Last night’s conversation...
My husband: I’m going to look up the movie Lost Boys. Someone mentioned it, and I haven’t seen it in a long time. Want to watch it with me?
Me (fully knowing the reaction I’m about to get): I’ve never seen that.
Him: Are you f*&%ing kidding me?
That’s a common conversation with my husband. Also with my best friend. (She recently declared an 80’s weekend to fix some of this.) Simply change out the movie title to some other classic 80’s or 90’s movie. I’ll take full responsibility for movies of the 90’s that I missed. I just had different priorities then. But the 80’s? Well...
The 80’s was a significant decade of my youth. (You can try to ballpark my age from that statement. I’m not actually trying to hide it.) It was also a decade where I was still a kid under my parents’ roof, and therefore their rule. And here’s where you get a glimpse of my youth.
I was raised in a very sheltered, arguably overprotective, household. (An author friend of mine advised me to stop using the word “very”, but it really needs to be included in that sentence. She would probably tell me to stop using “really” as well. See my intro post.)
It was a devoutly religious household, which in itself is not bad. I still cling to many of the core beliefs I was raised on. But I found it to be suffocating being expected to fit into a specific mold. The focus was narrow, and at times, judgemental. I see this so clearly in hindsight, and it makes me sad.
Until we get to the end of the 80’s, my parents still had almost total control over what I saw in theaters. When I was 16, my mom still didn’t want me seeing PG-13 movies. I didn’t have my driver's license until I was almost 17, so they still had some control. (Yeah, you’re narrowing down my age now, aren’t you?) Inevitably, life moved on, and I was left to play catch up.
A simple Google search for “iconic movies of the 80’s” will produce a nice little scrolling bar of movies considered to be, well, iconic for that decade. Here’s the Google list, in whatever order they came up with. And my status.
- Back To The Future - Yeah, I saw this in the theater. Plus the sequels. Multiple times.
Aliens - Nope. Not really into anything scary anyway. Hubby says the first one is legitimately scary.
Ghostbusters - Saw this in the theater, but I think my mom regretted it.
The Breakfast Club - Didn’t get to see this until years later on VHS at a friend’s house.
ET - My mom didn’t want to take me to see this until a friend explained to her what it actually was. Then she took me to see it in the theater.
Empire Strikes Back - I remember seeing this in the theater
Gremlins - I still haven’t seen this to this day
Ferris Bueller's Day Off - My older brother rented this on VHS for me one day, years later, when I was home sick.
Goonies - I’m pretty sure I saw this in the theater.
Raiders of the Lost Ark - I saw this in the theater.
Terminator - I still have not seen this to this day or any of the series.
Die Hard - I still have not seen this to this day, or any of the series.
Princess Bride - I saw this on VHS at a friend’s house years later
Airplane - I still have not seen this to this day
Shining - Nope. And really not interested (Again with the scary movies.)
Sixteen Candles - It was years later when I saw this on video at a friend’s house.
Nightmare on Elm Street - A guy made me watch this on VHS on a date at his house. I found it dumb.
Beverly Hills Cop - Nope. Haven’t seen it. Has sequels, too, right?
Blade Runner - Haven’t seen this either.
A Christmas Story - Similar to Nightmare on Elm Street, but a different boyfriend. Also found it dumb.
Stand By Me - Haven’t seen it.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit - Now, this I saw about 4 or 5 times in the theater.
Top Gun - Didn’t see this until it was out on video and I was at a friend’s house.
Full Metal Jacket - Nope.
Return of the Jedi - I saw this in the theater.
Raging Bull - I hadn’t even heard of this.
The Thing - Horror movie, right? Nope. Not my thing.
Big Trouble in Little China - I saw this many years later with my husband
Mad Max 2 - Nope. And I haven’t seen the first one either.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High - Nope.
Blues Brothers - My husband had to show me this many years later.
Platoon - Nope, but I’m really not interested. Should I be?
NeverEnding Story - Yeah, I saw this in the theater.
First Blood - Nope. And not exactly interested.
Weird Science - I saw this many years later on video or perhaps on tv one weekend. TBS anyone?
Caddyshack - I don’t remember if I saw this in the theater or not, but I do remember it being a movie I saw at a young age. Probably to my mother’s regret. But I cherish this one.
Indiana Jones - I’ve seen all of these in the theater
Batman (1989) - I’m pretty sure I have not seen this still today. But I’m not certain. Let’s just say I have not.
Beetlejuice - Nope. Still haven’t seen it.
American Werewolf in London - I remember my older brother watching this on tv once when I was just kind of passing through the family room.
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure - Saw this in the theater. A couple times. Sadly.
Labyrinth - Another one I saw many years later with my husband.
Karate Kid - Saw all of this series in the theater, and multiple times on video. Except the Hilary Swank one; I just wasn’t that interested. I also saw the 2010 one, which I enjoyed.
Do the Right Thing - Nope.
Blue Velvet - Wait. That’s not some old black and white movie with Elizabeth Taylor and a horse?
Just One of the Guys - I suspect my husband added this to the list during blog post editing. Nope, I haven’t seen it.
Poltergeist - Scary. No thank you.
Coming To America - This is one of those movies I saw years later at a friend’s house.
Heathers - I don’t think I saw this in the theater, but I did see it. I was majorly crushing on Christian Slater. (Gleaming the Cube anyone?) So I actually still own the VHS for this. (But I don’t have a VCR. Lol) I still use the phrase “Greetings and salutations” to this day.
Escape from New York - Never even heard of this. Husband comment: UGH!
We can cover a lot by saying I didn’t see anything with Patrick Swayze, Eddie Murphy, or the Coreys (Haim and Feldman). My familiarity of film stars was limited to what I heard at school and what I found in Tiger Beat, Teen Beat, and Bop purchases at the end of the decade.
How does your status compare? Have you seen most of these? Was it in the theater? Or did you have to go to a friend’s house to see it later on video like I did?
Tell me what movies from the 80’s are missing from this list while I go see if I can finally read the Sweet Valley High books on Kindle.