The Best Movies for a Dream ‘90s Sleepover
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By Erin Gold
On any given weekend in the ‘90s, I probably had a sleepover or two booked. Those were the days—eating pizza, staying up way too late, summoning spirits. On one occasion, we even prank called the White House. What a time to be alive!
There were also movies at every one of those sleepovers, holding so much magic and possibilities. While I can’t bottle the scent of popcorn and VHS tapes, or bring back your respective childhoods, I can recommend some movies for a pleasantly nostalgic night in, no summoning demons involved.
(There are so many wonderful sleepover movies not mentioned here, so ask the millennials in your life what they loved during the Clinton administration.)
Now please, call your childhood besties. They miss you!
5. Spice World
If you haven’t worn out a VHS of Spice World, did you even grow up in the ‘90s? Back then, the Spice Girls could sell millions of units of marmite soda if they wanted. Millennial women can almost certainly tell you which Spice Girl they played at sleepovers. (I was usually Ginger. Moving on…) The band’s film debut features an implausible but supremely fun plot, with Baby, Posh, Sporty, Scary, and Ginger being simply magnetic. Pure wildass joy.
4. Jumanji
The great Robin Williams (RIP, king!) shines in Jumanji. I’m shocked this isn’t mentioned more in contemporary spaces. Jumanji is a classic action-comedy with Chaplinesque pathos all around. Parts are scary! Others are so yearningly heartbreaking! Neat looking fake animals! This movie has it all.
3. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
This felt so taboo! In retrospect, Austin Powers is a role model for consent. As a direct riff of the James Bond series, Austin never felt entitled to intimacy. Instead, he tries to live his swinging, anachronistic life after being frozen for decades. The first of a trilogy, the movie does a heck of a job world-building, with ‘70s aesthetics that are, indeed, groovy, baby.
2. Jawbreaker
So wrong, it’s right. Cynical, stylish, hitting every note with acidic wit. Jawbreaker is perhaps the embodiment of the “I shouldn’t be laughing at this, should I?” kind of screenplay. The great Rose McGowan shines as a prototypical mean girl character that would influence teen movies to follow.
1. Now and Then
This film is cheesier than Ro-Tel/Velveeta microwave queso. I’ll concede that point. But! 1. I love Ro-Tel/Velveeta microwave queso and 2. Now and Then showcases girlhood in a way that just wasn’t done. Throw in a little murder mystery, big giant emotions, and you’ve got a quintessential girls’ girl movie.
(Dis)Honorable mention: The Stupids
My childhood best friend and I watched this countless times. I’m unsure how we, two brainy chicks with academic prowess, gravitated towards a film called The Stupids. But it seems like everyone in the ‘80s and ‘90s had a few terrible, objectively not good or charming VHS tapes they just loved and rented all the time, for no logical reason. This was us and The Stupids. Watch at your own peril.
Erin Gold is an educator in Colorado. Her first job was at a mom and pop video store. Besides writing, old movies, and education, she enjoys baseball, trivia, and seeing new places. You can find her on Substack.