MOFO 80's Teen Movie Hall of Fame

Sorry all!

I sort of spaced out on this one and haven't really been keeping up. I will have to opt out at this time.

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I just sent MovieGal an updated list:


Citizen Rules 12/12 List sent in
Crossroads
Three O'Clock High
Can't Buy Me Love
Lucas
Once Bitten
Better Off Dead
Say Anything
Teen Wolf
Akira
My Bodyguard
Weird Science (optional movie)
Stand By Me
Grease 2

Edarsenal 9/12
Akira
Weird Science (optional movie)
Stand By Me
Better Off Dead
Say Anything
Crossroads
Once Bitten
Three O'Clock High
My Bodyguard
Grease 2

GBG 8/12
Can't Buy Me Love
Better Off Dead
Say Anything
Crossroads
Teen Wolf
Once Bitten
Akira
Grease 2

Joel 12/12
All Movies here

MovieGal 12/12
Once Bitten
Can't Buy Me Love
Better Off Dead
Weird Science (optional movie)
Crossroads
Teen Wolf
My Bodyguard
Stand By Me
Say Anything
Three O'Clock High
Grease 2
Akira
Lucas

Rhys 5/12
My Bodyguard
Can't Buy Me Love
Once Bitten
Crossroads
Three O'Clock High

Sedai 0/12 (said he dropped out)

Siddon 7/12
Grease 2
Can't Buy Me Love
Teen Wolf
Say Anything
Stand By Me
Better Off Dead
Once Bitten

Smudge 1/12
Teen Wolf

Usual Suspect 5/12
Once Bitten
Stand By Me
Better Off Dead
Three O'Clock High
Can't Buy Me Love

Velvet 2/12
Say Anything
Akira

Ynwtf 0/12

Not as bad as I was expecting, but still a bad movie.

While the music is nowhere near as memorable as the first, I didn't hate them. It was also funny to see people like Christopher McDonald doing his "bad boy" shtick. The acting in this is laughable, but it's obviously not trying to be good. I feel like the production of this had to have been rushed and everything was done without a finished script. So everything just sort of meanders around for a bit and I think that shows through the acting. It also shows through the music. Most of the time the music in musicals will help advance the story, but not so much here. A lot of it felt...pointless.

Something about this movie made the Pink Ladies and T-Birds...just not as cool as they are in the first.

Also...this film has the worst fake piano playing I've ever seen. It's hilarious.

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Suspect's Reviews

forgot this was a thing

sorry to hear Crossroads and Stand By Me are out, both were very solid nominations.

I just need to watch Teen Wolf and wait on Smudge and Velvet to see if I should watch their movies or not.

THANKS for the updates @MovieGal and @Citizen Rules!!!!

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Works well for this HoF.

Some people call this the perfect modern romantic comedy, I'd say that it's up there for sure. There are certainly aspects of the film though that seem out of place and weird, mainly the issues with the father going to prison. Seemed so out of place for this type of movie, but I'm sure that is what makes it stand out a bit more.

Ione Skye was great in this and made it easy for me to imagine Cusack going after her. It's weird seeing people in big famous movies and finding out they didn't have that much of a career afterwards. Don't get me wrong, she has been in a lot of stuff, just nothing of the same calibre for her. Just found out she was the mother of the child that the Zodiac picks up in Fincher's film. Such a creepy and terrifying scene.

Cusack has two films in this HoF and I never really considered him an 80's TEEN STAR, but both films are perfect for this HoF. Maybe he should have been part of the Brat Pack.

Funny, well written and has that iconic scene that has been parodied over and over again. It sounds like a Cameron Crowe movie too. Bits of dialogue I was nodding to and remembering. It's grounded in reality than other films here (aside from Teen Wolf, obviously) and I think making a film like this is harder than something like Can't Buy Me Love, Better Off Dead or Three O'Clock High. Not saying this film is better, just different.

Who said I'm out? Crossroads is still in play. Unless I've been booted. Busy end of year, folks.

Better Off Dead
Not a formal review as this is more an emotionally-charged blind praise.

This may have been my first John Cusack film ever and was my initial nomination---at least until it was rejected by MovieGal because some unworthy heathen had already nominated it (I keed, I keed. I u all very much). I remember adoring this one watching it over and over on HBO during my summer breaks from grade school. I’m pretty sure I have a VHS bootleg hiding somewhere around the house, I watched it that much. I read in an earlier review that this movie was a bit all over the place in plot distractions but, to be honest, that is exactly why I connected with it as a kid. And I still do.

Nearly every line in this movie had been irreparably etched into the soft, fatty tissue of my then impressionable mind. Though it has been some number of years since my last viewing, I found that while watching Better Off Dead my mouth was slowly finding the nearly forgotten motions to state and answer much of the memorial dialogue as it played out before me. To this day, if any opportunity presents itself, I will shout, ”I want my two dollars!!!!” to a store clerk (or anyone I randomly want to throw obscure 80’s references to, for that matter).

I absolutely relate to Cusack’s Meyer character from the obsessive pessimistic outlook of a world broken by an ex-girlfriend to the seemingly completely random, over-romanticized fantasies triggered by nothing more than the illogical associations of a hyperactive youth. This was MY childhood, and I projected myself into every scene Lane found himself in. Well, expect for the skiing bits. We don’t have mountains in Alabama. Or snow. But I did play the alto saxophone, so there’s that.

I tried to push back for objectivity and to tell myself that this movie should not work today. But it simply does. Perhaps the nostalgia force is just too strong in this one but, for me at least, the jokes still land perfectly with Classic Cusack’s straight delivery of even the most absurd. I can find no fault here. Except for the synthesized saxophone solo while trying to impress Monique that night in Pig Burgers. Cuz, I played sax. Sounded fake to me. STILL THOUGH! What a great, fun watch.

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remaining reviews/comments en route.

Akira no longer takes place in the future ladies and gentlemen, it is now 2019.

Debate about whether or not this qualifies as an 80's teen movie is odd. It doesn't feel like one, but it fits the "requirements". Nevertheless, I feel like this film won't fare well because it still doesn't 'feel' like the rest. Regardless how good the film may be.

When I first watched this film, I hated it. In my review I criticized the length (which is still a problem) the climax (Which is still iffy) and basically failing to live up to the "masterpiece anime" status that it is given so often. While I didn't hate the film, I'm still not in love with it.

The animation is still fire though, looking great and better than some anime drawn today. The world is gorgeous and a lot of love and attention to detail is present. That cannot be denied, there is a lot of love and talent associated with Akira. The action sequences are fun and bloody. It hits the anime check boxes and has just enough of as weird feel to it to make it somewhat obtuse. I appreciate that.

Overall though, I still couldn't get into it 100%. Something about the film is holding me back, I can't go 100% with it. Akira is everything that makes a good movie good, but for me the sum of its parts are a little less. I'm conflicted on the score, so I'll leave it 'scoreless' for now.

I once heard that people say it clicks after seven viewings. I've lost count of how many times I've seen it (at least thirteen or fifteen, maybe?) and it's an all-time fave so I suppose I'll agree with that but I guess that depends on how much value you put into re-watching films that are initially hard to comprehend/enjoy. I'm also guessing that it doesn't feel like an '80s teen movie because it technically doesn't take place during the '80s.

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It doesn't, but that wasn't a requirement. It just feels weird to have an 80's Teen HoF and have movies like Stand By Me and Akira not really jive with Better Off Dead or Teen Wolf.

It's a teen movie in the same sense that Die Hard is a Christmas movie.

Three O'Clock High

I have decided to do away with viewing order to place my review of Three O’Clock High immediately after my comments on Better Off Dead. Of my watched list so far, I feel that these two are more the fraternal twins of each other that sort of belong together, the way perhaps Superman and Bizarro Superman pair off (conceptually, not sexually). That may be too strong. Maybe a better analogy would be like cheese on bread? No, someone may be lactose intolerant and heaven forbid if someone might have a thing against gluten. Hm, I have it! Three O’Clock High and Better Off Dead are the Corey Haims and Corey Feldman of my 80s cinematic list. Yes. That feels appropriate.

Anyway, to the review!

While I simply adore every detail about Better Off Dead (except for the wooing sax-o-ma-phone track, as noted in my previous comments for Better Off Dead, mind you), I am begrudged to admit that Three O’Clock High is a far superior movie. As far as 80s teen movies go, at least. While the humor and situations were not as relatable to me as Cusack’s Lane Myer’s constant accidental and elaborate distractions, Siemaszko’s Jerry Mitchell still managed to keep a straight face during the comedic deliveries that were more practical and approachable for most kids in high school. In spite of all his setbacks, Mitchell kept his chin up and overcame his adversities in the end while, in comparison, Myer simply happened upon resolution in spite of his relentless self-loathing and resignment to fate.

Three O’Clock High was actually very well done. Camera work was quite lovely, given the genre and risk of being swallowed by then 80’s teen trope. With speed zooms, creative transitions from scene to scene, and the ever-present ticking clock, the pace stays fresh and lively. And that clock! It never leaves Mitchell or the audience alone to drift too long before reminding us all that yes, time is passing and in a few precious revolutions of the hour hand, Mitchell will die. And not in a cool Skate or Die coin-op kind of way. I kept thinking throughout this movie that this is probably what Mad Max in high school was probably like, with that damn aggressive camera man constantly running up on him. I enjoyed it though. There was a crane shot near the end of the big fight that impressed me with the detail the director placed into this film. Not to spoil anything (I assume you’ve all seen it by now), but when Mitchell is given Buddy’s brass knuckles by his sister (btw, an 80’s flick with a HELPFUL sibling?! unHEARD of, but appreciated!), he of course drops and hides his hand when returning to his bout. The camera, however, starts a low-orbiting shot briefly reminding us that he does have this new advantage. The shot continues its pan and pulls to behind Buddy, providing us his perspective, unaware that the weapon is now in Mitchell’s hand. I just thought that was a very nice and elaborate camera motion that didn’t have to be there. That it was there, shows a more involved commitment to communication than any scene from Better Off Dead offered.

Though I had forgotten about this movie completely, I am happy to revisit it now because I can honestly appreciate so much more of it than I could have when slapstick was more of an influence for me. I now feel that this one belongs in a new evolutionary trinity somewhere between Better Off Dead and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Great selection, and thanks for the reminder. Oh, and a young George Bluth Sr. Jeffrey Tambor?! Magnificent!

Stand by Me

This will be a short commentary on the movie, Stand by Me. I remember watching this at release and thoroughly enjoying it. I remember feeling nostalgic for the music, the cars, the clothing, language and slang (though the world in which these characters existed was well out of my time of reference). I remember feeling emotions and laughter as these young boys discovered the depths of their bonds as well as their mortality in context of a world they took for granted, as all youth do. However, watching this again with my nephew many of these remembrances were probably more affected by the world in which I lived at the time of release in context of my own childhood looking for a transitional medium into pseudo adulthood. This movie made me feel mature because it was, at the time, more than I had experienced at that point in my life. Now that I have half or more of my life behind me, I can reflect further on the connecting dots that this movie provided me in my youth and recognize that, for the most part, they were shallow and superficial.

I do not mean to imply that the themes presented were empty; not at all. As an adult having experienced my own loss and pains of change, I see now that what I connected with through the characters of Stand by Me was only really an approximation of what I assumed were genuine adult themes. I think the best reference that I can offer came when the boys were sitting around their campfire, having just finished eating, telling stories, and burning marshmallows. The scene cuts, the rhythm slows, then one of the boys takes a sheepish drag on a cigarette and punctuates the very adult action by saying, “Nothing like a smoke after meal.” A statement clearly parroted, having likely witnessed his parents or other adults perhaps in television or print ads claim. Perhaps in a writer’s nod of complete self-awareness, Teddy then awkwardly replies, “Yeah. These are the moments I cherish.” Of course the boys laugh and mock him. Such a statement really doesn’t belong in the lexicon of a boy whose daily life includes rating who would best each other in a fight: Superman or Might Mouse. But this was my latest emotion while re-watching the movie. Stand by Me was my cherished moment as a kid, at the time only perceiving the shell of its intent and confidently believing my understanding that this is growing up. Unfortunately, I believe that this perception is all that this movie offered in nostalgic pop-music, cars, clothing, language and slang---all of the motions, but no true substance or understanding. Youthful and naive.

8 out of 12


Siddon 7/12
Grease 2
Can't Buy Me Love
Teen Wolf
Say Anything
Stand By Me
Better Off Dead
Once Bitten

I still need to see Grease 2..that outta do it. I was going to expand on my reviews but I think I've said enough concerning the movies. I cringe when I read some of my stuff back so..maybe skip that step just this time lol.

I will say that Akira - I just could not invest one fober of my being into that film and it is nothing personal against you, @Siddon. I think it was a unique decision to include it...but I loathe anime..and a lot of animation in film. I love art and drawing..I just cannot invest into anime/animation for some reason I cannot express in words at this time.