Where the fuck are all my awesome teen movies?
ElJeffe
Roaming the streets, waving his mod gun around.Moderator, ClubPA Mod Emeritus
Roaming the streets, waving his mod gun around.Moderator, ClubPA Mod Emeritus
You know, I watched Say Anything... for the first time a couple days ago. It was awesome. It got me wondering: Why don't we have awesome teen movies anymore? We occasionally get something awesome, like Bring It On, but mostly we get dreck like 10 Things I Hate About You. What the hell? Why were they able to make legions of kick-ass teen movies in the 80s, and now they can't?
I'd chalk it up to overly-rosy memories, but then that wouldn't apply to Say Anything... because I only just saw it. And I strongly suspect that if I were to watch Ferris Bueller, Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Better Off Dead, Secret Admirer, or any number of other flicks from the 80s for the first time today, I'd still think they rocked.
What the fuck, Hollywood? Do we need to travel back in time and kidnap the Brat Pack for you yokels to make any more decent teen movies?
I'd chalk it up to overly-rosy memories, but then that wouldn't apply to Say Anything... because I only just saw it. And I strongly suspect that if I were to watch Ferris Bueller, Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Better Off Dead, Secret Admirer, or any number of other flicks from the 80s for the first time today, I'd still think they rocked.
What the fuck, Hollywood? Do we need to travel back in time and kidnap the Brat Pack for you yokels to make any more decent teen movies?
I submitted an entry to Lego Ideas, and if 10,000 people support me, it'll be turned into an actual Lego set!If you'd like to see and support my submission, follow this link.
ElJeffe on
0
Posts
She's All That, not so much. "Hack-ee-sack!"
The ones of yesteryear had heart, and the characters were endearing and likeable. I challenge anyone with a soul to not like Lloyd Dobbler. Even though Bring It On was great, I didn't give a shit about any of the characters. If Kirsten Dunst had been hit by a truck in the final scene, I wouldn't have flinched.
XBL: Slimebucato
See, that's the thing. Modern teen movies seem to have lots of slapstick humor and juvenile jokes. Older ones, not so much. Modern ones seem to be more formulaic, not just in the plot, but in the writing. Like, someone has a big file full of Standard Teen Movie Jokes, and after the script is written they throw one in every ten minutes to meet their quota.
I think you hit it right here, Jeffe. There's no current John Hughes type out there to capture the feeling.
Regardless, nothing can ever come close to the ultimate teen movie:
Hells yes. It looks like it might be this generation's Dazed and Confused.
MWO: Adamski
/sigh
I do yearn for the days of Ferris Bueller and The Breakfast Club.
-Robert E. Howard
Tower of the Elephant
Well, the older ones still had a lot of goofy, corny jokes. You can see where a lot of modern movies steal from those ideas and go for the easiest laugh possible, or else their modern audience will get bored and shuffle away to the next Hillary Duff disaster-piece. I guess I've rewatched some of those older movies enough times that the memorable oneliners and bits become a joke in and of themselves, if that makes any sense.
Also, a good teen movie better have a soundtrack that will stand the test of time. Breakfast Club, Some Kind of Wonderful, Say Anything (if only for that one scene), all had great soundtracks that the modern stuff just cannot compete with, even if a little dated.
That's nice, but this isn't a cheerocracy where your opinion matter. No, this is a cheertatorship under the iron fisted hand of Thanatos' spirit fingers.
I assume we can cheertinue? Man, Not Another Teen Movie was actually rather funny.
That last sentence better be a joke. That movie was goddamned awful. Like Scary Movie only with fewer good jokes and shittier acting.
That said, most of the movies you listed are not all that great in the grand scheme of things, and they require a certain mindset that was available in the 80's to truly appreciate. Today's kids are just different than we were.
Personally? I don't miss the teen movies, I miss the adult ones (not those adult ones). I could go for another Bachelor Party or Up the Creek, that's for sure.
You mean... you mean you've never had anyone take a dump on your chest?
Salmon'd for "what the fuck are you talking about, you filthy liar?"
I think that would have actually made the movie better. Like if Pulp Fiction was shown chronologically. I think more movies would benefit from "capping" things off like that. Add a little absurdity to the whole thing.
No no, don't you run and hide like that. Clueless was a great film. It was based on Emma, for crying out loud. I pretty much had a huge grin on my face all the way through.
Plus, the 'behind the scenes' of the highway scene is pretty entertaining. They didn't expect that truck to come up behind them
NNID: Hakkekage
I can't help it if you can't handle the truth.
The 80's teen movies (yes, even Weird Science though I do love it so) don't cross generations all that well in my experience. Show it to a 20 year old today and they are more likely to identify with American Pie than the Breakfast Club. Those with roots in the 80's are most likely to have a disproportionate amount of affection for big hair-and-leg warmer movies.
It also assured me that Kirsten Dunst's acting ability peaked when she was eight.
I think a lot of teen movies these days are way to one dimensional, completely missing the subtext of the Hughes movies.
I mean, today they are all about getting laid, and while that was one part of a John Huges film, it was never the whole story. He talked a lot about class issues, and other things that teens go through. Todays teen movies just don't reach across that spectrum.
Objectively wrong.
And Super Bad is gonna be fucking awesome.
Up the Creek!!!
Caddyshack? Revenge of the Nerds?
Also, I want some love for:
That's right, an alien device turns a high school into a giant time altering dimension. Classic.
eeewwwww...
I watched that movie all the damned time.
I thought "It's God-fucking-zilla" was the height of wit.
(I wouldn't know, I never saw it; I actually haven't seen most movies that came out in the last 10 years, and I'm 24)
I'll be fine, just give me a minute, a man's got a limit, I can't get a life if my heart's not in it.
No. Overrated. So much.