I really wanted her to love Lloyd Dobler

I love forcing my kids to watch old 80's movies with me. I really just want them to love the movies as much as I did when I was growing up.

OK, honestly, I don't have to force them that hard. They have liked everything I've made them watch so far, except Heathers. They didn't get it. In their defense, it is a pretty freaking weird movie. Weirdly AWESOME, that is. Though rather violent...

Anyway, I love Lloyd Dobler, he was always my favorite. I was trying so hard to find Say Anything the other day so I could show my kids how great it was. I really wanted Megan to love Lloyd Dobler as much as I do. I was so mad because I couldn't find it on any of the movie things! Nexflix, Hulu, iTunes - it was nowhere to be found! Isn't that ridiculous?

Speaking of 80's movie crushes, I also love(d) Duckie.  I so would have picked him if I were Andi (the girl in Pretty in Pink).  I know not everyone is with me on that, but it's no secret that I've always been into the quirky guys. I always thought he was so cute.  My absolute favorite part of that movie is when Duckie comes sliding into the music store and starts lip syncing Try a Little Tenderness. Aw. Everytime I watch that clip it makes me miss the 80's. Except the heavily hair sprayed hair for girls part. That look never really worked for me.

Back to Lloyd Dobler.  Seriously. What girl would be able to resist that cutie? You know, the whole boombox, professing your love, sweet adorable guy in a trench coat thing? Who could resist that?? 

Ah the 80's...  if we're talking about movies that made the whole decade (actually we might have been talking about boys, but that's neither here nor there) (BTW, I've never said 'that's neither here nor there' in my life), we'd have to throw in the Breakfast Club. I so love that movie. To this day I will watch it any time it comes on. Though I have to admit, I was never a fan of Judd Nelson. He has really big nose holes and they always sort of scared me. I do think he's a good actor though.

Speaking of the Breakfast Club, I just saw Anthony Michael Hall in a commercial for cell phones or something. Did you guys see that? He looked like a grown man. Which I suppose is normal, when you're in your 40's or something. But still, it's hard to not think of him as his nerdy teenaged self.

Oh yeah, Sixteen Candles!  Back in the day when there was no google, I remember trying to figure out who Jake Ryan was in real life.  Where the heck was the information highway when I needed it??  What an attractive guy. What a great movie.  Take note, if you're watching the movie with your kids, there is straight-up nakedness in there that I completely forgot about. I was reminded when I saw a very naked shower scene while I was watching the movie with two little girls on the couch beside me. So that was a shocking turn of events. Anyway, remember The Donger?  Hahaha.  I admit freely that I still quote that movie, and it came out like, forever ago.

Back to the Future, The Goonies, Footloose, Better Off Dead, The Karate Kid, Ferris Bueller, Dirty Dancing...  I'm not sure if this generation of kids is going to have such a group of defining movies to look back on when that grow up. Which is exactly why I try to bribe my kids into watching 80's movies with me every so often. 

I strongly believe that it's my duty as a parent to expose my kids to such greatness. What movies do you watch with your kids?

was jake ryan actually a jerk?

So I'm going to go out on a limb and just say it: I thought Jake Ryan was the hottest guy ever.  Like, I really thought that if I tried hard enough, I could meet Jake Ryan and get him to kiss me (also, John Kennedy Jr, but that boat has sailed).  I figured once we made out, it would be love at first smooch and we'd live happily ever after.

Let's be real, Jake Ryan was every 80's girl's fantasy guy.

But, was he really a jerk?

Now that I can look back with some perspective, the perspective of an old person who has been in real relationships with real guys, I'm distressed to say that I think he could have been.

I know, right??

First of all, if you've lived under a rock for a really, really long time, or fine, you never watch (the all-time coolest) movies from the greatest decade ever, fondly referred to as the 80's, you might not know who Jake Ryan even is.  Shocking turn of events, I know, but I feel like I have to explain, to the people who never watched Sixteen Candles.  Really??  You never watched Sixteen Candles, the iconic John Hughes film??  How, even?  I'm officially ashamed.

Jake Ryan's name is actually Michael Schoeffling.  I knew that without looking it up, not even kidding.  Jake Ryan was the love interest in the movie Sixteen Candles, he was a senior. He was this adorable, attractive, completely popular guy, who was Abercrombie & Fitch-esque before A & F was even a thing.  He wore plaid flannel shirts, cargo pants, sweater vests and Levis like he was born in them.  No guy has rocked the sweater vest quite the same since.  He had a sweet, slightly shy grin. Also, he had great hair.  He didn't have a cheesy mullet or feathered Sean Cassidy hair, just a good head of thick, dark hair in a cool and timeless style.  Admittedly, he did wear very short shorts with tube socks, but we can't be winners all the time, right?  In Jake Ryan's defense, it was the style at the time.

Now that we are all on the same page, and we all know who Jake Ryan is, the question of whether or not he was actually a jerk begs to be asked.  So, was he? 

First of all, Jake Ryan had to have been rich, being that he was driving a Porsche.  He also had a house with a wine cellar in it.  A private wine cellar reeks of wealth, lets be real.  At the end of the day, rich, Porsche driving teenage guys with wine cellars are almost always a douchebag.  

Secondly, it's pretty convenient that Jake Ryan suddenly seemed interested in poor, quirky Sam Baker when she said that she wanted to lose her virginity to him.  Interesting Jake... very interesting. Why didn't he notice her before he thought he could get into her pants?

Third, when you really think about it, when he calls to leave a message for Sam and her grandparents answer the phone, he turns on the sickly sweet, super polite charm.  It's lovely to have manners, but you're not fooling anyone, we can all spot a suck up, Jake Ryan.

And last, but certainly not least, Jake Ryan was checking out Sam while he was going out with another girl.  Not cool Jake Ryan, not cool.

On the flip side, Jake Ryan did get Sam's underpants back from the dorks without being creepy about it, and he picked her up in his Porsche gave her a birthday cake and kissed her on her birthday... and, well, he is Jake Ryan. 

What do you think??  I think it's time for you to watch Sixteen Candles. Just a heads up, if you watch the uncensored version, don't watch with your kids.  I learned the hard way. I completely forgot that there is a straight up naked scene of Jake Ryan's hot cheerleader girlfriend in the shower.  My kid's eyeballs almost popped out of her head before I got the chance to frantically fumble with the remote control and turn it off.

Anyway, watch it and chime in.  What's your opinion?  Was Jake Ryan really a jerk?

on a similar note, I would have picked Duckie

I'm keeping with the 80's theme that I seem to have going.  Just go with it, I'm feeling nostalgic.

Anyway, I was a huge Duckie fan.  Pretty in Pink Duckie, if you were unclear.

I think Andie was a jerk for blowing off Duckie and deciding to hang with rich, preppy (and kind of not cute) Blane, but I guess you can't make a person like another person, right? Back in the day, I think lots of people were into Andrew McCarthy (the guy who played Blane), I can totally imagine the old Teen Beat posters hanging on the walls of suburban teen aged girls everywhere. He wasn't my type, I didn't like him, I didn't have a Teen Beat poster of him hanging on my wall.  He was too skinny and boring and average in my opinion.  Nothing about him stood out from the crowd.  I thought he was a twerpy sheep.  Also, Andie and Blane had zero chemistry in that movie, if you ask me.

Speaking of jerks in Pretty in Pink, Steff was the exact opposite of the kind of guy I would have gone out with when I was in high school.  Rich jackasses were kind of off my radar.  I do quite enjoy James Spader in general though. I really think it took me a while to like him because his obnoxiously narcissistic character Steff spilled over into real life.  It was hard to look at him and not see a jerk with feathered hair in an over sized blazer. I do love him in The Blacklist  though and I would probably go out on a date with him if he asked me, he does have a really distinctively sexy voice.  But I digress...

So I would have definitely chosen Duckie.  I like quirky and different.  I guess that everyone already knows that in the original screenplay, Andie was supposed to end up with Duckie. Apparently the tester audience or something didn't think that it was believable. I think I would have liked to see them end up together.  He might have seemed a touch annoying and slightly stalkerish, but still adorable and funny and loyal.  And nerdy guys are notorious for being the best kissers. Ultimately, she would have broken his fragile heart, but it still would have been great to see.  

Legit question: Why doesn't anyone ever choose quirky and different?  Why does nobody give the cool, funky guy who isn't afraid to be an individual and wear a bolero a chance?  Sometimes you have to look past things that other people might see as unappealing or character flaws! The best part of someone is their real self!  Who wants a fake, watered down, surfacey version of a person?

Thinking about these 80's characters totally just made me remember someone so out of the typical plain old normal people I'd always surround myself with back then. This guy, Reagan was his name (I remember his name because it was interesting and different), lived across the street from me in Denver, and I'm basically 100% sure he never knew I existed.  I thought he was so cool from afar, though I never had the nerve to approach him. I pretty much forgot all about him after I became friends with other people, but he definitely looked like the kind of guy that would be in a John Hughes film, definitely like the kind of guy I would have been into.  I wonder if as a grown up, he is still kind of cool.

80's anyone?

No it is not really 80's week.  But I was thinking, maybe it can be 80's week.  Because I was an 80's kind of girl.  And the 80's were pretty good to me.  And who doesn't love the 80's? 



After reading this old post about my love of Lloyd Dobler and 80's movies and stuff, I decided to write a Top 10. Usually Top 10's are kind of irritating, but this isn't because it's cool. That's right.  I said it.  And really, I do love a good list.


So on to My Top Ten List of 80's Teen Movie Crushes. I wish there was a better name for this list, but there just isn't, so let's just stop talking about it and get on with the guys.

My Top Ten List of 80's Teen Movie Crushes:

1. Obviously, Number 1 is Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack). Say Anything. Unless one means 10, but I want 1 to mean 1. I take #1 literally. So yeah. Lloyd Dobler. He gave her his heart, and all she gave him was a pen.



2. Duckie (Jon Cryer). Sixteen Candles. Try a Little Tenderness? Hello? Once again, I will say obviously. Based on this post. If you didn't read it, it's your own fault.  Duckie is definitely a close second to Lloyd Dobler.


3. Christian Slater. J.D. from Heathers. There's just something about his jawline, and voice. I am pretty 100% sure that I would have married Christian Slater back in the 80's if he asked me. I'll just leave it at that.


4. Jason Patric - Michael from The Lost Boys. First vampire movie that I ever loved. He was so freaking cute. You have to admit, he definitely rocked a mullet.



5. Corey Haim. Oh... of the Coreys, he was by far the cutest with that crooked little smile. Haven't you ever seen Lucas?? I really was unusually sad when he died.




6. Ponyboy Curtis (C. Thomas Howell). The Outsiders. I read this book before I saw the movie. When I first saw Ponyboy, he was exactly the way I pictured him. Man I loved that greaser. :)


7. River Phoenix. Jimmy Reardon. Sheesh. He was so cute. Everything about him was magnetic. And I mean that in the least cheesy way possible.




8. Jake Ryan from Sixteen Candles. I just had to look his real name up in IMDb (Michael Schoeffling) , and I realized he was also my #9, which would have been Joe from Mermaids. I can't believe I never put that together. It wasn't my fault that I grew up in a google-less era.


9. So now I had to shift my #10 into my #9 slot, which means I have to add one more crush. I don't think that will be difficult. So I am going with Rusty James (Matt Dillon) from Rumble Fish as my number 9. Another book I read before seeing the movie. Matt Dillon has definitely aged well. Like a fine wine. However, I'm not much of a wine drinker, so I guess I wouldn't know.


10. Marty McFly. What a great character. What a great movie.


Honorable Mention: Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck). Oh whatever. No comments from the peanut gallery. Yes, I liked him better than Ferris. If you know me at all you would already have figured that out by now.

i love lloyd dobler

I mean, who wouldn't?

And while I am at it, I love Ducky.  I would have gone out with him if I were the girl in Pretty in Pink.   Oh whatever!  It's no secret that I always liked the quirky guys. I think he was so cute.  My absolute favorite part of that movie is when Duckie comes sliding into the music store and starts fake singing Try a Little Tenderness.   (Just click on it.  I promise you won't be disappointed.) Aw.  I just watched that clip and it made me smile and dance in my seat and miss the 80's.  Except the heavily hairsprayed hair for girls.  That never really worked for me.

Back to Lloyd Dobler.  Seriously.  What girl would be able to resist him?  You know, the whole boombox, professing your love, sweet adorable guy in a trench coat  thing.  Who could resist that??  (Oh please. Click.)

Ah the 80's...  if we're talking about movies that made the whole decade, we have to throw in the Breakfast Club.  (<-- Click one more time for good measure) Love that movie.  To this day I will watch it any time it comes on... however, I was never a fan of Judd Nelson.  He has really big nose holes and they always sort of scared me.  But I did like his acting and the character he played in the movie.

And Sixteen Candles!  Back in the day when there was no google, I remember trying to figure out who Jake Ryan was in real life.  Where the heck was the information highway when I needed it??  What a cutie.  What a great movie.  Remember The Donger?  Hahaha.  I admit freely that I still quote that movie, and it came out like 20+ years ago.

Back to the Future, The Goonies, Footloose, The Karate Kid, FERRIS Bueller, Dirty Dancing...  I'm not sure if this generation of kids is going to have such a group of defining movies to look back on.