Seven 80s Movies That Somehow Didn’t Seem Cheesy Then
Lucas
It’s kind of a shame watching this movie today because Cory Haim is no longer with us. However, when made, the film was clearly meant to depict a troubled young boy trying his best to fit in to his high school life. What’s cheesy about the film is basically everything. However, what I find best is the fact that Jeremy Piven is way more bald in this movie than any other film he’s been in. And this was his first movie appearance!
Valley Girl
I think this movie tried to encapsulate what the culture of high school kids in the Valley in California. Now? Now it’s an absolute joke hearing just about any line or saying from that movie.
Footloose
This movie was 100% meant to be a serious movie about kids just wanting to dance! But let’s face it. How many scenes in this movie are laughable today? Um, every single one?
You should do a “That Actor Guy” on Bolo Yeung.
Correct me if I’m wrong (too lazy to google it) but wasn’t the “real life of Frank Dux” actually a lie?
Yes it was Bud.
I know I’ll probably get crucified for this, but from the first moment I watched it, I thought The Breakfast Club was a big bowl of cheese.
You could pretty much do this entire list with classic John Carpenter’s 1980s flicks, though Big Trouble will always be favorite
Surprised Rocky 4 wasn’t on the list. Easily the most 80’s-tastic of the bunch (ie: cheesiest), and thus, my favorite movie ever. Bloodsport ranks up there pretty high as well. One of my favorite soundtracks to work out to.
Stan Bush’s song “Fight to Survive” > every other 80’s movie soundtrack song.
fucking Jean Claude anything. OMG IM GETTING MY ASS HANDED TO ME. but wait… whats this A COME BACK LIKE I DIDNT FIGHT TODAY YET!!! AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! every…. single….. damn…. time
Actually, when Kurt Russell’s character says “When Jack”, it’s 3rd person (illeism), not 1st person… 🙂
Even as a kid, I remember loving Bloodsport for the laffs. The slow-motion AAAAAHHHHHHHHs kept my brother and me in stitches. We took Karate Kid seriously though. XD
You are nuts. The KKid and FLoose are all still awesome and much preferred over their remakes.
The general consensus seems to be that “Big Trouble In Little China” needs to be removed or isolated from the rest of this list.
If you couldn’t hear Kurt Russell channeling John Wayne or any of the other aspects which make this a coherently tongue-in-cheek classic, then you can chalk it up to your naivety, ignorance and/or loss.
Not Seth Green…….. Patrick Dempsey ! 🙂
I expect you’re far too young to have been there in real time. Temporal context is everything. Your movies seem ridiculous to us, too.
I’ve never met anyone who didn’t realize that BTiLC was an action/comedy the first time they saw it. Honestly it just does not belong on a list with these other films.
Author – you do realize that big trouble was intended to be a cheese fest, don’t you. Maybe the humor doesn’t transcend to your generation, but the film was intended, and appreciated as, a comedy, not an actioner. It is a piss take of the cheesey action films of the time.
As for some of the others, low-budget feel good movies did rule the day in the mid-80’s, sort of a blow back form the overly serious, ugly films of the 70’s, when cheese really smelled like a toilet with the disco thing (theey call it Xanaduuuu,, ooooo, ooooo ooo oooo)
Big Troublein Little China is AWSOME!!!
What about the scene in Kickboxer when Van Damme got drunk and performed the gayest dance in history. You would never get away with that these days (especially in that tank top).