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The buddy-cop formula that minted a movie star. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as Miami narcotics detectives, propelled by Michael Bay's visual maximalism and the Simpson/Bruckheimer sheen. It started as a vehicle for Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz; recast with two sitcom leads, it became something no one expected—a $141 million global hit built on pure chemistry.
The Fresh Prince goes solo — and takes over the planet. 'Gettin' Jiggy Wit It,' 'Miami,' 'Just the Two of Us': radio-owning, profanity-free hip-hop from the guy who was simultaneously the biggest movie star alive. Nineteen ninety-eight belonged to Will.
NBC's six-season hit brought hip-hop culture to mainstream network TV, launching Will Smith from music-industry crisis to acting stardom. A sitcom pitched by music manager Benny Medina about his own rags-to-riches story, it gave the world one of the most recited theme songs ever — and Alfonso Ribeiro's Carlton Dance defined a generation's pop-culture moves.
The White House explodes. Will Smith punches an alien and delivers the one-liner. Jeff Goldblum uploads a virus from a PowerBook. The movie that made July 4th weekend a permanent blockbuster holiday — and the biggest film of 1996 by a mile.
Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in black suits and shades, policing the aliens already living in Manhattan. The neuralyzer flash, the talking pug, and a theme song you could not escape made this one of the defining blockbusters of summer 1997.