Photo: Columbia Pictures
Gone are the days of simple, enjoyable movies. Everything today, at least in mainstream cinema, feels like it’s been shot full of adrenaline or had its skirt blown way up in the air, hence why we’re remembering the kinds of movies we don’t get anymore these days. With the absence of actors like Marlon Brando and Jim Carrey (off painting existential marvels somewhere), we’re not only missing beloved genres but also beloved kinds of actors.
With this, we end up getting a dozen over-budgeted, interlaced superhero movies and the occasional Tarantino turd, at least in the past 10 years. While blockbusters seem to be taking a dive in quality, it’s forcing indie films to push the envelope on experimental film and directors like Wes Anderson to revive the deceased genres in his own vision.
Have a look at ten kinds of movies we don’t get anymore these days and sorely miss, with anything from ancient westerns and silent films to neighborly and absurd character comedies, along with missing mobsters and coming-of-age tales. We promise, by the end of it, you’ll be binging hard on some nostalgia. You might want to just take the rest of the month off now before you begin.
Remembering 10 Kinds of Movies We Don’t Get Anymore These Days
Now try this hit of nostalgia: The Top 10 Best Action &Adventure Movies Starring Kids
Extinct Genres
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Coming Of Age Tales
Photo: Columbia Pictures
Not much in the last three decades has been seen in the realm of coming-of-age tales, at least not without the exception of Wes Anderson's nostalgic Moonrise Kingdom and the lengthy filming process of Boyhood. The closest thing we've experienced to that is Stranger Things, and that was a hard one-night binge for most.
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Pre-PC Comedies
Photo: Buena Vista Pictures
You could try and make Heavyweights or White Chicks now, but any movie making light of the struggle, be it obesity, sexual orientation, sexual transition or small hand syndrome, is going to have a hard time getting through the gauntlet of protesters these days.
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Proper Mobsters
Photo: Paramount Pictures
Aside from Black Mass, we've been severely lacking in mobster movies. While Donnie Brasco and American Gangster did their best to fill the shoes of movies like The Godfather (Parts I & II, screw III), even those crime classics are 10 and 20 years out already. Now we're relying on the likes of The Infiltrator and Narcos to fill that void.
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Classic Neighborly Comedy
Photo: Universal Studios
If Neighbors (and Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising) is any indication as to the heightened take on neighborly comedy, we're totally screwed. The classic comedies, mostly in the form of 1980s Tom Hanks (The Money Pit, The 'Burbs), seem to be what's greatly missed with desensitized laugh factory of ours. Whatever happened to getting in the car and going camping with your quirky neighbors, huh?
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Stop Motion
Photo: 20th Century Fox
Thank goodness for Wes Anderson, who seems hellbent on keeping the important genres alive and all. In addition to his coming-of-age stories, comedic sea voyages and family dramedies, he's also the pioneer of high quality stop-motion films, most notably the award-winning Fantastic Mr. Fox. His new film, Isle of Dogs, revisits this adored style of his.
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Best Westerns
Photo: 20th Century Fox
It's not often we get a good western these days. The closest thing we've had was Brad Pitt's portrayal of Jesse James, Leo's The Revenant and 3:10 to Yuma. With shows like Peaky Blinders decorating the days of prohibition with blood and money, it makes us pine for a good shoot-'em-up western, anything involving guns, robbers and classic dames.
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Oddball Character Comedy
Photo: New Line Cinema
Maybe it has something to do with the fact Jim Carrey's comedies get unfairly low ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, but we doubt it. The comedies of today are so based in reality becoming absurd that we forget how fun it was to have the Ace Venturas of the film world. Time to dust off your dancing shoes, Jim.
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Silent Films
Photo: United Artists
We saw The Artist reprise the greatness of silent film in 2011, but otherwise there has been a great loss of those films with the invention of sound, color and overused CGI. The best chance we have is going to a crowded bar and watching a movie without subtitles on.
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Musicals
Photo: United Artists
Perhaps it was Johnny Depp taking things a little far with his portrayal of Sweeney Todd, but mainstream cinema has been lacking with musicals up until La La Land, the movie that reminded us musicals are an essential part of life, much like the imagination in a good play.
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Summer High School Angst
Photo: Gramercy Pictures
The teen angst at the end of the school year was always something for parents to reckon with, and now we're the parents. But our kids will never understand the greatness of Dazed & Confused or even cheesy teen party movies like Can't Hard Wait unless we show them. They'll just pound adderall and masturbate to Project X and Super Bad, but even those movies are lacking these days, too. Where's Todd Phillips when you need him?
