In 1997, Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow starred in Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, about a pair of very confident best friends who nonetheless haven’t been very successful in life, so they decide to invent accomplishments for themselves when they attend their 10-year high school reunion. The movie wasn’t a giant hit upon release, but developed a cult following on home video and through repeat airings on cable TV. By 2005, that following was big enough for ABC Family to air a prequel movie: Romy and Michele: In the Beginning, featuring Katherine Heigl as Romy and Alexandra Breckenridge as Michele.

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