I think we'll go with a little 1992, gentlemen

Could this be it? Could this be the most influential year of my entire life?

Lookit, I like to present these anniversary essays in an impartial way whenever I can. But in doing so I'm tricked into retracing my life into a nearly-photorealistic portrait; sometimes the image is ugly, sometimes it's beautiful, but it's always a bit of a bombshell. Intellectually I'm aware of everything that happened in 1992, but when I lay it all out on the floor in front of me, I can barely believe it. And obviously I don't mean in terms of academia or world events - I was 9, and I knew what was important. 

At this point I was watching new episodes of Saturday Night Live pretty regularly, so the hype of the Wayne's World movie found my antenna without any distortion. It was a bit of an event when it came out - it was the hip thing of the moment, and the theater on opening weekend felt like a party. Perhaps because of my age, I got the fresh, insightful Comedy I was expecting, while other folks - older folks - my folks - were caught off guard by its originality and intelligence.

The movie is a collection of great scenes and memorable lines at a fast pace, and while I absorbed it with delight, at no point during my first viewing was I able to stop thinking about this piece of music - this song that drove the first major set piece of the film; I literally sat through the movie waiting for them to find an excuse to play it again. I'd gone 9 years without ever hearing "Bohemian Rhapsody" - or without ever really having any kinda passion for music... and then suddenly, instantly, I did. So rarely can we pinpoint an exact moment that shapes the rest of our lives -- but this one's captured on film. Queen became the most important thing in the world to me for the next several years, and have remained on that top shelf to this day.

An entirely new medium was dominating my psyche, yet I still had the headspace to embrace the most exquisite and engrossing escapade of my collective leisure time: The Legend of Zelda, A Link to the Past. My cousin and I spent the entire Summer immersed in its Dark World dungeons and Lost Woods, strengthening our cognitive reasoning abilities to eventually beat this beast that would ultimately become my favorite video game. 

As Summer set and August blues washed over me, Nickelodeon unveiled SNICK - a two-hour block of TV programming directed toward children of my age -- and by "my age" I mean to the minute. This initial lineup consisted of Clarissa Explains it All, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Roundhouse, and Are You Afraid of the Dark?. I never gave an inch to ABC's TGIF - it just wan't my brand. But this colorful array of madness made the transition back into the school year that much easier. 

And as Autumn pressed on, advertising for Bram Stoker's Dracula began to seep through the cracks like drippy blood, and through some demonic hypnosis, I wandered into bookstores and discovered Fangoria Magazine. A disgusting window had opened for me, and yet another lifelong fascination was set in motion. 

Incredible. Music, video games, television, literature... I'd be blessed to come by just one of these obsessions in my present state of being - and I've barely mentioned the movies! In any other year, the idea of Batman returning would've been enough to occupy my soul for the entire session -- had it not been for this endless parade of pop burlesque and corporate hospitality. Somehow, throughout the heavy consumption of McDonald's cups, monster magazines, and a band's 20-year discography, I was still endlessly in awe of Film - and it just wouldn't stop! Cable, video, drive-in, movie theater... it's amazing I ever went to school. 

I say this every time, but I can't believe how many great movies there were this year - way more than of which I was aware. So I'm going all the way: The Top 30 for the 30th Anniversary of 1992. Go and do likewise, gents. 

- Paul

1. Glengarry Glen Ross

I'd rented it on video and didn't care for its talkiness or its testosterone. Then it had a DVD release in 2002, and as an adult I grasped it differently and adoringly. I dug the dialogue and the performances and all the things this movie is already famous for, and when people think of it they think of Mamet or Pacino or whoever, but I immediately became enthralled with James Foley's directing; every composition, every move is fun and interesting and is a prime example of what can be done with a stage-to-screen adaptation. Because this is how we keep score, bubie. 

2. Sneakers

"Computer hacking" is a dreadfully dull subgenre to me. Fortunately, this movie treats it in such a cartoonish way that it should be served on a Saturday morning with a sugary cereal. I can think of few other films with such a likable personality that asks for so little in return. Now, granted, any movie with a cast of more than one character can be a "hangout movie," but this is a quintessential case in point.

3. My Cousin Vinny

Throughout the decade, I never visited anyone's home that didn't have this videotape somewhere on the premises -- it was up there with white wicker chairs and glow-in-the-dark ceiling stars. "Courtroom Comedy" makes it sound kinda cheap - but the laughs are priceless and the actual progression of the story is wicked engrossing; had it played as a straight Drama it still woulda worked. Instead, it's just the best Comedy of the year.

4. The Last of the Mohicans

I saw this opening weekend. In a theater. And still when I watch it, I'm back in that theater; it's loud and immense and epic, and echoes of that first experience saturate every subsequent viewing and makes me long for the days when score and cinematography were big and beautiful. 

5. Bram Stoker's Dracula

I love to talk about the hype and the lust and the posters and the magazines, but the movie itself is just extraordinary. I suppose everyone has their idea of what the character and the story should feel like, but for my money, I can't imagine any other vibe ever coming as close to what it needs to be.

6. Memoirs of an Invisible Man

Most people praise Carpenter for introducing them to Michael Myers. I'm grateful that he introduced me to The Invisible Man. In hindsight, I love this kind of fiction: hijacking an iconic character and changing the tone and mythology. But initially, I enjoyed it for what it is: the rare "Comedy Thriller" that delivers on both terms, along with some innovative visual effects. I'll never tire of it.

7. A League of Their Own

Baseball was everything to me around this time, and baseball movies were precious gems. So everything about this star-studded Comedy felt like an occasion, and was the start of what officially became "90s Tom Hanks." After I left the theater on that July afternoon, I played catch with my dad.

8. Batman Returns

Critics and fans both observed it was "darker" and "dirtier" and just more "Tim Burton-esque" than the previous chapter. For me, it felt like business as usual in this unblemished filmography, and I couldn't have been happier. I've never been shy about disclosing the effect of timing and advertising that came with this film, but with some distance I'm reminded of a time when comic book movies could be beautiful and inventive and intelligible. 

9. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me

I saw this before I was able to see Season 2 of the TV show, which causes it to "hit different" as it were. Major plot revelations aside, I'll reiterate the unevenness of this movie: Laura's backstory is a depressing drag and artistically uninspired, while the first and third acts have some of the most visually and creatively inspired stuff Lynch has ever done. So so close to perfection. 

10. Wayne's World

For the post part, it's a peculiar brand of Comedy that really has no label; the movie feels like an inside joke that immediately invites you to join in on the punchline. Honestly I was never a fan of the catchphrases or even the central "head banging" satire on which the premise is based - I just was (and am) enthralled at its silliness and haphazardness and Bohemian Rhapsody-ness. 

11. Under Siege

Conspicuously lite on the Action material this year. Fortunately for us, a collaboration of terrorists and mutineers have seized control of the USS Missouri with the intention of commandeering its nuclear capabilities. Except they weren't counting on one man... and Miss July '89. I bring it up all the time and no one seems to remember or care: Tommy Lee Jones in the 90s was louder & crazier than Nic Cage and Chris Walken combined. And I was there for it. 

12. Death Becomes Her

Around this time, everyone liked to point out how they were inventing movies simply to accommodate the blossoming VFX industry. I, for one, appreciated any new outlet for creativity on their part - especially when the results were as creative as this. Like Batman Returns, I always get giddy when A-listers agree to sit in the makeup chair to get ugly and act zany. And ain't much zanier than this flick.

13. Stay Tuned

My feelings on this farce have been pretty well documented, and I'll briefly restate that, for its faults, it's still basically the feel-good movie of the year. But I'm tempted to nominate it as the most "1992" movie on this list - if for nothing else than they managed to parody Wayne's World with such short notice. For as flimsy as the gag is, it's certainly aware of its time & place. 

14. Reservoir Dogs

With each new Quentin film, the style and originality of this freshman feature feels frequently more flat. But on its own merits, without monitoring "how well it's aged," it's still just as cute & fun as the year it was unleashed. Contrariwise, with the exception of Pulp and probably Death Proof, I've been waiting his entire career for a return to this level of simplicity. And it sounds like there's only one more shot at it...

15. Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

I shared everyone's approach: "Jesus, it's just more of the same." And it was, but a little more refined, a much larger scale, and a smooth transition from juvenile slapstick into graphic violence. The first movie has a vivd sentimentality, but this one has bigger laughs. So I prefer it.

16. Captain Ron

This movie is a tightrope act that constantly threatens a plunge into obnoxiousness. It never happens - thanks largely (maybe entirely) to one Kurt Russell, who takes his comedic roles very seriously, and brings a performance that's sometimes subtle, mostly blatant, and entirely captivating. 

17. A Few Good Men

The other big screen adaptation of a major stage play. Apart from its memorable line(s) of dialogue, people don't groove on this one much nowadays - which is a shame. It was a deservedly huge deal when it came out, and is due for a public reappraisal: airtight script aside, enjoy it for the bingo card of character actors.

18. Hero

If it ever feels like a Comedy better suited to the 1940s, that's because it was intentional. And had it been shot in black & white, I would've raised it several spots. Still though, few stories unfold with as much ridiculous happenstance and joyous frustration as this goofy ass screwball fable. Pardon the vulgarity. 

19. Class Act

I think I was embarrassed to admit to myself that I liked something so seemingly lowbrow. But I'll be goddamned if I didn't actually love it. HBO played the hell outta this movie, but whenever it was on, it stayed on, and no matter how many times I saw it, the laughs stayed fresh.

20. The Player

As a teenage film geek, this movie had a lotta weight to it. As I got older, the absurdity started to shine through - but it's a clean and accurate absurdity that now serves as an honest depiction of the Film Industry in the early 90s. That's an observation, but it's also a glowing review. 

21. Lethal Weapon 3

A month before the excitement of Batman Returns, there was the excitement of this - with less reward. I assessed its triumphs and its blunders long ago, but after however many viewings later, I've learned to approach this one as less of a failure of formula, and more as a detour into character development. And for the most part, they do it well. 

22. Innocent Blood

"Vampire Comedy" is an inexplicably sprawling sub subgenre - and most of them suck. (Oops.) So leave it to the guy who made the Werewolf Comedy to find the perfect balance of dark humor and grotesque, violent Horror. This one should be more popular. 

23. Ladybugs

I don't know when it became trendy for adult comedians to "do one for the kids," but man there sure were a lotta them in the 1990s. Sometimes it was embarrassing, but Rodney's grumbly quips actually fit in with this mood pretty nicely. Naturally, I had the standard mega crush on Vinessa Shaw, and I felt a delightful sense of personal growth when she rounded out the decade with Eyes Wide Shut.

24. There Goes the Neighborhood

This low-key Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World Comedy would pop up on movie channels once in while, and once it hooked me, I would actively search the TV schedule for the next showing. Still today, I'm patiently waiting for any kinda home video release. Y'know, I make these lists largely for the purposes of recommendation, so if you have any information regarding the whereabouts of this missing masterpiece, contact me. 

25. Radio Flyer

I was always delighted to stumble upon "Kids' Dramas" that weren't rooted in some supernatural peril. Ridiculous cast & crew behind this thing - most notably screenwriter David Mickey Evans - the dude behind The Sandlot (which is an accurate comparison).

26. Honeymoon in Vegas

Before he became his own genre, Nic Cage was a RomCom guy - and he was charming and funny as all heck. Overall, this is a decidedly lighthearted year, but the parts are still greater than the whole, and a movie like this is necessary for the full effect. 

27. Sidekicks

It's easy to look at this now (if you can find it) and psychoanalyze the characters and the entire premise. I implore you to approach it with the innocence it deserves: a cheaper, more intimate Last Action Hero that deeply (though somewhat clumsily) resonated with us kids who were lost in our daydreams and fantasies of the fantastic. 

28. Freejack

Good Science Fiction is usually batshit crazy, and this dystopian Actioner is out there. All the 90s hallmarks are present: virtual reality wormholes, environmental deterioration, Jesus Jones... but outside the timely production values, this is dime-store pulp fiction that's just begging to be consumed.  

29. Single White Female

This was the year when Thrillers started to slip into something a little more comfortable and I found it pretty exciting; they were meant to make sexiness more scary, but to me they made scariness more sexy. And for the record: I was Team Bridget, but I think I've matured into Team Jennifer.

30. Bob Roberts

"Mockumentary" usually indicates some laid-back laughs, but this satire is so thick & meaty that you'll find yourself chuckling out of rage. Now I'd not seen Don't Look Back when this came out, so it felt wholly original, but there's a greater effect if you know the 1967 Dylan doc before going in.