Can 800 million Chinamen be wrong?

Title: Vision Quest (1985)

This movie was very memorable for me. My best friend in high school was a wrestler. Although his wrestling career was nowhere near as dramatic as Louden Swain's (Matthew Modine), I couldn't help but refer to this movie whenever I try to motivate my buddy to do something.

In any case, Vision Quest is less about wrestling as a sport and more so as a coming of age for a high school wrestler (Swain) achieving the goal to win a big tournament before graduating. His life was made a bit more complicated when a beautiful drifter moved in to rent a room as a boarder in his house. The sultry Carla was played by a then-relatively new comer and perenially beautiful, Linda Fiorentino, who eventually became the only support that Swain could come to. Of course, he fell in love with her along the way. Linda Fiorentino is also the linking actress from "After Hours."

The movie, just like many feel good 80s films that I'll likely be reviewing in this blog, culminated in a melodramatic showdown between Swain and his much-ballyhooed adversary. Cheezyness? Maybe. Swain won with a bleeding nose, if I recall correctly.

Additionally, many of you probably remember that this movie was being billed back then as Madonna's big screen debut. She had a cameo as a club singer performing her song, The Gambler, from the soundtrack.

The Vision Quest soundtrack is excellent by the way. Still holds up today. Crazy for You is still widely played. I've always liked I'll Fall In Love Again by Sammy Hagar. I might even have the original cassette tape that I bought way back when.

Kickboxing. Sport of the future.

Title: Say Anything (1989)

Another seminal 80's teen film, "Say Anything" blended memorable sounds, dialogue and scenes that we wish were a part of our lives while we were going through our own pre-adult, pre-career, teen love angst. This gem of a movie was served up by Cameron Crowe in his directorial debut (writer of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and director of "Almost Famous"). "Say Anything" was another vehicle showcasing John Cusack as the quintessential sensitive male navigating through life. His movies were not about finding adventures or building cars, but they were about girls, more specifically, girls who drove his characters crazy.

Best Lines:

"If you guys know so much about women, how come you're here at like the Gas 'n' Sip on a Saturday night completely alone drinking beers with no women anywhere?"

"Kickboxing. Sport of the future."

"I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen."

The linking actor from "Sixteen Candles" is John Cusack. Although he's already a respectable name by the time "Say Anthing" was released, in "Sixteen Candles", he was just a bit above an extra.

Technorati Tags: 80's Films, Comedy, Say Anything, John Cusack