let\’s go crazy

a recent bout of insomnia found me plopped in front of the tv watching– for the first time– purple rain, the 1984 musicama (dramsical?) starring our little purple prince. as i said, i couldn\’t sleep, there wasn\’t much else on, and i was inspired by symbolina\’s halftime appearance at the super bowl. besides, it seems like a seminal film for my generation, and i\’d never seen it. while mildly entertaining, let me assure you: it didn\’t hold up well.

but i then started thinking… 1984 was 23 years ago. i was eight. that was before miami vice pastels, before kid and play\’s flat tops, before color me badd and their funny-looking suits, before 90210 and brandon\’s v-neck sweaters. would any movie from 1984 really stand up?

let\’s look at the top 10 from that year:

• Splash— nope. that didn\’t stand up in 1985.
• purple rain— again, nope. although it was entertaining trying to pick out minneapolis landmarks.
• romancing the stone— never saw it. i can only assume that, if eddy grant sang the soundtrack, it hasn\’t held up.
• footloose— hmm. no, no, no. awful dancing. kenny loggins. kevin bacon\’s hair. i had to think about it, but no.
• police academy— my love of steve guttenberg is well-known. but really dated looking. not that i\’ve watched it recently on showtime or anything. ahem.
• the karate kid— you know, i haven\’t seen it for many years, but i feel like this one isn\’t quite as out-of-date as the rest of these. maybe it\’s because pat morita looks the same now as he did then. and he\’s actually been dead for a year.
• gremlins— again, it\’s been a while, but i don\’t recall this one screaming 80\’S like other movies on this list. maybe it\’s because the entire town of kingston falls ends up burning, so there\’s nothing left to indicate when the movie was made.
• indiana jones and the temple of doom— easily holds up the best out of every movie on this list. likely because it was set in 1935. i\’ll ask the next octogenarian i see whether it portrays the 30\’s correctly.
• beverly hills cop— a fun movie, but hells no. i don\’t care what imdb says, judge reinhold was only in movies in the 1980s. oh, and: oh-ooh-oh-oh, caught up in the action, i\’m looking out for you / oh-ooh-oh-oh, tell me can you feel it, tell me can you feel it / THE HEAT IS ON! (you\’re welcome)
• ghostbusters— another one i had to think about, but then i remembered this dealbeaker.

how about other movies from \’84? any of those hold up today?