The Best Part of The '80's

  I have a love/hate thing with the '80's. I hate a lot of the fashions, the hairdos, the fact that coke became the cool, hip drug. But then there is a lot of the music, and of course above and beyond all else are the movies.
  "Dirty Dancing," "Flashdance," "Footloose," "The Breakfast Club," "Sixteen Candles," "St. Elmo's Fire," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Pretty In Pink," and so many others. So many that I can't even name them all. But the thing that they all had in common was they made in the '80's and they were great. ARE great. They are so silly and sweet, fun and full of life. Many of them aren't the best acted in the world but there is something about them. The high school ones, especially the ones directed and/or written by John Hughes, have a certain amount of strange realism to them. An innocence and at the same time a strength and beauty. John Hughes really seemed to understand teens in the '80's. The thing of it is though that these films transcend the time. They still make sense for today. Or really for when I was a teenager in high school.

"The Breakfast Club," and "Sixteen Candles" became two of my all time favorite movies. Actually I kind of fell in love with all things John Hughes. Well I thought it was all things John Hughes. There was something about those two movies in particular that made me feel like things were really possible. I knew that they were movies and they all had movie endings but still watching those kinds of things portrayed on the screen made it seem like someone out there in the big land of holly was thinking of the younger generation. Anyway the point is these movies were really important to me. I watched many of them over and over again and I even own most of them.

I thought I was hip to all the things that John Hughes had taken part in. Then, while Christmas shopping, I came across this book called "You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried" all about John Hughes, the teen movies of the '80's, and the "Brat Pack." Which, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the monicker, is the group of young actors that were really hot at the time. Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwold, etc. This is obviously my book. I bought it and was so excited that I started reading it that night even though I am also reading "War and Peace." I was disappointed to find that the wrtiting is really pretty weak, even boardering on bad. But the material is super intriguing and it goes through the casting, and making of many of the teen movies of that time. It's really interesting. Awful writing but interesting. And informative because I am finding out that John Hughes wrote and produced a lot of movies that I had no idea about. So that opens up a whole new world of movies. And now that he has passed it is even more important for me to see everything he had a hand in. He left behind a great legacy. If you haven't seen his stuff I recommend seeing them. It's worth it.

There are of course many other films that John Hughes had nothing to do with. The ones that meant the most to me were the dance films. Especially "Dirty Dancing," "Flashdance," "Footloose," and "Fame," (what's with the titles starting in 'F')? And though "Dirty Dancing," was a period piece, set in the early '60's, the films were all centered around the world of dance. In many different ways. "Dirty Dancing" brought to life the world of the ballroom dancing in a hip way and the underground world of "dirty" dancing. Punctuated by the bright blush of first love. "Flashdance" brings to the screen the harsh realities of being young and on your own. Jennifer Beals plays a young girl who wants nothing more then to get into the school for performing arts so that she can dance. She works two jobs, one as a welder in a factory, and the other as a stripper. And the though the film has a dark tone to it, it is filled with amazingly fun '80's style dance sequences. "Footloose" brings a whole new chapter to the dance film genre. It takes place in a small town where dancing is forbidden. Kevin Bacon, who plays the super dark and twisty handsome dance rebel, comes into town and instantly falls in love witht he most unattainable girl available. The rebellious daughter of the town preacher. The misadventures and trials that he experiences lead to one fun dance sequence after another. The ultimate being "Kevin Bacon's" solo through out the abandoned warehouse. Lots of acrobatics and gymnastic moves. Greatest was transformed from merely a word to a physical thing. And then there is "Fame" which takes place through one classes journey from audition to graduation at the New York School of Performing arts. Though it centers on all aspects of the school the dancing is a giant part. And the outfits alone make it worth while. It's a dark movie but it is excellent and in a lot of ways beautiful. 

My point in this is that these films of the '80's are still to this day an important part of our movie culture. It sounds strange but they are just as important today as they were when they were first released. In a different way maybe but they are still important. These films were the best part of the '80's. I say go forth and watch them. You will not be disappointed. At least that's what I think.