’80s Movies: A Guide to What’s Wrong with Your Parents podcast

A man and woman are performing an aerial dance.

PODCAST: Why DIRTY DANCING is Most Relevant Now

By Tara McNamara / May 31, 2019 / Comments Off on PODCAST: Why DIRTY DANCING is Most Relevant Now

Riley Roberts offers the Gen Z take on DIRTY DANCING on our “’80s Movies: A Guide to What’s Wrong with Your Parents” podcast. (Special thanks for the lift from South Bay dance icon “Mr. Jack” Varga Hall of Pacific Dance Center.)
(photo: Victoria Igloi)

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A woman wearing a bunny mask walking down the street.

PET SEMATARY Podcast: How Stephen King’s 1989 Film Shows Gen X Parenting & the Birth of Millennials

By Tara McNamara / April 11, 2019 / Comments Off on PET SEMATARY Podcast: How Stephen King’s 1989 Film Shows Gen X Parenting & the Birth of Millennials

Stephen King had been on a decade long tear of financially successful horror films and 1989’s Pet Sematary would be one of his biggest moneymakers. But was it good? Hmmm. Yeah. So, on its 30th Anniversary, there’s a new Pet Sematary! Is it any good? We get into that…but what is already evident is that…

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A woman in pink shirt sitting at table with hands crossed.

THE BREAKFAST CLUB: How the Most Iconic ’80s Movie Affected a Generation

By Tara McNamara / March 22, 2019 / Comments Off on THE BREAKFAST CLUB: How the Most Iconic ’80s Movie Affected a Generation

The Breakfast Club is the face of the ’80s Movies – the classic gave teens a voice, showed their box office power, and cemented John Hughes as the decade’s most influential director. This weekend marks the 35th Anniversary of Claire, Allison, John Bender, Andrew, and Brian’s Saturday detention (“March 24, 1984, Shermer High School, Shermer,…

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A woman holding a pizza on top of a pan.

MYSTIC PIZZA Podcast: Slut Shamey Flick Marks Marriage-Can-Wait Movement

By Tara McNamara / February 26, 2019 / Comments Off on MYSTIC PIZZA Podcast: Slut Shamey Flick Marks Marriage-Can-Wait Movement

Mystic Pizza is an anomaly among ’80s teen movies: it was written by a woman, about three women who had healthy attitudes toward sex – sort of. By 1988, the pendulum had swung from the orgy-filled ’70s to the good-girls-don’t sexual conservatism. That confusing perspective is on full display in Mystic Pizza, where best friends…

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A woman in pink mermaid costume laying on the beach.

SPLASH Podcast: A Lovable Family Film if You Overlook the Bestiality, Child Nudity & Voyeurism

By Tara McNamara / December 2, 2018 / Comments Off on SPLASH Podcast: A Lovable Family Film if You Overlook the Bestiality, Child Nudity & Voyeurism

Photo Above: Podcaster Riley Roberts gives her take on Splash. Photographer: Victoria Igloi. Splash is a family film that began our modern-day fascination with mermaids, a film that made Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah  bonafide movie stars, and began Hanks journey as American treasure. But, does the film live up to its legacy? In many ways,…

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Two women posing for a picture with a drink.

PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES: Is Neal Page’s Experience Now the American Thanksgiving Experience?

By Tara McNamara / November 21, 2018 / Comments Off on PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES: Is Neal Page’s Experience Now the American Thanksgiving Experience?

’80s Movies: A Guide to What’s Wrong with Your Parents PODCAST: When you think of Thanksgiving movies, your brain might rush by Addams Family Values, Free Birds or Jack and Jill. Frankly, Thanksgiving movies of substance are few and far between. But hopefully, you’ll think of the greatest, most relatable Thanksgiving movie ever: Planes, Trains…

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A woman and man dressed as cowboys.

Is YOUNG GUNS Responsible for Gen X’s Gun Obsession?

By Tara McNamara / October 8, 2018 / Comments Off on Is YOUNG GUNS Responsible for Gen X’s Gun Obsession?

It’s the 30th Anniversary of Young Guns (currently steaming on Hulu and Netflix) and we’re celebrating. Young Guns is considered the most historically accurate version of Billy the Kid on film, but let’s be honest – the real Billy and the Regulators weren’t quite as attractive. By putting hot, cool actors like Emilio Estevez and Kiefer Sutherland…

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A woman in white outfit performing karate moves.

Why THE KARATE KID is The Most Gen X Movie Ever Made: ’80s MOVIES Podcast

By Tara McNamara / June 22, 2018 / Comments Off on Why THE KARATE KID is The Most Gen X Movie Ever Made: ’80s MOVIES Podcast

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST: Today is the 34th Anniversary of The Karate Kid, a movie that continues to resonate with the kids of the ’80s…and Millennials and Generation Z. The film about a bullied teen (Ralph Macchio) who is trained in self-defense by a wise, elderly karate master (Pat Morita) spawned sequels, a spinoff, an…

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A man and woman holding a baseball bat.

How BULL DURHAM Messed with the Minds of Men and Women – ’80s Movies: A Guide to What’s Wrong with Your Parents Podcast

By Tara McNamara / June 13, 2018 / Comments Off on How BULL DURHAM Messed with the Minds of Men and Women – ’80s Movies: A Guide to What’s Wrong with Your Parents Podcast

Bull Durham is the ultimate rom-com for men. The tagline says it all: “It’s about sex and sport. What else is there?” But the film provides plenty of fantasy for women (and not just Kevin Costner, who was at max dreaminess in 1988). Additionally, as much as it’s sexually progressive, it’s also detrimental. On the ’80s MOVIES:…

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A girl is posing for the camera wearing a jean jacket.

FOOTLOOSE Explains Everything Going on in America Right Now: ’80s Movies: A Guide to What’s Wrong with Your Parents Podcast

By Tara McNamara / May 26, 2018 / Comments Off on FOOTLOOSE Explains Everything Going on in America Right Now: ’80s Movies: A Guide to What’s Wrong with Your Parents Podcast

Footloose isn’t just a story about a group of kids fighting to have a prom. It’s about: a suicidal girl suffering from depression and no one is noticing all the red flags she’s waving, a community grieving over the loss of their loved ones and grappling to prevent another tragedy, youth fighting “The Man,” religious…

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