It’s consistently amusing to see a notable face spring up surprisingly in a film. In these cameos or brief appearances, notable figures like athletes or singers may play themselves, a character from another film, or sometimes, it’s simply a blink-and-you-missed-it fly in.
Cameos relate to mainstream society and are very much a reflection of the time the film was made. This implies that the person may not be as conspicuous or pertinent to crowds viewing the film numerous years after its release. We have compiled 12 movie cameos that could only have happened in the 90s – enjoy!
1) Ween In It’s Pat
When Julia Sweeney first debuted the character on SNL in the early ’90s, Pat became a hit with audiences, and a movie was commissioned in 1994, but the movie was a massive fail, grossing only $60,000 at the box office and holding a 0% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
However, the film features a cameo from alternative rock band Ween, who perform their songs “Pork Roll, Egg & Cheese” and “Don’t Get 2 Close (2 My Fantasy).” At the time, the band was achieving its commercial peak after several MTV appearances.
2) Mudhoney In Black Sheep
The story is about a Washington State Governor Al Donnelly whose only stumbling block on the road to power is his embarrassing younger brother Mike. Al asks one of his aides, Steve Dodds to keep an eye on him during the election.
After campaign advisors assign him to the most remote area of Washington, he drives to Seattle and manages to find trouble at a Rock the Vote concert. Farley’s character winds up on stage intoxicated out of his mind alongside the band Mudhoney, who so perfectly represented the early ’90s grunge scene of Seattle as it was happening.
3) Anthony Kiedis And Flea In The Chase
Jack Hammond is sentenced to life in prison but somehow manages to escape. To get away from the police he takes a girl hostage and drives off in her car. The girl happens to be the only daughter of one of the richest men in the state. The car chase is covered by helicopters which is being broadcast live on every TV-channel.
In an unexpected next move, lead singer Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers appeared in the film. Flea plays a monster truck driver, while Kiedis plays his pal riding in the passenger seat. The two intentionally flip their truck over in the middle of the highway police pursuit of Charlie Sheen’s character.
In 1994, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were fresh off the mainstream success of their breakthrough album Blood Sugar Sex Magik.
4) Dale Earnhardt In BASEketball
South Park premiered on Comedy Central in 1997, it was not only a ratings hit, but also a much-buzzed-about cultural moment. One year later, its creators starred in the silly sports comedy BASEketball.
Dale Earnhardt made an appearance, who at the time was doing a victory lap in his own legendary racing career, as a taxi driver taking a group of kids to the big game. Their mother asks if he can drive any faster. It turns out that he can.
5) Digital Underground In Nothing But Trouble
Digital Underground was asked to appear in the film Nothing But Trouble, starring Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, and John Candy. Digital Underground contributed two songs to the soundtrack: “Tie The Knot” and “Same Song.” At the time, they began to achieve big mainstream success in 1990 with the release of their hit “The Humpty Dance.” The cameo scene also marked the feature film debut of Tupac Shakur shortly before he launched his massively successful solo career.
6) Pearl Jam In Singles
With their debut record Ten becoming a hit, Pearl Jam appeared in Cameron Crowe’s 1992 film Singles and contributed two songs to its soundtrack. The pairing made sense since Singles followed the lives of several Seattle Gen X-ers in the thick of the grunge years.
7) The Mighty Mighty Bosstones In Clueless
Clueless went on to gross over $55 million at the box office and continues to enjoy an enduring legacy with frequent pop culture references to this day. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are perhaps most remembered for their 1997 hit “The Impression That I Get.” But two years earlier, the band got a serious boost from their appearance in Clueless. The Bosstones appear in a college frat party sequence and perform their songs “Someday I Suppose” and “Where’d You Go,” and the latter appeared on the film’s soundtrack.
8) Brett Favre In There’s Something About Mary
There’s Something About Mary made $369 million worldwide, and it was the third highest-grossing film in North America in 1998, ultimately becoming one of the most memorable comedies of the ’90s.
Ted (Ben Stiller) reconnects with his high school prom date Mary (Cameron Diaz) years later. In the film, Mary often references her ex Brett, whom she dumped when she heard he had been mocking her disabled brother. At the end of the film, Brett turns out to be Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre, who was fresh off a Super Bowl win the year before.
9) Wayne Gretzky In D2: The Mighty Ducks
Mighty Ducks films were a huge deal for so many 90s kids. The movies gained so much popularity that by 1993, Disney actually founded an NHL franchise and named them the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.
The first film became a major hit at the box office, and Wayne Gretzky was the biggest hockey star in the world at that time and happened to play for the Los Angeles Kings. It only seemed right to have Gretzky drop in briefly to congratulate the team in the sequel, D2: The Mighty Ducks.
10) Bob Saget In Half Baked
Thanks to his role as Danny Tanner on the enormously popular Full House and as the host of America’s Funniest Home Videos, Bob Saget was a beloved family-friendly household name in the 90s.
When Saget began appearing in raunchy comedies, viewers were surprised, like when appeared as a coke fiend in Dave Chappelle’s Half Baked. It was a truly brilliant and unusual move to have America’s favorite dad in a scene set at a treatment facility where he announces, “I used to suck d*ck for coke!”
11) Blink-182 In American Pie
The original American Pie film contains a cameo from rock band Blink-182 that happened to fall during a time when the band was beginning to score major mainstream success. American Pie hit theaters in July 1999 grossing over $235 million worldwide at the box office, just one month after the band released their breakthrough Enema of the State album, which featured their biggest hit to date, “All the Small Things.”
12) Vanilla Ice In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
It may be difficult to remember what a major pop cultural moment Vanilla Ice had in 1990 and 1991, mainly because his musical success was so short-lived. His “Ice Ice Baby” was a No.1 hit and his debut album went platinum seven times. He even dated Madonna.
Ice booked a role in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Ice certainly appreciated the opportunity and later called it “one of the coolest experiences” of his career.
Which cameo was your favorite? Let us know in the comment section below!
Source: Ranker
