di Kristin Harwell, Jeannine Zabriskie, Carole Tribuzzo
We have a special guest, and he might be the most qualified one yet! Tommy, a friend of the pod, met Jeannine during her travels to Ireland and is a Goonies EXPERT. This 1985 Spielberg-produced classic follows a group of Astoria, Oregon kids who find a centuries-old pirate map in Mikey's attic and go after One-Eyed Willy's treasure to save their neighborhood from a real estate deal that's about to wipe it out. Part one covers the setup: how the doubloon lines up with Haystack Rock, a real debate over whether the movie's foreclosure plot actually makes sense, and Brand getting stranded on his little sister's training-wheel bike after his tires go flat. Tommy, for the record, refuses to believe anyone would build a country club where this one is supposedly going. We have so much to say, this one is a TWO-PARTER!
Risky Business Starring: Tom Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay, Joe Pantiolano, Curtis Armstrong, and Bronson Pinchot. Distributed by: Warner Bros. Release date: August 5, 1983 Budget: $6.2 million Box office: $63.5 million This week's movie opens with Joel Goodsen (played by Cruise) being left alone for a week by his parents, and what should be a quiet stretch of teenage freedom turns into sinking his dad's Porsche into a lake after hiring a call girl (De Mornay). We talk about Tom Cruise in one of his earliest comedic roles, whether Joel plays as a genuinely good kid caught in a bad situation or something douch-ier (if that's a word). Thanks for joining us at The Shermer High Alumni Association. If you had as much fun as we did, hit follow, leave a review, and share this episode with your fellow '80s movie lovers.
IT'S OUR 50TH EPISODE!!!! Ferris Bueller's Day Off turns 40 this year, and Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole rewatch John Hughes' love letter to Chicago. They've collectively seen this movie so many times they briefly debated whether rewatching it was even necessary. It was. Is it cringe? Is it Hall of Fame material? Listen this week to find out! #ferrisbueller #matthewbroderick #ferrari #80smovies #genxpod
SpaceCamp turns 40 this year, and Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole are rewatching the 1986 film that sent five teenagers and one very unprepared flight instructor into actual orbit because a robot had a feelings problem. Jeannine is back from Ireland with thoughts on roundabouts and fizzy water. Kristin attended real Space Camp in 1989, had a boyfriend there, and a Ponderosa manager stole her flight jacket, and she will never be over it. Also: Roger Ebert had a lot to say, Jeannine looked up what actually happens to your body when you run out of oxygen and that Space Camp is still a thing you can do for $800. Did it age well? Would they watch it again?
Footloose turns 42 this year, and Kristin and Carole are recording in person from Olmsted Falls, Ohio, while Jeannine is somewhere in Ireland living her best life. Jeannine would have sung every word of the soundtrack, and they both know it. This week's movie is the 1984 Kevin Bacon classic where rock music and dancing are banned in a small Utah town, a Chicago kid named Ren shows up with a cassette collection and an attitude, and somehow changes everything. They get into Ariel's ongoing death wish, Willard as the Neville Longbottom of Footloose, the council meeting scene that is genuinely good teenage activism, and why the critics in 1984 completely missed what this movie was actually about. Also: Kevin Bacon hates when DJs play Footloose at weddings, and the soundtrack might be in the same conversation as Top Gun. Did it age well? It's a Hall of Fame contender. Check back when Jeannine lands.
Heathers turns 36 this year, and Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole are diving headfirst into one of the darkest, funniest, and most quoted teen movies ever made. A $3 million budget, a five-week box office run that grossed $1.1 million, and somehow a cult classic — go figure. They break down: Veronica's diary The Heathers' color-coded power structure JD's red flags Corn Nuts Why this movie could never be made today The mineral water "evidence" ... and the eternal question of whether Ed McMahon ever had anything to do with Publishers Clearing House. ALSO: Surprise bonus content Did it age well? Not at all. But if it comes on, some of us aren't changing the channel.
It's the one-year anniversary of The Shermer High Alumni Association, and the girls are celebrating with one of the biggest movies of 1986: Top Gun. Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole revisit Maverick, Goose, Iceman, and Charlie for the film's birthday week, and it turns out Jeannine has never actually seen it, because she thought she wasn't allowed. They cover the glycerin sweat that defies physics, volleyball in jeans, a sex scene folded up like a middle school note, and the homoerotic undertones the internet won't stop talking about. Did it age well? It's not really cringe. Would they watch it again? The soundtrack might be enough. Danger zone, indeed.
It's the 40th birthday of Fire with Fire, the 1986 Paramount film that asked the age-old question: what could possibly go wrong when a juvenile delinquent and a Catholic schoolgirl fall in love in the Oregon woods? Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole rewatch this barely-remembered PG-13 romance starring Virginia Madsen and Craig Sheffer, and find a movie that plays like an after school special until it suddenly doesn't. Complete with a helicopter budget that nearly bankrupted the production, crypt sex, an extremely abrupt ending, and bacon grease that burns down a cabin in the state of Oregon. Also featuring Jean Smart in a career highlight as a very permissive nun, a Taylor Swift connection nobody asked for but everyone deserved, and one Washington Post critic who has thoughts. Did it age well? Fire with Fire 1986, Fire with Fire movie review, Virginia Madsen, Craig Sheffer, Jean Smart, 80s romance movies, 80s teen movies, Shermer High Alumni Association podcast, 80s movie rewatch podcast, Catholic schoolgirl movie, juvenile delinquent love story, Some Kind of Wonderful cast, Ophelia Taylor Swift, PG-13 80s films, Paramount 1986, did it age well, 80s nostalgia podcast, forgotten 80s movies, Captive Hearts 1986, 80s cult films
It's 1980, it's Disney, and somehow it's also completely unhinged. This week the Shermer High Alumni Association dives into Midnight Madness, the cult classic nobody reviewed, nobody released nationally, and apparently everybody loves anyway. A citywide overnight scavenger hunt, five wildly mismatched teams, zero prize money, and one very mysterious man named Leon. What could go wrong? Kristin is back from her trip and catching up on everything she missed (Short Circuit's fake Indian accent, Annie's extremely suspicious Daddy Warbucks), and then it's straight into the chaos. We've got the Dr. Pepper guy, a very young Michael J. Fox credited under the wrong name, Pee-wee Herman running a pinball parlor with a coin-dispensing gun, and a final prize that turns out to be a buffet and a plaque while the neighbors cleaned up betting on them. Classic. The ladies debate whether the Yellow team deserved to win, whether Adam is redeemable (Jeannine says no, he's still a douche), and how this movie somehow kept them more engaged than Caddyshack. Also: Roger Ebert gave it one star in 2004, the audience gives it 70%, and Kristin paid $4.08 on Amazon Prime and now owns it for eternity. Cringe? A little. Fun? Absolutely. Would they watch it again if it popped up on TV? Without question.
This week’s movie is: Annie, a movie that asks the important question: what if capitalism, child labor, and jazz hands all came together for one wildly chaotic musical? Annie follows a spirited young orphan living in New York City during the Great Depression. Stuck in a strict and often miserable orphanage run by the bitter Miss Hannigan, Annie refuses to give up hope that her parents will one day return for her. Her life takes an unexpected turn when billionaire Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks invites her to stay at his mansion for a week as part of a publicity campaign. What starts as a temporary arrangement quickly turns into something more, as Annie’s optimism begins to soften Warbucks’ tough exterior. Meanwhile, Miss Hannigan teams up with her scheming brother and his girlfriend to try and pretend to be Annie’s parents in order to collect a large reward. With plenty of music, humor, and heart, the story follows Annie as she navigates this new world, all while holding onto her belief that things will get better—no matter how hard life gets. Join us as we rewind, rewatch, and remember the decade that shaped us.