Fight Club was the feeling of those who came just before us. Those in their unfulfilling careers slaving away at jobs they hate to buy shit they didn’t need. Of course this transcends generations and is relevant to us now, but not at the time.
Pulp Fiction was beautiful, but the plight and fantasy of those who were already adults. We were teenagers at the oldest. I’m 1982 and was in jr. high.
The Matrix though was about our future. This new horizon of the internet, the promise of AI, and the doom that could follow if we created a monster. It was everything we were promised, everything we feared, and was our heroic moment of overcoming it. The Matrix is a classic. It’s our Hero’s Journey, and is the movie of our generation.
It's worse in the books. He actually talks and when Atreyu tries his best to save Artax, he is essentially like "Naw fam, today IS a good day to die. "
Agreed. This was a massive one for my Gen X siblings. Early 80's here and I do t really associate much with it. Love it, but definitely not the movie of ALL xennials.
Transformers: The Movie. It's probably the first time most people saw a character from their childhood die onscreen. Then this massive letter writing campaign started to bring back Optimus Prime. He did come in the 3rd season then died again.
I don't know. I am '83, as is my wife, and this was both our immediate first thoughts. My brother is core Millenial (' 91) and would have been way too young for it in theater.
There’s not one wrong answer here. But, hear me out:
What about The Blair Witch Project? This movie could ONLY have been as successful as it was (and it was HUGE) because it came out at the exact right time. They could harness the power of the internet for marketing and getting people to question the truth, yet we weren’t yet connected enough to ruin it for each other.
Yeah I replied to another comment, having to concede that TBL could be targeted towards X or younger, but the characters themselves were bonafide Boomers.
This is it. This is the one. Released 1996. The peak of the peak of human civilization. So not only does this movie define xennials, but it quite possibly embodies the zenith of all human civilization.
The Fifth Element is an entirely different experience in the theater to what it is at home. The visuals demand it. Another movie I think is the same is Coco
Do we still need a multi pass or some strong cojones to bravely move freely in the realm? Or was that whole lockdown the world and make them fear themselves thing a dream?
Yes. Coco is a timeless film which people will still love and adore in the 22nd century.
Fuck Coco. Knew nothing about it and just thought I’d flick on an animated movie on a night off. 2 hours later a 35 year old man is just bawling crying alone at home. Obviously it tapped into some shit, but that movie should come with the equivalent to those ‘this movie contains graphic violence’ disclaimers.
I did that for the first Guardians of the Galaxy. It wasn't necessarily on purpose, it was 4 different friend groups. But it was a good movie to watch again in theatres.
I feel like I'm in a minority here but saw it in the theaters and was like yeah that's lame and left it at the first movie. Which bummed me out because I love me some keanu
I've known a hefty handful of our peers who were elaborate bullshitters that would spin epic yarns of their drug and alcohol adventures. Of course they didn't have first-hand experience with drugs and alcohol so they would just make up, what I call, "dude where's my car" or "The hangover" scenarios... Paraphrasing an actual fake story I heard: "so I woke up in a crawl space and I found my way out of it and I was only wearing boxers and I was in San Francisco and I've never been there before, and a cell phone started ringing and it was um strapped to my boxers and I answered it and this guy asked where I was and he was acting like this happens all the time and then I looked at the street signs and and they came and got me in the work truck cuz it turns out I had a job that I didn't know about and then so I went to work and we were like construction workers and then they drop me off at home and this girl I've never seen greeted me when I came in and I guess we've been going out for like a month and we lived together. So that's why I'm in narcotics anonymous"
Memories unlocked. Batman was very popular 100%. So much so that my mother made a simple plastic black art box into the batman logo in the middle with some yellow paint.
I too was a big fan of that Batman at just about the same age.
My kids are currently nine and seven, and I can’t imagine showing them that movie at their current ages. We definitely were a lot more desensitized to violence than they were!
Man the 80s were different. There were Robocop kids toys, so it was definitely part of that marketing plan. I saw it in theaters. My dad covered my eyes when Murphy got blown to hell, but jeez can you imagine showing that to your kids? I have some around the same age as yours and by their ages I had seen the original nightmare on elm street, Halloween, Commando, and so forth.
My kids are watching Bluey. They would be shell shocked to watch what we all did back in the 80s.
Matrix is probably it, but I was going to say Jurassic Park. I saw it 3 times in the theater in one day. I was the perfect age. I was twelve years old when it came out. And it blew my mind.
The Matrix was the first movie I pirated and watched on a computer.
It was a shitty handy cam job, but was pretty surreal watching a movie about computers taking over the world on a computer.
The only reason I went to see it was because the trailer for Star Wars was playing opening night. I didn’t care about the Mateix at all…..and then I did!
It's hard to overstate how groundbreaking the Matrix was at the time. I made my teen watch it last year and she was so unimpressed by the visual effects despite my explaining how novel the whole thing was in 1999. I think I saw it 3 times in the theater just so I could show it to various people, all of whom had their minds blown.
I saw it 3 times the first week it came out - saw it on a midnight showing opening day, and then twice more with different groups. A buddy of mine broke 2 digits before it left the theater.
I saw Pulp Fiction a lot in theater. It was playing forever at the $.50 theater by my house. We would watch it in the mid afternoon when it was hot out and we could also smoke inside
As an enormous fan of TBL (I have a replica rug in my dining room) I have to agree that even though The Dude carries immense Gen X energy, he and the gang are, in fact, Boomers.
I remember really liking it and thinking it was funny in 1999. The funny thing is, the parts I thought were funny, are different than what I think is funny now.
The thing is hardly anyone saw Office Space when it was in the theaters. It became a cult hit on video/DVD and cable (especially Comedy Central) for years afterward (same with Big Lebowski).
Yeah we all probably saw American Pie, but I was already 20 when that came out, so it wasn’t something I revisited a bunch in my twenties whereas Office Space became more and more relevant as I aged.
The Room https://media2.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExdmdoZXFybGh1NzQycWwyNWdzMnluY3I0OTdnd2g1a3l0dzVxM25laCZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/l0HUldzuCa0S16SkM/giphy.gif
I remember liking the movie as a kid though in a weird way I didn’t understand it. Watched the movie as an adult several years ago and 1. laughed my ass off and 2. appreciated how well done it really is.
The scene when >!he leaves the biker bar and runs straight into the road sign!< KILLED me watching it as an adult.
The Matrix was the only movie I’ve ever seen in the theater more than once and I saw it like 6 times in the theater. I’m extremely annoying to watch the matrix with because I know the script.
We were blessed to have one of the greatest years in cinematic history. 1999. But as somebody else pointed out, I think our generation is defined by the early movies like home alone.
Although my Gen X friends identify with this movie more, as I was in entering 6th grade when it was released, I totally thought I was Winona at the time. LOL However, I joke with my hubby all the time that maturity and growth is realizing as a 41 YO that Lelaina was damn crazy for settling for Troy who had no job, no ambitions, no HEALTH INSURANCE, absolutely nothing to offer her but … toxicity and heartache. Oh, but he was swoon worthy, moody and grungy! 👍🏼🤣🫠🥴
This is still one of my absolute favorite movies of all time. I will forever treasure it.
I thought it was a love letter to teen comedies we were just a little too young for (Fast Times, Brat Pack stuff), with a fun soundtrack that fit the time period.
KIDS was wild. I watched that way too young at my friend's house. It came out on vhs when we were 10 or 11, and his older brother (18) made us watch it one night.
Absolutely The Matrix. I wrote a whole Ted Talk about comparing Phantom Menace to Matrix, but tldr:
Releasing Phantom Menace (May '99) after Matrix (March '99) is laughable. '99 is the point everything changed. Columbine happened between them (April.) Matrix is the 1st movie of the new millenium -- the new era of dysfunction. George Lucas, Spielberg & the Boomers are from an age of innocence, nostalgicly idolizing their parents' Golden Age with movies about explorers, war heroes etc. We don't idolize Boomers at all. GenX is the age of jaded cynicism & paranoia, world-weary even before 9/11. The worldview of movies like Matrix and Fight Club is "What if this is all really shit and fake?" Anti-heroes not heroes: hitmen ala Pulp Fiction. The shift from Lucas/Spielberg to Tarantino couldn't be any more stark -- leather trenchcoats vs leather flight jackets. Plus all that cyber malarky.
Terminator 2 Judgement Day, The Matrix, The LOTR trilogy can all be considered in my lifetime as an Xennial born in 1981. Any of these movies / series would be a fine choice. My personal favorite movie of all time is Conan the Barbarian. I think music is the ultimate way to convey feeling and the dialogue in Conan is....let's call it limited, while the music of Basil Poledouris DOMINATED the entire experience
That was a masterpiece by Basil Poledouris. I’m a year younger and agree with your picks. Although I love Conan the Barbarian, I’d have to go with Blade Runner (director’s cut, of course) for my favorite though.
See, that's one I somehow missed as a total nerd. I love cyberpunk stuff, I love 80's movies...somehow I never watched Blade Runner. I think it must be time
Maybe it’s because I was so young (4) but this felt like one of the biggest movies ever to me yet I never really heard it talked about though so many people have seen it.
The Matrix was great, but I'd make a case for The Blair Witch Project too. No other movie from that time benefited as much from the lack of spoilers as Blair Witch. We didn't know if that was real or not, and it felt like it could be. It was great.
Maybe it isn't "the" movie, but nothing has felt like that to me since. We know so much about every movie before we see it now. I feel like Blair Witch was when that changed. We don't want to be fooled like that anymore it seems.
I was 16 or 17 when this movie came out. I think I saw it 5 times in theaters, I basically made everyone I know see it with me. I’m not proud, but as a 16-17 year old girl, I loved this movie.
I was 19 and my BFF at the time and I were obsessed with this movie. I saw it a few times in the theaters and owned the soundtrack. Even today I have My Heart Will Go On on my playlist. Don't be ashamed of it, they were many of us!
Honestly I’m not really ashamed of how much I loved this movie! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a movie that I just wanted to see over and over again like that.
“…And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.”
Star Wars episode 1 taught me a lot about the world, media, and myself. I must have seen the original trilogy dozens of times and then had eager anticipation for episode 1. I got tickets to a midnight showing on the night of release my junior year of highschool.
I didn't much care for the movie. After nearly 30 years, I still remember how much better the expectation was than the reality.
Kevin J Anderson was my favorite. I once sent him a drawing with a letter about how much I loved his characterizations and he sent back a thank you in sharpie on the inside of a ripped off cover of another of his paperbacks. It was so cool. I don’t think it was from a staff member it looked like he actually did it 🤣 slapped on a stamp and threw it in the mail pile. This was before ep 1
That's a tricky question, and one which doesn't have a good answer. All three of those are near or at the top of our cultural influences, though they weren't made for us—they're replete with Gen X or late Boomer themes, mostly, with much older casts. We were vastly too young for Pulp Fiction when it came out (1994), but came to enjoy it later. Fight Club is deliberately appealing to young men and was my absolute favorite movie from ages 21–36. Now that I'm older I don't find Tyler Durden appealing at all anymore.
The movies which were made for us, or at least partially for us, that we actually appreciated, are the one we saw as kids. For that I nominate Jurassic Park, Home Alone, Sandlot, Ace Ventura, and Hook. Might even throw Terminator 2 in there. Yeah it's rated R, but goddamned is it a solid story about parenting and which kids could appreciate. Those had the most influence.
Movies made for Xennials featuring adult or adolescent Xennials (or Gen X actors pretending to be Xennials) began with Scream and American Pie. Maybe Empire Records too. My favorites are The Beach and Van Wilder. Though I didn't find it nearly as horrifying as most, The Blair Witch Project is up there too.
Fight club only gets funnier with age because the guys so miserable he has a great job and an awesome apartment that younger people would literally murder for today.
I’m not saying it’s the movie of our generation, but I did a comment search and there is not a single mention of 1999’s Oscar winner for best picture, director, actor, screenplay and cinematography.
American Beauty is a movie that only gets better the closer to Lester Burnham’s age I get. Spacey’s fall from grace almost certainly influences how it’s remembered, but it’s surprising that absolutely no one thought of it
What would be the most important year of your life your first year of high school, your sweet sixteen or your graduaron day?
If it's the graduation day (1999) then it's American Beauty as there is no other film that perfectly encapsulates that specific moment in time.
If it's the sweet sixteen (1997) it's probably either Titanic as it was the love story that became highest grossing film of all time up until that point.
If it was your first day of high school (1994) then it's probably Forrest Gump which is the most American film of all time which at the time and thought the whole decade was the undisputed only true superpower of the world.
Then again if you're not American, it's all relative.
To me and I repeat this is TO ME:
The best movie of 1999 was What Dreams May Come because it came in my country in 1999 and it's the most thought provoking introspectiva movie about human mortality in the face of the afterlife since 1946 A Matter Of Life and Death.
The best movie of 1997 is Life Is Beautiful because it has an importante message about impotence of one self's individual fraility against the larger than life tragedy of war and in order to do so it conveys it a cinematic package that it is as gut-wrenching as it is everlasting.
The best movie of 1994 is The Shawshank Redemption namely because of the character of Brooks played by James Whitmore because it allows me to see my own self in my later days when everybody I ever knew has parted ways and all I have is the memories of my own's life tribulations and hopefully a friend like Jake that with time will also move on as well.
And then for xennials, when we were younger — what would you say?? The Princess Bride or The Neverending Story (eek, that one always got to me!!! I’m still that 5yr old, afraid of the Nothing!)
I mean, let me sort this out for you bitches: The Xenniel has an unusual appetite for bittersweet.
Land Before Time
LBT captures what I think is the Xenniel soul of bittersweet optimism, and I place this movie as really setting the tone that ends up defining us. Whereas Gen X is full on nihilism, and pure millennial is excessive idealism, I like to think of Xenniel as the very natural average of these two that good things do happen if you believe in them enough, but the cost will be terribly high. A lot of this hope is placed in science, particularly ability to make superhumans or robotics.
So then you see Honey I shrunk the kids as a similar kind of "look what amazing things might be possible," but then it all goes wrong. RoboCop is another great example of this.
Karate kid is solid, Bloodsport is a better representative.
TMNT is again optimism and wonder of what miracles science will bring, but how will this be corrupted by regular human nature.
Finally, this sets us up for our expectations of love, where echoes of LBT are felt in My Girl, Romeo and Juliet, and Titanic.
Fight Club, Office Space finally meet us at our depression, and do have epic heroes rise up against the tyranny of boredom, in both of them.
lol, I watched this soooooooo many times when I was younger
By the time I finally watched Star Wars, I was finally getting the references and my friend was taken aback (he’s a big Star Wars fan), he said he’d never met anyone who referenced Star Wars back to Spaceballs (as opposed to the other way around.)
For better or worse, Matrix was the movie of our generation. Surface level, Matrix was a film that explored outsider not “belonging” and escaping to fight against society/ “the system”. However, there is a personal, deeper level, that is about the trans experience. This movie, while personal to the Wachowskis, is universal in how it connects with people.
I think probably the defining characteristic of those of us that came of age around this time in America at least is how we were sort of bracketed into this lacuna that came with the anxiety age ennui without a major historical moment and zeitgeist pressed upon us and defining us.
Like, we had the internet before it really screwed everything up. We weren’t precisely native to it but we were dovetailed into it.
Then at the end of the 90s things started to move with the Oklahoma City bombing and Columbine close on it’s heels. Then you got early 2000s….
The movie revolves around the lack of meaning of the main character. It’s explicitly stated in one of Tyler’s monologues. He tries to fill the hole with stuff and “luxury” to prove that he’s achieved some sort of adulthood but the stretch is too hard and his personality switches to a compensatory hypermasculine trope hell bent on forcing the world to acknowledge his existence.
I think the transgressiveness of the matrix pulls it out into the early 00s even though it came out iirc in 1999.
Trainspotting. It's not even my favorite movie of that period. But it was the generation defining one in my neck of the woods. It struck so many chords, it's not even close.
But! My dear sweet merciful 28/56K on the 2nd home line AIM/ICQ/Quake/Doom/Ultima Online ‘93 times magazine “gore invented the internet, and don’t call them periods, it’s dots now” internet lords… I submit GGW as the movie of our generation. It had it all including the lack of understanding of what the permanent record that the breakfast club warned us about. Boobs at zero gravity. You know where you were.
I own the film, the script, have it memorized, have met Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes in person, etc. But I’d argue it’s a very Gen X film, and not even a little millennial.
Unpopular opinion but I've always hated Clerks and pretty much anything related to Kevin Smith. I find it all poorly executed, pseudo-intellectual "comedy" for the type of guys that wear socks with sandals.
If I had a nickel for every time someone told me "yeah, but it was made for like twenty thousand dollars," I'd have invested twenty thousand dollars into Bitcoin in 2010 and be a billionaire today.
I was with him up until Clerks 2 or so, mostly because I was a wannabe pseudo-intellectual comedy fan. That stuff hit just right when I was a teenager or in my early 20's.
But everything after 2010 or so just got progressively dumber and dumber. It was around this time his podcasts blew up and, by his own admission, he started making movies "for his fans."
And yeah, to be fair, there's nothing wrong with that. But I personally outgrew them pretty quickly.
I'm an elder Millennial myself (shh don't tell anyone. I just like hanging out here), and despite being a massive Kevin Smith fan, I can't really relate to Clerks very much.
I was 8 in 1994 and I feel like the movie would have resonated more closely with someone who was in their very late teens or 20's during the 90's.
Clerks is core GenX. Love it but I was 14 when it came out. Dante was contemplating going back to college…Even Mallrats, while closer, still feels more GenX than Xennial. They’re still great though
Of those three, The Matrix, it definitely had a profound impact on me. I liked Fight Club, but too many people didn’t understand the message. Pulp Fiction was a major video rental for me, so was Clerks. I am going to say personally, Mulholland Drive from films that kind of run from my teen to college years. I really got into Lynch. When first thinking of this question, I thought of kids movies from the 80s like Dark Crystal, Return to Oz, Labyrinth, Adventures in Babysitting, The Secret of NIMH. Also Star Wars and Star Trek definitely dominated my childhood, Batman Returns was important, Ghostbuster, the Back to the Future Trilogy. I grew up watching old movies, Duck Soup, Wizard of Oz, Sherlock Jr, Twentieth Century, Peach-O-Reno, Panic in the Night, The Birds, The Trouble With Harry, Seven Samurai and many others really affected me. Modern films still are part of our generation. This is a hard thing to pin down.
Lol, same. My dad wasn't super happy when I rented this and watched it with my gf during high school. I watched it again about 10 years ago, and it was tough to get through. It's so much darker than it was back then, and much less "funny"
One of my favorites for sure but hadn't seen it in ten years or more.
Fired it up the other night and was just floored at how young everyone was. I mean, logically I knew these guys were all in their twenties (maybe not Begby) but to actually see people on screen that I remembered being my peers, was... sobering.
I would argue that films from our more formative years and aimed narrowly at our generation would be more definitive than films from our late-adolescence / early-adulthood as many of these suggestions seem to be.
One that wasn’t really meant for anyone other than us. One that firmly imprinted itself in a way that that nearly borders on trauma.
For me, Matrix, hands-down. I went so deeply down that rabbit hole that I still refuse to get rid of my 3 versions on disc because the each have different bonus content. I have probably forgotten more than I know now about their VFX teams, watched obscure speeches from them, and it definitely impacted both my fashion sense and my opinion of the world and the situation we operate in irreversibly.
I've scrolled down through all these comments and I have changed my mind about 50 times, and I might change my mind again, but this one has to be one of the few at the very top. The movie and the soundtrack together are undeniably important. 1994 was probably THE formative year for my music and movie-as-art taste.
A penguin but its body is the word “slide.” Well, I guess I could just show you. And yes, he has a little tallywhacker. Also, the crown is because I was drunk once in college and brought home a huge plastic penguin and we nicknamed it King Pen. So it all kinda tied together for a silly tattoo.
Honestly, all three of these are epic, I own them on DVD, and they hold up, but I would say the Big Lebowski would be our movie. I didn’t think so originally, but holy shit! Over time it’s become a cult classic, and it’s better now than it was then for me.
Me and my buddy saw The Time Machine. We were the only 2 in there so we smoked cigs and bowls. We left before it ended cause we gave up on the torture.
I think it was Titanic. I feel like everyone made out with at least 2 different people on 2 different dates in the same theater while watching this movie.
At least me and a few of my friends did…. Hehehehe.
There are few, but there are still is who firmly believe the academy fucking robbed us and this film doesn't get near the artistic recognition or public accolades as the movie of our generation.
Pulp Fiction was a pretty big deal. It launched the career (to the public; I know he had earlier work) of the most prominent director of his generation, and was some of the biggest pushback against movies as simply spectacle without writing.
Pretty sure GenX has rightful claim to Fight Club.
“Middle children of history” the bit about
We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.
Gotta be the Matrix. Tarantino’s movies of that period are all a love letter to the 70s and Fight Club was really speaking to the full blood Gen Xers, not us half breeds. But the Matrix hugely influenced “our” culture and was a perfect fit for old teenagers/young adults
This is the correct answer. It hasn't aged well and didn't leave a lasting legacy but for a 10 year period after it came out no one ever said "This one time..." without someone adding "at band camp..."
For me it's Fight Club... but I guess my broader statement is that, for us, in the 1990s, there were a number of movies that defined our culture.. culture was actually progressing, and serving the people.. I think we have lost that, our culture is probably moving in retrograde now, and it doesn't serve the people anymore - it's more like candy that ends up enriching the people making the crappy movies nowadays.. So I think at least up until present, cultural development peaked in the late 1990s, at least to me.
The 90s were not a great decade for movies? Seriously? That is a HOT take. The Shawshank Redemption , Pulp Fiction, Jurassic Park, Fargo, Fight Club, Silence of the Lambs, Goodfellas, Schindlers List, Dracula, The Matrix, Good Will Hunting, Scream, The Sixth Sense, The Big Lebowski, Toy Story, Groundhog Day, Clerks, Empire Records, Malcolm X, Forrest Gump, The Nightmare Before Christmas... That is really just the tip of the iceberg. Man, I wish cinema was still like that now.
Underrated answer. I don't think it's the movie, but we are precisely the target demographic for the Broken Lizard guys. College between 98-2006 or so, give or take.
It's Goonies. It represented so many of us. Goonies never say die. The movie instilled hope. Now, well its mostly spicy spite talking, but given the absolute dick-punching-fest this gens been through, I'll take it. Also, might I remind people the cast is pretty well regarded these day. We could certainly do worse.
audiate@reddit
Very obviously The Matrix.
Fight Club was the feeling of those who came just before us. Those in their unfulfilling careers slaving away at jobs they hate to buy shit they didn’t need. Of course this transcends generations and is relevant to us now, but not at the time.
Pulp Fiction was beautiful, but the plight and fantasy of those who were already adults. We were teenagers at the oldest. I’m 1982 and was in jr. high.
The Matrix though was about our future. This new horizon of the internet, the promise of AI, and the doom that could follow if we created a monster. It was everything we were promised, everything we feared, and was our heroic moment of overcoming it. The Matrix is a classic. It’s our Hero’s Journey, and is the movie of our generation.
But that’s just like, uh, my opinion, man.
thaKingRocka@reddit
Rushmore
mybadalternate@reddit
Gremlins 2 - The New Batch
Individual-Orange929@reddit
Is that the one with the microwave scene?
mybadalternate@reddit
No. Paper shredder.
abernathym@reddit
I watched that with my kids this Christmas. I had to because they didn't believe me when I explained it to them.
mybadalternate@reddit
It is a movie that defies all reason.
throughtdoor@reddit
The Princess Bride
CrimsonVibes@reddit
One of my favorites for sure.
nichewilly@reddit
Incontheevable!!
HopelesslyHuman@reddit
This is for our childhood, to be sure.
MyNameIsDaveToo@reddit
Definitely. I even have a t-shirt that has a name tag printed onto it, it says: Hi! My Name Is: Inigo Montoya you killed my father prepare to die.
Evan_802Vines@reddit
plotholesandpotholes@reddit
Never Ending Story
CrimsonVibes@reddit
My god, this was definitely one of my favorites and one of the scariest movies I remember watching also.🤣
JPhrog@reddit
PizzaThrives@reddit
The boobs on the oracles, man!
JakeVanderArkWriter@reddit
aytchdave@reddit
Labyrinth?
chrisdecaf@reddit
This is the one.
mybadalternate@reddit
xennial horse girl trauma - the film!
RyogAkari@reddit
The Neverending Story is the correct answer.
plotholesandpotholes@reddit
Yes, this and with the correct spelling, Sorry, I go too excited. All that trauma came lfooding back. RIP Artax.
RyogAkari@reddit
It's worse in the books. He actually talks and when Atreyu tries his best to save Artax, he is essentially like "Naw fam, today IS a good day to die. "
imhereforthevotes@reddit
My friend talked about how scary the book was - his parents read it aloud. I think the Nothing was truamatizing to him. I made sure never to read it.
cheshirecat1919@reddit
Yep. I was actually listening to the book a couple hours ago and just got through that scene. Not the first time, but it hits hard no matter what.
plotholesandpotholes@reddit
Man, I need a little Debbie Oatmeal Cookie and a hug from Sister Veronica. Thats brutal!
Vivid-Individual5968@reddit
Shout out to my girl, Moonchild. 👑
LavandulaTrashPanda@reddit
Came here to say this.
ADHDhamster@reddit
Seriously.
elcheapodeluxe@reddit
That song was the baby shark of its day. Just make it stop.
whistleridge@reddit
The only possible contender.
CrimsonVibes@reddit
As you wish!
GStarAU@reddit
Is that a Xennial movie? I feel like it was slightly before our time. I'm a 1979 baby so I was like... 8.. when this came out?
FreeWafflesForAll@reddit
Agreed. This was a massive one for my Gen X siblings. Early 80's here and I do t really associate much with it. Love it, but definitely not the movie of ALL xennials.
naamingebruik@reddit
Nah this one was obscure at the time and gained a cult following over time
Brain-Genius-Head@reddit
This is my favorite movie of all time
TheLastBoat@reddit
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
CrimsonVibes@reddit
This one kinda scares me.
starchildmadness83@reddit
LeadingLeek1717@reddit
ET and little rascals.
BiggestTaco@reddit
Dude, Where’s My Car?
Silly, meaningless, and didn’t make a lot of money. Just like us.
SoundBEARier7@reddit
Dude.
wbb1812@reddit
Dazed & Confused
JadedJared@reddit
I was expecting this to be the top comment.
12yearsintherapy@reddit
This or Empire Records
DefinitelyNotWilling@reddit
I’d still say Star Wars.
unkiestink@reddit
Goonies
PizzaThrives@reddit
HEY, YOU GUYYYYYYS!
HumanContract@reddit
This-Elk-6837@reddit
There's a sequel, apparently?
Bushwazi@reddit
Saw the headline today!
xx_deleted_x@reddit
fiddy dolla bill
xx_deleted_x@reddit
stay to the right!
Nwcray@reddit
Yeah. This is the one.
Wasn’t my first thought, but it’s the right answer.
MyNameIsDaveToo@reddit
I freaking love this movie. If you haven't been to Canon Beach, OR - you should go. It's beautiful there.
unkiestink@reddit
Gorgeous! I’m from Portland, born and raised. Love Canyon and Astoria. Freaking love the Goonies too! Cheers brother.
King_of_Lunch223@reddit (OP)
Goonies never say die!
nrek00@reddit
The only correct answer, honestly
greg1I@reddit
WHY IS THIS ANSWER SO FAR DOWN!?
Chrisnm203@reddit
Came here to say the same. This is it.
soltunis24@reddit
Yeah I already know the answer no matter what anyone says. Even had multiple sequels and other movies. This Was When BLAAAADE was born.
Tofuloaf@reddit
Police Academy.
BrainGam3@reddit
“Proctor!!”
Tofuloaf@reddit
Captain Mauser~ Yowdy yowzer~
Better_Quarter8045@reddit
TK-385@reddit
Transformers: The Movie. It's probably the first time most people saw a character from their childhood die onscreen. Then this massive letter writing campaign started to bring back Optimus Prime. He did come in the 3rd season then died again.
aerodeck@reddit
:looks around:
Idiocracy
TK-385@reddit
Brawndo, it has what plants crave: electrolytes! There will probably be an executive order that all plants are given Gatorade.
Bushwazi@reddit
I like money.
ChicagoRex@reddit
Welcome to Costco. I love you.
Kizenny@reddit
Documentaries don’t count
Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit
That's not generational though. It's just a forecast and searing indictment of the conservative plan for earth.
vrgamemachine@reddit
Yeah, keep wearing your crocks scrull.
babyclownshoes@reddit
This movie is timeless. If TBS still existed they would be playing it every Saturday
christophersonne@reddit
I hate that you're right, and hate more that Idiocracy was right all along.
GenericGuy420@reddit
I think this applies for more than just us Xennials these days. Sadly.
mackattacknj83@reddit
Jurassic Park
Kooky_Donkey_166@reddit
This is the only answer. This movie dominated and still holds up today.
TK-385@reddit
Because you know... dinosaurs are cool.
elstuffmonger@reddit
It was in theaters for over a year near me. The only other movie even close was the lion king.
Araneae__@reddit
phildu57@reddit
Jurassic Park was the 1st movie I saw at the cinema, so I'll vote for this one. Matrix, as well as the phantom menace and se7en are my favorite
AnythingButWhiskey@reddit
ChicagoRex@reddit
Love Jurassic Park, but our generation doesn't lay claim to it. It's also my solidly Millennial wife's favorite movie.
SDNick484@reddit
I don't know. I am '83, as is my wife, and this was both our immediate first thoughts. My brother is core Millenial (' 91) and would have been way too young for it in theater.
mackattacknj83@reddit
I am also 83
Bizarro_Murphy@reddit
I can still feel that vibration if the TRex in my chest
Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit
Complete with scummy lawyers, people not listening to scientists, and an oligarch who prioritizes money over safety.
"We spared no expense" ... except for leaving park automation in the hands of one person who is angry about their pay.
CuCullen@reddit
Wow good call……. “He left us. He left us!”
ChunkyFart@reddit
Got the VHS on my tenth bday. Wore it out, watched dozens of times
TheBeardedBeard@reddit
Bingo. First movie I saw multiple times in the theater. Which wasn’t easy for an 11 year old.
TiramaSusan@reddit
Bowling for Columbine...
JennXL@reddit
There’s not one wrong answer here. But, hear me out:
What about The Blair Witch Project? This movie could ONLY have been as successful as it was (and it was HUGE) because it came out at the exact right time. They could harness the power of the internet for marketing and getting people to question the truth, yet we weren’t yet connected enough to ruin it for each other.
It also used both analog and digital video.
Delicious_dystopia@reddit
The Matrix, that's definitely the wrong answer. That movie and its sequels were horrible cheesy Hollywood movies.
-E-Cross@reddit
Airbud
Delicious_dystopia@reddit
I'd literally take that over the Matrix.
aenflex@reddit
Independence Day
Delicious_dystopia@reddit
WOW! That's almost worst than the Matrix.
bill_pullman@reddit
I'm ok with this one. :)
MoridinXP@reddit
The movie of our generation is definitely The Matrix.
The movie for our generation is either Office Space or Fight Club, depending how full your metaphorical glass is...
Delicious_dystopia@reddit
Yay the movie of my generation is a movie for 12yo edgelords!
WildZero138@reddit
Matrix was the top dog until LotR came out, imo
pmpork@reddit
This is the right take. And for me, it's definitely office space.
headcanonball@reddit
His name was Milton Waddams.
rayui@reddit
I rate Clerks alongside Office Space.
FARTST0RM@reddit
caydesramen@reddit
Neo, your out of your element
Amiro77@reddit
You're *
Mcbrainotron@reddit
Agents, dude. Agents.
dammit-smalls@reddit
I dabbled in the matrix for a while. Not in 'nam of course
jacksonmills@reddit
The Big Lebowski was a movie that helped our generation think our parents generation was cool, maybe, but that’s just like your opinion, man.
FARTST0RM@reddit
Yeah I replied to another comment, having to concede that TBL could be targeted towards X or younger, but the characters themselves were bonafide Boomers.
jacksonmills@reddit
One of my favorite movies for sure
nugsy_mcb@reddit
¿Porqué no los dos?
henryfarts@reddit
I am Jack’s metaphorical jump to conclusions mat
kCanIGoNow@reddit
Wait wait. Hear me out. What about the Lion King?
jesterspaz@reddit
Office Space is forever relevant- Mike Judge is a genius
Rhianna83@reddit
Here’s my award 🥇 Well deserved!
Bravo 👏
KillBosby@reddit
Holy 1999.
MunkyDawg@reddit
I am Jack's metaphorical glass
shnigybrendo@reddit
Metaphorical load letter? What the fuck does that mean??
Additional-Local8721@reddit
Naga, Naga, Naga, nit gonna be here anymore
Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit
It means A4 will work too, as would legal.
Sharon_Erclam@reddit
I am Jack's apathy. The glass does not exist.
TheHumbleTradesman@reddit
Severely underrated and comprehensive comment
Mr_SunnyBones@reddit
"yeaah I'm gonna have to ask you to watch Office Space again this Saturday.."
DrG2390@reddit
If you could watch it again on Sunday that would be great…
actionerror@reddit
Not Neverending Story?
TrevorsPirateGun@reddit
A generation raised by women
jacksonmills@reddit
Yeah I still remember leaving the theater and being so charged, like I knew this was “our” Star Wars.
I wish the trilogy was better but to be honest I enjoy it a little more over time.
OddFail5433@reddit
I am Jack's red stapler.
Rare_Tomorrow_5425@reddit
I am Jack's OH face.
ThoughtlessBanter@reddit
OH... OH.
Colb_678@reddit
You're gonna pick a fight ...with a copier ... and you're gonna lose.
the_kid1234@reddit
As well as Office Space and the Big Lebowski.
THEMACGOD@reddit
Watch both monies at the same time..
Delicious_dystopia@reddit
Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww LOL
Are you saying our generation was garbage? Come on dude, you're not 12yo anymore.
Knight_thrasher@reddit
Equivalent-Goat-6193@reddit
TedStriker63@reddit
Confuscious says forgiveness is devine, but never pay full price for late pizza.
TediousTasks@reddit
Pizza dude's got thirty seconds
ollie_hondro@reddit
10 y/o me and friends going to the the theater to see this after our Saturday soccer game might have been peak life.
Equivalent-Goat-6193@reddit
8yo me and my friends went opening night! Good times :)
Dog_Baseball@reddit
This is it. This is the one. Released 1996. The peak of the peak of human civilization. So not only does this movie define xennials, but it quite possibly embodies the zenith of all human civilization.
DatSauceTho@reddit
It was released in 1990.
Dog_Baseball@reddit
You just shattered my image of my entire childhood
DatSauceTho@reddit
🤷♂️ yeah I had to double check cause I was like “there’s no way TMNT came out in 1996 when I was X years old.”
HumanContract@reddit
Oh. Someone beat me to it.
cracksmack85@reddit
Owned this on VHS as a kid, a classic
supercleverhandle476@reddit
I…
Play…
Riiiiight field
It’s important to know!
Neither_Pie8996@reddit
you gotta know how to catch, gotta know how to throw, that's why I play in right field, way out where the dandelions grow!
DatSauceTho@reddit
I still own it on VHS. Along with sequel AND the cartoon tv series. Now if I could just find a VCR…
bootrot@reddit
I think the matrix is the only movie I've ever seen in the theater twice. I didn't pay either time, but still.
chadwickipedia@reddit
Was the reason a lot of people first got DVD players. Not me of course, that was for Deep Blue Sea
againandagain22@reddit
Only movie I’ve ever seen 4 times in the theatre.
Missed the start of the first time because we were smoking in the car park. Worth it every time.
HipHopGrandpa@reddit
I saw The Fifth Element in the theater 5 times the month it came out. Never done anything like that before or since.
TransportationOk657@reddit
The Fifth Element is by far my favorite movie from the 90s. I hope it gets re-released in theaters like a lot of other movies from our generation.
CultofEight27@reddit
My older brother took me to see it in theaters on a school night, I remember thinking how cool that was loved the movie.
PMMeYourPupper@reddit
The Fifth Element is an entirely different experience in the theater to what it is at home. The visuals demand it. Another movie I think is the same is Coco
thewaytowholeness@reddit
Do we still need a multi pass or some strong cojones to bravely move freely in the realm? Or was that whole lockdown the world and make them fear themselves thing a dream?
Yes. Coco is a timeless film which people will still love and adore in the 22nd century.
DengarLives66@reddit
Mad Max: Fury Road was it for me. The soundtrack, the intensity, the adrenaline….shit never lost its edge the 5x I saw it.
servonos89@reddit
Fuck Coco. Knew nothing about it and just thought I’d flick on an animated movie on a night off. 2 hours later a 35 year old man is just bawling crying alone at home. Obviously it tapped into some shit, but that movie should come with the equivalent to those ‘this movie contains graphic violence’ disclaimers.
bungerman@reddit
No one can watch Coco in public, I'd be a slobbering mess 😭
GStarAU@reddit
"Negative; I am a meat popsicle"
I was on the floor after that line from Bruce 😂😂
Over_Season803@reddit
Lilu Dallas mutipass
corollaNstyle@reddit
Multi-pass
BalrogRuthenburg11@reddit
I am a meat popsicle.
bucko787@reddit
Legit
p8nt_junkie@reddit
“I bet your lunch!”
Datamackirk@reddit
So you'd heave to go see it's sequel six times? I'm assuming it wouldbl be called The Sixth Element.
Ice-Negative@reddit
I did that for the first Guardians of the Galaxy. It wasn't necessarily on purpose, it was 4 different friend groups. But it was a good movie to watch again in theatres.
FLPeacemaker@reddit
I did that with my friend group with Con Air in 97. Somehow managed to see it six times in the theater.
holdyouin@reddit
Same here with Armageddon in 98. That was a fun one to watch in the theater.
mduden@reddit
I feel like I'm in a minority here but saw it in the theaters and was like yeah that's lame and left it at the first movie. Which bummed me out because I love me some keanu
alexrepty@reddit
What do you mean, left it at the first movie? There was only one and I will not be convinced otherwise.
againandagain22@reddit
The plot was confusing to some people. Not necessarily you, but my best friend didn’t understand the film.
mduden@reddit
It wasn't my genre of sci-fi honestly and then the Matrix Bros just put me off more hahah
stricktd@reddit
I saw Dude, Where’s My Car 3 times also never paying. Not sure that would qualify as “movie of our generation”
bootrot@reddit
I've known a hefty handful of our peers who were elaborate bullshitters that would spin epic yarns of their drug and alcohol adventures. Of course they didn't have first-hand experience with drugs and alcohol so they would just make up, what I call, "dude where's my car" or "The hangover" scenarios... Paraphrasing an actual fake story I heard: "so I woke up in a crawl space and I found my way out of it and I was only wearing boxers and I was in San Francisco and I've never been there before, and a cell phone started ringing and it was um strapped to my boxers and I answered it and this guy asked where I was and he was acting like this happens all the time and then I looked at the street signs and and they came and got me in the work truck cuz it turns out I had a job that I didn't know about and then so I went to work and we were like construction workers and then they drop me off at home and this girl I've never seen greeted me when I came in and I guess we've been going out for like a month and we lived together. So that's why I'm in narcotics anonymous"
rindenracka@reddit
My theater-viewing record still stands with 5 times my dad took me to see Batman in theaters in 1989. I could not get enough of it as a 7 year old.
thewaytowholeness@reddit
Memories unlocked. Batman was very popular 100%. So much so that my mother made a simple plastic black art box into the batman logo in the middle with some yellow paint.
toasterb@reddit
I too was a big fan of that Batman at just about the same age.
My kids are currently nine and seven, and I can’t imagine showing them that movie at their current ages. We definitely were a lot more desensitized to violence than they were!
rindenracka@reddit
Man the 80s were different. There were Robocop kids toys, so it was definitely part of that marketing plan. I saw it in theaters. My dad covered my eyes when Murphy got blown to hell, but jeez can you imagine showing that to your kids? I have some around the same age as yours and by their ages I had seen the original nightmare on elm street, Halloween, Commando, and so forth.
My kids are watching Bluey. They would be shell shocked to watch what we all did back in the 80s.
goobernawt@reddit
I love the Nolan Batman but will always have a special place in my heart for Keaton, my first Batman.
RedditHoss@reddit
Best theater-going experience of my life!
OkNewspaper8714@reddit
Matrix is probably it, but I was going to say Jurassic Park. I saw it 3 times in the theater in one day. I was the perfect age. I was twelve years old when it came out. And it blew my mind.
bout-tree-fitty@reddit
The Matrix was the first movie I pirated and watched on a computer.
It was a shitty handy cam job, but was pretty surreal watching a movie about computers taking over the world on a computer.
SplakyD@reddit
I saw "The Ring" four times in theaters when I was in college. Seeing it for the first time is still the best cinematic experience I've ever had.
Bizarro_Murphy@reddit
Saw it in theaters twice with my gf in high school. That movie was fantastic in the theaters!
DrG2390@reddit
Seven days…
R4808N@reddit
I saw Gladiator in the theater twice. I paid both times and it was worth it.
Appropriate-Owl-9654@reddit
The only reason I went to see it was because the trailer for Star Wars was playing opening night. I didn’t care about the Mateix at all…..and then I did!
PNWKnitNerd@reddit
It's hard to overstate how groundbreaking the Matrix was at the time. I made my teen watch it last year and she was so unimpressed by the visual effects despite my explaining how novel the whole thing was in 1999. I think I saw it 3 times in the theater just so I could show it to various people, all of whom had their minds blown.
Rhianna83@reddit
I saw it 6x! It is the only one I’ve ever gone to watch more than once.
ringobob@reddit
I saw it 3 times the first week it came out - saw it on a midnight showing opening day, and then twice more with different groups. A buddy of mine broke 2 digits before it left the theater.
cornpudding@reddit
I saw There's Something About Mary in the theater a stupid number of times
AlilAwesome81@reddit
I saw Pulp Fiction a lot in theater. It was playing forever at the $.50 theater by my house. We would watch it in the mid afternoon when it was hot out and we could also smoke inside
cbih@reddit
I saw The Lizzie McGuire Movie, and Jason X dozens of times in the theatre
MelifacentJebu@reddit
Land before time!
Peach_Mediocre@reddit
Goonies
ShireHorseRider@reddit
The matrix is and was epic/awesome… but if I had to pick one movie to sum it all up baby….
stykface@reddit
The Lion King!!!! :)
bravosierrapolitics@reddit
I graduated HS in '99 sooo...
GardenDrummer@reddit
mlgraves@reddit
Heexxxxxsssssssuuuuuuussssssssss……
Egodram@reddit
Crunk_Tuna@reddit
Was it Matrix and Matrix 2 with the green powerade? That was tight.
Melon flavor... Tasted fine
tommccabe@reddit
Office Space
TheJRKoff@reddit
I remember going to that movie on a first date.
Girl is gone, but the the quotes from that movie live forever.
tommccabe@reddit
I imagine "two chicks at the same time" would lead to an interesting first date conversation
BulkOfTheS3ries@reddit
Office Space or Lebowski i say
redditsuckshardnowtf@reddit
Both Gen X
FungiStudent@reddit
Lebowski 100%. Not even close.
FARTST0RM@reddit
As an enormous fan of TBL (I have a replica rug in my dining room) I have to agree that even though The Dude carries immense Gen X energy, he and the gang are, in fact, Boomers.
mybadalternate@reddit
Heartbreaking, but you’re absolutely correct.
nuclearslug@reddit
I’d love to see the Dude and Milton have a conversation.
BulkOfTheS3ries@reddit
I made this comment without even knowing what a xennial is.
Reckless behavior
iwasnotarobot@reddit
Send this out to one of the creative writing prompt subs.
AndyAsteroid@reddit
Not really, ive still never seen it or remember when it even came out
FrebTheRat@reddit
Loved everything about Office Space except the ending. Anyone who thinks they would be happier shoveling gravel has never shoveled gravel before.
PhoneJazz@reddit
When Office Space came out in 1999, most Xennials were young enough to still blissfully unaware of the drudgery of office culture.
I submit American Pie
x-Mowens-x@reddit
I remember really liking it and thinking it was funny in 1999. The funny thing is, the parts I thought were funny, are different than what I think is funny now.
Rare_Tomorrow_5425@reddit
The concept of "if I had a million dollars, I would do nothing" spoke to me and still does
NoAnnual3259@reddit
The thing is hardly anyone saw Office Space when it was in the theaters. It became a cult hit on video/DVD and cable (especially Comedy Central) for years afterward (same with Big Lebowski).
Yeah we all probably saw American Pie, but I was already 20 when that came out, so it wasn’t something I revisited a bunch in my twenties whereas Office Space became more and more relevant as I aged.
luxtabula@reddit
no that's more of a Gen X movie.
WildZero138@reddit
You gotta break this down by ages I think.
Early years: The Land Before Time
Childhood: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Preteen/teenage years: Jurassic Park/Titanic with Independence Day closely bring, followed by the release of the Star Wars Trilogy
Young adult: LotR
JJLEGOBD@reddit
This is GenX, right? I mean, STAR WARS, anyone?
No-such-nonsense@reddit
The reset is here ….
nakedcellist@reddit
The Room https://media2.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExdmdoZXFybGh1NzQycWwyNWdzMnluY3I0OTdnd2g1a3l0dzVxM25laCZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/l0HUldzuCa0S16SkM/giphy.gif
Evan_802Vines@reddit
MNJayW@reddit
bomklatt@reddit
Evan_802Vines@reddit
Pixatron32@reddit
I love that I can hear this!
AnythingButWhiskey@reddit
DeviatedPreversions@reddit
Zzzzzz!
gameguyswifey@reddit
This movie and this quote especially are often heard in my house. We also have the 4 element stones in our living room.
Emdubs@reddit
The most quoted movie in my house by far.
djblackprince@reddit
Super green
starchildmadness83@reddit
Yup!
PineappleZest@reddit
LeeLooDallasMultiPass is spoken in my household quite often. One of my all-time faves.
Buttspirgh@reddit
Chikeeeen, good!
CrouchingDomo@reddit
Literally every time we have chicken 😂
actionerror@reddit
I watched this so many times in the theater when $5 matinee was still a thing
Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit
Just showed my kids The Fifth Element. They loved it. 🥰
mybadalternate@reddit
Supergreen!!!!
phildu57@reddit
I'm surprised English speaking countries knew the 5th element. But yes, ots one of the greatest French movie
Evan_802Vines@reddit
https://i.redd.it/5eop68aqz6je1.gif
King_of_Lunch223@reddit (OP)
Seno ekto gammat
VincentMac1984@reddit
Space Ice does a YouTube movie review of this that is absolutely hilarious!
My_cunning_hat@reddit
It’s my all time favorite. Perfect cast, story, costumes, just the best.
being_sentient@reddit
Yes
UlyPadooly@reddit
Mrs Doubtfire
oO_RickJamez_Oo@reddit
Positively_Eric@reddit
TheBr0fessor@reddit
sisterpearl@reddit
Disastrous-Wonder153@reddit
Tequila!
DHammer79@reddit
I started humming the tune as soon as I saw the gif.
aytchdave@reddit
I remember liking the movie as a kid though in a weird way I didn’t understand it. Watched the movie as an adult several years ago and 1. laughed my ass off and 2. appreciated how well done it really is.
The scene when >!he leaves the biker bar and runs straight into the road sign!< KILLED me watching it as an adult.
TheBr0fessor@reddit
Movie was an absolute fever dream.
That scene is hilarious!!!
xx_deleted_x@reddit
oh, pee wee....the Alamo doesn't have a basement!
ADHDhamster@reddit
Large Marge!!!
Bizarro_Murphy@reddit
I broke my parents' VCR by constantly rewinding it to play this part
CuCullen@reddit
It was the worst accident I ever seen
Scrupulicious@reddit
There’s no basement in the Alamo! *Takes gum out of mouth *
industrock@reddit
The Matrix was the only movie I’ve ever seen in the theater more than once and I saw it like 6 times in the theater. I’m extremely annoying to watch the matrix with because I know the script.
CrazyDizzle@reddit
Fight Club was the anthem of Gen X.
PocketStonesforFun@reddit
Goonies.
Vivid_Consequence482@reddit
Gladiator, Saving Private Ryan, Road Trip, Rat Race, American Pie
So many to choose from
tiexodus@reddit
Out Cold
Amishpornstar7903@reddit
The Matrix is a pseudo intellectual movie.
i_heart_pasta@reddit
Star Wars
acey1080@reddit
Rownwade@reddit
Titanic
Nickyjtjr@reddit
We were blessed to have one of the greatest years in cinematic history. 1999. But as somebody else pointed out, I think our generation is defined by the early movies like home alone.
starchildmadness83@reddit
I’ve seen so many great listings but I want to add one of my guilty pleasures! IYKYK!
Center Stage
Librarian-Voter@reddit
Napoleon Dynamite?
starchildmadness83@reddit
PhoneJazz@reddit
Anything starring Xennial Queen Kiersten Dunst
starchildmadness83@reddit
Yes.
anOvenofWitches@reddit
Forever a place in my heart 🫶
starchildmadness83@reddit
Although my Gen X friends identify with this movie more, as I was in entering 6th grade when it was released, I totally thought I was Winona at the time. LOL However, I joke with my hubby all the time that maturity and growth is realizing as a 41 YO that Lelaina was damn crazy for settling for Troy who had no job, no ambitions, no HEALTH INSURANCE, absolutely nothing to offer her but … toxicity and heartache. Oh, but he was swoon worthy, moody and grungy! 👍🏼🤣🫠🥴
This is still one of my absolute favorite movies of all time. I will forever treasure it.
Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit
What's this? Because I'm sold just on this clip.
AbbreviationsBorn276@reddit
Think it is reality bites. Reality bites feels purely gen x to me tho.
Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit
Muchas gracias
strexpet-b@reddit
Ben Stiller's directorial debut, I think! Filmed in my home city of Houston, which usually just gets bombed in movies lol
Cute-Distribution317@reddit
I'm sorry FINAL DESTINATION Should be in that list! That series gave all of us PTSD. For real!
DeaditeQueen@reddit
The Crow
starchildmadness83@reddit
Yassss!!! And just like that … my goth/metal girl life was born. I still listen to this soundtrack on a daily basis. It’s chef’s kiss. 🖤
kittensbabette@reddit
Obviously Clueless
starchildmadness83@reddit
I had to scroll way too far down for this!!!!
BrewCityTikiGuy@reddit
I had to scroll for far too long for this response.
AnythingButWhiskey@reddit
bexter82@reddit
Yep. I had this movie memorized.
starchildmadness83@reddit
SLC. Punk.
Taskerst@reddit
Can’t Hardly Wait
starchildmadness83@reddit
Yes.
BrainGam3@reddit
“Did someone order a love burger?”
dudeshoes44@reddit
If ever there was an anthem for the Xennial generations. It’s clearly this.
Taskerst@reddit
I thought it was a love letter to teen comedies we were just a little too young for (Fast Times, Brat Pack stuff), with a fun soundtrack that fit the time period.
blownout2657@reddit
Natural Born Killers.
starchildmadness83@reddit
I had no business watching that movie at that time! LOL
Mirageswirl@reddit
Best soundtrack too
bjgrem01@reddit
I had a Mickey Knox haircut for years after that came out.
left-of-the-jokers@reddit
No KIDS? No Mallrats? Guess I'll pick The Matrix
starchildmadness83@reddit
KIDS traumatized the hell out of me!
Bizarro_Murphy@reddit
KIDS was wild. I watched that way too young at my friend's house. It came out on vhs when we were 10 or 11, and his older brother (18) made us watch it one night.
missinglabchimp@reddit
Absolutely The Matrix. I wrote a whole Ted Talk about comparing Phantom Menace to Matrix, but tldr:
Releasing Phantom Menace (May '99) after Matrix (March '99) is laughable. '99 is the point everything changed. Columbine happened between them (April.) Matrix is the 1st movie of the new millenium -- the new era of dysfunction. George Lucas, Spielberg & the Boomers are from an age of innocence, nostalgicly idolizing their parents' Golden Age with movies about explorers, war heroes etc. We don't idolize Boomers at all. GenX is the age of jaded cynicism & paranoia, world-weary even before 9/11. The worldview of movies like Matrix and Fight Club is "What if this is all really shit and fake?" Anti-heroes not heroes: hitmen ala Pulp Fiction. The shift from Lucas/Spielberg to Tarantino couldn't be any more stark -- leather trenchcoats vs leather flight jackets. Plus all that cyber malarky.
So yeah, Matrix
EmperorGrinnar@reddit
RLIwannaquit@reddit
Terminator 2 Judgement Day, The Matrix, The LOTR trilogy can all be considered in my lifetime as an Xennial born in 1981. Any of these movies / series would be a fine choice. My personal favorite movie of all time is Conan the Barbarian. I think music is the ultimate way to convey feeling and the dialogue in Conan is....let's call it limited, while the music of Basil Poledouris DOMINATED the entire experience
MaxHeadroomba@reddit
That was a masterpiece by Basil Poledouris. I’m a year younger and agree with your picks. Although I love Conan the Barbarian, I’d have to go with Blade Runner (director’s cut, of course) for my favorite though.
RLIwannaquit@reddit
See, that's one I somehow missed as a total nerd. I love cyberpunk stuff, I love 80's movies...somehow I never watched Blade Runner. I think it must be time
MaxHeadroomba@reddit
It took a few times for it to grow on me. I first watched it expecting more action, but it’s more of a detective noir story.
illwill79@reddit
I like your list and hard agree with it.
thewaytowholeness@reddit
Probably the Matfix for Xennials.
The first R film I saw in the theater was Pulp Fiction. (After buying tickets for Hoop Dreams)
Yikes. 13 was a bit young to watch greasy gangster films.
badpenny1983@reddit
Bisexual awakening of our generation anyway
gayjoystick@reddit
confused deer-in-headlights look on my face
There were women in that movie? /s
Damn Brendan was so damn good looking.
123BuleBule@reddit
That’s labyrinth!
0peRightBehindYa@reddit
Ghee_Guys@reddit
vabello@reddit
Big Too Pee-wee, of course.
albertkoholic@reddit
I went to the movies not knowing anything about The Matrix. I was blown away. I'm not saying it was the greatest movie ever but... wow. What a trip.
Adventurous-Rub7636@reddit
The matrix has one of the lamest endings ever
thegooberforce@reddit
The Big Lebowski!
TheJRKoff@reddit
Asked my wife... She liked Aladdin, beauty and the beast, etc
Raff102@reddit
aytchdave@reddit
Maybe it’s because I was so young (4) but this felt like one of the biggest movies ever to me yet I never really heard it talked about though so many people have seen it.
Shuvani@reddit
I’ve seen this movie 28 times. Mostly watching it with the kids I was nannying for. No complaints. A true, revolutionary classic.
And Jude Doom’s red dagger eyes will never NOT be terrifying.
ADHDhamster@reddit
Fuck Judge Doom for killing that little shoe!
filmdc@reddit
Fight Club
Dependent_Bill8632@reddit
It’s either Terminator 2, Jurassic Park, The Matrix or Saving Private Ryan for me.
aytchdave@reddit
These are great though I’ve never seen SPR. Honorable mention to Gremlins 2 and Forest Gump.
Rhizobactin@reddit
Shawshank is up there too
illwill79@reddit
Ya these lists keep leaving off T2!
obviously_jimmy@reddit
The Matrix was great, but I'd make a case for The Blair Witch Project too. No other movie from that time benefited as much from the lack of spoilers as Blair Witch. We didn't know if that was real or not, and it felt like it could be. It was great.
Maybe it isn't "the" movie, but nothing has felt like that to me since. We know so much about every movie before we see it now. I feel like Blair Witch was when that changed. We don't want to be fooled like that anymore it seems.
-_Redacted-_@reddit
CPolland12@reddit
HumanContract@reddit
Our generation, right now
HipHopGrandpa@reddit
🤮
AnythingButWhiskey@reddit
Need_a_squad@reddit
I made out with 2 different girls, on 2 different dates, while watching this movie, and both of their names was Danielle. Oops.
HicJacetMelilla@reddit
That’s really fun life lore haha
shakeyshake1@reddit
I was 16 or 17 when this movie came out. I think I saw it 5 times in theaters, I basically made everyone I know see it with me. I’m not proud, but as a 16-17 year old girl, I loved this movie.
jasonrubik@reddit
I only saw it three times at the theater. I was basically like this ... "What?! You haven't seen it yet ? Let's go !! "
shakeyshake1@reddit
Those are exactly the circumstances that led me to go so many times!
PuppyJakeKhakiCollar@reddit
I was 19 and my BFF at the time and I were obsessed with this movie. I saw it a few times in the theaters and owned the soundtrack. Even today I have My Heart Will Go On on my playlist. Don't be ashamed of it, they were many of us!
shakeyshake1@reddit
Honestly I’m not really ashamed of how much I loved this movie! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a movie that I just wanted to see over and over again like that.
Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit
Never saw it, except for the preview of Titanic Super 3D
rob132@reddit
Jurassic park
Expert-Lavishness802@reddit
napalmnacey@reddit
Excuse you.
Pony829@reddit
Fight Club, The Fifth Element, Office Space... I'd like to offer Anchor Man and Grandma's Boy as well.
Herban_Myth@reddit
“…And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.”
Seiei_enbu@reddit
Star Wars episode 1 taught me a lot about the world, media, and myself. I must have seen the original trilogy dozens of times and then had eager anticipation for episode 1. I got tickets to a midnight showing on the night of release my junior year of highschool.
I didn't much care for the movie. After nearly 30 years, I still remember how much better the expectation was than the reality.
kitterkatty@reddit
Did you read the novels? That was a good era. The OG and the EU. Then things got stupid.
Seiei_enbu@reddit
I read several before episode 1. I recall enjoying Timothy Zahn's books in particular. After reading his, I read a few of his other books too.
kitterkatty@reddit
Kevin J Anderson was my favorite. I once sent him a drawing with a letter about how much I loved his characterizations and he sent back a thank you in sharpie on the inside of a ripped off cover of another of his paperbacks. It was so cool. I don’t think it was from a staff member it looked like he actually did it 🤣 slapped on a stamp and threw it in the mail pile. This was before ep 1
therealithras@reddit
0peRightBehindYa@reddit
Neon_Nuxx@reddit
The mst3k/riiftrax version is excellent
0peRightBehindYa@reddit
Bruh....
eastbayted@reddit
Pretty ni-ice.
Mordecai3fngerBrown@reddit
BalrogRuthenburg11@reddit
I brought a clip.
gosabres@reddit
Found Paul Rudd’s account.
Bozo_dubbed_over@reddit
GStarAU@reddit
Matrix and Fight Club are STILL my two favourite movies. 🖤🤎
RevolutionaryBake362@reddit
Yeah I wasn’t scared at all at the age of 5, kids movie. /s
headcanonball@reddit
No Trainspotting?
mrnesbittteaparty@reddit
In Ireland and the Uk it’s definitely Trainspotting.
Herald_of_dooom@reddit
Lord of the rings
y0dav3@reddit
Shout out to American Beauty
RevolutionaryMime@reddit
For me and my close circle of friends in Australia, it was this. Picture
Uhh_JustADude@reddit
That's a tricky question, and one which doesn't have a good answer. All three of those are near or at the top of our cultural influences, though they weren't made for us—they're replete with Gen X or late Boomer themes, mostly, with much older casts. We were vastly too young for Pulp Fiction when it came out (1994), but came to enjoy it later. Fight Club is deliberately appealing to young men and was my absolute favorite movie from ages 21–36. Now that I'm older I don't find Tyler Durden appealing at all anymore.
The movies which were made for us, or at least partially for us, that we actually appreciated, are the one we saw as kids. For that I nominate Jurassic Park, Home Alone, Sandlot, Ace Ventura, and Hook. Might even throw Terminator 2 in there. Yeah it's rated R, but goddamned is it a solid story about parenting and which kids could appreciate. Those had the most influence.
Movies made for Xennials featuring adult or adolescent Xennials (or Gen X actors pretending to be Xennials) began with Scream and American Pie. Maybe Empire Records too. My favorites are The Beach and Van Wilder. Though I didn't find it nearly as horrifying as most, The Blair Witch Project is up there too.
HYThrowaway1980@reddit
What about me?
HYThrowaway1980@reddit
To be fair, this was a film for everyone…
AlphatierchenX@reddit
Back To The Future!
RipErRiley@reddit
Childhood movie? Neverending Story
Teen years movie? Friday
Adult Movie? Office Space
Electrical-Bacon-81@reddit
I'd agree, but I'd have to switch childhood movie to Robin Hood (1973). Couldn't count how many times I watched that tape.
Ordinary_Taro_9850@reddit
Trainspotting!
PartyLettuce@reddit
Fight club only gets funnier with age because the guys so miserable he has a great job and an awesome apartment that younger people would literally murder for today.
FredOaks15@reddit
Dumb and Dumber
gosabres@reddit
Harry! Your hands are freezing!
FredOaks15@reddit
Easily the best movie of all time. Hahahaha. Spaceballs. Ace Ventura. Dumb and dumber. Shawshank redemption.
TP_Crisis_2020@reddit
Scrolling this entire post, first time I've seen Ace Ventura mentioned!
4stainull@reddit
I’m not saying it’s the movie of our generation, but I did a comment search and there is not a single mention of 1999’s Oscar winner for best picture, director, actor, screenplay and cinematography.
American Beauty is a movie that only gets better the closer to Lester Burnham’s age I get. Spacey’s fall from grace almost certainly influences how it’s remembered, but it’s surprising that absolutely no one thought of it
TP_Crisis_2020@reddit
Forrest Gump is a contender.
Dear_Ad_3860@reddit
Depends on your perspective and your location.
What would be the most important year of your life your first year of high school, your sweet sixteen or your graduaron day?
If it's the graduation day (1999) then it's American Beauty as there is no other film that perfectly encapsulates that specific moment in time.
If it's the sweet sixteen (1997) it's probably either Titanic as it was the love story that became highest grossing film of all time up until that point.
If it was your first day of high school (1994) then it's probably Forrest Gump which is the most American film of all time which at the time and thought the whole decade was the undisputed only true superpower of the world.
Then again if you're not American, it's all relative.
To me and I repeat this is TO ME:
The best movie of 1999 was What Dreams May Come because it came in my country in 1999 and it's the most thought provoking introspectiva movie about human mortality in the face of the afterlife since 1946 A Matter Of Life and Death.
The best movie of 1997 is Life Is Beautiful because it has an importante message about impotence of one self's individual fraility against the larger than life tragedy of war and in order to do so it conveys it a cinematic package that it is as gut-wrenching as it is everlasting.
The best movie of 1994 is The Shawshank Redemption namely because of the character of Brooks played by James Whitmore because it allows me to see my own self in my later days when everybody I ever knew has parted ways and all I have is the memories of my own's life tribulations and hopefully a friend like Jake that with time will also move on as well.
Fickle-Raspberry6403@reddit
DamarsLastKanar@reddit
This affected you as a kid. And you know it.
aebaby7071@reddit
I see your Wrath of Kahn and raise you with Voyage Home
TrickyCH@reddit
Lord of the Rings
kitterkatty@reddit
Obviously.
The ones you listed are GenX movies
NICD4DDY@reddit
JR_RXO@reddit
Damn!!!!! And I was just thinking fight club too…..
But I do wanna add Clerks as well👌👌👌👍👍👍
Over_Season803@reddit
I uh, understand that I can’t talk about it…
jordosmodernlife@reddit
Shuvani@reddit
Lastofthehaters@reddit
Fight club or The Matrix
GuitarLover78@reddit
And then for xennials, when we were younger — what would you say?? The Princess Bride or The Neverending Story (eek, that one always got to me!!! I’m still that 5yr old, afraid of the Nothing!)
GuitarLover78@reddit
I’ve personally never seen the Matrix, however we have all of them in my collection here at home. My kids have watched them.
I love Pulp Fiction and I make Fight Club references (almost) every day.
Just to qualify myself, I’m 46, born in ‘78
mucrew99@reddit
The Usual Suspects
StargasmSargasm@reddit
Clueless
AnythingButWhiskey@reddit
elcubiche@reddit
I don’t see Dumb and Dumber on here.
nomad1128@reddit
I mean, let me sort this out for you bitches: The Xenniel has an unusual appetite for bittersweet.
So then you see Honey I shrunk the kids as a similar kind of "look what amazing things might be possible," but then it all goes wrong. RoboCop is another great example of this.
Karate kid is solid, Bloodsport is a better representative.
TMNT is again optimism and wonder of what miracles science will bring, but how will this be corrupted by regular human nature.
Finally, this sets us up for our expectations of love, where echoes of LBT are felt in My Girl, Romeo and Juliet, and Titanic.
Fight Club, Office Space finally meet us at our depression, and do have epic heroes rise up against the tyranny of boredom, in both of them.
BigBlueMountainStar@reddit
American Pie, no?
Zealousideal_Sir_264@reddit
Me: "oh yeah, definitely"
scroll, "shit"
scroll, "SHIT".
givemeyournews@reddit
Jurassic park has to be up there
nonsensical_terms@reddit
1999 was the absolute best year for movies in our generation
AnonymousIdentityMan@reddit
T2.
mountednoble99@reddit
I still say America Pie
ADHDhamster@reddit
We ain't found shit!
Sorry, this movie is a right of passage for our generation.
Atypical_Mom@reddit
lol, I watched this soooooooo many times when I was younger
By the time I finally watched Star Wars, I was finally getting the references and my friend was taken aback (he’s a big Star Wars fan), he said he’d never met anyone who referenced Star Wars back to Spaceballs (as opposed to the other way around.)
Skinslippy3@reddit
This is one definitely, and I was also a huge fan of History of the World
Gregory_GTO@reddit
May the Schwartz be with you.
nugsy_mcb@reddit
We’re not just doing it for money…we’re doing it for a SHIT load of money
MrScottimus@reddit
T2, True Lies, Titanic... so my answer is James Cameron
Uncle_Matthew@reddit
Dumb and dumber
pawsomedogs@reddit
Matrix for me, but don't forget The Lord of the Rings
ExtensionDue3726@reddit
mall rats and clueless came out dame summer
DrunkenDude123@reddit
American Pie
El_Galant@reddit
The Matrix. I watch it at least once per year every year.
shezcrafti@reddit
I want it to be as cool as the three examples OP posted but it’s probably just Titanic.
AbaloneRemarkable114@reddit
Matrix of these three, but let's quit bullshitting ourselves... it's something with Jim Carrey or Adam Sandler, whether we like it or not
SpicyBreakfastTomato@reddit
10 things I hate about you. Such a 90s thing.
abeeyore@reddit
Elder Xennial.
For me, the Matrix. Hands down. I love Pulp Fiction more, I think, but the Matrix was a cultural inflection point.
a_new_wave@reddit
Beauty and the Beast
Blarglephish@reddit
Reek_Verger@reddit
For better or worse, Matrix was the movie of our generation. Surface level, Matrix was a film that explored outsider not “belonging” and escaping to fight against society/ “the system”. However, there is a personal, deeper level, that is about the trans experience. This movie, while personal to the Wachowskis, is universal in how it connects with people.
Orgasmic_interlude@reddit
I think fight club.
I think probably the defining characteristic of those of us that came of age around this time in America at least is how we were sort of bracketed into this lacuna that came with the anxiety age ennui without a major historical moment and zeitgeist pressed upon us and defining us.
Like, we had the internet before it really screwed everything up. We weren’t precisely native to it but we were dovetailed into it.
Then at the end of the 90s things started to move with the Oklahoma City bombing and Columbine close on it’s heels. Then you got early 2000s….
The movie revolves around the lack of meaning of the main character. It’s explicitly stated in one of Tyler’s monologues. He tries to fill the hole with stuff and “luxury” to prove that he’s achieved some sort of adulthood but the stretch is too hard and his personality switches to a compensatory hypermasculine trope hell bent on forcing the world to acknowledge his existence.
I think the transgressiveness of the matrix pulls it out into the early 00s even though it came out iirc in 1999.
Smell_the_funk@reddit
Trainspotting. It's not even my favorite movie of that period. But it was the generation defining one in my neck of the woods. It struck so many chords, it's not even close.
assumetehposition@reddit
You’re all wrong it’s Dumb and Dumber
WolfGodlives@reddit
tc_cad@reddit
Saw it in theatres when it came out, people were nearly silent walking out of it like WTF? Could it be?
Gregory_GTO@reddit
hemlock337@reddit
The Blair Witch Project.
Gregory_GTO@reddit
HeywoodJaBlessMe@reddit
Lebowski
xx_deleted_x@reddit
hey...there's a beverage here!
Ok-Sign5678@reddit
JayJoeJeans@reddit
His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino, if you're not into the whole brevity thing
Upstairs_Hat_9131@reddit
A movie for it’s time and place
RightInTheBuff@reddit
It really ties the generations together
DarkenL1ght@reddit
That's just like, your opinion, man.
Historical-Crab-2905@reddit
GO
xx_deleted_x@reddit
you know what I like about Christmas? the surprizes
HicJacetMelilla@reddit
I rewatched this recently and feel like it still holds up. Was obsessed with the soundtrack for the entirety of high school.
mixmove@reddit
that's another that's being lost to time, good choice!
Fabulous-Ad9036@reddit
Loving the nostalgia here.
Rage as the soundtrack for Matrix?! So bad ass.
But! My dear sweet merciful 28/56K on the 2nd home line AIM/ICQ/Quake/Doom/Ultima Online ‘93 times magazine “gore invented the internet, and don’t call them periods, it’s dots now” internet lords… I submit GGW as the movie of our generation. It had it all including the lack of understanding of what the permanent record that the breakfast club warned us about. Boobs at zero gravity. You know where you were.
x_Derecho_x@reddit
Goonies has to be in the discussion.
xx_deleted_x@reddit
follow those size 5s!
xx_deleted_x@reddit
goonies, man
ssimssimma@reddit
Matrix
Pulp Fiction more Gen X.
Frankfusion@reddit
Pulp fiction.
Remote-Letterhead844@reddit
10 things I hate about you
Classic-Month-5184@reddit
Snatch.
Remote-Letterhead844@reddit
Ya like dags?
gosabres@reddit
Do you know what “nemesis” means?
harrilal@reddit
Jurassic Park.
Shawshank Redemption.
Lord of the Rings.
Matrix.
And much to the chagrin of many, but I don't care. The Phantom Menace.
Remote-Letterhead844@reddit
Hey. It gave us that N64 Pod Racer Game!
spectrum144@reddit
This is definitely one of them.
tweek264@reddit
Clerks
HipHopGrandpa@reddit
I own the film, the script, have it memorized, have met Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes in person, etc. But I’d argue it’s a very Gen X film, and not even a little millennial.
ecfritz@reddit
Agreed. I thought Clerks was hilarious when as an adolescent, but my similarly-aged friends didn't really get it at that age.
chris-tac0@reddit
I agree with this take. The ages of the actors involved and the general apathy about everything place it squarely in that category.
stasianary@reddit
Truth
Icy-Finance5042@reddit
I like mallrats better.
redditsuckshardnowtf@reddit
That's definitely Gen X
RogerClyneIsAGod2@reddit
This is the only correct answer & I'm sad it's not the top comment.
Now if we only have the ones pictured to choose from, then I'd say Pulp Fiction.
FARTST0RM@reddit
Unpopular opinion but I've always hated Clerks and pretty much anything related to Kevin Smith. I find it all poorly executed, pseudo-intellectual "comedy" for the type of guys that wear socks with sandals.
If I had a nickel for every time someone told me "yeah, but it was made for like twenty thousand dollars," I'd have invested twenty thousand dollars into Bitcoin in 2010 and be a billionaire today.
Jeffweeeee@reddit
I was with him up until Clerks 2 or so, mostly because I was a wannabe pseudo-intellectual comedy fan. That stuff hit just right when I was a teenager or in my early 20's.
But everything after 2010 or so just got progressively dumber and dumber. It was around this time his podcasts blew up and, by his own admission, he started making movies "for his fans."
And yeah, to be fair, there's nothing wrong with that. But I personally outgrew them pretty quickly.
Jeffweeeee@reddit
Yeah agree.
I'm an elder Millennial myself (shh don't tell anyone. I just like hanging out here), and despite being a massive Kevin Smith fan, I can't really relate to Clerks very much.
I was 8 in 1994 and I feel like the movie would have resonated more closely with someone who was in their very late teens or 20's during the 90's.
0peRightBehindYa@reddit
https://i.redd.it/jx0e1zcjz6je1.gif
Skate_faced@reddit
Word
97GeoPrizm@reddit
Smith was right about our generation’s job prospects.
cmgww@reddit
Clerks is core GenX. Love it but I was 14 when it came out. Dante was contemplating going back to college…Even Mallrats, while closer, still feels more GenX than Xennial. They’re still great though
curmudge_john@reddit
Clerks Empire records Scream American Pie
TheVelcroStrap@reddit
Of those three, The Matrix, it definitely had a profound impact on me. I liked Fight Club, but too many people didn’t understand the message. Pulp Fiction was a major video rental for me, so was Clerks. I am going to say personally, Mulholland Drive from films that kind of run from my teen to college years. I really got into Lynch. When first thinking of this question, I thought of kids movies from the 80s like Dark Crystal, Return to Oz, Labyrinth, Adventures in Babysitting, The Secret of NIMH. Also Star Wars and Star Trek definitely dominated my childhood, Batman Returns was important, Ghostbuster, the Back to the Future Trilogy. I grew up watching old movies, Duck Soup, Wizard of Oz, Sherlock Jr, Twentieth Century, Peach-O-Reno, Panic in the Night, The Birds, The Trouble With Harry, Seven Samurai and many others really affected me. Modern films still are part of our generation. This is a hard thing to pin down.
DiscordianStooge@reddit
Sure, but really it's Titanic.
BawClaw@reddit
HipHopGrandpa@reddit
A movie I thought was hilarious growing up. Quoted it all the time. Now I realize it’s a deeply depressing film and can’t watch it.
Bizarro_Murphy@reddit
Lol, same. My dad wasn't super happy when I rented this and watched it with my gf during high school. I watched it again about 10 years ago, and it was tough to get through. It's so much darker than it was back then, and much less "funny"
FrebTheRat@reddit
Sick Boy seemed so cool to teen me. Didn't realize until later how f-ed he was. I guess the baby should have given it away.
FARTST0RM@reddit
One of my favorites for sure but hadn't seen it in ten years or more.
Fired it up the other night and was just floored at how young everyone was. I mean, logically I knew these guys were all in their twenties (maybe not Begby) but to actually see people on screen that I remembered being my peers, was... sobering.
HippieThanos@reddit
Choose life
FARTST0RM@reddit
An aftur that, thegayme wuz meine.
Best soundtrack, for sure.
darkartist00@reddit
Romeo + Juliet (1996)
Bizarro_Murphy@reddit
That soundtrack...
Illustrious_Profile6@reddit
All three of those
ChumleyEX@reddit
All the original Star Wars movies
Jfonzy@reddit
illwill79@reddit
Was this from the wizard or something else?
Jfonzy@reddit
Yep the Wizard
Professional_Use6852@reddit
Clueless
sm00ts81@reddit
This, fight Club or Trainspotting.
TripleDigit@reddit
I would argue that films from our more formative years and aimed narrowly at our generation would be more definitive than films from our late-adolescence / early-adulthood as many of these suggestions seem to be.
One that wasn’t really meant for anyone other than us. One that firmly imprinted itself in a way that that nearly borders on trauma.
The Neverending Story
sprinklesadded@reddit
I was thinking Scream should be on the list too. It was huge in high school
kalcobalt@reddit
For me, Matrix, hands-down. I went so deeply down that rabbit hole that I still refuse to get rid of my 3 versions on disc because the each have different bonus content. I have probably forgotten more than I know now about their VFX teams, watched obscure speeches from them, and it definitely impacted both my fashion sense and my opinion of the world and the situation we operate in irreversibly.
Odafishinsea@reddit
Suitable_Database467@reddit
valdus@reddit
I'll be the odd one out and say Star Trek: First Contact. Matrix was okay i guess.
BrainGam3@reddit
Pulp fiction
Scrambled_Creature@reddit
The Crow. Just about every Xennial was coming of age when it came out, and it is basically 1994 the Movie
noonesaidityet@reddit
I've scrolled down through all these comments and I have changed my mind about 50 times, and I might change my mind again, but this one has to be one of the few at the very top. The movie and the soundtrack together are undeniably important. 1994 was probably THE formative year for my music and movie-as-art taste.
EducatedBellend@reddit
Such a good soundtrack.
PhoneJazz@reddit
Are you really an Xennial if you didn’t spend your high school years quoting Austin Powers?
PodissNM@reddit
We are sexy bitches. Yeah!
jason8001@reddit
Bill and Ted
Disastrous-Wonder153@reddit
The Matrix is the first DVD I ever bought. Got it at a Circuit City, which is odd because I always favored Best Buy.
xradx666@reddit
blellowbabka@reddit
Empire Records
stasianary@reddit
I feel like this is more GenX than Xennial.
Icy-Finance5042@reddit
This has been my favorite movie since high-school and I graduated 2000.
blellowbabka@reddit
We were anywhere from 12-18 when it came out that seems like xennial to me
Moobook@reddit
AbbreviationsBorn276@reddit
Thanks
Icy-Finance5042@reddit
Mallrats, empire records, Dazed or confused, the goonies.
neodraykl@reddit
The Goonies or The Princess Bride. It could go either way.
sjphotopres@reddit
How about Lord of the Rings or The Phantom Menace?
Opie045@reddit
Stargate
CrackedPipe69@reddit
Back to the Future
CharlesGarfield@reddit
Maybe for the oldest of us. That movie came out when I was one year old.
toasterb@reddit
It came out when I was four, but it was one of the handful of movies we recorded off of TV. I must have watched it a dozen times before I was eight.
jasonrubik@reddit
Get off my lawn
MyNameIsDaveToo@reddit
You get off mine
hobofreight@reddit
You guys can afford lawns?
MyNameIsDaveToo@reddit
No, it looks like shit. But that's because everybody keeps walking on it!
jasonrubik@reddit
Touché.
(Touchy touchy , I touch your grass )
ommnian@reddit
Yeah, I definitely didn't see it till I was much older. It was a staple, without doubt, but so was Tremors.
elcheapodeluxe@reddit
Absolutely.
Froot-Loop-Dingus@reddit
I feel like that is squarely Gen x
NaturalizedWerewolf@reddit
Is titanic too old?
Practically_Hip@reddit
Absolutely NOT that one.
freewill360@reddit
Shrek
Miserable-Lawyer-233@reddit
I regret to inform you that it’s actually Titanic.
MutantSquirrel23@reddit
Yes
riptide502@reddit
Saw platoon 4 times in the theater. I was nine years old:
Nwcray@reddit
jshoemate@reddit
DontPokeTheCrab@reddit
PersianCatLover419@reddit
Goonies, Matrix, basketball diaries, kids, around the fire, pulp fiction, office space, etc.
General-Carob-6087@reddit
I do have a Fight Club tattoo so I guess I’ll go with that.
Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit
What'd you get? Soap?
General-Carob-6087@reddit
A penguin but its body is the word “slide.” Well, I guess I could just show you. And yes, he has a little tallywhacker. Also, the crown is because I was drunk once in college and brought home a huge plastic penguin and we nicknamed it King Pen. So it all kinda tied together for a silly tattoo.
Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit
Now that's cool. Original, personal, and full of lore. Thank you for sharing!
General-Carob-6087@reddit
Thanks. I try to do mine with all of those concepts in mind.
rovitus@reddit
Office Space!
PrestigiousGlove585@reddit
Wayne’s World sums up the 90s for me.
bucko787@reddit
Honestly, all three of these are epic, I own them on DVD, and they hold up, but I would say the Big Lebowski would be our movie. I didn’t think so originally, but holy shit! Over time it’s become a cult classic, and it’s better now than it was then for me.
just_a_guy_ok@reddit
Biodome really sums it up.
Shankar_0@reddit
ET, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and BTTF for blockbusters.
Beverly Hills Cop, Ferris Beuller, and Ghostbusters for comedies.
Breakfast Club, Weird Science, and Gremlins for date movies.
Steel Magnolias, Beaches and Terms of Endearment for the tear jerkers.
Also, we can't forget Freddy, Jason and Chucky.
There's no such thing as a "best" when they're apples and oranges.
RaisinToastie@reddit
The Matrix may have been the pinnacle of our civilization
Sonny_1313@reddit
I think it's The Matrix. It was our generation's Star Wars.
davesnotonreddit@reddit
davesnotonreddit@reddit
Nerdiestlesbian@reddit
Jurassic Park for me.
Matrix was cool. The JP (only the first one) was so good
davesnotonreddit@reddit
American Pie might make the top ten
Outrageous_Loquat297@reddit
I love how Tarantino worked Uma’s feet into the cover art
Select-Poem425@reddit
Sausage Party. The Interview.
bigfoot7750@reddit
Earnest goes to camp
MLDaffy@reddit
Me and my buddy saw The Time Machine. We were the only 2 in there so we smoked cigs and bowls. We left before it ended cause we gave up on the torture.
LiteVolition@reddit
For me it’s a tie between The Matrix and Fight Club.
clorox2@reddit
Back to the Future!
Opie045@reddit
It’s definitely not these movies - it’s kindergarten cop.
LogicalFallacyCat@reddit
Jurassic Park
Cyberdork2000@reddit
I HATED The Matrix. I had already seen The Thirteenth Floor and Dark City so when I got to The Matrix I felt it had all been done before.
nsjersey@reddit
Charmedagnosti8@reddit
“Kids”
nojoblazybum@reddit
UnicornSheets@reddit
Beetle juice
Hopeful-Steak-9743@reddit
The Rock is one of mine. My favourite Connery film since Bond.
Cass_Q@reddit
The Matrix
JPhrog@reddit
I wouldn't say THE movie but anyone remember The Beastmaster?
Reasons_2resist@reddit
Pulp Fiction
Britown@reddit
Jurassic Park. Gen X had Star Wars. Millennials had Fellowship of the Ring.
But Jurassic Park came out at the right time to melt our minds.
Ezpionage_19@reddit
All great movies listed. ET has to be up there somewhere, surely? "ET Phone home" would have been quoted countless times by our generation.
JPhrog@reddit
mduden@reddit
Mallrats
FrebTheRat@reddit
I didn't find out until I was in my 30s that the London twins weren't just one person. Total mindf%&k.
mduden@reddit
I remember telling my mom it's wierd how he looks different in some movies and my mom was like their fucking twins idiot hagagag
graveybrains@reddit
I’m from East Detroit, so it’s this one:
OJimmy@reddit
I mean "toxic masculinity" man is powerful yet a victim" is still with us so I'm going to say fight club.
WheelLeast1873@reddit
Titanic?
redditsuckshardnowtf@reddit
Dude, where's my car?
MilleryCosima@reddit
Dumb and Dumber.
Pk-Low1980@reddit
Pulp Fiction
KoRaZee@reddit
HisaP417@reddit
I hate to tell you guys this, but it’s Titanic.
Burlington-bloke@reddit
As if!!! It's definitely Clueless! Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) a close second
Appropriate-Neck-585@reddit
Pulp Fiction IMO
Plane-Juggernaut6833@reddit
Matrix definitely
ecovironfuturist@reddit
Empire Records for Xennials.
For Gen X in general, Clerks.
Graffandweed420@reddit
Hackers
meatee@reddit
Graffandweed420@reddit
Hell yeah
Eledridan@reddit
She’s All That.
mixmove@reddit
this is more like it!
Hank_moody71@reddit
I’m a pulp fiction guy. I quote that movie wayyyy too much
mixmove@reddit
for it to truly be ours it's kinda got to have diminishing appeal with every other generation...
so I'll say....
Swingers
Or maybe Empire Records (never resonated with me, felt too Gen-X)
Dazzling_Jacket_8272@reddit
Terminator 2…
caddy45@reddit
Fight club doesn’t belong in the same post as the other two
Shanklin_The_Painter@reddit
Dazed and confused or maybe fast and furious
pixeequeen84@reddit
Maybe more gen x , but I've as always had a thing for Empire Records.
Next-Tomatillo-5712@reddit
Jurassic Park
mitchellfoot@reddit
Zoolander
peritonlogon@reddit
9/11 really changed the social trajectory of Fight Club.
louiselebeau@reddit
Yeah, those ones
Need_a_squad@reddit
I think it was Titanic. I feel like everyone made out with at least 2 different people on 2 different dates in the same theater while watching this movie.
At least me and a few of my friends did…. Hehehehe.
CSWorldChamp@reddit
Please let’s not have it be fight club, because y’know, the fascism.
sobernyc@reddit
doomislav@reddit
The Matrix 100%
Rare-Industry-314@reddit
It’s these 3 plus The Crow and True Romance but for my jaded Xennial ass it has to be Fight Club
Lornesto@reddit
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
virindimaster@reddit
Pulp fiction for me.
JumboThornton@reddit
Truth is we grew up with ALL the best ones
buradly42@reddit
I'd be tempted to say Forrest gump
Skate_faced@reddit
There are few, but there are still is who firmly believe the academy fucking robbed us and this film doesn't get near the artistic recognition or public accolades as the movie of our generation.
UHF
qtuner@reddit
Tweenkie weiner sandwiches don't taste the same after they changed the formula for tweekies
wookiesack22@reddit
Yes to all 3. I've seen them all a million times
surfingbiscuits@reddit
Boondock Saints and we should feel terrible about that.
spderweb@reddit
Ninja turtles. Jurassic Park. Dark Crystal. Ghostbusters. Beetlejuice.
Too many of the best movies, really.
adrenareddit@reddit
Is there like an age bracket or something to identify what my generational label is?
I was born in 76, I always thought I was Gen X but it seems like there's a lot more labels now...
Boogaloo4444@reddit
It is 100% the matrix.
surfingbiscuits@reddit
The English Patient
RingCard@reddit
Pulp Fiction was a pretty big deal. It launched the career (to the public; I know he had earlier work) of the most prominent director of his generation, and was some of the biggest pushback against movies as simply spectacle without writing.
ARagingZephyr@reddit
RandyArgonianButler@reddit
Let me flip through my DVD case…
The Matrix
Good Will Hunting
Braveheart
Office Space
Tommy Boy
Jurassic Park
The Shawshank Redemption
Pulp Fiction
Shrek
Fight Club
Gladiator
There’s Something About Mary
Apollo 13
… God, there’s so many awesome movies that came out between 1990 and 2001.
AbbreviationsGlad833@reddit
Fight Club and princess bride.
Ewe_Search@reddit
Dazed and Confused
FrebTheRat@reddit
A movie about the 70s that somehow perfectly captured the aimless angst of the 90s.
musashi-swanson@reddit
aliencardboard@reddit
Back to the Future, Indiana Jones, Office Space, Jurassic Park, T2, The Breakfast Club, The Big Lebowski, and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
They all kind of give you a bit of everything in terms of comedy, drama, quirkiness, action, and adventure.
dezmd@reddit
Illustrious-Lead-960@reddit
Even though I personally have very mixed feelings about it and always have, “Hook”.
Sea-Breaz@reddit
The matrix. At least in my personal opinion.
RolandMT32@reddit
I was thinking perhaps The Fifth Element, but it probably doesn't have the impact that something like The Matrix or Office Space does.
Maybe Demolition Man?
illwill79@reddit
T2 for sure!
HopelesslyHuman@reddit
You don't know how to use the three seashells?
WasabiSenzuri@reddit
If nothing else, it made it into the bathrooms of Cyberpunk 2077
bill_pullman@reddit
Spaceballs. I'm biased though.
Aggravating-Alarm-16@reddit
I associate with the OG american Pie trilogy. I graduated in 99, got married at the same time American Wedding came out.
cbih@reddit
Mallrats and/or Empire Records. Search your hearts, you know it to be true.
Otherwise_Ad2804@reddit
Certainly not The Matrix
prefinality@reddit
I had a 6 foot tall version of that matrix poster, it was glorious
NatoTheLastRedditer@reddit
DeciusAemilius@reddit
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Not because it was good. But it arrived with a lot of fanfare and left everyone disappointed, just like us Xennials.
enraged_hbo_max_user@reddit
Fight Club might be the movie of the edgelords of our generation. Don’t know if it’s the actual movie of our generation.
MyNameIsDaveToo@reddit
Yes.
Frosty_Cloud_2888@reddit
Office space
Kooky_Ad_9684@reddit
Austin Powers
Spear_Ritual@reddit
Pretty sure GenX has rightful claim to Fight Club.
“Middle children of history” the bit about
We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off.
dead-first@reddit
Star wars?
DudestOfBros@reddit
The only real answer
FinnTheFickle@reddit
Gotta be the Matrix. Tarantino’s movies of that period are all a love letter to the 70s and Fight Club was really speaking to the full blood Gen Xers, not us half breeds. But the Matrix hugely influenced “our” culture and was a perfect fit for old teenagers/young adults
Mountain-Ordinary-63@reddit
Yes, the answer is yes.
Quixotegut@reddit
Dune '84
Nervous_InsideU5155@reddit
Pulp Fiction
AdComfortable5486@reddit
I agree that it’s The Matrix
washingtonandmead@reddit
Dude…Shrek. Come on now
squanderedprivilege@reddit
Terminator 2
omelatk@reddit
Ace Ventura
Dynothermsconnexted@reddit
If there was no Matrix 2 or 3, the original Matrix would be top 10 all time. 2 & 3 bring the original down.
HeavySkinz@reddit
Jurassic Park.
codemonkeyhopeful@reddit
Shawshank Redemption or maybe Schindler's List?
Brent_L@reddit
Matrix.
PermitInteresting388@reddit
Pulp Fiction Fight Club The Matrix IMO
Whataboutthetwinky@reddit
Such a terrible poster for Fight Club
Starwarsandbacon@reddit
I think it depends on what period of time were looking at. I saw jurrasic park 7 times in the theater as a kid.
As a teen, office space hit hard after i started working and is still a favorite to this day.
The matrix was revolutionary, but as cool as it was, i wouldnt say its generation defining.
Colb_678@reddit
Honestly, there are too many to pick one! Maybe our generation is THE generation for movies!
broooooooce@reddit
Positively stunned noone has mentioned
Pulp Fiction
W_B_Clay@reddit
Freddy Got Fingered
A_Stones_throw@reddit
Seems to be becoming Clerks....
SilentFix1117@reddit
It’s a real shame they never made any follow ups to this.
What an amazing movie.
5torminNorman@reddit
Goodies
lickmybrian@reddit
Police academy or Back to the future... or Backside to the future if you're feeling saucy
GrolarBear69@reddit
Terminator 2 baby. Fight club 2nd and matrix 3rd
ryhoyarbie@reddit
American Pie
QualityAssumption@reddit
This is the correct answer. It hasn't aged well and didn't leave a lasting legacy but for a 10 year period after it came out no one ever said "This one time..." without someone adding "at band camp..."
Moko97@reddit
This where apparently the term milf came from Yes, even tho I'm not X alot of my friends my age know he legacy of this film
CompletelyBedWasted@reddit
Duh
Bob-Dolemite@reddit
could make a case for office space.
physicshammer@reddit
For me it's Fight Club... but I guess my broader statement is that, for us, in the 1990s, there were a number of movies that defined our culture.. culture was actually progressing, and serving the people.. I think we have lost that, our culture is probably moving in retrograde now, and it doesn't serve the people anymore - it's more like candy that ends up enriching the people making the crappy movies nowadays.. So I think at least up until present, cultural development peaked in the late 1990s, at least to me.
Apprehensive_Hat8986@reddit
So, you're arguing that it's Fight Club, because The Matrix was right?
TiEmEnTi@reddit
Nerds will say these three and everyone else would say like American Pie, Gladiator and Titanic
ohsweetfancymoses@reddit
Erik500red@reddit
Terminator 2 or Jurassic Park
Solid-Hedgehog9623@reddit
The sandlot
ghouldozer19@reddit
I saw this the other day and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since.
Keythaskitgod@reddit
Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings
Nothing had an impact like these movies, imo.
FractalGeometric356@reddit
Pulp Fiction and it’s not even close.
It’s the reason why every other one of these movies got made.
IUMogg@reddit
Borracho_Bandit@reddit
Hate to say it, but as a young xennial the matrix was the only movie I didn’t have to sneak into. It has to win.
FergalCadogan@reddit
It’s funny how the technology in the Matrix is so antiquated nowadays. Could you imagine if Neo had to find a pay phone?
PuppyJakeKhakiCollar@reddit
If you were a teenage girl, it was Clueless. Or The Craft.
In general, Home Alone.
SilentWolf79@reddit
"Plissken"
"Call me Snake"
"Snake"
"Call me Plissken"
JusticeFrankMurphy@reddit
Ask ten Xennials this question and you'll get eleven answers.
My favorite movie of our generation was probably... I dunno... Terminator 2? I feel like the 90's were not a great decade for movies.
Titanic was probably the biggest blockbuster of our generation, but I personally never liked that movie much.
skahfee@reddit
The 90s were not a great decade for movies? Seriously? That is a HOT take. The Shawshank Redemption , Pulp Fiction, Jurassic Park, Fargo, Fight Club, Silence of the Lambs, Goodfellas, Schindlers List, Dracula, The Matrix, Good Will Hunting, Scream, The Sixth Sense, The Big Lebowski, Toy Story, Groundhog Day, Clerks, Empire Records, Malcolm X, Forrest Gump, The Nightmare Before Christmas... That is really just the tip of the iceberg. Man, I wish cinema was still like that now.
jedimerc@reddit
There are so many possible answers to this. I'm going to say Batman '89.
recksuss@reddit
The goonies
mattchewy43@reddit
Can't Hardly Wait.
Accomplished_Job6927@reddit
fermentedradical@reddit
The Big Lebowski
Evan_802Vines@reddit
Walter and Teddy don't exist.
jordosmodernlife@reddit
You’re phone is ringing Dude
Feelinscrewd@reddit
This isn't 'nam! There are rules here!
Green-Factor-2526@reddit
Titanic - I think everyone is my high school saw it multiple times
a_new_wave@reddit
Tim Burton's 1989 Batman
TheNorthNova01@reddit
Super troopers
HopelesslyHuman@reddit
Underrated answer. I don't think it's the movie, but we are precisely the target demographic for the Broken Lizard guys. College between 98-2006 or so, give or take.
TheNorthNova01@reddit
Yeah that and Old School.
ltmikestone@reddit
Definitely not the fucking Matrix.
monsterlynn@reddit
Saw it 2 weeks before my due date and went into labor the next morning. LITERALLY brought in the next generation after seeing this! Lol
Averagestiff@reddit
American Pie.
WittyClerk@reddit
Lord of the Rings, obviously.
lyricweaver@reddit
Can't believe I had to scroll this far to find it.
Chlemtil@reddit
My first thought was The Matrix (before I saw your attached pictures) but I think it really has to be American Pie.
Doublestack2411@reddit
American Pie.
join-the-line@reddit
HEY YOU GUYS, I think it's pretty obvious
discostud1515@reddit
For the guys in the room (and some of the women), Career Opportunities was probably a pivotal movie.
Angelkrista@reddit
Yes
idkmoiname@reddit
By view count it surely is Titanic
Ty-cology@reddit
As a child Terminator 2 or Jurassic Park. As a teen the LOTR trilogy. As an adult Office Space or Idiocracy.
SweetCosmicPope@reddit
The seminal classic Jury Duty.
freddie79@reddit
The Matrix without a doubt. At the time it was groundbreaking on so many levels.
DeathLikeAHammer@reddit
It's Goonies. It represented so many of us. Goonies never say die. The movie instilled hope. Now, well its mostly spicy spite talking, but given the absolute dick-punching-fest this gens been through, I'll take it. Also, might I remind people the cast is pretty well regarded these day. We could certainly do worse.
Delta632@reddit
Matrix is so good. To me it is one of the best of the period of time.
Gambitzz@reddit
Matrix for sure
WeathermanOnTheTown@reddit
This movie: "Claire's mom made me grab her hooters."
piwabo@reddit
Yi Yi
ModBabboo@reddit
I like all of these movies but I'd use them to define a Film Studies 101 fuckboy before I would an entire microgeneration.
Much-Injury1499@reddit
This would probably be my vote, but never forget about The Temple of Doom, my all-time favorite.
Rapidwatch2024@reddit
There can be a strong argument that Pulp Fiction changed movie making for a generation of people.
Defiant_Cookie_4963@reddit
Matrix!
12345CodeToMyLuggage@reddit
Yeah, I rewatched Fight Club and it surprised me how 90’s/200’s it felt. There’s something about the matrix that makes it not as dated.
Kono0107@reddit
Fight Club
started_from_the_top@reddit
I hate to say it but you guys... it might be Titanic
Tetris_Pete@reddit
Fight Club