As far as Hollywood goes, it may as well be 1985.
After all, not only does recent box-office champ Tron: Legacy harken back to an ‘80s hit but with such upcoming Reagan-era remakes as Arthur (April 8), Fright Night (August 19), Footloose (Oct. 14) and several others in the works, it seems filmmakers are excavating the 1980s for cinematic gold.
It makes you wonder how long it will take before Tinseltown’s prospectors exhaust that mine. Probably not too long.
In that spirit, here are 5 movies from the ‘80s that Hollywood is likely to overlook – even though their relative obscurity probably only adds to why they’d be decent modern remakes:
Valley Girl (1983)
I’m not sure how this baby would look if you placed it in today’s world but Valley Girl was surely iconic for its early-80s time period. A young Nicolas Cage starred as a Los Angeles punk who falls for a snooty rich girl from the valley in this classic two-worlds-collide tale. In fact, an update on this might make for a better reality TV show than a movie...you know, maybe hook up Ronnie from Jersey Shore with a Kardashian…and let the cameras roll.
Just One of the Guys (1985)
Maybe you’ve never seen it but Just One of the Guys was ranked #48 on Entertainment Weekly’s Top High School Movies - and even though #48 doesn’t sound all that exceptional, keep in mind that billing places it respectfully between Napoleon Dynamite and Sixteen Candles. Either way, I saw this little gem several times back in the day and developed a big crush on actress Joyce Hyser who played a hot girl who begins dressing as a boy in order to prove some sexist teachers wrong. I’m not sure about what being smitten in my youth with a cross-dresser says about me though…
Electric Dreams (1984)
As Dave Kehr of the Chicago Reader wrote about Electric Dreams, “I've never seen more state-of-the-art technical gimcrackery brought to bear to less effect.” Well, in spite of the fact I don’t know what “gimcrackery” is, I say maybe Dreams was just ahead of its time, Mr. Kehr. After all, we’re now living in the age of incredibly efficient special effects and 3D mastery; where Pixar is God and technical wizardry is a thing of box office wonders. Yes, now is the time to make a movie about a personal home computer that jealously falls in love with its owner’s girlfriend and begins plotting against him.
The Legend of Billie Jean (1985)
For a movie that’s legacy is largely the spawning of a Pat Benatar song, the premise of this drama would probably adapt well to today. Helen Slater played the titular role – a girl who is accused of a crime and runs away to become a rebellious hero and media darling as she attempts to prove her innocence. Ain’t nothin’ quite as contemporary as a flick about media sensationalism these days, where the celeb-stalking paparazzos of TMZ are taken almost as seriously as Anderson Cooper.
Real Genius (1985)
In a nutshell, this comedy stars Val Kilmer as a goof who leads a class of teenaged scientists developing a laser until they realize its intended for devious plans. Now that may sound like a really lame premise but as Roger Ebert wrote at the time, “Real Genius allows every one of its characters the freedom to be complicated and quirky and individual”…and that’s something we could use badly in movies today, baby.
