1980s Movie Mt. Rushmore Part II: The Brat Pack
By Michael Nazarewycz This is the second of a 4-part series that will look at those people most influential on movies in the 1980s. Click here to read Part I: John Hughes. I wanted a tidy list. I wanted four individual people. I wanted a nice Mt. Rushmore graphic. But how could I? Mention 1980s movies to most people – 80s devotees or not – and a high percentage of them surely will think of the Brat Pack. And that’s why I couldn’t pick...
1980s Movie Mt. Rushmore Part I: John Hughes
By Michael Nazarewycz This is the first of a 4-part series that will look at those people most influential on movies in the 1980s. In the eight-year span between 1982 and 1989, John Hughes wrote, directed, and/or produced 16 movies. Of those, the titles of 14 are still easily recognizable today, even by casual fans of ‘80s films. And of those 14, at least three (The Breakfast Club; Ferris Bueller’s Day Off; Christmas Vacation) are...
Some Kind of Wonderful, 1987
A John Hughes film without the regular John Hughes cast, which may be why this 1987 gem is often overlooked. But Some Kind of Wonderful’s somewhat quirky cast is also one of the things that sets it apart. Keith (Eric Stoltz) is an artist from the wrong side of town who works at a gas station. His only friend is the tomboy Watts (Mary Stuart Masterson). Watts is teased at school for her butch look and has only her drums and Keith to...
Pretty in Pink, 1986
This movie had it all. It may, in fact, be the best example of the genre. A John Hughes film, starring Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy, James Spader and Jon Cryer, 1986’s film Pretty in Pink is a must see for anyone interested in 80s movies or just interested in a good story, well done. Somewhat reminiscent of the classic Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet, the movie is a teen love story about two people who want to be together but...
The Breakfast Club, 1985
Do you remember The Breakfast Club? No, not a group of old men meeting at Hardees for breakfast. I’m talking about the 1985 movie, The Breakfast Club. For those of us who recognize the Brat Pack names Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez and Anthony Michael Hall, The Breakfast Club is a movie we’ll never forget. It begins with glass shattering to reveal the setting, Shermer High School, Saturday March 24th, 1984....