Tin Cup(Gary Foster/Monarchy Enterprises/Re-
gency Enterprises/Warner Bros.; dir. Ron Shel-
ton) An ambitionless golf pro (Kevin Costner)
decides to try for the big time after falling for a
psychologist (Renee Russo) and discovering she
is involved with his longtime hated rival (Don
Johnson). Widely considered the most accom-
plished golf film.
1997
As Good as It Gets(Gracie Films/Sony/TriStar; dir.
James L. Brooks) A neurotic, misanthropic writer
(Jack Nicholson) begins to change while taking
care of a Brussels Griffon after a gay neighbor
(Greg Kinnear) is brutally beaten. Won Oscars
for Nicholson and Helen Hunt, as his waitress
girlfriend.
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery(Ca-
pella International/KC Medien/Moving Picture
Company/New Line Cinema; dir. Jay Roach)
Mike Myers wrote this affectionate send-up of
James Bond films and the swinging London of the
1960’s and stars as the title character and his nem-
esis, Dr. Evil.
Boogie Nights(Lawrence Gordon/New Line Cin-
ema; dir. Paul Thomas Anderson) Mark Wahl-
berg, Julianne Moore, and Heather Graham play
performers in late 1970’s pornographic films di-
rected by Burt Reynolds. Anderson finds consid-
erable pathos in the unusual surrogate family
formed by people in the porn industry. One of
the decade’s most original films.
Donnie Brasco(Mandalay Pictures/Sony/TriStar;
dir. Mike Newell) True story of an FBI agent
(Johnny Depp) who infiltrates the Mafia and
befriends a low-level mobster (Al Pacino). As a
failure whose life is falling apart, a surprisingly
subdued Pacino gives one of his greatest perfor-
mances.
Good Will Hunting(Miramax; dir. Gus Van Sant) A
Boston janitor (Matt Damon) who wants nothing
more than to hang out with his buddy (Ben
Affleck) is discovered to be a mathematical ge-
nius. He begins visiting a sad psychologist (Robin
Williams) to learn to deal with his past. Damon
and Affleck won the Best Original Screenplay Os-
car, and Williams won for Best Supporting Actor.
In the Company of Men(Fair and Square Produc-
tions/Atlantis Films; dir. Neil LaBute) Two for-
mer college friends (Aaron Eckhart and Matt
Malloy) bond over their resentment toward
women and plot to humiliate a hearing-impaired
woman (Stacey Edwards). LaBute went on to
other controversial explorations of American
maleness.
L.A. Confidential (Regency Enterprises; Warner
Bros.; dir. Curtis Hanson) A straight-arrow police
detective (Guy Pearce), his flashy colleague
(Kevin Spacey), and a brutally impulsive cop
(Russell Crowe) explore corruption within their
department in 1950’s Los Angeles. Won Oscars
for Best Supporting Actress, Kim Basinger as a
prostitute, and for the brilliant adaptation of
James Ellroy’s novel by Brian Helgeland and
Hanson.
Men in Black(Amblin Entertainment/Columbia/
Sony; dir. Barry Sonnenfeld) A New York cop
(Will Smith) and a federal agent (Tommy Lee
Jones) track down aliens from other planets in
this special-effects-laden comic adventure yarn.
The Best Makeup Oscar went to Rick Baker and
David Leroy Anderson.
Titanic (Lightstorm Entertainment/Paramount/
Twentieth Century-Fox; dir. James Cameron)
Cameron’s balance of romance, between Leo-
nardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, and special ef-
fects set box-office records around the world and
won Oscars for Best Picture, Director, Cinematog-
raphy, Editing, Art Direction, Costume Design,
Visual Effects, Sound, Sound Effects Editing,
Score, and Song.See alsomain entry.
Wag the Dog(Baltimore Pictures/Punch Produc-
tions/Tribeca/New Line Cinema; dir. Barry
Levinson) To cover up a presidential scandal, a
political consultant (Robert De Niro) hires an
egotistical film producer (Dustin Hoffman) to
create a fake war to divert attention. The screen-
play by David Mamet and Hilary Henkin is cynical
yet hilarious.1998
American History X(Turman-Morrissey Company;
dir. Tony Kaye) A neo-Nazi (Edward Norton)
goes to prison after shooting young African
Americans breaking into his car. In prison, his ra-
cial views begin to change, only for his younger
brother (Edward Furlong) to follow in his white
supremacist tracks.
Gods and Monsters(Regent Entertainment; dir. Bill
Condon) Sensitive portrayal of retired film direc-964 Entertainment: Major Films of the 1990’s The Nineties in America