15 Rom-Coms Only 90s Could Produce

The movie sets in the busy Windy City.While You Were SleepingSandra Bullock and Bill Pullman play Lucy Eleanor Moderatz and Jack Callaghan. Lucy, a lonely transit worker, saves Jack's brother, Peter (Peter Gallagher), after he falls into a coma. Lucy is mistaken for Jack's fiancée. While Peter sleeps, Lucy falls for Jack.

Mistaken identity and fake fiancée plots appear in many romances. Today, an online age makes a mistaken fiancée unlikely since everyone's romance plays out online. The Chicago Transit Authority is still a factor.The Chicago Transit Authority no longer accepts tokens.Transit cards are now used instead, so Lucy loses her job.

In this 1999 hit, 25-year-old journalist Josie Geller (Drew Barrymore) returns to high school. Josie goes undercover for a story for her newspaper. Josie was not popular in high school, and she is not trying again. Her editor dies needing a scoop, her brother starts school to help, and Josie develops feelings for her English teacher, Sam Coulson (Michael Vartan). Josie's lack of romance experience is minor.

Josie never had a kiss until age 25. This fact is more common than people think. The real oddity of 'Never Been Kissed' is something else.Never Been Kissed'Never Been Kissed' makes you wonder how a school lets two adults re-enroll. Drew Barrymore acts great, making the unbelievable, and maybe slightly worrying, act of pretending to be a high schooler work—though that trick wouldn't fly in decades.

AsYou've Got MailIn 'You've Got Mail,' Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) joins a chatroom for people over 30, promising no personal info. As 'Shopgirl,' she chats with 'NY152,' who is actually Joe Fox (Tom Hanks). Joe owns the new bookstore chain across the street from Kathleen's struggling independent shop.

The Internet in the '90s made an online romance a fitting rom-com topic. Joe and Kathleen are real-life business rivals, complicating things. Joe finds 'Shopgirl's' true identity first and works to make Kathleen love him. Their love surpasses AOL. Those old PCs and chat rooms got screen time, but now the focus is on indie bookstores.indie bookstoresIndie bookstores draw readers now, not the large stores.

This underrated 1995 Olsen twins film shows Amanda Lemmon (Mary-Kate Olsen) wanting her social worker Diane Barrow (Kirstie Alley) to adopt her. Alyssa Callaway (Ashley Olsen) will do anything to stop her father, Roger (Steve Guttenberg), from marrying a gold-digging socialite. Amanda and Alyssa meet, realize they are identical, and decide to switch places to plot Diane and Roger into love so they both get what they want.

This movie's setup shares much withThe Parent TrapThis film is more fanciful because the girls are not shown to be long-lost sisters; they just look alike. The unique part is that twin actors play the twins, not one actor for both roles. OtherIdentical twin actorsHollywood saw many identical twin actors succeed. Mary-Kate and Ashley's '90s sensation created something unique.a slew of filmsThe movie centers entirely on their twin connection.

In Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan's first rom-com, Joe Banks (Hanks) accepts Samuel Graynamore's (Lloyd Bridges) offer to enter a volcano after learning he has a rare disease. Patricia Graynamore (Ryan) becomes his escort during his trip. Joe and Patricia later meet the Waponis, who demand human sacrifice before Samuel can mine a mineral on their island.

This premise is wild and forced. It repeats a harmful stereotype about indigenous groups believing in human sacrifices. The film gets more twisted because Ryan also plays Patricia's half-sister, Angelica, and former coworker, DeDe. Joe does not die, but reaching that point takes much effort; this movie captures '90s weirdness.

This 1992 film features Newton Davis (Steve Martin), a struggling architect, who sleeps with Gwen (Goldie Hawn) after his fiancée leaves him after their new home was finished. Gwen uses the empty house, pretending to be Newton's wife to his ex and family. Newton gets angry until the two agree to help each other.

Most people would arrest Gwen in real life for breaking and entering, trespassing, and other crimes. However, as expected from this time, Gwen and Newton work it out and fall in love. This situation shows filmmakers brainstorming unusual rom-com ideas from the '90s.

Adam Webber (Brendan Fraser), raised in a bomb shelter with '50s-era culture by his scientist father, emerges in 1997 to buy supplies and find a wife. He meets Eve Rustikov (Alicia Silverstone), who stops someone from swindling him. Adam and Eve slowly fall for each other until Adam tells Eve she will join him underground. Life works out for Adam and Eve.

A man trapping his family underground for decades in fear of war makes Eve question Adam's sanity first. Adam discovers life outside his bunker, so the main characters get biblical names. This makes sense.Blast From the PastThis is a convoluted rom-com that only the ’90s could create.

Brad Kimble (Will Friedle) needs a condom to be with Brooke Kingsley (Marley Shelton), the girl he dreams of. While buying one, Brad gets into trouble with a stolen car, jail, a jealous boyfriend, and more. Brad should have known his best friend, Leah Jones (Jennifer Love Hewitt), liked him sooner.

The many issues Brad faces buying a condom (hence the movie's name) make this premise historic. Even in the ‘90s, when wild ideas were common, Trojan WarTrojan War flopped badly, earning only $309 in ticket sales before it left the single movie theater it ran in. Audiences have limits for rom-coms, even at the genre's peak.$309The film pulled from its single theater shows that audiences have limits for rom-coms, even at the genre's peak.

Johnny Dingle (Andrew Lowery) loves his best friend, Missy McCloud (Traci Lind). Johnny cannot let a gunshot kill him stop him from taking Missy on a date. However, Johnny returns from the dead as a zombie. He must eat human flesh or he will decay. People try to get rid of Johnny, but Missy helps. Johnny wants to eat people. He decays, but heaven stops him because it is not his time to die.

Zombie films do not automatically become darker. The tone of My Boyfriend's BackMy Boyfriend's Back is too bright and silly for recent years. Film critic Kevin Thomas wrote this in 1993 for the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times:

The premise needs dark satire to succeed, but it instead has a bad tone of sunny sitcom jauntiness.

Meet a man (Christopher Durang) claiming to know your late mother. Would you buy crabs from him? Amanda Shelton (Sarah Michelle Gellar) does. She only wants to cook so her mother's restaurant stays open. A crab escapes, leading her to Tom Bartlett (Sean Patrick Flanery), who opens his own restaurant.Sean Patrick FlaneryTom Bartlett

This movie has magic. Amanda's feelings directly power her cooking. Love's magic sometimes ends in floating kisses. A crab saved the restaurant Amanda's mother left her. Amanda also got a new boyfriend.

Peter (Joshua Schaefer) must take drastic steps to win Erica (Keri Russell)'s heart. His grandfather advises him. He camps on her lawn for the summer after high school graduation, hoping for a chance while Erica's father and boyfriend block him.

Eight Days a Week has little plot.Eight Days a WeekViewers return to the characters in Eight Days a Week. Peter and Erica shine. A movie like this would not happen today. Most women would arrest a man camping on their lawn for stalking. Attitudes have changed; this premise seems like stalking, not romance, now.

InThe American PresidentThe American President shows Aaron Sorkin and Michael Douglas as President Andrew Shepherd. Shepherd is a widower seeking reelection with a crime control bill promise. During his term, the president gets involved with environmental lobbyist Sydney Ellen Wade (Annette Bening), who pushes a controversial environmental bill.

Only a '90s movie could make a political movie seem harmless. It features sweet, comedic scenes of Sydney and Andrew's growing romance. Making anything like this in the 21st century invites arguments about the fictional President's views. The '90s allowed many to accept this premise easily.The American PresidentThe American President earned a good profit, making over $100 million at the box office.$100 million.

One Fine DayOne Fine Day shows two single, working parents, Melanie Parker (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Jack Taylor (George Clooney). Mishaps put them together. With their kids, Sammy and Maggie (Alex D. Linz and Mae Whitman) help Melanie and Jack learn what parenthood means while falling in love.

This film is one of the milder '90s rom-coms. Viewers find humor in the wild antics, though the story mostly offers heart. The movie also addresses single parenting, a reality most rom-coms avoid for simple plotting.

Doug Dorsey (D. B. Sweeney) switches from ex-hockey player to competitive pairs skating for an Olympic shot. Nothing is wilder than this move.The Cutting EdgeDoug works with Kate Moseley (Moira Kelly), a perfectionist prima donna who has ended all past relationships. Kate and Doug begin poorly, yet they build a partnership on and off the ice.

Hockey players and skaters overlap, yes. But the training for a goal shot differs greatly from lifting a woman with sharp blades over your head. Kelly and Sweeney's chemistry makes this rom-com appealing, even though the setup is very specific and rare.

Paul Matthews (Tate Donovan) gets a love potion from Madame Ruth (Anne Bancroft). Paul, a scientist, doubts it until it affects his cat. He tests it on his crush/co-worker, Diane Farrow (Sandra Bullock), who is shocked it works. They decide to use the potion. Paul and Diane's love improves, but past lovers gain potions for their own schemes.

If love potions existed, the world would become much more chaotic. This love potion makes someone completely infatuated. Paul and Dianne quickly become taken advantage of. They have a second love potion that counters the first.Love Potion No. 9This premise requires viewers to suspend disbelief, working best when it separates itself from other rom-coms.