As the official first day of spring passes, we're all left with little choice but to start stressing about the summer: where we'll live, what internships we're afraid we didn't get and how we'll make money. For three-quarters of the undergraduate class, it can't get any worse. But the graduating seniors know it can - internships pale in comparison to finding a job. As a token of appreciation, The Scene is showing how important 1987 - the birth year of most of the class of 2009 - was for movie culture.
"FATAL ATTRACTION" This film inspired viewers everywhere to stop cheating and to never buy a rabbit. "Fatal Attraction" is still referenced as a warning for those in bad relationships who are thinking about infidelity. Remember how bad things can go down with a supposed "one night stand." Michael Douglas plays a man who shares one intense night with Glenn Close only to discover her stalking him and his family. Close's Oscar-nominated turn in "Fatal Attraction" is so convincingly frightening that it makes us wonder if she actually butchered bunnies in her spare time.
"THREE MEN AND A BABY" You can't really have a proper '80s movie without Steve Guttenberg in the cast. "Three Men and a Baby" is perhaps the definitive '80s lead male casting, fulfilling the desires of mothers everywhere - Guttenberg, Tom Selleck and Ted Danson. The three bachelors share an apartment together in New York City when Ted Danson's baby turns up on their doorstep while he is gone - a baby he doesn't know is his - leaving the other two to figure out just what the hell they're doing. Full of diaper mishaps and life changes, "Three Men and a Baby" warmed the hearts of women everywhere and made men question if being a bachelor was actually what they wanted.
"DIRTY DANCING" Though many movies made in 1987 are skewed toward male cinemagoers, "Dirty Dancing" is in the hearts and minds of its female followers. The film seems to have even inspired Fall Out Boy, as the song "Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner" suggests. Patrick Swayze's bad-boy-but-sweet-hearted character makes your heart skip a beat and his dancing makes you want to take lessons. Who we really all feel for is Baby, whose situation is one familiar to all girls who have ever crushed head-over-heels over an older guy way cooler than them. And as the movie ends, we're all left scared - of walking away from the TV and never feeling the way we feel when we watch "Dirty Dancing" the rest of our whole lives.
"LETHAL WEAPON" Mel Gibson with a mullet - does it really get any better for '80s movies? "Lethal Weapon" is arguably one of the more famous "buddy" action movies, paving the way for the typical mismatched cop partner films that are now quite common. The repartee between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover is pitch-perfect, something the filmmakers tried to encapsulate in the next three sequels of the film (and often fell short of). Many know and love this movie because it holds up after 22 years of similar plots. It even starred Gary Busey before he turned crazy - that's how you know a movie's old!
"SPACEBALLS" Watch out! It's the Spaceballs. This movie certainly is ridiculous, but it's definitely a good choice if you don't feel like having to decipher comedy. From lines that put puns on the Colonel and chicken to suggestively shaped ties, this "Star Wars" parody was one of Mel Brooks' funniest films. The humor lies in the absurdity of it all - the Death Star is made into a giant maid wielding a vacuum and Darth Vader is a laughingstock. Fans of "Star Wars" can't even claim offense at this movie: Chewbacca is portrayed as a half-man, half-dog named "Barf" and the princess' maid is a female C3PO with a virgin alarm. Funny, she doesn't look Druish.
You can reach these staff writers at thescene@theeagleonline.com.