Over time everything changes including what’s deemed funny or appropriate by society. Therefore, a walk through time, and watching Hollywood’s cinematic creations may elicit feelings of horror, heartbreak, or disgust. For instance, many 90s comedies haven’t aged well and have offensive content. As a result, Hollywood hasn’t produced the same number of comedies.
1. Never Been Kissed
Never Been Kissed is a prime example of 90s comedies that would likely not hold up in today’s culture. The film follows a woman, Drew Barrymore, on a mission to get promoted at the Newspaper. Having not been popular in high school, she jumps at a story that will elevate her career, and give her a doover in high school. In true 90s romcom fashion, she falls in love with her teacher and it’s implied his feelings are requited, despite believing she’s an underage student. Ultimately, the truth comes to light, drama ensues, and the pair end up together in the end. However, many Hollywood elite have been exposed as predatorial, grooming young children to be sexual beings well before they’re of age. As such, a movie where a teacher falls in love with a student is controversial, at the least.
2. 90s Comedies with Numerous Inappropriate Themes
Arguably, one of the most hilarious and raunchy 90s comedies is American Pie. The film touches on numerous controversies including parents sleeping with friends of their high school children and preying on women. Either way, the once incredibly popular movie wouldn’t hold up today and most audiences would be offended or disturbed.
3. The Last Supper
The nation has been more divided than ever regarding political views. Both sides passionately spew hate and disdain for the other party. As such, the movie The Last Supper is a 90s comedy guaranteed to ruffle some feathers. It follows the story of 5 liberal-leaning grad students who accidentally kill someone from the opposing party. However, it becomes a regularly occurring event as the students until a teen victim comes into play, tearing the group apart. In today’s heated political world, this movie would cause an uproar and is on the list of 90s comedies that didn’t age well.
4. Raunchy 90s Comedies
Another film on the list of inappropriate 90s comedies is Milk Money. The movie follows a group of teen boys who put their money together to pay a woman to see her naked. The movie is offensive to women and perpetuates the fantasy of adult-on-teen intimacy.
5. Ace Venture: Pet Detective
Jim Carrey is a well-known actor, but his comedy isn’t for everyone—namely, the transphobic jokes and references made in the 90s comedies Ace Ventura. The franchise saw two films and an animated series associated with Carrey’s silly humor and offensive jokes. However, the film was deemed transphobic in 2016, “as in many fictional depictions of transgender people in that era, the scene’s prevailing emotion is of nose-holding disgust,” wrote Farhad Manjoo.
6. Cruel Intentions
Cruel Intentions is a late 90s dark comedic film that follows the lives of spoiled rich kids who find joy in preying on younger and more naive students. The movie sexualizes and objectifies women. It glorifies drug use and is overall dark and disturbing. It’s another prime example of 90s comedies that haven’t aged well.
7. There’s Something About Mary
The movie has been deemed offensive and insensitive to people with disabilities, according to Business Insider. Firstly, one of the main characters, Tucker, pretends to be disabled to be closer to Mary, the woman he’s secretly in love with. Secondly, Mary has a brother who is disabled and is always treated like a child, given little to no autonomy.
8. Fatphobic 90s Comedies
Eddie Murphy is one of the most well-known Hollywood actors of the 80s and 90s. His comedic take enhances nearly everything he’s ever dabbled in. However, he starred in a version of The Nutty Professor that has been deemed fatphobic and wouldn’t hold up in theaters today.
9. The Waterboy
One of the most popular 90s comedies is The Waterboy, a film that follows a mentally disabled young man whose mom is smothering and overbearing. However, like many of Adam Sandler’s movies, offensive jokes are reoccurring. “A huge issue with Adam Sandler’s movies … is that these movies imply that we can make fun of minorities, people with disabilities, the gays, etc. all we want, so long as it comes with the increasingly offhand message that They’re People Too, and that Sandler is one of these outcasts, or at least empathizes with them,” Tom Keiser wrote in 2015.
10. Robin Williams’ 90s Comedies
Robin Williams contributed to numerous laughs and the joy of childhood for people everywhere. As such, it’s painful to include one of his 90s comedies on the list, but Mrs. Doubtfire is teeming with “red flags.” Although the movie highlights a father who loves his kids so much he will stop at nothing to see them. However, today, many see the act of faking an identity to spend time with their kids as inappropriate. Instead, most parents today would likely file a restraining order or petition for the other parent to seek treatment.
Stars Comment on 90s Comedies
Jennifer Aniston is a stunning and talented actress who has appeared in several notable roles, including her most popular role, Rachel from Friends. While she was wildly popular in the 90s and 00s, she’s made fewer appearances in recent years, and she credits this to the fact that Hollywood doesn’t produce as many comedies anymore. The answer is simple: the line between funny and offensive has gotten thinner over the years. Moreover, once considered the pinnacle of comedy, many things have now been deemed offensive, insensitive, or perpetuating offensive stereotypes or predatorial behaviors.
“Now it’s a little tricky because you have to be very careful, which makes it really hard for comedians, because the beauty of comedy is that we make fun of ourselves, make fun of life, you could joke about a bigot and have a laugh — that was hysterical. And it was about educating people on how ridiculous people were. And now we’re not allowed to do that,” Aniston told the LA Times. “There’s a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to episodes of ‘Friends’ and find them offensive,” Aniston added. “There were things that were never intentional and others … well, we should have thought it through — but I don’t think there was a sensitivity like there is now.”
Read More: These Are The 30 Greatest Comedy Movies of All Time