Underrated '90s Movies: Hidden Gems You Need to Watch!

I’m a fan of all those, OP! Jennifer Connelly is gorgeous in Dark City.

Fearless 1993 Jeff Bridges, Isabella Rossellini, Rosie Perez.

To Die For 1995 Along with Drugstore Cowboy1989 this is Gus Van Sant's best film. Kidman at the very least deserved an Oscar nomination.

Go

Bottle Rocket

Jawbreaker

The Game

Flirting With Disaster

Smoke Signals

Deep Cover

Election

Chasing Amy

The Crush

Lolita

Mortal Thoughts

My Life

The Cell

The Long Kiss Goodnight

To Die For

Heavy (1995) starring Pruitt Taylor Vince, Liv Tyler, Debbie Harry, and Shelley Winters. It’s a downbeat homespun drama but well-acted and very moving. It is one of my favorite movies of all time.

I just don't get all the love for Grosse Pointe Blank, it seems to have a kind of indie cult status. I like Driver, I like (with some reservations) Cusack, it's all just so half assed though, with midwit sitcom level writing.

Oh, forgot to make my own suggestion:

Sling Blade

I second Sling Blade.

The Basketball Diaries was also good.

A SIMPLE PLAN

The Net, it has floppy dosks and a young, evil, Jeremy Northam

I wouldn't call half of these movies hidden gems. Many of them were Oscar nominated. Dark City might not have been a blockbuster, but it was a hugely influential cult movie and was a person favorite of Roger Ebert.

I have a soft spot for Singles. Such a perfect time capsule for the grunge era.

Rushmore was fun - the only Wes Anderson film I like.

Gas Food Lodging with Ione Skye and Fairuza Balk.

From this list of "bombs":

"Glengarry Glen Ross."

Pump Up the Volume

Tremors

Event Horizon

Muppet Treasure Island

I agree with R10 and a Simple Plan and I also like The Opposite of Sex

Me so stoopit me must do "underrated" boo hoo for well-rate moooveees.

(Hidden gems, indeed.)

Romeo is Bleeding (1993)

King of New York (1990)

Fallen Angels (1995)

The best scene in "Grosse Point Blank": At the cemetery, as he stands in front of his father's grave he pours out a bottle of liquor. Pretty all you needed to know at Dad.

The Last Seduction-I've never been able to look at a chain link fence the same way again.

[quote]I just don't get all the love for Grosse Pointe Blank, it seems to have a kind of indie cult status. I like Driver, I like (with some reservations) Cusack, it's all just so half assed though, with midwit sitcom level writing.

I remember going to see this with my Mom. Jeremy Piven was the only negative, but I don't like him in anything.

‘Buffalo ’66’ (1998)

A neurotic recent parolee (writer-director Vincent Gallo) abducts a dancer (Christina Ricci), forcing her to meet his parents, played with batshit majesty by Ben Gazzara and Anjelica Huston. She goes along with the act, pretending to be his loving girlfriend – she’s the only one sees right through his psycho surface to the wounded little boy inside. One of the funniest movies about male insecurity ever made, Gallo’s amour fou story becomes a breathless appreciation of upstate New York dreariness, the lunatic majesty of its creator and the idea that love means always having to say you’re sorry. And that delirious donut-shop declaration ending is a keeper.

Paradise. A 1991 movie starring Don Johnson, Melanie Griffith, and a young Elijah Wood and Thora Birch. The kids were so good in this and Don Johnson was smoking hot. I watched this about ten times the summer I was 11 because of Don.

[quote]I wouldn't call half of these movies hidden gems. Many of them were Oscar nominated. Dark City might not have been a blockbuster, but it was a hugely influential cult movie and was a person favorite of Roger Ebert.

Agreed, R12. Some of these movies could be considered underrated, but not hidden gems. Most are either Oscar nominated/winners, cult classics, or they played on an endless loop on TNT, TBS, or USA in the 90s and early 2000s.

Of all the movies in this thread, R2's "Fearless" is the only one I had never heard of.

Get Shorty (pretty clever)

A Walk on the Moon. (Hello blouse man)

Stigmata (Gabriel Byrne as a hot priest)

Bedrooms and Hallways (love it)

Arachnophobia (John Goodman is great, RIP Julian Sands)

The Beverly Hillbillies (a good dumb comedy)

I feel like Dead Again is kind of forgotten and I think it is a gem

[quote]Of all the movies in this thread, [R2]'s "Fearless" is the only one I had never heard of.

It's a great movie. Rosie Perez got a well-deserved Oscar nomination for it, and Jeff Bridges should have gotten one as well.

Pure Luck.

It was hilarious to me in 1991, I wonder if it holds up? Anyone seen it lately?

Most of OP's movies aren't underrated.

In fact, Iron Giant is considered a beloved classic. Galaxy Quest is also highly regarded.

Gattaca was great and I thought it should have gotten more praise/love.

Pecker from John Waters.

[quote]Galaxy Quest is also highly regarded.

Hell, Amazon has been trying to make that into a series.

Threesome, Reality Bites

Lord of Illusions

In The Mouth of Madness

Quigley Down Under

Sleepers

Point of No Return

The Faculty

Lord of the Flies

"Edward II" (1991), gay filmmaker Derek Jarman's postmodern depiction of the14th-century English monarch who humiliates and rejects his powerful queen in favor of openly ruling alongside his "favorite" (Piers Gaveston in the movie, Hugh Despenser irl). He ultimately loses his crown (he was the first English monarch to abdicate), his freedom, and his life -- in an extremely gruesome manner.

The film was very "fringe" when it opened, getting a limited release in art-house theaters, and it was rarely shown on television. The first and last time I watched it was on the Bravo network (when it was the art-house channel) 30 years ago.

King of the Hill. Jesse Bradford played the kid and he was very good. Good supporting cast here, too.

Bob Roberts. Starring Tim Robbins, Alan Rickman, Ray Wise, Giancarlo Esposito, James Spader, David Strathairn, Helen Hunt, and more!

Teaching Mrs Tingle 1999 Helen Mirren, Katie Holmes

Four Rooms. Tim Roth was superb

Bob Roberts used to air on television all the time, then seemed to suddenly disappear right after GWB took office. I agree, it's a great film.

Someone has to mention it so I will. Drop Dead Gorgeous, one of the funniest movies I've ever seen.

First time I've seen a list of shows that I totally agree with.

That means OP has great taste.

Threesome

it has one of my favorite quotes: Sex is like pizza even when it's bad, it's still pretty good

The Madness of King George seems to have faded into obscurity.

Shallow Graves

R36 I recall that King of the Hill was on a lot of critics lists of best films that year, yet it was not nominated for any award. I recently bought it on Criterion bluray.

R22 - by all accounts Vincent Gallo is a real piece of shit, but Buffalo '66 is a terrific little film. Gallo reportedly made Ricci's life miserable during the filming though

I think there have been a few Gallo/Ricci threads here.

Nil By Mouth

Dark City is available for viewing on TUBI right now.

I was so confused by the similarities in plot with the Matrix and Dark City. Both films are equally great but one surpassed the other in terms of it's reach and success.

John Sayles' LONE STAR with Chris Cooper and Matthew McConaughey.

Fear 1996 Reese Witherspoon and Mark Wahlberg. Wahlberg scared the shit out of me playing a psycho.

Dark City is much better than the Matrix. I remember seeing the Matrix and thinking that it's just an empty rip off of Dark City. I've always hated the forced love interest between Neo and Trinity, and it ruins the end of every Matrix movie. Jennifer Connelly and Rufus Sewell had a much more genuine connection, and I don't even care that much about the romantic arc in either film.

Another vote for Lone Star.

Great casting, Chris Cooper is terrific. (Very sad that Elizabeth Peña is no longer with us).

Let's not forget Velvet Goldmine.

R52 that reminds me of another William Petersen movie- Kiss The Sky. It’s not great, there’s a lot of talk and philosophical jargon and the two leads (Petersen and Gary Cole) can be whiny, but they show ass and that was pleasing.

The plot is that two best friends, Jeff and Marty, are dissatisfied with their boring lives go to Thailand to recapture their youth and have a threesome with a woman (Sheryl Lee). I kept hoping the men would hookup…*spoiler* … they don’t. Boo. But we got this lovely scene image:

Speaking of "Grosse Pointe Blank" there is a 1992 movie called "Crossing the Bridge" which really plumbs the depths of what it means to be a Michigander.

Despite being directed by the same people, the similarities between Dark City and The Matrix are superficial. Only a complete idiot would think that The Matrix was ripping off Dark City. I say that as someone who likes both movies.

Velvet Goldmine is amazing

R58, only a complete idiot wouldn't see they're the same story in a different shell.

Not hidden I guess but Dazed and Confused, Boyz N The Hood.

I can see a young Rufus Sewell playing Neo and Jennifer Connelly as Trinity.

I cannot see Kiefer Sutherland as Morpheus.

Some of you tramps have no idea what the word “underrated” means.

Sling Blade won an Oscar. Gattaca and Pecker are beloved by hipsters today. Election is considered a modern day Oscar snub.

Lake Placid. It’s a perfect horror/comedy with a great cast. One of Brendan Gleeson’s best movies. For real.

Many of us don’t keep up with what’s cool with the hipsters….so sorry

Second for Lake Placid. Written by David E. Kelly with one of Betty White's best movie performances.

Did Josh Charles and Stephen Baldwin have a thing?: They had great sexual chemistry together.

Citizen X

The Ref

The Mighty

Regarding Henry

Boys On The Side

Switch

The Last Supper

Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead

What About Bob?

Marvin's Room

Benny & Joon

Copycat

Blink

Music Of The Heart

The Playboys

Next Stop Wonderland (1998)

Kiss the Girls, just for how sexy Cary Elwes in it

More young, sexy Cary Elwes in The Crush (1993)

This film is wild and weird.

Sugar Town.

Gee, the '90s were a shit movie decade.

Re Election, according to Wikipedia:

The film's original ending, which was received poorly by test audiences, was not known until a rough workprint of it was found in a box of VHS tapes at a yard sale in 2011.

The Harvey Fierstein cameo is hilarious.

Living in Oblivion 1995

Another vote for The Ref. Judy Davis is stellar, Glynis Johns is a marvelous bitch, and it's the first movie where I figured that Kevin Spacey was gay.

I caught Quick Change again the other night; I'd forgotten how funny that movie is. Bill Murray, Geena Davis, and Randy Quaid pull off a seemingly-perfect bank heist, but then spend the rest of the movie desperately trying to escape New York City, with police detective Jason Robards hot on their heels. Bill Murray is a frickin' comic genius, though a mugging Quaid can be a bit much at times.

This scene where they stumble into mob headquarters is one of the funniest in the film.

I love this one, which seemed to be overshadowed by 54.

WHET Whit Stillman? Critics were drooling over his films back in the 90s.

(Probably the same thing that happened to Edward Burns)

Love Ed Burns. Top drawer.

Annoying voice, though

The French film, The Dinner Game, 1998, is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen.

The US remake, Dinner with Schmucks, was abysmal

What's that one where Jay Mohr is a gay drug dealer? I liked that one.

Another vote for Last Days of Disco.

In Dreams - Annette Benning is superb and RDJ at his most creepily androgynous. Some stunning underwater images. The story is bilge but the atmosphere is incredible.

[quote]What's that one where Jay Mohr is a gay drug dealer? I liked that one.

GO. I love that movie. Timothy Olyphant is hot asf. Everyone should see it just for that.

Clockwatchers

Citizen Ruth

According to the thread linked below, the OP of this thread is an AI bot. Those of you who agreed with “OP” will be safe when the AI bots take over. Those who didn’t: watch out!

I’m reminded of the old Folgers coffee commercial in which the coffee in a “fine” restaurant is replaced with Folgers, and diners are asked to comment on the coffee and react when told it’s Folgers.

“We’ve replaced human OPs with AI bots in a long-standing online discussion forum. Let’s see if the posters can tell the difference.”

[quote] I wouldn't call half of these movies hidden gems.

Agreed. They are mainstream, breakout indies that in the VHS rental store era were seen by everyone.

Election, To Die For, Galaxy Quest and Reality Bites are underrated, hidden gems? Come on, guys.

The Quick and the Dead.

Whether underrated, under-seen, underappreciated, or under remembered:

The Thin Red Line

Metropolitan

Shallow Grave

Wonder Boys (2000, I know)

R90 our homo asses saw them but go ask a straight guy about those movies

Straight guys saw Galaxy Quest!

I watched Gattaca last night on Prime. Hadn’t seen it since it came out. It’s a really good movie. Ethan Hawke, Jude Law, Uma Thurman, and Loren Dean (WHET?) were all so beautiful in this.

for people under 40 many of these films are unknown. In the 90s films such as Citizen Ruth and Living in Oblivion didn't play in multi-plexes and were never as well known as Titanic, Goodfellas, LA Confidential . . .and never played in constant rotation on HBO like Ghost, Pretty Woman, Dirty Dancing . . ..

I saw Gattaca in the movie theater when it came out, and I very much enjoyed it. I haven't seen it since. Time to search out for it again.

A.I. came up with the idea and the movies list for this thread. Seriously. Just FYI

Leaving normal

The Sure Thing; like GPB, it was quirky John Cusack at his best -another incarnation of Lloyd Dobler

Another vote for Drugstore Cowboy. That should be more of a cult classic than it is

Has Todd Solondz's movie Happiness been mentioned?

I loathe Todd Solondz. He and Lars Von Tryhard can suck each other's cocks in hell.

A fundamentally dishonest filmmaker.

Not to burst anyone's bubble but Drugstore Cowboy was released in 1989.

[quote] The Quick and the Dead.

Sharon Stone was sublime in this. And her eye for talent was impeccable.

A masterpiece that must be experienced.

Love and Human Remains (1993) - Early Thomas Gibson film, and WHET to hottie Cameron Bancroft?

Henry Fool (1998) - The ubiquitous James Urbaniak and the underutilized Thomas Jay Ryan costar (Parker Posey in a supporting role) in an obscure story about a garbage man who befriends a brilliant drunkard, and years later goes on to win the Nobel Prize for poetry.

High Art (1998) - Possibly Alley Sheedey's best role

I Shot Andy Warhol (1998) - Lili Taylor in a must-see film for any modern feminist.

Shine (1998) - A film about the brilliant pianist Jan Sardi, who suffered a mental breakdown and spent years in institutions.

Pi (1998) - Who knew math could have such a dark side?

I saw a LOT of indie films In 1998.

Poland's legendary writer/director Krzysztof Kieslowski made his best films in the 1990s. Sadly, he died in 1996.

The Double Life of Veronique (1991)

Three Colors Trilogy: Blue (1993) Three Colors Trilogy: White (1994) Three Colors Trilogy: Red (1994)

Of these, Veronique is my favorite. Irene Jacob is exquisite in this parallel universe drama. If you ever wish you'd been alive to witness Anna Pavlova's "Dying Swan," this film is for you.

Cold Comfort Farm (1995)

It still keeps me in stitches.

Brenda Blethyn's performance in "Secrets and Lies" received critical acclaim, earning her the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, in addition to a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Adoptee rights organisation Bastard Nation used the film as a vehicle to raise awareness of sealed birth records

Sneakers 1992

Robert Redford, Mary McDonnell, Ben Kingsley, David Aykroyd, River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier, David Straithairn.

R108 and yet few saw the film, and if you asked people who Brenda Blethyn is I doubt anyone would know. That was a long time ago

Also, Mary McDonnell in Passion Fish 1992. Oscar worthy performance in my opinion.

Men Don't Leave (1990) with Jessica Lange, Joan Cusack, Chris O'Donnell, and Cathy Bates blew me away. A beautiful, poignant story, but never cloying or manipulative. One of the finest films I've ever seen. Quietly, unself-consciously moving. Flawless performances.

Mary McDonnell also did tv, Battlestar Galactica. I really liked her, as you can tell.

Ahhh…this thread has reminded me of some films I loved that I’d forgotten about! Love and Human Remains, Men Don’t Leave, Citizen Ruth…

A 90s film that is *NOT* a gem..The 1999 remake of The Haunting. I just tried to watch it again to see if it was bad as I remembered..it was worse! It’s a shame since the original is one of my all time favorites. Catherine Zeta-Jones steals this one and is about the only reason to watch. Quite a feat considering she was all of 16 when she filmed it!

R112 Don’t you love how they tacked in a photo of Joan Cusack sloppily alongside that nice family embrace? Whyyyy?

R114 Z was nearly 30 when she made that film.

Freeway with Reese Witherspoon and Kiefer Sutherland

It’s beloved here, but forgotten elsewhere. “A Home of Our Own,” starring Kathy Bates, Edward Furlong, and poverty!

R117 wonderful film. Saw it by accident on some random tv station on a Saturday afternoon years ago and loved it.

The toxic masculinity "black comedy" (according to Wikipedia -- there's NOTHING funny about this film, imo) In The Company of Men. Aaron Eckhart is great in the role that put him on the map, but you'll want to stomp him in the face repeatedly.

And I'm pretty sure the MAGTOWs and incels of today study this film closely; Eckhart's odious woman-hating character is named ... wait for it ... Chad!

Richard Linklater's 'Slacker' (1990) is funny as fuck.

[quote]A 90s film that is *NOT* a gem..The 1999 remake of The Haunting. I just tried to watch it again to see if it was bad as I remembered..it was worse! It’s a shame since the original is one of my all time favorites. Catherine Zeta-Jones steals this one and is about the only reason to watch. Quite a feat considering she was all of 16 when she filmed it!

Agreed; it's not even campy fun in the way that old Vincent Price movies are. It's just a boring mess and a total waste of Lili Taylor's weird talent

"Life is Sweet" (1990)

I was today years old when I realized that the night-and-day identical twins in this film weren't actually twins. Not only that, but one of them is Jane Horrocks, who would play Bubble on Absolutely Fabulous just two years later. And look where the others in the cast are now: Alison Steadman, Claire Skinner, Jim Broadbent, Stephen Rea, Timothy Spall. A charming film directed by Mike Leigh. I had this on VHS for years and watched it again many times. It is a great story about a dysfunctional working-class family: among their many ups and downs, they try to get ahead by buying a food truck.

[quote]Z was nearly 30 when she made that film.

Someone must be new around here…

You’re both wrong Catherine just turned 17 last year!

How wrong was I to believe I had plumbed the depths of terminal cuteness in a number of slobbering sentimental films Hollywood has churned out lately along with its more violent fare.

What I mistook for the bottom proves merely the diving board from which HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN QUILT hurdles you into yet more deeply depraved emotionally slatternliness that piles soggy platitude on platitude for nearly two mind dissolving hours

JOHN SIMON

R125 I loved that movie. Corny and cheesy but pure escapism.

There is only ONE "Z", and it isn't CZJ!

Die Hard 3 is mad underrated as an action flick and is the best in the series after the first.

I love Die Hard with a Vengeance. Including the odd casting choice of singer-songwriter Leslie Ann Phillips, aka Sam Phillips, as a mute terrorist (& love interest of Jeremy Irons)

Green Card starring DL fave Andie MacDowell

"Crazy From the Heart"---1991.

Groundhogs Day starring DL fave Andie MacDowell and Dan Akroyd

I thought it was Groundhog Day with Chevy Chase and Malcolm McDowell

Two movies, one from 2002 (sorry), both involving actors / comedians who I normally find irritating:

1. Cable Guy: Jim Carey and Matthew Broderick. Blue collar guy (Carey) installs cable at white collar guy's (Broderick's) apartment. Broderick makes off-hand remark that they should hang out and Carey tries to take him up on the offer. Theme: social lines that are drawn, loneliness.

2. One-Hour Photo (before the days of iPhones, digital cameras, & inexpensive color printers): Robin Williams works at the one-hour photo place. Young family (hetero couple with young children) print photos at Williams' shop. Williams, lonely, begins a fantasy life wherein he is good friends with this young family. Theme: again, social lines drawn. Why was it an impossible fantasy for a single male introvert to be friends with this family?

R134 sorry to burst the figment of your imagination

Galaxy Quest isn't underrated. It's a cult classic with a following of its own. Even inspired a FANTASTIC documentary in which the TNG actors participated.

Dolores Claiborne

Can’t Hardly Wait.

Passion Fish is easily John Sayles' best film. Mary McDonnell and Alfre Woodard are both excellent, but the same is true of the supporting cast. The episodic structure works well.

NOBODY'S FOOL, 1994. Paul Newman, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, Jessica Tandy and Philip Seymour Hoffman. A strong cast, but Paul Newman gives a jaw droppingly good performance. There is a scene where he goes to his abandoned childhood home and is haunted by memories of his abusive father. It's an astonishing piece of acting. Bruce Willis is actually good too.

My Own Private Idaho made me and my best friend actually plot out our future lives where we dropped out of high school and became male hustlers in some sunless Pacific Northwest town.

I loved that film so much, I can still quote half of it.

Citizen Ruth starring Laura Dern.

Absolutely brilliant satire on partisanship politics as told through the abortion debate. It oddly seemed to predict our current climate of utter division at all costs.

Waking Ned Devine.

Delightful.