Empire Magazine
editor Helen O’Hara’s new book is called Best
Movies of the 80s, but I don’t think even she really believes that. Tron? The Lost Boys? Top Gun?
No, a more appropriate title would be Most
80s Movies of the 80s. Films seem to make the cut based on how well they
evoke the decade of mullets, keytars, headbands, and Reaganomics. As a movie
dork who came of age during the decade in question, I have an uncontrollable
natural inclination to list all of the great movies that did not make the cut,
but (cough…Blue Velvet…) will (ahem…An American Werewolf in London) restrain
(ack…Pee Wee’s Big Adventure) myself (blecch… Hairspray, Better off
Dead, The Shining…). Instead I’ll focus on the breezy, Aquanet-scented fun
that is Best Movies of the 80s. O’Hara
evaluates each movie quite sufficiently with humor, political astuteness, and a
clear understanding that movies such as Crocodile
Dundee and Labyrinth (argh…The
Dark Crystal…) aren’t exactly in the same league as Citizen Kane and that movies such as E.T. and Do the Right Thing
are.
But to get too in depth or critical about Best Movies of the 80s is to miss the
point. O’Hara’s main intention is to deliver a book as fun and frivolous as the
movies it details, and she manages that awesomely with her tubular supplements
about MTV’s influence on film, the decade’s best musical moments, etc. and a totally
radical slew of full-color photos (harumph…The Big Red One…The Elephant Man…Fast Times
at Ridgemont High...Blood Simple…Repo Man… Stop Making Sense…The Cook,
The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover…Return
of the Living Dead…River’s Edge…Full Metal Jacket…Withnail & I……)
