The year 1990 began with the birth of a star.
Julia Roberts was not the first choice for Pretty Woman. Hell, she wasn't the second, third, or even fifteenth choice. The studio (Disney) wanted Meg Ryan, the director (Garry Marshall) wanted Ryan or Karen Allen. Everyone in town auditioned, everyone in town turned it down. Diane Lane did costume fittings but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Lea Thompson and Winona Ryder auditioned, but no offer came.
And so it came down to 21-year-old Julia Roberts. Disney didn't want her, she wasn't a star - even though Mystic Pizza was a sleeper hit in 1988. Marshall did, and she didn't turn it down - she even convinced Richard Gere to accept the role of her leading man.
Well, you know the rest. Pretty Woman was an immediate box office hit worldwide, becoming, at that point, the fifth highest-grossing movie of all time. Screenwriter J.F. Lawton credits that success to Roberts' star power and her chemistry with Gere. Even critics who disliked the film praised her performance. Roberts won a Golden Globe, received nominations at the Oscars and the BAFTA Awards, and became probably the most famous actress in the entire world.
Here it is, along with nine other films from that period, in order of release:
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
release: January 5
dir: John McNaughton
pr: Lisa Dedmond / Steven A. Jones / John McNaughton
scr: Richard Fire & John McNaughton
cin: Charlie Lieberman
You can kind of see this as a litmus test for the audience: does Michael Rooker's understated approach make you feel that there is something more than monster to this man, his seeming sensitivity to his roommate's sister a window into a more tender soul? Or does that quiet make his actions all the more chilling, as if to say that there are people who are not made bad through circumstance, but simply are? Thought-provoking, unnerving, though it doesn't always successfully balance its exploitation premise with its more meditative pursuits.
Tremors
release: January 19
dir: Ron Underwood
pr: Brent Maddock / S.S. Wilson
scr: S.S. Wilson & Brent Maddock, story by S.S. Wilson & Brent Maddock & Ron Underwood
cin: Alexander Gruszynski
An isolated desert town is beset by carnivorous underground worm things. Fun monster moments and a game ensemble, though given how miniscule the cast is, they don't feel as fleshed out as they could be. Honestly surprised at how little it stuck with me, considering its reputation...and six sequels.
Nightbreed
release: February 16
dir/scr: Clive Barker
pr: Gabriella Martinelli
cin: Robin Vidgeon
A man framed for murder joins an ancient race of demons and monsters in a remote cemetery, calling themselves the Nightbreed. Well, why not? Enchanted by the makeup and production design that make the monsters and their dwelling real; less enthused by the oddly after-school special messaging about intolerance. I've still not fully embraced a Clive Barker film adaptation but I always like the ideas - perhaps I need to read him. The real story here is David Cronenberg as a homicidal analyst. I watched the director's cut on Tubi, which I don't usually like to do, but that's what they had!
Cinema Paradiso
release: February 23
wins: Best Foreign Language Film (1989; its win for the 1989 ceremony disqualified it for 1990 consideration despite its release date)
dir: Giuseppe Tornatore
pr: Franco Cristaldi / Giovanna Romagnoli
scr: Giuseppe Tornatore with Vanna Paoli
cin: Blasco Giurato
When I first saw this movie in high school, I admired it, I guess, but thought it was dull overall. Because I was a foolish teenager who had not yet experienced regret and loss, who could not see memories of the past as simultaneously comforting and bittersweet, who had not yet had the time to have what-might-have-beens and we-can-no-longers. And, of course, all this filtered through the cinema: the changes in projection, in content, in audience tastes, reflecting the march of history, the modernization of a village, the evolution of a small-town boy who will one day become a great filmmaker. As I wrote of 1985's The Last Dragon, here the moviehouse is not merely an escape, it is the center of life: here, all ages, incomes, and political views come together, necking, gossiping, laughing and cheering together. It's a wonderful film.
The Hunt for Red October
release: March 2
wins: Best Sound Effects Editing (Cecelia Hall / George Watters II)
nominations: Best Film Editing (Dennis Virkler / John Wright), Best Sound (Richard Bryce Goodman / Richard Overton / Kevin F. Cleary / Don J. Bassman)
dir: John McTiernan
pr: Mace Neufeld
scr: Larry Ferguson and Donald E. Stewart
cin: Jan De Bont
A Soviet submarine commander goes rogue and CIA analyst Jack Ryan must learn why. A real thrill, Sean Connery anchoring the whole thing with a performance that is all conviction: no doubts, no hesitation. Is he Russian? No, but the filmmakers establish the how and why of his accent pretty cleverly. Indeed, it's great filmmaking all around: armrest-clutching tension, visual effects that hold up, terrific cinematography and sets that capture a submarine's simultaneous girth and compression, and a terrific ensemble cast. It's a cool movie!
House Party
release: March 9
dir/scr: Reginald Hudlin
pr: Warrington Hudlin
cin: Peter Deming
It's a high school house party! The music is much of the appeal, with a soundtrack that includes Lisa Lisa, LL Cool J, Flavor Flav, and, of course, Kid 'n' Play, who also portray the heroes of the film (Kid's pretty good, by the way, a great "nice guy" hero who plays the truth of the role - he's funny and romantic and sometimes frustrating). Largely plotless, allowing us to just hang out with its ensemble as they party, try to get to the party, try to leave the party, experience romance, defend themselves against bullies and cops, and try to keep their friendships intact. As teens do. I think it's a little gummy at points, though it's only 100 minutes. The best in show, for me, are Tisha Campbell and A.J. Johnson as best friends both going after the same guy, doing so with the right measure of friendly rivalry and resentment.
Blue Steel
release: March 16
dir: Kathryn Bigelow
pr: Edward R. Pressman / Oliver Stone
scr: Kathryn Bigelow & Eric Red
cin: Amir Mokri
A suspended cop is targeted by a serial killer...who also happens to be her new boyfriend. Jamie Lee Curtis is terrific: you believe she's tough, perhaps past the point of reason, and in her scenes where allows herself to relinquish control to the man in her life, there is a release of pressure, her whole body exhales...then tenses again at the slightest hint of danger. Good thing, because Ron Silver as the boyfriend/killer is such a sweaty menace, the film going all in on having him becoming ever more crazy-eyed, ranting into the darkness; when he has to play cool, calm, and collected...we don't buy it. Despite the performances from Curtis and Clancy Brown (oh my God he is excellent!), despite the admittedly stunning cinematography, it is a dumb script often drearily executed.
Pretty Woman
release: March 23
nominations: Best Actress (Julia Roberts)
dir: Garry Marshall
pr: Arnon Milchan / Steven Reuther
scr: J.F. Lawton
cin: Charles Minsky
A Hollywood hooker spends a whirlwind week with a wealthy client - and they both learn from and open up to each other. You watch this and you understand how it made Julia Roberts a star, you hear the evolution of the script and can't help but admire J.F. Lawton's professionalism and ability to pivot so seamlessly. When I'm watching, it hits! When I'm thinking back to what I liked about it specifically, I come up blank. It's fine. I guess you had to be there.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
release: March 30
dir: Steve Barron
pr: David Chan / Kim Dawson / Simon Fields
scr: Todd W. Langen and Bobby Herbeck, story by Bobby Herbeck
cin: John Fenner
A reporter in gritty NYC learns of a secret group of vigilantes - four talking, human-sized, teenaged turtles..who know martial arts. I watched this all the time as a kid, maybe the second one more, but one looks at it twenty years later and can't help thinking, "Wait, it's even better than I remember?" Stunned by Raphael's arc, his pride and need to prove himself manifesting as adolescent rage, his love of Splinter expressed in an impotent howl, anger thrown everywhere and nowhere. The writing and performances, the fact that it actually takes a moment to breathe, to go out to the country and let the turtles heal and reflect, building their characters as well as April O'Neil and Casey Jones. Every actor delivers! Impressive fight scenes, not least because of the costume-puppet hybrid the turtle actors must don for them. And that score! The sets! The cinematography! Why is this movie so good?
Backtrack (aka Catchfire)
release: April 3
dir: Dennis Hopper
pr: Dick Clark / Dan Paulson
scr: Rachel Kronstadt Mann and Ann Louise Bardach, story by Rachel Kronstadt Mann
cin: Edward Lachman
A hitman falls in love with his target, a woman who witnessed a mob hit. A big tease of a movie, like casting Vincent Price as the head of a crime family and not letting him say more than a couple words. Apparently, director-star Dennis Hopper and star Jodie Foster clashed on set; Hopper then clashed with producers, meaning there are two versions of this film, though the version I watched has his preferred title but with the studio's preferred runtime? I think? Too confusing, as is the movie. I can't remember the last time I watched a film with this vague of a timeline: she's an LA-based installation artist who goes on the run and reinvents herself, relocating to some other metropolitan area where she becomes a director at an ad agency, launching a national campaign for a cosmetics company... and then someone says that she's been on the run for a month. Busy month! There's a great New Mexico location, a theater where the projection booth doubles as a bedroom. Looks like heaven.
Tomorrow, one of my favorite movies of the year…
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