The MoFos Top 100 of the 90s Countdown - Redux

You know...for kids!

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Since we're on the topic of the Coens, if there's a filmography I struggle ranking, it's theirs. Here's more or less where I've settled...

• Fargo -
• The Big Lebowski -
• No Country for Old Men -
• Blood Simple -
• Raising Arizona -
• Inside Llewyn Davis -
• A Serious Man -
• The Man Who Wasn't There -
• Burn After Reading -
• Hail, Caesar! -
• The Hudsucker Proxy -
• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs -
• O Brother, Where Art Thou? -
• True Grit -
• Intolerable Cruelty -

I still haven't seen The Ladykillers, and I'm leaving Miller's Crossing and Barton Fink out for the reasons I said above. Anyway, putting the arbitrary ratings aside, that tier from 1 to 7, I could go either way and I wouldn't have an issue.

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I voted for a different Alicia Silverstone movie which probably isn't making the countdown.


Whiffed, with sporadic outburst of joviality. I was really out of the demographics here. Not much I could connect to in this ode to ritzy teen girls living a rather affluent & pointless life in Southern C.

I did a ripping belly laugh...but only once, and it was at something that turned out to be unintentionally funny, the opening title credits. The film starts off with the 1980s hit song, Kids In America, only it's sung so badly that when the jeep with the girls first appears, I was totally sure the very next thing I would see was the hapless girls caterwauling and ruining a great song...which to me was pretty damn funny!...But ha the joke was on me, as that was a real cover version by a Southern C. band The Muffs.

Holy Crap Citizen! Get to the point all ready! OK, OK, I will...I liked Alicia Silvestone. I thought she was pretty good too, she was likable and personable. Her two girlfriends were lively as well. But I didn't grow up watching Clueless on cable so no nostalgic connection.

oh yay! Clueless was #11 on my ballot. so charming and funny, basically the perfect execution of this kind of movie. i don't understand why anyone would ever watch Mean Girls when Clueless is right there!! there was a time when i considered Barton Fink a favourite but its just been far too long since i've seen it to think about having it on my ballot.


that's three from my ballot now, which is two more than i expected.

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slurps up! 🤙🤙

Clueless is a lot of fun and one I’m planning on watching again in the coming weeks since Blank Check just started Heckerling.

First appearance of the Coens! If Barton Fink was made by any other director it would easily be my favorite of theirs but it ends up in the middle of the brothers’ filmography for me. For being so dry and surreal it’s a surprisingly quotable movie too. “It’s a wrestling picture!”

60. Toy Story 2
59. JFK
58. Clueless
57. Barton Fink

Seen and enjoyed all of these, but they didn't make my ballot. I'm pretty sure Barton Fink was in contention at one point though.

I did not care for Barton Fink and I have not seen Clueless.

Seen all 4 of these two days of reveals.
Only one I didn’t care for, although it has been a very long time mind you, is Barton Fink. It could use a rewatch.
Of course, I am in the minority in not liking Fargo as well. And I’ve seen that one several times.
Miller’s Crossing and Blood Simple are my favorite Coens films.

For me, Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, and Miller's Crossing were all favorites when Barton Fink came out.
I saw the trailer and thought, "that doesn't look like they pulled it off and I don't wanna see them make a bad movie (or see a bad movie, period)," so I didn't see it. And then it became this thing, everybody, "Oh my god, you haven't seen Barton Fink?!" So then I really wouldn't see it.
So it ended up being, like, the eighth Coen movie I saw.
And everybody was right, it was great. It doesn't just deserve to be on a 90s list, it's above that.

Clueless! Finally, another of my picks emerges, one I'd put as No. 5 while guessing it had only a "fair" chance of placing. My wife and I have easily watched this half a dozen or more times. It was a great joy, on first watch, to realize it was an adaptation of Jane Austin's Emma. (I have another Austin even higher up my list.) The DVD is handy on those rare occasions when the 'net is out or the world is getting to us and we just want to be distracted for a few hours. Not a great piece of art, but a terrific entertainment. So many quotable lines, cribbed from IMDB:

Cher: If it's a concussion, you have to keep her conscious, okay? Ask her questions.
Elton: What's seven times seven?
Cher: Stuff she knows.

Mel: Hey you, anything happens to my daughter, I got a .45 and a shovel. I doubt anybody would miss you.

Cher: Would you call me selfish?
Dionne: No, not to your face.

Tai: Why should I listen to you, anyway? You're a virgin who can't drive.
Cher: That was way harsh, Tai.

Josh: Do you have any idea what you're talking about?
Cher: No. Why, does it sound like I do?

Added later, for the cinephiles in the thread:
Cher: Until mankind is peaceful enough not to have violence on the news, there's no point in taking it out of shows that need it for entertainment value.

It's the expressions from Alicia Silverstone (Cher) and Stacey Dash (Dionne) that never fail to evoke a mirthful chuckle while we're watching.

Barton Fink: I admire just about everything from the Coens. But on the 90s list I have another of theirs instead. I always vividly remember the publicity still/poster of John Turturro when I hear the title.

Seen: 30/44
Ballot: 3/25

My predictions of how my picks will place:

Good Chance: 0/12
Fair Chance: 3/10
-- Clueless: #58 / My #5
-- Sleepless in Seattle: #91 / My #3
-- Office Space: #95 / My #23
No Chance: 0/3

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Scarecrow: I haven't got a brain ... only straw. Dorothy: How can you talk if you haven't got a brain? Scarecrow: I don't know. But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they? Dorothy: Yes, I guess you're right.

Ha! Love the Clueless quotes, I need to watch the movie again after reading those and getting the warm fuzzies - gonna buy me a ticket to see the 30th anniversary showing in theaters, that's for sure.

(That'll be my second Jane Austen anniversary adaptation this year, I recently went to the 20th for Pride & Prejudice)

Clueless was also #72 on the Directed by Women countdown.

Clueless is a top tier teen comedy with charm and a lot of fun. I'm glad it made it. So it's the highest rated newcomer then.

I could have had four films by the Coens on my list but elected to cut that in half and settle for two. I wrestled the idea of making it three at that was because of this brilliant film but I didn't.

Barton Fink! Barton Fink!

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Oh wow ... didn't know there was an anniversary showing of Clueless coming up. Thanks! It might be happening while we're on holiday in the UK though ... fingers crossed we can see it.

For Pride & Prejudice, we far, far prefer the 1995 BBC serial with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. Another of those we watch when we want to tune out the world.

Barton Fink is my fourth favorite Coen Bros film behind Miller's Crossing, O' Brother Where Art Thou?, and Hail, Caesar!

Clueless is also a good and timeless classic that also acts as a time portal into the mid 90s.

Both deserve to be on a top 100 lost, but neither made my ballot.

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Catching up, since I did Perfect Blue (which I always misname as A Perfect Blue), and comically, skipped some that were on my ballot.

Glengarry Glen Ross - Never seen outside of the clip of ABC. I'm not opposed to it, just not a high priority (and actually, I found out a number of movies on this list I haven't seen, I actually blind bought off of iTunes during the last, probably 5 years (on sale. I'm not mad)). I think I said in reference to A Few Good Men, it has its Sorkin-ness to it, which is both good and bad. I'd probably say the same about Mammet if I'd seen more of the movies he's written.

Mononoke Hime (or I always knew it as Mononoke no Hime) - Is this the best Ghibli? No, that's probably Grave of the Fireflies. Is it what I consider to be the best Miyazaki? No, I'd say that's probably Kiki's Delivery Service. When looking over Miyazaki from that decade though, it was the one I felt was the best. It also had the benefit of being one, due to its release from Disney taking so long, that I got to see bootlegged, fansubbed, and projected onto a large screen, before it came out in the US. Was an early Miyazaki for me (I think I went and got Kiki's after that. For some reason couldn't get Totoro, I think. And, for some reason, I recall Nausicaa had the reputation of having a bad Carl Macek butchering, which, for some perplexing reasons, I still haven't seen to this day). The, "no one's really a villain, in the sense you can see what's driving each of the sides and if you were on any given side, you could see yourself acting the same way." After submitting my ballot, I did get to see it on the big screen again and it held up great. A friend came with me and they commented afterwards how, they had seen it in the past, and it was always "just, okay," but seeing it up on the big screen made it come across as really impressive to them.
Mononoke no Hime was #19 on my ballot

Edward Scissorhands - Burton from his streak when he was still really good. Was never in consideration for my ballot, but I've got a soft spot for this. And my tween to teenage crush on Winona Ryder.

Perfect Blue - I've already commented on this one. Liked it originally, but was disappointed. Came to appreciate it more in the years since when I watched more of Kon's films.

Carlito's Way - I think I only knew of this movie by its title, that it's pretty famous, have no idea what it's about, probably thought Al Pacino was in it, didn't know De Palma directed it, probably knew it was a crime movie. Somehow for the longest time I would mix this and Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia up in my head based on the title, somehow. Then I saw Alfredo Garcia. Teenage-me saw Scarface on TV, didn't think it was very good, didn't see De Palma's name as a draw for the longest time. Much older adult me saw Phantom of the Paradise on the big screen, saw the split screens, and the appeal got me. If Scarface had any split screens, they obviously would have been lost on the old pan and scan days of TV, but I still have very little interest in re-visting that one. The late 70's De Palma through early 80's I saw as an adult does make him a draw for me now. Though, I'm not particularly big on a lot of the popular 90's crime movies. So maybe one day on this one.

A Perfect World - I saw maybe five minutes of this on tv as a teen. I knew it was a crime movie, it looked interesting. Never actually watched it. Given I don't seem to particularly care for Eastwood's films, I don't know if this would be one I'd like.

Toy Story 2 - I saw this in theaters. I laughed a lot. At the end, it made me question my own sense of humor in terms of, "does everything need to be reference humor though?" Haven't watched it since. It doesn't feel that consequential in my memory other than that.

JFK - You know how Citizen and Phoenix talked about initially thinking it could be true, then researching it and coming to realize it was all bunk? When I watched it, I was mentally going, "this is all bunk. Without knowing further details, I can tell this is all bunk." Something about literal-minded teenage me didn't like this playing with history to peddle conspiracy theories. Though I was fine with the central thesis of the conspiracy theory at the heart of Alan Moore's graphic novel, From Hell to have been debunked, I did not for Stone (maybe confusing mainstream recent history vs unknown Victorian English history gives more artistic license for the latter). Have not revisited it, I still have not forgiven it as an adult though and have not been particularly interested in Oliver Stone movies because of it.

Clueless - I laughed as an older teen. Havne't revisited it. I know a lot of women in my microgeneration seem to love this movie and put it in their top 10. People 10 years younger than me seem to quote Mean Girls a lot, but I don't recall if I've heard them reference Clueless much. And I'm wondering that one out loud. If people below a certain age watch Clueless as much as they do Mean Girls. It seems like they should. Though probably do and Mean Girls is just more meme-able.

Barton Fink - What is my favorite Coen movie? I don't know. There's a whole top tier of them that I could cycle through and pick any given one at any given time and feel like I could choose one that would be my favorite. Which is to say I probably have multiple Coens on my ballot, and the placement is a little arbitrary. This one happened to be my highest. I think it leans into a specific verve of dark comedy more than the other two on my ballot, but only barely. So Barton Fink managed to be my highest Coen Brothers movies spot #3.

I'm a little surprised to see today's picks so high up. Clueless is a whole lot of fun. Might rewatch it soon for the nostalgia value.

I didn't really like Barton Fink. Nothing happened. I should qualify that; I don't remember anything happening. Some dude had writer's block, and some other dude was a total tool. That's what I remember. It was boring.

I haven't seen Clueless.

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"Wash your mouth out with soap!"

Oof. Go out of town for one weekend and I'm way behind. Here we go:

Both Glengarry Glen Ross and Princess Mononoke are in the very good, not great, category for me. No shame in being very good.

Edward Scissorhands is okay, I guess. Burton will show up on my list later, just once. I haven't seen Perfect Blue, I can't see everything, for god's sake, I have things to do!

I haven't seen Carlito's Way or A Perfect World, either, see above.

Toy Story 2 is my favorite of the series, but I only voted for one animated film from the decade, and this wasn't it. Much as some others do, I find JFK entertaining but total nonsense. I am afraid a much, much worse Stone film will show up later, but we'll see.

Clueless is also good fun, and a very '90s movie. Barton Fink, like a lot of Coen Brothers movies, only improves on further viewing. Didn't quite make my list.

Loved Clueless when I saw it at the theater on release. Smart, funny, and Alicia Silverstone was as cute as can be. What's not to like? Didn't vote for it.

Have yet to see Barton Fink and I'm a huge Coen Brothers fan. I don't know what's wrong with me. There's several of theirs I haven't seen but this is the most glaring omission.

No fun today.

My list:
#25 Apollo 13 list proper #68

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