Tagged: 1990s
Gary Cole’s Brown-and-Green Leisure Suit in A Very Brady Sequel
Gary Cole as Mike Brady in A Very Brady Sequel (1996)
Vitals
Gary Cole as Mike Brady, architect and family man
Los Angeles, Summer 1996
Film: A Very Brady Sequel
Release Date: August 23, 1996
Director: Arlene Sanford
Costume Designer: Rosanna Norton
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Earlier this summer, my corner of Twitter was briefly ablaze with people celebrating the adaptations of The Brady Bunch that hit big screens back to back in the ’90s, specifically the breakfast scene in A Very Brady Sequel where the insecure middle-child Jan (Jennifer Elise Cox) conceptualizes her made-up boyfriend over blueberry pancakes, only for her older sister Marcia (Christine Taylor) to shut it down with “that’s funny, I’ve never heard of a George Glass at our schœl,” as parents Mike (Gary Cole) and Carol (Shelley Long) look on—the latter pouring an approximate gallon of sugar into her coffee.
The conceit of both The Brady Bunch Movie and the subsequent A Very Brady Sequel maintains the family’s groovy ’70s style, but transplants them—and their MCM home with its astroturfed lawn—directly into the ’90s, where they couldn’t be more obliviously out of place. Released thirty years ago this week on August 23, 1996, A Very Brady Sequel revived a few second-season subplots—including George Glass, the home’s horse statue, and a trip to Hawaii—while also lampshading the fact that the series never addressed the fate of Carol’s first husband by introducing him as the conniving Roy Martin (Tim Matheson). Continue reading
Robin Williams’ Black-on-White Floral Silk D&G Shirt in The Birdcage
Robin Williams in The Birdcage (1996)
Vitals
Robin Williams as Armand Goldman, South Beach nightclub manager
Miami Beach, Winter 1996
Film: The Birdcage
Release Date: March 8, 1996
Director: Mike Nichols
Costume Designer: Ann Roth
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
I’m honored to share my birthday with Robin Williams, who was born 75 years ago today on July 21, 1951. One of my favorite of the late comedian’s movies is The Birdcage, crafted by the iconic married team of director Mike Nichols and writer Elaine May as an adaptation of the French play and subsequent film La Cage aux Folles.
Williams stars as Armand Goldman, owner of the titular Birdcage, a South Beach drag club starring his more flamboyant partner Albert (Nathan Lane). When Armand’s son Val (Dan Futterman) reveals he’s marrying the daughter of the ultraconservative Virginia senator Kevin Keeley (Gene Hackman) who insists on meeting his future in-laws, Armand and Val conceive a plan to host the senator’s family by luring Albert away from the couple’s ostentatious apartment—allowing time for Armand to renovate himself and his home to support Val’s untruth that his father is actually Armand Coleman: a heterosexual cultural attaché to Greece… “whatever the hell that is.” Continue reading
Point Break: Keanu Reeves’ Pale-Blue Camp Shirt and Jeans
Keanu Reeves as FBI Agent Johnny Utah in Point Break (1991)
Vitals
Keanu Reeves as Johnny Utah, ambitious FBI agent
Los Angeles, Summer 1991
Film: Point Break
Release Date: July 12, 1991
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Costume Supervisors: Colby P. Bart & Louis Infante
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Point Break was released 35 years ago today on July 12, 1991, chronicling Ohio State football star-turned-FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) infiltrating a group of bank-robbing surfers and skydivers led by the enigmatic Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) while also buying two meatball subs for his supervisor, Angelo Pappas (Gary Busey). It feels especially appropriate to celebrate Point Break‘s cinematic legacy on the day after World Skydiving Day—observed on the second Saturday of July. Continue reading
Passenger 57: Wesley Snipes’ Biker Jacket with Layered Shirts and Jeans
Wesley Snipes as John Cutter in Passenger 57 (1992)
Vitals
Wesley Snipes as John Cutter, airline security chief and ex-Secret Service agent
In flight from Miami to Los Angeles, Spring 1992
Film: Passenger 57
Release Date: November 6, 1992
Director: Kevin Hooks
Costume Designer: Brad R. Loman
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, sometimes there’s nothing more necessary than to sit back and turn off your brain to watch a pleasantly absurd ’90s action movie. Luckily for us, Kevin Hooks directed the 1992 action thriller Passenger 57—its title literally inspired after writer Stewart Raffill spied a bottle of Heinz ketchup.
Wesley Snipes stars as John Cutter, a former* Secret Service agent whose stalwart reputation has followed him into his latest career as an airline security consultant, training flight attendants like Marti Slayton (Alex Datcher) how to handle hijacking scenarios. After his pal Sly Delvecchio (Tom Sizemore) helps Cutter secure an executive position as the vice president of security for the fictional Atlantic International Airlines, Cutter boards Atlantic Flight 163… the same flight on which FBI agents are escorting the dangerous international criminal Charles Rane (Bruce Payne)—who is not insane—back to California to face trial.
With his history of commercial airline bombings that makes us—and Delvecchio—wonder why the feds would choose this particular method of transportation, “the Rane of terror” has more explosive ideas for securing his freedom, which becomes an unfortunate situation for his fellow passengers—all except passenger #57, who happens to be the nation’s foremost expert in combating air terrorism. Continue reading
Romeo + Juliet: Leo’s Blue Aloha Shirts
Leonardo DiCaprio in Romeo + Juliet (1996)
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Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo Montague, moody romantic mob heir
Verona Beach, Summer 1996
Film: Romeo + Juliet
Release Date: November 1, 1996
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Costume Designer: Kym Barrett
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Baz Luhrmann’s brash update of Romeo + Juliet remains the highest-grossing live-action William Shakespeare adaptation nearly thirty years after its release. While his tendency toward spectacle isn’t my preferred cinematic style, I appreciate Luhrmann embracing the challenge of retaining the Bard’s original dialogue in a contemporary American setting that includes custom handguns, flashy Hawaiian shirts, and “Lovefool”. Continue reading
Wild Things: Matt Dillon’s Faded Blue Polo and Corduroy Shorts
Matt Dillon as Sam Lombardo in Wild Things (1998)
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Matt Dillon as Sam Lombardo, shady high school guidance counselor
South Florida, Spring 1999
Film: Wild Things
Release Date: March 20, 1998
Director: John McNaughton
Costume Designer: Kimberly A. Tillman
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Wild Things is one of those movies I remember being disregarded as a sleazefest, mostly due to Matt Dillon’s illicit ménage à trois with Neve Campbell and Denise Richards (which, of course, made eight-year-old me all the more interested in seeing it). But time has been kinder to John McNaughton’s twisty erotic thriller, which has grown a cult following in the 28 years since its release this week in March 1998. Even at the time, critics like Roger Ebert, Janet Maslin, and Gene Siskel were able to praise elements of it, albeit not without feeling compelled to note that it was—in Ebert’s words—”lurid trash.” Continue reading
Bottle Rocket: Owen Wilson’s Cabana Shirt
Owen Wilson in Bottle Rocket (1996)
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Owen Wilson as Dignan, small-time crook and big-time dreamer
Texas, Fall 1995
Film: Bottle Rocket
Release Date: February 21, 1996
Director: Wes Anderson
Costume Designer: Karen Patch
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Wes Anderson and his friend—and frequent collaborator—Owen Wilson shared their respective directorial and acting debuts thirty years ago today when Bottle Rocket premiered on February 21, 1996.
The director and brothers Owen and Luke Wilson had previously filmed the story as a 13-minute black-and-white short that was screened at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival, where it caught the attention of James L. Brooks, who agreed to finance a full-length version. Brooks’ financial involvement bumped the budget to $5 million, attracting co-star James Caan to bring experience and credibility alongside Anderson and the Wilson brothers’ freshman talent. Continue reading
Terence Stamp’s Dark Plaid Suit in The Limey
Terence Stamp as Wilson in The Limey (1999)
Vitals
Terence Stamp as David Wilson, hardened English professional criminal
Los Angeles to Big Sur, California, Fall 1998
Film: The Limey
Release Date: October 8, 1999
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Costume Designer: Louise Frogley
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
One week ago today, British screen icon Terence Stamp died at the age of 87, following a six-decade career that began with his Oscar-nominated titular performance in Billy Budd (1962) and roles in the Superman and Star Wars franchises.
Steven Soderbergh’s offbeat crime caper The Limey (1999) provided the rare late-career starring role for the sixtysomething Stamp, starring as the laconic English criminal Wilson who arrives in Los Angeles seeking answers—and revenge—after his actress daughter Jenny’s death in a mysterious car accident. Continue reading
Point Break: Keanu Reeves’ Purple Skydiving Shirt and Jeans
Keanu Reeves as Johnny Utah in Point Break (1991)
Vitals
Keanu Reeves as Johnny Utah, ambitious FBI agent
Los Angeles, Summer 1991
Film: Point Break
Release Date: July 12, 1991
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Costume Supervisors: Colby P. Bart & Louis Infante
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Not only was Point Break widely released 34 years ago today on July 12, 1991, but the second Saturday in July is also World Skydiving Day, so of course we’ll be following OSU quarterback-turned-FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) as this one radical son-of-a-bitch jumps from a plane with the gang of bank-robbing surfers led by the enigmatic Bodhi (Patrick Swayze)… twice! Continue reading
Reservoir Dogs — Michael Madsen’s Black Suit and Cadillac as Mr. Blonde
Michael Madsen as Vic Vega (“Mr. Blonde”) in Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Vitals
Michael Madsen as Vic Vega, cold-blooded professional thief
Los Angeles, Summer 1992
Film: Reservoir Dogs
Release Date: October 9, 1992
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Costume Designer: Betsy Heimann
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Many have been sharing tributes to the late Michael Madsen (1957-2025), who died just days ago on Thursday, July 3, of cardiac arrest at age 67.
Following the start of his career in the early 1980s with films like WarGames (1983) and The Natural (1984), Madsen performed his arguably most iconic role as the psychopathic Vic Vega—aka “Mr. Blonde”—in Quentin Tarantino’s breakthrough 1992 directorial debut, Reservoir Dogs. Continue reading
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