Edward Scissorhands Three actors pop out of this movie for me. The only thing I knew about Johnny Depp at the time was that he was on 21 Jump Street, but we didn't get that channel at our house, so he was new to me, a teen heart throb wanted to show he could act. Wynona Rider had been in Beetlejuice (also by Tim Burton) two years before that, which I liked, but I had a hard time picturing her in the character of Kim at first because I identified her as Lydia. The biggest one, for me, though, was Anthony Michael Hall. I knew him from Wierd Science, The Breakfast Club, and Sixteen Candles, and in each if these movies he played "the geek." Everytime I saw this kid, he was a skinny, socially inept nerd with braces and zits, but when I saw him in Edward Scissorhands, I was impressed with how well he was able to convince me that he was really a big, beefy, jockstrap A-Hole. His character, Jim, is a cliche', a stereotype we all know well, just like the nerds he played in the other movies I mentioned, but I saw it as a bit more, too. You see, Jim isn't just a jerk who goes after this film's version of "Frankenstein's monster" because he fears what is different and strange, he goes after him because he's jealous. I could relate. Now, I was a bit of a misfit in high school, and I could identify with the themes of the movie, the isolation, depression...I had sympathy for Edward. I liked Jim's character, though, because I understood his motivation. The artificial man-child with scissors for hands? Of course, he just wants human contact, but can never have it because he is different, and feared. Got it. Message recieved. But if my girlfriend started spending all of her time with some freak from out of town and, out of nowhere, started treating me like there wasn't a thing to like about me, I'd get a little testy, too. As a matter of fact, that actually happened to me once or twice when I was in high school. Of course, I didn't get drunk and chase the guy to his castle so I could try to kill him.... but you probably get the point.
Goodfellas At some point in your life, you probably thought it would be awesome to be a gangster, right? Power. Money. Respect. Nice suits. The part about the mafia being a brutal criminal organization where theft, murder, and the overall destruction of other people's lives, you could do without, maybe, but hey- fugedaboudit. It was this movie, more than any of the other gangster movies that came out around that time, that got my buddies and I talking to eachother like wiseguys with fake Noo Yawk accents and telling phony stories about our dead friend "Jimmy Staccatta (God rest his soul)." Goodfellas shows you all of the violence, ugliness, brutality, paranoia, and treachery of mob life...and yet, you somehow still want to be a gangster. Even Henry, who by the end of the film ought to be thanking God every minute for the witness protection program, still wishes he was in "the life." His two best friends, Jimmy and Tommy, would stab you in the throat, call you an @#%&!, steal your wallet, and laugh about how funny your voice sounds when you beg for mercy while gargling your own blood, and yet people still watch this movie and think, "man, I'd love to hang out with those dudes." That's some good acting, to be able to convince an audience that psycopaths are the best kind of company. You should be horrified, but you can't help but be entertained, and Scorsese gets top honors in my book for making a gangster movie so complex that you enjoy it, but feel like you need a bath afterward.
Pump Up The Volume Okay, so what is this movie? Is it a modern Rebel Without A Cause? Is it a commentary on free speech and government restriction of the airwaves? Is it just a bunch of dick jokes with some teen angst thrown in? Yes. The answer is "D: All of the above." Here's the important stuff; Most of the time, Mark is a shy kid who was forced to leave his friends "back east" and move with his family to Lameville, but on the air, hes a rude and crude teenage "shock jock" who says things and plays songs you can't hear on commercial radio. It's mostly just dirty talk and mediocre music until he has a Spiderman-like epiphany about the influence he has on his listeners and his percieved responsibility for a fellow student's suicide, and the evil adults all conspire to take him off the air and toss him in jail. Plus, a cute girl discovers his secret identity as Happy harry Hard-on, and they both take off their shirts, so points are scored for both the males and females in the audience. There are actually a lot of paralells with Rebel Without A Cause here. James Dean and Christian Slater both play the new kid who doesn't quite fit in. Both characters find acceptance by doing things the adults think are stupid and dangerous and find themselves blamed and feeling guilty for the death of a peer. Both gain the attention of the rebel girl who tries to draw him out of his introverted shell. Both end up getting caught by the cops doing not much of anything wrong. And of course, to top it all of, "grown-ups just don't understand what it's like to be a teenager in my generation." As for the message, well- I don't know. I'm not a big fan of government control of the airwaves, but it's not like Happy Harry Hard-on was really offering up a needed service. The way this movie plays out, you'd think kids in 1990 had no other way of hearing Beastie Boys songs or dirty jokes without (gasp) "pirate radio." I don't know if there even were any pirate radio stations in my area growing up, and I heard plenty of both. Also, despite what the audio montage at the end would have you believe, I doubt that Happy Harry Hard-on inspired kids to start their own suicide hotlines or local political talkshows. All in all, though, it goes in my own personal cultural vault, because I still remember Al Gore's wife wanting to censor pretty much all music, and because it's a teen movie made when I was a teen that didn't assume everyone in the audience was the same cardboard cut-out kid they showed in sit-coms.
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead Ok, first let me just say that I have seen two or three film versions of Hamlet, and I do actually enjoy the works of William Shakespeare. Having said that, I can appreciate the sneers given to hipsters who only listen to vinyl records and only read books written before 1959. Not enough pretentiousness in your diet? Have some Shakespeare! I am no hipster, and I didn't watch this movie because I wanted to explore the ideas of fatalism and free will, or to pat myself on the back for "getting" the jokes. I watched this movie because my friend Paul Keller recommended it, and because there were parts of it that were truly histerical. Plus, I happen to think that Gary Oldman and Tim Roth are really gifted, talented actors. Of course, there's plenty of stuff in there for the more cerebral viewer, and that's cool. I do get that stuff. But mostly, I remember this movie because it reminds me of the kick-ass times I had hanging out with all of my friends- they know who they are.
In Television- Twin Peaks, In Living Color, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
In Song- "Groove Is In The Heart," "Vogue," "Ice Ice Baby"
Big Event- Operation Desert Shield begins
Goodfellas At some point in your life, you probably thought it would be awesome to be a gangster, right? Power. Money. Respect. Nice suits. The part about the mafia being a brutal criminal organization where theft, murder, and the overall destruction of other people's lives, you could do without, maybe, but hey- fugedaboudit. It was this movie, more than any of the other gangster movies that came out around that time, that got my buddies and I talking to eachother like wiseguys with fake Noo Yawk accents and telling phony stories about our dead friend "Jimmy Staccatta (God rest his soul)." Goodfellas shows you all of the violence, ugliness, brutality, paranoia, and treachery of mob life...and yet, you somehow still want to be a gangster. Even Henry, who by the end of the film ought to be thanking God every minute for the witness protection program, still wishes he was in "the life." His two best friends, Jimmy and Tommy, would stab you in the throat, call you an @#%&!, steal your wallet, and laugh about how funny your voice sounds when you beg for mercy while gargling your own blood, and yet people still watch this movie and think, "man, I'd love to hang out with those dudes." That's some good acting, to be able to convince an audience that psycopaths are the best kind of company. You should be horrified, but you can't help but be entertained, and Scorsese gets top honors in my book for making a gangster movie so complex that you enjoy it, but feel like you need a bath afterward.
Pump Up The Volume Okay, so what is this movie? Is it a modern Rebel Without A Cause? Is it a commentary on free speech and government restriction of the airwaves? Is it just a bunch of dick jokes with some teen angst thrown in? Yes. The answer is "D: All of the above." Here's the important stuff; Most of the time, Mark is a shy kid who was forced to leave his friends "back east" and move with his family to Lameville, but on the air, hes a rude and crude teenage "shock jock" who says things and plays songs you can't hear on commercial radio. It's mostly just dirty talk and mediocre music until he has a Spiderman-like epiphany about the influence he has on his listeners and his percieved responsibility for a fellow student's suicide, and the evil adults all conspire to take him off the air and toss him in jail. Plus, a cute girl discovers his secret identity as Happy harry Hard-on, and they both take off their shirts, so points are scored for both the males and females in the audience. There are actually a lot of paralells with Rebel Without A Cause here. James Dean and Christian Slater both play the new kid who doesn't quite fit in. Both characters find acceptance by doing things the adults think are stupid and dangerous and find themselves blamed and feeling guilty for the death of a peer. Both gain the attention of the rebel girl who tries to draw him out of his introverted shell. Both end up getting caught by the cops doing not much of anything wrong. And of course, to top it all of, "grown-ups just don't understand what it's like to be a teenager in my generation." As for the message, well- I don't know. I'm not a big fan of government control of the airwaves, but it's not like Happy Harry Hard-on was really offering up a needed service. The way this movie plays out, you'd think kids in 1990 had no other way of hearing Beastie Boys songs or dirty jokes without (gasp) "pirate radio." I don't know if there even were any pirate radio stations in my area growing up, and I heard plenty of both. Also, despite what the audio montage at the end would have you believe, I doubt that Happy Harry Hard-on inspired kids to start their own suicide hotlines or local political talkshows. All in all, though, it goes in my own personal cultural vault, because I still remember Al Gore's wife wanting to censor pretty much all music, and because it's a teen movie made when I was a teen that didn't assume everyone in the audience was the same cardboard cut-out kid they showed in sit-coms.
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead Ok, first let me just say that I have seen two or three film versions of Hamlet, and I do actually enjoy the works of William Shakespeare. Having said that, I can appreciate the sneers given to hipsters who only listen to vinyl records and only read books written before 1959. Not enough pretentiousness in your diet? Have some Shakespeare! I am no hipster, and I didn't watch this movie because I wanted to explore the ideas of fatalism and free will, or to pat myself on the back for "getting" the jokes. I watched this movie because my friend Paul Keller recommended it, and because there were parts of it that were truly histerical. Plus, I happen to think that Gary Oldman and Tim Roth are really gifted, talented actors. Of course, there's plenty of stuff in there for the more cerebral viewer, and that's cool. I do get that stuff. But mostly, I remember this movie because it reminds me of the kick-ass times I had hanging out with all of my friends- they know who they are.
In Television- Twin Peaks, In Living Color, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
In Song- "Groove Is In The Heart," "Vogue," "Ice Ice Baby"
Big Event- Operation Desert Shield begins