1999 was a special year for me. It was the pinnacle of my childhood and the center of my universe. Everything came to pass, and this was the year that set my path as a creator. From the music to the TV shows, and let’s not forget the movies. Oh, there were lots and lots of movies. Movies that are now considered all-time classics. However, there was this trend called the 90s Teen Boom, a trend that was inescapable. Holy crap, I mean where do I begin? Sure, there was a similar teen movie trend in the 80s made popular by John Hughes. But the 90s? Oh boy, the 90s were it! So many cult classics, so little time. Yet, there was a twist to this. The most popular movies I could think of were She’s All That, Cruel Intentions, and 10 Things I Hate About You. What set these movies apart was that there were based on Classic Literature. You know, the type of Classic Literature you took classes at your local high school. Well, to make it less boring to the younger crowd, Hollywood added a modern teen lens to the Classic Lit genre. This all started with a little movie called Clueless, which just had a 30th anniversary last year. Unbeknownst to me, this was actually based on Jane Austen’s Emma. It followed all the same beats of that novel, except for the modern high school setting in 1990s Los Angeles. Then along came Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet, which is also set in 1990s Los Angeles, but the twist is that the Shakespearean dialogue is still intact. And it was this film, not Titanic, that I developed a crush on Leonardo DiCaprio. And finally, here comes the early eve of 1999. The year where the Teen Classic Lit Genre reached into the stratosphere. These three films were the cream of the crop, and without further ado, I’ll be reviewing each and every one. Oooo, this is going to be fun! So as it begins, I get to revisit my childhood and talk about the films that defined me as a writer of Young Adult fiction. With my bottle of wine and a special dose of the forbidden flower, let’s take a trip down memory lane...
