I’ll go.

This book is fine. It doesn’t really do anything wrong. Am I a little bitter than it didn’t explicitly talk about favorite movies? Of course. I, TOO!, AM A CHILD OF THE 80s!

But really what it comes down to, is that the advice she gets from Peter Biskind to watch Salvador is the better advice in this book. I KNOW this is not her mission or her goal, but the 80s is chock full of amazing movies in the 80s and really this book takes an earnest look at (most) all of the movies people already look at all the time. There’s no problem in really liking Ghostbusters, but as the author already states, everybody already loves Ghostbusters. I do think there are a whole buttload of cool, weird, great 80s movies that could stand the write up that a list of mostly already-ran movies don’t really need.

I think her look at Baby Boom is the kind of movie that does need the kind of write-up she sort of decides not to make. So again, there’s nothing wrong with what she does….except that it’s pretty well-tread, (very very very) very white territory that could use a real infusion of difference and creativity.

 

So I figured I would add a bunch of weird/fun 80s movies that people should talk about too. I will admit that of course, OF COURSE, my list of favorite 80s movies are still like: Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller, etc etc etc. I was born in 1981 so of course.

 

Walker

Three O’Clock High

Cloak and Dagger

Saturday the 14th

Haunted Honeymoon

Transylvania 65000

Monster Squad

The Gate

Explorers

RAD

Dirtbike Kid

The Peanut Butter Solution

The Hidden

White Water Summer

The Rescue

Gung Ho

Mr Mom

Disorderlies

Walk Like a Man

Invisible Kid

My Bodyguard

Ruthless People

The Man with Two Brains

The Money Pit

 

So mostly I am picking things she doesn’t mention/are less common on those kinds of lists. No endorsement on any of these as most were things we rented from from Pharmor in the late 80s/early 90s…..