After going through this list of seven throwback movies, you’ll want nothing more than to pop in The Princess Diaries and live vicariously through Mia Thermopolis. Really though, who could forget the great times we had with Lindsay Lohan at summer camp, the out-of-this-world antics of Kristen Storms and Raven-Symoné, or the splashing memories we shared with Sara Paxton and Emma Roberts? How about sleepover after sleepover we spent gushing over Chad Michael Murry?
Maybe you have absolutely no idea what we’re talking about. If that’s so, then read on for a little refresher on movies from the 90s to early 2000s.
Parent Trap (1998)
This is the movie that taught us every word to L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole. But it also taught us how awesome 11-year old Lindsay Lohan is. I mean really, how did LiLo do it? She starred in this movie twice. Well, kind of. If by some crazy chance you didn’t know, Lindsay Lohan played dual roles as Hallie Parker and Annie James, the beloved separated-at-birth redheaded twins. It’s a cliché story really. Man and woman fall in love, get married, have twin girls, get divorced, mom raises one twin in London, and dad raises the other in the Napa Valley. Then the girls go to the same summer camp and (spoiler alert!) they meet each other. Pssh, typical, right? Well for those of us who didn’t meet our long lost twin at sleepaway camp, this movie was a total dream. It had fencing, poker, English accents, camping, and deception! If you watched the movie then you know what we’re talking about. A favorite part of the movie is when Meredith Blake, the evil would-be stepmother to Hallie and Annie, had prank after prank pulled on her while on a camping trip with the girls. And can we all agree that this movie totally made us want to try Oreos dipped in peanut butter? (Note to self: never, ever let your long lost twin pierce your ears in the “isolation cabin”).
A Cinderella Story (2004)
A classic fairytale, Hilary Duff, and Chad Michael Murray? Can you say match made in heaven? It had a stepmother, two evil stepsisters, a sweet girl-next-door, and a dreamy prince—er, quarterback—that’s all you could wish for in a Cinderella-inspired plot. After Sam Montgomery’s (Hilary Duff) dad is killed in an earthquake while trying to save Fiona, Sam’s stepmother, poor Sam is left fatherless and in the clutches of her step-family. With a dream to attend Princeton, she is forced to work at Fiona’s diner. The job includes waiting on mean-girl Shelby Cummings. (“What can I get here that has no sugar, no carbs, and is fat free?” asked Shelby, “Water,” Sam retorted. Ha!) The story is pretty standard from then on out—she goes to a dance, falls in love with Austin Ames (Chad Michael Murry), drops her cell phone while running away at midnight (no glass slipper here!), and then, well you know the rest. The best part, though, is when Sam and Austin drive off to into the sunset to attend the same college together, then credits roll and at that moment you swore to yourself that you would get into your new dream school: Princeton. Ah, what a great piece of cinema. If you learned anything from this film it better have been this quote “Never let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game.” Wise words, Sam’s dad, wise words.
Holiday in the Sun (2001)
Once again, the Olsen twins lived our preteen dream in this movie. In Holiday in the Sun, Madison (Mary-Kate Olsen) and Alex (Ashley Olsen) Stewart are your typical twin sisters from Illinois… with a private jet and a killer 2001 wardrobe. After dreaming of Hawaii in their science class, they spontaneously get picked up by their Dad’s assistant and are whisked away to the Bahamas. At first they are bummed because they really wanted to go to Hawaii (first world problems?) but once they find out that they get their own suite at the Atlantis Resort, they quickly get over it. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Mary-Kate and Ashley movie without a mystery. So the whole plot focuses on the girls trying to figure out who has been stealing precious artifacts—okay, fine, and it’s also about the girls trying to woo their vacation love interests. (We don’t know about you but whenever we went on a vacation in high school a hunky lifeguard never fell in love with us.) Anyway, between the fun soundtrack, with songs like Island in the Sun by Weezer and One Girl Revolution by Superchick, and the cheesy between-scene-transitions, this movie definitely earns it’s spot as a TBT favorite. Also, in case you forgot, Megan Fox plays the mean girl in this movie. She’s so little!
Clueless (1995)
Did you think this list wouldn’t include Clueless? As if! This movie is, like, totally the best. Alicia Silverstone plays the fabulous Cher Horowitz, who has an amazing closet, wealthy father, and perfect hair. Her best friend is Dionne Davenport who is probably more hip than you’ll ever be. Let’s not forget about Tai Frashier (Brittany Murphy) who is well, not as awesome and perfect as Cher and Dionne, but is somewhat “adopted” by Cher. Tai becomes Cher’s little project, meaning that Cher makes it her ultimate goal to turn Tai into a popular, pretty valley girl. Ah, but what about that awkward and adorable romance between Cher and her ex-stepbrother, Josh (Paul Rudd)? So adorable, right? If you haven’t seen this movie, then you’re totally bugging and you need to go see it now- right now. It’s the epitome of “sleepover classic.” In this clip Cher teaches us a thing or two about how to give a speech. “And in conclusion, may I please remind you that it does not say RSVP on the Statue of Liberty!” Whatever!
Aquamarine (2006)
2006: the summer Aquamarine came out in theatres, also known as the summer every-tween-girl-dyed-a-strip-of-her-hair-blue. This movie will ever-remain a summer favorite. It doesn’t matter how old we are, a chick flick about mermaids will always pull on our heartstrings. In Aquamarine, Hailey Rogers (Joanna “JoJo” Levesque) and Claire Brown (Emma Roberts) are two best friends who are experiencing their last summer together because Hailey’s family is moving to Australia in five days. One night, during a hurricane-like storm, Hailey wishes for some sort of miracle to happen that would prevent her from moving. That’s when they find Aquamarine (Sara Paxton) in their beach club’s swimming pool. The next morning they find the mermaid in the beach shack, except this time Aquamarine has legs! The rest of the plot follows the three girls in their quest to find Aquamarine a “one true love.” The script is full of adorable beach puns (“Did you order a sand-witch!?”) and cute-gushy-best-friend-moments. So pop this movie in with your BFF and take a trip down memory lane—don’t forget the ice cream (“Who needs Raymond? I found two new men to love. Their names are Ben and Jerry.”)
The Princess Diaries (2001)
We all can relate to Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway) on some level. It’s either her awkwardness or her klutziness or her pre-makeover frizzy hair. It seems like everyone has seen this movie but if you need a little plot refresher then here it goes. Mia Thermopolis is your average teenager living life, just trying to get by, when all of a sudden she discovers that she is the heir to the throne of Genovia. (Side note: don’t be embarrassed if you thought Genovia was a real country. It’s not but we all believed it was at some point.) The rest of the movie follows her learning all the ins-and-outs of being a princess and bonding with her adorably royal grandma, Queen Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews). The movie is based on a book by Meg Cabot and has an equally as enchanting sequel. Plus this was Anne Hathaway’s debut role and look how far she’s come since then, now she’s all grown up! If you finished watching this movie and didn’t immediately want to be a princess then we hereby banish you. Mia Thermopolis is definitely one of our favorite Disney princesses. Oh, life is just so unfair sometimes; we wish we all had long-lost grandmothers who are queens… or Julie Andrews (we’ll settle for either).
Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century (1999)
Zetus lapetus, is this movie a favorite! Space travel, aliens, galactic popstars? What more could you want! In this out-of-this-world flick, we follow Zenon Kar (Kristen Storms) a melodramatic 13-year-old who lives in the year 2049. Her life is pretty typical: she lives on a space station that orbits the Earth and has a huge crush on pop singer Proto Zoa (that hair!). Anyway, she gets in trouble on the space station and is sent to Earth to live with her Aunt Judy. Earth doesn’t treat Zenon so well. She finds it hard to fit in at school and she gets made fun of for the way she dresses and talks (awww). But on earth she uncovers a sinister plot—one that threatens everyone on the space station where her family and friends live, including her best friend Nebula Wade (Raven-Symoné… yes, that Raven.) Our favorite thing about this movie is the crazy costumes and hair and the futuristic lingo. Honestly, after watching this movie you’ll be saying “zetus lapetus” for centuries.
What are you waiting for? Grab your besties and a bowl of popcorn (we’ve already brought the nostalgia) and pop in your favorite flick!