The Legend of Billie Jean (1985)

Seemingly to get stunner Billie Jean's attention, Hubie steals then trashes her little brother Binx's scooter. Reasonably, Billie Jean demands that Hubie pay the $608 it will take to get the bike fixed but instead gets nearly raped by his father who, in turn, gets accidentally shot by Binx, which forces the siblings to go on the lam, becoming folk heroes to all of the wronged youths along the way.

The acting is terrible and the story takes the path of most ridiculousness at almost every turn, yet I know for a fact that I would've been way into this if I'd seen it as a teen when it came out. I doubt I would've chopped my hair off, but I definitely would've bought a "Fair is Fair" bumper sticker.

C

Murphy's Romance (1985)

Emma and her son are going it alone after her divorce, working hard to turn their ramshackle farm in a new town into a horse boarding/training business. Murphy (popular widower and owner of the local drugstore) takes an interest and his no-nonsense advice and support turn out to be just what she needs. After buying a horse, he starts spending a lot of time with Emma, her son, and her freeloading ex, who has blown into town and is making himself at home.

It's pretty dang charming. Usually an age gap of this size would annoy me, but it's undeniable that these two good people deserve happiness and they're well-suited. Who am I to say otherwise?

A-

Blood Simple (1985)

A bartender sleeps with his boss's wife and, because they apparently don't know how to work curtains, the private detective following them is able to deliver photos to the husband. There's a murder for hire, a cover-up, some double-crossing, and an amazing final scene that'll make you hold your breath. 

This is Joel Coen's first full-length directorial effort and Frances McDormand's first starring role and they really set the bar high for themselves with this tense noir. Its only real failure is in the casting of the extremely bland leading man.

A-

Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

When we heard of Paul Reubens' death, we decided it was time for a rewatch of this ridiculous gem. Though it would be impossible to ever recapture the fun of seeing it first the first time, it's still a ton of fun. From his sassy "why don't you take a picture it'll last longer," to Large Marge, to the Tequila dance, to rescuing snakes, it simply propagates joy.

The one issue (and it is, in my opinion, a HUGE one) is the casting of Elizabeth Daily as Dottie. She can't act for shit.

B

Clue (1985)

Guests gather at a remote mansion for a dinner party thrown by an unknown host. They soon find out that they have something in common with each other, but don't know who to trust as bodies pile up.

I know that I'd seen this before when I was much younger and remembered it as being extremely funny, but I'm wondering now if my memory was simply influenced by the gif below, which always makes me giggle. This watch I noticed that it has this weird mix of being both manic & lowkey -- which, though quite an accomplishment, doesn't make much sense.

Flames Clue GIFfrom Flames GIFs

C+

To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)

After his partner is killed investigating a counterfeiter, a secret service agent becomes obsessed with cracking the case by any means necessary despite the fact that his new partner wants to go by the book. Even though this isn't a comedy, we laughed a lot, especially early on, at the sheer '80sness of it all and the faux tough-guy vibe of William Petersen in the starring role.

Though I would've bet on this being a "D" grade at the 30-minute mark, we just couldn't deny that we were enjoying ourselves. And whoa: the car chase scene was probably the best one I've ever seen. They're being chased by literally dozens of people, all armed to the teeth, eventually even going the wrong way on the highway. That's entertainment, baby.

B

The Breakfast Club (1985)

The first time I saw this, we were on the way back from my Senior Class trip to Colorado. Since I attended a Christian High School during the "if it's in a theater, it's evil" era, this was pretty sneaky of the five girls who braved leaving the hotel despite the low difficulty afforded by the fact that our sponsor had a just-broken-on-the-slopes leg.

Since the circumstances of my first viewing were that I was very young (16), quite easily impressed, and made artificially exciting by the "what if we get caught?!" vibe, I was far from sure that it could be as good as I remembered. Somehow, though, it really does hold up. Since the focus is so small -- basically one day, one set, five kids -- it doesn't feel as dated as Heathers and the core themes are every bit as true today as they were then.

I have to say, I'm relieved that this thrilling memory from my less-than-thrilling high school years wasn't wrecked by another viewing. Both of my sons even liked it!

B+

28 Up (1985)

Although it felt a little "padded" to Gary and me, I think that had more to do with the fact that we'd seen the first three films so recently than it did with any pacing or editing problems. There are a lot of flashbacks which, for us, were unnecessary as we could remember what we'd seen in the last couple of weeks -- but I could definitely see that they would have been helpful for those viewers new to the subjects.

So far, the most interesting of the series. This is our first real checkpoint for the "give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man" quote. For the first time, we're actually seeing them as adults and, in a couple of cases, not seeing them at all -- which is, in itself, an assertation of their adulthood.

A

Twice in a Lifetime (1985)

Hit just a *little* too close to home for me. My mother just left my father after 40 years of marriage and the scenes with Sunny (the daughter) throwing a fit in the grocery store over her mother's resigned empathy for her husband felt just so familiar. Bottom line is that it's a sucky situation...which makes for a downer of a film.

C+

Smooth Talk (1985)

Does such a good job of capturing the feeling of being a girl at the "in-between" age -- that age where one feels ready to experiment, but without any real idea what that might entail…Gets truly tense at the end.

One complaint - I thought her much older sister was her much younger sister the first couple of times I saw her on screen. Odd-looking woman-girl that caused unnecessary confusion.

B-

Fright Night (1985)

Vampire moves in next door to a nosy teen who quickly figures out what's going on -- which isn't too surprising since the vampire has no qualms about biting the necks of female guests in a lit room with the shade up. I can't believe he stayed undead for as long as he did!

Horribly acted and stupidly scripted...it just has nothing going for it.

D+

The Official Story (1985)

Although this film regards a subject about which I know nothing, the fact doesn't change that people are still people -- regardless of circumstance. People are paranoid and angry and confused and powerless. Families misunderstand each other and children are irritating even as we love them more than our lives. I got involved -- mainly through the amazing acting ability of Norma Aleandro (the lead). Good film.

B+

The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)

Cecilia doesn’t have a whole lot of joy in her life. It’s the Depression; her husband is an unemployed loser with an eye for other women; she waitresses during the day and takes in laundry at night. But, Cecilia has a passion: movies. She’d rather be munching popcorn in the dark than doing anything else. And when she’s not at the local movie house where everyone knows her by name, she’s daydreaming about the beautiful people on the screen and planning her next viewing. Well, she finally gets noticed by someone other than the popcorn lady. Tom Baxter (adventurer, explorer, movie character) walks right off the screen to meet her. As Cecilia says, “I just met a wonderful new man. He’s fictional, but you can’t have everything.”

This is such a clever and satisfying film. I marvel at its ability to charm me still, even though I’ve seen it more than a dozen times.

A