Arthur

Dudley Moore does a fabulous job at playing a drunken, immature socialite who has wasted his entire life living lavishly off his father's money without doing so much as lifting a finger. No wonder this was a top grossing film of the 80s; it represents everything the 80s was all about. It showcases the 80s all-about-me mentality and how it was the age of excess indulgence and carefree consumption. Blissfully unaware of the struggles of a real life, Arthur Bach, a drunken playboy, has lived off his father's money his entire life, however, his parents are tired of his playboy ways now and give him an ultimatum, either he finds a wife and gets married or he doesn't inherit any of their fortune.

Unfortunately, the leading lady and subsequent love interest of Arthur is played by Liza Minelli, who is not in the least bit attractive. Her character in the movie would be an unlikely candidate of Arthur's love. She is the complete opposite of him, growing up with only a father and barely any income. She speaks with an awful accent and appears uneducated if not completley socially inept. Arthur first meets her while shopping in Bergdorf Goodman, except she is not shopping, she is shop-lifting. Arthur comes to her rescue and a relationship ensues between the two. Unfortunately, she is not the type of girl that his parents had in mind to become his wife. They were hoping for a girl of high social status and money equal to their status, not an unattractive poor girl from Queens. Despite the unrealistic aspect of a relationship actually occurring between Arthur and Linda, one does materialize and Dudley Moore does a fabulous job at showing a man truly in love with all the endearing qualities associated with a new love.

This movie is entertaining and, in my opinion, an excellent example of the true essence of the 80s mentality. It should be watched and appreciated by all.

Patrick Swayze sure can dance....

Ever since I first saw this movie, I have spent the majority of my time in pools practicing the moves from the lake scene. Although I have never attempted the jump-catch-and-soar move clad in all white clothing while in water, opting for a bathingsuit instead, I have always found this scene to be my favorite from the 1987 film, Dirty Dancing, although the "No one puts Baby in the corner" scene is definitely a close second. With an all-star cast of the incredible dancing genius Patrick Swayze, the pre-nose-job Jennifer Grey and the late law and order star Jerry Orbach, Dirty Dancing has proved to be a timeless 80s flick.

The movie centers around "Baby" (Jennifer Grey) who has come to stay for a two-week vacation at the Mountain Lake Hotel in Pembroke, Virginia. Baby finds herself caught in a world of 'dirty dancing' after she stumbles upon a "secret" staff party late one night while wandering around the hotel grounds. She is sworn to secrecy and told not to ever come back, but ofcourse, Baby has been bit by the curious bug and can't get enough. She is enticed and sucked into the world of dirty dancing, even though none of the other staff members like her, especially not Patrick Swayze's character, Johnny, and his knocked-up dancing partner Penny, she proceeds to keep coming back to their secret hang out. After she finds out that Penny is pregnant, she takes it upon herself to help, enlisting the medical services of her father to fix the shoddy abortion job Penny received from a sketchy doctor. Because of her operation, Penny cannot perform in the final performance of the year, so Baby comes to the rescue once again. She offers to take Penny's place in the final dance, however, she has no idea how to dance. This means she will need to spend the rest of her free time with the studdly Johnny, learning the dance moves and eventually sparking a romantic relationship. She begins as a clumsy dancer with no talent and she annoys Johnny with her ineptness. However, she refuses to give up and finally is able to perform in the final performance, with only a few slip ups only apparent to her and Johnny, and she finally lands the most difficult move for her, the move where she must run and leap into Johnny's arms as he holds her entire body up above his head.

The movie comments on social classes, with the relationships both Baby and her sister have with the "help" and the subsequent response from their father, who is greatly disappointed and disapproves immensley. Despite the social class implications, the movie is entertaining and clearly awe-inspiring for a six year old girl who seeks to emulate dance moves in pools.

In Your Eyes

Say Anything is a typical teen 80s movie about a boy who falls in love with a girl who is out of his league. John Cusak plays Lloyd Dobler, a run of the mill guy who doesnt really have anything special going for him. Ione Skye plays Diane Court, a beautiful, smart girl who lives with her single father, John Mahoney, and is getting ready to go to college. Lloyd calls and asks Diane to a party after graduation, and to his and everybody else's surprise, she says yes. At the party, Diane talks to his friends, and finds out that he is actually a pretty good guy. She ends up falling for him; however, he over-bearing father does not approve of the romance. She is supposed to be going to England for a summer scholarship program and her father does not want her to jeopardize the opportunity. They typical image from this film is Llyod standing outside of her window with a jukebox overhead playing Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes. Llyod's extravagant, yet romantic gesture gets her attention and makes her realize that she truly does love him and wants to be with him.

Amadeus

Because of its 18th century setting, Milos Forman’s Amadeus (1984) initially appears to be an atypical 80s film. Look more closely, however, and you’ll realize that its appearance can be deceiving. Illustrated by the contrast between Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham) and his contemporary, Wofgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce), Amadeus abounds with the popular 80s theme of nonconformity.

Initially a pious Catholic, Salieri begged God to help him be a musician in exchange for a life of chastity and frugality. A conformer, Salieri’s music is unremarkable but acceptable to his patron, the Habsburg emperor Joseph II. Nevertheless, Salieri bitterly recognizes the mediocrity of his own compositions. The talent he spent many years struggling to acquire comes naturally, effortlessly, and in far superior measure to Mozart. Ironically, Mozart’s middle name, “Amadeus,” means “one who loves God” or “loved by God.” Unable to accept that God would grace such an arrogant boor with musical genius, Salieri rejects his faith and vows to ruin Mozart.


The brilliant Mozart, for his part, only conforms enough to make ends meet. He wears outrageous clothing (such as a wild pink wig), lives beyond his means, and both drinks and parties excessively. Even though he needs the money, he refuses to take on students because he says that would be boring and a waste of his talents. He deigns to permit noblemen, churchmen, or wealthy men to be his patrons but composes what he wants, not necessarily what they want. Combined with his uncouth behavior, the “distasteful” content of Mozart’s operas is enough to seriously offend these patrons. As Mozart says, “Forgive me, Majesty. I am a vulgar man! But I assure you, my music is not.”

I won’t spoil the film’s ending for you by describing how Mozart meets his early death and what happens to Salieri afterwards. There is a certain amount of ironic and poetic justice in it, but if you want to find out why, go watch Amadeus yourself!

For more information, see:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadeus
• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086879/

Academy Awards and Nominations

• Won: Best Actor in a Leading Role (F. Murray Abraham); Best Art Direction-Set Direction; Best Costume Design; Best Director; Best Makeup; Best Picture; Best Sound; Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
• Nominated: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Tom Hulce); Best Cinematography; Best Film Editing

Trivia:

• Jeffrey Jones (Principal Rooney in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) plays Emperor Joseph II

That's not a knife, that's a knife

Crocodile Dundee is a film about a New York newspaper journalist who travels to Australia to investigate the legend of a “crocodile man” named Mick Dundee who survived a vicious crocodile attack in the outback. Her investigation leads her into a foreign world that greatly contrasts her big city lifestyle, and she ends up falling in love with Mick, even though she has a relationship back home. She learns about the ways of the aborigines and how Mick grew up in this land that seems so primitive to her. After her visit she convinces Mick to come back to New York with her so she can continue her story and so that he can see what the big city is like. The outsider roles are then reversed and Mick finds himself in a strange world and struggles to fit in, however he becomes a town favorite and is loved by everyone he meets. His struggles are hilarious and he stands out like a sore thumb, providing much entertainment in this film. He encounters transvestites, muggers, and bidets that give him some confusion.


Overall, this film was enjoyable to watch and the plot is interesting. Definitely a classic 80’s film with a very distinct 80’s soundtrack, and some references to 80’s society such as cocaine use, and the importance of money. My favorite scene has to be when the muggers try to attack him with a small switchblade and he pulls out his huge bowie knife, sending them running away in fear. I recommend this one if you want some laughs on a free Saturday afternoon.

No one will really be free until nerd persecution ends!

Revenge of the Nerds is a story about the underdog coming out on top. The story begins with us seeing Louis , a "nerd", and his buddy Gilbert leave for there first year in college. They are excited and ready for whatever College brings them...or are they. The minute they get there they are categorized as nerds and are kicked out of their rooms and must sleep in the gym with all the other nerds. A few of the boys come together and decide to form their own fraternity, Lambda Lambda Lambda. Together, the boys create great bonds of friendship, and get back at the Jocks that have made fun of them all their lives. In the end, the nerd gets the cheerleader and the guys come out on top.

This movie is filled with stereotypes. First of all, the nerds are exaggerated to the extreme. Some of them, like Gilbert and Louis have the glasses, the pocket protectors, the whole deal. The jocks of the films are complete meatheads. All they care about is football and they are Complete idiots.

Besides the film being hysterical, there is a moral to the film as well. It is wrong to categorize people into groups and then ostracize them. In this film, the jocks learn there lesson and the nerds get their "revenge."

R.I.P. River Phoenix

Running on Empty is about a family of fugitives on the run. Chrtistine Lahti and Judd Hirsch play Annie and Arthur Pope, antiwar activists who blew up a napalm lab at the University of Massachusets in the early 1970s. They have managed to escape the law by changing locations and identities while dragging their sons along with them. They move about evey six months, lie to the schools about the kids' records, get clothes from lost and founds, and change license plates on stolen cars. When Aruthur Pope goes to a source to get their new identities, she tells him that his mother died a month ago from cancer, but he was too hard to reach. They have sacrificed their entire lives to avoid getting caught by the FBI. River Phoenix plays their older son Danny, and when he meets a girl he wants to stop running from something that he had no control over. He is at the age when he should be applying to colleges, but because of their lifestyle he is unable to. He finally tells Lorna, the girl, about his family's history and she convinces him to talk to his parents. Danny is a talented piano player and his music teacher, who is also Lorna's father, convinces him to apply to Julliard. He ends up applying behind his parents back and is accepted to the prestigious academy. His father says that he cannot go to college for fear that they will be found out. However, his mother goes to her own father and asks him to care for Danny so that he can lead a normal life. Danny has to make a difficult decision, live a life for himself, or be separated from his family forever. In the end, his parents give him the freedom to choose for himself, and he decides to go to college. They want him to be able to have his own life and do with it as he pleases.

This film is a political commentary about the Vietnam war and the many people who protested it. In one part of the film an old friend comes to visit the Popes and tries to get Arthur to rob a bank. He calls his children down and shows them the guns that his friend has and tells them that violence is not what they are about. They were simply trying to protest something that they disagreed with. The friend ends up robbing the bank and getting killed, but not before jeopardizing the Popes' identity. They have to move on and leave Danny behind to start a life fot himself.

It's Like Totally Awesome! For Sure!

In Valley Girl, Julie played by Deborah Foreman breaks up with her tubular boyfriend, Tommy, and meets Randy, Nicolas Cage, who is a rad guy from Hollywood. Julie and her friends are from the Valley where "Like" is every other word and people from the outside are just not welcomed. When Julie starts ditching her friends to hang out with Randy and forgettting about what is important to her, such as being class representative, her friends decide that it is time to intervene, it is either them or Randy. She decides to get back together with her old boyfriend unitl Randy tells her that he loves her and dedicates a song to her on the radio. She still goes to prom with Tommy, but Randy crashes prom and steals her away. Thier love is so strong, Randy "would stop the world and melt with her". They of course end up together, as in almost every teenage love story. Julie follows her heart and decides that Randy is more important than her popularity ar school.

a classic?

I've never actually seen Dirty Dancing before, but I'd heard many people say that it was their favorite movie, so I thought it would be a great viewing experience of a classic 80s film. However, I was disappointed. The film wasn't bad, but it was nothing to get excited about. I thought that it was mostly cheesy and predictable, typical of an 80s dance film like Footloose.

The film takes place in the 1960s, and is about Baby (what kind of name is that?), a rich girl who wants to escape her sterile environment. She finds that escape with Johnny Castle, a lower-class dance instructor at the high-class summer camp in the Catskills where she vacations with her family. After his partner has to have an abortion (illegal at that time), which Baby helps her with, Baby volunteers to take her place for the climactic dancing show at the end. But, surprise, conflict ensues from her growing relationship with Johnny, as her father disapproves and as Baby tries to bridge the two worlds.

As I said, this film was extremely predictable. It was pretty easy to see that a romance would grow between Baby and Johnny and that her family would disapprove, but that everything would resolve itself in the end. It seemed to take place in the 1960s for purely derivative purposes, not to make any statements on the era, because the "dirty dancing" would have been more scandalous at that time and because the abortion was a good plot device. However, unlike in Footloose, there is no real conflict over the supposed sexual or dangerous nature of the dancing, since the film focused almost exclusively on the romance. However, I guess the abortion plotline was making a political statement, since this film was made in the more conservative Reagan years. The film also had a theme familiar to other 80s films such as Pretty in Pink, the conflict between the upper and lower classes. Baby's parents don't like her dating a lower class man, and Baby seems like a spoiled poser to Johnny's friends.

Overall, I thought the film was pretty boring and predictable, nowhere close to the classic that I've heard other people call it. I guess the best aspect of it was the dancing, which was well filmed, and the famous soundtrack, such as the classic song "Time of My Life." But it's nothing to rave about, and I'm still confused over Johnny's famous line that "Nobody puts Baby in a corner," which was pretty much a non-sequiter.

Porkys

This film is about a group of high school students whose entire lives revolve around sex, and when they are finally going to have it. It is set during the 1950s in the south where racism runs deep and the confederate flag flies high. The boys go to a strip club in the next town over and try to get some time alone with the ladies, for a small fee. The club owner, Porky, fools them into thinking that they are going to get what they want, but when the boys are in a dark room awaiting their surpirise, he drops them into the lake outside. Porky's brother is the sherrif in the town and he comes to help Porky get rid of the high schoolers. The sherrif knocks out their headlights and fines them for it, hoping that they will never visit the establishment again. The boys have other plans and they plot their revenge against Porky and his brother throughout the film. In the end the high schoolers destroy Porky's club and get away with it. One of the boys' brother is the sherrif of their town so he reminds Porky that the boys are underage, so there is nothing he can do.

Racism is brought up throughout the film, and it drives several of the decisions made by the boys. Derrogatory terms are used for African Americans and Jews by the boys. In one scene in the locker room, one of the boys is trying to call a Jewish classmate a name but he gets it confused and says he wants to go fly a kite. In the end, the boy who used this term and the Jewish boy become friends and join forces to get Porky.

Before slutty Samantha in Sex and the City, Kim Cattrall plays Ms. Honeywell, a slutty gym teacher. She has sex with one of the gym coaches during the school day when all of the students can hear. She says that she doesn't go all the way, but clearly that is not the case. She is threatened to be fired, but it does not stop her.