One of the things I like to do around here is celebrate having big kids. There are nights when I literally lose sleep thinking about how fast my kids are growing up, so my solution is to focus on all the awesome things you can do with your kids as they get older, that you could never have done with a baby or a toddler. Like letting them watch your favorite movies. Not the Pixar ones. I’m talking about the live action movies with love interests and bad language and a little bit of violence. It’s fun when your first kid reaches that age, but it’s a whole other level of fun when your entire family graduates to this level.
The first live action movies we watched as a family were the basics from the 80s: Back to the Future, Karate Kid, Princess Bride, Goonies and ET. Over the last couple of years, we’ve moved on to movies like Freaky Friday, 13 Going on 30, and all the blockbusters in the Marvel Universe. Along the way, I’ve learned that Mazzy loves teen rom coms (Mean Girls and Clueless) whereas Harlow loves disaster movies like Titanic, Independence Day and her personal favorite, The Day After Tomorrow. We’ve watched that one like 10 times.
Not all movies from the 80s and 90s translate. For instance, Mike’s pick last Friday was Father of the Bride and the kids found it super slow. Similarly, I picked Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and the kids kept asking if it was almost over. I was shocked! Harlow asked, “So, what’s the moral? That you can behave badly and there’s no consequences for your actions?” I had no answer for that one.
Even worse than a questionable moral are the many movies from the 80s and 90s that haven’t aged well. I’m sad to say, I will probably steer clear of movies like Sixteen Candles (racist tropes and date rape jokes), Better Off Dead (racist tropes and comedic suicide gags) and Say Anything (clearly stalkerish behavior ultimately getting the girl), even though those were three of my favorite movies as a teenager.
Yesterday, I put together a list of all the movies I can’t wait to suggest for our next family movie night. After much consideration, the two at the top of the list are Die Hard and Meet the Parents. Not because they are my favorite movies, but because I think they will be an absolute blast to watch as a family. Just the right amount of action and raunchy humor to make my kids think they are getting away with something. And not too much that I have to say, “Well, guys… it was a different time. Please forgive us for what we found funny.”
What movies are at the top of your list to watch as a family as soon as your kids get old enough? What movies did you love as a child that now feel really dated?
I think the reason our generation loved Ferris Bueller so much was because it was a totally fresh way of telling a story. I can't remember anyone talking to camera in a movie before that. But now, that feels very familiar because we see it in TV shows all the time.
We've watched a few mentioned here and there are a few on my list. I just told my 12.5yr old that we should watch Mean Girls soon. My absolute favorite movie when I was her age was Now & Then. Haven't watched it in 20+ years so not sure how well it's aged!
I am NOT like Mazzy, I hate horror movies and thankfully so far my kids do as well!
My mom was weirdly strict with movies when I was a kid/teen (like I didn't see Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller, etc. until I was in college). We are a little more lax with our kids, but it depends on the specific content and talking about it after the fact.
I would not be opposed to you making or shsring a list of movies to share with big kids 😉
I can't wait to watch Dirty Dancing with my girls! I had watched it by the time I was 11 (my eldest daughter's age) but think that was probably again just a lax 80s thing 😆 think I'll wait a year or two more but I can't wait. It is so good and has some really important discussion points. I will be gutted if they don't like it 🤣
Oh man this one always gets me - and I agree, I am excited to watch it when my kids are old enough. I remember watching Dirty Dancing over and over as a kid and then NOT watching it again until my 20s. At 20 yes old the entire plot was so different to me. I had no idea the sister had an abortion! As a kid I never understood why everyone was so upset 🤦♀️. For sure understood it when I was 20 lol
I did not understand about the abortion either! I was like— what is this mystery surgery, why can't she go to a regular doctor and why is everyone blaming Johnny for it! I also did not really understand that the old couple were stealing.
I also watched this movie so many times and then as an adult I couldn't believe my mom let me watch it! But I had no idea what was going on with the surgery.
My 11 yo daughter likes scary/creepy things. She is super into Stranger Things right now. I was just thinking it would be fun to watch Scream together but looked it up (because I haven't seen it for years and years) and I think she's too young. Common Sense Media lists a lot of bad language, which I could live with, and a lot of sex talk that I think might be a bit much for a 6th grader. I know a lot of kids in her class watch, see, hear that stuff but I also just want to let her be a kid.
I can't wait to watch "10 Thing I Hate About You" and "Empire Records" with my kids. Seminal mid-90s movies that I still quote on the regular. We live in Chicago and watched "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" with my 7- and 10-year-old over the summer, and they loved it -- especially because they recognized the city and some of the fun things we've done. And the physical comedy was a hit.
We watched Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark this weekend, which is one of my favorites and my kids really enjoyed it! I decided we aren't going to watch Temple of Doom because it's racist, and also is not a good movie. I love sharing all my favorite action movies from my childhood with them - Ghostbusters and Back to the Future were huge hits. Some things don't hold up but we talk through them.
Ferris Bueller is my favorite movie from my childhood and I decided to wait until mine (currently 10 and 8) are older not because it's not appropriate, but because I don't think they will appreciate it until they're in high school. They're too young to relate.
Recently my youngest has decided all he wants to watch is horror movies which neither my husband and I enjoy. But my dad LOVES those movies (especially the ones from the 70s and 80s) so it's become a fun "Grandpa movie day" for them to watch those movies together.
My sons loved Ferris---but they were in middle school. Now in high school, I don't think they'd like it as much. But around age 12 and 13, teens and high school are fascinating (or at least were to my boys).
My kids loved Apollo 13, Forrest Gump, Honey I shrunk the kids, Legally Blonde, Oceans 11, Top Gun, the Truman show. I love watching the old movies with them (although they are sceptical everytime).
Shag is my all-time favorite movie. I quote it so much and no one ever knows the reference! But, agree Clare, did not age well at all and unfortunately, many in the deep south still act this way.
One movie we let our kids see when they were 6/7 was Ghostbusters, which I was super nervous would be way too scary. But my youngest LOVES it - it's still her favorite movie. The demon dog things that run at Rick Moranis near the Tavern on the Green scene I had memories of being scary, but the special effects were so basic back then it clearly looked fake to my kids and they thought it was funny.
It still goes over their heads (they are 8 & 10 now). But the scene that always makes me squirm (that I always forgot about) is the one where the invisible ghost has a “sex” scene with Dan Akroyd and unzips his pants 🤦♀️. For me that one is a little more questionable I think than the Sigourney scene.
Last Friday, we watched Jurassic Park with my almost -10-year-old for the first time (on VHS!) and it was great! She liked it for the most part, but Samuel L. Jackson's arm on Laura Dern's shoulder almost did her in 😂 Can't wait for more of these classics, now that she's getting older!
I can't wait to watch the teen rom coms with her! But I feel like I'm a little more protective of her than my mom was in the 90s!
We did a whole Jurassic Park marathon last week my 5 year old loved the first one. He likes scary stuff though and I tried to hide the little bit of gore from him. My 10 yr old doesn't have the attention span for any movies.
My nephew nannied for us one summer and he showed my boys the Back to the Future movies - I was bummed because I wanted to watch that with them! I can't wait until they are old enough for Super Troopers, won't be appropriate for quite some time, but my husband and I quote it all the time. It was also fun to watch Honey, I Shrunk the Kids with them.
my miss 12 hates suspense or anxiety type things. So alas no Day after Tomorrow or Titanic or Independence Day for us. Or Goonies and ET which break my heart. We also tried Jaws after we went to Universal this summer and didn't make it very far, lol. She has tried to watch them but always leaves the room.
She LOVED Miss Congeniality so much she went as a pageant contestant for halloween that year. She also loves Clueless and Legally Blonde. She also thought the Honey I shrunk the kids movies were pretty funny.
She liked Tommy Boy and Ferris Bueller's Day Off and thought they were hysterical. We've also been to Chicago a few times so she likes picking out the places she has been.
The Addams Family movies with Christina Ricci and Casper have been big hits.
We watched A League of Their Own and A Field of Dreams, she didn't dislike either but thought they were slow. We have been to the Field of Dreams on a Ghost Sunday so she liked to see it in person after watching the movie (that's before they "ruined" the site but that's another story).
ones on our list: Mean Girls, Look Who's Talking, 3 Men and A Baby (she asked due to tv show referencing, Adventures in Babysitting, Don't Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead, Teen Witch.
I was wondering if my kids would like Field of Dreams, but I think you are right_ they would think it was too slow. I need to show them the Addams Family, especially since they both loved Wednesday!
There are so many movies that I am looking forward to watching with my daughter, though she’s only 8 right now. Like you we will probably skip some that aged REALLY badly but will just talk about things in some movies.
Some of the ones I am most excited to watch with her are 10 things I hate about you, Now and Then, Clueless, Practical magic, legally blond, and the princess diaries. But truly I have a long list! Also I am looking forward to showing her the Buffy the vampire series!
I wanted to ask how your kids felt about Back to the Future? I started to watch that with my 13 year old son and I didn't feel like it aged well (setting his mother up in a date-rape scenario?). And alas, he felt the same about Ferris Bueller. One of my all-time favorite comedies is Tommy Boy. I can't wait to watch with my son! Hope we don't come across an "agh!" scene that I have to explain about different times!
Yes, they definitely thought a lot of the stuff with the mom was weird. Wait. So he's kissing his MOTHER???? And did not like the date rape scene AT ALL. I think they were young enough that they didn't really get it. I was like, I think he was just trying to kiss her and Mazzy was like, But why did he have his hand up her skirt??? Yeah. They liked Karate Kid much more.
I am currently watching Legally Blonde with my daughter and she is really enjoying it! (we are going to see a production of the musical so I wanted her to know the storyline). I am also really excited about showing my kids Princess Bride at some point.
Princess Bride was the best with Mazzy and Harlow because I swear they would say Fred Savage's exact lines like a beat before they would cut to him interpreting the story. It's like the movie is reading little kids minds.
My kids too! I was super nervous to show my kids Princess Bride cause it is my all time favorite movie from my childhood. I watched and rewatched it so much! I held off till I thought they were ready and it felt like a huge parenting win that they loved it!
I do not have children. But one of my fondest memories is going into my parents' bedroom at night, and my mom and I would watch whatever scary movie was on. I loved them all. My mom introduced me to all the scary movies she grew up watching. And so because of my mom, I love everything horror. My favorite movie as a child is The Night of The Living Dead and The Birds. She saw them as a kid (on TV), and she introduced them to me as an 8 year old. My parents allowed me to watch whatever I wanted. Don't ask me why.😄 I think they knew me well enough to know I could handle it.
You are like Mazzy! She loves horror movies and it seems like that's what her friends all watch at sleepovers. I hate those movies. She forced me to watch Stranger Things though and I loved it! I initially thought it was too scary, but I got past it.
Great question! The list is long. Right now mine are 8 and 3 and both into superheroes but too young to dive into the Marvel Universe. Their minds will surely be blown soon.
This evening we watched Turning Red and it made me very exciting to watch Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in a few years.
So my oldest is 11 and plays soccer and is in a goalie clinic that is coed. One of the kids looks like Jonathan Brandis soooo I had her watch Ladybugs. She LOVED it. I forgot a lot of the 80s sex humor in subtle jokes and almost died but she either pretended like it was nothing or it went over her head but she absolutely loved it. I totally forgot it even existed until I saw this kid in the clinic! I also can’t wait for the she’s all that, 10 things i hate about you, sweet home Alabama type movie nights but we are not there yet!
I put Father of the bride on for my 11yr old and she wasn’t impressed either. Me and my sister use to love it and would watch it over and over when we were younger so that was disappointing.
My husband waited for YEARS for our daughter (now 10) to be old enough to appreciate Clue. We finally watched it and even though he didn’t think she was paying attention enough (she was drawing during the end) she remembered like every nuance of all the endings and got many of the subtle jokes. The next week he was like “let’s watch Airplane!” And she was like “no, I want to watch Clue again.” 😂 He was salty and I was like, “um, remember how much you wanted her to like Clue? Also kids love to watch things over and over, you know this.” We finally did watch Airplane recently and, let me tell you, there are few things more joy inducing than hearing your kid burst out in laughter and shock with the rest of the family.
She said she was going to watch Mean Girls at a sleepover in 3rd grade and I was like, “uh, pretty sure that’s NOT going to happen,” and reminded the host parent about all the things that happened in it. I think by the time she’s Mazzy’s age it’ll be fine. (I have shown her the “get in losers, we’re going shopping” part, and she likes that a little TOO much)
Oh I forgot one more! My husband also sat us both down to watch Beetlejuice and she was OBSESSED with it. Like, the creepy part where they turn their faces into monsters just really amused her. Somehow I missed that one during my childhood.
We love watching old movies with our kids (14 and 10). One of the movies I’m excited to watch with them that we haven’t yet is Can’t Buy Me Love with Patrick Dempsey. I remember renting that movie from the local movie store and then watching it over and over with my neighbor when I was in middle school. We would return it and then re-rent it for weeks at a time.
THE MUMMY!! Only the first 2 with Brendan Fraser & Rachel Weisz though - the others are not so great but I rewatch 1 & 2 always! Sweet Home Alabama & Just Like Heaven are also excellent Reese Witherspoon rom coms from the 2000’s!! Sahara & Fools Gold are fun action/adventure with some romance thrown in too! And check out Moonfall it’s a really recent one from the same director as Independence Day & Day After Tomorrow (it’s like a combo of both those movies PLUS Armageddon)
I have loved sharing some of my favorites: Rookie of the Year, The Princess Bride, Nacho Libre with my kids. I have a 12, 10, 8 & 5 year old. My 12 year old is ready for real movies but the rest aren’t quite there yet. So my oldest and I now have a tradition of him watching a movie with me when he stays home sick from school. So far he has watched all the extended versions of Lord of the Rings and Top Gun Maverick.
We love movies and have had a family Friday movie night since my kids were little. The oldest is now studying screenwriting at college. Every family is different---my sons loved Ferris, maybe they were just the right age for it and hadn't seen the 4th wall break (we didn't watch TV when they were young). I found middle schools love movies about high school; teens prefer movies about college.
On Mother's Day or my birthday, I often chose ones that I knew wouldn't be their normal preference and because it was "my day" they were more open---and ended up loving Casablanca and You've Got Mail and While You Were Sleeping.
Yes, John Cusack's character plays his boombox outside her window---but I wouldn't label his behavior as stalking. He doesn't follow her or pursue her and she ultimately is the one who goes to his place of work to get him back. It's a good opportunity to discuss the choices each made and why they are or aren't appropriate. But I'm biased---I loved it and my sons did too. 100% agree about Sixteen Candles and my sons thought Breakfast Club was gross when the Bender tries looking up Claire's skirt so we turned it off.
Others we loved: Hunt for the Wilderpeople; The Wedding Singer; Finding Forester (maybe slow for yours); Stand By Me; Stalag 17; The Great Escape; All the President's Men; The Sixth Sense; Stranger than Fiction; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; Ghostbusters; Inception; Jaws, ET.
I somehow completely forgot that the opening of Amelie, a French movie I loved, is a montage of people having sex.
Now that they are all in high school, it is rare for us all to be home together on a Friday but we love when it works out. My oldest is nostalgic about those nights and required everyone to be home on the Fridays he was home from college. They now pick all the movies ---the last one we watched was The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, something I'd never have picked but enjoyed.
Took my 14 YO son and his friend to NYC last fall to see Chicago, and after the show we lay in our hotel room in Times Square and watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off. They'd never seen it before and loved it. I've probably seen it one million times. I know they seem reckless but also the ultimate friendship between Ferris and Cameron is strong and really important given his home life.
I also love Say Anything but I haven't watched it in years. Again, maybe it is a little stalky but he is also super supportive of her issues with her father and how to move forward after that.
Now I'm like 'Wow these movies really had some serious life lessons going on'. hahahaha
My soon-to-be 10 year old boys have been watching Jurassic Park & World for a few years now because one of them LOVES dinosaurs. I'm going to try to have them watch Legally Blonde, my all time fave, but I don't know how interested they will be, it's hard to keep their attention LOL! I really want to show them Christmas Vacation and I know my husband is excited to show them Die Hard. I also told them yesterday that I can't wait to sit down and watch The Office with them someday!
There’s not much at this point my 12 yo doesn’t watch with me, Deadpool is one of her favorites. We’ve watched many of the 90s rom-coms and both my girls (9 and 12) love them. My oldest has been watching horror movies on her own or with friends. They’re not for me. I think the one I’m most looking forward to is American Pie. While Deadpool is wildly inappropriate, it’s also unrealistic. American Pie is about teenagers and sex and is closer to reality, so that one I’m not ready for…yet.
I think the best part about this age and their ability to watch this stuff is them getting the jokes and references. Even better is when they drop them later.
My girls are 9 and 11, we have just started on Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller films, they love Don’t mess with the Zohan, Dodgeball and Happy Gilmore. My 9yr old loves Rom Coms which I discovered accidentally as Sweet Home Alabama was on TV and we both sat and watched it together. They both also loved Mean Girls and Clueless. We have a movie night once a week, it’s so fun showing them films we loved.
My 11 year old loved 10 Things I Hate About You but Zoolander wasn’t a hit like we hoped (since I quote both all the time). For over a year my 9 year old has been OBSESSED with Phantom of the Opera, Les Mis (I have to explain Fantine selling her body…), and Titanic (I skip the nude drawing and sex in the car scenes for now).
We tried to watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail last fall with my boys (12 and 9) and they were not impressed. 😂 It’s one of my favorite movies! But i think some of the absurdity just went over their heads. Some day, though!
My oldest watched a Gen X documentary with me and then wanted to watch The Breakfast Club, so I let him. He’s watched a few R rated movies (The Last of the Mohicans, The Matrix) but we are still case by case there. He keeps asking me to watch both iterations of It, I said no. I think I’m going to try him out on some Hitchcock, he really enjoyed Knives Out and the Glass Onion.
My younger wants to be into horror but ultimately isn’t able to do it. He has and plays Bendy and the Ink Machine, but Gremlins was too scary for him. I think his next level will be something in the 90s SNL comedy genre like Tommy Boy or Happy Gilmore.
I didn't have time to even read the rest because that first sentence resonated with me all too well. I have three LITTLE kids. I am waiting for them to be more independent because mama needs some freedom! Is that off-topic? Just the truth!
My daughter will be 18 in a few months and we watched a lot of these movies when she was younger.
We let her watch The Town (We live in Massachusetts) when she was 10 and its still one of her favorites. Nothing like going to open house at school and having her list it as one of her favorite movies in 4th Grade. We have allowed her to watch pretty much whatever she wants. She is not a fan of the Horror movies, thank god because we don't like them. My son is 12 and figured out to use our Netflix profile when he was 7 and could watch what he wanted. We blocked at lot of things on his iPad and he figured out how to "back door" it all. So we gave up when he was 9 and allowed him the same as his sister. He is mostly into YouTube watching people play video games. I don't get that one bit. One of my son's favorite movies in Titanic. I don't feel any of the moves are dated to me. It was part of our Teen years. Are the different than today, absolutely. It funny that you bring up Diehard. Huge discussion in our house about it being a Christmas Movie!! I say NO. They say yes!
I was v excited to watch Ferris Bueller with my 2 girls, they're 17 and 18 now and it's one of their favourites now - clearly not looking for morals in their movies! Labyrinth was one of the first films from my childhood that I watched with them, they loved that too. Same as lots are saying, having watched dirty dancing a few years ago and rewatching it more recently, the abortion had been completely missed, and also the Nazi storyline in the sound of music!
i’m huge horror movie fan, so i have so many films i’d love to share with them. but i’m going to have to wait and see when and if they’ll be ready for those!
I feel the same way about Ferris Bueller that Harlow does 😂 I'm a rule follower!! They break all the rules and everything is fine?! Lame.
The movies I think you should add are the seminal classics Miss Congeniality & My Big Fat Greek Wedding, both top 5 favorites of mine.
I think the reason our generation loved Ferris Bueller so much was because it was a totally fresh way of telling a story. I can't remember anyone talking to camera in a movie before that. But now, that feels very familiar because we see it in TV shows all the time.
Spaceballs!!! I can’t wait til my kids are old enough for it to be appropriate! I think about this at least once a week.
We watched it with out 7 and 5yos last year. A lot of jokes went over their heads (thankfully), but they loved all of the visual humor.
Good to know! My husband has been dying to watch that one with the kids but we weren't sure. I figured most would go over their heads.
We've watched a few mentioned here and there are a few on my list. I just told my 12.5yr old that we should watch Mean Girls soon. My absolute favorite movie when I was her age was Now & Then. Haven't watched it in 20+ years so not sure how well it's aged!
I am NOT like Mazzy, I hate horror movies and thankfully so far my kids do as well!
My mom was weirdly strict with movies when I was a kid/teen (like I didn't see Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller, etc. until I was in college). We are a little more lax with our kids, but it depends on the specific content and talking about it after the fact.
I would not be opposed to you making or shsring a list of movies to share with big kids 😉
Upvote for a shared list 🙌 Seeing so many great recs in the comments ❤️
I can't wait to watch Dirty Dancing with my girls! I had watched it by the time I was 11 (my eldest daughter's age) but think that was probably again just a lax 80s thing 😆 think I'll wait a year or two more but I can't wait. It is so good and has some really important discussion points. I will be gutted if they don't like it 🤣
Oh man this one always gets me - and I agree, I am excited to watch it when my kids are old enough. I remember watching Dirty Dancing over and over as a kid and then NOT watching it again until my 20s. At 20 yes old the entire plot was so different to me. I had no idea the sister had an abortion! As a kid I never understood why everyone was so upset 🤦♀️. For sure understood it when I was 20 lol
I did not understand about the abortion either! I was like— what is this mystery surgery, why can't she go to a regular doctor and why is everyone blaming Johnny for it! I also did not really understand that the old couple were stealing.
I also watched this movie so many times and then as an adult I couldn't believe my mom let me watch it! But I had no idea what was going on with the surgery.
My 13 year old is getting into some horror and I can't wait to watch Scream!
Oh, I should totally watch that with Mazzy! She loves horror and I hate it, but I've seen that one already so I'll be okay!
My 11 yo daughter likes scary/creepy things. She is super into Stranger Things right now. I was just thinking it would be fun to watch Scream together but looked it up (because I haven't seen it for years and years) and I think she's too young. Common Sense Media lists a lot of bad language, which I could live with, and a lot of sex talk that I think might be a bit much for a 6th grader. I know a lot of kids in her class watch, see, hear that stuff but I also just want to let her be a kid.
I can't wait to watch "10 Thing I Hate About You" and "Empire Records" with my kids. Seminal mid-90s movies that I still quote on the regular. We live in Chicago and watched "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" with my 7- and 10-year-old over the summer, and they loved it -- especially because they recognized the city and some of the fun things we've done. And the physical comedy was a hit.
We watched Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark this weekend, which is one of my favorites and my kids really enjoyed it! I decided we aren't going to watch Temple of Doom because it's racist, and also is not a good movie. I love sharing all my favorite action movies from my childhood with them - Ghostbusters and Back to the Future were huge hits. Some things don't hold up but we talk through them.
Ferris Bueller is my favorite movie from my childhood and I decided to wait until mine (currently 10 and 8) are older not because it's not appropriate, but because I don't think they will appreciate it until they're in high school. They're too young to relate.
Recently my youngest has decided all he wants to watch is horror movies which neither my husband and I enjoy. But my dad LOVES those movies (especially the ones from the 70s and 80s) so it's become a fun "Grandpa movie day" for them to watch those movies together.
My sons loved Ferris---but they were in middle school. Now in high school, I don't think they'd like it as much. But around age 12 and 13, teens and high school are fascinating (or at least were to my boys).
My kids loved Apollo 13, Forrest Gump, Honey I shrunk the kids, Legally Blonde, Oceans 11, Top Gun, the Truman show. I love watching the old movies with them (although they are sceptical everytime).
This is a great list! I forgot about the Truman Show and Legally Blonde! My kids would love those.
We just watched Legally Blonde with our kids last night (12D, 11S) and they both loved it!
Those are a lot of the ones that were big hits here too!
If Mazzy likes teen rom com movies Shag is a great movie. Shag as in dance not as in sex.
I've never heard of that! Will check it out.
I loved Shag growing up but it DID NOT age well. Lots of Deep South racism, sexual pressure, body image stuff. I actually threw out my copy.
I loved Shag growing up!
This is my all time favorite movie!!
Shag is my all-time favorite movie. I quote it so much and no one ever knows the reference! But, agree Clare, did not age well at all and unfortunately, many in the deep south still act this way.
One movie we let our kids see when they were 6/7 was Ghostbusters, which I was super nervous would be way too scary. But my youngest LOVES it - it's still her favorite movie. The demon dog things that run at Rick Moranis near the Tavern on the Green scene I had memories of being scary, but the special effects were so basic back then it clearly looked fake to my kids and they thought it was funny.
Was the possessed Sigourney Weaver scene weird to watch with them? Or did it go over their heads?
It still goes over their heads (they are 8 & 10 now). But the scene that always makes me squirm (that I always forgot about) is the one where the invisible ghost has a “sex” scene with Dan Akroyd and unzips his pants 🤦♀️. For me that one is a little more questionable I think than the Sigourney scene.
Last Friday, we watched Jurassic Park with my almost -10-year-old for the first time (on VHS!) and it was great! She liked it for the most part, but Samuel L. Jackson's arm on Laura Dern's shoulder almost did her in 😂 Can't wait for more of these classics, now that she's getting older!
I can't wait to watch the teen rom coms with her! But I feel like I'm a little more protective of her than my mom was in the 90s!
We did a whole Jurassic Park marathon last week my 5 year old loved the first one. He likes scary stuff though and I tried to hide the little bit of gore from him. My 10 yr old doesn't have the attention span for any movies.
My nephew nannied for us one summer and he showed my boys the Back to the Future movies - I was bummed because I wanted to watch that with them! I can't wait until they are old enough for Super Troopers, won't be appropriate for quite some time, but my husband and I quote it all the time. It was also fun to watch Honey, I Shrunk the Kids with them.
I get so mad when I suggest watching one of my favorites with Mazzy and she tells me she already saw it at a friend's. That happened with Clueless!
my miss 12 hates suspense or anxiety type things. So alas no Day after Tomorrow or Titanic or Independence Day for us. Or Goonies and ET which break my heart. We also tried Jaws after we went to Universal this summer and didn't make it very far, lol. She has tried to watch them but always leaves the room.
She LOVED Miss Congeniality so much she went as a pageant contestant for halloween that year. She also loves Clueless and Legally Blonde. She also thought the Honey I shrunk the kids movies were pretty funny.
She liked Tommy Boy and Ferris Bueller's Day Off and thought they were hysterical. We've also been to Chicago a few times so she likes picking out the places she has been.
The Addams Family movies with Christina Ricci and Casper have been big hits.
We watched A League of Their Own and A Field of Dreams, she didn't dislike either but thought they were slow. We have been to the Field of Dreams on a Ghost Sunday so she liked to see it in person after watching the movie (that's before they "ruined" the site but that's another story).
ones on our list: Mean Girls, Look Who's Talking, 3 Men and A Baby (she asked due to tv show referencing, Adventures in Babysitting, Don't Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead, Teen Witch.
I was wondering if my kids would like Field of Dreams, but I think you are right_ they would think it was too slow. I need to show them the Addams Family, especially since they both loved Wednesday!
We just watched Adventures in Babysitting on Disney+. My 13 and 11yo loved it!
There are so many movies that I am looking forward to watching with my daughter, though she’s only 8 right now. Like you we will probably skip some that aged REALLY badly but will just talk about things in some movies.
Some of the ones I am most excited to watch with her are 10 things I hate about you, Now and Then, Clueless, Practical magic, legally blond, and the princess diaries. But truly I have a long list! Also I am looking forward to showing her the Buffy the vampire series!
I wanted to ask how your kids felt about Back to the Future? I started to watch that with my 13 year old son and I didn't feel like it aged well (setting his mother up in a date-rape scenario?). And alas, he felt the same about Ferris Bueller. One of my all-time favorite comedies is Tommy Boy. I can't wait to watch with my son! Hope we don't come across an "agh!" scene that I have to explain about different times!
Yes, they definitely thought a lot of the stuff with the mom was weird. Wait. So he's kissing his MOTHER???? And did not like the date rape scene AT ALL. I think they were young enough that they didn't really get it. I was like, I think he was just trying to kiss her and Mazzy was like, But why did he have his hand up her skirt??? Yeah. They liked Karate Kid much more.
I was so excited to show my boys Tommy Boy and they didn't find it funny at all - my heart was crushed!
I am currently watching Legally Blonde with my daughter and she is really enjoying it! (we are going to see a production of the musical so I wanted her to know the storyline). I am also really excited about showing my kids Princess Bride at some point.
Princess Bride was the best with Mazzy and Harlow because I swear they would say Fred Savage's exact lines like a beat before they would cut to him interpreting the story. It's like the movie is reading little kids minds.
My kids too! I was super nervous to show my kids Princess Bride cause it is my all time favorite movie from my childhood. I watched and rewatched it so much! I held off till I thought they were ready and it felt like a huge parenting win that they loved it!
Oh YES Legally Blonde is is incredibly important for all young people in my humble opinion!!
I do not have children. But one of my fondest memories is going into my parents' bedroom at night, and my mom and I would watch whatever scary movie was on. I loved them all. My mom introduced me to all the scary movies she grew up watching. And so because of my mom, I love everything horror. My favorite movie as a child is The Night of The Living Dead and The Birds. She saw them as a kid (on TV), and she introduced them to me as an 8 year old. My parents allowed me to watch whatever I wanted. Don't ask me why.😄 I think they knew me well enough to know I could handle it.
You are like Mazzy! She loves horror movies and it seems like that's what her friends all watch at sleepovers. I hate those movies. She forced me to watch Stranger Things though and I loved it! I initially thought it was too scary, but I got past it.
I hate all scary movies and don't do the movies Harlow likes too well either! But I did love speed!
Wild hearts can’t be broken is on my list. I watched pitch perfect with my 12 year old- we both love it!!
Great question! The list is long. Right now mine are 8 and 3 and both into superheroes but too young to dive into the Marvel Universe. Their minds will surely be blown soon.
This evening we watched Turning Red and it made me very exciting to watch Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in a few years.
So my oldest is 11 and plays soccer and is in a goalie clinic that is coed. One of the kids looks like Jonathan Brandis soooo I had her watch Ladybugs. She LOVED it. I forgot a lot of the 80s sex humor in subtle jokes and almost died but she either pretended like it was nothing or it went over her head but she absolutely loved it. I totally forgot it even existed until I saw this kid in the clinic! I also can’t wait for the she’s all that, 10 things i hate about you, sweet home Alabama type movie nights but we are not there yet!
I put Father of the bride on for my 11yr old and she wasn’t impressed either. Me and my sister use to love it and would watch it over and over when we were younger so that was disappointing.
She enjoyed Legally Blonde and Clueless.
My girls love the Mamma Mia movies! I dont know how many times they have seen it.
My girls love the Mamma Mia movies. I dont know how many times they have seen them.
They are now 20 and 17 and they still like them.
My husband waited for YEARS for our daughter (now 10) to be old enough to appreciate Clue. We finally watched it and even though he didn’t think she was paying attention enough (she was drawing during the end) she remembered like every nuance of all the endings and got many of the subtle jokes. The next week he was like “let’s watch Airplane!” And she was like “no, I want to watch Clue again.” 😂 He was salty and I was like, “um, remember how much you wanted her to like Clue? Also kids love to watch things over and over, you know this.” We finally did watch Airplane recently and, let me tell you, there are few things more joy inducing than hearing your kid burst out in laughter and shock with the rest of the family.
She said she was going to watch Mean Girls at a sleepover in 3rd grade and I was like, “uh, pretty sure that’s NOT going to happen,” and reminded the host parent about all the things that happened in it. I think by the time she’s Mazzy’s age it’ll be fine. (I have shown her the “get in losers, we’re going shopping” part, and she likes that a little TOO much)
Oh I forgot one more! My husband also sat us both down to watch Beetlejuice and she was OBSESSED with it. Like, the creepy part where they turn their faces into monsters just really amused her. Somehow I missed that one during my childhood.
We love watching old movies with our kids (14 and 10). One of the movies I’m excited to watch with them that we haven’t yet is Can’t Buy Me Love with Patrick Dempsey. I remember renting that movie from the local movie store and then watching it over and over with my neighbor when I was in middle school. We would return it and then re-rent it for weeks at a time.
Oh man, Im not great at waiting. When they were little little.. it was goonies & the sandlot. Now it’s like.. Big Daddy and Now & Then
THE MUMMY!! Only the first 2 with Brendan Fraser & Rachel Weisz though - the others are not so great but I rewatch 1 & 2 always! Sweet Home Alabama & Just Like Heaven are also excellent Reese Witherspoon rom coms from the 2000’s!! Sahara & Fools Gold are fun action/adventure with some romance thrown in too! And check out Moonfall it’s a really recent one from the same director as Independence Day & Day After Tomorrow (it’s like a combo of both those movies PLUS Armageddon)
I have loved sharing some of my favorites: Rookie of the Year, The Princess Bride, Nacho Libre with my kids. I have a 12, 10, 8 & 5 year old. My 12 year old is ready for real movies but the rest aren’t quite there yet. So my oldest and I now have a tradition of him watching a movie with me when he stays home sick from school. So far he has watched all the extended versions of Lord of the Rings and Top Gun Maverick.
Totally agree with you about the ick factor of many of the most popular movies of the 80s!
My 14 year old loves heist movies, favorites being the Italian Job and all the Ocean movies.
You’ve Got Mail is a great one! 🎥
We love movies and have had a family Friday movie night since my kids were little. The oldest is now studying screenwriting at college. Every family is different---my sons loved Ferris, maybe they were just the right age for it and hadn't seen the 4th wall break (we didn't watch TV when they were young). I found middle schools love movies about high school; teens prefer movies about college.
On Mother's Day or my birthday, I often chose ones that I knew wouldn't be their normal preference and because it was "my day" they were more open---and ended up loving Casablanca and You've Got Mail and While You Were Sleeping.
Yes, John Cusack's character plays his boombox outside her window---but I wouldn't label his behavior as stalking. He doesn't follow her or pursue her and she ultimately is the one who goes to his place of work to get him back. It's a good opportunity to discuss the choices each made and why they are or aren't appropriate. But I'm biased---I loved it and my sons did too. 100% agree about Sixteen Candles and my sons thought Breakfast Club was gross when the Bender tries looking up Claire's skirt so we turned it off.
Others we loved: Hunt for the Wilderpeople; The Wedding Singer; Finding Forester (maybe slow for yours); Stand By Me; Stalag 17; The Great Escape; All the President's Men; The Sixth Sense; Stranger than Fiction; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; Ghostbusters; Inception; Jaws, ET.
I somehow completely forgot that the opening of Amelie, a French movie I loved, is a montage of people having sex.
Now that they are all in high school, it is rare for us all to be home together on a Friday but we love when it works out. My oldest is nostalgic about those nights and required everyone to be home on the Fridays he was home from college. They now pick all the movies ---the last one we watched was The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, something I'd never have picked but enjoyed.
Took my 14 YO son and his friend to NYC last fall to see Chicago, and after the show we lay in our hotel room in Times Square and watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off. They'd never seen it before and loved it. I've probably seen it one million times. I know they seem reckless but also the ultimate friendship between Ferris and Cameron is strong and really important given his home life.
I also love Say Anything but I haven't watched it in years. Again, maybe it is a little stalky but he is also super supportive of her issues with her father and how to move forward after that.
Now I'm like 'Wow these movies really had some serious life lessons going on'. hahahaha
My soon-to-be 10 year old boys have been watching Jurassic Park & World for a few years now because one of them LOVES dinosaurs. I'm going to try to have them watch Legally Blonde, my all time fave, but I don't know how interested they will be, it's hard to keep their attention LOL! I really want to show them Christmas Vacation and I know my husband is excited to show them Die Hard. I also told them yesterday that I can't wait to sit down and watch The Office with them someday!
There’s not much at this point my 12 yo doesn’t watch with me, Deadpool is one of her favorites. We’ve watched many of the 90s rom-coms and both my girls (9 and 12) love them. My oldest has been watching horror movies on her own or with friends. They’re not for me. I think the one I’m most looking forward to is American Pie. While Deadpool is wildly inappropriate, it’s also unrealistic. American Pie is about teenagers and sex and is closer to reality, so that one I’m not ready for…yet.
I think the best part about this age and their ability to watch this stuff is them getting the jokes and references. Even better is when they drop them later.
My girls are 9 and 11, we have just started on Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller films, they love Don’t mess with the Zohan, Dodgeball and Happy Gilmore. My 9yr old loves Rom Coms which I discovered accidentally as Sweet Home Alabama was on TV and we both sat and watched it together. They both also loved Mean Girls and Clueless. We have a movie night once a week, it’s so fun showing them films we loved.
My 11 year old loved 10 Things I Hate About You but Zoolander wasn’t a hit like we hoped (since I quote both all the time). For over a year my 9 year old has been OBSESSED with Phantom of the Opera, Les Mis (I have to explain Fantine selling her body…), and Titanic (I skip the nude drawing and sex in the car scenes for now).
We tried to watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail last fall with my boys (12 and 9) and they were not impressed. 😂 It’s one of my favorite movies! But i think some of the absurdity just went over their heads. Some day, though!
My oldest watched a Gen X documentary with me and then wanted to watch The Breakfast Club, so I let him. He’s watched a few R rated movies (The Last of the Mohicans, The Matrix) but we are still case by case there. He keeps asking me to watch both iterations of It, I said no. I think I’m going to try him out on some Hitchcock, he really enjoyed Knives Out and the Glass Onion.
My younger wants to be into horror but ultimately isn’t able to do it. He has and plays Bendy and the Ink Machine, but Gremlins was too scary for him. I think his next level will be something in the 90s SNL comedy genre like Tommy Boy or Happy Gilmore.
Some random additions that I’ve enjoyed watching as my littles grew into bigs: The Sandlot, The NeverEnding Story and Phantom of the Opera.
I didn't have time to even read the rest because that first sentence resonated with me all too well. I have three LITTLE kids. I am waiting for them to be more independent because mama needs some freedom! Is that off-topic? Just the truth!
My daughter will be 18 in a few months and we watched a lot of these movies when she was younger.
We let her watch The Town (We live in Massachusetts) when she was 10 and its still one of her favorites. Nothing like going to open house at school and having her list it as one of her favorite movies in 4th Grade. We have allowed her to watch pretty much whatever she wants. She is not a fan of the Horror movies, thank god because we don't like them. My son is 12 and figured out to use our Netflix profile when he was 7 and could watch what he wanted. We blocked at lot of things on his iPad and he figured out how to "back door" it all. So we gave up when he was 9 and allowed him the same as his sister. He is mostly into YouTube watching people play video games. I don't get that one bit. One of my son's favorite movies in Titanic. I don't feel any of the moves are dated to me. It was part of our Teen years. Are the different than today, absolutely. It funny that you bring up Diehard. Huge discussion in our house about it being a Christmas Movie!! I say NO. They say yes!
I was v excited to watch Ferris Bueller with my 2 girls, they're 17 and 18 now and it's one of their favourites now - clearly not looking for morals in their movies! Labyrinth was one of the first films from my childhood that I watched with them, they loved that too. Same as lots are saying, having watched dirty dancing a few years ago and rewatching it more recently, the abortion had been completely missed, and also the Nazi storyline in the sound of music!
i’m huge horror movie fan, so i have so many films i’d love to share with them. but i’m going to have to wait and see when and if they’ll be ready for those!
The Day After Tomorrow is one of my favorite movies too! And not one I would have ever thought would be.