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One Crazy Summer (1986)

Directed by Savage Steve Holland Released August 8th, 1986 Written by Savage Steve Holland Movie Synopsis Courtesy of IMDB "An aspiring teenage cartoonist and his friends come to the aid of a singer trying to save her family property from developers." So many of you are going to be surprised by this, I actually enjoyed this movie! Which is surprising for two reasons. One, it is clearly a stupid movie. I mean just watch the trailer if you haven't seen the movie before.  That guy's voice in itself explains a lot. But reason two that it is surprising that I enjoyed this movie is because I am not a huge John Cusack fan. I can honestly say, though, I enjoyed his performance in this movie. Maybe because compared to most of the other characters he was the normal one? Even more normal than his strange character in Say Anything... Now I think the reason that I didn't mind this kind of stupid movie is because it was done with a purpose. Th
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The Great Outdoors (1988)

Directed by Howard Deutch Released June 17th, 1988 Written by John Hughes Movie Synopsis Courtesy of IMDB "A Chicago man's hope for a peaceful family vacation in the woods is shattered when the annoying in-laws drop in." Alright, I was pleasantly surprised with this movie! I was a little worried at first because of some of the people who had recommended this movie to me. Let's just say we normally have different definitions of funny. But this movie really did come through! It was entertaining, the jokes weren't super cheesy, and it had two of my favorite Johns. What also surprised me was the fact that this movie was written by my hero John Hughes (John #1). I had no idea, but it also has me thinking. John Hughes always directed his own movies, so the fact that he didn't direct this movie makes me question as to why. So the first thing that I found is that this wasn't the first time Hughes and Deutch worked together. Apparently, Hug
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Moonstruck (1987/1988)

Directed by Norman Jewison Released December 18th, 1987/January 15, 1988 Written by John Patrick Shanley Movie Synopsis Courtesy of IMDB "Loretta Castorini, a bookkeeper from Brooklyn, New York, finds herself in a difficult situation when she falls for the brother of the man she has agreed to marry." So for starters I will clear the elephant in the room. The reason this movie has two dates in the title is because I am not sure what to put down as the real date. It's release date is technically January of 1988, but it's first premiere was in December of 1987. Which also means that it was made in 1987. I am not sure which is more accurate so that's why both is on there. You can decide which release is more accurate. Obviously this movie centers a lot around the idea of marriage and love. But it does so in a different way than most romantic comedies do. Not only do most of our characters have a vague and weird outlook on love/marriage, but th
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Stand By Me (1986)

Directed by Rob Reiner Released November 26th, 1986 Novel by Stephen King Screenplay by Raynold Gideon & Bruce A. Evans Movie Synopsis Courtesy of IMDB "After the death of one of his friends, a writer recounts a boyhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy." Stand By Me  I think falls into the category of a John Hughes type of movie, which is to say it portrays kids in a real way. It isn't forced, it doesn't feel like adults trying to think like kids. The authenticity about it makes the audience remember back to their childhoods and things they used to do and think about at the age of 12 or 13. Yeah this movie could seem like  The Breakfast Club  or  Fast Times at Ridgemont High  in the sense that not a lot happens and we are just following around a group of friends. But when done well, movies like that carry more of an impact because they are relatable to the audience therefore the audience doesn't get bored by the
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Do the Right Thing (1989)

Directed by Spike Lee Released July 21, 1989 Written by Spike Lee Movie Synopsis Courtesy of IMDB "On the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence." I remember when I first watched this movie over four years ago. I was in my freshman year at college and I had to take a film appreciation course (technically I had the choice between music, art, and film appreciation and obviously film was what I wanted, duh). This was the first movie that we had to watch for the class and discuss. Now I don't remember much from that discussion, but here are the things that crossed my mind this second time around. First of all, it is easy for me to draw a parallel to the central theme of this film to what I see in my own city right now. When the heat comes out, so does everyone's intolerance, big mouths, and violence. It has never been a s
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Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

Directed by Stephen Herek Released February 17, 1989 Written by Chris Matheson & Ed Solomon Movie Synopsis Courtesy of IMDB "Two seemingly dumb teens set off on a quest to prepare the ultimate historical presentation with the help of a time machine." So the easiest way to explain this film is to just watch this honest trailer. There we go, blog done. That's all you need to know. Well the trailer is pretty accurate in terms of the kind of movie this is. In simple terms, it is a typical "dude" film. Not in terms of it being two guys together, but in the stereotyping and characterization of the high school slacker/dumb/surfer/stoner/band guy. Where the word dude is used more than actual words out of the character's mouth. It is the type of film that needs very little brain power and a lot of reliance on jokes based on stupidity. Now that isn't me saying that the film is necessarily stupid, I just mean in terms of joke
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Say Anything...(1989)

Directed by Cameron Crowe Released April 14th, 1989 Written by Cameron Crowe Movie Synopsis Courtesy of IMDB "A noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college." Okay, I am going to admit, I think this is one of the most overrated 80s movies. People seem to remember this movie for the simple fact of the iconic boombox scene. But I bet most people don't even remember the name of this movie or the plot, they just remember the boombox scene and automatically remember it as a great movie. Well it's not! Let's start off with the iconic boombox scene. Seems like a fair place to start.   First of all, this scene is so anti-climatic! It had potential to be great and iconic, but it fell so flat. Using the song that they made love to for the first time, yes. Coming to her house to prove that he cares about her and wants to be with her, yes. But what was accomplished? Nothing. She jus
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