80s movie bracket - Miami Vice Region voting due now

I don't know...John Hughes could really rub me the wrong way because you knew at some point in any of his movies that he'd lay on the sentimental schmaltz really thick. It was just a matter of how much I could tolerate before I was nauseated. Ferris Bueller thankfully was free of it until near the end for five minutes or so. But I thought Planes had the least of it in any of his films, and I laughed more than I thought I would. It was actually one of my top two or three moviegoing experiences ever. It was a sold-out late showing at one of the best theaters in L.A. (the Village in Westwood) with a bunch of drunk college students and drunk yuppies. Normally that sounds like disaster, but it all clicked that night. Everyone was into it and there was a great vibe in the theater.

Better Off Dead is makin' it to #1-- I can feel it.
 
The 80's, isn't that before internet time?


I was born in the 80's...


I watched all of these as on TV...


Ok, now that I got that out of my system. Aw, no ''My Stepmother is an Alien'', "Cocoon" and "the Wizard".
 
From what I understand, the next region to be up will be the Parachute Pants region - and we'll have until Monday's show to get our first-round picks in...

Thanks again to Dave for including us in this. He's said he hopes to stretch it out until the "other" March Madness ends.

:)
 
GoGoGadget said:
-- Sexual chocolate! 'Nuff said.

They Holy Trinity of John Landis is Animal House, Trading Places, and An American Werewolf in London.

They left off Three Amigos too. I hope that was accidental.

That listin needs fixin.
 
I will vote for a movie I barely remember and which starred the 80s most boring star (Mark Harmon) over it. Besiudes, Summer School also (although I do not remember this) apapraently had Courtney Thorne Smith in it, who was pretty hot in Ally McBeal, and Shawnee Smith, who was pretty hot in The Blob. So maybe there was somethig there to watch after all and I ahve just compeltely forgotten it. Die Planes die! Vote Summer School.

Caught it maybe a yr ago on HBO for the first time in years (saw it at the theater back in 8-7). My impressions were "CTS was (indeed) cute as hell back then", "Why are there fallen leaves in the quad if it's Summer?", "Mark Harmon & Kirstie Alley are pretty random selections", and "The principal is a clone for Steve Carell."

Principal:
http://imdb.com/media/rm4187001088/nm0859450

Carell:
http://imdb.com/media/rm3852506624/nm0136797
 
My first round picks for Parachute Pants region:

1. Breakfast Club - One of my all-time favorite movies still today
8. Midnight Run - I don't remember "Say Anything" so this one wins by process of elimination

12. Brewsters Millions - If I had to watch nothing but Naked Gun for the rest of my life, I'd poke my eyes out with flaming sticks.
4. 48 Hrs - Tom Cruise in Cocktail was almost enough to make my lose my lunch

6. Revenge of the Nerds - Ultimate classic
14. Stripes - Another that still entertains

7. Footloose - This was a tough selection but I went with Footloose over Lethal Weapon ultimately because of the music.
2. Wall Street - Couldn't go for Pretty in Pink for the same reason I couldn't go for Naked Gun.
 
Parachute Pants Region, 1st Round:

1. The Breakfast Club
9. Say Anything
-- Against several other films on this list, both Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Midnight Run would have come out on top. But, again, come on. These two are both absolute staples of the 80's flick lexicon.

5. Naked Gun
4. 48 Hours
-- If not for the part of me that finds it hard to laugh at OJ Simpson's character anymore, Naked Gun has always been a bit of a guilty pleasure and still cracks me up. And 48 Hours is really just a vote against Cocktail.

11. Red Dawn
5. Sixteen Candles
-- I haven't seen Red Dawn in ages, but I remember loving it. And Sixteen Candles... yeah, as a girl who's grown to hate dopey romantic comedies and chick flicks, even I'm having trouble with the trend that suggests anything with Molly Ringwald is likely to get my vote.

10. Lethal Weapon
15. Pretty in Pink
-- I've never been as fond of the Lethal Weapon series as everyone else seems to be, but Kevin Bacon is the only person I can think of that I may hate more than Tom Cruise and Footloose is largely why. Wall Street vs. Pretty in Pink? Easy choice for two reasons: the Molly Ringwald factor, and the Michael Douglas skeeviness factor.
 
I don't remember "Say Anything"

86021703uu0.jpg
 
Wait. John Cusack? Hrm... I LIKE John Cusack a lot but that film just didn't ring any bells. Thanks, G3.
 
Hmmm...Parachute Pants region, first round:

Breakfast Club v. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure -- Despite its notoreity, I have only seen the Breakfast Cllub once and di not take much from it. That said, when matched with one of the stupidest movies of the decade, come on. Bill & Ted weren't even that funny, and were upstagfed a few years later by Beavis & Butthead. Has to be Breakfast Club. As an aside, forgot whether Keanu was Bill or Ted, but how would you like to be the OTHER guy in Bill and Ted and watch your partner in stupidity go on to megastardom while you are forgotten? breakfast Club.

Midnight Run v. Say Anything -- I am aware of Say ANything as a John Cusack movie, but have never seen it. Was nto even until the latre 90s that I first became ware that John Cusack was a major player in the chick flick market. In any case, I considered Midnight run cosniderably overrated, and thought Grodin was funnier in Taking Care of Business (across from the less talented Belushi brother), but since I can't say I've even seent eh toeh and anticipate major cheese...Midnight Run.

Naked Gun v. Brewster's Millions -- Anybody rooting for Brewster's Millions in this matchup needs to be taken outside and given the OJ treatment. Naked Gun is a top 10 all time funny movie and should be a serious threat to make it out of this bracket. Richard Pryor was last funny int he late 1970s while high on cocaine and cussing up a storm. Naked Gun.

48 Hours & Cocktail -- another are you kidding matchup, 48 Hours might have been a little overrated, but not THAT overrated. Also pretty sure that was my first unaccompanied by adults R rated movie. :D 48 Hours.

Revenge of the Nerds v. Red Dawn -- don't ever go back to Revenge fo the NErds -- ti was just not that funny, and juvenile. Of course the same could no doubt be said about the wonderful Cold War paranoia of red Dawn (and I think it was like the Mexicans or Nicaraguans or somebody who actually somehow invaded us there and we could not expel them -- er...right). But going with Dawn for some wonderfully paranoid cheese. Red Dawn.

Sixteen Candles v. Stripes -- with all apologies to the very pretty Molly Ringwald, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, John Larroquette, Judge Reinhold, Joh Candy etc...Stripes.

Footlosse v. Lethal Weapon-- Footloose was actually a surprisingly good movie when I finally saw it. you make a movie centered around dancing set in some hick town and I epxected disaster. But there was some real attempt at telling a story there. However Lethal Weapon rocked, and for a long time was my favorite pure shoot 'em up action flick. Also you had Mel playing as it turned out himself -- a nut. But a badass nut. Glover's daughter was very cute too. Lethal Weapon.

Wall Street v. Pretty in Pink-- well..hate to knock out both Ringwalds, and if this had been Sixteen Candles maybe go I the other way but anyway... I did not love Wall Street, and have known enough people on Wall Street to put the Hollywood to it, but still Oscar winner etc. vs. a second rater. Wall Street.
ParachuteBracket1600x409.jpg
 
They left off Three Amigos too. I hope that was accidental.
Thgree Amigos was terrible. Just terrible. :p

One of the all time great "hype" movies, I remember one funny scene int he entire thing -- something about an invisible cactus or something. And speaking of all time unfunny "comics" -- Martin Short is right up there. Who ever decided he was funny? And why??

I didn't even know Landis did Coming to America, but it was MUCH funnier than Amigos.
 
Even though I missed the Mullet Region :mad:, here are my picks for the Parachute Pants Region:

Bill & Ted's over Breakfast Club
Won't change the final score, but how could you vote against San Dimas high school football?

Midnight Run over Say Anything
Holding the boombox doesn't do anything for me.

Naked Gun over Brewsters Millions
Helped solidify Leslie Nielsen's place in comedic history.
"I realize that...now."

48 Hours over Cocktail
Eddie Murphy > Tom Cruise...this time.

Revenge of the Nerds over Red Dawn
NEERDS!

Stripes over Sixteen Candles
It came down to free throws. Bill Murray hit his. Gedde Watanabe did not.

Lethal Weapon over Footloose
No Mr. Glover, you are not too old for this *&#%.

Pretty in Pink over Wall Street
This time Jon Cryer beats out Charlie Sheen.
 
Spike said:
Revenge of the Nerds over Red Dawn
NEERDS!

Does Red Dawn have a belching low-class nose-picking slob named Booger? I think not. Does Red Dawn have a Lamar Latrell? Nope.

Lambda Lambda Lambda for the win. They are the champions...my friends.
 
Last edited:
Oh come on!!! Red Dawn is a great movie.. I have seen it about 15 times and have the DVD.. Love that movie..

Was this movie in any of the brackets? Boys Next Door? This was my favorite 80s movie..

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090770/

bndyv5.jpg


Greatest movie ever.. .Seriously.. It's got Charlie sheen, and Maxwell Caulfield.

Ray and Bo leave their small town the weekend after graduation for a short road trip to LA. Soon, they find themselves lashing out and leaving a trial of bodies behind them. The violence escalates throughout.
 
Last edited:
Parachute Region

Breakfast Club (I mean seriously, this is such a no brainer)

Say Anything (don't think I saw either, but Cusak is a safe pick)

Naked Gun (I didn't reaaallly like this franchise, but I liked this entry, not my favorite Pryor film so it wasn't a hard choice here)

48 Hours (Cocktail was post-Cruise hate, plus I HAAAAAATED KOKOMO, but this was a no-brainer nonetheless)

Red Dawn (just say no to the Nerds...bleeeeeeech)

Stripes (never liked 16 candles, and that's the fact jack)

Footloose (man...what is it with this matchup in these brackets, this was another triple OT thriller for me here...it came down to the buzzer beater, which soundtrack do I own?)

WALL STREET (NO FURTHER QUESTIONS OR DEBATE THIS MOVIE I STILL ROLL OUT AND WATCH OFTEN LOOOOOOOOVE IT)
 
I've been busy, at some point I'll post what would have been my mullet 1st round picks just for arguments sake, but here we go with the Parachute Pants round. Incidentally while I never had a mullet, I did have two pairs of these awful things.

Breakfast Club v. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure - Breakfast Club is one of those movies that defined the 80s. I have a soft spot for B&T but this is no contest. Incidentally, not Keanu is Alex Winters, who looks like a lot of other people that are also not famous, like the chef that is not Dane Cook in ...waiting. Winner: Breakfast Club

Midnight Run v. Say Anything
Say Anything wins because of the Boombox scene.

Naked Gun v. Brewster's Millions
Really??? Naked Gun. I could pick a million better comedies than these two.

48 Hours & Cocktail
I saw Beverly Hills Cop then 48 Hours, I kept thinking what's so great about 48 Hours. But up against Cocktail? We have a winner. The only good thing about Cocktail is making stupid jokes while juggling bottles - "Did you see Cocktail? So did I!" Not really a funny joke? Probably because this was not a good movie. Winner: 48 Hours

Revenge of the Nerds v. Red Dawn
When Revenge of the Nerds came out it was like porn to this 9 year old. Red Dawn is porn to the reactionary survivalist/militia crowd. I actually still enjoy bits of both movies so this is almost a coin flip. But Red Dawn may have more power down the stretch and screaming "Wolverines" is always fun so I give it the win. PS - I'm pretty sure it was the Cubans who invaded small town Colorado.

Sixteen Candles v. Stripes
Gotta be Stripes. I suppose this might come down to a gender decision.

Footloose v. Lethal Weapon
Footloose. I love that soundtrack. This was one of the first movies that was probably built around the soundtrack. Has Lethal Weapon gone to Broadway? I don't think so... winner: Footloose

Wall Street v. Pretty in Pink
You know, if I was voting for which had the most likeable characters, I'd give it up for Ducky. The fact that it was lost on millions that Gordon Gecko was a bad guy disturbs me. But I gotta go with Wall Street here.
 
I can't believe this topic escaped my attention until now, thus forcing me to miss the chance of vehemently defending Back to the Future. How was that a 10 seed?! What is it, the Gonzaga of 80s movies?

It had M.J. Fox; Several Reagan Actor-to-President jokes; A sound track by Huey Lewis and the News, Pepsi Free and Tab references; and of course, a freakin' Delorean! What's more quintessentially 80s than BTTF? I'd probably have switched it with Lost Boys in seeding.

Anyway, hoping I can still throw in my two cents on this topic before we move onto the next region. So I have some catching up to do.

Parachute Pants Region
(1) Breakfast Club def. (16) Bill and Ted's

While I actually enjoyed B&T specifically for it's lighthearted stupidity, and it might be slightly easier to watch for the long term than the over-the-top pseudo-gritty teen drama that was Breakfast Club, I couldn't in good conscience cast a vote for the Wyld Stallyns and Keanu over the Brat Pack in 80s rep.

BTW Brick, our friend Neo played Ted Theodore Logan ... Bill S. Preston Esq was played by Alex Winters, who was also in Lost Boys.

(9) Say Anything def. (8) Midnight Run
Admittedly, I'm not being fair here considering I haven't seen either. But of what I've read (and with their equal rankings) I'd say they're on par with each other, making the immortal Boom Box scene from Say Anything the tie breaker.

(5) Naked Gun def. (12) Brewster's Millions
Although I've never seen Brewster's Millions, I doubt I'd enjoy it as much as the Naked Gun ... which has actually become even funnier now seeing O.J. Simpson repeatedly get the crap beat out of him throughout.

(4) 48 Hours def. (13) Cocktails
As if being the worst of the L. Ron Hubbard maniac's movies in the tournament wasn't bad enough, Cocktails loses for the "Flugelbinder" conversation alone. (They're called aglets Tom)

(11) Red Dawn def. (6) Revenge/Nerds
Just say no to characters named Booger. Plus, I have a soft spot for counter history, red scare war epics. They're hilarious.

(14) Stripes def. (3) Sixteen Candles
For intentionally funny, Stripes is Bill Murray at his 80s best. "We're American soldiers. We've been kicking (butt) for 200 years. We're 10 and 1" Besides, we can't have a third "coming-of-age-er" from this region heading to the second round.

(10) Lethal Weapon def. (7) Footloose
Really, Footloose was enjoyable, but I'd still rather continually watch Mel Gibson and Danny Glover dodge bullets and explosions, than Kevin Bacon dance to Holdin out for a Hero.

(2) Wall Street def. (15) Pretty In Pink
What's with this region? Laying on the pre-emo teen comedies kinda heavy eh? Wall Street gave us the "Greed is Good" speech while I still have trouble telling the difference between Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles.

My Quick Overdue Picks for Mullet Region
(1) Ferris Bueller def. (16) Romance/Stone

(8) Croc Dundee def. (9) Police Academy

(5) Real Genius def. (12) Diner

(4) Risky Business def. (13) Teen Wolf

(11) Big Trouble/Little China def. (6) Wargames (personal nostalgia)

(3) Lost Boys def. (14) Road House

(10) Back to the Future def. (7) Coming to America

(2) Planes/Trains def. (15) Summer School
 
. . . Wyld Stallyns. . .

BTW Brick, our friend Neo played Ted Theodore Logan ... Bill S. Preston Esq was played by Alex Winters, who was also in Lost Boys.

For the record, I'm glad that someone finally addressed this issue with the same attention to detail that I would have (had I not been too embarrassed to admit said knowledge).
 
thank you all so much for all the votes and discussion!

the votes are being tallied, and voting will close tonight at 10pm (the show starts late due to Kings basketball)

We will announce the winners tonight, and open up the next region as well.

Keep it up and thanks again.
 
What's the next region, Dave? Let me know and I'll change the thread title. :)
 
Ok. The advancers from the Parachute Pants Region are:

#1 Breakfast Club defeats #16 Bill and Ted: 68% to 32%

#8 Midnight Run defeats #9 Say Anything 52% to 48%

#5 Naked Gun defeats #12 Brewsters Millions 65% to 35%

#4 48 Hours defeats #13 Cocktail 94% to 6%

#6 Revenge of the Nerds defeats #11 Red Dawn 51% to 49%

#14 Stripes defeats #3 Sixteen Candles 81% to 19%

#10 Lethal Weapon defeats #7 Footloose 52% to 48%

#2 Wall Street defeats #15 Pretty in Pink 56% to 44%

Tough Bracket for Molly Ringwald.....

Thanks all for participating...over 3,000 votes were tallied throughout the weekend.....

Voting on the Miami Vice region is now open, and will close Wednesday night.
 
Miami Vice Region, 1st Round:

16. Can't Buy Me Love
9. Back to School
-- I think that Can't Buy Me Love is a choice inspired by generation and gender more than anything else - I barely get the appeal of Caddy Shack now, and I certainly didn't get it when the film was new. And Trading Places has never been as funny to me as it seems to be to everyone else, but Back to School isn't as funny in 2008 as it was in 1980-whatever - Oingo Boingo wins this one.

12. Beetlejuice
13. Fletch
-- Here's another one where Parenthood would have easily been picked over 75% of the rest of this list (including both Fletch and The Karate Kid), but as an admitted Burton fan-girl, it just didn't have a chance here. Fletch... had to pick something, and I've always hated The Karate Kid.

6. PeeWee's Big Adventure
3. Airplane
-- Burton + PeeWee = easy, and Burton + PeeWee vs. Zmed = not even a question. The 3/14 matchup was ****ing brutal, though, as both Airplane and Hollywood Shuffle still crack me up. Ultimately had to go with June Cleaver jive talkin'.

7. Ghostbusters
2. Goonies
-- Both of these seem the obvious choice, even though I've never been as big a Goonies nut as a lot of other people my age; I saw it in theaters, I liked it, but I've never felt the need to watch it again.
 
GoGoGadget said:
And Trading Places has never been as funny to me as it seems to be to everyone else,

TP seems to be more of a guy flick, mainly because it's got a lot of mean-spirited stuff in it. Besides that, the Duke Bros and Clarence Beeks are great villains and it's a time capsule of a thin Aykroyd and a funny Murphy (and of the old gents before they died). And Jamie Lee's uh.....wonderful talents.
 
TP seems to be more of a guy flick, mainly because it's got a lot of mean-spirited stuff in it. Besides that, the Duke Bros and Clarence Beeks are great villains and it's a time capsule of a thin Aykroyd and a funny Murphy (and of the old gents before they died). And Jamie Lee's uh.....wonderful talents.

I think it's a generational thing, too. I was five when Trading Places was released, I was eight when Back to School was released -- obviously I wasn't the target audience for either film at the time they came out, but my age and the movie's maturity level were a little bit closer with Back to School.
 
Back
Top