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My Mom Says All Young People Need To Watch These 12 Iconic Movies

My mom says all young people need to watch these iconic movies. Truthfully, this article is a rebuttal to my Dad’s “must watch” movie list. I was up in New…

Ayla Brown and mother, Gail Huff

My Mom has great taste in movies if you ask me! Check out her list of “must watch” movies all young people should watch.

Ayla Brown

My mom says all young people need to watch these iconic movies.

Truthfully, this article is a rebuttal to my Dad's "must watch" movie list. I was up in New Hampshire on July 4th weekend and our family was trying to find a movie to watch (as always). That's when my Dad began talking about all of the older movies of the 70's and 80's being better movies. I asked him to give me his list of movies that all Millennials and Gen Z'ers need to watch. This is the list of 12 movies he came up with:

My Dad's Movie List

My Mom Had Some Opinions On Movies Too

My Mom and Dad love movies. It's how they got to know each other back in the 80's. Their first date was to the movie theater and they've loved watching movies together ever since. But here's the thing. They have totally different taste in movies!

I sat down with my Mom and asked her to give me her top 12 movies that she thought all young people needed to watch at some point in their lives. And this was the list that she gave me.

Truthfully speaking, my Mom and I have similar taste in movies. I love some of the choices she made, but there are two on her list that I haven't seen: Mad Max and Broadcast News. But I will definitely watch these at some point in the near future.

Another movie on her "must watch" list is The Wizard of Oz. As it should be! That is such a classic movie. It's truly part of history with the technicolor and the green witch makeup. I actually wrote a blog about all of the cool things you probably didn't know about the movie. You can read that here.

wizard of oz

My Mom loves the Wizard of Oz, and for good reason, it's a great movie! (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

So, take a trip down memory lane and relive my Mom's favorite movies.

12 Iconic Movies My Mom Thinks All Young People Should Watch

Mad Max - (The Series)

"Because who doesn't want to see the future? Also, Tina Turner's role in 'Thunderdome' is classic. She was also one of my favorite artists of all time."

Wizard of Oz - 1939

"Because it brings back childhood memories. I'm from the Midwest where tornadoes are a real fear and the Wizard of Oz was both terrifying and magical at the same time."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njdreZRjvpc

Sound of Music - 1965

"When I was a little girl, the only record we had in the house was from The Sound of Music, so I know every song by heart."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_3T4DGw10U

Dirty Dancing - 1987

"It's a teenage girl's 'coming of age' movie that hits all the right notes."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIcmQNy9FsM

Top Gun - 1986

"I think I fell in love with all pilots after watching this movie. What girl didn't?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa_z57UatDY

A Star Is Born - 1976

"Barbara Streisand's brilliance made every young woman yearn to be a star."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=838aCpFNpjA

Fatal Attraction - 1987

"To this day I'm still afraid of pet rabbits. And I didn't know that women could be so cruel."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf8gh_d7Z6k

Grease - 1978

"I love the 50's doo-op music and Oliva Newton-John."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDKo8DNpwOw

Scrooged - 1988

"I like the way it takes The Charles DIcken's classic and twists it to a modern Christmas miracle Bill Murry's best work!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YjrsSEEreY

Broadcast News - 1987

"The movie taught me, there's no crying in the news business. I was in the news business for 30 years and I still remember this movie like it was yesterday. There's a classic scene where Holly Hunter cries before she goes to work. It felt so real to me and I totally understood where she was coming from."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fuhxg3mkiIw

Beauty And The Beast - 1991

"The music in this movie is upbeat and fun! It was my daughter, Ayla's favorite when she was little, and now it's my grandaughter, CeCe's favorite movie. I loved singing along with Ayla and I love singing along with CeCe!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iurbZwxKFUE

Forrest Gump - 1994

"Tom Hanks is so perfect in this movie that you forget he's acting. I loved the story line and agree with his life philosophy, that 'life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.'"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLvqoHBptjg

Ayla Brown has been an on-air morning show host with Country 102.5 since 2018. Before taking this once-in-a-lifetime job, Ayla was (and still is) a country music singer. In 2006, she placed 13th on American Idol. In 2012 and 2013 she celebrated her Grand Ole Opry and Ryman Auditorium debut, and over the years she has visited 13 countries overseas to sing for the American Troops. Country music is in Ayla Brown’s soul. Not only does she sing it, but she gets to talk about it every day on “Country Mornings with Jonathan and Ayla.” Ayla is happily married to singer-songwriter, Rob Bellamy, and they welcomed a son named Barrett in August of 2022. In her free time, she loves to sew baby bibs and experiment with new recipes in the kitchen. She also loves to travel and try new foods. Ayla writes about Boston area happenings, parenting, holistic lifestyle and living, and travel.