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Pet peeve about modern films set in the 1980's

posted 9 years ago by Htos_Drol
13 replies | jump to latest

In Pixels, the young Brenner and Cooper were debating which woman looked hottest in 1982. Olivia Newton-John, Samantha Fox, or Madonna. Madonna's first record wasn't released until 1983, but her massive fame didn't hit until after 'Like a Virgin' was released in 1984. Samantha Fox wasn't a household name (in the United States) until 1986.

Phoebe Cates, Stevie Nicks, Nicollette Sheridan, and Brooke Shields were some hotties that would be more appropriate for the time.

My peeve is that writers usually perceive that all of the trends from the 1980's coexisted in the early 1980's... or throughout the decade. I'm surprised someone on the editing staff didn't catch that, but then again, they probably didn't live in the 1980's either. At least Pixels didn't have the break-dancer guy, punk guy, Madonna clone, hair-metal guy and RUN DMC rapper all hanging out together like some other productions (Take Me Home Tonight, Wedding Singer, That 80's Show).

I guess the same peeve applies to the 50's when depicted as a decade where everyone looked like the Fonz and the 1960's being wall-to-wall hippies.

[–] happipuppi13 9 years ago

I don;t think it was that the writers 'assumed' all of the trends
started in the early 1980s ,it's that they didn;t really bother to check at all.

They were right on target with Olivia Newton-John.  In ealry 1982 ,she had just had the biggst record of her career with 'Physical' (!0 weeks at #1 & the biggest hit of the 1980s by the decade's end.) Folowed by the single "Make a Move On Me".

They also could have mentioned Debbie Harry of the group Blondie too.
Or even Sheena Easton ,who'd been out about a year then and was in her early 20s.

The rest you mention are good examples too. 1981 / 1982 wasa big transition time ,intermso f the entertainment world. Disco was finally over and the music world had not found it's new direction yet.

Movies were flopping left & right becausethe formula used in most '70s films
was getting stale. TV was stil filled with left over shows from the 1970s as well.

In short ,all involved should have really checked it out ,instead of just pulling out more obvious names like Madonna. I don;t think Samanatha Fox is obivious...she faded out by 1989.

P.S. - As for the people on Happy Days looking like hippies. It wasn't hippies they looked like but more so ,1970s glamour pin-ups from teen magazines.

Later Joanie with that almost '80s like perm.

By the end of the show ,only Fonzie still
looked 1950s (even when the show was set in 1965! ).

Go for it or just be a gopher!
(MR.) happipuppi13 🐕 *arf,man!*

[–] Htos_Drol 9 years ago

As for the people on Happy Days looking like hippies. It wasn't hippies they looked like but more so ,1970s glamour pin-ups from teen magazines.

Yes. Happy Days jettisoned the 50's look by the 3rd season, except for Fonzie. I thought it was hysterical that most of the actors looked like they showed up to film in whatever they were wearing that day. Serious late 70's look. Most of the men had that shoulder length feathered hair parted in the middle...which would never have flown in the 50's.

However, my peeve isn't about Happy Days, but modern films set at any point in the 1950s where it is assumed that everyone wore jeans, leather jacket, and had greased hair. Or films set anytime in the 1960's where it is assumed that all people are hippies.

[–] willydoe71 9 years ago

You are leaving out Bo Derek, Catherine Bach, Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith from that list. They were, I think, more sought after than the ones you named, except Brooke Shields.

[–] happipuppi13 9 years ago

Well ,they weren;t left out on purpose ,just didn't occour to me at the time.

Farrah by 1982 had faded out of popualrity ,mainly due
to leaving Charleis's Angels and making some bad movies.

Jaclyn Smith (I always thought was gorgeous) was popular but in a very diferent way. She was more like a classy lady you'd take to an expensive restaurant and maybe to a Broadway show.

Cheryl Ladd was VERY popular ,even if the series wasn't by 1982 ,anymore.

Catherine Bach ,oh heck yeah!  From the first time in early '79
male viewers saw her in that red bikini ,standing in the road ,no question.

She inspired me to try skinny-dipping for the first time.

(She mentioned it in a season 2 : 1979 episode ,which I caught
the re-run of,May 23rd 1980. Gave it a try the very next morning.)

Go for it or just be a gopher!
(MR.) happipuppi13 🐕 *arf,man!*

[–] willydoe71 9 years ago

Farrah may have faded somewhat by 82, but that poster of hers was still up in a lot of bedrooms, including my own (well, it was my older brother's poster, but we shared a room so it was in my room too). Not to mention, she had done Cannonball Run in 81, so she was still on the radar. Jaclyn smith was more wholesome, but still got our blood going. And yes, from the very first time I saw that bikini in the opening credits of TDOH, I was in love with Catherine Bach.

I also forgot that both Heather Locklear and Heather Thomas graced the scene in 1982 with TJ Hooker and The Fall Guy. But since they were still relatively new in 82, I can see them being looked over for this movie. But I did forget Erin Gray from Buck Rogers. She was smoking hot too!

[–] happipuppi13 9 years ago

As far as 80s ladies go ,Erin gray was hot yep....even on Silver Spoons.

As for the 2 heathers ,I ewas never quite into them.
I think it was their awful 80s do's. I hated 80s hair and fashions.

Being a guy , I never wanted that gosh awful Duran Duran hair or a
mullet and I couldn;t have long rocker hair ,since mine's seriously curled.

Women's looks were even worse. Those shoulder
pad dresses ,ugly tops and even worse hair & make up.

If I liked 'any' 80s ladies ,it was the ones who
avoided all that nonsnese and were themselves & down to earth.

I may have been a teen but even I knew those fads & fashions wouldn't last.

I just bought regualr clothes. Got made fun of but I didn't care.

Go for it or just be a gopher!
(MR.) happipuppi13 🐕 *arf,man!*

[–] willydoe71 9 years ago

Oh yeah, I was a jeans and t-shirt guy back then (and still am). But I loved the ladies in the 80s. Heather Thomas, IMO, was stunningly gorgeous. Heather Locklear was beautiful too, but not as much as Thomas. I had pretty curly hair too, mine was always down to about the bottom of my neck, but my dad (retired military) would never let me grow it longer than that.

[–] MecuryMars 9 years ago

I thought same exact thing about Madonna and Samantha Fox. 1982 was too early to reference them.

[–] MaximRecoil 9 years ago

By '82, BMX bikes were all the rage nationwide. Generally, by that time, only poor kids had those old '60s and '70s banana-seat Schwinn Stingray type bikes, and they usually didn't look brand new because they were a hand-me-down from an older brother or cousin, or they came from a yard sale, or whatever. Judging by their suburban middle-class neighborhood, they weren't poor kids.

All of the arcade machines they showed had modern high-resolution LCD monitors, which obviously didn't exist in '82. They should have had CRT monitors of course. Not only would it have been correct, but it would have looked a lot better too. Digital monitors are garbage, especially when used for displaying classic video games.

I don't believe there were any arcade games in '82 with giant sprites like "Lady Lisa". The first arcade game that I know of with giant sprites was Nintendo's Punch-Out from 1984.

Did anyone ever think Madonna was hot?

If the aliens' information is coming from a video tape of the '82 video game contest, where are newer characters like Paperboy (1984) coming from?

The part about Galaga being changed in 1986 was absurd. Neither Namco nor Midway were doing anything with Galaga in '86, and even if they were, there are plenty of original Galaga motherboards out there, along with ROM dumps from original boards which are playable in emulators such as MAME.

I don't dance, tell jokes or wear my pants too tight, but I do know about a thousand songs.

[–] JrnlofEddieDeezenStudies 9 years ago

The thing is that it's fiction. Fiction is fiction by virtue of not matching what the actual world is like.

[–] cygnusx999 9 years ago

Yeah and some guy in the arcade did an impression of the crane kick from Karate Kid which also wasn't out yet.

The aliens were supposed to be made up of 1982 and prior games, yet they had Tetris and other games not made yet.

It would've just been better if they didn't reference a specific year, but I didn't let it bother me.... too much :)

[–] Cognoscente (2642) 2 years ago

This is why "The Goldbergs" succeeds in being vague.

[–] HedleyLamarr (402) a month ago

It was october 21st 1980...something.