We used to watch these movies all the time
It feels like an eternity ago (and it actually is): the time when you were overjoyed to add a new DVD to your chick flick collection. No teenage room was complete without a shelf containing the most popular movies of the 2000s, from which a film was carefully fished out at every sleepover. Of course, we all had our favorites, and I'm sure you also wore out at least one of these films back in the day.
Mean Girls
Okay, we can all agree on this, right? This movie was ‘so fetch’! The first time I watched Mean Girls, a whole new world opened up for me, and I immediately integrated their fashion rules into my own life. I really managed to stick to ‘On Wednesdays we wear pink’ for a good year, and I have no regrets.
The Notebook
Crying, sobbing, and sniffling. This movie gave you all the feels and was probably your go-to distraction when you experienced yet another oh-so-painful teenage breakup. With The Notebook, you could cry it out, swoon over all the scenes with (a then-young) Ryan Gosling, and your faith in love was restored in no time.
How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days
I am absolutely convinced that scoring the yellow dress that Andie Anderson wore in this film would solve all my problems. I was obsessed with this movie and studied the way she played Benjamin Berry (a.k.a. Matthew McConaughey) with utmost precision. After all, I was already 14, and you never know when such information might come in handy.
13 Going On 30
The crush I have on young Mark Ruffalo is indescribable. He still looks great, but in 13 Going On 30, I thought he was so handsome. Thanks to this movie, I couldn't wait to be 30 so I could work as a successful editor in a big city with a cocktail in my hand and a handsome boyfriend by my side. Pretty well accomplished, if I say so myself!
Bring It On
‘I’m sexy, I’m cute, I’m popular to boot!’ How disappointed were you that there was no cheersquad in the Netherlands? Although I would probably have been very bad at it, I could see myself walking through school in slow motion in one of those red-and-white outfits. Unfortunately, that has remained a dream to this day, and maybe that's for the best. A 30-year-old wannabe cheerleader is also something extremely sad, don't you think?
Step Up
Let me take you back to 2006, when we were all simultaneously in love with Channing Tatum and couldn't stand Jenna Dewan because she had managed to snag him. I was little interested in the dancing and the story of the film, but this DVD had to endure a lot with my 13-year-old self who needed a Channing Tatum fix at least twice a month.
The Princess Diaries
Everything about this movie was illogical. The country where Mia (Anne Hathaway) suddenly became a princess didn't exist, the coronation took place in America where all the important people from that fictional country had traveled to, and Anne Hathaway was portrayed as an ugly duckling. Yet watching this movie was a treat every time. Besides the belief that you could suddenly find out that you are the daughter of a crown prince, we enjoyed the delightful performances of Julie Andrews, 2000s heartthrob Erik von Detten, and a mega cringy performance by Mandy Moore. In one word: iconic.
Clueless
‘As IF!’ was definitely your catchphrase after you saw this movie for the first time. That you were only eleven and leading a perfectly normal life in a small village in the Netherlands didn't dampen the fun. From the very first moment you dove into Cher Horowitz's life, you knew for sure: you too would one day become the it-girl of the school with a revolving closet at your disposal: the dream of every ‘90s kid.
Image: Wallpaper / Netflix
