8 Great Movies From the ‘90s That Could Never Be Made Today

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Edward and Vivian smiliing while looking ahead in Pretty Woman.

Published Jan 25, 2026, 5:11 PM EST

Ryan Heffernan is a Senior Writer at Collider. Storytelling has been one of his interests since an early age, with his appreciation for film and television becoming a particular interest of his during his teenage years.

This passion saw Ryan graduate from the University of Canberra in 2020 with an Honours Degree in Film Production. In the years since, he has found freelance work as a videographer and editor in the Canberra region while also becoming entrenched in the city's film-making community.

In addition to cinema and writing, Ryan's other major interest is sport, with him having a particular love for Australian Rules football, Formula 1, and cricket. He also has casual interests in reading, gaming, and history.

In today’s world of heightened sensitivities, progressive worldviews, and studio dominance, everyone has watched an old movie and found themselves laughing, gasping, and blushing at a joke while uttering, “You couldn't do that today.” That idea alone is incredibly interesting, prompting debate about whether we should be critical of outdated attitudes and aspire for artistic reform, or if we should accept such films as being products of their time that still deliver plenty of fun and intrigue. The 1990s are a decade that is particularly enticing in this regard.

While it has its assembly of comic crassness, the era was also one of cinematic experimentation, an age of creative dare and audacity. Sadly, in this modern age of market research and the integration of cinema and business, it simply cannot exist. Including everything from outlandish comedy gems to awe-inspiring gambles and even some stories that have simply become outdated, it is difficult to see these '90s masterpieces coming to fruition in today’s cinematic and societal climate.

8 'Pretty Woman' (1990)

Richard Gere and Julia Roberts smiling at each other at a garden party in Pretty Woman.

Marking one of the defining rom-coms of the decade, Pretty Woman follows the relationship between a rich entrepreneur and the prostitute he hires to accompany him to social events as he begins to fall in love with her. Its playful and irreverent approach to sex work wouldn’t land with such charm in today’s world, especially as that industry has become ingrained in issues of consent, gender dynamics, and objectification in recent years. However, there is another reason why Pretty Woman would never be made today.

J. F. Lawton’s original screenplay was far bleaker, intended to present a dark drama about prostitution in L.A. that depicted Vivian (Juliet Roberts) as a drug addict and featured a very depressing ending. Both Garry Marshall and executive producer Laura Ziskin contributed to changing the script's tone into the fairy tale that it ultimately became. Of course, changing a screenplay isn't atypical in Hollywood, but today's landscape favors darker, grittier visions. Thus, it would be unlikely that a dark script would be changed into something more wholesome.

7 'Rush Hour' (1998)

Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan with their hands up in 'Rush Hour'

When Rush Hour aired on USA Network last year, it came with a pre-credits content warning advising viewers that the movie was released in “a different time” and that “certain depictions, language, or humor may seem outdated and at times offensive.” It’s a well-meaning message in broad strokes, but it sharply illustrates how comical irreverence is becoming a thing of the past in film, especially considering it would be easy to name 100 comedy movies far more offensive than the 1998 buddy-cop classic.

With such scrutiny on the lovable action-comedy, it is impossible to see today's studios committing to a picture that could so easily be deemed culturally insensitive. Whether Rush Hour actually is offensive is beside the point; instead, it's that major studios are understandably tentative when it comes to releasing irreverent comedies, unsure of how audiences may react to any given gag. Buoyed by the absorbing comic chemistry of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, Rush Hour is a phenomenal gem of light-hearted fun, but it poses too great a risk for producers in today’s climate. While news of a potential fourth film might be a great counter to that, it will be interesting to see what comedy approach it goes with, should it come to fruition.

6 'Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery' (1997)

Austin Powers and Vanessa Kensington drive a small cargo carrier van through the narrow hallways of the villain's base.

While it's an enduring hit, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery would struggle to be made in today’s world for several reasons. The most obvious is the nature of its humor. Functioning as a spoof of the James Bond spy movies of the 1960s, it leans heavily on sexual jokes, lowbrow irreverence, and shallow parody to conjure laughs. It does so incredibly well, but that sense of comedy is less prevalent today than it was in 1997.

Another, more intriguing, reason why it wouldn’t work ties to an academically-proven phenomenon known as “The Nostalgia Pendulum." This theory suggests nostalgia-based trends in pop culture have a 30-year cycle, likely linked to generational turnover and the eagerness of new parents to introduce their kids to all that they loved when they were little, spawning a wave of sappy reflection. In 1997, the early Bond films and their rather striking sense of chauvinism sat right in this window, making them a perfect target for light-hearted lampooning. In 2026, in the eyes of most people, they are little more than a couple of quotes uttered by Sean Connery that have been recycled through the franchise. Austin Powers was perfect for its time and faultless in its parody, but its time has passed, and that which it parodied has been largely forgotten.

5 'Out of Sight' (1998)

Jennifer Lopez and George Clooney about to kiss in the film Out of Sight from 1998

Vibrant, fun, and energetic, Out of Sight shines as a slick and silky crime caper. It follows seasoned bank robber Jack Foley (George Clooney) as he breaks free from prison and abducts Karen Sisco (Jennifer Lopez), the U.S. Marshal who witnesses his escape. While she initially plans to capture him when the opportunity arises, she soon starts falling in love with him. It’s a fun premise that would be impossible to replicate in today’s world, but Out of Sight’s irreverence would likely make way for more dramatic and contemplative ideas added to the fold.

It can’t be said that this spin would definitely be disastrous, but it would likely ebb away at the movie’s core focus on Clooney and Lopez’s electrifying chemistry and the blossoming romance between the crook and the cop. Many pictures today tread incredibly carefully when it comes to focusing on female characters whose emotions interfere with their jobs. This progressive emphasis is, for the most part, a good change that has led to more purposeful and nuanced portrayals of women. It is a focus, however, that is difficult to balance against irreverent comedy in the manner Out of Sight does. It is by no means an offensive or demeaning picture, but its sense of fun-loving romance could be deemed problematic by some, which would likely see studios pass on the idea.

4 'Funny Games' (1997)

Arno Frisch next to a person with covered face in the 1997 'Funny Games'.

Marking one of the most disturbing movies ever made, Funny Games leaves a lasting impression with its bleak story of violence and sadism. The plot places viewers in the middle of a home invasion in which two twisted young men hold a family hostage and subject them to heinous abuse. It is an effective masterpiece of provocative cinema, a disconcerting and squeamish immersion into brutality that, through fourth-wall breaks and forced perspective, makes audiences complicit in the violence for the sheer fact that they continue watching.

Interestingly, director Michael Haneke made a shot-for-shot American remake in 2007. While the shift in the target audience and the gimmick of Haneke helming a carbon copy remake of his film perhaps irked some people, the ’07 version’s weaker critical and audience response is also a sign of just how drastically the world changed in those 10 years. Violence had gone from a somewhat trivial topic to a pressing concern, an ever-present anxiety that was drilled into people through the horrors of the evening news and the world’s ferocious appetite for war and conflict. A further 19 years on, things have only grown more intense. Funny Games was a great exercise in confronting violence in a world where such violence was half a world away. Today’s environment is far too bleak for such a story to have the desired effect.

3 'Natural Born Killers' (1994)

Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis as Mickey and Mallory Knox standing close in Natural Born Killers.

Quite often, the films that best deconstruct a thematic idea are the ones that immerse themselves in the middle of it, delivering bold findings as they wrestle with the most confronting and compelling notions of what they explore. This is how Natural Born Killers examines violence in America. It follows Mickey (Woody Harrelson) and Mallory Knox (Juliette Lewis) as they embark on a crime-infused road trip of murderous mayhem that the media glamorizes, painting them as Bonnie & Clyde-esque rebels and transfixing the nation in the process.

Raw, twisted, and deliriously maniacal, Natural Born Killers is a criticism of violence in America and the culture that worships it, but it plays it too close to the bone for today’s viewers. Its immersion in Mickey and Mallory’s romantic passion and traumatizing past lives, combined with the stylish excess of their crimes, could easily be regarded as a glorification of violence and those who enact it. Modern viewers, who have been largely desensitized to confronting material, would analyze the movie on face value more so than reflect on how its brutality makes them feel. It is a great movie, a daring dismantling of the intersection between violence and fame, but it is impossible to see Natural Born Killers being made in today’s world.

2 'Edward Scissorhands' (1990)

Johnny Depp trying to eat a pea in Edward Scissorhands.

At his best, Tim Burton is a genius of excessive and eccentric weirdness, a master at finding the humanity in something audiences have never seen before and delivering meaningful stories of oddball charm and Gothic wonder. The thing about making such weird and captivating movies is that it typically means having the courage to do something that hasn’t been done before. The sad fact of today’s cinematic landscape of sequels, remakes, and established IPs is that such originality has been stamped out by major studios, reducing every movie to opening weekend profits and the potential for financial success and franchising.

While smaller production companies like A24 have been active in giving directors the freedom to make their movies, the notion of an offbeat fantasy rom-com being given a $20 million budget (closer to $50 million today when adjusted for inflation) by a studio like 20th Century Studios is, tragically, archaic. Edward Scissorhands doesn’t just display an auteur at his mesmerizing best; it represents a cinematic landscape of dare, enthusiasm, and creativity where companies want to be responsible for the next big thing rather than being content capitalizing on what has worked before. The fact that Edward Scissorhands also went on to gross over four times its reported budget and has endured for over 35 years as a cherished classic only further highlights the money-centric focus of major studios today.

1 'Good Will Hunting' (1997)

Matt Damon and Robin Williams sitting on a bench outdoors and looking ahead in Good Will Hunting.

Good Will Hunting is one of the defining masterpieces of '90s cinema, a brilliant and timeless story of class, trauma, and healing that kick-started the careers of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck while winning two Academy Awards from nine nominations. Furthermore, there is nothing in its story or presentation that would be taboo by today’s standards, as its comedy is an accurate reflection of character and setting, and its most dramatic beats are handled with the respect and depth they deserve. In many respects, Good Will Hunting would excel if it were released today. The issue is that major studios wouldn’t back it.

The Bostonian drama was a risk to produce in 199,7 given it was the work of two young, no-names who starred in their own film. Sadly, the mere notion of two upstarts being given a $10 million budget (closer to $20 million when adjusted for inflation today) by a major studio like Miramax in 2026 is fantastical. There are alternative avenues to success in today’s world, such as streaming platforms or smaller, prestige production houses, both of which present unique challenges to filmmakers. Alas, the days of major studios taking punts on movies like Good Will Hunting — indeed, the days of the mid-budget movie at large are long gone.

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