If you are around my age, the 1980s were a time of fond remembrance.  These were the years in which I was formed and molded, and more importantly, these were the years in which I discovered my love of movies.  But looking back on those films, there are three folders that I find I have stashed everything into, in the filing cabinet that is my head.  The first is, of course, those favorite films that defined the generation and still stand as hits today.  Movies like Better Off Dead, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, or Back To The Future.  Then of course, there are those films that we would just like to forget were ever made; you know the ones...Moonwalker, The Pirate Movie, or The Sword And The Sorcerer.  Then there are the others.  The ones you bring up around the water cooler at work, that instantly start a flurry of excitement among your piers.  They excite us because we loved these movies...but somehow forgot about them; and what a treat it is to be reminded!  It is this third category which Anchor Bay taps into (with perhaps the exception of the ever popular Heathers) with their new Living In The 80s! collection.

We all know Helen Hunt from TV's "Mad About You", and Sarah Jessica Parker is a household name after her success on HBO's "Sex And The City".  But before they conquered the small screen, they were dancing their brains out in 1985's Girls Just Want To Have Fun!  Made almost entirely to exploit the Cyndi Lauper song of the same name that was still tearing up the airwaves after its release two years previously (it was billed in previews as Girls Just Want To Have Fun: The Movie), GJWTHF was a manic, comic version of Dirty Dancing.  One interesting note on that however...GJWTHF actually predates Dirty Dancing by a few years!  This movie is worth revisiting if only to remind yourself that 90210 she-bitch, Shannon Dougherty, plays a 12 year old "punk".  Toss in a little Jonathan Silverman ("Gimme' A Break!" & Weekend At Bernie's) and this is truly the stuff of the 80s!

The 80s weren't all about frivolous dancing, horrible clothes and having way too much fun...well, okay, actually they were.  But Soul Man combined these 80s staples with a social commentary on the climate of American acceptance.  This particular decade had a way of dealing with problems, and this was usually to spoof them or at least try to turn them into a good laugh (there are much worse ways to deal with things to be sure), but Soul Man will probably never find acceptance with everyone, over its topics of racism and affirmative action.  A shame really, because until we can all laugh at ourselves, things will just continue getting worse.

But there is plenty to laugh at here, as C. Thomas Howell (Red Dawn, The Hitcher) plays rich kid, Mark, who's parents suddenly yank their funding.  How will he get into Harvard now, and still be able to afford his affluent lifestyle?  Why a scholarship of course. But this late in the game, the only foundation that will accept applications is for black students...and Mark is most definitely white.  But for how long?  Using an over-dose of tanning pills, Mark assumes a role he may not be entirely prepared to play!

Don't think that GJWTHF is the only 80s film to spawn a pair of future television stars; keep your eyes peeled for future "Seinfeld" star, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Wallace Langham who would eventually take up residence in "Veronica's Closet" and could be seen in "The Larry Sanders Show".  Also of note are appearances by Leslie Neilson and James Earl Jones; the latter's smart-witted comments keep the movie both funny and in perspective.

And of course, I saved the best for last!  Newly-made star, Winona Ryder and the momentum-gaining, rolling-stone talent, Christian Slater star in Heathers, another social commentary handled with humor...however black that comedy may be!  How many times did you wish you could just wipe out those uber-popular, yet morally vacant students at your high school.  You know, the ones that even have the teachers wrapped around their fingers because they are so cool?  Well, imagine if you DID wipe them out...only you made it all look like a series of suicides; not only clearing your name, but setting the whole town on a witch hunt for answers.  Such is the premise of Heathers...a film that could have been used as a poignant warning for the tragic events of real-life school violence, had it not been destined to serve only as a scapegoat.  But a powerful film it still is...powerful and FUN.  The year was 1989 and the cynicism of the 90s was setting in, but we still were stuck in 80s mode of laughing at inappropriate scenarios.  Oh yeah, and be sure to spot Shannon Doherty again!

Living In The 80s! is quite the collection of great cinema for the $34.99 asking price, and definitely a collection that belongs on your DVD shelf.  The packaging is nothing to write home about and is basically made up of the three movies in their individual keep-cases, then slid inside a flimsy sleeve that you won't have any qualms about throwing away when it rips apart.  But, if it so happens that you are a younger movie fan, and have yet to be exposed to the cinema of the 80s, this is the perfect starting point.  Grab this collection and invite some friends over...they will think your cool for having "retro" tastes.  Good God, I never thought my generation would be "retro" when I am still only 28!  Kids...

-aaron-
 

Films Included: