Reviewed by Christy
Though I was very young in the 1980s
and don’t remember much (except The
Little Mermaid and Jem and the
Holograms), I’ve always had a soft spot for the decade. I’m certainly not
unique in that aspect which the popularity of Stranger Things and the remake of Stephen King’s IT reflects. A comprehensive look at the
1980s is incomplete, however, without discussion of teen movies. Of course,
teen movies existed pre-1980s but they became a full blown phenomenon during
those years.
King begins his book by discussing
the late 70s rise of John Travolta with Saturday
Night Fever and Grease. King
posits Travolta was born just a little too early because though those two movies
made him a mega star for a short period of time, soon teens on screen overran
cinemas. King covers Fast Times at
Ridgemont High and Dead Poets Society
and “everything in between”. He details
the writing and auditioning processes, how tough or fun particular productions
were, and who came close to getting a certain role. No matter how fun a topic
may sound, if someone just regurgitates facts and statistics it will become a
very dry, dull read. But fortunately, King avoids this by injecting humor
throughout which made me laugh out loud a couple of times. While there are some
movies I will just never be interested in seeing (Revenge of the Nerds), his analysis of others made me appreciate
some in a new light (previously mentioned Fast
Times) or want to see for the first time (The Karate Kid).
He also talks a little about the
importance of movie soundtracks and how some producers felt a good soundtrack could
make or break their movie which leads into digressions about Prince and Madonna
and their attempt at movie careers. King also doesn’t shy away from the tougher
discussions about these teen movies – like the lack of diversity or the
troubling way female consent is treated. (Particular scenes in Sixteen Candles that involve a drunken
popular girl came under new scrutiny in the #MeToo era.)
King writes a thorough history with fun details and
interesting analyses. Though there are unsavory moments that don’t play well in
2019, King contextualizes them and opens them up for discussion. He also ends
the book with Travolta’s cinematic comeback in Pulp Fiction which I thought was a nice little bookend.
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