Shannon’s List of Must-See 80s Films

August 8, 2009

Shannon loves 80s films, and John Hughes’ passing is a great reason to revisit some of my favourites.

Say Anything
Not a John Hughes film, but the first movie made by Cameron Crowe, starring a very young John Cusack as Lloyd and Ione Skye as Diane. it’s got everything a teen flick should:

• John Cusack
• a great party
• a class issue (Lloyd is from the other side of the tracks, Diane is wealthy)
• parents that just don’t understand
• pure charm and hormones winning out over logic
• the boom-box scene
• Lloyd Dobler is probably the most sincere of the 80s love interests.

 
Sixteen Candles
Molly Ringwald’s in love with the most popular boy in school, and the nerdiest one loves her. What makes it a classic?

• Long Duk Dong.
• A kick ass party and a school dance
• a class issue (Samantha Baker’s decidedly lower class, Jake Ryan’s a rich boy)
• Anthony Michael Hall as Farmer Ted
• John Cusack (he’s one of the nerds)
• blatant racism
• a terrible wedding
• family that just doesn’t understand
• the birthday cake scene

Heathers
Winona Ryder and Christian Slater kill all the people who piss them off and then make it look like suicide. What’s not to love?

• a bay boy with a troubled past
• disinterested parents who just don’t understand
• ‘what’s your damage, heather?’
• that crazy pep rally after death number two
• class issues

Heathers is really a bit of an anomaly on this list, but it must stay. An honorable mention goes to Pump Up The Volume, also starring Christian Slater as a teen whose parents just don’t understand.

The Breakfast Club
Where would teen angst be with the Brat Pack? Arguably the apex of teen comedies, this one has it all.

• Judd Nelson as the bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks
• Molly Ringwald as the princess
• Ally Sheedy as the basket case
• Anthony Michael Hall as the nerd… again
• Emilio Estevez as the jock
• despite the fact that it’s detention, there’s a dance scene
• Emilio trying to cry, making me laugh
• Judd Nelson
• five people coming together for a day only to be ripped apart by cruel fate
• the jock gets a girl, the bad boy gets a girl, the nerd gets to write the paper. How cruel is that?
• so much teen angst it barely fits on the screen

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Ferris Bueller is the man.

• Ferris Bueller is more clever than all adults combined
• Rich kids running around the big city being rude to poor people
• Everyone at the parade breaks into dance
• Charlie Sheen as the criminal at the police station
• Matthew Broderick never ages

Weird Science
I’m not sure what the plot is in this movie, but it’s great. Here come the bullets:

• Anthony Michael Hall as the nerd
• Robert Downey Jr as the rich asshole
• Wyatt and the nerd make a supermodel in their computer who comes to life
• a biker gang crashes the house party
• a nuclear bomb shows up in the middle of the house
• the hot chicks inexplicably fall for the nerds

That’s it for the list. Here’s a piece of 80s blasphemy: I hate Duckie. He’s not charming. I tried watching Pretty In Pink last night and I had to stop it because I wanted to punch him in the face. John Hughes and the 80s film were certainly a cornerstone in my teenage years; they don’t make movies like these any more.

Maybe that’s a good thing.

Shannon Patterson, filed under Pop Culture | 2 Comments