Weekly Round Up Part 2 of 2: An 80's Movie Binge

 Last week I posted A Big Ol' Movie Roundup and today I'm here to report back.

• I feel like Risky Business keeps coming up on my radar.  I hadn't seen it or thought about it since it came out (dear God that's awfully close to 40 years ago) and Tom Cruise is one of my least favorite actors but the chatter keeps coming so I was interested in taking another look.
  
• I had never seen or for that matter heard of a movie called Heathers but it was on the roundup list and looked interesting.  Out of the movies that I asked for feedback on, this was the one that popped up on everyone's radar.  There's a mix of positive memories and a lot of "uh...it has subject matter that was fine in the 80s but probably isn't now."
• My third watch isn't from the roundup list and do you even need me to tell you that it's from Unspooled?  I mean, where else do I get movie ideas from these days?  They just did an episode on Planes, Trains, and Automobiles so I wanted to see it in advance of listening to it.  As best I can remember I saw this when it came out and found it to be dull and cringe worthy.

This weekend I took advantage of the family being away at Boy Scout camp plus being overwhelmed with life and needing a break and got 'em done.

• All three of these movies are spectacular in their own unique way.
  
• Bonus points for two out of the three movies having ties to Chicago.  I grew up in Champaign, so whenever my closest childhood Big City gets representation I'm there for it.
  
• The first time that I saw all of these movies was at the wrong point in my life!  Today I'm too old for one and the right age for the other two.
   

Here are the results in order watched:

Heathers

Going in: I've never heard of this movie before in my life.

Verdict: Wow but I wish so badly that I had known about this in high school.

Whazzit About:  We're in high school and The Heathers are three girls named Heather who have the mean girl thing on lock.  They've expanded their circle to include Veronica but they're about to drop her.  Unfortunately for them Christian Slater just transferred to their school and he puts Veronica's thoughts into actions.

My Two Cents: OMG yes I liked it but if I had known that this movie existed back in high school it would be on my list of favorite movies of all time.  As it is I appreciate this movie and came away with a bit of a crush on Christian Slater (who I've never thought about much one way or the other until now).

A Hot Take per IMDB: "one of the most controversial movies ever made about the high school experience. When it was released, detractors thought it was making fun of suicide. Now it's uncomfortably similar to many school shootings."  Yeah, I get that BUT high school is awful and the dark comedy genre is the appropriate place to explore these feelings.  Bravo!

Favorite line: how very.

Would I Watch it Again: I think this is a one time deal.  If I had seen it in high school though, I would have worn out the VHS.

Risky Business

Going in: I saw it when it came out, which would have been when I was eight.  Why?  Because I was an only child and I went everywhere that my parents went and saw everything that they saw.  I remember that it was a super cool movie at the time, but I didn't understand it (duh) or retain any of it apart from the underwear dance.  The other thing that you need to know if that I'm just not a Tom Cruise fan and it's not a Scientology thing or a jumping on couches thing.  I've been getting a "nails on chalkboard" kind of vibe from him since the mid 80's.

Verdict: Genius.  Epic Genius.

Whazzit About:  We're still in high school.  Joel is under pressure to improve his SAT score and get his grades up so that he can go to a Big Deal College and have a Big Deal Life ("the starting salary for an MBA is $40,000 a year!!!").  His parents go away on a trip and leave him home alone, which opens the door for one of his friends to wreck havoc by calling a "for a good time" number on his behalf.  A series of events unfolds and he soon finds himself putting the theory that he learned in business class to use in the real world.

My Two Cents: this is a biting satire on capitalism and the American Dream and it is genius.  One of the things that piqued my interest was an aside on the Unspooled podcast when it came up in a discussion about another movie.  One of the hosts made the comment "this is a movie that isn't about what you think it's about".  Tom Cruise didn't get on my nerves at all and my hat is off to him and Rebecca De Mornay for their epic performances.

A Hot Take: it's fair to say that this movie would not get made today.  On paper it's a movie about a teenager who hires a prostitute and gets himself in a whole heap of trouble and yeech what was wrong with everyone in the 80's that they were such pervs.  But when you sit down and watch it, everything works flawlessly.  In that way it kind of reminds me of Big where a 13 year old gets an adult body and does adult things.  These movies hold up.

Something that had me confused: like I said, I remember seeing the movie in the 80's but I also remember seeing it a lot.  Yes it's an epically good movie that my parents probably saw more than once but there's no way that they were watching it on repeat like I remember.  Oh wait a minute, what else was going on the in 80's....MTV!!!!!!!  The video is most likely was I was seeing on repeat.

Just Asking Though: just exactly how long was that vacation that Joel's parents were on?????  I lost track of the time frame that the story is supposed to take place in, but it's a few days to get Lana out to the house and another day to find her, organizing a big party, getting a car repaired...that's a long time.

Fun fact: this movie was filmed in Jenny's neighborhood.

Favorite line: Who's the U-Boat Commander?

Would I Watch it Again: Yes.  I think this would be a good one for date night.  And I just have to say again that I was caught off guard by how good this movie was.

Plates, Trains, and Automobiles

Going in: I saw it when it came out, but I did not have good memories.  I just remember it being about boring adult stuff.  I adore John Candy but Steve Martin is hit or miss for me. 

Verdict: My heart was warmed.

Whazzit About: Steve Martin is an advertising guy on a business trip in NYC during Thanksgiving week who's promised his wife that he'll catch the early plane out and make it home before the holiday.  But the Thanksgiving travel rush has other plans for him.

My Two Cents:   When I saw this movie in junior high I was expecting something along the lines of Caddyshack or Vacation.  This movie is not that and no wonder it bored me to tears back then.  Now that I'm watching it as a boring adult with travel war stories, a family, and life experience, this movie is funny, smart, and heart warming.

Favorite line: those aren't pillows

Would I Watch it Again: Absolutely! Especially around the holidays.  Again I was caught off guard between the difference in what I remembered and what I saw this weekend.

What's Your Two Cents?  Have you seen these movies and if so what do you think?  If you had a weekend alone with your dog what movies would you watch?