The Jerk 1979

"I think next week I'll be able to send some more money as I may have extra work. My friend Patty promised me a blow job." --Navin Johnson in a letter home to his family.

I know what you're thinking: "This isn't an eighties film--it was made in 79!" Please, calm down, take a seat, we can make this work.

Although The Jerk isn't technically a film of the 80's, it does contain subject matter similar to the other eighties films we've studied. Navin Johnson, played by a hilarious and naive Steve Martin, realys his rags-to-riches then back-to-rags but then lifted-up-again-into-riches story. A pasty white man born into a black family, Martin has to venture out of his rural Mississippi household and discover his place among white Americans.

Navin drifts around from job to job, living a simple and happy life and wooing the girl of his dreams. But, once someone takes off with his invention, the "Optigrab," a handle for eye-glasses, and sends him millions of dollars as ten million people buy the product, Navin becomes the exact opposite kind of person he was in Mississippi. He begins to love material things, and the relationship between he and his love Marie falls apart.

Navin hits rock bottom when the product makes people go cross-eyed and he is sued for all of his money. Leaving his wife, he says, "All I need is this ashtray, this paddle game, this remote control, these matches, this lamp, this magazine, and this chair!" as he walks out the door. He has been drivend to ruin by his materialism. But soon, his rural black family comes to his rescue as the father smartly invested the checks Navin sent in a conservative money market account--proving again that the most valuable things in life are not possessions, but things like security, family, love, and contentment.

There is really no reason for you to read the script of The Jerk, but here it is anyway

Steve Martin Homepage

The Toy 1982

"I'm writing a book. That is a job!"

Jack Brown has trouble finding the money to keep his house and support his wife. Because there are no jobs available for black people in the city, especially at the newspaper where Jack dearly wants a job, Jack becomes a cleaning lady.

Throughout The Toy, Richard Pryor's character Jack Brown is a journalist and author struggling to find work and sustain himself in a white-dominated world. Now, that sounds like a pretty grave and serious movie, doesn't it? It's not. The spoiled son of the richest man in the city gets to visit every week and pick out something from the giant toy store. But, the kid is bored with all his toys and, to upset his father, his chooses Jack Brown.

The kid's name is Master Bates.

Richard Pryor displays some of his comedic genius here, but it's not really legendary stuff. However, there are a lot of racial and social issues that play into the plot and understanding of the film. Jack Brown appears to be nothing more than a modern-day slave, as, for one week, he can't go home to his wife and is stuck being a plaything for Master Bates.

In the end, Jack teaches Master Bates how to be a journalist and they print a small newspaper condemning the father and his immoral practices. The father, at final party, is revealed to have ties to the KKK. So, in a moment of kindness, he gives Jack a job at the newspaper.

Oh, did I give away the ending? Sorry--but it's more about the comedy than the racial undertones, anyway.

IMDB

A Funny Richard Pryor Site

Annie By Elyse Lightner

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Firstly, Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Annie is a typical play of the 80s because of the standard happy ending. There are many obstacles that little Annie overcomes but ultimately finds a family who she loves and is who is willing to adopt the troubled child. Annie is about a girl whose parents leave her in an orphanage but promise to come back to her after a while. The owner of the children center, Mrs. Hannigan, makes the girls do work around the house, serve her, and rarely allow the girls to play outside; basically the only reason she has the job is to pay bills not because she cares for the kids. After many hard nights spent in the home, a wealthy man, Daddy Warbucks, finally comes to take Annie into his house and rescue Annie. The saved orphan celebrates her happiness thorough song. While the staff treat Annie very well, Daddy Warbucks has never had children before and doesn’t know how to act around kids; Annie’s charming personality makes Daddy warm up to her and treats her like his own. After many tribulations and arguments over the legality of adopting Annie, Daddy Warbucks finally prevails and gets as he wishes, to adopt Annie into his family and refer to her as his own.
This tell tale happy story tells of Annie going from being an orphan slaving at the hands of Ms. Hannigan to having people work for her; the staff at the Warbuck mansion bring an entire new wardrobe to Annie and wait on her hand and foot. Annie does not forget where she came from though, she convinces Daddy Warbucks to buy the orphanage and revamp it so the house is enjoyable for the other children to live in and on top of that has Ms. Hannigan removed from ownership.

http://www.orphans.com/info_intro.html
this is a site to see how to help American Orphans and how the houses are run in the present.

Lethal Weapon

Starring:

Danny Glover
Mel Gibson
Gary Busey




The tagline pretty much says it all: “Two cops. Glover carries a weapon. Gibson is one.” Lethal Weapon follows in a long line of buddy cop films like 48 Hours and Beverly Hills Cop. Danny “I’m too old for this shit” Glover plays Roger Murtaugh, a veteran detective who is forced to partner with Martin Riggs (played by Gibson), an edgy cop with a death wish. Together they discover a widespread drug-smuggling operation and team up to take it down.

This movie follows the standard Hollywood formula. The odd-couple flung together under strange circumstances can’t stand each other at first, but as the movie progresses their bond grows and, eventually, they overcome their differences to defeat a common enemy who, in this movie, is the mercenary Mr. Joshua (played by Gary “My middle name is DUI” Busey) and the ringleader, General Peter McAllister. Throw in the obligatory racially awkward scene—the family dinner where the audience is subjected to Murtaugh’s prepubescent children beat-boxing and rapping, and Murtaugh good-naturedly joining in—and we have a complete buddy cop movie.

What makes the movie enjoyable for me, someone who is watching it for the first time when it is nearly twenty years old, is admiring the collection of future whack-jobs work on screen together: After the movie, Mel Gibson goes on to issue a barely-coherent anti-Semitic rant while drinking and driving, Gary Busey goes on to be a drunk who has no business riding a motorcycle and Danny Glover goes the way of Harry Belafonte, becoming a Castro-loving, Chavez-worshipping, America-hating political nutjob who gives Hollywood lib-labs a bad name.

Aside from the fun cast, Lethal Weapon is a plotline everyone has seen a hundred times before. A good movie with a committable cast.

View Trailer Here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093409/trailers

Overboard by Elyse Lightner

This film is about a snooty woman who sails around on her yacht with her husband and is forced to stop in a country port because of overdue maintenance. While in port, Goldie Hawn hires a carpenter, Kurt Russell, to build shelves in her closet for more show space. When Kurt doesn’t build the shelves to her expectations, she throws him “overboard” literally and figuratively, without pay. Late the next night after the ship has set sail once again, Goldie Hawn walks on deck to retrieve her wedding ring, which she left there earlier. Fatefully, she too, falls overboard. In the cold water, she catches amnesia and forgets her name. The Psyche ward posts signs asking who the woman is and as revenge Kurt Russell takes her back to his shack of a house with four rowdy boys. She doesn’t adjust at first but eventually falls into a routine of disciplining the boys and ultimately ends up falling for the carpenter. However, she eventually comes to and puts the pieces together of where she came from. She leaves the slums and sets sail with her husband once again. She realizes though that she is not as happy doing nothing and being spoiled. She ends up turning around and going back to Kurt in the end. These two real life lovers live happily ever after. The moral of the story here is that love can withstand anything. Unlike most 80s films, this one argues that money isn’t everything, contrary to the 80s mentality which is work hard and earn lots. Family values play a major part in this film.

visit:
www.yachtworld.com
and shop for your future home

National Lampoon's Vacation

The wacky Griswold family is out on a cross-country road trip to Walley World. Let's just say this, the trip does not go exactly as planned! To start off, Clark and his son Russ go to the car dealership to pick up their new car, but the new car they ordered wasn't here, their old car is crushed, and they have to settle for an atrocious "Wagon Queen family truckster." Clark promises the best trip ever, but it proves to be anything but! The problems start right at home as they are pulling out of the garage, and all of their luggage comes off the top of their roof! They set off to St. Louis from Chicago and get lost in St. Louis ending up in the wrong neighborhood. After the family truckster is trashed in the wrong neighborhood in St. Louie, they set off to Cousin Eddie's! This has to be one of the funniest scenes of this hilarious movie, Aunt Edna is cranky, Eddie asks for a large amount of money, and they leave with a new pair of white slippers and a vicious dog! The rest of the trip with Aunt Edna and the vicious dog is hilarious, along with the scenes where Clark tries to imprees the beautiful blonde driving the Ferrari by demonstrating the family truckster's horsepower. Anyway, then the dog dies, followed by Aunt Edna (who they put on the top of the car, and then left in the back porch of a home where the family is on vacation!), they go to the Grand Canyon, and Clark steals the money in the register! So they make it to Walley World, and guess what? IT'S CLOSED! But since they have had such a troubled time getting here, Clark is on the edge and buys a pellet gun and forces his way into Walley World.

Overall, the Griswold's adventure is absolutely hilarious because everything imaginable and more goes wrong! The characters are perfect, Clark is an absolute goofball, and Aunt Edna could not be any more cranky and whiny. For a great comedy, go grab this movie for some classic jokes!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085995/

Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark

In the first of the Indiana Jones series is Raiders of the Lost Ark, Harrison Ford plays "Indy" the confident and courageous adventurer. It is very interesting when looking at the very first scene of this film, because it really sets the tone for the movie and the character and reputation of Indiana Jones. In this first scene, Indiana Jones is seen forcing his way through the jungle with his team following him. You actually don't get to see Indy's face until he whips the gun out of a man about to shoot him. This demonstrates Indy's "badassness." Even after he whips the pistol out of the man's hand, he continues to show how tough and smart he is, as he manages to go through the booby-trapped temple unscathed as many others have failed here.

Raiders is set in 1936, as Indiana tries to retrieve a golden idol in an Aztecan temple, and as he achieves this, the idol is taken from him and he has to run from tribes people running after him to kill him. He escapes from a seaplane, and is soon back to his teaching job. Indy then sets out to discover the lost Ark of the Covenant, and the Nazis are also after this biblical piece. He then sets out to Nepal to meet an old aquaintance named Marion who holds a very important artifact and will accompany him on the rest of his journey. They then go to Cairo and wrestle with Belloq and the Nazis over the Ark, but Indiana Jones comes through adversity and settles this and the location and safety of the ark.

Raiders of the Lost Ark is definitely a fun movie, one thing that is great about it is that it makes you think of the possibilities. What if the Ark really is real? What if the Nazis really did set out to gain control of it and its power? Another thing that makes Raiders great is the action, and it is full of it. But the film is a bit overdone in that Indiana is the glorified hero, and always saves the day in sometimes overdone ways.

For more info on Raiders:


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082971/

Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters (1984)

I remember when I was younger, I used to watch “Ghostbusters” all the time, and I still get a rood thrill even when I watch it today. An action packed film with a stellar cast including Bill Murray as Dr. Peter Venkman, Dan Aykroyd as Dr. Raymond Stantz, Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett, Harold Ramis as Dr. Egon Spengler, and more, gives this film a good combination of action, drama, and comedy all in one.

In “Ghostbusters,” three unemployed professors start their own business which specializes in getting rid of ghosts. All of their missions are whacky, intriguing, and exciting. The humor in this movie comes from the fact that these people are chasing ghosts, creatures that are supposedly scary, and they do it with smiles on their faces, cracking jokes and staying loose the whole time.

The special effects of the film are also very impressive for its time. Nobody can forget the almighty enormous Marshmellow Man as well as the green goblin ghost, both of which came from the old “Ghostbuster” cartoons. Also, it is a great movie to show to your kids… something fun, a pure good guy verses the bad guy film where the good guys have to fight hard but prevail in the end.

“Ghostbusters” is a timeless film, as people in generations to come will most likely be showing it their kids. Films that include a good mix of drama, comedy, and action will usually be remembered, because it is rare that a combination like that is successfully made. For this reason, you must see “Ghostbusters”… no questions asked!

Coming To America

Coming To America (1988)

A comedy/drama, “Coming To America” is a great film that is very fun to watch. Starring Eddie Murphy as Prince Akeem (and a few other characters), he travels from his throne in Africa to Queens, New York to find the love of his life, whoever it may be. While he is in America, he indulges in their society and is amazed at all of the cultural differences.

Most of all, this is a film dominated by blacks, ranging from Africans to African Americans. What makes this movie so fun and entertaining to watch is the humor that Murphy’s character provides. Throughout the film, his oblivion to American society as well as his generosity to strangers in a bad, foreign neighborhood is funny in itself, and not to mention the delightful pleasure of watching an Eddie Murphy comedy, one of his originals at that.

This movie is not strictly a comedy; it is also a light hearted love story at the same time. However, it never is too serious, as it is constantly on the humorous side of things. The film also includes other well known actors such as Arsenio Hall as Semmi (and a few other characters), James Earl Jones as King Jaffe Joffer, and a cameo appearance by Samuel L. Jackson in his first Hollywood movie.

Eddie Murphy gives a deliberate goofy side to all of his characters which makes this movie very humorous. If you are looking for a good laugh but something not too intense to watch on a random night in which you have nothing to do, head to the movie store and rent “Coming To America” if you have not already seen it.

Cocktail (1988)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094889/

Tom Cruise fits easily into the character of Brian Flanagan, a young, charming, ambitioius, and sometimes cocky bartendar who becomes the protege of restaurant-bar guru Bryan Brown. The music in this film is very catchy with your typical feel good 80's songs. Tom Cruise plays the character well and makes you think he has done this before because he has a certain charm and sex appeal. You can tell that the actors had a lot of fun making this film with all of the impressive bar tending tecniques.

Brian Flanagan, a young man recently out of the service decides to go to school for a business degree. To make extra money on the side he works at a cheap restaurant as a bartender (since his family was in the business.) His boss, Doug Couglin, becomes somewhat of a role model to Cruise and teaches Cruise everything he knows about bartending and how to make money off of it through his good looks and charm. After spending time on the Manhattan bar scene with Doug they have a fallout and Flanagan moves to Jamaica to become a bartender there. While there he meets Jordan Mooney, played by Elizabeth Shue. She is on vacation while her friend is passed out from drinking too much. After a while they become madly in love and she extends her vacation. After a while he gets scared of how much he likes her and has an affair with an older woman that visits Jamaica. When Doug commits suicide Flanagan has a change in heart and realizes that life is too short to be alone. Meanwhile Jordan is back home in New York and pregnant with his child. Flanagan goes to apologize to her and her father freaks out and says he cannot be with her. Finally she decides she loves him and goes with him even though her family disowns her. The couple ends up having a thrown together at a bar he opens for Doug called Cocktails and Dreams. After this, Jordan tells Flanagan she is going to have twins.

This movie is like a late day Romeo and Juliet because Jordans family disowns her for going with Flanagan. You can tell from watching the film that Cruise and Shue have a lot of on screen chemistry and their romance is very believeable. It is a very feel good romantic 80's comedy that is mainly directed toward adults.