# So what movies best sum up the 80's? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 11, 2002, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844 "2002-10-11T17:35:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844/1 "2002-10-11T17:35:58Z")
We did the 90’s, now let’s try it with the 80’s. If an historian 100 years from now wanted to view the ten movies which best capture the “vibe” of the 80’s, what ten movies should he/she watch. The movies need not be _good_ films. It is only important that they capture the feel of what it was like to be living in the 80’s. With that in mind, I’ll throw out a nomination: Echo Park. It was a really bad movie; but I only saw it for the first time a couple of months ago, and damn if it didn’t make me almost painfully nostalgic for the 80’s. Definitely a movie _of its era._ So what others? And no fair just listing 10 John Hughes movies. 😉 (Though I expect he will figure prominently in this thread…) ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844/2 "2002-10-11T17:42:36Z")
_Wall Street_? ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844/3 "2002-10-11T17:44:34Z")
Valley Girl ---
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844/4 "2002-10-11T17:52:55Z")
**Real Genius** **Ferris Bueller’s Day Off** **Weird Science** **Sixteen Candles** **Working Girl** ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844/5 "2002-10-11T18:16:21Z")
Risky Business Do the Right Thing Trading Places Lethal Weapon Broadcast News ---
**Author:** ![davidw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c4cdca/32.png) [@davidw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidw)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844/6 "2002-10-11T18:20:10Z")
Do The Right Thing ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844/7 "2002-10-11T18:22:18Z")
Think about the Reagan years (especially early), the new interest in the military after Vietnam and, later, the Carter administration. Reagan helped usher in the attitute that yes, America was proud and strong. Military morale and enlistments (not to mention budget) increased. With that in mind, how about **Rambo**? For something a little less cartoonish, how about **Uncommon Valor**? Even **Top Gun** would fit in, if only for box office popularity. There were lots of other patriotic/nationalistic movies that tapped into the “strong American military” theme: **Delta Force** , **Missing in Action** , **Commando** , **Death Before Dishonor** , **Hamburger Hill** ,and even **Red Dawn** , and others. So, take your pick. ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844/8 "2002-10-11T18:27:12Z")
**Wargames** Kinda cheesey movie, but the whole “we’re all going to die in a nuclear holocaust” idea _was_ pretty prevalent throughout the '80s. So, you also get movies like **The Terminator** , **The Day After** , **Threads** , **Special Bulletin** (a gimmicky, made-for-TV movie which would probably be more _apropos_ today, given the terrorism theme) and so on. You’ve also got the whole post-apocalyptic **Mad Max** and its sequals (and rip-offs), showing the pessimism (“we really _are_ going to all die in a nuclear holocaust!”) of the decade. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844/9 "2002-10-11T18:33:48Z")
Assuming that we are talking about the vibe of the '80’s can be represented by big hair, the influence of the music video on film, and an unhealthy obsession with physical appearance and financial success (well, that’s what resonates for me about the period), here’s my top ten, in no particular order: _Desperately Seeking Susan_ – The two most iconic women of the '80’s: Madonna and Rosanna Arquette _Purple Rain_ – Prince’s epic vanity project, in which we learn just how hip Minneapolis was once aupon a time _The Breakfast Club_ – well, you knew it was coming _After Hours/Into the Night_ – New York and LA-based versions of more or less the same story, in which a middle-class guy who’s lost the plot of his life gets dragged into a series of strange events over one busy night; AH is dark and ItN silly, but it’s interesting to note the similarities of theme _Top Gun_ – in which we shake off the legacy of Viet Nam once and for all and turn the operation of killing machines into a music video _True Stories_ – David Byrne’s State of the Union address, made at the height of Talking Head’s success _Raising Arizona_ – Mary and Joseph as Trailer Trash _Heathers_ – plows the same ground as Hughes’ high-school oevre, but with more of an edge _Roger & Me_ – Michael Moore’s funny/sad documentary trip to the heart of the Rust Belt _Wall Street_ – ‘greed is good’; more or less wallows in the sort of thing that Michael Moore was complaining about ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844/10 "2002-10-11T18:51:56Z")
I second _Wall Street_. I nominate: _Fast Times at Ridgemont High_ - “slice of life” movie that focused on some important 80s teen issues, even if superficially (i.e. teens in the work force, teen pregnancy/abortion, drug use). Also, mall culture was probably glimpsed in this movie for one of the first times in cinema. _Vision Quest_ - quest for physical perfection, “can do” attitude on display, and the soundtrack _Beverly Hills Cop_ and _Beverly Hills Cop 2_ - think of the culture and music on display behind the plot lines. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844/11 "2002-10-11T19:24:53Z")
How about **Manhunter**? (The first film based on Red Dragon.) Really captures the _style_ of the 80’s, I think. Clean lines, lots of neon, etc. For the obligatory John Hughes movie, I select **Pretty in Pink**. Captures nicely the mid-to-late-80’s used-record-store, second-hand-clothes, live-band-at-a-club scene. (Breakfast Club, to me, is not as much of a period piece. Ditto Ferris Bueller. Aside from the clothes, it could take place in any decade.) Good call on **Beverly Hills Cop**. Hadn’t thought of that one. **Fast Times at Ridgemont High** is a tough call. It’s right on the cusp. Though it came out in the 80’s, it really has more of a late-70’s feel to me. (What with the Tom Petty lead song and all. And the Zeppelin references.) Didn’t Cameron Crowe base the script on his observations at a California high school in the 70’s? I dunno. Could go either way. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844/12 "2002-10-11T20:02:41Z")
I nominate two TV movies: **High School USA** 100% 80’s movie starring Michael J Fox as the kid who tries to win the love of Nancy McKeon away from preppy rich boy Anthony Edwards, with the help of his geeky friends and their robot. **Desperate Lives**. Another 80’s classic starring Doug McKeon (no relation) and Helen Hunt as High Schoolers in the most drug-soaked institution in the history of drugs. High points 😉 include Helen Hunt taking some industrial angel dust, jumping out the window into a crowd of students down below, then getting up apparently unhurt and screaming “I’m invincible!!!” Another great scene is when the fed-up teacher goes through every students’ locker, turns up about $2 million worth of assorted drugs, then carts them into the gym pep rally and gives such a heartfelt speech that the students line up, walk down and empty their pockets of another $1 million or so worth of drugs. If you haven’t seen either of these, you owe it to yourself to check them out. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844/13 "2002-10-11T20:17:39Z")
Some more I think deserve consideration, all reflecting different aspects of 80s America: _Rocky IV_ - USA vs Russia angst, a look at true high-dollar sports. _Arthur_ - life of privilege and excess _Flashdance_ - the music, mainly … don’t miss the “strong woman in a man’s world” angle _Mr. Mom_ - Another angle on changing male/female roles _Cocoon_ - empowerment of the senior citizen … even if it is science fiction _Ruthless People_ - a more humorous look at greed and amorrality than _Wall Street_ _Secret of My Succe$s_ - a comedic take on the workday office world _Cocktail_ - the club scene, and the empowered older woman seduces the young stud and acts as his sugar mamma _Parenthood_ - the suburban family scene ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844/14 "2002-10-11T20:18:12Z")
The lessor-known _The Star Chamber_ addresses the spiraling crime rate and (mostly fictitious but widely believed) judicial impotence at the beginning of the eighties, though I’d cite _American Psycho_ as a good example of a movie _about_ the eighties, though the film was not actually made in that decade. The nihilisitc drug scene (i.e. the brief semi-romantic seventies-leftover period when white sophisticates were doing coke before black people started doing crack and the ugly mess that is drug use could no longer be embraced by leftist journalists) was captuired effectively in _Less Than Zero_ ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844/15 "2002-10-11T20:31:01Z")
As an afterthought, I have to give a nod to _Red Dawn_ as the second-last classically bad cold-war flick (_Rambo III_ wins that title). It’s one of the first films to highlight extremist surivalism as a positive. High school students take on the Red Army, BOO-yah! ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844/16 "2002-10-11T20:39:57Z")
> [@](#): > > by Bryan Ekers: > \*\*The nihilisitc drug scene (i.e. the brief semi-romantic seventies-leftover period when white sophisticates were doing coke before black people started doing crack and the ugly mess that is drug use could no longer be embraced by leftist journalists) was captuired effectively in _Less Than Zero_ > \*\* Good call. Also see _Bright Lights, Big City_. ---
**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844/17 "2002-10-11T20:49:27Z")
**Back to the Future** , which is more of a time capsule for 1985 than it is a trip to 1955: Libyan terrorists, Tab, Pepsi Free, down vests, skateboards, Huey Lewis and the News, Calvin Klein, Ronald Reagan, and Darth Vader were just a few of the pop culture references. ---
**Author:** ![Lab2490](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Lab2490](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lab2490)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844/18 "2002-10-11T20:53:20Z")
There are 2 words that sum up the movie style of the 80’s : Molly Ringwald ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844/19 "2002-10-11T21:01:16Z")
Since it hasn’t been suggested yet, how about _Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo_? Seriously, _Wall Street_ is a good choice as is _Less Than Zero_, which now looks like a documentary about RDjr. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2002, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844/20 "2002-10-11T21:09:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FNRFR \* > \*\ ***Back to the Future** , which is more of a time capsule for 1985 than it is a trip to 1955: Libyan terrorists, Tab, Pepsi Free, down vests, skateboards, Huey Lewis and the News, Calvin Klein, Ronald Reagan, and Darth Vader were just a few of the pop culture references. \*\* If pop culture references are what we’re after, an obvious movie is _The Wedding Singer_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-what-movies-best-sum-up-the-80s/131844.md?page=2)