Important: 50 Literary Cameos in 90s Movies

But of course: Matilda herself reading Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick in Matilda (Danny DeVito, 1996).

Aldys reading As You Like It, the only book ever read or discussed in the film Never Been Kissed (Raja Gosnell, 1999). Fun fact: this movie is the film debut of James Franco.

Sam reading up on Buster Keaton in Benny & Joon (Jeremiah S. Chechik, 1993).

Belle reads Romeo and Juliet to the Beast in Beauty and the Beast (1991)—it’s a cartoon Romeo and Juliet, but it’s Romeo and Juliet all the same.

John Travolta displays his genius by reading The Collected Poems of Carl Sandburg in Phenomenon (Jon Turteltaub, 1996).

There are quite a number of literary cameos in You’ve Got Mail (Nora Ephron, 1998)—it’s a rom-com about a bookstore, after all. But the one that sticks in my mind is Kathleen reading from Roald Dahl’s Boy during story time, wearing a fun hat.

Don’t sleep on the final scene of Notting Hill (Roger Michell, 1999), in which all is bliss and Hugh Grant has the perfect wife and also tons of free time and money to sit in the park reading Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, by Louis de Bernieres. The UK edition, obviously.

In Before Sunrise (Richard Linklater, 1995), Celine reads Madame Edwarda, Le mort, Histoire de l’oeil by Georges Bataille . . .

. . . and Jesse reads Klaus Kinski’s memoir All I Need is Love. Match made in heaven.

“Credit Vixen’s” extra-curricular activities (at work) in A Night at the Roxbury (John Fortenberry, 1998) include reading Hunter S. Thompson’s Hell’s Angels.