Hey did you here the bad news, Canadian actor Corey Haim kicked the bucket today. Apparently a drug overdose. Age 38. I googled him. He starred in a couple classics, which may be a little before your time, whippersnapper. So if you haven’t seen The Lost Boys, go rent it. Best movie of ‘87 in my opinion; it combined teen angst with comedy and action / low grade horror. It had it all. Not only do you get to see the aforementioned Haim in his prime (at like age 15) but also Keifer Sutherland with funny blond hair and a broken hand (which he covered with black gloves throughout the entire movie), Jason Patric in pretty much his only good role which still managed to help him hook up with hotties such as Julia Roberts, and best of all Jami Gertz who ranks as one of my all time best teen heartthrobs, 2nd only to Molly Ringwald. Gertz had bigger tits, but Ringwald had the fire crotch. On top of all that, the theme song(cry little sister by Gerard Mcmann) captured the best of 80’s pop sensibilities without excessive hairspray keyboard.
The other Haim classic was the uber cheesy teen drama ‘Lucas’ which was subject to ruthless ridicule from my older brother back in ’86, though as a 7 year old I could dig it. True, any movie which portrays Charlie Sheen as a jock demonstrates questionable masculine credentials. But for all time nerd dream endings, nothing tops the ‘slow clap’ triumph of little Lucas over his prototypical bully tormentors. Go Lucas, nerds forever, Yaaa!
Looking back, the 80’s had some wonderful teen flicks, so much better than todays offerings, principally because they didn’t succumb to the cheap thrills of shock and awe. Instead, the best of them navigated the tenuous path between heavy teen emo and modern coolness without slipping down the slope into embarrassingly silly melodrama. Maybe they couldn’t afford brash special effects, or they just preferred actual story-telling, even if the story was based in a simplistic child like world view. The legacy we’re left with no longer seems as embarrassing as it did when I was 20. Now that I’m an old duffer, I can relive my long forgotten youth through 80’s flicks. A trip to Pic-a-Flic is in order!
Do you share my silly affection for vintage VHS?