First, off this a great new blog, and a great article.

However, I would like to defend the Karate Kid. Just because someone has muscles doesn't mean someone can take a punch. Remember, Daniel kicked Johnny in the face, right under the chin! Having muscles really doesn't protect your face. So a good kick from the leg, which uses very powerful muscles, to the face, which has little padding, can knock some out. Thus, Johnny with his glass jaw succumbed to the smaller Daniel. Maybe instead of "sweep the leg", it should have been "protect the face".

Awesome post. I grew up with all these movies. Thanks for the dissection. Interesting to reflect on how movies are (or are not) different today.

Unlucky13, Johnny getting hit in the jaw really had nothing to do with it. Look at the Crane kick in the Karate Kid. First of all, The stance Daniel is in tells you what foot is going to hit you (The Right foot as that's the one that's going to do the strike as the left foot lands back down). Johnny if he was sooooooooo good to get to the finals after fighting more legitimate opponents than Daniel did, should have caught that kick and made him Road kill!! When I was a kid, I thought it was stupid as hell that such a move would work (Only in the movies) but was ever so rewarded in Karate Kid 2 when the main villain catches that same dumb ass move and returns an elbow to the Karate Kid's dumb idea that lightning strikes twice (But than the villain went on to get defeated with an equally dumb move anyway!!)

Can you imagine anyone using the Crane Kick like Daniel did in a MMA match??? Excuse me while I keel over in laughter!! >:-D

these are all valid points however... jake ryan is still freaking hot. *drool*
i may have to erase this article from my mind, one can not doubt john hughes in his infinite wisdom on all things teenager!

Great post, interesting take on the realities of 80's movies versus real life. Yeah, a lot of films upon second viewing seem to lose the magic, but remember, these are just movies! The times change and so do our values, what is not politically correct now wasn't such a big deal back then. I still love every one of them with my nostalgic heart.

Nah, the complaints about the Karate Kid are off base. It didn't work because it was such an awesome move that was performed flawlessly -- it worked because it was so unexpected. Johnny doesn't have a clue what's coming, he thinks Daniel is just done (his buddy yelling "He's hallucinating" is supposed to tip you off that they don't know what's going on).

So Daniel gets in the equivalent of a sucker punch, because Johnny's never been taught "proper karate," just "how to win a tournament" karate.

Nah, the complaints about the Karate Kid are off base. It didn't work because it was such an awesome move that was performed flawlessly -- it worked because it was so unexpected. Johnny doesn't have a clue what's coming, he thinks Daniel is just done (his buddy yelling "He's hallucinating" is supposed to tip you off that they don't know what's going on).

So Daniel gets in the equivalent of a sucker punch, because Johnny's never been taught "proper karate," just "how to win a tournament" karate.

11. Tom Hanks has sex with Elizabeth Perkins in Big, even though he is actually a 12-year-old boy.

Oh wait no, that still rocks.

When I saw this sentence "Samantha was a demure sophomore ready to give it up. That's all. And that's why he was interested in her. Creepy!" I knew it had to have been written by a female. And scrolling up found I was right!

NO guy would think that was "creepy" -- it's opportunity!

As per Karate Kid...you think muscles determines who wins a fight? HA

http://www.wiinjamod.com

I was hoping Hughes would have released that ending on a special DVD when the Pretty In Pink 20th anniversary came around.

I fear that footage will never see the light of day in my lifetime.

Wow! They're just movies. Regardless of some confusion on the part of the public, these are NOT real life...they're for ENTERTAINMENT value.

Funny analysis, but do you really think about the oppression of Asians as represented by Long Duk Dong at your bachelor party? That may qualify as a little more disturbing than some of these movie moments. The majority of these movies were based on making fun of stupid white spoiled brat teenagers. So what?

Lighten up a bit, there! :)

Don't forget that Jennifer Grey also had the cool car and Ferris got the computer. She didn't have it so bad.

Don't forget that Jennifer Grey also had the cool car and Ferris got the computer. She didn't have it so bad.

What about Jennifer Jason Leigh engaging in statutory rape in a dugout in Fast Times at Ridgemont High?

You got it right except for "Some kind of Wonderful". As you pointed out he messed up Pretty in Pink but he got the chance to 'remake' it with SKOW and got it 100% right. Keith never wanted to go to college. It was only his Dad that wanted him to go. Eric spent the money on the earrings to make up for hurting Watts for so long and to make the point to his Dad. Love is invaluable. I skipped college for the girl of my dreams too - smartest thing I ever did. You can go to college anytime - true love is worth way more than that. Hughes got it 100% right!

What an awful article. Listen Ms. Mathieu, if someone can determine your gender by the way you write (i.e. word choices), you are not a good writer. In fact, you are a terrible writer. Go back to the Writer's Craft Workshop at your local YMCA, please.

On top of the general poor writing skills, you also seem incapable of forming complete sentences and have atrocious grammar.

Hmm.. They're movies and many movies have goofy premises and things that happen.

The essay thing in Breakfast club served a key purpose. It was AMH's character summing up the movie and societal issues-- sure it was an internal monologue, but not one somebody would do w/out a need necessarily-- that is, the essay. It fit perfectly- and he was the braniac to make that sort of observation.

I disagree with that article which is too tendentious.
I'm watching movies since decades and the list above is not the best 80's movie moments to love, nor now disturbing.

How about the extremely lame visual effects in Ghostbusters, that demon dog looked like it was made out of papier mache and the glue wasn't dry yet.

AlexWhite.net

Um no, here's how it went: They wake up in the back of the Rolls after a wild night of teenaged drunken escapades. The town ho says "Hey did we...?" and poor Farmer Ted says "Yeah I THINK we did." We can already confidently say that Farmer Ted didn't take advantage of her because we know that she's the town ho, and for that matter, we don't know for sure if they actually did anything at all. She was passed out in a drunken but hilariously amorous stupor; he at some point passed out as well.

We all know that Farmer Ted has a penchant for the dramatic, so we can only assume that he insinuates that they had intimate relations for the pure 'nerd God' status of it.

Wow! You totally don't know how to write English. Evidently, when you were in Junior High watching these movies... you should have been studying a little more.

Dude that is so cool. Wow! What a trip.

JT
www.Ultimate-Anonymity.com

I have to call foul on your Some Kind of Wonderful comment.

In the argument with his dad, Kieth states that he planned all along on returning the earrings.

Same thing applies to the Bible -- as an adult, it's an interesting historical document, but frankly, God sucks, and as a creation story it's pathetic.

I thought all these stupid emo movies sucked back then except for Ferris Bueller, but then again he went and married Sarah Jessica Parker - Yikes, scary.

Hey, I think you overlooked Ferris Bueller's Day Off big time!

In about 8 hours they

Stole a car
Went swimming
Performed a kidnapping
Went to the Art Museum
Went to a Cubs Game
Had lunch at 5 Star Restaurant that requires reservations 3 months in advance
Went to the Chicago Stock Exchange
Went to the Empire State Building
and!!!
Were in a parade.

I grew up in Chicago and I've always wanted to have a Ferris day.

Do us a favor and delete that comment by the troll ("satan"). He's just trying to get links to his site by commenting on a page that got dugg. Please, remove it... then remove this one too. Thanks

I'm wondering if Chicago boy is really from Chicago. The Empire State Building? C'mon. They went to the Sears Tower. That'd be pretty impressive though if they did all that and went to the Empire State Building too.

I hate to be one of those jokers who sends in the inevitable "But you missed one" comments, but...
How about the first two Rocky movies, which could be subtitled "White guy beats up big black guy (unlike in real boxing)." Or all those Chuck Norris "American single-handedly kills a bunch of Vietnamese commies (unlike in the actual war)" movies.

The ending of The Breakfast Club with the makeover has always pissed me off. She was the only character I actually liked.

Actually, the run-the-odometer-backwards trick DOES WORK in my 1991 Toyota. I learned this when my car was stuck in a snowbank and I kept spinning the wheels in reverse to get out. I did it enough to see the odometer turn backwards.

It's so funny that things you saw in movies in the 80's would be considered stalking or a crime today. How about Weird Science when the patrons at the bar are partying with 16 year olds?

Also, I have to disagree with the karate kid. Mr. Myagi did a great job teaching him. That could happen.

Asian people? 10 points for you, American person!

Fuck! I felt like Molly Ringwald not picking Duckie was proof I'd never fit in. I figured movies were based on reality and mine was going to bleak.

Oo! How about when Prince smacked the crap out of Apollonia in "Purple Rain" and she went back to him in the end? Oh, and that "Lake Minnetonka" prank he pulled on her? Come to think of it, she was a real doormat...

Can I get a little Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey in the house?

"What an awful article. Listen Ms. Mathieu, if someone can determine your gender by the way you write (i.e. word choices), you are not a good writer."

Like that hack Dorothy Parker!

The only thing these movies show is how much our society has been "wussified" over the years. your commentary above clearly demonstrates that. Instead of remembering how great those movies and scenes within were you pick out how offensive they are, and even suggest how awful the people were for making them. Wimps, that is what we have all become. Political correctness has removed "balls" in this country. It also is what will separate us all in the end. I know which side I'll be on...

I went over to netflix and queued most of these!

I really disliked Karate Kid. He looked pathetic in this crane pose (or whatever it was supposed to be) the idea of learning blocks by waxing a car or painting the fence (if I remember it correctly) is at best ridiculous.
But then I'm a guy and see it with different eyes , no points for cuteness here:)

What about the entire "Warriors" movie?

How about Top Gun. Initially, Maverick good, Iceman bad. Watch it this century... Iceman: never did anything wrong except be better than everyone else. Maverick: arrogant prick, cheater and quitter.

I heard it was Molly Ringworm, er, wald, who raised a stink about ending up with Duckie. Oh, and Ferris Bueller was a dick.

In Sixteen Candles, I thought that Anthony Michael Hall's character could not remember whether he did the hot drunk girl. I think she told him that they did it. He started to ask her if he enjoyed it, then spoke under his breath of course he did. Then he asked her if she enjoyed it. She said she kind of thought she did. So he did not rape her.

In Pretty in Pink, Andie doesn't end up with Duckie because Duckie is gay. That is kind of like my life experience. I couldn't figure out in high school why girls wouldn't go out with me. I thought it was just because I was the nerd and the outcast. After college I finally figured out I am gay.

I agree with pretty much the entire list. Pardon my grammmmer but here's a little rant:

I also think it's important to remind everyone that those movies weren't really about how we'd WANT things to be, they were about how things are. And how things are is dick Jake highschool boys would pawn off their gf's to a nerd and be taken with a willing sophmore. The way things are is that the smart girl doesn't get dates so she attaches to Dobler-characters who really WOULD write a love letter to his first time AND take her back without much protest.Duckie is too much of a hanger-on to get the girl - this one could be questionable but for the most part even weird girls would rather have the guy they have a crush on. People are Racist and make fun of the way people talk. Rule Breakers succeed, straight and narrows get shafted AND don't have fun. Rad looking weird girls get made over,willingly, to become friends with other girls, Nerds still write the paper. Dumb boys waste their college money on stupid shit for girls that don't want them, and cool punk tom boy girls wait around forever for them as friends until they figure it out.

None of these movies were meant to be POLITICALLY CORRECT, they were just meant to represent this stage of life Correctly. And I still think they did that pretty damn well as far as movies are concerned.

There are several movies mentioned that I have not seen or forgot about! Thanks for the 411...I've *got* to check out Warriors...

Re: Bill and Ted...I guess I didn't mention it because that movie was so unbelievable to begin with I suspended disbelief even when I first saw it in theaters.

It was much, much harder to suspend disbelief when, years later, I watched Keanu Reeves attempt to act as an undercover agent in "Point Break" and as a Shakespearean gent in "Much Ado About Nothing."

However, I think those were 90s movies. :-)

You seem to not have grasped the point of Ferris Buellers Day off.
It's about making your OWN mind and decisions, going through with it and coping with the problems that arise.
Jennifer just has no mind of her own, is not grown up (not even on the way there) - she is only a drone following the rules, and a snitch to - and thus she is treated like a child, not favoured, not believed on 'important' matters. But even worse, she tries to use those rules just for her selfish, childlike ego...
She doesn't stand up for her own ideals, Ferris does and THAT is the whole point of growing up.
Just following orders and rules, sign up to the army.
Become a responsible individual that *understands* when and more importantly NOT to follow the rules is what should be thaught to juveniles...

Awesome post...
The karate Kid, when the guy win the tournament, when i was kid that scene very effect me. but when i see it again in TV 3 monts ago , ewwww.... it's so.... what can i say... dull..?

"Movie tricks"? It's not immediately clear what is meant by that. Perhaps you mean "significant plot elements"?

Breakfast Club

I found Allison to be more appealing in her "dark" phase, but that's just me. The character was desperately unhappy, and the lesson she had to learn was that to be happy, one has to change oneself; she was mostly an outcast because she pushed people away, while desiring their attention. Be yourself, and if you're still not happy, change your own self.

AMH writing the essay was not really about "you're the braniac, you do the work", but rather about trust ... the rest of the group, HIS group, trusted him to tell off The Powers That Be. Had the essay been the standard sort of repentant pap desired, yes, it would have been an imposition... instead, HE gets to write the manifesto. That's respect.

Everyone got something they wanted. Can't get more fair than that.

Karate Kid

My friends who practice the martial arts respect strength, but they respect speed and accuracy more.

Further, the hand-rubbing technique can do much the same as icy-hot, but it cannot be used in conjunction with icy-hot: the friction warms the hands, and icy-hot would eliminate most of the friction.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Jennifer Grey was spiteful and resentful from living in her brother's shadow, and so was a very unsympathetic character. She was not a nice person at all, at the start of the movie, but she grows up over the course of the movie. Of all the characters, she undergoes the most (personal) growth and maturation, and learns to take responsibility for her own happiness.

As has been pointed out above, the reverse-to-spin-odometer-backwards trick can work, so it's not dumb. Given that it was a classic Ferrari, the technique could have reasonably been expected to work. Ending your essay this way was perhaps the worst-possible approach, unless you were trying for ironic.

Wow, this was poorly written. You need to get an editor, or at least read what you've written out loud.

My only problem with FBDO was that I thought most odometers were tied in to the front wheels. So, running the car's rear wheels in reverse would have no effect.

lol thanks for the laugh!

@zeeol: I was thinking the same thing about Tom Hanks in Big lol

In Ferris Bueller's Day Off, didn't they run the odometer forward to try and lap the odometer back to the original reading? Haven't seen it in a long time and that's what I seem to remember. Loved the post, grew up with all these movies and actually just watched Karate Kid the other night on the Spike Channel.

I always thought it was completely ridiculous that Jake wound up with Samantha. I know that wasn't the way it worked in my high school. However, it was a movie and they were/are supposed to have happy endings.

My disagreement is with your "subpoint" about her parents not letting her miss her sister's reception. Sam had a heart to heart with her dad and told him about Jake, dad felt guilty for missing her birthday and agreed with her that her sister was self centered and things always came easily for her. Jake shows up at the church. Everyone else is already gone, she's the only one still standing on the church steps. Dad is the only one who remembers her and when he looks back, Sam tells dad "It's the boy" and he gives her a thumbs up. It fits with the rest of the premise that no one would care whether she was there or not. They FORGOT HER BIRTHDAY.

Pretty in Pink...From personal experience I know that when you are a 17 year old girl, crying over some boy who broke your heart, and he shows up and says sorry, you choose him over the nice guy who has always been there for you. Only when you are older do you realize that this may not be the best course of action. My daughter is 15 and watches this movie all the time. I don't think we are supposed to watch them with our cynical adult eyes.

And don't knock Keanu, he's just pretty. And sometimes, that's what the movie needs. ;)

Yeah Ducky should have got the girl, I saw that from the start.

I think with Ferris' friends dads car, wasn't it a Porche?
You can roll back the odometer on many types of cars.... but
car nerds tell me that you can't on a porche because something works differently on them.

Wolfie!

How dare anyone say even a solitary negative word about the precious, nostalgic 80's films that so greatly influenced the overly idealistic person I am today? What is wrong with you people? These were clearly the best days ever! The weenies of today would know nothing about that, they are too busy being "correct" to one another and then bashing each other to the core the second they walk out of the room and molesting their kids in bathrooms! This world is screwed! I give up, time to eat pills and watch more 80's movies and remember happier times when the world wasnt so damned fake!

"What an awful article. Listen Ms. Mathieu, if someone can determine your gender by the way you write (i.e. word choices), you are not a good writer."

Or that jerk, Hemingway!

I love 80´s movies!

They may seem too naive to us now, compared to what society is like nowadays, and to all the new superproductions we enjoy these days, but I kinda like the innocence that those stories had. Of course, I agree about the fact that when we see them today, we get to a totally different interpretation of some scenes, that were so sweet then (to our very young eyes), and that look so foolish and unreal now (to our grown up point of view). Despite all this, I believe 80´s movies are to some of us (call us "the nostalgic") a blow of warm breeze to our "adult" hearts.

One of my favourites is "Secret Admirer", too.

@John M: If what you say is true, Grindhouse would never have been made. Sheesh

You really need to fix the following gaffs:

"So I guess that for any guy out there who wants a girl, make sure her dad (John Mahoney) and he's ripping off old people." Wha?

"Sub point: As much as I love Lloyd, reflection as an adult makes me find it highly unlikely that a) a teenage boy would write a love letter to the girl he lost his virginity to her" Seriously dude, you need to omit that last "her."

And come on, that oriental guy was fvckin' funny!!!

The thing that really disappointed me about SKOW was that Watts KEPT THE EARRINGS! Whether Keith wanted to go to college or not, he was about to turn 18 and strike out on his own. Without the college education, what kind of job was he going to be able to get? What kind of place would he be able to afford to live in? Watts was cool cool cool and then turned out to be a selfish pig in the end. I felt that way even when I saw the movie as a teenager.

I loved Iola in PIP, and it saddens me now to realize that her trasformation was basically her acknowledgment that at a certain point you kind of have to tone things down and be more "age appropriate." I'm at that age now. Sigh.

Revenge of the Nerds.... rape, invasion of privacy, poisoning, stalking, gay bashing.. this movie had it all...

i completely agree with you and i've noticed these things myself. when you get older, you realize how completely off these scenes are. The one that always bothered me the most was that she didn't pick duckie. he's there for her throughout the entire movie, cares about her no matter what and has always accepted her and what does she do? pick the "handsome" guy who never gave her a second glance before. ugh.

As regards Long Duk Dong: http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2008/mar/in_character/donger_1.html