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If there’s one buzzword that has come out of our current cultural obsession with all things pumpkin flavored, it’s “basic.” Typically, it’s a term used to describe a group of people (primarily white women) who appear to fully embrace an obsession with the lowest-common dominator of aesthetics and tastes. Like other words like “hipster” or “bro,” “basic” is the kind of word that mostly white people use to describe other white people who seemingly embody a banal lifestyle that isn’t endlessly curated. It basically says more about the person who says it than it does the person it supposedly describes.

Having said all of that, I figured it’d still be fun to figure out an exhaustive, completely objective, and absolutely definitive ranking of the most basic movies ever made. Does your favorite movie make you basic?

Previously:
The 100 Most Basic Movies #100-81
The 100 Most Basic Movies #80-61

60. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

So many people have been like, “this movie isn’t basic!” and I’ve said, “Oh really? Have you ever gone to a Halloween party with other white people?” This is the movie for people who still think quirkiness is an underground lifestyle. [Where to stream The Royal Tenenbaums]

59. Armageddon (1998)

Back in ’98, all of the basics were held in the steady grip of Ben Affleck wooing Liv Tyler with animal crackers while that goddamn Aerosmith song swelled from multiplex speakers. (It’s a shame Earth wasn’t destroyed by that asteroid, really.) [Where to stream Armageddon]

58. Old School (2003)

Man, if only there were more movies about old guys shirking their responsibilities and acting like dudes 20 years their junior. What a refreshing concept! This movie is for people who legitimately miss drinking Natty Light.[Where to stream Old School]

57. Romeo + Juliet (1996)

Leonardo DiCaprio’s pretty face proved that you can get teenagers interested in William Shakespeare. Adding pop music and music-video editing certainly doesn’t hurt, either. [Where to stream Romeo + Juliet]

56. Once (2006)

This is the kind of musical for people who tell you they hate musicals, but do love sad-sack acoustic rock performed by sexless Irish guys. [Where to stream Once]

55. Chicago (2002)

Mya was in this movie. Mya. [Where to stream Chicago]

54. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

Do you really want to live in a world in which Matthew Broderick is the epitome of cool? No danke schön. [Where to stream Ferris Bueller’s Day Off]

53. Animal House (1978)

That poster of John Belushi’s “COLLEGE” sweatshirt you had on your dorm room wall is about as basic as it gets. [Where to stream National Lampoon’s Animal House]

52. Rain Man (1988)

There’s nothing that describes Oscar-bait more than the phrase “Dustin Hoffman plays autistic.” And people really eat this one up, huh? [Where to stream Rain Man]

51. Remember the Titans (2000)

Another inspirational football movie? This one has a twist: racism! [Where to stream Remember the Titans]

50. Steel Magnolias (1989)

This is perhaps the most influential film in the Southern-women-sitting-around-chattin’ genre with enough quotable quips that will endear you to any gay man you meet. (All of your gays are named Mark, Rick, or Steve.) [Where to stream Steel Magnolias]

49. The King’s Speech (2010)

Sure, the King of England seems like he’d be totally unrelatable, but he totally hates public speaking as much as the rest of us. [Where to stream The King’s Speech]

48. Jerry Maguire (1996)

Is there another movie that is a bigger assemblage of catchphrases? Plus, there’s the combination of a slightly emotionally unavailable guy going head-t0-head with an adorable and precocious little kid with thick glasses. [Where to stream Jerry Maguire]

47. Mean Girls (2004)

How weird is it that this movie features an outsider going undercover as a basic bitch to learn what basic truly means? It’s a double espresso shot of basic in a Starbucks latte. [Where to stream Mean Girls]

46. The Sound of Music (1965)

Singing nuns are always a hit, but this movie really ups the ante with a band of singing children and singing Nazis. [Where to stream The Sound of Music]

45. The Lion King (1994)

If you aren’t already destroyed by the murder of a child’s father, you’ll really be torn apart when the child is in fact an adorable little lion who sings Elton John songs. [Where to stream The Lion King]

44. Notting Hill (1999)

Oh, does Hugh Grant play an awkward, stuttering, British nerd who somehow charms the pants off an American woman who is way out of his league? [Where to stream Notting Hill]

43. Field of Dreams (1989)

If you watch it, you will cry. You will cry about baseball. And dead dads. And probably about J.D. Salinger, too.[Where to stream Field of Dreams]

42. Good Will Hunting (1997)

This movie proves that basic bros from Southie have feelings, too. [Where to stream Good Will Hunting]

41. The Big Lebowski (1998)

Hey, wanna get high as hell and dress in cargo shorts and Hawaiian shirts (very Normcore) and repeat lines from a movie about a wacky loser in his late ’40s as if everything he said was equivalent to everything you learned in PHIL 101? Cool, me too, dude. [Where to stream The Big Lebowski]

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Photos: Everett Collection