Yes, It's Been 20 Years Since These Movies Came Out

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Come with us on a journey to the late '90s, when the boy bands were rockin' the radios, Sex and the City was ruling the TV, and a wide variety of movies were topping the box office lists. Perhaps you were into the teen offerings, like Can't Hardly Wait and Urban Legend. Or maybe you were sucked into the period dramas of Shakespeare in Love and Elizabeth. Maybe you discovered that Robert Redford was still a babe in The Horse Whisperer. Whatever your poison, everybody's 1998 faves are represented here.

01
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American History X

Edward Norton stars as a neo-Nazi who goes to prison and realizes the error of his ways in time to save his younger brother from following the same path.

02
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Armageddon

Who likes their sci-fi disaster movies with a side of romance and a tearjerking goodbye? Then Armageddon is the one for you.

03
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BASEketball

Fans of South Park will love this goofy sports comedy about a made-up game that combines baseball and basketball with "psych outs," i.e. silly ways to disrupt the game that aren't technically cheating. Wackiness ensues.

04
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A Bug's Life

This adorable Pixar movie stars Dave Foley as the voice of Flik, an ant who is determined to save his colony from a gang of grasshoppers. The voice cast is full of heavy hitters, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Hayden Panettiere, Phyllis Diller, Richard Kind, David Hyde Pierce, Denis Leary, and Madeline Kahn.

05
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Can't Hardly Wait

This movie is sorta kinda tall . . . with hair . . . and it wears t-shirts sometimes. It's also an incredible entry into the teen party pantheon of movies. Look for Jason Segel as the guy who carries a watermelon.

06
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Elizabeth

Cate Blanchett stars as the titular British monarch in this period drama. It was Blanchett's big breakout in show business outside her native Australia, and it earned her the first of six Oscar nominations. There's a 2007 sequel also starring Blanchett that's worth a watch as well.

07
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Ever After

This beautifully shot romance is a wonderful take on the classic Cinderella story, starring Drew Barrymore as the lowly girl and Anjelica Huston as her wicked stepmother.

08
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The Faculty

The mid to late '90s saw a teen horror movie boom not seen since the early '80s. The Faculty is just one of the many great offerings, having developed quite the cult following since its release. Its cast list is a who's who of stars, including Jon Stewart as a teacher named Edward Furlong.

09
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Halloween H20: 20 Years Later

In honor of the 20th anniversary of the original Halloween, Steve Miner released this slasher film, even getting Jamie Lee Curtis to reprise her role from the original two movies.

10
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Home Fries

Written by Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, this odd little movie about a woman's affair with a married man put Luke Wilson on the map and was one of many good Drew Barrymore performances of this time period.

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Hope Floats

Sandra Bullock was already a star when this rom-com was released, but it introduced a lot of viewers to hunky musician Harry Connick Jr. for the first time.

12
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The Horse Whisperer

In one of her earliest roles, Scarlett Johansson stars as a young girl who is severely injured riding her horse. Her mother calls a man known as a "horse whisperer" to come try to heal both the injured horse and her injured daughter. It's a beautiful story of love and loss, and it introduced a whole new generation to the wonder that is Robert Redford, who directed the film in addition to starring in it.

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How Stella Got Her Groove Back

Angela Bassett rocks it out in this film about a woman taking charge of her life and sexuality. It introduced the world at large to Taye Diggs and reminded us all of our Bassett upper-arm goals.

14
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The Mask of Zorro

Catherine Zeta-Jones burst onto the US scene with this swashbuckler. Antonio Banderas smolders as the title character, but Zeta-Jones steals the show as Elena, daughter to Anthony Hopkins's Don Diego de la Vega.

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Meet Joe Black

Brad Pitt was still coming into his own with this 1998 romantic fantasy film about Death (Pitt) visiting an older man (Anthony Hopkins) he finds intriguing. As long as the man will be his guide on Earth, Death will not take Bill. Things are complicated when Bill's daughter falls for Death (who says his name is Joe Black) and Death falls for her in return.

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Mulan

The last of Disney's string of '90s animated smash hits, Mulan is a story of female empowerment with an adorable, hilarious little sidekick voiced by Eddie Murphy.

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Out of Sight

An underrated action movie, this film, based on an Elmore Leonard novel and directed by Steven Soderbergh, stars George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez as a bank robber and the US Marshal charged with tracking him down.

18
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Patch Adams

If you need a good cry, bust out your DVD (or VHS) of this medical comedy that is based on the real life of Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams. Not only is the movie emotional and touching, but anything with Robin Williams is especially poignant since his death in 2014.

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Pleasantville

Reese Witherspoon and Tobey Maguire burst onto the scene with this dramedy, about two modern-day teens magically transported back to the 1950s. It has gained quite the cult following in the years since its release.

20
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Practical Magic

Two witchy sisters must work together to fight the family curse in this really fun sisterhood movie. Make it a witchy night with a little Hocus Pocus, The Craft, and this Sandra Bullock-Nicole Kidman vehicle as the cherry on top.

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Saving Private Ryan

You may not ever want to rewatch Saving Private Ryan, because it is an emotional gauntlet, but it is a war movie unlike anything else put on screen. One of the biggest Oscar robberies of all time is the fact that this World War II epic lost best picture to Shakespeare in Love.

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Shakespeare in Love

This rom-com catapulted Gwyneth Paltrow to megastar status and introduced us all to the smoldering good looks of Joseph Fiennes.

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Stepmom

If you need a good cry, take a trip in the wayback machine to this Susan Sarandon-Julia Roberts tearjerker, about two divorced parents (Sarandon and Ed Harris) and the soon-to-be stepmom (Roberts). The relationship is complicated when Sarandon's character is diagnosed with terminal lymphoma.

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There's Something About Mary

The Farrelly brothers are known for their gross-out comedies, but almost none is as big as this one starring Cameron Diaz, Matt Dillon, and Ben Stiller. It took Diaz from pretty face to comedy powerhouse.

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The Truman Show

There are a few films out there that remind us how good of an actor Jim Carrey can be, and The Truman Show is one of them. This sci-fi dramedy is also rather quaint when viewed through the lens of what reality TV turned into in the 20 years since its release.

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Urban Legend

Another great entry into the '90s horror movie column, this one features a killer twist at the end (which we won't give away lest you haven't seen it). We recommend a triple feature of the original Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and this one to cap off the evening.

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The Wedding Singer

There's no denying that Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore have great chemistry. The two real-life friends have done three movies together, and this is their first, where Sandler plays the titular wedding singer and Barrymore is a waitress who works receptions.

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Wild Things

This pulpy neo-noir gained attention (a lot of attention) because of its infamous threesome scene between Matt Dillon, Neve Campbell, and Denise Richards. However, behind that buzzy sex scene is a highly enjoyable thriller filled with twists and turns, plus a delightful supporting role for Bill Murray.

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You've Got Mail

The last of the Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan rom-coms, this cute little holiday movie is about a small bookshop owner who is being put out of business by a Barnes & Noble ripoff around the corner. She vents to a man she has met online, and it turns out he's the owner of the bookstore conglomerate. It's adorable and super sweet . . . and also hilariously dated, because of AOL, dial-up modems, and the fact that the greatest threat to a small bookstore is a large bookstore and not Amazon.com.