1980s List Discussion and Suggestions (Lists Project Vol. 3)

[Feego]

Sixteen Candles (1984, John Hughes)
In his directorial debut, titan of 80s teen paeans John Hughes attempts to juggle a perceptive portrait of teen angst with a broader, Porky’s-lite brand of raunchy comedy. It’s a combination that never truly works for me, and I felt throughout like I was switching between two different movies. The film is front-loaded with its strongest material, as Molly Ringwald’s Samantha Baker deals with the fact that her entire family has forgotten her sixteenth birthday. What sounds on paper like a rather thin scenario actually leads to a pretty authentic depiction of that feeling of invisibility that affects all teenagers at some point. Quintessential every-girl Ringwald is excellent, strongly capturing Samantha’s various moods, from her depression to her constant romantic frustrations to her panic when she realizes the man of her dreams DOES know she exists.

Unfortunately, Hughes loses sight of this strength in the film’s second half, where he turns his attention to a raucous house party at the home of dream guy Jake Ryan and then to the disastrous wedding ceremony of Samantha’s sister. Ringwald all but disappears for much too long a stretch while Anthony Michael Hall’s geek leads us through a series of drunken and sexual antics that, while amusing in their own right, are more of a distraction than a relief from Samantha’s more emotionally driven story. I don’t consider myself overly politically correct, but the now-unthinkable (I hope?) depiction of Chinese exchange student Long Duck Dong grows tiresome after his first couple of scenes. (In an earlier scene, Samantha’s best friend expresses abject horror at the mistaken notion that Samantha might want to date a black guy.) The sequence of Jake “giving” his passed-out girlfriend to Anthony Michael Hall, who then gets his dumb-ass friends (one of them played by John Cusack) to take pictures as evidence, is painful to watch. And the wedding finale, complete with the bride getting high on muscle relaxers because “her monthly bill came early,” feels like a deleted scene from Robert Altman’s A Wedding.

The most problematic element in this latter section, however, is the character of Jake. The hot, popular guy who loses interest in his hot, popular girlfriend and falls maddeningly in love with awkward Samantha never comes across as anything more than a cinematic conceit, a generic Prince Charming to Ringwald’s more relatable Cinderella. Actor Michael Schoeffling doesn’t bring too much excitement to his performance, but I can’t place all the blame on him. The role is just not written with the same heartfelt conviction that Hughes gives Samantha. Jake always feels like too much of an ideal to be taken seriously, and it’s hard to justify the amount of time Hughes spends on him when he never grows in any way. While Sixteen Candles serves as a fun diversion, the movie as a whole fails to live up to the promise of its early scenes or the impact of Molly Ringwald’s performance.


Hairspray (1988, John Waters)
Leave it to 70s sleaze king John Waters to make what, for me, is one of the most joyous films of the 80s. Displaying his subversive brand of social satire and 60s nostalgia, Waters crafts a consistently fun remembrance of the local TV teen-dance show he grew up watching in Baltimore while not shying away from the pressing racial issues of the era. Spunky Ricki Lake stars as Tracy Turnblad, an unapologetically overweight teen who dreams of becoming a star on “The Corny Collins Show” and dating cutie Link Larkin. She’s a modern girl who speaks out against segregation and becomes a local emblem of tolerance and acceptance, much to the annoyance of the racist Von Tussels (Sonny Bono and Debbie Harry).

Arriving in the aftermath of Waters’ midnight circuit hits, Hairspray seems a remarkably wholesome film by comparison, but it still bears the unmistakable bite if not the graphic obscenity of Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble. As punishment for ratting her hair, Tracy is sent to special ed., where the black students are also relegated. Best friend Penny Pingleton is literally imprisoned in her home and subjected to hypnosis and electric shocks for her attraction to a black boy. One of the movie’s funniest moments has Penny’s mom braving her way through a black neighborhood, terrified for her life, finally rushing for a police car only to find (gasp!) a black police officer. And of course, the aptly named Divine is at his most loveable as Tracy’s mother.

The entire cast is delightful, and with Waters’ terrific 60s soundtrack, plus one very infectious theme song, Hairspray is a movie that just makes me so happy every time I see it. It marked the beginning of Waters’ acceptance into the mainstream, but it’s also a far more focused and, as a result, effective satire than his underground beginnings. He gets his message of tolerance across without being either preachy or angry. Instead, he makes it very clear that those who are too small-minded to adapt to more enlightened times are missing out on the party.

[Yojimbo]

I've never seen the original Schmoedipus, but on the basis of this it seems to be one of Potter's weaker efforts from an extremely prolific and worthwhile period. If you want to see how truly great a focussed, feature-length Potter script can be, check out Blue Remembered Hills, which was in contention for my 70s list.

I remember its first tv broadcast. The sight of Colin Welland in short trousers - which was difficult to overllok - certainly endures, as does its idyllic setting, and the glow that the remembrances gave off.

[Cold Bishop]

For me, the most worthwhile slasher film of the '80s is Eyes of a Stranger, which superficially seems to repeat many of the tropes of the slasher subgenre but fundamentally reverses and undermines them.

I think we, then, have different definitions of misogyny as the film seems about as straightforward in these regards I can think of. Also it just is not a good film.

As always, when it comes to reclaiming "icky" films from a lefitst perspective, Robin Wood has done a pretty solid job of defending this film as subversive in Hollywood from Reagan to Vietnam.

See also: his defense of Cruising, which should be essentially for anyone who wants to disregard the film as simply homophobic. And of course, his writing on Michael Cimino (although he sadly never wrote much on Year of the Dragon and The Sicilian, although I understand he was a fan of both).

[knives]

I wasn't sure if it was you or Cope who brought up Wood last time. I do think his take on the film is essential if just because it makes one look at the film reflexively, but ultimately I have to disagree with his take (which I assume is a fair stance).

[thirtyframesasecond]

Not sure I'm going to actually watch many slashers, but Argento's 'Opera' will be in my top fifty for sure.

[bamwc2]

Viewing Log:

The Art of Love (Walerian Borowczyk, 1983): Borowczyk's ars amandi tells the story of Ovid's teachings on seduction, and the disaster that occurs when his bevy of attractive students put his lessons into practice. Marina Pierro stars as Clauda, a patrician housewife who is married to the older Marcarius (Michele Placido) an imperial officers whose ambitions are outweighed only by his sexual jealousy. Matters are complicated when Cornelius (Philippe Taccini), a follower of Ovid, seduces Clauda at the behest of his teacher, which leads to a *sigh*

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"it was only a dream...or was it?" ending.

Since this is a late period Borowczyk film, graphic nudity abounds as does some very interesting form of worship for the Greek god Priapus. Sadly this reflects more of an early Christian sensationalism than reality, although there were some interesting clashes at this time as Roman moralism pushed monogamy, which resulted in Ovid's real life banishment from Rome. Whatever merits the film had going for it (like other Borowczyk features, there's usually something on screen to keep your rapt attention--for good or bad) were ruined by the atrocious English dubbing that the Severin DVD forces you to watch. The silly narration on seduction sounded like one of those awful "how to sleep with any woman you want" manuals. But this gets even worse when you realize that the voice chosen to dub Ovid's sound like the narroraator from the old Disney "How to" videos starring Goofy. After awhile I couldn't help but imagine that I was watching one of those with Goofy in the role of Cornelius with the predicable comically disastrous results.

Eight Men Out (John Sayles, 1988): John Sayles's Eight Men Out plays it by the books and comes out as a disappointment. The film tells the story of the 1919 Chicago White Sox and the fix on the World Series, engineered by New York mobster Arnold Rothstein (Michael Lerner). As a lifelong Cubs fan, I was delighted to see Charles Comiskey (Clifton James) portrayed as the skinflint to forced his players into the decision, but while the dramatic structure is there, none of it really ever feels of consequence. Perhaps this is because, as Roger Ebert noted, with the exception of John Cusack's Buck Weaver (and I would also add David Strathairn's Eddie Cicotte) the rest of the indicted are an undistinguished and bland mass of bodies that are never given anything to do. I did, however, love to see the inclusion of Chicago institution Studs Terkel in an uncredited role as a delightfully combative sports reported. In basically playing himself, he stole every scene that he was in.

Family Viewing (Atom Egoyan, 1987): I haven't had much luck with Egoyan's work from this era, but much to my delight, I kind of liked this one. The film recounts the story of a young man named Van (Aidan Tierney) who carries on an affair with his stepmother and spends his days visiting his convalescent grandmother in the nursing home that his father put her up at. Van's life changes when he meets the daughter of his grandmother's roommate (played by Egoyan's real life wife, Arsinée Khanjian). Soon the pressures in Van's life cause him to act in an explosive and unpredictable manner that will forever change the lives of those around him. Despite the fact that this synopsis may sound overly dramatic, there's a deep comic element running throughout the film, with some of truly awkward moments provided by Van's voyeuristic father Stan (David Hemblen).

Fletch (Michael Ritchie, 1985): Fletch E. Fletch (née Irving Fletcher, portrayed by Cornelius C. Chase) is a reporter for a LA paper doing undercover work on a beachfront drug hotspot when a stranger approaches him with the proposition to kill him in one week's time. Trusting his reporter's instinct, Fletch begins to investigate the offer and finds that it links back to his time on the beach in a rather unexpected way. I knew that Fletch was a very broad comedy going in (especially with the over the top personas that Fletch adopts over the course of the investigation), but I had no idea that there was a semi-gritty noir lurking beneath the surface. I also have never been a big Chase fan since I grew up with his dark days of his late 80s and 90s career, but he fires on all cylinders here, giving some very quick punchlines. It's far from a great film, but it is fun entertainment that's smarter and has more going on than most other comedies from the era.

A Summer at Grandpa's (Hsiao-hsien Hou, 1984): This was my first experience with the early works of Hsiao-hsien Hou (previously, the earliest film of his that I had seen was 1996's Goodbye, South, Goodbye) and I have to say how great it is to see the work of a master craftsman in his prime. A mother's illness forces a young boy and his even younger sister to leave the big city of Taipei for the summer and resettle into their grandparent's rural Taiwanese estate. While there what we get is less of a progressive story than it is a series of events unwinding from the children's perspective. The film perfectly captures a youth's experience of the summer months, where a single season can feel like a lifetime of adventures and exploration. Told with the simplicity and elegance that the story demands, this is nothing short of a masterpiece. So far it's my favorite discovery of this nascent project and will almost certainly make my list.

[domino harvey]

Fletch made my list last round and could possibly do it again-- there will be at least one Chase film regardless, but I want to revisit some childhood favs before casting my vote. It's my understanding that the source novels are more serious and you can see it in the midst of Chase's all-time great sarcastic perf as you say

[knives]

I'll vote Fletch if you do. Certainly it's my last chance for a Ritchie vote. Are there any other good Chase films?

[domino harvey]

Caddyshack and Funny Farm were two of my favs growing up-- I'm going to revisit them soon, actually, thanks to this discussion, but Fletch seems a safe bet

[bamwc2]

Caddyshack and Funny Farm were two of my favs growing up-- I'm going to revisit them soon, actually, thanks to this discussion, but Fletch seems a safe bet

I'm afraid that I can't agree with you on Funny Farm, but I would argue that both Vacation and Caddyshack are good films (though he's hardly in the latter). Other than that, there's not much. I've never understood all of the love for Christmas Vacation. Some members of my generation love it, but it's a fairly weak film. I also think that he's made a candidate for worst film of all time: Nothing but Trouble.

[Tommaso]

You Are Not I (Sara Driver, 1981)
A girl escapes from a mental institution in the wake of a nearby accident and makes her way to her sister’s house. Shot in 16mm b&w with a decent sense of composition and intent (by Jarmusch, playing DP here), the story is told primarily through the voice-over thoughts of our protagonist, Ethel, as she wanders through these events with an otherworldly disassociation. Very much in the No Wave vein, this felt like equal parts Permanent Vacation and the “Mirror, Father, Mirror” art film parody from Ghost World, skating a fine edge between laughable and profound. What it does well is present a portrait of mental illness with a degree of self-awareness, as Ethel’s narration proves that she sees the fear and condescension of those around her, especially her sister. This also works against the film a bit too, as Ethel’s self-awareness then makes her responses more puzzling and makes her character more self-absorbed.

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I guess the ending reversal is supposed to be a bit of an art-house gotcha, where we understand the two sisters are basically the same, though one is deemed mentally handicapped and the other not.

It didn’t strike me as a particularly profound choice, though I understand this is based on an existing short story and (from reading the synopsis) looks to have stuck pretty closely.

I've just seen this and am quite impressed. I certainly agree that this is a quite convincing portrait of mental illness, but you might equally argue that the film is more strictly speaking 'magickal' in its main character's doings (the whole business of the stones, not just at the film's climactic point) and that the whole thing is more of a 'puzzle' in the sense of Lynch. And I guess by now we've just seen this sort of unexplained identity switching too often in Lynch's works, so that it today feels less original than it might have been in 1981.Very fine cinematography by Jarmusch in any case, and the minimalist dark ambient soundtrack adds a lot to the film's effectiveness and uneasiness. I'll definitely check out more from Driver.

[dustybooks]

I always liked European Vacation; it's so nihilistic and angry! But who knows, maybe having grown up a lot I would now find it crass.

[swo17]

I can't say how well it stands up, but did anyone else watch Spies Like Us a million times growing up?

[knives]

I always liked European Vacation; it's so nihilistic and angry! But who knows, maybe having grown up a lot I would now find it crass.

I saw it on television a few years ago and felt that it was meanness that tried to play cute as the joke which wasn't funny to me which is weird since she's usually a fantastic director with this sort of thing.

[bamwc2]

I can't say how well it stands up, but did anyone else watch Spies Like Us a million times growing up?

Yes. Even though I hated it as a kid, I still watched it roughly one million times on cable.

[flyonthewall2983]

I grew up with Funny Farm being shown ad nauseum on HBO as well, and still like it. It's Chevy's favorite movie of his own, though kind of a bummer that it was Hill's last directorial effort.

[domino harvey]

Caddyshack (Harold Ramis 1980) All this Chevy Chase talk got me curious and so I revisited this popular favorite and, well, it's about what you remember: lots of funny bits and silly improv strung together with the slightest of narrative purpose. The film coasts on the charms of Chase, Bill Murray, and Rodney Dangerfield (who steals the movie in every second he's on screen), and the three are given ridiculous segments in which to just bounce shit off the wall and see what sticks. Ted Knight makes for an effective villain by pushing his MTM persona as far as it can go, and there's the requisite laissez-faire attitude towards sex and nudity often found in films of this ilk. I laughed, I enjoyed myself, and I am in no danger of ranking this on my list.

Don't Go In the Woods…Alone! (James Bryan 1981) Another friendly reminder that literally any slasher pic could achieve distribution in this era. Visually incoherent, dull, poorly made, you know the drill. Even the infamous accidental killing scene is undercut by the context in which it appears-- the good guy spearing the innocent bystander seems cringe-inducing and memorable only if you stop the picture right there. The victim doesn't die from that wound, however: he immediately is killed by the actual bad guy mere seconds after the first injury. In other words, who cares, except those who have probably misremembered this part as notable?

the Forest (Donald M Jones 1982) The 80s were full of slashers that cashed in and just Xeroxed various elements from other slashers, but this is a good example of a slasher made by someone who doesn't really seem to understand the genre, and the resultant film, while not very good, is at least interesting in how it complicates a basic weirdo killer plot (Here a cannibalistic dad hanging out in the forest and killing people so he'll be able to eat for the winter) with supernatural elements (Said dad has ghost kids and a ghost wife who visit and mostly chastise him) and a cast far too old to appeal to the teen audiences that made these films successful. The poor guy who directed this film not only lost his house when he mortgaged it for funding, but even after the pic achieved distribution, he got screwed out of any royalties or reimbursement. A lackluster film like this isn't even worth leaving the home for, much less losing it.

Hiding Out (Bob Giraldi 1987) None of the parts which make up this teen comedy could possibly result in a good whole-- Jon Cryer plays a 29 year old Wall Street stock broker who is on the run from the mob and hides out as a high school student in Delaware-- and yet the film surprised me by taking how this scenario plays out into directions that are just slightly smarter than expected. This is a film that somehow makes 29 year old Cryer dating a 17 year old girl not only un-cringeworthy but shows their interactions in a chaste, melancholy fashion that had unexpected gravitas. I mean, there's still a bunch of dumb teen movie shit here (though, uh, it was on the higher end of that spectrum-- I especially liked the antics of Keith Coogan from Adventures in Babysitting, who has his date remove her glasses so she can't see he doesn't really know how to drive) but it successfully circumvented my biggest problem with identity fraud films (See Tootsie et al) with

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Cryer actually confessing the whole scheme to Annabeth Gish instead of just compounding the lies in a comical fashion leading up to the big awkward reveal

This isn't list-worthy and isn't even worth seeking out, really, but if you ever did see it, you might be surprised at how much better than expected and sweet it is.

Lookin' to Get Out (Hal Ashby 1982) Maybe if I hadn't already seen California Split, which has the added benefit of being a better film by every metric available, maybe this would come off as something more than a pisstake. Jon Voight and Burt Young giggling at each other for two hours while they make dumb gambling decisions isn't exactly offering up a feast for the cinematic senses, and the outcome to the final scam makes no logical sense whatsoever. After a while I gave up trying to engage with the film or hold it to even basic perimeters of narrative causality or sense, and I guess it could be said to be tolerable under those conditions. Now there's a pull-quote.

Splash (Ron Howard 1984) I had somehow never seen this and wasn't looking forward to rectifying that (Part of my goal this round is to see more canonical "popular" films that have escaped me thus far), but to my great delight I, uh, loved this? The cast is great, with the four major roles taken by likable actors with either an affinity for selling this kind of broad humor or, in Daryl Hannah's case, the right amount of charming naivete without tipping over into retardation (a real risk with this kind of material). As a romantic comedy it's cute and laugh out loud funny for the duration, and it struck me how inclusive the premise of the film really was on a basic level-- I especially appreciated how the film undercuts potential accusations of being a simplistic male fantasy by upending that power imbalance in the finale. I guess this won't help me with the art house popularity contest I was never going to win, but a mainstream film this enjoyable and fully realized is worth advocating f-- Wait, so there's really going to be two mermaid movies on my list? The 80s are so weird.

[FerdinandGriffon]

Wait, so there's really going to be two mermaid movies on my list? The 80s are so weird.

Domino, if you really want to be "that Mermaid guy" this round, allow me to recommend Ikeda Toshiharu's excellent 1984 ATG pearl-diver revenge thriller, Mermaid Legend. An extremely violent but very well-grounded eco-revenge fantasy culminating in a gorgeous and almost endless nocturnal bloodbath, with supernatural and mystical elements simmering just beneath the surface, Himatsuri style. I genuinely think you might like it.

Edit: Just checked and it's not English language friendly yet, though fansubs are apparently on the way...

[domino harvey]

Domino, if you really want to be "that Mermaid guy" this round

At this point I might as well just embrace it! Mermaid Legend sounds interesting, I'll def try to give it a shot once the fansubs materialize, thanks for the rec

[Gregory]

To me, "that Mermaid guy" will always be this man. Excerpt: "I've also had trouble meeting women, so Ariel fills a need in me to 'have someone.' Being affected by Ariel is kind of like 'getting' religion."
And hey, The Little Mermaid is an '80s film, so this is not off-topic!

[domino harvey]

Maybe I can be "That guy who liked a couple of movies about mermaids" so as to not confuse me with "That guy who wanted to fuck a cartoon mermaid"-- A hilarious find, though! It's somehow reassuring to know that the internet has always been creepy

EDIT: I can't resist quoting this entire answer. Holy cat!

What's the weirdest thing you've done? Any funny stories you could share?
Lot's of stuff to get LM goodies. Spent over two hours in a video store waiting for the manager who told me he had a stand-up display for sell. He never showed up. Visited five "Big Lots," all over Nashville, looking for a LM shovel. Visited two or three malls, and four or five department stores, numerous smaller stores, through rain, heat, cold, and snow every weekend for six years looking for new merchandise. Bought a computer so I could see the LM pages on the Internet. Spent a year making a cross-stitch (my third and last. The others were LM, too) to send to Jodie Benson (She has it in her living room). Stopped eating seafood (a personal act of devotion because I love seafood). Gave up watching anything but LM. Haven't watched TV in years. Sold everything non-LM I own to get more LM. Wear a LM charm everywhere I go, when I'm not wearing a my LM shirt (which I wear on the weekends in the mall). Got my picture taken with Ariel at WDW in a pirate costume. Got out of the hospital for a bleeding ulcer and headed for the mall to catch up on LM goodies. Borrowed money to bid in the Sotheby's auction of '90. Have a swimming pool in my dining room (no water in it). Go down to WDW and spend all my time buying LM and watching Voyage of LM. None of this is funny, sorry. It's just a testament to how much Ariel has affected my life.

Debatable!

[Gregory]

I've never forgotten that piece ever since I read it in Stay Free because of an interest in the line crossed when a hobby becomes obsessive and not mainly about the thing being collected anymore. One impulse is to laugh, obviously, and I have—but that's tempered by some of the things quoted. I can only hope he's well these days. I understand being deeply moved by a fictional character (though not a Disney one), but becoming consumed with buying up all the mass-produced merchandise, and giving up almost everything else, is something else.

[Yojimbo]

I've just been reading 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' for a discussion at my local library so I decided to re-watch 'Blade Runner', which I'd remembered as lacking much of the depth and breadth of the book.

Although the film screenplay is for the most part something akin to a futuristic Western I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it - as I generally don't much care for Ridley Scott films - and on its own terms it stands up very well, and coheres.
And the closing scene with Rutger Hauer is probably the finest 90 seconds of screen-time in the entire film, and both brings it closest to the spirit of the novel, and also elevates it above standard space-opera fare.

Neither am I usually much of a Harrison Ford fan but this must surely be his finest work on film.

The film is decidedly not hindered by the presence of cult faves M.Emmett Walsh and Edward James Olmos and a couple of what are generally referred to in the trade as 'leggy lovelies' - in this case Darryl Hannah and Joanna Cassidy -

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although they are more intent to cause damage with aforementioned limbs than our hero would have liked

I wonder did James Woods recognise the woman he was briefly married to in the demure and sweet-voiced Sean Young we saw here?

I haven't even drawn up a tentative short-list of contenders yet, so I can't say whether this will make my list, but it definitely is a contender

[bamwc2]

Splash (Ron Howard 1984) I had somehow never seen this and wasn't looking forward to rectifying that (Part of my goal this round is to see more canonical "popular" films that have escaped me thus far), but to my great delight I, uh, loved this...I guess this won't help me with the art house popularity contest I was never going to win, but a mainstream film this enjoyable and fully realized is worth advocating...

A good movie is a good movie, regardless of origins, reception, or reputation. I certainly hope that there is no one here that would give you a hard time for enjoying a 80s Hollywood production or for voting for it on your final list. If so, then their snobbery probably is more indicative of their own insecurities of wanting to be seen as having good taste than out of any sort of actual preference. For what it's worth, I'm sure to include at least one big budget Hollywood production on my list--Barry Levinson's The Natural. I may get some grief for it and it may be an orphan, but I still think that it's worthy.

[Emak-Bakia]

(Part of my goal this round is to see more canonical "popular" films that have escaped me thus far)

I'm hoping to participate this time around with the same goal. My girlfriend and I brainstormed a list of about 200 mainstream 80s Hollywood films last night, and it amazed me how many I hadn't seen (or hadn't seen since I was under ten years old, which is basically the same as not having seen them at all.)

And thanks for those slasher suggestions, domino. I'm eager to also better educate myself on those types of films in the coming months.

Maybe now that I've declared my objectives in writing, the likelihood that I will follow-through will be increased.