Awards season kicked off with The Golden Globes this weekend. It got me thinking of the nights I spent watching not-so-award-worthy flicks on the couch in my den, way later than I should have been awake in my teens and early twenties. These are solely my favorites in this week's Deep Thoughts Thursday with The Boozy Weathergirl. They are also in no particular order. And this might only appeal to Gen X, but here goes...
1
Sixteen Candles - Yes, I was a total John Hughes freak, and I also watched all the others he made - repeatedly. But none of them did I watch as much as Sixteen Candles (Pretty in Pink was a close second, followed by Breakfast Club). I would actually watch this every day before middle school while I waited for the bus. I wanted Jake Ryan for my own (and I guess I found someone who sort of looks like him to marry, right?).
2
The Commitments - This one is for the soundtrack alone. Rwiiiiiiiiide, Sally, Rwiiide.
3
Hot Dog and Up the Creek - Campy, collegiate, drunk fest, sex-filled comedy. I was in high school when I watched these, and I could not wait to get to college for Spring Break. Another one to add here that's not as campy is Aspen Extreme. What can I say? I really liked to ski when I was younger.
4
Trainspotting - Even though half the stuff they did in this movie made me gag (toilet bowl scene, anyone?), Ewan McGregor was flawless as a Scottish heroine addict. I sometimes think this movie is why we chose to honeymoon in Scotland.
5
Bull Durham - The sexual tension between Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon in this film was palpable and engaging. And Tim Robbins as the young but dumb phenom/side piece just made me like baseball a little more.
6
Memento - This one fucked with my head. Seriously. Thank God Guy Pearce is so fun to look at, because I think I had to watch this about five times before I really "got" it. This was a few years before smartphones were readily available, so it wasn't like I could do deep dive into plot explanations. If you want a suspenseful thriller and have not seen this one, I highly recommend.
7
The Usual Suspects - Again, mind fucker. But brilliant. The ending will absolutely crush you. None of us knew what an asshole Kevin Spacey was at this point in time. Despite that though, his acting in this one was flawless. He even won an Oscar for it. Check it out.
8
Se7en (or Seven) - This is when Brad Pitt and Gwenyth Paltrow (Bryth? Gwenad? - think this was before ship names) were still happily dating and pretended to be a married couple in a movie. Good acting. But then you add Morgan Freeman and bring Kevin Spacey back into the fold, and KAPOW - this thing takes off. Killer ending. Didn't see it coming. Not for the faint-of-heart, but a must-see!
9
Class/St. Elmo's Fire/About Last Night - The only thing you need to know about any of these movies is this - ROB LOWE. Hottest bad boy in the land. Again, turned out a little creepy in real life, but I think he's redeemed himself a bit. Honestly, I don't care. Crack out your can of Velveeta and make sure your glasses prescription is up-to-date, because he's worth watching no matter how bad the script. (PS - Hockey fans can throw Youngblood in here too. Oh, and The Outsiders.)
10
Better off Dead - The greatest love story ever told - that involves a ski slope and burger joint and a French exchange student, that is! Who hasn't asked for two dollars and thought of this movie? Or if you order, Fraunch Fries, Fraunch dressing and Peru! This was everything great about the 80s. Trust me - everybody wants some!
There are like a million more movies to add here. Would love for people to add more in the comments. My cocktail recs for this week were easy to find. Hoping these take you back to the future as well :)
Miami Vice, on the rocks, please
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