Times change, and so do values and sensibilities. That means that things we found funny in decades past, we are rightfully offended by today. That doesn't mean that all movies, and all the jokes in those movies, should be dismissed completely, but it does mean we should probably not revisit those jokes in new movies, be they remakes or otherwise.

This list is all about those movies that were hits at the time, movies beloved by an older generation, but would never be made today. This is sure to be a controversial list, but there are good reasons we don't need to go back to the days of light racism and assault jokes so common in many of these.

The Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club isn't the most egregious example on this list, but it's awfully edgy, in a real-world way, as compared to comedies today. It takes on some very adult-oriented themes that simply aren't addressed in modern movies in the same way. There is an argument to be made that there should be, but here we are.

Can't Buy Me Love

It turns out, you really shouldn't make movies that are literally about buying a high school girl's affection to gain popularity. A movie with a plot line like Can't Buy Me Love wouldn't even get read past the intro these days, much less financed and produced. It's still a classic, though. Sort of, anyway.

Cruel Intentions

Oh boy, where to start here. First off, Cruel Intentions is a great movie, even for all its ridiculousness. It's that insanity that makes it so fun. But with the drug use, incest, and the rest, it's amazing it ever got made in any era. It wouldn't stand a chance today. At least it will live in our hearts forever.

Just One Of The Guys

This one is easy to identify why it would never be made today. Just One Of The Guys, about a girl who dresses as a boy to be taken more seriously, is a political minefield from every direction. It was making a decent point in the '80s that girls should be taken more seriously, but today, it would undoubtedly be taken completely differently. It simply couldn't be made again.

American Pie

As funny as American Pie is, there is no way on earth they could ever make a movie making comedy out of a scene where a girl is recorded without her knowledge or consent, taking her clothes off. Frankly, while some may not have realized it at the time, it really shouldn't have been a scene in the '90s, either. It's not like the world was all that different. Of course, we do know a lot more now, 25 years into the internet age, just how awful that kind of action is. It's not high school shenanigans anymore, and it never should have been.

Heathers

While Heathers has had enduring popularity, it's hard to imagine a movie today making light of high school murder and suicide. We live in a very different world when it comes to violence in high schools in this post-Columbine world, and it's not something we can joke about anymore. It's not something we should joke about anymore.

Risky Business

A movie about a high school kid who teams up with a girl to make a little money the "old-fashioned way" before his parents get back from a long vacation was hilarious in 1983. But try making a movie with the plot of Risky Business these days. It's never happening. It does seem like high school kids are treated less like adults these days than they were in the '80s, for better or worse.

Clueless

Step-siblings hooking up has a totally different meaning today than it did in the '90s, thanks to the dirtier parts of the internet. What was once charming and cute has turned, honestly, disturbing because of it. Clueless isn't the most offensive movie on the list by a long shot, but that bit of plot would have to be rewritten.

Weird Science

Two nerds creating a woman using their computer so she can be their plaything just isn't the kind of movie that would be greenlit today. Sure, the woman in Weird Science takes charge, but still, the whole "building a girl" thing is pretty creepy.

She's All That

She's All That is a '90s classic that, like the other movies on this list, hasn't really stood the test of time. Sure, there are still a lot of funny moments, but come on, the idea that a girl can only be popular because she is pretty is obnoxious. This is something that, while we haven't completely evolved past, we're getting there, and we don't need to reinforce it on the big screen.

Porky's

The romp that is Porky's is truly a relic of the past. Not only the 1980s when it was made, but also the 1950s when it was set. There is way too much gratuitous nudity to be made today, and that's for the best. And that's just for starters.

Jawbreaker

Rose McGowan and Rebecca Gayheart were the original "mean girls" on the big screen at the turn of the century. There isn't time to get into all the problematic stuff in this movie, but for starters, there isn't any way a movie today would portray the hazing like this one does. No way.

Sixteen Candles

Now we're getting into the classic "this won't ever be made this way again" movies. Sixteen Candles has all sorts of problematic stuff going on. Starting with the racism around "Long Duk Dong." There is also the fact that one character "gives" his girlfriend to another character without her knowledge, as if that were ever okay. It was a classic for a generation, and it kind of always will be, but some of the content simply needs to be left in the past.

10 Things I Hate About You

Before people get all up in arms about "canceling" Shakespeare, relax. 10 Things I Hate About You and, for that matter the Bard's play it's based on, The Taming Of The Shrew tell classic stories, but it's not like the sensibilities of both are just a little old fashioned, you'd agree, right?

Never Been Kissed

Sure, Never Been Kissed succeeds in getting the viewer to forget that Drew Barrymore is playing an adult going undercover in high school. That doesn't mean that she's an adult reporter undercover. The teacher she falls for still believes she's a student, yet the relationship still has some sketchy moments. It's just the kind of movie we don't need to make light of issues like this.

Dirty Dancing

Johnny (Patrick Swayze) is 25. Baby (Jennifer Grey) is 17 in Dirty Dancing. Their love story was unquestioned in 1987 (or 1963 for that matter), but the age difference certainly wouldn't be ignored these days. It would be lambasted and ridiculed. The movie will always be a classic, it's just not the kind of story that would be told today.

Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead

Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead is another borderline case on this list. It's not the worst example of movies from the '90s, but it's not exactly totally wholesome, either. Christina Applegate may be proud of the movie today for its enduring popularity, but some of the content is questionable at best.

Hiding Out

Like a few other movies on this list, Hiding Out features an adult masquerading as a high school student who still manages to get into a romantic relationship with an actual student. Why this was common is hard to understand, because the world wasn't all that different then, was it?

Eight Days a Week

In the '90s, according to 1999's Eight Days A Week, a kid camping out on his neighbor's lawn for an entire summer was seen as endearing. Today we would call that "stalking." Come to think of it, it was stalking then, too.

Wild Things

Two promiscuous teens hooking up with a teacher? Yeah, that doesn't really fly these days. It was shocking in 1998 when Wild Things was released, it's downright taboo now. Kevin Dillon, Denise Richards, and Neve Campbell made for a steamy throuple in the nineties, but that would not be seen the same way today.

Pump Up the Volume

Christian Slater's character, Happy Harry, would be just too divisive and controversial today to be seen as a hero. High schools that are worried about school shooters simply wouldn't cope with that well today. He doesn't directly call for violence, but the rhetoric is still too much for today.

Can't Hardly Wait

Another one of the more innocent movies on this list, there still isn't much respect for the female characters in this teen classic. There are too many examples of the girls having no real agency in Can't Hardly Wait. It's sad, but true.

Ladybugs

A boy dressing up like a girl to cheat on a soccer team, which is the plot of Ladybugs, just wouldn't get made today. It's not, like, the worst offender on this list in most ways, but there's no way a writer gets past the elevator pitch on this one. It's also just a frustratingly annoying movie, but that's neither here nor there.

Secret Admirer

Unrequited love is a theme as old as time itself, but Secret Admirer is not the way to tell the story. It's frankly creepy the way C. Thomas Howell's character pursues Kelly Preston's in this one. At least Lori Loughlin's character is pretty normal. She's the only normal character in this wacky adventure of misunderstanding.

License To Drive

Any movie that has, as a major plot point, a passed-out girl in a trunk is going to be problematic in almost any era. It might have been passed off as high school hijinks in the '80s, but it wouldn't be excused as easily today.

Zapped!

Well, this is another easy one. Zapped! stars Scott Baio as a high school student who develops superpowers and the ability to do hilarious things like "zap" girls' clothes off. Do we need to say more here? Yeah, pretty sketchy and left in the dustbin for good reason.

Class

Promiscuity was much more celebrated in '80s teen comedies than it is today, and Class, starring Rob Lowe and a slew of young up-and-coming stars, including Andrew McCarthy and John Cusack in their first movie roles (it was Lowe's second). There is also a pretty tasteless scene involving suicide that wouldn't be treated so lightly today, for good reason.

Blame It On Rio

Yet another movie on this list about a grown adult having an affair with a high school girl. Blame It On Rio is a modern Lolita story, and there is a reason stories like that have been left in the past. Michael Caine is actually pretty great in the movie, and it was Demi Moore's first big movie role, as the friend of the girl having an affair with Caine's character, but still, it's just not a plot that would happen today.

Private School

1983's Private School is, unbelievably, yet another movie on this list that is really just a celebration of teenage promiscuity. Those were all the rage in the decade, and our modern sensibilities just don't celebrate that in the same way. Phoebe Cates is great, as always, in her follow-up to another movie that could be on this, Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Loverboy

Before Patrick Dempsey was Dr. McDreamy on Grey's Anatomy, he was Pizza Delivery Boy McDreamy in Loverboy. The movie, if you've never seen it, features Dempsey as a delivery boy-turned-gigolo. Yeah, you read that correctly. A high school student selling his, um, services to older women that plays for comedy. Sure, why not?

Poison Ivy

1992's Poison Ivy is really just a modern retelling of Lolita, but again, it's the kind of movie that just isn't made these days. It was a movie that was made to ease Drew Barrymore's transition into more adult roles, but it might have gone a step too far.

Anything for Love

Anything for Love, also known as Just One of the Girls, pretty obviously belongs on the list based on the title alone. This made-for-tv disaster stars Corey Haim and Nicole Eggert and it's... well, it's a horrible as it sounds.

Cruel Intentions is one of the best teen movies of all time, and remains iconic despite the years since its 1999 release. The steamy adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses boasted an all-star cast, including Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe. The latter had a famous nude scene, where his butt was shown to the audience (and Witherspoon's Annette). And it turns out he's heard a lot of comments about that memorable moment throughout the years.

The iconography of the 1999 classic has been apparent in the years that have followed with Sarah Michelle Gellar attempting a failed Cruel Intentions TV pilot prior to the series that was released this year for those with an Amazon Prime subscription. Phillippe was asked by Variety about his infamous butt sequence, and he responded saying:

C'mon, that's pretty funny. It sounds like Phillippe knows how significant his brief nude scene was for Cruel Intentions fans. And while years have passed, I suppose there are worse thing that people could take to him about on the street.

Cruel Intentions has a special place in the heart of millennial moviegoers, plenty of whom had crushes on Phillippe's Sebastian after watching the drama film. I can personally attest to my peers being obsessed with the brief nude scene, including LGBTQ+ moviegoers who had realizations about their own sexuality while watching the movie.

I personally think that Cruel Intentions is one of the best movies from the '90s, but I recognize that I have those nostalgic feelings from growing up watching the title. But the movie has some truly outrageous performance from its leading trio of actors, as well as supporting players like Selma Blair, Christine Baranski, Joshua Jackson, and Sean Patrick Thomas.

While Phillippe has apparently heard lots of comments about his butt over the years, that's far from the only steamy moment that happens throughout the movie's 97-minute runtime. He's got intimate scenes with both Sarah Michelle Gellar and Reese Witherspoon, and went on to marry and have kids with the latter. But all of that pales in comparison to the iconography of Gellar and Selma Blair's Cruel Intentions kiss. Honestly, it's no wonder this title became such a cult classic for kids of the '90s.

Doing a nude scene is a very vulnerable thing for actors, especially since they live on forever in film history. Ryan Phillippe might not have anticipated talking about his Cruel Intentions butt scene decades later, but that just shows how beloved the movie continues to be.

The Cruel Intentions TV show is available on Amazon, but the movie itself isn't available to stream at the time of writing this story.

We know them, we love them, and most of the time, we love to hate them. Regardless of how any of us feel about the iconic, troublesome teens that round out the fabric of Hollywood’s youth-centric media, they’ve left their signature messy marks. This list covers the big hitters, the unmistakable part-of-pop-culture adolescents who derailed monumentally (dependent on their character and world, not all misguided minors are created equal). Each calling card of these chaotic characters has a few things in common–they’re lost and faced with conflict–but how they solve their issues leads to many more issues than solutions. Buckle up and grab your favorite nostalgic mix tape/playlist; we’re in for a bumpy ride.

Jim Stark and Buzz Gunderson - Rebel Without a Cause

This is by far one of the most influential movies that jumpstarted the teen genre and it’s big thanks to Jim Stark (James Dean) and Buzz Gunderson (Corey Allen). When gang leader Buzz and new-in-town Jim agree to a “chickie race,” that’s when things go up in smoke. Jim is left to face the fallout.

Marissa Cooper - The O.C.

You could probably make a case for most of The O.C. kids, but Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) undoubtedly tops them all. Coop’s undoing was a monolith and started on the wings of her parents' divorce. It led to underage drinking, tumultuous relationships, petty theft, and eventually to her passing away after a car crash at the end of Season 3.

Danny Zuko - Grease

Like many other ensembles, you could make a pick mostly anyone from the Grease cast, but Danny Zuko's (John Travolta) issues bled into everyone else’s. Not to mention, he strung Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John) along until the very end of the movie.

Serena van der Woodsen - Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl is another show where you could argue a good case for any of the characters being the biggest saboteur. But like Marissa Cooper, Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) just can’t shake off trouble in most things she does. The thought of old her and Georgina Sparks together really sounds like they’d top the list together.

Veronica Sawyer - Heathers

Heathers and Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder) were ahead of the curve. When awkward loner Veronica gets invited to join the school’s most popular group, she quickly realizes it’s not the place for her. After befriending new kid Jason Dean (Christian Slater), they accidentally kill one of the Heathers. This sets off an entire killing spree that wreaks havoc on Westerburg High School.

Dawson Leery - Dawson’s Creek

Even though he may have been seen more as a golden boy during his reign, Dawson (James Van Der Beek) caused some major damage in his day. We literally have a separate list showcasing all the times Leery was the worst character for his loved ones to be around. If he'd only been supportive of Joey Potter (Katie Holmes) going to Paris, who knows what could've been?

Cady Heron - Mean Girls

Tina Fey’s wildly quotable Mean Girls needs no introduction or explanation. With Cady (Lindsay Lohan) coming to terms with attending a public high school in the US after growing up in Africa, she is a poster child for this list. As she explores her new reality, she gets lost for a moment amid girl world drama, which leads to multiple friend, family, and relationship troubles.

Rue Bennet - Euphoria

The Max ‘teen’ jewel-encrusted drama juggernaut holds another ensemble of lost and morose students. However, Rue Bennet (Zendaya) and her substance abuse issues are the focal point. It's upended friendships, caused familial stresses, multiple times over, causing Rue to lie, steal and hurt everyone in the East Highlanders.

Chris Hargensen - Carrie

Stephen King’s Carrie is another classic high school staple that helped push the envelope on what fictional teen worlds could hold. Popular girl and bully, Chris Hargensen (Nancy Allen) makes Carrie’s (Sissy Spacek) life a living nightmare. Hargensen continues down a downward spiral that leads to the bone-chilling but iconic prank that happens at the dance (which has some truly grim consequences).

Tim Riggins - Friday Night Lights

If you know anything about this NBC network TV classic, you either love or hate Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch). While he was a regular womanizer, heavy partier, not to mention that he sabotaged himself and the team with some regularity, he straightened up.

Dallas ‘Dally’ Winston - The Outsiders

Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of The Outsiders is a quintessential coming-of-age story. Even though the whole gang is rough and tumble, along with any of the ‘Socs,’ Dally (Matt Dillon) is the most troubled. With an already tumultuous background, Johnny’s death sends him on to make poor decisions for himself and his friends.

Cory Matthews - Boy Meets World

Surprising, I know. The more classic choice from Boy Meets World may be Shawn Hunter, but Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) sparked plenty of trouble in his time (like fellow do-gooder, Dawson Leery). Throughout the 7 seasons, he caused more rifts between his family, friends and Topanga than anyone else.

Billy Loomis & Stu Macher - Scream

Naturally, any teen in any scary movie generally has some baggage that leads to strife in one way or another. Youths like Billy (Skeet Ulrich) and Stu (Matthew Lillard) are different, though, they are intentionally motivated to terrify and harm their fellow classmates and the people of Woodsboro. Unfortunately for them, their plans backfire on them gravely.

Lucas Scott - One Tree Hill

Like the aforementioned teen network drama shows of the mid and late ‘00s, any character is up for debate. Lucas Scott (Chad Michael Murray), the main protagonist, puts on a good show of commotion for everyone in his life. Being a serial heartbreaker while being unloyal and manipulative to others lands him this particular title.

Jennifer Check - Jennifer’s Body

Jennifer’s Body, again, isn’t filled with average adolescents, and especially not Jennifer (Megan Fox). While she and longtime friend Needy (Amanda Seyfried) head out for a semi-average night of Jennifer-approved fun, all goes awry. We find out that Jennifer has turned into a demon feasting on the male teens of Devil’s Kettle, WY. After the friends face off, Needy gets pinned for the murders and gets taken to an insane asylum.

Rachel Berry - Glee

The destined-for-greatness Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) typically stopped at nothing to get what she wanted, regardless of the consequences. While the fictional NYADA darling had moments of hope and promise, her ego and ambition always seemed to cause more harm than good. (Any Ryan Murphy-created teen could do, though.)

Seth - Superbad

The 2007 classic was the first Seth Rogen-Evan Goldberg project, and it immediately put them on the map. The semi-biographical Superbad revolves around characters with the same names and pretty typical senior tropes. Of the fictional duo Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera), and their pal, Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), the first of the trio creates the most trouble for their celebratory evening. While the trio make up, along with the girls (Emma Stone, Martha MacIsaac), before graduation.

Rory Gilmore - Gilmore Girls

“Why did you drop out of Yale?” Even though Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) is one of the more unusual fictional high schoolers on the list, her dropping out was monumental for the world of Gilmore Girls. Even Lauren Graham didn’t like the storyline because of the turmoil it created between Lorelai and Rory. Not to mention, her sleeping with Dean, missing Lorelai's graduation and later on, being more lost than ever in her 30s.

Donnie - Donnie Darko

Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) isn’t your typical troublesome, drama-filled teen, even though his choices in one reality lead to serious consequences. His present ED signifiers (Emotional Disturbance) present Donnie as something else, but we eventually come to realize he's an anti-hero of sorts. As he comes to realize that there are multiple timelines at play, he chooses to fix it to save Gretchen Ross' (Jena Malone) life. And with his developed powers, he returns to the day when it all went awry, which leads to his destiny--death.

Archie Andrews - Riverdale

Archie of The CW’s Riverdale was one of the many, much darker TV reboots out there. And though all the drama has always hinged on the red-headed football hero regardless of genre, the TV show really packs Archie with a punch. To be fair, he also found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time quite frequently–it’s how he reacted to them that gives him the top spot for the searching students of Riverdale High.

Kathryn Merteuil & Sebastian Valmont - Cruel Intentions

Another young and terrifying twosome is Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Philippe). The oddball step-siblings wager a bet that involves innocent and new Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon). Through the scheme, the group of students is faced with continuing drama until a very sad end.

Valerie Malone - Beverly Hills, 90210

Though there was plenty of actual drama on the set of Beverly Hills, 90210, Valerie Malone (Tiffani Thiessen) wasted no time sowing seeds of chaos. Arriving in Season 5 with a lot of baggage in the form of family trauma, Malone was immediately set up to be in trouble. She dated many of the guys and regularly feuded with the girls.

Max Fischer - Rushmore

As one of the many stylized Wes Anderson films, Rushmore was one of his earliest. Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) is a love-drunk student determined to date his teacher and will stop at nothing to achieve it. After an array of mishaps and his fellow acquaintance, Blume (Bill Murray), hitting it off with her, Max loses it. He leaked the affair publicly and temporarily burned bridges with both of them.

Willow Rosenberg - Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Willow’s (Alyson Hannigan) rise to raising hell for Buffy and co. may be a slow burn, but once she hits it, things get wild. While her use of telepathy, manipulation and struggling to keep her magic in check kick off the season, Tara’s death sets Willow into overdrive in trying to destroy the world.

PJ & Josie - Bottoms

Gen Z coming-of-age comedies come in all shapes and sizes, including Emma Seligman’s Bottoms. The satirical take on the high school experience is wild, especially with PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri). The BFF’s hatch a fight club for girls so they can talk to cheerleaders they have crushes on. Needless to say, a lot of drama goes down, including a car blowing up.

Mona Vanderwaal - Pretty Little Liars

Honestly, most characters from the 2010 series have a fair shot here. But Mona (Janel Parrish) is the reason for all of the mystery and torment. She is who sparks the series because of her grudge against the main friend group. Eventually, she becomes one of them, and even more trouble ensues.

Laura Palmer - Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

In my opinion, there’s no list about misguided high schoolers complete without Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee). The character was cemented into pop culture in David Lynch’s cult show, Twin Peaks, but the less popular prequel movie shows her tragic undoing. Her last days are filled with traumas relating to her drug addiction, web of lies and darker spirits. Warning, this movie isn't for the faint of heart.

DeGrassi: The Next Generation

DeGrassi: The Next Generation is maybe the only title on the list in which each character is as chaotic and troubled as the last. The iconic Canadian teen soap has multiple iterations, but the 2002-2015 series takes the cake. Between the students, they have every classic dramatic HS storyline in the book, and alumni Drake’s “I’m Upset” reunion-filled music video summarizes some key points.

Nancy Downs - The Craft

The quartet of girls in The Craft start as lost as the next, but Nancy’s (Fairuza Balk) power-hungry ways destroy what they have together. After quiet Sarah Bailey (Robin Tunney) moves to town and gets wronged, Downs and her pals take her in. All four hatch a scheme to cast a spell on the wrongdoer, and when it succeeds, that’s when Nancy starts sabotaging everything.

John B - Outer Banks

Netflix’s Outer Banks is one wild ride with wayward John B (Chase Stokes) at the helm. Sure, other characters may be outwardly more troubled (JJ, Sarah or Rafe), but everyone’s lives intensified because of John B’s initial treasure hunt.

Christine ‘Lady Bird’ McPherson - Lady Bird

As one of the more subtle teenage pot stirrers, Ladybird (Saoirse Ronan) still makes her presence and opinions unmistakably clear. Her main sources of conflict reside within her relationship with her hardworking mom (Laurie Metcalf) and nerdy best friend (Beanie Feldstein). While Lady Bird temporarily burns bridges with both in pursuit of greater life expectations and new friends, she mends things with both.

Effy Stonem - Skins UK

A cult classic that ran from 2007-2013 and largely featured the rebellious but lost Effy Stonem (Kaya Scodelario). From the jump, we see 14-year-old her sneaking home in the early morning after being out all night at a rave. Needless to say, Effy’s journey was a bumpy one filled with substance abuse, mental health crises, and a web of lies.

It is strange to consider how many of the most iconic, show-stealing movie villains in history are young women of high school or college age… or even younger. What is it about these self-absorbed and rudely boisterous young ladies that cause audiences to cower in fear or seethe in rage? Let’s find out by revisiting some classic high school movies, a few great college movies, and even a couple of other genres and their loathsome female characters who define what it means to be a “mean girl.”

Kathryn Merteuil (Cruel Intentions)

At a time when Sarah Michelle Gellar was famous for defeating evil whilst leading the Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast, the actor showed her bad side in 1999's Cruel Intentions as Kathryn Merteuil. The title of this modern retelling of Dangerous Liaisons borrows from the spoiled rich teen's definitive behavioral traits, such as taking advantage of and manipulating people purely for her own amusement.

Tracy Flick (Election)

How is it that one of the most intense and thought-provoking political dramas of all time is a satire following teenager Tracy Flick's bid to be student body president for her Oklahoma high school? Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon gives one of her most scintillating performances in 1999's Election as the ruthless, scheming over-achiever who comes at odds with her teacher (played by Matthew Broderick).

Chris Hargenson (Carrie)

Despite the deadly, otherworldly abilities of Sissy Spacek's title role, there are other characters far more deserving of being called the villain of the 1976 adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie, such as Chris Hargenson (Nancy Allen). She blames Carrie for her being banned from prom, even though she teased and harassed her, and plots a cruel prank that triggers Carrie’s telekinesis, leading to the death of nearly everyone in the gym, including Chris.

Heather Chandler (Heathers)

In the dark 1988 teen comedy Heathers, Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder) strikes up a friendship with the most popular (and despised and feared) clique at her high school: Heather Duke (Shannen Doherty), Heather McNamara (Lisanne Falk), and their leader, Heather Chandler (Kim Walker). Fed up with her domineering behavior, Veronica teams up with J.D. (Christian Slater) to kill Heather Chandler, which ultimately does nothing to tarnish her influence over the school’s social hierarchy.

Big Red (Bring It On)

In the Citizen Kane of cheerleader movies, 2000's Bring it On, the Toros at Rancho Carnes High School are initially led by their captain, who calls herself "Big Red" (Lindsay Sloane). However, after she graduates, it is discovered that she sabotaged her team's reputation with the self-serving act of stealing routines from the East Compton High School Clovers.

Amber Von Tussle (Hairspray)

The main antagonist of Hairspray is easily the snobbish and vehemently prejudiced Velma Von Tussle but her teenage daughter, Amber, is a close second for the bullish and fiercely competitive qualities she displays before her change of heart near the end of the story. The role was originated by Colleen Ann Fitzpatrick (later known as Vitamin C) in John Waters' 1988 comedy classic and later portrayed by Brittany Snow in Adam Shankman's 2007 feature based on the hit musical adaptation.

Amber Mariens (Clueless)

What makes Cher Horowitz (Alicia Silverstone) from Clueless a lovable '90s teen movie hero is her willingness to use her privilege to benefit others. This makes her the perfect opposite of her spoiled rival, Amber Mariens (Elisa Donovan), who uses her privilege as an excuse to belittle just about anyone she feels is beneath her, which is most people.

Jennifer Check (Jennifer’s Body)

One of the most iconic female horror movie villains of the 21st Century is Megan Fox's title role from 2009's Jennifer's Body, who becomes a deadly succubus after a failed Satanic sacrifice. However, even before she was feasting on her male classmates, the cheerleader was still a conceited jerk who did not deserve a friend like the more meek Needy (Amanda Seyfried).

Courtney Alice Shayne (Jawbreaker)

Jawbreaker is another one of those shocking high school comedies involving homocide – specifically the accidental death of Liz (Charlotte Ayanna) by her friends Foxy (Julie Benz), Julie (Rebecca Gayheart), and Courtney Shayne (Rose McGowan). Even if we take manslaughter via the eponymous candy out of the equation, Courtney is an uproariously villainous teen clique leader who despicably refers to herself as a goddess.

Regina George (Mean Girls)

Any fan of 2004's Mean Girls is probably relieved that Lindsay Lohan was cast as Cady Heron instead of the character she almost played, Regina George, because Rachel McAdams knocked that portrayal out of the park. The actor's iconic breakthrough role does not make the slightest attempt to hide how vindictive, judgmental, and controlling she is and even acknowledges her volatility when comparing Cady's destructive path to her own reputation.

Judy (Sleepaway Camp)

For incessantly teasing her, kissing her love interest, Paul (Christopher Collet), and encouraging Meg (Katherine Kamhi) to throw her into the lake, Judy (Karen Fields) definitely had it coming when Angela (Felissa Rose) decided to end her life. However, we cannot admit that she earned some sympathy when we saw her death scene, which is easily one of the gnarliest from the cult favorite 1983 summer horror movie, Sleepaway Camp.

Marianne Bryant (Easy A)

Perhaps Amanda Bynes' reputation for playing funny, relatable protagonists worth rooting for inspired her to go against type in the acclaimed 2010 high school comedy, Easy A. Her character, Marianne Bryant, uses her religious beliefs as justification to harass her classmates, especially Olive Penderghast (Emma Stone) when her "innocence" becomes a topic of discussion.

Sharpay Evans (High School Musical)

In all three of Disney Channel's High School Musical movies (the third of which received a theatrical release), Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale) rules East High School's drama club with an iron fist. To make matters worse, the self-absorbed diva spends much of the first two movies trying to earn the affection of basketball star Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) despite his romance with Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens).

Leslie "Spike" O'Malley (Back To The Future Part II)

If there is one additional member from Griff's (Tom Wilson) gang in Back to the Future Part II whom we would deem the most memorable and, especially, the most intimidating, it would have to be Spike (Darlene Vogel). Most movie mean girls typically specialize in psychological mind games but she has no qualms about using physical violence to coerce Marty McFly Jr. (Michael J. Fox) into doing their bidding.

Lana Thomas (The Princess Diaries)

In 2001's The Princess Diaries, Mandy Moore plays Lana Thomas – a popular cheerleader who makes life rough for Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) before discovering her royal lineage. However, even after that revelation, she does not change her tune much and tries to use her target's newfound popularity to her advantage by pretending to be friends with the princess.

Rachel Witchburn (Sydney White)

Sydney White from 2007 is a modern retelling of the story of Snow White, starring Amanda Bynes as a free-spirited college student who befriends a group of seven male social outcasts. She is driven to seek solace from them when she is disbarred from the Kappa Sorority by its queen, Rachel Witchburn (Sara Paxton), who ruthlessly strives to be "fairest of them all" (a.k.a., Number 1 on her university's online hot list).

Danielle Bouseman (Happy Death Day)

We must admit that Rachel Matthews' character from Blumhouse's fun, freaky 2017 time loop movie, Happy Death Day, does redeem herself a bit in 2019's Happy Death Day 2U, in which Danielle is depicted as charitable and even helps Tree (Jessica Rothe) return to her own reality. Of course, that was just an extra-dimensional version of Kappa Pi Lambda's controlling and conceited leader, so she still counts.

Marion Hawthorne (Harriet The Spy)

In the 1996 adaptation of Louise Fitzhugh's 1964 novel, Harriet the Spy – the first Nickelodeon movie – the bane of the titular, precocious sixth grader's (Michelle Trachtenberg) existence is Marion Hawthorne (Charlotte Sullivan). The stuck-up spoiled girl ends up ruining Harriet's life and her relationship with her best friends when she discovers her private notebook and spreads her most unpleasant secrets to her classmates.

Laura Lizzie (The Craft)

With mad respect for Fairuza Balk's brilliantly unhinged performance as Nancy Downs, one of the scariest characters from 1996's The Craft is someone who does not even practice black magic: Christine Taylor's Laura Lizzie. The blonde teen takes pleasure in humiliating and belittling the likes of Rochelle (Rachel True) for her race and Sarah (Robin Tunney) just for being the new girl at school, which is why she hexes her with a spell that causes hair loss.

Angelica Pickles (The Rugrats Movie)

Anyone familiar with the classic animated TV show, Rugrats, should know that the worst offenses three-year-old Angelica Pickles (voiced by Cheryl Chase) has committed against her younger "friends" (and even some adults) have been depicted on television. However, said offenses are so heinous, even for a girl her age, that using 1998's first big screen spin-off of the beloved Nicktoon as an excuse to include her on this list is absolutely justified.

Ambrosia (May)

One of the most sympathetic horror movie villains in the genre's history is Angela Bettis' eponymous character of 2002's May, who was driven to murder for several reasons, including her peers' unfair treatment of her. The worst offender is the domineering Ambrosia (Nichole Hiltz), who cruelly belittles the lonely, abused woman and ruins her romance with Polly (Anna Faris).

Mimi (Psycho Goreman)

A definitive, modern example of a central character who is the worst part of their own movie is Mimi from Psycho Goreman. Some might say that this funny, creative, and insanely gory throwback to '90s sci-fi B-movies would have been more enjoyable if the young girl, who awakens and becomes the captor of the titular alien warlord (voiced by Steven Vlahos and physically portrayed by Matthew Ninaber), was not such an irritatingly narcissistic bully.

Amanda Buckman (Addams Family Values)

On one hand, it is easy to understand why Amanda Buckman (Mercedes McNab) is intimidated (or downright terrified) by Wednesday Addams (Christina Ricci) when they attend Camp Chippewa together in 1993’s Addams Family Values. On the other hand, the spoiled rich girl’s domineering behavior and superiority complex makes it a little fun to watch her fall prey to Wednesday’s tricks, such as when she sabotages a play recreating the first Thanksgiving.

Madison Morgan (The DUFF)

In 2015's The DUFF (an acronym for "designated ugly fat friend"), Bianca Piper (Mae Whitman) maintains a connection with the popular crowd by being friends with the more conventionally attractive Jess (Skyler Samuels) and Casey (Bianca Santos). However, she would never be caught dead being friendly with aspiring reality show star Madison Morgan (Bella Thorne), who believes her incessant rudeness and cruelty is actually one of her more endearing qualities.

Christie Masters (Romy And Michele's High School Reunion)

Early on in 1997's Romy And Michele's High School Reunion, we meet the eponymous duo (played by Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow) and their school bully, Christie Masters (Julia Campbell). When she appears at the reunion, it is clear that the now "happily married" woman has not changed one bit and is still every bit of the overly judgmental jerk she was a teen.

Blaire Lily (Unfriended)

For much of Blumhouse's surprisingly effective 2015 found footage horror flick, Unfriended, we are hoping to see Blaire Lily (Shelley Hennig) and her friends survive the wrath of a mysterious entity that has infiltrated their Skype chat. That is until we discover that Blaire, in addition to being outed as a manipulative liar, posted the embarrassing video that drove the late Laura Barns (Heather Sossaman) to take her own life and that her vengeful spirit has been the one taunting her.

Monique Valentine (She's The Man)

Played by Virgin River's Alexandra Breckenridge, Monique Valentine is a controlling girlfriend – ahem, "ex-girlfriend" – to Sebastian (James Kirk), incessantly cruel to Viola (Amanda Bynes), and mercilessly rude to just about everyone else she crosses paths with. There is no question of who deserves to win when a fight breaks out between her, Viola, and Olivia (Laura Ramsey) in one of the most iconic moments from 2006's She's the Man – a modern take on Shakespeare's play, Twelfth Night, or What You Will.

Harriet Bentley (Wild Child)

In the 2008 coming-of-age comedy, Wild Child, Emma Roberts stars as Poppy – a spoiled, rich American girl who is reluctantly shipped off to a boarding school in the United Kingdom. Not making things any easier for her is the cruel Harriet Bentley (Georgia King), whose hatred for Poppy drives her to frame her for arson.

Jessica Spencer (The Hot Chick)

Before she played Regina George, Rachel McAdams made her feature film debut in the 2002 comedy The Hot Chick as Jessica Spencer, who accidentally switches bodies with a petty thief, played by Rob Schneider, thanks to a pair of magic earrings. Of course, it is hard to have sympathy for the high school cheerleading captain's bizarre predicament because, before the swap, she is a horribly mean-spirited and manipulative jerk.

Julie (The Toxic Avenger)

The volatile and giddily sadistic lunatic Julie (Cindy Manion) is the mastermind of the disastrous prank that causes meek, awkward gym custodian Melvin (Mark Torgl) to fall into a vat of toxic waste and become the eponymous vigilante from Troma's 1984 B-movie, The Toxic Avenger. This decision ultimately seals her downfall as Toxie (Mitch Cohen) later seeks revenge on her with a pair of scissors.

Gwen Grayson (Sky High)

When we first meet Gwen Grayson (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) in 2005's Sky High, she seems like a kindhearted model student. As it turns out, her entire reputation was part of a plan for world domination because, in reality, she is the supervillain Royal Pain, who was transformed into an infant years earlier.

Tracy Campbell (The Rage: Carrie 2)

Played by Charlotte Ayanna, Tracy is, essentially, the Chris Hargenson to Rachel Lang’s Carrie in the loosely connected sequel, The Rage: Carrie 2, from 1999. She, too, plans a cruel prank against the protagonist (played by Emily Bergl) for spending too much time with her boyfriend, Jesse (Jason London), unaware that she will eventually fall prey to the social outcast's telekinetic powers.

The 1990s were a great time for film, no doubt — just look at the 100 best movies of the '90s for proof — but it was also an unforgettable decade for fashion. Iconic ‘90s movie characters from Cher Horowitz to Mia Wallace to The Dude strutted into cinema history with their enviable wardrobes packed with cropped plaid cords, chic button-downs, cozy knit sweaters, and more, changing not only how people looked onscreen but how we all dressed in real life. From great ‘90s sci-fi movies like The Matrix and The Fifth Element to hilarious '90s comedies like But I'm A Cheerleader and B.A.P.S., these 32 fashionable flicks served up the decade's most iconic movie outfits.

Cher's Plaid Set From Clueless

Alicia Silverstone's Cher has been sparking closet envy ever since we saw her computer whip up the perfect outfit combination in the first scenes of Clueless. And her sunshine-yellow plaid suit, paired with a Collie-esque faux-fur backpack and her best accessory of all — equally stylish BFF Dionne Davenport (Stacey Dash), of course — is as instantly iconic as her trademark rebuttal of "As if!"

Tyler Durden's Leather Jacket From Fight Club

We won't spoil that mind-blowing plot twist — though the film has been out for decades at this point — but we will say that Brad Pitt's Tyler Durden sure packs a punch in the style department. Throughout the 1999 David Fincher flick, the Fight Club character routinely sports a uniform comprised of a wide-lapeled red leather jacket, a patterned button-down and a pair of scarlet-lensed sunglasses. It's a fit so cool, it's almost too good to be true.

The Metallic Dresses From Romy and Michele's High School Reunion

If you're going to make an impression at your high school reunion, coordinating metallic mini-dresses is certainly the way to do it. After shedding their Post-it-inventing businesswomen blazers, besties Romy (Mira Sorvino) and Michele (Lisa Kudrow) make their grand reentrance in ensembles entirely their own: a set of super-shiny, dance-friendly frocks in bubblegum pink and baby blue. Just think of the style moments a Romy and Michele sequel could bring!

Vivian's Crimson Opera Dress From Pretty Woman

There are many memorable fashion moments in the Julia Roberts classic Pretty Woman, from the $20 white-and-blue call girl outfit we first meet Vivian Ward in, to the pretty, polka-dotted number she later wears to polo. (Heck, the movie pretty much perfected the shopping montage!) But no look was as significant as the stunning red carpet-worth gown the character wears to attend a performance of La Traviata at the San Francisco Opera alongside Richard Gere's Edward Lewis.

The Desert Denim From Thelma & Louise

If you're going to be on the run from the law — in self-defense or otherwise — you might as well look great doing it. And road-tripping pals Thelma Dickinson (Geena Davis) and Louise Sawyer (Susan Sarandon) certainly do in the boundary-breaking Ridley Scott drama Thelma & Louise, which sees the two Arkansas women dash and dart away from police in dusty dungarees, sleeveless tops, ripped neckerchiefs and cowgirl hats. If being stylish was a crime, consider these two guilty.

Neo’s Trench Coat From The Matrix

From Casablanca to Kill Bill, the trench coat is a cinematic fashion staple, but nowhere has it looked cooler than when worn by Keanu Reeves as computer hacker Neo in the sci-fi masterpiece The Matrix. Per Dazed, the iconic black trench the character sports throughout the futuristic franchise was crafted by costume designer Kym Barrett with traditional Chinese robes and clergy garb in mind. Whatever the sartorial inspiration, the outcome was truly otherworldly.

Mia's Bob and Button-Down From Pulp Fiction

Proof that simple doesn't mean snooze-worthy where style is concerned, mob wife Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman, in her breakthrough role) twisted her way into cultural iconography with her blunt brunette bob, crisp white button-down and perpetually lit cigarette in Quentin Tarantino's best movie, Pulp Fiction. Costume designer Betsy Heimann reportedly modeled Mia's signature look after silent film stars and French New Wave figures.

The Cheer Squad Uniforms From Bring It On

The Rancho Carne Toros in San Diego and the East Compton Clovers in Los Angeles may have been rivals on the cheer mat, but they were equals where fashion is concerned. In their peppy, contrasting red and green uniforms, the cheerleading squads led by captains Torrance (Kirsten Dunst) and Isis (Gabrielle Union) looked surprisingly sophisticated while performing their high-flying routines. And the looks are still relevant these decades later — Union even sweetly broke out her old Clovers uniform as a fun movie-themed Halloween costume alongside her daughter.

The Orange and Blue Tuxes From Dumb and Dumber

Talk about not adhering to a black-tie dress code! Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) made quite a bold fashion statement when they showed up to a formal fundraising event in a bright-orange and powder-blue tuxedo, respectively, in the classic Farrelly Brothers comedy Dumb and Dumber. They're simultaneously some of the best (in terms of funniness) and worst (in terms of fashion) suits ever put to celluloid.

The Goth Schoolgirl Garb From The Craft

The Power of Four, indeed. Each of the witchy teens at the center of the '90s cult hit The Craft — played by Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell and Rachel True — was a style goddess in her own right. But together they made quite a mystical impression with their schoolgirl style edged up with a touch of the occult, from their gothic choker necklaces to their lace-up black boots. Our wardrobes invoke thee!

Catherine's White Turtleneck Dress From Basic Instinct

Funnily enough, Basic Instinct star Sharon Stone believed that nobody would care about what femme fatale Catherine Tramell was wearing during an otherwise straightforward interrogation scene. “The movie was a thriller and we were stopping the action to watch me sit still in a chair, so I thought the possibility of anybody giving two s—ts about it was zero," the actress revealed to InStyle. How wrong she was — that leggy white dress and cashmere Hermès throw helped create one of the most infamous and controversial scenes in movie history, thanks to yet another style choice: her lack of undergarments.

Janet Jackson's Hat and Hoops From Poetic Justice

On stage, on screen, on the street — Janet Jackson is a veritable style icon wherever she goes. And the music legend certainly lived up to that sartorial greatness in the 1993 romantic drama Poetic Justice as the Los Angeles-based poet-hairdresser Justice, memorably accessorized with hoop earrings and a pageboy cap to go with her still-en-vogue ensemble of baggy high-waisted jeans and a black crop top.

Leeloo's Orange Suspenders From The Fifth Element

As a famous model-turned-actress, Milla Jovovich could pull off any costume, even ridiculous outfits from movies set in the future. Her iconic role as Leeloo in the 1997 sci-fi favorite The Fifth Element is certainly proof: the character famously wears rubber neon-orange suspenders — as citrus-bright as her dyed hair — with a ribbed crop top and gold disco pants, all designed by the one and only Jean-Paul Gaultier.

The Dude’s Sweater From The Big Lebowski

The original Westerly men's cardigan by Pendleton Woolen Mills debuted all the way back in 1974, but it become immortalized when the lambswool sweater was worn by Jeff Lebowski. a.k.a. The Dude, in The Coen Brothers' classic The Big Lebowski. The garment became so popular thanks to the groovy Jeff Bridges character that the brand permanently brought the cardigan back in stock. Style abides!

Juliet’s Angel Wings From Romeo + Juliet

Baz Luhrmann's magnetic, modernized Romeo + Juliet adaptation was packed with flamboyant reimaginings of the Shakespearean classic, particularly in the costume department. The most famous example, no doubt, is the ballroom scene that brings together our titular star-crossed lovers (played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes), with Danes' Juliet looking positively ethereal in a chaste white dress and angel's wings. Nineties-era DiCaprio dressed as a literal knight in shining armor isn't too shabby, either.

Ellie Sattler's Safari Styles From Jurassic Park

Few people could make digging through dinosaur poop look fashionable, and Laura Dern is one of them. For much of the 1993 Steven Spielberg-helmed action flick, Dern's beloved Jurassic Park heroine Dr. Ellie Sattler is durably decked out in a salmon-colored shirt tied in a knot over a blue tank, a pair of khaki shorts and some jungle-ready work boots. Dern paid homage to that very outfit when she reprised the iconic character three decades later in Jurassic World Dominion.

Kathryn's Power Suit From Cruel Intentions

Any other high schooler parading around uptown Manhattan in a power suit would look foolish, but not Cruel Intentions' Kathryn Merteuil. Formidably played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, the merciless mean girl made being bad look good in a sleek Dolce & Gabbana suit, with a custom skintight corset hidden underneath and a rosary necklace filled with, well, not holy water. The only thing sharper than that tailoring? Kathryn's manipulative edge.

Josie's First Day-Of-School Feathers From Never Been Kissed

If you're a 20-something newspaper reporter trying to go undercover as a high school student to research for a story, maybe wearing a feather boa to homeroom isn't the best move. Sure, Josie Geller's all-white get-up — worn in one of the best Drew Barrymore romantic comedies, Never Been Kissed — was nonsensical, especially paired with a giant lemon-printed tot in place of a traditional backpack, but overall, it was definitely rufus!

Wooderson's White Tee and 'Stache From Dazed & Confused

Few film breakthroughs have been as indelible as Matthew McConaughey in the Richard Linklater-directed coming-of-age comedy Dazed and Confused. One of McConaughey's best roles, his Texan townie David Wooderson wasn't just iconic because of his one-liners (including that infamous "Alright, alright, alright" drawl) but also because of his authentic '70s digs: a tight Ted Nugent T-shirt tucked into salmon-pink pants, capped off with a groovy mustache and that easy McConaughey smile.

Nisi and Mickey's Super-Shiny Coats From B.A.P.S.

Nisi (Halle Berry) and Mickey (the late Natalie Desselle) — a.k.a. the "Black American Princesses" at the focus of the cultish 1997 buddy comedy B.A.P.S. —know that a good outfit means serving looks from head to toe. Put together by Oscar-winning costume director Ruth E. Carter, those incredible sky-high hairdos are matched with heavily lacquered outerwear in tropical tangerine and animal print, plus heaps of gold jewelry and a fresh set of acrylic nails.

Corey's Rex Manning Day Outfit From Empire Records

The '90s cult favorite Empire Records takes place over the course of one day in the lives of a plucky group of record store employees. But it's no ordinary day: it's Rex Manning Day when the childhood crush of staffer Corey Mason (played by Liv Tyler) — washed-up pop star Rex Manning (Maxwell Caulfield) — comes in for an album-signing event. Of course, that means Corey wants to look her best and she sure does, in a soft blue mohair sweater, plaid skirt and combat boots that, per Elle, were the actress's own.

The Pink Camp Uniforms From But I'm a Cheerleader

One of the best and most satirical teen rom-coms out there, But I'm a Cheerleader stars Natasha Lyonne as Megan Bloomfield, a high school cheerleader whose parents send her to a conversion therapy camp to "cure" her lesbianism. All attendees of True Directions are made to wear campy color-coded uniforms — pale pink for the girls, bright blue for the boys — a hilariously subversive sendup of absurd gender stereotypes. That candy-colored clothing is made sweeter when Megan falls for another queer girl (played by Clea DuVall) in the program.

Tupac's Layered Outerwear From Juice

The 1992 crime thriller Juice was the feature film debut of rap icon Tupac Shakur, and the rapper made a great big-screen first impression. As Roland Bishop, an aimless Harlem youth walking the chilly, dangerous streets of early-nineties New York City with his friends, Tupac wears a top-notch outerwear uniform — we're talking sporty crewnecks layered over hoodies and topped with an oversized jean jacket. It may be cold, but Pac always looks cool.

Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman Suit From Batman Returns

Superheroes usually have pretty cool costumes, tricked out with gadgets and gizmos, but for Michelle Pfeiffer, all her Catwoman needed was a skintight latex suit and a simple whip to create a seminal cinematic villain. Beyond being "black and sexy and tight and shiny," costume designer Mary Vogt revealed to AnOther, the infamous suit shrewdly incorporated silicon stitching to mimic a calico cat. "Since she was moving around at night, it looked really fluid. That costume is all about the light – and of course, all about Michelle.”

Selena's Purple Performing Jumpsuit From Selena

Jennifer Lopez is a fashion legend in her own right — her famous green Grammy dress literally inspired the invention of Google Images — but in 1997, she had her Golden Globe-nominated breakthrough for portraying another style icon, the late Tejano superstar Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, in the music biopic Selena. The titular star had many notable performing outfits throughout her short-lived career, many of which were recreated for the film, but the glittering purple jumpsuit Selena wore while performing at the Houston Astrodome might just be her most unforgettable look.

The Spice Force Five Looks From Spice World

World-famous pop group, The Spice Girls are known for their individual personas and signature styles, from Victoria Beckham's "posh" little black dresses to Geri Halliwell's Union Jack frocks. But in their 1997 musical comedy film Spice World, the gals come together for a true joint slay as the "Spice Force Five," hamming it up as seriously stylish espionage agents in matching silver fits and, of course, massive platform shoes.

Laney's Little Red Dress From She's All That

Some outfits deserve their own slow-mo moment, and the post-makeover red dress that artsy nerd Laney Boggs (played by Rachael Leigh Cook) wears in the classic '90s teen flick She's All That is certainly one of them. "Up until that point her palette was very drab," costume designer Denise Wingate told Interview Magazine. "That’s why when she comes down the stairs to meet Zach that moment was more about the color than the dress itself." (Cue the "Kiss Me"!) Not that we don't love her paint-splattered overalls and bookish eyeglasses, too!

The Beach Hats From How Stella Got Her Groove Back

Angela Bassett always looks incredible, but especially while on vacation — the tropical costuming in one of the actress's best movies, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, certainly proves that point. The island-ready looks worn by Bassett's character Stella Payne and her best friend Delilah (Whoopi Goldberg), complete with fabulous, wide-brimmed beach hats, will make you want to book a trip ASAP.

Madeline's Silver Ensemble From Death Becomes Her

When Hollywood icons like Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn and Isabella Rossellini come together, you know the fashion moments will be aplenty. The '90s dark comedy Death Becomes Her is packed with them, like the silky silver jacket that Meryl's Madeline Ashton character wears while she blasts a hole straight through the stomach of her former friend Helen Sharp (Hawn). The outfit was so iconic that Adele herself wore it while crooning to Streep at one of her Vegas shows.

Rose's Dinner Dress From Titanic

It's no surprise that, out of its whopping 11 wins, Titanic took home the Oscar for Best Costume Design at the 70th Academy Awards. The ornate lace gown that Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet) wears in that romantic scene as she glides down the grand staircase to meet Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) alone was worth the award!

The Wonders' Matching Suits From That Thing You Do!

"You guys look great in red, have I told you that?" It's the go-to compliment from The Wonders' band manager Mr. White (played by Tom Hanks, who also wrote and directed the movie) in the 1996 musical comedy That Thing You Do! And honestly, he's right: the matching suits he makes bandmates Jimmy (Johnathon Schaech), Lenny (Steve Zahn), Guy (Tom Everett Scott) and the bass player (Ethan Embry) wear on tour do look great, especially when finished off with some cool sunnies for "Shades" to wear.

Dickie's Italian Wardrobe From The Talented Mr. Ripley

It would be near-impossible to make film heartthrob Jude Law ever look bad, but the classic Riviera-chic stylings that the actor wears as Dickie Greenleaf in The Talented Mr. Ripley —think striped polo, breezy white trousers, boat-ready loafers and stretches of tanned skin — arguably might be the best he's ever looked onscreen.

As the back end of the 2025 TV schedule starts to fill up with premiere dates for both new and returning series for Fall TV and beyond, that means we're thankfully beyond the biggest batch of widespread cancellations tied to May upfronts, at least for broadcast networks. But the boob tube's Grim Reaper waits for no one.

June 2025 was privy to quite a few disappointing cancellation announcements that finally cleared up the bubble shows left over after the May TV bloodbath, with a few additional disappointing surprises also making headlines. So while it doesn't please me to address any amount of bad news, let's shine a light on the most disappointing chopping-block decisions from the start of the summer, followed by a more comprehensive list of series facing bad news this year.

The Most Disappointing TV Cancellations In June 2025

Éoile (Prime Video)

• Number Of Seasons: 1
• Reason For Ending: Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino's ballet dramedy appeared destined for multi-season glory like the creators' Mrs. Maisel and Gilmore Girls, but sadly suffered a Bunheads-esque fate when Amazon reversed its original two-season order and canceled Étoile after its single season dropped all at once in late April. (Like The Bondsman, this series didn't follow the platform's usual weekly episode drops.) Despite critics and audiences being won over by the charms of Luke Kirby, Charlotte Gainsbourg and others, it was canceled six weeks after it first arrived.
• Final Episode: April 24, 2025

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+)

• Number Of Seasons: 5
• Reason For Ending: It's somewhat hard to slot this as a disappointment, considering Paramount+ confirmed the genre-mashing series' fifth season even before Season 3 premiered. (That's happening July 17.) Still, the prequel to the original Trek series delivered so much fun in the first two seasons that it's easier and better on the psyche to just pretend that the final-season announcement never happened and wait until just before the shortened six-episode Season 5 arrives to start getting emotional.
• Final Episode: TBA

Gross Pointe Garden Society (NBC)

• Number Of Seasons: 1
• Reason For Ending: Created by Grey's Anatomy writer/producer Jenna Bans and Bill Krebs, Grosse Pointe Garden Society centered on the classic hook of suburbanites with secrets (and bodies) to hide, with a talented cast of TV vets bringing the goods. Unfortunately, the drama got off to a bad ratings start with its late February debut, and that was the only episode that brought in more than 1.5 million viewers, with one episode falling below a million. Without a massive streaming audience to bolster those numbers, broadcast networks can't afford to stick with that level of succes, and NBC canceled it on June 27, 2025, around six weeks after its cliffhanger-y finale.
• Final Episode: May 16, 2025

Doctor Odyssey (ABC)

• Number Of Seasons: 1
• Reason For Ending: With Ryan Murphy as a co-creator, and a seemingly endless number of oddball at-sea plotlines to explore, Doctor Odyssey never quite seemed to settle its footing with critics or audiences, leading to fluctuating stats that likely played into the medical drama's "on the bubble" status for so many weeks after ABC's other cancellations were unleashed. Technically speaking, the network didn't officially cancel the show; rather, the cast's contracts were allowed to expire without renewal, meaning that ABC will need to work with the cast and crew on new negotiations should execs eventually decide to make Season 2 a reality.
• Final Episode: May 15, 2025

Shows Set For Planned Endings In 2025

Andor (Disney+)

• Number Of Seasons: 2
• Reason For Ending: While the original plan for the upcoming Star Wars project was for a five-season run, the massive scope involved (and thus the enormous budget reported) meant that showrunner Tony Gilroy was limited to just two seasons to tell the entire prequelized story of Gabriel Luna's Cassian Andor.
• Final Episode: TBA to follow Season 2 premiere on April 22, 2025.

Bel-Air (Peacock)

• Number Of Seasons: 4
• Reason For Ending: It's unclear exactly why Peacock chose to make Season 4 the final one for its dramatized Fresh Prince reboot, but given the lower episode count (eight instead of ten) and three-month stretch between the Season 3 finale and the final season renewal, it's likely the lower viewership combined with rising budgets to force execs' hands.
• Final Episode: TBA in 2025

Big Mouth (Netflix)

• Number Of Seasons: 8
• Reason For Ending: Nick Kroll and Andrew Goldberg's animated adult comedy will be Netflix's longest-running original non-kids series when Season 8 arrives, and there doesn't appear to be any straightforward reason for it to be ending, beyond the fact that its characters have been in middle school for seven years now.
• Final Episode: TBA in 2025

Billy The Kid (MGM+)

• Number Of Seasons: 3
• Reason For Ending: Though Billy the Kid was touted as being one of MGM+'s three biggest shows for its second season, the burgeoning streaming service decided in October 2023 to make the impending third season the finale one. Historically speaking, Billy the Kid didn't exactly live to a ripe old age, so it makes sense for the show to be somewhat limited in season number.
• Final Episode: TBA in 2025

Blood Of Zeus (Netflix)

• Number Of Seasons: 3
• Reason For Ending: Netflix's epic-scale animated action-adventure Blood of Zeus has been a critical darling for its sharp animation and effective voice actors, but never quite became as much of a mainstream hit as some of the streamer's other American anime, and the creators announced at SDCC 2024 that the series was ordered for a third and final season to debut in 2025.
• Final Episode: TBA in 2025

Bosch: Legacy (Prime Video)

• Number Of Seasons: 3
• Reason For Ending: Titus Welliver's now-retired Harry Bosch is getting his swan song in the third season of Bosch: Legacy ahead of the Maggie Q-starring spinoff set to debut in the back half of 2025. The series' end coincided with the confirmation that Amazon Freevee was going away in light of Prime Video launching its ad-based tier, and while no hyper-specific reasons have surfaced for why the series is ending with Season 3, it's theorized that the show's questionable value for advertisers played into it.
• Final Episode: TBA in 2025

Cobra Kai (Netflix)

• Number Of Seasons: 6
• Reason For Ending: The Karate Kid franchise follow-up Cobra Kai was revealed to be ending with Season 6 back in January 2023, when creators Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg released a Netflix-emblazoned letter to fans that addressed their goal to end Johnny, Daniel, and other characters' stories on their own terms, possibly implying the streaming service did not show interest in continuing with a seventh season.
• Final Episode: The final 8 episodes comprising Season 6 Part 3 will drop on Thursday, February 13.

The Conners (ABC)

• Number Of Seasons: 7
• Reason For Ending: The Conners wasn't originally intended to go beyond a single season clearing up Roseanne issues, yet John Goodman & Co. are returning for their eighth year, which will officially be its final one due to a combination of salaries, schedules and dwindling viewership, with only six episodes ordered up to close out this beloved sitcom universe.
• Final Episode: TBA in Spring 2025

The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)

• Number Of Seasons: 6
• Reason For Ending: Hulu ordered up the sixth and final season of The Handmaid's Tale ahead of Season 5's heavy cliffhanger ending, with creator Bruce Miller saying he was given the opportunity to close out June's story on his own terms. That announcement, which coincided with development confirmation on adapting Margaret Atwood's sequel tale The Testaments, happened back in September 2022, with strikes and other factors delaying the production's start until Summer 2024.
• Final Episode: TBA in Spring 2025

9-1-1: Lone Star (Fox)

• Number Of Seasons: 5
• Reason For Ending: With flagship drama 9-1-1 having previously shifted from Fox to ABC, Rob Lowe's 9-1-1: Lone Star spinoff was immediately theorized as a future goner, and such rumors persisted ahead of its strike-delayed premiere, right up until the point in September 2024 when it was confirmed ahead of the Season 5 premiere that it would serve as the final season. Drooping ratings from year to year likely meshed with budget issues to inspire this particular cancellation.
• Final Episode: February 3, 2025

Power Book III: Raising Kanan (Starz)

• Number Of Seasons: 5
• Reason For Ending: The second successful spinoff from 50 Cent's Power franchise, the Mekai Curtis-starring crime drama was renewed for Season 5 back in March 2024, with the "final season" confirmation happening in May 2025. Showrunner Sascha Penn shared a statement saying it was always his goal to tell Kanan's backstory in five seasons, with the final season focusing on the introduction of Breeze, as portrayed by Spider-Verse's Shamiek Moore.
• Final Episode: TBA

The Righteous Gemstones (HBO)

• Number Of Seasons: 4
• Reason For Ending: Just a week before its long-awaited fourth season's premeire date was finally revealed, The Righteous Gemstones' creator Danny McBride broke the news that it would be the Gemstone family's final outing, telling GQ in January 2025 that it felt like a natural decision to send the show to the choir invisible after this cycle, given the way the season was crafted to bring "all these themes and these ideas and these characters to a conclusion, to something that felt like completion." No word yet on whether a Baby Billy Freeman spinoff will ever get prayed into existence.
• Final Episode: May 4, 2025

Solar Opposites (Hulu)

• Number Of Seasons: 5 currently, will end with Season 6
• Reason For Ending: Hulu announced Solar Opposites' Season 6 renewal at SDCC 2024, ahead of Season 5 and its folllow-up special. But it wasn't until mid-March 2025 that fans learned it would be the final batch of misadventures for Korvo, Terry, Yumyulack, Jesse,The Pupa, and everyone in and outside The Wall. No specific reasons were laid out, but it does appear as if this will serve as a proper conclusion for the animated hit.
• Final Episode: TBA Late 2025

Squid Game (Netflix)

• Number Of Seasons: 3
• Reason For Ending: Months ahead of the premiere of its globe-conquering second season, Squid Game Season 3 was ordered up in July 2024, with series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk confirming in the announcement that it would be the final outing. Though he didn't even originally plan for Season 2 to happen, Hwang has spoken since about seeing a third season as the natural conclusion for the characters and games.
• Final Episode: TBA late 2025

Stranger Things (Netflix)

• Number Of Seasons: 5
• Reason For Ending: Since their earliest days working on the project, Matt and Ross Duffer envisioned that Stranger Things Season 5 would likely be the time to conclude things, assuming (correctly) that four wouldn't be enough. The duo confirmed that to be reality in June 2022, well before the Hollywood strikes pushed back filming and premiere plans.
• Final Episode: TBA in 2025

The Summer I Turned Pretty (Prime Video)

• Number Of Seasons: 3
• Reason For Ending: The Summer I Turned Pretty was secured for its third outing a month after Season 2 concluded in 2023, with plans to wrap up Jenny Han's novel trilogy. In May 2024, Amazon MGM delayed new episodes until 2025 while also revealing an expanded episode order. So all the signs were there for this to be the final season, and the streaming platform confirmed this to be the case when the final season's premiere window was finally announced.
• Final Episode: TBA Summer 2025

Upload (Prime Video)

• Number Of Seasons: 4
• Reason For Ending: The tech-afterlife comedy Upload was initially conceived for a four-season arc, according to creator Greg Daniels, and while that number wasn't always guaranteed, the quirky satire has proven successful enough for Amazon execs to take the characters to their natural conclusions with a final season.
• Final Episode: TBA in 2025

You (Netflix)

• Number Of Seasons: 5
• Reason For Ending: Ahead of the 2023 strikes, Netflix put the word out that Penn Badgley's killer thriller You was getting a fifth and final season. Though no reasoning was given, it's possible that part of the decision stemmed from co-creator and showrunner Sara Gamble exiting the series (amicably) and being replaced by a pair of EPs taking her spot to tell Joe Goldberg's swan song.
• Final Episode: TBA in 2025

Shows That Were Straight-Up Canceled For 2025

After Midnight (CBS)

• Number Of Seasons: 2
• Reason For Ending: After two seasons of helping usher in CBS' most random late-night comedy in years, After Midnight host Taylor Tomlinson announced in March 2025 that she would be vacating the series to focus more on her stand-up comedy. After that, CBS reversed its previous Season 3 renewal decision and canceled the show outright, with low ratings no doubt a factor. It's believed that the panel show's time slot will revert back to local affiliates post-finale, which will mark the first time in 30 years that CBS isn't programming the 12:30 a.m. ET hour.
• Final Episode: TBA June 2025

Alert: Missing Persons Unit

• Number Of Seasons: 3
• Reason For Ending: One of Fox's pair of bubble shows that survived the May cancellations, Alert: Missing Persons Unit stayed on the table as a potential renewal due to network execs' faith in Hawaii Five-0 vet as a lead, as well as positive feelings about the third season highlighting more buddy-cop vibes. But the series didn't top 1.5 million nightly viewers beyond its Season 2 premiere, and the cancellation decision was revealed less than two weeks later.
• Final Episode: May 27, 2025

Based On A True Story (Peacock)

• Number Of Seasons: 2
• Reason For Ending: Lovable TV mainstays Kaley Cuoco and Chris Messina made for a winning team in the mystery-laden dark comedy Based on a True Story, with two seasons of well-received thrills and kills. Out of the blue in mid-April 2025, news broke that it was canceled, without any initial sign of a motivation on Peacock's part to wrap up after that game-changing Season 2 finale.
• Final Episode: November 21, 2024

The Bondsman (Prime Video)

• Number Of Seasons: 1
• Reason For Ending: Kevin Bacon's gory horror dramedy The Bondsman might have had a bigger impact on Prime Video subscribers had Amazon promoted it beyond the front page of its streaming site. But the series arrived largely out of nowhere in April 2025, made quite a few horror fans giddy with excitement, and then got axed six weeks later. Despite making a showing on Nielsen's streaming charts during its first week of release, The Bondsman's impact wasn't enough for a second round of demon-destroying mayhem.
• Final Episode: April 3, 2025

Bookie (Max)

• Number Of Seasons: 2
• Reason For Ending: Sitcom creator extraordinaire Chuck Lorre made the jump to Max by teaming with stand-up comedian Sebastian Maniscalco and voice-actor Nick Bakay for a closer look at the financially irresponsible world of sports betting and bookies. Perhaps it’s saying something that more attention went to Lorre’s reunion with Charlie Sheen after their Two and a Half Men feud than Bookie itself, and news spread in February 2025 that the dramedy was axed.
• Final Episode: January 30, 2025

Citadel: Honey Bunny (Prime Video)

• Number Of Seasons: 1
• Reason For Ending: The breakout success of spythriller Citadel sparked two spinoffs, with Honey Bunny taking the prequel route with Varun Dhawan's Bunny and Samantha's Honey, the parents of Priyanka Chopra's Nadia in the flagship series. The Indian-Hindu series was a hit in its native countries, but did not take hold of global audiences in the way its predecessor did. But in announcing that it would not return for Season 2, Amazon confirmed that the characters' stories will be woven into Citadel Season 2 when it finally arrives.
• Final Episode: November 26, 2024

Citadel: Diana (Prime Video)

• Number Of Seasons: 1
• Reason For Ending: The sequel-ish Citadel: Diana was Amazon's Italian set spinoff of its hit spy-action series Citadel, starring Matilda De Angelis as an undercover Citadel agent trying to make her way back to safety after getting stuck behind enemy lines. As it went with Honey Bunny, Diana did not garner enough of a global impact to warrant a second season, though its storyline will be worked into the second season of Citadel when it arrives in Q2 2026.
• Final Episode: October 10, 2024

The Cleaning Lady (Fox)

• Number Of Seasons: 4
• Reason For Ending: The fact that Élodie Yung's mob cleaner Thony De La Rosa was able to survive four seasons on Fox is a feat in and of itself, considering its third season's dip in viewership. Despite bringing in Dexter vet Daniel Cerrone as a new showrunner for the fourth season, the numbers didn't go upwards at all, although debuting during the last week of March probably didn't help its chances. That said, Fox execs clearly waited until after it ended to go forward with the decision, rather than ending it pre-finale along with the other cancellations.
• Final Episode: June 3, 2025

Cruel Intentions (Prime Video)

• Number Of Seasons: 1
• Reason For Ending: Starting in 2015, NBC attempted to get a Cruel Intentions TV show off the ground, based on the hit 1997 movie, and Amazon swooped in years after those initial attempts were given up on. Unfortunately, neither general audiences nor critics felt very strongly about the series and its focus on Greek life. Four months or so after its eight-episode season dropped, the studio dropped the show altogether.
• Final Episode: November 21, 2024

The Equalizer (CBS)

• Number Of Seasons: 5
• Reason For Ending: Fans of Queen Latifah’s The Equalizer had to wait until CBS made decisions for all of its other shows to learn that it was canceled. Addressing this decision and others, one exec pointed to financial issues as a cause, though BTS reports allege the cast and crew agreed to accept budget cuts to acquire a smaller episode order. It’s unlikely the series will be shopped to other studios, but that could depend on how star and EP Queen Latifah herself wants to move forward.
• Final Episode: May 4, 2025

• Number Of Seasons: 2
• Reason For Ending: Despite its breakout success as a post-strike premiere in 2023, Found’s fate was sealed for a trifecta of reasons. 1. The first season’s dynamic changed when Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s Sir escaped. 2. The sophomore season’s larger than average drop in viewership. 3. NBC’s upcoming NBA coverage, which required a major decrease in scripted primetime offerings. But as of this writing, Warner Bros. TV is reportedly shipping the thriller around to other platforms for a potential third outing.
• Final Episode: Airing May 15, 2025

FBI: International (CBS)

Number Of Seasons: 4

Reason For Ending: Similar to its weeknight roomie Most Wanted, FBI: International had its fate sealed without any of the usual motivational factors popping up, such as a drop in viewership or generally low ratings. At the moment, the going idea is that both dramas were folded to make room for the in-the-works CIA spinoff, but that project has not yet been ordered to series.

Final Episode: TBA Spring 2025

FBI: Most Wanted (CBS)

Number Of Seasons: 6

Reason For Ending: When the news first dropped that CBS had pulled the plug on its currently airing (and timeslot-winning) FBI spinoff Most Wanted, the going theory was that the network had to make room for another impending spinoff, FBI: CIA, which fans are not exactly happy about. No official reasons have sprung up just yet, but some viewers are hoping for the Dylan McDermott-starring drama to be saved by a streaming service or by NBC, where Dick Wolf's Law & Order and One Chicago franchises have thrived.

Final Episode: TBA Spring 2025

Found (NBC)

The Franchise (HBO)

• Number Of Seasons: 1
• Reason For Ending: Five or so weeks after wrapping its highly chaotic chronicling of superhero blockbuster Tecto: Eye of the Storm, the abundantly satirical comedy The Franchise faced its somewhat ironic cancellation after a single, non-franchising season, albeit a well-received one. While the HBO spokesperson who confirmed the cancellation to Deadline in early January didn't explain the reasoning, the show's seemingly limited viewership likely didn't justify its budget.
• Final Episode: Aired on November 24, 2024

Frasier (Paramount+)

• Number Of Seasons: 2
• Reason For Ending: In January 2025, Paramount+ announced that Kelsey Grammer’s largely enjoyable return to the Frasier universe was ending after two seasons, largely due to the show’s inability to breakout as a hit across the full audience spectrum. Grammer has since gone public confidently stating that he believes Season 3 is still going to happen, but it’s unclear where or who would be paying for it.
• Final Episode: November 14, 2024

Harlem (Prime Video)

• Number Of Seasons: 3
• Reason For Ending: Fans only learned the Meagan Good-starring comedy Harlem would be ending when Prime Video released the first trailer for Season 3 on January 8, 2025, more than a year after the third batch of episodes was ordered with no hint that they would conclude the series. But neither that reveal, nor the follow-up from creator Tracy Oliver, addressed a reason for the surprise decision.
• Final Episode: The final two Season 3 episodes will stream on Thursday, February 6, 2025.

How To Die Alone (Hulu)

• Number Of Seasons: 1
• Reason For Ending: The White Lotus breakout star Natasha Rothwell tapped into a vaguely similar mix of drama, comedy and romantic entanglements for her streaming series How To Die Alone. Though the eight-episode first season largely won over both critics and audiences, Hulu opted not to move forward with the show for a second season, a choice that shocked Rothwell, who is reportedly shopping the series around to other platforms.
• Final Episode: September 27, 2024

The Irrational (NBC)

• Number Of Seasons: 2
• Reason For Ending: Though Season 1 was a hit for NBC in the dregs of post-strikes TV, earning a renewal just a few months in, the Jesse L. Martin-starring drama The Irrational fell short of maintaining its initial audience when Season 2 arrived, perhaps due to a shift from Mondays to Tuesdays. Due to its sizable dips in viewer stats, the series didn’t have an advantage where renewal convos were concerned, especially with the uptick in NBC’s NBA games on the way.
• Final Episode: Aired March 25, 2025

Lopez Vs. Lopez (NBC)

• Number Of Seasons: 3
• Reason For Ending: Comedian George Lopez and daughter Mayan Lopez’s eponymously titled sitcom was never big with critics, and never delivered huge audience totals, which is likely why it was an on-the-bubble decision for NBC in each of Lopez vs. Lopez’s three seasons. But while its familial charms earned last-minute renewals in years past, the choice was made to pull the plug after Season 3, despite a small-but-present uptick in audience numbers during its post-midseason run.
• Final Episode: Aired February 7, 2025

Mr. Throwback (Peacock)

• Number Of Seasons: 1
• Reason For Ending: Co-starring one of the oddest TV comedy pairings with Happy Endings vet Adam Pally and NBA icon Steph Curry, Mr. Throwback was met with a warm enough reception when it landed on Peacock, but didn't spark much beyond silence in the months that followed. The streaming service's decision finally went public in April 2025, without a second season on the way.
• Final Episode: August 8, 2024

Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur (Disney+)

• Number Of Seasons: 2
• Reason For Cancellation: In October 2024, several of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur's excellent cast members confirmed Disney+ canceled the animated Marvel Comics adaptation following executive producer Steve Loter's cryptic online hints. No specific reasons have been confirmed, but there's a silver lining in that fans will still get to see more episodes, as the animation team was still working on nine episodes when the cancellation news dropped.
• Final Episode: TBA in 2025

Mythic Quest (Apple TV+)

• Number Of Seasons: 4
• Reason For Ending: Apple was confident enough to order up a third and fourth season of Mythic Quest back in October 2021, with Season 4 arriving at last in January 2025. Unfortunately, just two weeks after the finale hit streaming, Apple pulled the plug on Mythic Quest, GrimPop and any future expansion plans. The cancellation appeared to come as a surprise to co-creators Rob McElhenney, Megan Ganz and David Hornsby, who were granted the opportunity by Apple to adjust the finale's ending to account for its sealed fate.
• Final Episode: March 26, 2025 (original), TBA April 2025 (updated version)

Night Court (NBC)

• Number Of Seasons: 3
• Reason For Ending: Melissa Rauch’s major Big Bang Theory follow-up, NBC’s Night Court revival also boasted O.G. fave John Larroquette and (occasionally) Marsha Warfield, and the evolving sitcom played up its TBBT ties with Simon Helberg and Young Sheldon’s Raegan Revord guesting in Season 3’s cliffhanger finale. Unfortunately, the show’s loyal viewership fell with each season, and while there’s potential for it to get shopped around (per Deadline), NBC canceled Night Court without an official wrap-up.
• Final Episode: Aired May 6, 2025

The Recruit (Netflix)

Number Of Seasons: 2

Reason For Ending: Alexi Hawley has enjoyed extended runs with ABC procedurals Castle and The Rookie, among others, but his initial jump to streaming was cut short when Netflix spy canceled its spy dramedy The Recruit just over a month after its second season debuted in January. Early numbers indicate more critical acclaim and a higher completion rate for streamers, albeit with a smaller overall audience (per Deadline), and fans angered by the cancellation news have theorized that the sophomore season’s premiering a week after the sorta-similar Night Agent’s second season played a part in the decision.

Final Episode: January 20, 2025

Rescue Hi-Surf (Fox)

• Number Of Seasons: 1
• Reason For Ending: Rescue Hi-Surf’s troubled existence began in COVID-striken 2020 as a project for then-branded HBO Max, and after stagnating for 2-3 years, was picked up by Fox and retitled from Ke Nui Road to the punctuation-friendly Rescue: Hi-Surf. The lifeguard drama enjoyed an NFL lead-in for its September 2024 preview, but immediately lost half of its audience with its Monday night timeslot, and its nightly viewership dipped below 2 million by Episode 4 and never looked back. The fandom’s pulled together for an online renewal campaign, but no updates so far.
• Final Episode: Aired March 31, 2025

The Sex Lives Of College Girls (Max)

• Number Of Seasons: 3
• Reason For Ending: After two successful seasons, The Sex Lives of College Girls bid farewell to co-star Reneé Rapp early in its third-season, and the series never quite reached the levels it had in earlier years, despite two new characters being introduced to help fill the voice. While Max didn't give a specific reason for cancelling the LGBTQ+-friendly comedy, it's believed that dips in viewership accounted for part of the decision.
• Final Episode: January 23, 2025

Star Trek: Prodigy (Netflix)

• Number Of Seasons: 2
• Reason For Ending: Despite the creators' hopes for a seven-season run, the youth-skewing Star Trek: Prodigy's fate was first tested by Paramount+'s cancellation as the already ordered Season 2 was still being made. Netflix stepped in to give the second season a home, but presumably due to lower than expected viewership numbers, the streaming service opted out of going forward with a third season, though without making that decision known until May 2025.
• Final Episode: July 1, 2024

The Sticky (Prime Video)

• Number Of Seasons: 1
• Reason For Ending: Despite having the power of stars such as Margo Martindale and Chris Diamantopoulos, the darkly comedic heist caper The Sticky didn’t appear to draw the kinds of crowds most deserving of its fairly universal critical acclaim. Without a huge viewership to lean on, Prime Video chose not to renew the syrup-covered series for a second outing.
• Final Episode: December 6, 2024

Suits LA (NBC)

• Number Of Seasons: 1
• Reason For Ending: Brought to life entirely due to Suits’ shockingly massive streaming success at Netflix, Suits LA was heavily promoted with lead Arrow vet Stephen Amell, who was soon joined by O.G. vet Gabriel Macht’s Harvey. Unfortunately, the spinoff’s viewership and ratings paled in comparison to Netflix’s stats, and NBC overruled any hopes for a second season both ahead of the upfronts, and ahead of the hopefully conclusive Season 1 finale.
• Final Episode: Airing May 18, 2025

S.W.A.T. (CBS)

Number Of Seasons: 8

Reason For Ending: Most shows need to change networks to survive multiple cancellations, but S.W.A.T. never had to leave CBS to experience getting canceled three different times. Its first came in 2023, and was reversed two days later, while its second pink slip was issued in Feb. 2024, only for CBS to conjure up a surprise renewal for an eighth and now-final season. Despite its star’s hopes for another go, network execs canceled the Shemar Moore series for a third time in March 2025, choosing to forego the usual contractual talks.

Final Episode: TBA May 2025

Teacup (Peacock)

• Number Of Seasons: 1
• Reason For Cancellation: Yvonne Strahovski and Scott Speedman's horror thriller Teacup, based on author (and EP) Robert McCammon's novel Stinger, debuted as a Peacock exclusive in October 2024, two years after it was first ordered. Unfortunately, the show failed to make impactful waves with either critics or streaming audiences, and Variety reported the cancellation news without any additional insight from the streaming service's side.
• Final Episode: October 31, 2024

Tiana (Disney+)

Number Of Seasons: 0

Reason For Ending: A rather standalone entry in the world of canceled TV shows, Disney's episodic The Princess and the Frog spinoff was first announced all the way back in December 2020 (alongside other defunct projects like Armor Wars and Swiss Family Robinson). And despite attempts by multiple creative teams to expand the world of Anika Noni Rose's Tiana, the project was officially scrapped in early March 2025, with production costs cited as a reason alongside the creative issues.

Final Episode: No episodes were aired

Tyler Perry's Young Dylan (Nickelodeon)

• Number Of Seasons: 5
• Reason For Ending: Tyler Perry's Sistas-verse may be growing, but the mega-producer's family-friendly fare at Nickelodeon took a hit as Dylan Gilmer's Young Dylan sang its hip-hop swan song. The unfortunate news came via series director Carl Payne on Instagram, just two days after the final episode went live, and the cable network followed up a few days later and confirmed it wouldn't be moving forward with a Season 6 order. No specific reasons were alluded to.
• Final Episode: Aired April 30, 2025

The Wheel Of Time (Prime Video)

• Number Of Seasons: 3
• Reason For Ending: As an expensive fantasy series, The Wheel of Time earned its first two renewals due to both critical acclaim and the size of the audience streaming the weekly episodes. Unfortunately, even with Prime Video's worldwide audiences in the mix, the numbers for the Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson adaptation's third season weren't quite enough to justify the budgetary costs for a fourth season. Just over a month after the Season 3 finale released, the platform pulled the plug.
• Final Episode: April 17, 2025

The 1990s were a great decade for music and that is reflected in this list of some of the best music moments from films of the era. Not all the music is "'90s music" but all of the moments are unforgettable. Here is our list of some of those amazing moments from some of the best movies of the decade.

"Flower Duet" - True Romance

Composer Léo Delibes' "Flower Duet" sets the backdrop for the amazing, and intense, scene between Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper in Tony Scott's True Romance. Not only is it a fantastic use of music in film, it's one of the best scenes of any movie from the '90s. Maybe one of the best of all time.

"O-o-h Child" - Boyz 'N The Hood

The melancholy music and lyrics of "O-o-h Child" by the Five Stairsteps set the perfect tone for the scene in Boyz In The Hood where we see a young Dough Boy getting arrested for the first time as Tre and his father Furious look on after a nice afternoon fishing. The scene says so much about how each kid would grow up stuck in an unsustainable system.

"Layla" - GoodFellas

Martin Scorcese has always been great with his use of music in movies. Goodfellas is filled with classic songs and the most dramatic of all of them has to be the coda of the Derek and the Dominos' song "Layla." The piano, along with Eric Clapton and Duane Allman's soaring, dueling guitar solo, sets the perfect tone as bodies from the crew turn up everywhere as Jimmy (Robert DeNiro) cleans up the heist.

"Bittersweet Symphony" - Cruel Intentions

One of the best songs of the '90s, and indeed of all time, is "Bittersweet Symphony" by the Verve. The use of it at the end of Cruel Intentions as Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) gets busted and embarrassed in front of the whole school is, in one word, epic.

"Sweet Emotion" - Dazed And Confused

The opening moments of Dazed and Confused, accompanied by Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion" make it immediately clear just how cool the movie is going to be. When the beat kicks in and we see Pickford (Shawn Andrews) and Michelle (Milla Jovovich) cruising the parking lot in his car, it draws the audience in immediately.

"Son Of Preacher Man" - Pulp Fiction

There are a lot of songs you can choose from in Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece Pulp Fiction. The dancing scene with Chuck Berry certainly stands out, but we just have to go with "Son of a Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield when Vincent (John Travolta) first arrives to pick up Mia (Uma Thurman). If nothing else, it's really cool, and the scene is now a legendary meme.

"Supermodel" - Clueless

"Cher's main thrill in life is a makeover," is one of the defining lines of Clueless, and the montage that follows accompanied by "Supermodel" by Jill Sobule, is one of the most iconic scenes from one of the most iconic movies of the '90s.

"Jungle Fever" - Jungle Fever

You can't have a list like this and not include the music from Spike Lee's Jungle Fever. The songs, all written and performed by the great Stevie Wonder, fit the movie perfectly. It would be a very different movie without them and while it's hard to pick just one, we went with the title track to the movie, played over the opening credits, to represent them all.

"Still" - Office Space

Sure, the most famous song featured in Office Space is "Feels Good To Be A Gangsta" but it's another song by The Geto Boys, "Still," that gets the nod here. There isn't a harder song director Mike Judge could have gone with to play along with the most famous scene in the movie when the office crew finally put their misery to an end and killed the janky printer.

"Hotel California" - The Big Lebowski

The Big Lebowski has some amazing quotes and is filled with unforgettable moments and lines. None more so than the moment cast member John Turturro's character, Jesus, is introduced while The Gypsy Kings' version of The Eagles' "Hotel California" plays.

"My Heart Will Go On" - Titanic

While Celine Dion's song "My Heart Will Go On" is not part of one particular scene in Titanic, the theme, written by James Horner (in the composer's most famous work), is played so much that it's as much a part of everyone's fond memories of the movie as the wonderful sets and incredible special effects arfe.

"Unchained Melody" - Ghost

"Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers may have been a quarter of a century old when it was used in Ghost but there are generations of movie fans that only associate with that famous scene of Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze throwing some pottery together.

“Bohemian Rhapsody” - Wayne’s World

It's incredible to think that Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" was almost cut from Wayne's World. Not only did end up being the most iconic scene in the movie, it introduced a whole new audience to Queen's music. The movie world would be very different with it.

"Bring The Pain" - The Great White Hype

1996's The Great White Hype is one of the great underrated movies of the decade. Not only does it have a stacked cast with Damon Wayons, Jeff Goldblum, Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Berg, Jamie Foxx, and others, but it also has one amazing moment when Wayons' character, heavyweight champion James "The Grim Reaper" Roper enters the ring with Method Man rapping "Bring The Pain."

"Goodbye Horses" - Silence Of The Lambs

There are very few songs in the history of film that can creep you out quite like "Goodbye Horses" by Q Lazzarus. The song, used in one of the most traumatic scenes in Silence Of The Lambs will immediately put you back in that moment whenever and wherever you hear it.

"Lust For Life" - Trainspotting

Director Danny Boyle is a master of using music in his movies and the best example of this is probably Trainspotting. From the opening moments of the movie with "Lust For Life" by Iggy Pop playing to the end of the movie with the epic "Born Slippy" by Underworld, the music is just amazing.

"The Stroke" - Billy Madison

Billy Madison launched Adam Sandler's movie career. The Sand Man plays a idiot 20-something who is forced to redo all 12 grades to earn his father's company. As a guy who clearly grew up in the 1980s, turning up to his first day of "high school" in a Trans Am while "The Stroke" by Billy Squire plays is, well, radical and perfect.

“I Will Always Love You” - The Bodyguard

We simply couldn't have put together this list without including one of the most popular songs of all time. Whitney Houston's version of the Dolly Parton-penned "I Will Always Love You" was a cultural atom bomb in the '90s. The song was everywhere and while the movie, which also stars Houston has mostly been forgotten, the song and the soundtrack live on forever.

"Everybody Knows" - Pump Up The Volume

Pump Up The Volume is an excellent example of a great movie from the 1990s that no one talks about anymore. The Christian Slater-led movie about a disaffected high school kid who broadcasts his own pirate radio station did, at the time, do as much to define Gen X culture as any movie from the era. The fact that it predates Grunge makes it all the more defining. All of the music is great, but his theme song, "Everybody Knows" by Leonard Cohen is just so... cool.

"My Sharona" - Reality Bites

No movie oozes "Gen X" quite like Reality Bites. Not only does it star actors like Ethan Hawke, Winona Ryder, Janeane Garofalo, and Steve Zahn, but the soundtrack is very '90s. With one exception - "My Sharona" by The Knack. The '80s song fits perfectly though, as the stars all take a moment to turn it up and dance in a convenience store.

“Sister Christian” - Boogie Nights

The scene with "Sister Christian" in Boogie Nights is INTENSE. It's a scene that is, honestly, hard to watch because it makes your skin crawl. That's also what makes the scene, and the movie, such a masterpiece.

"99 Luftballoons" - Grosse Pointe Blank

Grosse Pointe Blank has a truly great soundtrack made up of some of the coolest songs of the 1980s. This is unsurprising given the cast and crew of the movie, including star John Cusack. One of the more ridiculous scenes in this underrated dark romantic comedy is Cusack's character getting help from Jeremy Piven's character to haul a dead body out of a high school reunion with Nena's "99 Luftballoons" playing in the background.

"Stuck In The Middle With You" - Reservoir Dogs

Quentin Tarantino burst onto the scene with his first movie Reservoir Dogs and he immediately set the kind of tone he would carry into most of his movies with the ultra-violent scene of Mr. Blonde (Michael Madson) cutting the ear off a cop. The fact that the sweet love song "Stuck In The Middle With You" by Stealers Wheel plays over it makes it all the more jarring.

"Only You" - Can't Hardly Wait

Can't Hardly Wait is a very '90s with a very '80s aesthetic in a lot of ways, especially the music. The movie's title comes from an '80s song of the same name by The Replacements and the last song of the movie, "Only You" by Yazoo is an '80s New Wave classic. It all fits perfectly though.

"Something I Can Never Have" - Natural Born Killers

Nine Inch Nails have the well-earned reputation of being one of the darkest bands of the 1990s and so when their song "Something I Can Never Have" was included in one of the darkest movies of the decade, it was a marriage made in Heaven, or Hell, depending on how you look at it.

"Mary Jane" - Friday

We all know what Friday is about. The Ice Cube/Chris Tucker comedy classic is one of the funniest movies of the '90s and while "Mary Jane" by Rick James dates back to the '70s, there isn't a more perfect song for the movie.

"Fortunate Son" - Forrest Gump

It's become a comedic trope that Credence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son" is in every Vietnam War movie, but the facts actually show it's not used all that much. One movie it is used perfectly in is Forrest Gump, as the first song we hear when Forrest (Tom Hanks) gets to Vietnam.

"I Got You Babe" - Groundhog Day

There is no more perfect song than "I Got You Babe" to be played over and over and over and over as it is in Groundhog's Day. It does an amazing job just sucking the audience into Bill Murray's character's frustration again and again...and again.

“That Thing You Do” - That Thing You Do!

That Thing You Do! is a really fun movie about a fictional band, so it just had to be included here. None of the songs are all that great, except the star of the show, the song with the same name as the movie, written by the late Adam Schlesinger. It's just so darn catchy!

"State of Love and Trust and Breathe" - Singles

In 1992 the music scene was completely overrun with Grunge. Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Alice In Chains, were just a few of the Seattle bands dominating the charts. Another one of those Seattle bands was, of course, Pearl Jam. Not only did Eddie Veddar and company write and perform the best song on the soundtrack, "State of Love and Trust" but Veddar even showed up in the movie.

"Secret Garden" - Jerry Maguire

Bruce Springsteen had some great contributions to '90s movies, like the theme to Philadelphia, called ""Streets of Philadelphia" for which he won an Oscar, and "Dead Man Walkin'" from Dead Man Walking. We went with another Springsteen choice, "Secret Garden" which is played over the scene in Jerry Maguire when Renee Zelleweger's character is forced to break up with Jerry (Tom Cruise).

"Love Stinks" - The Wedding Singer

Some could argue that The Wedding Singer was the last great movie from Adam Sandler's early career. It's a funny movie, with an even funnier premise and that premise, of Sandler as a washed up singer playing weddings is highlighted perfectly when a depressed singer chooses to sing "Love Stinks" by the J. Geils Band at a wedding. A very Sandler choice.

Whether is books that are hundreds of years old, or they are from the last few decades, some amazing movies have been adaptions of the classics. Sometimes the movies play it fairly straightforward, while other times huge, but tasteful, changes are made. Either way, this is our list of great movies adapted from the canon of great literature. One note - there are dozens of great Shakespeare adaptions but those deserve their own list, so there are none here. 

Pride & Prejudice

Jane Austen is one of the most beloved authors in Western literature and many of her books have been adapted. Pride & Prejudice, first written in 1813, has been adapted multiple times, including a great version in 2005 with Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy and Keira Knightley as Elizabeth. 

Clueless

Did you know that Clueless is a loose adaption of Jane Austen's novel Emma? The book was set in its time, in 1815. It's always fun when classic books are reimagined well for modern times. 

Little Women

Louisa May Alcott's 1868 classic Little Women is still a wildly popular book, especially with women and girls. Despite being well over 100 years old, it's completely reliable. Over the years, it's been adapted for every medium, but Greta Gerwig's 2019 version may have become the standard to judge all the others.  

To Kill A Mockingbird

It could be argued that To Kill A Mockingbird is the most important book of the 20th Century. It's hard to quantify what kind of effect it's had on younger generations and their attitude on race in America. The movie is almost as important. It's rare that movie has a real impact on society like this Gregory Peck-led classic. 

Sense And Sensibility

Jane Austen's first book, Sense And Sensibility, is still one of the most popular books in the world. As such, it's been adapted countless times on stage and screen, but most people would agree that the 1995 version starring Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson is the best. 

Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now is a dark movie. It's one man's journey into the depths of hell, as set during the Vietnam War. It also shows just how much war is just war, no matter the time or place. It's all based on Joseph Conrad's classic Heart of Darkness, which is set 70 years early in the Congo, but the themes and emotions are the same. 

Great Expectations

A lot of Charles Dickens novels have been adapted into movies. One of the more notorious adaptations is Alfonso Cuarón's Great Expectations from 1998. Starring Gwyneth Paltrow as Estella and Ethan Hawke as Finn, set in modern-day New York, it's a classic tale of unrequited love. 

Oliver!

The 1968 musical Oliver! is an important movie for anyone who grew up with it. It's scary at times, but it's got some very singable songs for kids of all ages. It's all based on the Charles Dickens classic Oliver Twist about orphans and street urchins. The most Dickensian of Dickens novels. 

O Brother Where Art Thou?

Leave it to the Coen Brothers to come up with one of the most creative adaptions of one of the oldest stories on earth. O Brother Where Art Thou? is (very) loosely based on Homer's Odyssey. Sure, the brothers change some parts around and set in the South during the Depression, but when you recreate with Cyclops as John Goodman wearing an eye patch, you deserve to be on this list. 

Dangerous Liaisons

Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos is one of the most important and popular French novels of all time. In 1988 Stephen Frears adapted the novel as Dangerous Liaisons and it's, frankly, amazing. It's not the only it's been adapted either. 

The Great Gatsby

Not everyone loves Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of The Great Gatsby. As only Lurhmann can, it's a mix of period pieces, combined with modern music and sensibility. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Gatsby perfectly as if he jumped off the pages of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic. 

Roxanne

Steve Martin stars as a fireman in love with a beautiful woman played by Darryl Hannah but cannot get over his one physical flaw, a huge nose. If this sounds like the classic play Cyrano de Bergerac, you'd be right. They even worked in de Bergerac's famous sword fighting skills with a tennis racquet fight. It's a great nod to the original story. 

For Whom the Bell Tolls

When For Whom the Bell Tolls was first adapted into a movie, in 1943, it was actually pretty contemporary. Ernest Hemingway released the hit novel about the Spanish Civil War in 1940 and the war had only ended a year before that. While we think of For Whom the Bell Tolls as classic, it was modern at the time.

Young Frankenstein

Mary Shelley's classic horror novel Frankenstein has been adapted dozens of times in dozens of ways. For that reason, we thought it would be fun to list one of the most fun versions of it. Young Frankenstein is one of Mel Brooks' greatest movies and is responsible for one of the funniest scenes in any spoof film when Frankenstein and his monster sing and dance. 

The Count Of Monte Cristo (2002)

Alexander Dumas is responsible for some of the most lasting stories in Western civilization and The Count Of Monte Cristo is near the top of that list. Like others on this list, it's no stranger to being adapted to stage and screen but for our money, the 2002 version with Jim Caviezel in the lead role wins. 

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

It's hard to overstate the influence that Jules Verne has had on science fiction literature. He is the godfather of all, really. A lot of his books have been adapted for the big screen, but the 1954 Disney classic 20,000 Leagues Under Sea starring Kirk Douglas is still the best. It's remarkable how well it holds up all these decades later. 

Bridget Jones's Diary

One of the more recent novels and adaptions on this list is Bridget Jones's Diary. The book was first released in 1996 and the beloved movie, the first in a successful series starring Renée Zellweger as Bridget was released five years later. The book's author, Helen Fielding, has made no secret that it was heavily influenced by Pride and Prejudice, even naming one of the characters Darcy. In a great twist of fate, Mark Darcy is played by Colin Firth in the movie, who also played Mr. Darcy in an adaption of the Jane Austen novel on the BBC in the '90s. 

The Lord Of The Rings

You knew we couldn't leave The Lord of the Rings trilogy off this list. Even though the books feel timeless, they didn't actually get released until the 1950s. They were instant hits and instant classics, though. 

Treasure Island

There have been a lot of adaptions of Treasure Island, as with others on this list. It's hard to pick one to go with from this list and it's tempting to go with the Muppet version from the '90s. There is also a wild version starring Orson Welles from 1972. Ultimately though, the definitive adaption of this beloved Robert Louis Stevenson classic has to be the 1950 Disney version. 

Lord Of The Flies

It's a little surprising the Lord Of The Flies hasn't been adapted more, to be honest. The classic William Golding novel has been adapted twice, but not since 1990. It's such a classic tale, one that kids still read today in school it seems like it would be ripe for a modern retelling. 

Scrooged

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol has been told in many, many different ways over the years. If you want a really fun version, look no further than the somewhat raunchy Bill Murray-led retelling of the classic tale in Scrooged. Carol Kane as the ghost of Christmas Present is particularly fantastic.  

All Quiet on the Western Front

Until recently, there number of World War II films far outnumbered those set in the First World War. That has been changing lately and one very fine example is the 2022 German production of All Quiet on the Western Front. It became a huge hit all over the world on Netflix and it's a pretty faithful adaption of the classic novel by Erich Maria Remarque. There is also an amazing pre-code version from 1930 worth checking out. 

The Secret Garden

How many people knew someone or was someone who thought The Secret Garden was the greatest book they'd ever read as a kid? Everyone, right? The book, released in 1911 and written by Frances Hodgson Burnett has been a staple in kids' bedrooms for more than a century now so it's no surprise that it's been adapted a number of times, most recently in 2020 starring Colin Firth.

Cruel Intentions

We couldn't resist. We had to include Cruel Intentions on this list. Not only does it have one of the best examples of music being used to perfection in movies, but it's also a really fun movie to laugh with or laugh at. It's based on Les Liaisons dangereuses, but it's so ridiculous it's hard to see through the modern retelling to the original. That doesn't make it less amazing. 

Beowulf

The epic poem Beowulf is one of the earliest examples of English literature. It's also notoriously hard to read in the original old English and has been the bane of high school kids forever. That didn't stop Robert Zemeckis from adapting it in 2007 to the big screen. It's a trippy movie, but it's as hard to follow as the poem is. 

The Man in the Iron Mask

Leonardo DiCaprio stars in The Man in the Iron Mask, one of the many adaptations of a version of the Alexander Dumas characters from The Three Musketeers. It's a fine movie, but there are other adaptions that are ultimately more fun. 

The Age of Innocence

Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence was an instant classic when it was released in 1905. It's been such a big hit over the years, it's no surprise it's received three different film treatments, going all the way back to the 1920s and the Silent Film Era. In 1993 Martin Scorsese released a fantastic version starring Winona Ryder and Daniel Day-Lewis. 

Doctor Zhivago

Like a lot of Russian literature through the centuries, Doctor Zhivago is pretty impenetrable at first, but well worth sticking with until it clicks. The same could be said about the movie, released in 1967, less than a decade after the book was first published. 

Of Mice And Men

john Steinbeck's Derepression-era Of Mice And Men is one of the truly great novels of the 20th Century. First published in 1937, the book, about migrants headed to California in the 1930s, has been adapted a number of times, including most recently in 1992 starring Gary Sinise and John Malkovich.

Nineteen Eighty-Four 

George Orwell's classic 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four is one of the most referenced books of the last 75 years. The term "big brother" has become synonymous with government surveillance. The movie, released in 1984 and starring John Hurt is a faithful adaption as disturbing as the book.

Bram Stoker's Dracula

The story of Dracula has been told dozens of times on stage and screen, so it's hard to pick one for this list, but since we must, let's go with Bram Stoker's Dracula from 1992, if for no other reason than Francis Ford Coppola keeping the author's name in the title. It's as faithful an adaption as there is, and truly a classic for anyone who grew up with it. 

The Three Musketeers (1948)

Three are a ton of different versions of the Alexander Dumas characters from The Three Musketeers. If you want a really fun adaptation, look no further than the version from 1948 starring Gene Kelly. It's literally everything you could ever want from a swashbuckling movie in the golden age of Hollywood. 

Men may be the more traditional villains in movies, but women have been some of the best. The kind of characters we just love to hate, played by some of the greatest actresses of all time. Here is our list of some of the best female villains in film history.

Nurse Ratched - One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Louise Fletcher's performance as the manipulative Nurse Ratched is one of the most chilling to grace the silver screen. Her iron-fisted rule over McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) and the rest of the patients is quietly evil, making it way more effective and terrifying than an over-the-top style of villain. 

Wicked Witch Of The West - The Wizard Of Oz

There may be no more recognizable villain, male or female, to movie fans than the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard Of Oz. The Margaret Hamilton character has been scaring kids (in the best way) for almost a century. The role is so iconic that when we think of a generic "witch," we almost always picture the Wicked Witch of the West. 

Alex Forrest - Fatal Attraction

You know we couldn't make this list without the absolutely unhinged Alex Forrest (Glenn Close) in Fatal Attraction. Close's performance of the jilted lover is consistently ranked among the great villains of all time and it's easy to see why. The movie keeps viewers on the edge of their seats as she gets more and more detached from reality, leaving us all terrified of what could come next. 

Madeline "Ma-Ma" Madrigal - Dredd

Madeline "Ma-Ma" Madrigal (Lena Headey), the gang boss in 2012's Dredd, is among the most ruthless criminals on film in recent years. Her control over the housing block Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is trying to police is fanatical and all-encompassing. Ma-Ma doesn't seem to have - or want - friends or advisors, just soldiers in her battle for control. 

Mary Lee Johnston - Precious

A lot of the villains on this list are traditional movie villains. Mary Lee Johnston (Mo'Nique) in Precious is not traditional. She's also the "realest" villain on this list. So real, it's horrifying, making Precious being a great movie that you almost never want to watch ever again. She's so evil it's really hard to watch. Mo'Nique is fantastic, bringing this wicked character to life on the screen. 

Phyllis Dietrichson - Double Indemnity

Female villains are nothing new, of course. One of the all-time classic examples is Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity from 1944. Barbara Stanwyck plays the traitorous wife who takes advantage of an insurance salesman (Fred MacMurray) by dragging him into her diabolical plan to off her husband and collect on his life insurance. 

Kathryn Merteuil - Cruel Intentions

High school bullies make great villains. They make especially great villains when they are as manipulative as Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) in Cruel Intentions. Kathryn has no morals and no ethics, she only cares about herself and doesn't care who she hurts. That's why watching her get caught in the end is so satisfying. It's also maybe the best use of music in the movies. 

Pamela Voorhees - Friday The 13th

In the history of horror movies, one of the most iconic has to be the original Friday The 13th. While Jason Voorhees is on the Mount Rushmore of slasher film villains after countless sequels and spinoffs in the franchise, it's his mother who is the real villain in the original and that's why she, Pamala Voorhees (Betsy Palmer), deserves to be on this list. 

Mystique - X-Men

Magneto may the "big bad" in most of the X-Men movies, but he wouldn't be nearly as threatening without his right-hand woman, Mystique. Played by both Rebecca Romijn and Jennifer Lawrence in the movies, the shapeshifting mutant does a lot of Magneto's dirty work. 

Elektra King - The World Is Not Enough

Given James Bond's history with women, you might expect more of his villains to be women. While there are plenty of henchmen, there are not a lot of women who played Bond villains. One great exception is the diabolical Elektra King (Sophie Marceau) in The World Is Not Enough. King,  wasn't born evil, but she definitely turned that way, perhaps even more extreme than the man who made her that way. 

Regina George - Mean Girls

Ruining Regina George's life might not have made Cady (Lindsay Lohan) happy in Mean Girls, but it sure was satisfying to watch! George, played by the great Rachel McAdams, is one of the all-time great girl-bullies in movie history. The manipulative popular girl gets what's coming to her in the end, after proving how awful she can be to even her closest friends. 

Bellatrix Lestrange - Harry Potter

It's impossible to see anyone other than Helena Bonham Carter in the role of the Harry Potter Bellatrix Lestrange. She plays the role of the villain perfectly in the series. Most of Potter and Co.'s enemies are male, of course, but one of the scariest has to be Lestrange.

Cassandra Nova - Deadpool And Wolverine

The MCU has a handful of female villains and for the most part, they are among the most powerful of all the villains. Take Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) in Deadpool And Wolverine, for example. She's just as powerful as her brother, Charles Xavier, but she's pure evil. That's a terrifying combination. 

Annie Wilkes - Misery

This list would certainly not be complete without one of the meanest villains of the '90s, or any other decade in film history. Annie Wilkes, played by Kathy Bates in an Oscar-winning performance. She completely stole the show in one of the greatest horror movies of all time and earned a place on the Mount Rushmore of movie villains. 

Mama Fratelli - The Goonies

Big-time fame came late to Anne Ramsey. The actress had built a solid career in Hollywood as a character actor, but she really hit the big time after playing the villainous Mama Fratelli, matriarch of a hapless, yet very mean family, in The Goonies. Tragically, she died just three years later of cancer at age 59. 

Amy Dunne - Gone Girl

Is there anything as scary as a cold, calculating villain like Amy Dunne in Gone Girl? Amy, played by Rosamund Pike, is certainly justified in her beef with her cheating husband, put her method of revenge is pure evil. It's also darn impressive, and in the end, she "wins," so she deserves to be on this list. 

Miranda Priestly - The Devil Wears Prada

Everyone has had bad bosses, but no one has had a boss quite as awful as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada. Meryl Streep's performance as the ultimate boss from hell is one of the best of her amazing career and a rare example of the actress playing a true villain. 

Cruella DeVille - One Hundred and One Dalmatians

Disney has a long history of great female villains, and close to the top of the greatest ones has to be Cruella DeVille. The One Hundred and One Dalmatians baddie knows exactly how to tear out viewers' hearts in everything she does, to say nothing of making coats from puppies. 

Aileen Wuornos - Monster

Charlize Theron plays one of the rare real people on this list, serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster. Monster is the perfect description of her, too. While her unbelievably terrible life that led to her murders is something no one would wish on their worst enemy, what Wuornos became is pure evil in every way. Theron won an Oscar for her performance as Wuornos, who was executed in prison a year before the movie was released. 

Hela - Thor: Ragnorak

Some of the most powerful villains in the MCU are women and Hela in Thor: Ragnorak certainly qualifies here. Cate Blanchett's chameleon-like performance is just so great and Hela looks so cool, that you almost want to root for her. 

Maleficent - Sleeping Beauty

When you're such a good villain that they start making spin-offs about you, you absolutely belong on this list. Maleficent is one of the all-time great villains in Disney history and we love to hate her so much that she even got two films all her own in the 2010s, starring Angelina Jolie as the diabolical fairy, where we learn she's maybe not as evil as it seems. 

Harley Quinn - Suicide Squad

Of all the villains on this list, Harley Quinn is the most fun. Yeah, she's a psychopath, sure, but she's a fun psychopath! That's really all she wants to do, have fun and create chaos and that makes her pretty endearing in a lot of ways, as does Margot Robbie's awesome performance as the manic pixie dream psycho in the Suicide Squad movies. 

Veronica - Heathers

On the surface, you may argue that Heather Chandler (Kim Walker) is the villain in Heathers. Like Regina George, Chandler is the alpha mean girl in the crew of Heathers. But really, it's Veronica (Winona Ryder) and her boyfriend J.D. (Christian Slater), who are the real baddies here. They're the ones committing the murders, after all.  

Elle Driver - Kill Bill

Daryl Hannah was mostly known for rom-coms and more "innocent" characters before she was brilliantly cast by Quentin Tarantino as Elle Driver in Kill Bill. The California Mountain Snake, as Driver was known as part of the Deadly Vipers is a remorseless killer and relentless in her pursuit of her intended victim. 

Elsa Schneider - Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade

Elsa Schneider is the worst kind of traitor, she's a Nazi traitor who turns on one of cinema's great heroes, Indiana Jones. It's an unforgivable sin that earns her place on this list. Allison Doody's performance is great, as the surprise twist is something few saw coming. 

Catherine Tramell - Basic Instinct

It's unfortunate that Basic Instinct is really only remembered for one scene, surely you know which one. It's sad because Sharon Stone's work in the film as the calculating Catherine Tramell deserves to be remembered for more than just that interrogation scene. It's arguably the finest performance of her career. 

Jadis The White Witch - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Jadis The White Witch (Tilda Swinton) is, in the end, really nothing more than a dictator and a bully. She just has powerful magic to help her in her mercurial schemes and grievances. Not only does she delight in turning her enemies to stone for even the most minor slights, but she also plunges Narnia into winter for decades. 

Madison Lee - Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

Traitorous villains, like Madison Lee (Demi Moore) in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle are the worst kind of people, but they make for some epic baddies in movies. A former Angel, Madison turns to the dark side after she thinks Charlie disrespects her and goes after her old friends with total abandon. 

Ursula - The Little Mermaid

It's hard to narrow down all the great Disney female villains for this list, but we had to include Ursula from The Little Mermaid. She's the epitome of everything that makes Disney villains great. Life's full of tough choices, isn't it?

Mallory Knox - Natural Born Killers

Like many others on this list, Mallory Knox (Juliette Lewis) in Natural Born Killers is in some ways a victim of circumstance. Her upbringing was shocking, and her husband Mickey (Woody Harrelson) is the catalyst for their crime spree. Neither of those things gives her a pass though. Instead she makes this list as an all-time great villain. 

Frau Farbissina - Austin Powers 

One of the great Bond villainesses. Rosa Klebb in From Russia With Love is the inspiration for another great, Frau Farbissina in the Austin Powers franchise. Mindy Sterling's performance as Dr. Evil's right-hand woman is just pitch-perfect as a parody and she absolutely deserves to be on this list. 

President Alma Coin - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay

President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland) is the classic bad guy in The Hunger Games movies, but after Snow is finally deposed and Alma Coin (Julieanne Moore) takes over as President, it turns out she's just as ruthless as Snow. Her pettiness towards Katniss doesn't do much to endear her to anyone, either.

When looking back at the best movies of the 1990s, so many of them were set in the halls of high schools. Whether we’re talking about a slasher as iconic as Scream, the endlessly quotable dialogue of Cher Horowitz in Clueless or the all-time great ensemble of Boyz n the Hood, there’s a lot to love about ‘90s teen movies. 

These days there’s no need to go to your local Blockbuster to grab these titles, you can stream them all at home! Here are our must-watch picks and how to watch them. 

Scream (1996) 

Do you like scary movies? If so, it’s always a good time to revisit one of the best horror movies of all time, Wes Craven’s Scream. The slasher saw the debut of one of the genre’s most popular icons, Ghostface, as high schoolers living in the town of Woodsboro become the mysterious murderer’s target for brutal murders. Neve Campbell leads the cast as Sidney Prescott in a final girl origin story that would inspire tons of sequels in the ongoing franchise. She’s joined by Courtney Cox, David Arquette, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich and Drew Barrymore in the unforgettable opening sequence. 

Stream Scream on Max.
Rent/Buy Scream on Amazon. 

10 Things I Hate About You (1999) 

Shakespeare’s hold on storytelling has remained evident in modern cinema, as filmmakers find fun ways to retell his famous stories. 1999’s 10 Things I Hate About You is a new take on The Taming Of The Shrew which places the general premise in a high school setting. It stars Julia Stiles’ Kat Stratford, a black sheep of a teen girl who is the obstacle in the way of her more popular sister Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) dating, since their father will only allow one to date if they both do. So, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Cameron pays Heath Ledger’s high school burn out, Patrick, to romance Kat so he can pursue Bianca. 

Stream 10 Things I Hate About You on Disney+.
Stream 10 Things I Hate About You on Hulu.
Rent/Buy 10 Things I Hate About You on Amazon.

Election (1999) 

Alexander Payne’s high school comedy, Election, is another classic teen comedy from the ‘90s that we nominate for addition to your watchlist. The movie stars Ferris Bueller’s Day Off icon Matthew Broderick (back in high school after being in one of the best 80s movies of the genre) as Jim McAllister, a social studies teacher who sabotages the candidacy of Reese Witherspoon’s Tracy Flick when she runs for student body president.  

Stream Election on Paramount+.
Stream Election for free on PlutoTV.
Rent/Buy Election on Amazon. 

Clueless (1995) 

A ‘90s teen movie list without Clueless? As if!! This is one of those movies that first comes to the mind when we think of this era of high school comedies, and for a good reason: it’s just that good. The movie follows Alicia Silverstone’s iconic Cher Horowitz as a popular and privileged teen living in Beverly Hills who makes a new student (Brittany Murphy) her makeover project for the semester, as unexpected feelings and realizations come up for Cher regarding love and romance. 

Stream Clueless on Paramount+.
Rent/Buy Clueless on Amazon. 

But I’m A Cheerleader (1999) 

Back in 1999, Natasha Lyonne starred in the high school satire But I’m A Cheerleader alongside Clea DuVall, Melanie Lynskey and RuPaul. The movie follows Megan, a high-performing student in class and cheerleader who gets sent off to a boot camp meant to make her straight when her parents think she’s gay. It’s an iconic queer high school movie of the ‘90s. 

Stream But I’m A Cheerleader for free on Tubi.
Stream/Rent/Buy But I’m A Cheerleader on Amazon.

Dazed & Confused (1993) 

Another ‘90s go-to movie about teens is Richard Linklater’s Dazed & Confused, which had Matthew McConaughey uttering “alright, alright, alright” in his first movie ever. The movie follows numerous high schoolers across different social groups celebrating their final day of high school in Austin, Texas in 1976. The movie also features Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, Parker Posey and Renée Zellweger before the were famous. 

Rent/Buy Dazed & Confused on Amazon. 

The Virgin Suicides (1999) 

Sofia Coppola’s directorial debut, The Virgin Suicides, is based on the ‘90s novel of the same name about the story of the five Lisbon sisters, who lived in Detroit in 1975, as told through a group of neighborhood boys years later. Coppola’s dreamlike direction (which benefitted from Kirsten Dunst’s performance) would later lead into her other works, such as Lost In Translation, Marie Antoinette, The Bling Ring and Priscilla. In Virgin Suicides, she comments on the teenage experience, discussing topics like repression, sex, death and longing through its narrative. 

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Rent/Buy The Virgin Suicides on Amazon. 

Boyz N The Hood (1991) 

Similar to The Virgin Suicides, Boyz n the Hood is not a comedy about a group of teens, but rather a drama set on the streets of South Central Los Angeles in the ‘90s. John Singleton’s coming-of-age film is so well-renowned it was chosen for the National Film Registry and nominated for two Oscars. The movie is about Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.) and what happens when his friends Doughboy (Ice Cube) and Ricky (Morris Chestnut) get drawn into the neighborhood’s gang and drug culture. 

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Rent/Buy Boyz n the Hood on Amazon. 

Varsity Blues (1999) 

What’s a list about high school movies without talking about the varsity football team? The sport is an essential part of so many American high school experiences, and in 1999’s Varsity Blues, James Van Der Beek had audiences swooning over his character of Mox as he goes from being the team’s benchwarmer to its star quarterback because of their ruthless coach (Jon Voight), after the team’s star athlete (Paul Walker) gets injured. 

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Rent/Buy Varsity Blues on Amazon. 

William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet (1996) 

One year before Leonardo DiCaprio became the ‘90s No. 1 crush with Titanic, the actor starred in Baz Luhrmann’s stylish take on William Shakespeare’s teen romance gone wrong. The movie is unique in terms of the dialogue remaining in Shakespearean English but taking place in modern times in Verona Beach, with the Capulets and Montagues being rival gangs. DiCaprio stars as Romeo and Claire Danes as Juliet in this essentially ‘90s take on perhaps the most well-known teen love story ever told. 

Rent/Buy Romeo + Juliet on Amazon.

Cruel Intentions (1999) 

Back in 1999, director Roger Kumble put together a rather iconic cast for a modern retelling of the 1782 French novel, Les Liaisons dangereuses, in a way that centers the storyline on well-off high school students. Among the leading cast is Ryan Phillippe, who becomes the center of a game of seduction that Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Selma Blair are part of. While the movie was made on a small budget, it became a huge hit when it came out, even leading to multiple follow ups and a musical inspired by it.
 
Stream/Rent/Buy Cruel Intentions on Amazon. 

Empire Records (1995) 

Remember record stores? Sure, they still definitely exist and have their collectors, but there’s something about being an employee at a record store in the ‘90s, before MP3 players or music streaming services existed. This 1995 movie is about the teen employees of an independent Delaware record store that is set to become sold to a national chain. The clerks take it into upon themselves to keep the store independent, with mixed results. 

Rent/Buy Empire Records on Amazon. 

She’s All That (1999) 

She’s All That is the ultimate high school fantasy in a lot of ways. It’s about the most popular kid in school, Zack (Freddie Prinze Jr.), who makes a bet that he can make any girl in school popular after his girlfriend dumps him. His sights are set on Rachael Leigh Cook’s Laney, an awkward art student, who he romances in the weeks leading up to prom. As real feelings begin to emerge, Zack and Laney prove that social divides between students can be overcome. 

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Rent/Buy She’s All That on Amazon.

American Pie (1999) 

Then there’s 1999’s American Pie, which is about five high school seniors who pledge to each other that they will all have lost their virginity by graduation. With that premise in mind, American Pie becomes a raunchy and rather funny sex comedy about doing the deed, an act that is often thought of as a rite of passage among teens. The movie is flooded with stars in the comedy space, with Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Natasha Lyonne, Tara Reid, Seann William Scott, Eugene Levy and Jennifer Coolidge. 

Rent/Buy American Pie on Amazon. 

Happy streaming for all of these great '90s teen movies!  

To be perfectly clear, we do not condone violence (or even something as harmless as a prank) as a solution to any conflict… in reality, that is. However, in the realm of fiction, few things are as satisfying as seeing a character get even with their worst enemy, especially if the inciting incident was something truly unforgivable. See if you agree by reliving some of the best revenge movies and TV shows that incorporate the theme in the coldest, but ultimately justifiable, ways possible.

John Wick (John Wick)

In 2014’s first installment of the John Wick movies, all Keanu Reeves’ eponymous former assassin wanted was a life free of violence, until a Russian mobster's punk son killed his dog and stole his car very shortly after the death of his wife. Getting back into the deadly world he was desperate to leave behind was worth it just to make sure Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen) and his crew paid for their wicked deed.

The Bride (Kill Bill)

The title role of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill movies (David Carradine) and the remaining members of his DiVAS unload a massacre at Beatrix "The Bride" Kiddo's wedding rehearsal, nearly killing her and her unborn child. The retired killer awakens from a four-year coma believing that her child is dead, develops an insatiable desire to punish her former colleagues, and gets her hands on a brand-new samurai sword to go on a “roaring rampage of revenge.”

Jen (Revenge)

In the aptly titled Revenge, Jen (Matilda Lutz) suffers a senseless act by one of her married boyfriend's perverse business partners, and her boyfriend's solution is to push her off a cliff, where she becomes impaled by a tree at the bottom. Inexplicably, she survives and proceeds to ruin the trio's hunting trip by waging a brutal war on them in the middle of the desert in writer and director Coralie Fargeat's enthralling thriller.

Red Miller (Mandy)

Lumberjack Red Miller (Nicolas Cage) watches the love of his life, the titular Mandy (Andrea Riseborough), get burned alive by a sadistic cult led by a spiteful, Charles Manson-inspired musician (Linus Roache). Red retaliates by brutally taking them out one by one (even being forced to take on an otherworldly biker gang) in Panos Cosmatos' visually stunning and truly heartbreaking fantasy.

Wade Wilson (Deadpool)

Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) finds himself extremely dissatisfied by the experimental procedure that, despite curing his cancer by giving him regenerative healing abilities, left him with a "haunting" appearance that forces him to leave his fiancée and don a costume covering every inch of his body. The Canadian mercenary makes it a personal mission to punish Francis "Ajax" Freeman (Ed Skrein) for his cruel experiments on him in 2016's cinematic adaptation of Marvel's hilarious Deadpool comics.

Paul Kersey (Death Wish)

In director Michael Winner’s adaptation of Brian Garfield’s novel, Death Wish, Charles Bronson plays Paul Kersey — an architect whose wife is killed and his daughter is left traumatized by abuse after a brutal home invasion. As a result, he takes it upon himself to find the perpetrators and continue to be judge, jury, and executioner on the streets of Manhattan.

Arya Stark (Game Of Thrones)

Following the infamous events of the Red Wedding, Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) vows to avenge the deaths of her family members, orchestrated by Walder Frey (David Bradley). In the Season 6 premiere of Game of Thrones, she finally gets what she desires by not only killing Frey, but his entire family.

Eric Draven (The Crow)

In Brandon Lee's final film, The Crow, the actor plays Eric Draven — a rock star who is senselessly murdered by a vicious street gang, along with his fiancée, Shelley, on the night before their wedding. One year later, he is resurrected with a mission to punish his killers in one of the best comic book movies not based on a Marvel or DC title.

Hugh Glass (The Revenant)

Bear attack survivor Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is left for dead by fellow fur trader John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), who also murders his son in front of him after he tries to prevent Fitzgerald from murdering Glass. The harrowing journey the badly injured man endures through unforgiven wintry terrain in writer and director Alejandro González Iñárritu's The Revenant makes finding and punishing Fitzgerald all the more satisfying.

Mattie Ross (True Grit)

Two of the greatest Western movies of all time (one made in 1969 and the other in 2010) are based on Charles Portis’ novel 1968 novel, True Grit. It tells the story of an intelligent teenage girl (originally played by Kim Darby and later by Hailee Steinfeld in an Oscar-nominated performance) who goes to far lengths to avenge her father's murder, including enlisting the help of a famed U.S. Marshall (first played by John Wayne in an Oscar-winning performance and later by Jeff Bridges).

Dwight (Blue Ruin)

The story of Jeremy Saulnier's Blue Ruin is a unique one for the revenge category and the key factor is the central protagonist: a homeless man named Dwight (Macon Blair. He proves to be hopelessly inexperienced, unequipped, and unprepared for his bid to avenge the senseless murder of his parents years earlier after learning their killer was released from prison.

Omar Little (The Wire)

“Vengeance” might as well have been the middle name of Omar Little (the late Michael K. Williams) for how much the theme defined his arc on creator David Simon’s The Wire. In Season 1, the good-hearted stick-up man took down Anton “Stinkum” Artis (Brandon Price) after he murdered his boyfriend, Brandon Wright (Michael Kevin Darnall) and in Season 3, he and Brother Mouzone (Michael Potts) killed Russell “Stringer” Bell (Idris Elba) for setting them both up for death previously.

Cassie Thomas (Promising Young Woman)

Emerald Fennell earned a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for her feature-length debut as a writer and director, 2020’s Promising Young Woman, which tells the story of  Cassie Thomas (Carey Mulligan), who becomes consumed by a desire to avenge the horrific abuse that drove her best friend to take her own life. Even though it would cost her her own life (as she predicted), Cassie does manage to bring her friend's abuser, and other people associated with the crime, to justice and even gets the last laugh with a series of text messages programmed to automatically send at the time of his arrest… during his own wedding.

Django Freeman (Django Unchained)

In one of the best Quentin Tarantino movies, 2012’s Django Unchained, the titular hero (Jamie Foxx) is freed by bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), who offers him the chance to punish the men who treated him horribly when he was enslaved. His new partner also helps him reunite with and rescue his wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) from ruthless plantation owner, Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio).

Frank Castle (The Punisher)

One of the darkest characters in Marvel Comics history is Frank Castle, who became better known as The Punisher for his reputation to show no mercy for the worst criminals imaginable following the savage murder of his own family. The war veteran-turned-vigilante has been adapted for screen multiple times, but one of the most acclaimed portrayals is by Jon Bernthal, who debuted in the role on the Daredevil TV series before earning his own spin-off.

Carl Lee Hailey (A Time To Kill)

Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) believed he was right to kill Billy Ray Cobb (Nicky Katt) and James Willard (Doug Hutchinson) after he was told the two white men could very likely walk free for what they did to his young, Black daughter, Tonya (Rae’Ven Larrymore Kelly). Honestly, we cannot help but agree with him, which is part of what makes Joel Schumacher's 1996 adaptation of John Grisham’s A Time to Kill so compelling. 

Jesse Pinkman (Breaking Bad)

Out of every character in the Breaking Bad cast, Jesse Pinkman (Emmy winner Aaron Paul) is the one most deserving of redemption… and revenge. In the series finale of creator Vince Gilligan’s revolutionary drama, he deservingly gets to be the one to rid the world of the most coldly sadistic of his captors, Todd (Jesse Plemons).

Sansa Stark (Game Of Thrones)

On Game of Thrones, Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) undergoes a devastating arc, following her tumultuous relationship with her sadistic, abusive husband, Bolton Ramsay (Iwan Rheon). She later retaliates by feeding her former spouse to his own dogs.

Shosanna Dreyfus (Inglourious Basterds)

In the breathtaking opening scene of Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 World War II-era drama, Inglourious Basterds, Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent) becomes the only survivor of a massacre on her French Jewish family orchestrated by the ruthless Col. Hans Landa of the SS (Christoph Waltz). While she does not end up bringing Landa to justice herself, she does wipe out most of the Nazi regime by burning her own movie theater to the ground during the premiere of a propaganda film.

Josey Wales (The Outlaw Josey Wales)

Clint Eastwood both directs and stars in the title role of 1976’s The Outlaw Josey Wales in which a mild-mannered Missouri farmer and family man is transformed into a fearsome, notorious cold-blooded killer. By the end of the Civil War-era Western thriller, Wales kills the leader of the crew who made him into the person he is in the first place by savagely and senselessly murdering his wife and son. 

Bella Baxter (Poor Things)

Director Yorgos Lanthimos’ adaptation of Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel, Poor Things, chronicles the reanimated Bella Baxter’s (Academy Award winner Emma Stone) discovery of the joys and pains of life, despite the people who wish to coddle her — including the husband of her former self, Alfie Blessington (Christopher Abbott). She punishes the controlling misogynist by also, technically, saving his life by replacing his brain with that of a goat.

Gordon "Gordo" Moseley (The Gift)

While admittedly, quite sinister in his actions (to say the least), it is easy to understand why Gordo (Joel Edgerton) harvested such wicked feelings for Simon (Jason Bateman) in 2015's The Gift. In high school, Simon fabricated a story about him being taken advantage of by a male teacher, leading to incessant bullying, him changing schools, and his homophobic father, subsequently suspecting his son to be gay, attempting to kill him.

Dr. Richard Kimble (The Fugitive)

Both the 1960s series, The Fugitive, and its acclaimed 1993 cinematic adaptation follow the wrongly convicted Richard Kimble (originally played by David Janssen and by Harrison Ford in the film) searching for the one-armed man who actually murdered his wife. The TV show ended with Kimble’s search finally being over and the movie with him learning the conspiracy behind his wife’s death, both with the reluctant help of U.S. Marshal Gerard.

Bud Fox (Wall Street)

In Oliver Stone’s Wall Street, Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) becomes consumed by the wealth he initially acquires after being taken under the wing of his hero, Gordon Gekko (Academy Award winner Michael Douglas). However, when he learns his mentor is planning a deal that would ruin his own father's (Martin Sheen) company, Bud opts to turn against the ruthless Gordon, which ultimately puts them both behind bars.

Sam Wheat (Ghost)

In 1990’s Ghost, the lingering spirit of Manhattan banker Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) discovers that his murder was orchestrated by his two-faced friend and colleague, Carl Bruner (Tony Goldwyn). With help from a medium (Whoopi Goldberg) who can hear him and his newly learned abilities as a ghost, he is able to send Carl and the man hired to kill him, Willie Lopez (Rick Aviles), to a darker corner of the afterlife.

Grey Trace (Upgrade)

After a group of attackers render Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) a quadriplegic and murder his wife, the mechanic accepts a tech innovator's offer to be implanted with a device that, not only allows him to control his limbs, but is programmed with an AI named STEM that makes him a brutal fighting machine. Grey and STEM team up to punish his attackers, but — SPOILER ALERT — it turns out that STEM orchestrated the entire thing, wanting to take over a human host and, thus, making 2018’s Upgrade a cautionary revenge tale.

Claire Carroll (The Nightingale)

In writer and director Jennifer Kent's The Nightingale, Claire Carroll (Aisling Franciosi) is taken advantage of by Lt. Hawkins (Sam Claflin), who also kills her husband and her infant child. With the help of an Aboriginal tracker named Billy (Baykali Ganambarr), the burdened Irish woman takes it upon herself to bring the sadistic army lieutenant to justice.

Cecile (Cruel Intentions)

In Cruel Intentions, the 1999 teen drama reimagining of the French 18th Century novel, Dangerous Liaisons, wealthy step-siblings Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe) use the innocent and naive Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon) and Cecile Caldwell (Selma Blair) as pawns for a wicked wager in romantic and reputational manipulation. Annette and Sebastian find true love with each other which ends in tragedy, while Kathryn’s reputation is the one that gets destroyed after Cecile makes her manipulative ways public with copies of Sebastian’s journal.  

Kim Soo-hyun (I Saw The Devil)

You could argue that Kim Soo-hyun (Lee Byung-hun) goes a little too far when exacting his revenge on Jang Kyung-chul (Choi Min-sik) in the 2010 Korean horror favorite, I Saw the Devil. However, there is no debate that Kyung-chul went way too far when he beat Soo-hyun’s wife to death and dismembered her.

The Nerds (Revenge Of The Nerds)

Every socially alienated college student who was ever persecuted for their intelligence or the way they dress received some much-needed wish fulfillment vicariously through the main characters in Revenge of the Nerds. The 1984 sees Lewis Skolnik (Robert Carradine) and others turn the tables on their cruel bullies and acquire the popularity and respect they crave.

Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Star Trek: First Contact)

In one of the best episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Sir Patrick Stewart) is transformed into a race of cybernetic organisms called Borgs. He eventually punishes the cruel alien race for what they did to him and other crimes in the 1996 feature film, Star Trek: First Contact.

Jason Shepherd (Big Fat Liar)

In 2002’s Big Fat Liar, compulsively dishonest teen Jason Shepherd (Frankie Muniz) accidentally leaves his writing assignment in the limo of movie producer, Marty Wolf (Academy Award nominee Paul Giamatti), who passes it off as his own idea for a movie that gets greenlit soon after. Desperate to earn his parents’ trust, he and his best friend, Kaylee (Amanda Bynes), travel all the way to Los Angeles and — with help from more of Wolf’s enemies — set out to expose and ruin the scumbag once and for all.

They say that revenge is a dish best served cold, but what these characters achieve makes us feel warm inside.

Here lies the hopes and dreams of “happily ever after.” While we often go to the movies to see couples ride off into the sunset, it doesn’t always shake out that way. Across Hollywood history, there’s been tons of matches made in heaven, but right now we’re going to focus on those memorable break-ups we’re still not over, and may never get over. But hey, sometimes a truly great break-up in a film can be relatable, cathartic and as we'll see, really big break-ups can lead to even better results later on. Or, the break-up in and of itself is the happy ending. Either way, breakups are part of life, so let the tears pour for these ill-fated couples.

SPOILERS ahead! 

Mia & Sebastian, La La Land 

One of the best finales to a movie is arguably Damien Chazelle’s La La Land ending. After Emma Stone’s Mia and Ryan Gosling’s Sebastian fell in love in the musical comedy, their relationship ultimately falls apart after Mia is cast as the lead in a movie being shot in Paris. After Mia nails her audition, we catch the couple five years later, where both of them have found success in their fields, but are no longer together. In an emotional scene, Mia comes across Sebastian’s booming jazz club and he plays their song as the movie imagines what could have been if they stayed together. 

Joel & Clementine, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is not only one of the greatest breakup films out there, but the best movies of the 2000s, too. As we learn during the film, Kate Winslet’s Clementine decides to go through a trial procedure to forget her ex Joel after their breakup, which involves an argument that goes wrong regarding their thoughts about children. Within the movie’s apt meditation on breakups, the Eternal Sunshine ending has Joel and Clementine deciding to give each other another shot, knowing full well the outcome could play out the same between them this time. 

Joe & Summer, (500) Days Of Summer 

When (500) Days Of Summer opens, it warns its audience that they are not about to see a love story, but even so, it’s easy to still get swept up in the couple’s romance. While the 2009 movie is told through the eyes of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Joe, where he paints Zooey Deschanel’s Summer as the villain, the pairing operates as an interesting commentary on how people can idolize the other and ignore the signals that point to the other not being the right person for them. The breakup in this movie is sad, until Joe gets a poetic second chance with a woman aptly named Autumn. 

Daniel & Miranda, Mrs. Doubtfire 

Mrs. Doubtfire is one of the best Robin Williams movies, especially because of how it handles the realities of divorce. Throughout, the movie follows Williams’ Daniel as he disguises himself as a character named Mrs. Doubtfire in order to spend more time with his three children amidst his separation from Sally Field’s Miranda. Sadly, by the finale, the parents do not get back together. However, the breakup makes way for a sweet message for those who can relate.  

 Annette & Sebastian, Cruel Intentions 

In 1999’s Cruel Intentions, Ryan Phillippe’s Sebastian breaks things off with Reese Witherspoon’s Annette in an especially emotional scene that leaves Annette by herself in absolute tears over him. The whole thing is the result of a bet Sebastian makes with Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Kathryn, where his winnings would be getting her in bed. But, once Sebastian goes to Kathryn to cash in, he learns she had been two steps ahead of him the whole time. This movie definitely lives up to its name! 

Ted & Joanna, Kramer vs. Kramer 

One classic breakup movie we’re not getting over anytime soon is Kramer Vs. Kramer, which centers on a couple’s divorce proceedings and how it affects their young son. Starring Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman as the couple, the drama brings a grounded perspective about how marriages can fall apart and how figuring out custody between parents can be a harrowing process. 

Gale & Dewey, The Scream Movies

In between the scares of the Scream movies, a sweet romance blossomed between Courteney Cox’s journalist character Gale Weathers and David Arquette’s Deputy Dewey Riley. However, in 2022’s Scream, we learn that the couple split up due to Gale’s aspirations to live in New York City and Dewey’s substance abuse issues. What makes this breakup a real stab in the chest is when Dewey is killed off later in the movie. 

Theodore & Samantha, Her

Can you fall in love with someone’s voice? That’s certainly true for Her’s Theodore (played by Joaquin Phoenix) once Samantha (Scarlett Johansson) comes into his life. He and the artificially intelligent virtual assistant hit it off during Spike Jonze’s critically acclaimed sci-fi film, but it’s not to be forever. In the end, Samantha chooses to join other AIs once her operating system seeks more knowledge outside of him. 

Ennis & Jack, Brokeback Mountain 

Ang Lee’s 2005 film Brokeback Mountain sees Jake Gyllenhaal’s rodeo cowboy Jack and Heath Ledger’s ranch hand Ennis falling in love in secret before leaving their relationship to live typical heterosexual lives with wives and kids. While they reconnect years after their first encounter, they never have a chance to really live happily with one another, and they have an especially tragic ending to their story by the time the movie concludes. 

Han Solo & Leia Organa, The Star Wars Movies 

One of the most iconic couples in movie history is Harrison Ford’s Han Solo and Carrie Fisher’s Leia Organa, who famously said the lines “I love you,” with “I know.” Unfortunately, when the Star Wars movies continued in 2015 with The Force Awakens, we learned that the couple had parted ways after having issues with losing their son Ben Solo to the Dark Side. Sadly, Han Solo also dies at the hands of Ben as well. 

Dani & Christian, Midsommar

We’re not over this breakup in particular because of how traumatizing it is to experience! Ari Aster’s Midsommar tells the story of a couple, who are strained as is but their vacation to a Swedish midsummer festival really becomes the cherry on top of its demise. The festival is a front for a pagan cult recruiting and the couple cement their breakup when Christian is stuffed inside a bear and burned alive whilst Dani watches in horror and becomes the newest crowned member. 

Rick & Ilsa, Casablanca

An especially classic breakup in cinema is the one between Humphrey Bogart’s Rick and Ingrid Bergman’s Ilsa at the end of 1942’s Casablanca. It’s about former lovers who reunite years after an affair. While one might expect their reunion to lead to the pair rekindling their love, Rick surprises Ilsa at the end of the movie by deserting her as she boards a plane because he feels she would be better off with her current fiancé. 

Peter Quill & Gamora - Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3

One of the sweetest couplings in the MCU once belonged to Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill and Zoe Saldana’s Gamora, who met during the events of the first Guardians of the Galaxy. Sadly for the pair, Thanos’ plot to destroy half the universe caused a major rift between them (quite literally) when Thanos sacrificed Gamora to get the Soul Stone. There seemed to be a silver lining for the couple in Vol. 3 when Gamora returned, but during the final Guardians of the Galaxy movie’s ending, the pair went down separate paths. 

Celeste & Jesse, Celeste and Jesse Forever 

2012’s Celeste and Jesse Forever is a rather ironic title considering Rashida Jones’ Celeste and Andy Samberg’s Jesse don’t get a happily ever after. The movie is about high school sweethearts who marry young and decide to separate years later. Despite their separation, the former couple insist on remaining best friends, making for some funny and rather awkward situations between them. Ultimately, the couple need to let go and move on from each other. 

Gary & Brooke, The Break-Up

After Jennifer Aniston had starred in numerous romantic comedies over the years, the Friends actress changed things up with 2006’s The Break-Up alongside Vince Vaughn. The comedy follows a longtime couple that decides it's not working between them but refuses to move out of their condo. A lot of funny things go down when they become roommates following the breakup. While it could have been a setup for a sweet rekindling, they ultimately stay broken up. 

Oliver & Elio, Call Me By Your Name 

Call Me By Your Name is about 17-year-old Elio (Timothée Chalamet) who meets a handsome doctoral student Oliver (Armie Hammer) while spending the summer in Italy in 1983. The pair strike up a passionate love affair over the course of the sunny months, but sadly for Elio, it was only a fling. At the end of the film, Elio sits tearfully by the fireplace in winter as he learns Oliver has since become engaged. 

Nora & Hae Song, Past Lives 

Past Lives, which was such a powerful 2023 movie that it became one of the 2024 Oscar nominees for Best Picture, is about two childhood friends who cross paths on multiple fronts throughout their lives. Greta Lee plays Nora, a Korean woman who has to say goodbye to her best friend Hae Song (Teo Yoo) as a kid when her family immigrated to New York. As adults, Hae Song visits Nora in the Big Apple, after she’s already been married. There’s a sense that the couple missed out on something special, but as the ending illustrates, they’ll have to perhaps wait for their next life to see their lives align. 

Rhett & Scarlett, Gone With The Wind

One of the most tragic love stories in cinema is certainly 1939’s Gone With The Wind between Clark Gable’s Rhett Butler and Vivien Leigh’s Scarlett O’Hara. With the backdrop of the Civil War behind it, the sprawling epic brings together Rhett and Scarlett during the war’s dire circumstances, leading to their marriage and the birth of their daughter Bonnie Blue. However, when Scarlett’s initial crush Ashley comes between them, Rhett leaves her under the morning fog glow and she is heartbroken. 

Noah & Allie, The Notebook

A particularly sad breakup in the movies comes via 2004’s The Notebook. When the movie begins, two teens, Allie and Noah (Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling) from the opposite side of the tracks fall in love. However, Allie’s parents put a rift between them and they don’t see each other for years. Little does Allie know that after their breakup, Noah wrote to her every day for an entire year and her mother kept them from her. Lucky for this romance, it ends in a happy (yet very bittersweet way) down the road. 

Jerry & Dorothy, Jerry Maguire

In 1996’s Jerry Maguire, which is one of Tom Cruise’s best performances ever, the actor’s character of Jerry and Renée Zellweger’s Dorothy have an incredibly grounded and quite sad breakup scene when they realize they don’t want the same things anymore. The sequence really tugs at the heartstrings because Jerry had started to bond with Dorothy’s young son Ray since their marriage. 

Alice & Dan, Closer

In 2004’s Closer, Jude Law’s Dan leaves Natalie Portman’s Alice heartbroken when he confesses he’s been cheating on her. As she protests the breakup, he admits he’s “selfish” as she cries in his arms. She asks him to make tea, but while he’s preparing it she jets out the door and he never sees her again. 

Nicole & Charlie, Marriage Story

Breakups are always more difficult when children are involved. In 2019’s Marriage Story, audiences get a chance to see the pitfalls that come with divorce as a successful theater director Charlie (Adam Driver), and his wife and actress Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) go through the motions of ending their marriage. 

Bernadine & John, Waiting To Exhale 

In 1995’s Waiting To Exhale, Angela Bassett’s Bernadine, who is the mother of two kids, has spent much of her adult life shelving her career aspirations to raise her children. So we really feel the sting when she finds out that her husband of eleven years has been cheating on her with his bookkeeper and plans to divorce her. Of course, Bernadine gets her revenge by sending her ex’s car up in flames. 

Peter & Sarah, Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Sometimes the worst breakups are about the timing of it all, and we’re definitely not over this super awkward one in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. In the 2008 comedy, Kristen Bell’s Sarah dumps her longtime boyfriend Peter (Jason Segel) while he’s butt naked in their apartment. Then, they both run into each other in Oahu where Peter runs into Sarah and her new man, Aldous (Russell Brand). It’s funny as a movie, but gosh this is a nightmarish scenario! 

Danny & Debbie, About Last Night

In the 2014 movie, Michael Ealy and Paula Patton’s Danny and Debbie relationship blossoms and then falls apart during the movie’s runtime. It all comes to a head during a New Year’s Eve party that leads Debbie to move out. Thankfully, in the case of this movie, the pair do makeup by the end of the film! 

Katie & Hubbell, The Way We Were

1973’s romantic drama The Way We Were, had Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford playing lovers amidst their experiences with the House Un-American Activities Committee. Despite their differing opinions, they fall for each other, get married, and have kids. Their different beliefs ultimately drive them apart, but at least they get an epic kiss goodbye at the end.  

Dean & Cindy, Blue Valentine

Marriage is hard work. In 2010’s Blue Valentine, Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling depicted a rather grounded couple’s story in a narrative that impressively plays with timelines. The working-class romance is a tragic one that puts the spotlight on how ego can be the pitfall of a once passionate love.  

Emma & Adele, Blue Is The Warmest Color

French award darling Blue Is The Warmest Color had us messed up following watching Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos’ Emma and Adèle fall in love only to fall apart. The 2013 movie follows the two women across many years as they become closer, only for some major blemishes in their relationship to lead to an emotional breakup that changes them forever. 

Julianne & Michael, My Best Friend’s Wedding

There’s something romantic about marrying your best friend, as Julia Roberts’ Julianne hopes to do during My Best Friend’s Wedding, but her motivations are so crossed. Throughout the movie, she tries to break up Dermot Mulroney’s Michael with Cameron Diaz’s Kim, but ultimately she realizes Michael is not the one for her. It’s still a sweet wedding as another one of her BFF’s surprises her at his wedding and they dance the night away. 

Su & Chow, In The Mood For Love

There’s nothing quite like the romantic tension that Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung created in 2000’s In The Mood For Love. The movie is about two Shanghainese expatriates Su and Chow, who are already married, but fall into an emotional affair with one another as they learn of each being cheated on by their spouses. However, the tension never explodes into the affair we want it to as the movie ends with Chow confessing his love in a hole in a temple wall rather than to Su. 

Ben & Janine - He’s Just Not That Into You

He’s Just Not That Into You is one of those romantic comedies that follows a series of intertwined couples played by A-list actors. The most cutting arc in the movie is perhaps as Jennifer Connelly’s Janine realizes her husband Ben (Bradley Cooper) has been cheating on her with his yoga instructor Anna (Scarlett Johansson) amidst her slaving over house renovations for their place. After a particularly awkward moment between Ben, Janine, and Anna, Janine figures it all out and sends Ben packing. 

Evan & Kayleigh - The Butterfly Effect 

In 2004’s science fiction thriller, The Butterfly Effect, Ashton Kutcher plays Evan, a man who learns he can travel back in time and alter the past, present, and future. Sadly for Evan, as he discovers this power, he is met with the reality that his love Kayleigh (Amy Smart) often has traumatic fates if he is with her. By the end of the movie, he has to use his powers to make sure they are not together and she never even knew him. What could be worse than a breakup that the other person doesn’t even know about or experienced? 

So much heartbreak!! To keep it rolling, check out the TV breakups we're not over yet next! 

Certain movies have such an impact on people that years, and even decades later, they continue to be celebrated. Cruel Intentions and Logan are certainly two movies with little in common, but one thing they share is that they were released during the same calendar week, nearly two decades apart. Cruel Intentions celebrated its 25th anniversary while Logan celebrated its seventh, and the stars of both took the opportunity to look back.

Both Hugh Jackman and co-star Dafne Keen referred to their time filming Logan this week, while Sarah Michelle Gellar and Reese Witherspoon both made sure fans of Cruel Intentions were not forgotten.

How Hugh Jackman and Dafne Keen Remembered Logan 

Logan was, we thought, the end of two decades worth of Hugh Jackman playing the role of Wolverine. The movie was meant to be a farewell to the character, and end, both for Logan and for Hugh Jackman. Remarkably, the movie stuck the landing. Jackman posted an image to his Instagram Stories remembering the release of the film. 

Dafne Keen was a newcomer when she starred alongside Jackman as the young mutant that Logan tries to protect. The actress also posted an image to her own Instagram, showing her working with Jackman and director James Mangold.  

While we now know that we will see Wolverine again in the upcoming Marvel movie Deadpool and Wolverine, one of the most highly anticipated movies on the 2024 release schedule, it doesn’t lessen the impact that Logan had. 

How Reese Witherspoon And Sarah Michelle Gellar Celebrated Cruel Intentions' Anniversary 

Cruel Intentions is one of those movies that it seems everybody of a certain age saw when it was released 25 years ago, and 25 years later it’s a movie worthy of celebration, and two of the stars did not let the anniversary pass unnoticed. 

Resse Witherspoon, who actually co-wrote some of Cruel Intentions posted to Instagram with a reference to “Bitter Sweet Symphony” the song from the movie that became a massive hit at the time, and probably sent a lot of people who were in high school when the original movie came out, into spirals remembering school dances. 

Sarah Michelle Gellar was already a solid star thanks to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But needless to say, Cruel Intentions was a very different sort of role that completely changed the way many saw her, and showed just what she was capable of. She also remembered the birthday of this groundbreaking film on Instagram.  

Remaking Dangerous Liaisons with high school students is an idea that seems insane on its own, and yet, clearly, it was an idea that resonated with people. The movie would be so popular it would even get sequels, of the direct-to-video variety, and a stage musical version.  

While Logan and Cruel Intentions are certainly very different movies, there must be a lot of people who are fans of both. That makes this week a pretty special one for a lot of people. If you're looking to celebrate, Cruel Intentions is available for a Prime Video subscription, while Logan can be streamed by anybody with a Disney+ subscription.

What do most, if not all, of the best ‘90s movies have in common? Well, besides being the best representation of the final decade of the 20th century? They typically featured menacing, dastardly, sinister, and over-the-top villains that we sometimes remember more than the heroes who tried to stop them. But who are the meanest, the baddest, the most unforgiving villains of the 1990s? Funny you should ask…

Max Cady (Cape Fear)

Martin Scorsese’s 1991 remake of Cape Fear is a tense and terrifying psychological thriller with a frightening story about a convict seeking vengeance against his former defense attorney. There is just something so unsettling, so menacing, and straight-up mean about Robert De Niro’s portrayal of Max Cady that makes him an all-time villain. Maybe it’s the way he says “counselor” in that sinister tone.

Sheriff 'Little Bill' Daggett (Unforgiven)

Sheriff Daggett (Gene Hackman) is one mean son-of-a-gun in Clint Eastwood’s 1992 Best Picture winner, Unforgiven. He beats people, embarrasses them, and kicks them out of town, and that’s before his true callous nature is revealed later in the movie. Hackman, who could play a villain better than just about anyone else, manages to be incredibly evil while not being over-the-top.

Buddy Love (The Nutty Professor)

The 1996 remake of The Nutty Professor is one of the funniest Eddie Murphy movies as well as one where he plays more than one character. While his take on Sherman Klump is wholesome and tremendous, his portrayal of the kind-hearted professor’s evil alter ego, Buddy Love, is the stuff of legend. It’s as if an egotistical and crass AI watched Eddie Murphy: Delirious to come up with a mean, mean, mean character.

Eva Ernst (The Witches)

Even before Eva Ernst (Anjelica Huston) reveals herself to be The Grand High Witch in The Witches, the villain in this 1990 adaptation of a Roald Dahl classic is nothing but trouble. And unlike a lot of the characters on this list, Ernst wants to eat children, not just harm or toy with them. It doesn’t get much meaner than that.

Henry Evans (The Good Son)

If you were to put on The Good Son because you liked Macaulay Culkin’s work in the Home Alone movies, you’d probably be shocked to see his take on Henry Evans in The Good Son. Take every terrifying kid from horror movies and an extra level of mean, and you have this violent and psychotic ‘90s movie villain. The way he responds with “What if I did,” when asked if he killed his younger brother is wild. Just wild!

Shooter McGavin (Happy Gilmore)

Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald) is in the top tier of Adam Sandler movie villains as well as one of those ‘90s characters you just love to hate. There are no redeemable qualities, no chance of redemption, and no way anyone could like this guy. But still, the egotistical pro golfer who wants to make Sandler’s hockey-player-turned-golfer life as miserable as possible in Happy Gilmore is the stuff of legend.

John Doe (Seven)

Definitely one of the sickest movie villains from the ‘90s, John Doe (Kevin Spacy) in Seven is as mean as he is demented, which is a lot. The ritualistic killings inspired by the Seven Deadly Sins is one thing, and the massive collection of angry journal entries is another, but the way he says, “Oh, he didn’t know?” after the big plot twist is just so menacing.

Nino Brown (New Jack City)

Wesley Snipes played some great villains in the ‘90s, but his meanest has to be Nino Brown in New Jack City. While Simon Phoenix in Demolition Man is great, his character in the 1993 sci-fi flick is just so over-the-top and cartoonishly evil. Brown, on the other hand, is cold, methodical, and just a bad dude. 

Kathryn Merteuil (Cruel Intentions)

The ‘90s were a great time for iconic movie villains, and of course, Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) from Cruel Intentions is on that list. The games, the seduction, the toying with peoples' lives to the point where they are damaged beyond repair, and pretty much everything else she does in this 1999 staple is evil and mean-spirited.

Agatha Trunchbull (Matilda)

Roald Dahl had a way of creating legendary villains in his various stories, which is the case for Agatha Trunchbull (Pam Ferris) in Danny DeVito’s 1996 adaptation of Matilda. The olympian-turned-principal at Crunchem Hall makes life a walking nightmare for all the students, who she throws around, stuffs in tiny closets, and tries to embarrass in front of the entire school.

Debo (Friday)

There are few ‘90s movies villains that are as recognizable as Debo from Friday. Played by the late Tiny Lister, who also portrayed a big bad in the 1989 wrestling movie, No Holds Barred, this towering mountain of an antagonist was an absolute unit who preyed upon the smaller and weaker residents of his neighborhood. Well, until he got knocked out.

Captain Hook (Hook)

Steven Spielberg’s Hook is a movie that the internet seems to hate, but there are a lot of great things going for this 1991 retelling of Peter Pan. Robin Williams is great as the beloved Peter Pan character and Dustin Hoffman is a force of cartoonish evil in his portrayal of Captain Hook. The hooked hand, the wig, the turning Peter’s son against him, and that mustache put him at the top of the list. 

Sheriff Of Nottingham (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves)

Alan Rickman is mostly remembered for Hans Gruber in Die Hard, at least when it comes to movie villains. However, a few years later, the late Harry Potter star chewed up all the scenery with his portrayal of the Sheriff of Nottingham in 1991’s Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Kevin Costner is the star of this epic, but it’s Rickman, with his “I’ll cut your heart out with a spoon” line that steals the show.

Annie Wilkes (Misery)

Kathy Bates won an Oscar for her portrayal of Annie Wilkes in Misery, and rightfully so. The 1990 Stephen King adaptation helmed by Rob Reiner is one of the best horror movies of all time and features several of the most disturbing scenes imaginable. It’s Annie, despite her smile and infectious laugh, who is perpetrating all the madness. The hobbling scene alone makes her the meanest of the mean.

Percy Wetmore (The Green Mile)

Percy Wetmore (Dough Hutchison) in The Green Mile has to be one of the meanest, most sadistic characters from Stephen King’s catalog and one of the most hatable villains from the ‘90s. From intentionally botching an execution by the electric chair, trying to kill a mouse, and being a detestable human being in general, he did it all.

Max Shreck (Batman Returns)

Though Danny DeVito’s Oswald Cobblepot is supposed to be the villain in Batman Returns, it’s Christopher Walken’s Max Shreck who is the biggest jerk of Tim Burton’s 1992 comic book movie. He kills his secretary, is corrupt beyond belief, plans the kidnapping of the mayor’s child, and that’s just in the first act.

Peter And Paul (Funny Games)

Michael Haneke’s psychological horror film, Funny Games, features two of the most ruthless yet unassuming villains of the ‘90s with Paul (Arno Frisch) and Peter (Frank Giering), two young men who hold a family hostage and subject them to all kinds of torture. I mean, the “cat in the bag” game is one of the most disturbing scenes of all time.