Club 50 Wrap-Up: 1993

Years Completed:
1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1993 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 
1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 
2007 | 2008 | 2010 | 2009 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014

The Wrap-Ups are slowing down at this point. I only have a handful of movies before I catch up entirely to the present. Given that these posts were always intended to be a reflection of a year that I've had enough time to digest, I'll be grinding to a virtual halt now. Hopefully that will leave me more refreshed so that these won't be a simple tally of sequels and Oscar results (although that will always be a part of this).

We sure did love courtroom dramas and corporate thrillers back in 1993, didn't we? The top ten alone has The Fugitive, The Firm, and The Pelican Brief. Indecent Proposal and In the Line of Fire aren't more than a step removed from those. Philadelphia and Rising Sun were up there too. Falling Down is similar in that it's an outright anti-corporate thriller. Whatever the case, it's readily apparent that the yuppie 80s were done and people plain didn't like businesses again.

This is an interesting period for comedy too. It was a period of deconstruction. Addams Family Values and Wayne's World 2 got even stranger than their predecessors. The Beverly Hillbillies continued the trend of taking known properties and showing how they are incompatible with the times. Last Action Hero was aggressively meta. Robin Hood: Men in Tights was Mel Brook's fastest turnaround for a parody (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves came out only 2 years before). Mrs. Doubtfire and Dave mined new territory in the disguise-comedy sub-genre. I'll even credit Hot Shots: Part Deux for effectively going after Top Gun. And I nearly forgot Groundhog Day. What was that?

In terms of sequels, it's tough to count how many movies have had them. I count about 5. This all depends on how you count things like the Sandlot and Beethoven sequels. Also, I'm tempted to call U.S Marshalls and You've Got Mail sequels of The Fugitive and Sleepless in Seattle respectively. That would be cheating though. 6 of the movies that year were sequels. Five of them were sequels to comedies and the one that wasn't, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, wasn't far off. I'm not sure what to make of that. It wasn't a big time for action franchises.

To wind down each year as I complete them, I'm going to hand out a few superlatives or anecdotal awards to highlight some of the highs and lows of the year's top 50 box office earners.

First Seen: Beethoven's 2nd

It's hard to know for sure, since I don't remember seeing anything in theaters. I do know that for one reason or another, I watched the shit out of this movie. I think I've maybe seen the first movie once. The 2nd though, probably dozens of times.

Last Seen: The Joy Luck Club

I am not the least bit surprised that I got to this last. I didn't know what that title meant. I think there's a strong chance I'll watch this again someday, which is more than I can say about most movies.

Happiest Surprise: Addams Family Values

I remember the first movie being amusing. This one is flat out hilarious. Everything at the summer camp is gold. This is a great example of using the groundwork established in the first movie to go even crazier rather than getting desperate by repeating the same jokes.

Biggest Disappointment: The Pelican Brief

The way that 30 Rock talked about it, I assumed it would be amazing. It was good. Damn unreasonable buildup of expectations.

Looked Better Then: In the Line of Fire

Does anyone actually remember this movie? It was the 7th highest grossing movie that year. I'll go ahead and say that other #7s like Total Recall, Die Hard, Jumanji have had much longer shelf-lives.

Looks Better Now: Groundhog Day

I could go a few ways with this. There's Jurassic Park. The box office results for Jurassic World prove that there's a lot of love still for the franchise. Then again, Park was already the highest grossing movie of 1993. Can it really look better? Hocus Pocus has a top tier position in early-millennial nostalgia. I'm going with Groundhog Day because it's a stone-cold classic. It's one of those movies like The Princess Bride and The Shawshank Redemption which just continues to stay relevant and beloved.

Favorite: Jurassic Park

This isn't the most complete movie on the list. In fact, it stumbles in a lot of places. This is all earned with the first T-Rex scene. That whole sequence is masterful. 

2nd Favorite: Groundhog Day

I nearly put this first because it is a special movie. I think it's telling that of all the movies Bill Murray is beloved for, Groundhog Day still shows up first on his IMDB page. It's a movie that has no business working, but totally does.

3rd Favorite: Mrs. Doubtfire

It's kind of a shame. This is a terrific movie, but the only thing that it's remembered for is the cross-dressing part.

Honorable Mention:

Schindler's List

I should put this higher, but I'm still reeling from the only time I've seen it.

Addams Family Values

Wednesday Addams is my spirit animal.

Cool Runnings

Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! Get on up. It's bobsled time!
I'll be the first to admit that if I wasn't 6 when it came out, I probably wouldn't care that much about it. It's interesting to compare Disney's sports movies before and after Remember the Titans though.

Least Favorite: Hot Shots! Part Deux

If anyone is keeping track of my reactions and wrap-ups so far, this should be pretty obvious. I just don't find this at all funny in any way. It's lazy and hitting puchlines that are on a completely different frequency than what I respond. to.