the influence of Wayne's World -- a '92 baby -- here on Art Attack. This past week Dana Carvey teased ideas for a Wayne's World 3, getting our hopes up way too much.
Even freakier is that Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs turns 20 this year, meaning that we have now had to deal with cheesy QT knockoffs for two decades and change. Be original and steal from Jackie Brown, young filmmakers.
1992 was a big year for children's movies, too, both animated and live-action. I remember the hard environmental messages of Ferngully angering adults back then, and Aladdin was Disney's muscle that year. I saw a bit of it a few months back, and I can't say it was my favorite Disney feature, though the music was catchy. All of those songs were imprinted into my brain the next year from a fifth grade play I was in.
Basic Instinct
SPOILER ALERT: You get to see Sharon Stone's lady business. Google it. Nothing else matters about Basic Instinct. This one gave rise to a new era of erotic thrillers like Jade and countless soft-core Cinemax deals (which I know all by heart).
Unforgiven
Possibly the last great western to come to American cinema, unless you count Wild Wild West with Will Smith.
Chaplin
When people question the genius of Robert Downey Jr., show them this biopic.
Aladdin
Jafar was one of Disney's most evil villains ever, and Robin Williams was one of the most annoying genies ever. If finding a magic lamp means being harassed by a cavalcade of voices, count me out.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Who knew that just a few years later it would be turned into one of the WB's most successful shows and launch the career of Sarah Michelle Gellar?
Wayne's World
WW is without question the second-best film to be made of a Saturday Night Live sketch, the first being the star-packed The Blues Brothers. The story of Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar's misadventures with corporate America was also extremely influential on teen culture at the time, with the massive amount of catchphrases, cameos and hipness pummeling audiences in '92. Sphincter says what?
