People Name Movies That Couldn’t Be Made Today
Watching old movies is like using a time machine, we get to see what the world once was and compare it to our society today. It’s obvious that a lot of things have changed over the years, aspects like technology and fashion aren’t what they used to be. And one of the biggest shifts has been our worldview on certain topics. Many of the movies on this list haven’t stood the test of time for one reason or another. Maybe there’s a plotline that would be considered offensive today or new technology that would totally kill the movie’s premise.
People are sharing what movies they think wouldn’t stand a chance in today’s world. Do you agree?
West Side Story
The original West Side Story production wasn’t exactly smooth. For starters, almost all of the Puerto Rican characters were played by white actors. And to make matters worse, they were forced to put brown makeup on to look more “ethnic”. Seems like production wasn’t aware that Puerto Ricans can have many skin tones.
To make matters worse when Puerto Rican actor Rita Moreno addressed the issue, she was met with an astonishing response. The makeup artist asked her “what are you, racist?” She was too stunned to speak and we can see why. It’s a good thing the latest remake of the movie didn’t bring back this aspect of the original film..
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Over the years Breakfast at Tiffany’s has received a lot of praise and criticism. But occasionally you’d see the word “racist” pop up when talking about the movie. And it’s not just because Mickey Rooney, a white American, was playing the role of an Asian man. It was the fact the character was a wildly exaggerated stereotype.
From the buckteeth and thick glasses all the way to a heavy accent and hot temper. This character was the embodiment of how the West saw East Asians at the time. Many have debated if the character was an unfortunate result of the times or blatant racism, we’ll let you decide.
Heathers
Starting off as a typical teen movie, Heathers turns a dark corner when you least expect it. From killing a classmate by making her drink drain cleaner to shooting teens in the woods, there are many reasons this movie wouldn’t be made today. The topic of school shootings has been prevalent in the decades since the movie premiered.
It certainly doesn’t help that one of the main characters is a sociopathic murderer that wants to kill everyone in his school by blowing it up. We won’t spoil the ending but it’s safe to assume no director would dare make a movie with a similar plot. If they did, it wouldn’t be received well by audiences.
2001: A Space Odyssey
This is one of those movies that you either love or hate. Every movie major will swear that it’s an underrated masterpiece. But for most of us, it’s pretty boring and not worth the 2.5 hours. For starters, there’s no dialogue for the first 30 minutes of the movie, you’re just sitting there watching a silent movie about space.
When people do start talking, the plot doesn’t seem to go anywhere. This film was way too bold to be made today, especially in the climate of fast-paced action and superhero films. It would be difficult to convince audiences to come to a theater for a long, mostly dialogue-free film.
Airplane!
We can see why this movie wouldn’t be made today. The entire movie is a visual comedy where people get smacked around, drop witty one-liners and puns, and are overall wacky and absurd. While the film is admittedly hilarious, we’re not sure if it would appeal to today’s movie-goers. And even if it did, there’s so much that could go wrong.
Knowing Hollywood they would probably put a ton of product placement and awkward pop-cultural references. It would definitely incorporate a lot of modern-day. This would make the film outdated before it hit streaming services.
Big
We’re not so sure this movie would be big with audiences today. Watching kids and adults switch places can be tricky business. Typically we don’t allow kids to enter the workforce or rent an apartment on their own, but that’s not what we think people would take issue with…
We don’t think people would be comfortable seeing a child kiss a grown woman. No matter how you spin it, at the end of the day it’s a kid having a relationship with an adult. Not to mention how awkward and unpleasant it was to watch her try to “seduce” him. We might’ve missed how weird this was as kids, but as adults we can’t bear to watch those scenes.
Sixteen Candles
At first glance, Sixteen Candles looks like your typical coming-of-age movie. But it has some disturbing aspects that wouldn’t be accepted today. For starters, the character Long Duk Dong is a stereotype that audiences wouldn’t approve of. Everything about him screams “Asian stereotype” and we all know he’s there to be laughed at.
The second, more disturbing aspect of the movie is the geeky freshman Ted. For starters, he’s constantly harassing women and trying to make them sleep with him. But the worst part is when he’s taking advantage of an extremely drunk girl in the back of his friend’s car. And the movie makes it look like he accomplished something!
Back to the Future
We know a lot of you love this movie and for a good reason. Not only is it entertaining but it’s also a nostalgia trip for a lot of us. But some aspects of the movie have aged poorly and we have to address them. Mainly the topic of incest between Marty and his teenage mom.
Did we all forget that Marty had to deal with his mom making advances on him when he went back in time? And did we all forget that she kissed him in the school parking lot? Admit it, the thought of being in that situation is pretty gross. If this time travel flick was made today, that plot element would’ve been cut.
Léon: The Professional
Right from the start, it’s obvious that something’s wrong with the movie. The relationship between Leo and Mathilda feels a little too close for comfort. Even an oblivious viewer can see that a young girl shouldn’t have that kind of dynamic with a grown man. One scene that should’ve been cut was Mathilda wearing women’s lingerie.
Some movie connoisseurs will argue that it isn’t the movie’s intention to sexualize a teenage girl. But when we look at the unedited version it’s clear as day. The fact that they had to edit out almost half of the footage before it was shown on American screens tells you everything you need to know.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
This movie was so unique that it’s hard to imagine anyone making something like it again. For starters, the movie has real actors interacting with cartoon characters. That may not seem special today, back back in 1989 it was incredibly impressive. However, the real reason why this movie wouldn’t be made again has more to do with the trademarked characters it features.
Getting Daffy and Donald Duck to appear in a movie seems impossible today. It took a lot of negotiations from both Disney and Warner Brothers to agree on the collaboration, and they only agreed on the condition that their characters get equal amounts of screen time.
James Bond
Bond movies are pretty great, what’s there not to like about a secret agent who saves the world from an evildoer? But underneath that cool and calm personality hides a questionable character with a tendency to objectify women. You can’t have an old-fashioned Bond movie without a sexy female counterpart, and some people take issue with that.
And what about the names they give to some of those women? In some ways, the movie plays to the male macho fantasy where Bond is either seducing or being seduced by a beautiful woman. They end up sleeping together and that’s the last we see of them, they rarely appear in more than one film.
Team America: World Police
Relations between America and North Korea have always been rocky. The two countries are on opposite sides of the world and also have vastly different cultures. It certainly doesn’t help when Hollywood decides to make a movie mocking North Korea and its leader. It’s hard to imagine a movie like Team America: World Police being made today.
A movie that showcases North Korea’s beloved leader Kim Jong Il masterminding a terror attack just wouldn’t fly. A lot of people are more politically conscious and don’t find that kind of scenario amusing, let alone a good plot for a comedy film. Do you think this movie could be made today?
Office Space
These days it’s hard to find any negative comments about Office Space. And for good reason, the movie is hilarious with some pretty memorable characters and quotable lines. And there’s nothing wrong with that. The only problem with this movie is that Peter Gibbons won’t stop complaining about his comfortable office job.
After everything we’ve been through over the past couple of decades, having a “boring” office job and a steady paycheck sounds like heaven. What people wouldn’t give to sit in a cubicle eight hours a day in a secure job with health insurance. Feels like people back then took those things for granted.
Mr. Mom
Movies that show a man doing a “woman’s job” have been done plenty of times over the years, with notable examples being The Pacifier and Big Momma’s House. But none of them hold a candle to Mr. Mom. It’s a perfect example of a particular sub-genre of movies where men suddenly find themselves as parents and struggle against their own ignorance, incompetence, and fears in order to do the best they can for their children.
Unfortunately, its comedy hasn’t held up the test of time. People just don’t relate to those types of jokes these days. Plus, the premise wouldn’t work with more modern dads taking on household tasks.
The Birdcage
As much as we love this movie, some of its aspects wouldn’t hold up by today’s standards, mainly how awful Val Goldman is to his two dads. If you are going to be a self-centered jerk about it, at least have the decency to do so in private! Every kid is ashamed of his parents but Val does it for the wrong reasons.
Asking your gay fathers to hide their sexuality just so your father-in-law will like you isn’t something people would sympathize with today. Back then people may have understood Val’s conflict, but nowadays we can’t help but see him as an ungrateful son.
Matilda
Matilda is a classic about a brilliant girl who develops telekinesis and uses her powers to protect herself and other children against negligent adults. It’s a good film, but it also has some aspects that wouldn’t fly today. The film features many scenes involving violence directed at children and an oppressive and violent principal who enjoys finding new ways to abuse her students.
We’re not sure the film would’ve gotten a PG rating today, and it’s likely that some parents wouldn’t want their kids to watch something so disturbing. We might’ve loved the film as kids, but we’re not sure today’s families are getting together to watch it.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry
The plot of this movie is pretty simple. After a near-death experience, Kevin James realizes he needs to find a way for his kids to be taken care of in case he dies. What’s the best way to do that? Marry your best friend of course. The movie is a product of its time and can be pretty hard to sit through during certain scenes.
It’s just what you’d expect from an Adam Sandler comedy, a gorgeous love interest, one of his pals as the co-star, and a lot of childish inappropriate jokes. Especially at the expense of others, which in this case is the LGBTQ community. And don’t get us started on Rob Schneider’s performance as a Chinese wedding minister…
Phone Booth
Many people who watched this movie wondered if the caller was the good guy or the bad guy. Sure, he killed innocent people, but he also forced bad ones to come clean and atone for their actions. But what we want to know is how they’d ever make another movie like this when phone booths are essentially obsolete.
A lot of plot devices in older movies depend on the limitations of old technology. Think about landlines used to intimidate victims in horror films. Nowadays everybody has a caller ID on their phones so it’s almost impossible to make an anonymous call to someone.
Shallow Hal
The jury is out on whether or not this movie could be made today. On one hand, it does a good job of showing how important it is to focus on inner beauty and not judge a book by its cover. However, many people consider the film to be one long-running fat joke from start to finish. “The biggest love story ever told” probably wasn’t the most tasteful tagline.
The movie is full of scenes where Rosemary, Hal’s love interest, breaks things with her weight. Many times we see her eat ridiculous quantities of food for comedic effect. Modern audiences probably wouldn’t head to the theaters for that kind of comedy.
American Beauty
It takes a lot of talent to make a dark comedy about the ordinary lives of not-so-ordinary people. But let’s face it, there are a few things wrong with this movie, things that would’ve made it difficult to recreate today. The creepy teen behavior could be overlooked by today’s audiences, but there’s one thing we’re not sure people would be okay with…
And that’s Lester’s inappropriate feelings toward his daughter’s friend, an underage high school girl. While the movie’s iconic rose petal scene captivated audiences at the time, we think it might make movie-goers squirm today.
Pink Flamingos
This movie is so bizarre we don’t know where to begin. Nothing in this movie makes sense and it feels like John Waters did that intentionally. And in all fairness, it’s incredible that this movie ever got made in the first place! But in the day and age of social media, we’re not sure it would’ve flown under anyone’s radar.
It’s obvious that Waters intended this to be as offensive and shocking as possible. No matter what year it is, this movie will have your jaw on the floor. And it’s likely a movie like this won’t be made again. But then again, that’s what makes it such a unique film!
Taxi Driver
This movie is a psychological thriller set in New York City in 1976. It revolves around a war veteran with PTSD who, you guessed it, drives a taxi. Of course, some elements in the film are disturbing. But Jodie Foster’s character is enough to prevent a movie like this from being made today.
Throughout the movie, we meet Iris, a child who ends up on the streets working for a pimp named Sport. The scenes where we see Iris are pretty unsettling, even when Travis comes and “rescues” her from the brothel. While the film is widely considered to be a masterpiece, we doubt people would give it a pass today.
North by Northwest
It’s funny to think how things in this film would’ve ended if people had cell phones. The movie’s plot starts with a mistaken identity, though it’s not entirely clear how the mistake happened in the first place. Roger Thornhill enters a hotel and decides to send a telegram to his secretary. He signals to a porter and that’s when everything happens.
Just as he signals, the porter shouts out the name George Kaplan, to which Thornhill unintentionally responds. All of this happened because Thornhill didn’t have a cell phone and had to call for help. If this movie was made today he would’ve just called his secretary and updated her on what was going on.
The Blair Witch Project
Have you ever wondered how a low-budget movie managed to be so popular? Yes, it’s a bit creepy, but anyone with a decent camera could make a similar movie. The secret to its success was using the internet to spread misinformation and make people curious about whether it was real found footage or not.
The first thing they did was make missing person fliers and share fake police reports. They even had a few small local papers write a false story about the girl in the film going missing. These days such a brilliant marketing scheme wouldn’t work, we have way too many resources at our disposal to debunk “fake news”.
Chasing Amy
We can see how a movie about a guy chasing after a lesbian would get some backlash today. But it’s not just the chase that bothers people, Alyssa’s sexuality is pretty established from the beginning of the movie, giving us the impression that she won’t end up with the leading man.
In the famous scene where Holden confesses his feelings, Alyssa constantly states that she’s not into men and only likes girls. When Holden finally understands and backs down we suddenly see how she “changes her mind” and runs to him. The movie assumes that Alyssa can just “flip a switch” and start liking men. Today’s audiences are wise enough to know how absurdly unrealistic that is.
Pretty Baby
Even today, people enjoy watching movies about controversial topics, but we think this movie takes things a step too far. The story revolves around Violet, a 12-year-old girl living in a brothel with her mother. And although she’s not actively working there, the idea is pretty obscene. Not to mention that her mother leaves her there alone when she runs away and marries a customer.
Audiences at the time weren’t pleased with this film, and we can imagine they’d only be more outraged about it today. It wouldn’t take too long for the film to go viral online with dozens of bloggers shedding light on its twisted plot.
Home Alone
If you think about it, a lot of old movies’ plots revolve around people not being able to contact one another the way we can today. With the power of cell phones, we can reach whomever we want, whenever we want from any location in the world. But back in the 90s if your landline was down you were out of luck.
Parental neglect isn’t the only factor that fuels this movie’s plot. If this movie was made today it would be pretty short. Kevin wakes up and realizes his family is gone, calls his dad, and joins his family at the airport. Though they’d probably miss their flight due to the lengthy security lines.
The Princess Bride
One redeeming quality of many old films is that everything was “real”. There were no special effects, real prop masters worked tirelessly day and night to make the setting look as genuine as possible. Movies with bigger budgets could afford to take the cast to particular locations around the world instead of constructing a set.
But today everything is made with special effects and computer magic. All it takes to make a fantasy film is a green screen and a CGI artist. The kind of cinematic magic from The Princess Bride probably wouldn’t exist the way we know it if the movie had been made today.
Grease
Most of us remember Grease as the romantic tale of Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson who fell in love one summer day in 1958. But the movie isn’t as wholesome as we were led to believe. A lot of people have a problem with how drastically Sandy’s appearance and attitude changed just so she could impress Danny.
And don’t forget the voyeurism scene where Putzie hid under a bench where two female students were sitting and proceeded to try and peek under their skirts. But that’s not all. Add all the scrutiny Rizzo received and you have a movie that doesn’t have the best morals for young people. That kind of behavior is no longer acceptable among today’s youth.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s nest
This movie, much like the book, revolves around the idea of individuality. It explores the way people think, behave, and what makes them special, focusing on people with mental illnesses rather than the illness itself. However, the movie has been under harsh criticism for several years now.
While there are several films about anti-heroes, we’re not sure today’s audience would have an easy time being sympathetic toward a character like Randle McMurphy. In fact, people might find him downright uncomfortable to watch. It’s a good thing they released this movie in 1975 because it likely wouldn’t be made today.