80s rule with a passion at the box office

Check out this story from msnbc.com on films of the 80s.

The Breakfast Club

I had heard a lot about the famed Breakfast Club movie. Especially when I told people I had never seen it before and they proceeded to flip out on me as if I had insulted their mama. Well, don’t tell them this because I don’t want to cause any physical harm to myself, but I really wasn’t that impressed with the movie. The characters were all very stereotypical: the jock, the preppy popular girl, the nerd, the badass, and the freak. I did like how they all hated each other and were fighting right up until the principal came in. then they had a common enemy and suddenly they were united against him and were all defending one another. Even the weirdo girl who hadn’t talked yet. Another thing I thought was funny was that the sunglasses they’re all using in the film are back in style now, I have two pairs like that. Besides the characters being a stereotypical, the plot line behind them was too. The jock was pushed to excellence so he was stressed and hated his father. The badass was mean and rude because his dad was mean and rude to him. Aside from this, I did like how they all started to understand each other and help each other with their problems. One of my favorite scenes is when the jock persuades the weirdo to share her feelings. The shots in this movie were pretty cool too, like when the badass climbed up the stairs and the camera was angled through the staircase to show him resting on his arms. I also liked how the nerd asked everyone if they would still be friends tomorrow, and how it turned out that only him and the weirdo girl were good enough people to stay friends. Everyone else, even though they looked like better candidates, admitted they wouldn’t be able to be because of the friends they have now.

Watching an “Officer and a Gentlemen”, I was faced with a ton of emotions. At the beginning, I was ready to watch some super cheesy Top Gun like movie but with the Navy and townie girls. Even though this was partially true, getting more and more into the film, I really got invested in the stories and the characters which I guess with Richard Gere, is rather easy. The training sequences weren’t boring like a thought but had you excited and worried while noticing Zach’s (Richard Gere) progress. The beginning when you learn Zach’s troubled past with a neglectful father and a mother who killed herself, you immediately want to root for him to do well in training. However, he is not the typical hero because Zach does a lot of things wrong and makes mistakes. After the cheesy lovey newly dating phase ended, you see Zach just ditch a great woman, played lovely and honestly by Debra Winger, for no reason. While it’s understandable that Zach doesn’t want to settle down with a townie he is hooking up with, the way they interacted and the way Debra Winger played Paula made you so angry at Zach (maybe even yell a little at the TV) for not seeing that he loved her and just walking away. While Paula and Lynette were somewhat of hussies, more Lynette than Paula, it’s hard not to feel bad for these girls who work in a factory with no future and doing the only thing they know, which may happen to be making pilots fall in love with them. Additionally, the relationship between Zach and the sergeant was very interesting in that as much as Zach fought it, the sergeant was there pushing him and giving him tough love which he needed. Even though it’s kind of cheesy, it was nice to see the Mr. Miyagi aspect in the film because troubled young men usually could use a mentor. Moreover, there wouldn’t be a military movie, or any kind of man-themed movie, without the bromance. However, this bromance broke my heart in that Zach helped Sid and both had their love affairs yet Sid couldn’t make it. It wasn’t bad enough that the nicest, hometown boy DORed because he couldn’t do it or that is brother died or that his heart was broken by Lynette but when he killed himself, it was a little much and overly sad. Especially since Zach had already lost his mother that way, I feel like the movie wants you to be a complete emotional mess if you can look past the Lifetime movie aspect. And of course, I’m a sucker for a happy but unrealistic ending, especially one that includes Richard Gere stepping in to save the woman. This one was extra fun because it had Richard Gere in a sergeant white uniform swoop in to kiss and save Paula from her boring small town life which is safe to say is most girl’s dream.