10 Massively Underrated 1990s Movie Performances

Okay, so this is a difficult entry to do, because the movie in question may actually be as imperfect as you recall - or worse. Kevin Smith’s first post-Clerks attempt at maturity may be a far better effort than the previous year’s Mallrats, but it’s still a movie whose emotional centre is a shiftless comic book nerd played by a young Jason Lee, so… Let’s just say Judd Apatow’s often insufferable arrested development slacker protagonists were still a step up from the previous decade’s offerings.

Nonetheless, there’s a charm to the film’s clumsy handling of “modern dating”, and while many of the female characters may struggle with unconvincing dialogue, some manage to succeed despite the material on offer.

Enter Joey Lauren Adams, aka one of the most memorable voices from the nineties—for better or worse. The squeaky-voiced actress plays the love interest of Ben Affleck’s Holden with charm and aplomb, navigating the uneasy territory of possessiveness and sexual mores with a tenderness and righteous strength that still feels revolutionary despite the film’s dated gender politics.

It’s not an easy film to revisit, given how many superior flicks have trodden over similar territory in the decades since its release, but in Addams’ performance there’s a microcosm of everything likeable about Chasing Amy - imperfect, loud, and sometimes cloying, but undeniably funny, sweet, and sincere.