Long before Sex In the City (Longer than I care to admit), I had a “thing” for Kim Cattrall. It goes back 20 years now, (Just typing that makes me wince) to the summer of 1987. That was the year Kim, playing the role of Ema ‘Emmy’ Hesire, stole my heart in the movie Mannequin.

Now, the 80′s were known for their cheesy, campy summer movies, and this one is no exception. I like Andrew McCarthy, if for no other reason than he is predictable. He (it would seem) has a very limited range as an actor, either that or he was simply typecast into the same role repeatedly, but either way, you know your going to get a silly character, that Andrew managed to pull of time and again with precision that the two dimensional character he plays does not really give most people the time to appreciate, because he plays these roles so well.

The story follows Jonathan Switcher (McCarthy), a constantly out of work artist that is going nowhere fast.  One of his failed endeavors was working in a mannequin factory, where he “creates a masterpiece of a mannequin”  Of course this takes him entirely too long, and he is fired from this job, just like every other he has attempted.

The mannequin, ends up in the display window of ‘Prince & Co,’ a Macy’s like,  ailing department store. When Jonathan saves the life of the
owner (Estelle Getty), he is repaid with a job as a stock clerk.

When he sneaks to go look at his former creation, the  mannequin comes to life.  “Emmy” (Cattral) who we are introduced to with a short scene at the beginning of the movie,  is from ancient  Egyptian, and was granted by the gods to be whisked away from that time period in search of one more suitable for her.

Jonathan is the only one that can see her alive, which of course leads to some hilarious situations as well as suspicion and rumors from other employees of the store.  With Emmy as his inspiration, and with her assistance together they create the most stunning store display windows around.  Fellow designer ‘Hollywood’ Montrose (Meshach Taylor), being a fellow “artiste” begs Jonathan to help mold him.  (For the record, this movie is worth watching for the outstanding and uproariously funny job that Taylor does in this supporting role alone).  Meanwhile they must avoid dealing with Felix (G.W. BAILEY), an overzealous security guard and his dog ‘Rambo’  who is tasked by a mole in Price and Co (played by James Spader) to find out the secret of Switchers success.

The success of the window displays puts a cramp into the plans of the company that was planning on buying out Prince & Co, and the  owner of the other store B.J Wert with the help of his mole and the inept Felix attempt to bribe and/or blackmail Switcher away.  In a last ditch effort to get him away they decide to steal him mannequin (but since Felix cannot actually identify the “one”, they must take them all).
Can Jonathan get her  back before she is destroyed along with the other mannequins?  Can Prince  & Co. be saved? Well for that you will just have to watch.

This is one of my absolute favorite songs from the 80′s. The album, Broadcast was the first U.S. Number 1 album for Virgin Records (according to Wikipedia), and the band received a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Unfortunately their next two albums went nowhere fast and the band broke up in 1993. Lead Singer Nick Van Eede has started the group back up, in 2006 they released their first album, but 20 years later and without lead guitarist Kevin MacMichael (who died of cancer in 2002), I am not going to hold my breathe. But I will always have Broadcast to bring me back to 1986.

Silly? Yes. Funny. Somewhat. Too scary for young kids? Nope. Hocus Pocus (1993) is just plain entertaining. Bette Middler’s performance is completely over the top, but perfect for a film that is weak in the script department, the laughs sometimes miss, and is not really scary enough to be a scary movie. Sort of along the same lines of film as Ghostbusters, but with fewer out loud laughing moments, that is only saved by performances that far exceed those of Bill Murray and company.

In the year 1693 the Sanderson sisters, Winifred, Mary and Sarah (Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker) were hanged for being witches. Just before their hanging, Winifred’s spell book allows her to cast one more spell, a curse that when a virgin lights the black flame candle on Halloween light, they will return.

Fast forward to 300 years later, Max (Omri Katz) on a late night excursion to the closed “museum” of the Sanderson sisters, decides to light the candle in order to scare his irritating sister Dani (Thora Birch) and his wannabe girlfriend Alison (Vinessa Shaw), enabling the sisters to return.

The fun ensues as the kids try to set things right, and the witches learn to deal with modern day Salem while attempting to create the potion that will enable them to suck the lives out of all the children in Salem. Now, the three Witches are back ready for a night of fun, magic and horror in the now modern area of Salem.

Not quite the classic children’s movie, like It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, but a lot more fun than some others, especially if you have little ones that aren’t ready for really scary Halloween films.

Although technically released in the seventies on the 1979 Album Million Mile Reflections, The Devil Went Down to Georgia is as much part of 80′s music lore as anything else. While technically not a One Hit Wonder, The Charlie Daniels Band is certainly seen that way more in the northern U.S., whereas in the south, songs such as The South Will do it Again, kept them on the air a lot more.

Almost an Angel(1990) pairs up the popular 80′s movie couple Paul Hogan and Linda Kozlowski, best known for their roles in the Crocodile Dundee trilogy. (Yes it was a trilogy, the released a third one in 2001. Didn’t see it? Me either.)

Anyway after the first two Dundee movies, and with an apparent budding romance going on (Hogan and Kozlowski were married in 1990) and looking to cash in on the popularity of the two, we find the movie Almost an Angel.

In this movie a small time crook named Terry Dean (Hogan) is convinced he was sent back by god to do good. He meets up with and befriends a bitter wheel chair cripple (Elias Koteas) that happens to be the sister of woman (Kozlowski) that runs a center for children. He uses his “skills” for good to help save the shelter from closing as we watch the tension of a potential relationship build between the two.

As a romantic comedy, this is not on the level of When Harry Met Sally. It isn’t even on the level of You Got Mail. But for a bit of an offbeat humorous story, there are far worse ways to spend some time, than to watch the chemistry between Hogan and Kozlowski on the screen.

August 5th, 1994 TheWife and I were married. Like (far too) many people in the early 80′s “our song” was heavily inspired by the movie Ghost. Now the movie doesn’t seem to hold the same “magic” it did then, and looking back, while it is certainly a nice film, I am amazed at how many people (us included of course) were so taken in by it. On the other hand, the song, The Righteous Brothers Unchained Melody is still one of my favorite love songs.

In 1984 Bonnie Tyler released what would become her biggest hit, Holding out for a Hero. It was originally part of the soundtrack for Footloose. The infectious beat and uplifting sound of the song helped bring it to #1 on the Billaboard charts.

It would also go on to be part of the soundtrack of a number of other films including, Short Circuit 2, my personal favorite version in Who is Harry Crumb, Shrek 2 (not the Bonnie Tyler version) , Bandits, and last year’s Nacho Libre. It has also been used in a number of television shows as well including Lois and Clark : The New Adventures of Superman.

Personally, along with Survivors Eye of the Tiger, it is a regular in my workout and my new Couch to 5k playlists as well as anywhere I need more “energy.”

There are a number of movies that come to mind when you try to list movies that define the 80′s. One of them is without a doubt, Dirty Dancing (1987). This relatively low budget film was a major hit, and the music won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe as well as being nominated for a Grammy Award.

Not normally what I would spotlight as I like to go typically with lesser known films, I thought now on the 20th anniversary of the release, it was worth mentioning. Despite several attempts (most dubiously, Dirty Dancing – Havana Nights) no “dance” film in the past 20 years has managed to catch the lighting in a bottle that this film produced.

No, Jennifer Grey (“Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman”) nor Patrick Swayze ( “Johnny”) would ever be mistaken as the best actors, and even accomplished veteran Jerry Orbach (Dr. Jake Houseman) gave a performance that was a bit wooden.  But the film, powered by an awesome sountrack, some great dancing, and a good story is able to keep people enthralled, tapping their feet to the beats of the music, and almost weeping for joy (that’s ok guys you don’t have to admit it), when Johnny comes over and takes ‘Baby’ up on the stage for that final dance number.

Like, I have mentioned of some actors and actresses in the past, sometimes when something gets “too popular” it becomes fair game to start to dislike it, “just because” and that seems to be the case with Dirty Dancing over the years as this wonderful film has been derided as a fluffy ‘chick flick’ and  as such does not get the recognition it deserves.

The pace of the film never gets too fast or too slow, the twists in the plot are not subtle or hard to pick out ahead of time, so there are few surprises.  But what the film does and does well, it make you feel like part of the Catskills Resorts of the 1960′s and brings you into a world of music and dance that is fun.  Watch it.  Or, go back and watch it again.  You may just be surprised to find it is even better than you remember.

There were few things bigger in the summer of 1987 than Dirty Dancing. And while the movie has an awesome soundtrack, it was this song, and the accompanying dance number that most people remember(ed).

It was one of only two number one hits for Jennifer Warnes (the other being Up Where We Belong with Joe Cocker on the An Officer and a Gentleman Soundtrack), but just one of many for her duet partner Bill Medley who is of course is probably best known (along with his partner Bobby Hatfield) as The Righteous Brothers.

Whitmentioned that my last Picture Perfect Thursday post made him think of this song, and I have to agree. And since I have yet to pay homage to anything from The Dave Matthews Band, I thought it only appropriate to start off with this.

If you take Raiders of the Lost Ark, and turn it into a romantic comedy, you get Romancing the Stone (1984).   This one is a little more popular and had a much bigger box office than the other movies I have listed in the TripleVenit Late Night Movie Club so far, but apparently at least around here, very few people seem to remember, or even have heard of this film, which was the first big breakout for Director Robert Zemeckis.  (Zemeckis’ next film would be Back to the Future).

In this story Joan Wilder (Turner),  a romance novelist has her peaceful, serene and somewhat mundane life turned on its head, when she receives a map in the mail from her recently murdered Brother-In-Law, and her sister is kidnapped by Columbians that want the map that Joan has received.

She decides to take the journey, and along the way meets Jack Colton (Douglas), a free-spirited adventurer who while used to only caring about himself gets roped into helping Joan.

They need to try and save Joan’s sister, but they must first survive various different groups that are out to get the map.  And what does the map reveal?  Should they follow the map?  As I said, this is a comedy, so while the movies has adventures, action (and snakes) much like an Indiana Jones film, silly and hillarious situations also ensue.   And of course, you get a somewhat cliche, but classic (with a twist) happy ever after ending. (which I will not spoil).

If you like Rock Music, and are from New Jersey, there is no way that you can not include Jon Bon Jovi among your favorites, and since I qualify on both fronts, it is a bit odd that I have waited this long into the Triple Venti Late Night Music Club to add my first Bon Jovi song to the collection. Runaway was actually written back in 1980, but came to prominence in 1983 as was the first single released on Bon Jovi’s first self titled album.

What do you get, when you attempt to create a genetically superior human in a lab in the 1950′s but the egg splits? You get, Twins (1988), a whimsical slapstick comedy staring the unlikely pairing of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito.

Julius (Schwarzenegger) is a genetically “superior” one taken to a private island and given every opportunity to excel, and becomes a bright (albeit naive) person, while the “inferior” one is dumped in an orphanage and becomes a two bit con man and crook. When the Julius  finds out he has a brother, he goes to seek him out, as well as the truth about his mother.

Vincent meanwhile  accidentally stumbles across a bit “deal” by stealing the wrong car, and must deliver it to another criminal, but must bring Julius (and his girlfriend, and her sister) along.

While this movie was certainly a fairly well received hit, grossing $110 million dollars at the box office, many people still have yet to see it, or are afraid to watch a comedy that stars an “action hero” actor like Arnie.

If you have never seen it, give it a look.  If you have… it just might be time to enjoy it again.

Since I am in Walt Disney World right now, and I have watched the Cars DVD once too often lately, it just seemed appropriate that this weeks Triple Venti Late Night Music Club selection come from the House of Mouse. This is the remake of Life is a Highway by Rascal Flatts, from the Cars Original Sound Track.

Johnny Dangerously(1984) is a comedy picking on the “mob life” of the 1930′s (and films made about that era).  Johnny Kelly (Michael Keaton) is a good neighborhood boy that gets caught up in a life of crime because of his mothers “poor health.”

He works his way up the ranks, never really fitting the mold of a gangster, much to the chagrin of his chief rival Danny Vermin (Joe Piscopo), and eventually becomes the boss.  He falls in love with a night club singer that sings at  a speakeasy (Marilu Henner).

He works hard to keep his mob identity, Johnny Dangerously a secret to his family that thinks he is simply a night club owner.  This is put in jeopary by the fact that his brother, Tommy Kelly (Griffin Dunne) graduated law school and went to work for the District Attorney (Danny DeVito) and works tirelessly to root out crime.

Can Johnny keep his secret?  Will Tommy find out the truth, and if he does will he prosecute his own brother?  Will Danny Vermin try and use these events to improve his own standing in the gang?

Hilarity ensues as it all plays out.   The cast also includes, Maureen Stapleton (Johnny’s ill mother), Peter Boyle (as the original boss Jocko Dundee) and includes cameos by Dom DeLuise, Ray Walston, Dick Butkus and Alan Hale Jr.   The sight gags, on-running jokes, and slapstick nature of the film, puts it in a class of films such as Airplane or  The Naked Gun.  If you like constant laughter, this is a excellent film to watch one evening.

In honor of my trip down to Atlantic City, my contest to win Salt Water Taffy from Fralinger’s (and the fact that I did not post a Music Club Selection this weekend), I decided to go with what is clearly a favorite this time of year in the Jersey Shore area, the Bruce Springsteen hit Jersey Girl from his Born In the USA album.

It has become somewhat “hip” to pick on Bruce in some circles, but his popularity and style (not to mention record sales and sold out tour dates) is something that is rivaled by a very select few.

Since we had such a low turnout in the Easy Friday Contest, everybody who entered is getting a box of Taffy. (At least nobody is going away disappointed).

Clue (1985) is based on the boardgame of the same name (with several additional characters added). The basic premise as set out in the movie is that the guests, Prof. Plum (Christopher Lloyd), Mrs. White (Madeline Kahn), Mr. Green (Michael McKean), Col. Mustard (Martin Mull) and Ms. Scarlett (Lesley Ann Warren) are invited to a dinner party by Mr. Boddy, a man that is blackmailing all of them. Mr. Boddy is promptly murdered, and of course all of the guests have a motive to want to see him dead.

Now the race is on to find the real murderer, before the police arrive, and of course to stay alive since there is someone capable of murder within their midst.

This however is not a noir or regular murder mystery. It is a hysterical comedy with an excellent cast (as you may have noted above), it also stars Tim Curry as the butler Wadsworth, and has cameo appearances by Jane Wiedlin (from the Go-go’s) as a singing telegram girl, and Howard Hesseman (WKRP in Cinncinatti, Head of the Class) as the Police Chief.

This video for the longest time made no sense to me because apparently the decided to shorten it, and took out the piece where you find out what the whole medieval scene had to do with the video (that Perry “walked out” on it). Anyway, at times I feel sorry in a way for anybody named Sherrie in the 23 years since this song came out, as I can only imagine how many guys have thought themselves “unique” by singing this song to them.

Not that it is a bad song, I happen to love it myself. And Steve Perry has got a simply awesome voice. It is a bit of a shame that he seemed to spend so much time bouncing back in and out of Journey, canceled tours and albums and the like. And I am not sure who benefited more from it, but many people assume that Oh Sherrie was a Journey song, but was in fact Perry’s first solo album (his second, got put on hiatus when he returned to Journey and was later released as part of another album but was not a huge success).

I have never been one to follow the news as far as celebrities go, and when I had hear that Journey was getting back together (yet again), I was actually pumped to see and hear Perry once again, but alas, those days seem to be gone, and due to the acrimony of the last break up, he has no intention of rejoining the band. And without him, I don’t really have that much interest in Journey any longer.

In keeping with my recent foray into 1982, I thought I would cap it off with a film from that year as well. Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid is a parody on the 1940′s Noir films, that actually draws on the movies it is spoofing.

This film stars Steve Martin as Rigby Reardon, an inept private eye who comes to the aid of a wealthy and beautiful heiress.  The film is spliced with scenes from the best Noir films of the era including, “The Big Sleep” and “The Postman Always Rings Twice.”  So while solving solving the mystery at hand Reardon comes “face to face” with many of the stars of the era including Humphrey Bogart, Vincent Price, Bette Davis and more.

Can he solve the mystery, will he get the girl, and is it true that Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid.  As with any parody the storyline is carried along for the jokes and not the other way around, so character development is non existent as you are pretty much suppose to understand the characters as they were from their Noir heyday, but this is classic Steve Martin in a very unique setting and he pulls it off well.

A bonus entry into the TripleVenti Late Night Music Club, in honor of a three day weekend, a second tribute to the class of 1982, and the fact that I just couldn’t bare to have Olivia Newton-John as the only current representative of 1982 thus far, I went back to pull back the classic selection from Joan Jett and the Black Hearts, I Love Rock N’ Roll.

It ranks at Number 17 on the Top 100 Songs of the 80′s, and has been covered by many other bands and artists, including Friction, Joe Christmas, Hayseed Dixie, Nitocris, and Ghoti Hook. Despite the Britney Spears remake of this song (or perhaps because of it), this original version is still far more popular, and deservedly so. Though I suspect many younger people today, have no idea what a “record machine” is.

If you graduated High School in 1982, you are probably staring at an invitation to your 25th reunion. As you think back to those day, you probably remember that it was around this time that the designer jeans look gave way to Leg Warmers and Clam Diggers, you most likely saw one (or more) of these movies in theaters, E.T., Poltergeist, and The Wall, Fast Times at Ridgemont High or Rocky III. Valley Girl Speak became popular. And if that along wasn’t enough to make your cringe, then you will probably cringe when you may remember that Billboards number one song of the year was Olivia Newton-John’s Physical.

In honor of my ever so fun trip to the dentist, I thought it only appropriate that this weeks TVLN Movie Club selection be Little Shop of Horrors (1986). I’m not suggesting my dentist is anything like Orin Scrivello, DDS (Steve Martin), but…

Anyway, I am digressing from a fun and rather humorous “horror” film.  The fact that this one is a musical, will make it not for everyone.  Many guys I know call it a chick flick for that reason alone.  But, I have over the years aquainted myself with many people that are also Broadway show type people, and people that are more likely to attend a show like that, whether male or female, enjoy this film, and it had at the time garnered quite a cult like fandom.  (Not to the levels of say, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but then again, how many films did garner that type of following?)

There are cameos galore in this film, while Rick Moranis and Ellen Green (who also starred in the stage production) were the stars of the film, small roles were filled by names like, Bill Murray, Steve Martin, John Belushi and John Candy.

So what is the film about? (I really do need to tell this, don’t I?)  It is about a down on his luck, plant tending, geek named Seymour (Moranis), who works in a small florist shop on Skid Row.  He is in love with the meek Flower arranger Audrey (Green) that is dating a sadistic dentist (Martin).

After a sudden eclipse Seymour finds an odd plant, that winds up promising him that all his dream will come true, with one small catch.  The plant has to be fed human blood (and later humans).  As it turns out this “plant” is an alien from outer space bent on world domination.

Does Seymour continue to help the plant in order to get his dreams fulfilled?  Will he stop the plant and risk never getting Audrey?  Can he even stop the plant if he wanted to?

The music is generally fun and upbeat, with a definite 50′s style flair to it.   The violence of the film is more suggested, or seen in shadows and is not a gore film despite “horror” being in the name.

Say what you want about Madonna. There are opinions on her as varying as possible, from those that love her to those that hate her. She is certainly enigmatic, and has kept herself in the news far more than most people care to hear and know about her. From controversial adoptions, to questions of marriage and father of her child, it is probably this glut of exposure more than anything that makes most people annoyed.

But regardless of all of that, back in 1984, when her album Like a Virgin was released, she certainly left an indelible mark on music, on fashion at the time, and so on. The Title track, of the same name spent 6 weeks at number one on the charts There are countless women in this country that today some 22 years later, look back and cringe when they see pictures of themselves wearing Madonna-like fashion.

Like a Virgin was listed the fourth song on their list of the “100 Greatest Pop Songs” as compiled by Rolling Stone and MTV (back in 2000).

TripleVenti Late Night this week moves into the realm of Fantasy with Legend (1985). This film if anything suffered from two things. Stars that had not yet garnered stardom type drawing power, and perhaps released a few years too early. In 1985 Tom Cruise was certainly already well known from Risky Business and All the Right Moves, but it really wasn’t until 1986 and Top Gun that Cruise himself became a draw all on his own. And Mia Sara, to this day is probably better known for her role as Sloane Peterson in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (also 1986), than just about anything she did before or since. Tim Curry (not that you could tell it was him unless you recognized his voice), while I believe an under-rated actor was never a draw on his own outside of perhaps Rocky Horror Picture Show Fans.

Legend, is a classic story of “Good vs. Evil” as well as “Love Conquers All” themes. Our hero Jack (Cruise) must help save the last Unicorn from the Lord Of Darkness (Curry), and at the same time rescue his true love Lily (Sara). Set in a Fairy Tale world filled with Gnomes, fairies and Goblins it is almost mystifying that this film bombed so badly when you consider the success of Willow only a few years later, and the obvious attraction of such worlds today as shown by the box office hits such as The Chronicles of Narnia – The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Widescreen Edition), as well as the The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

While the scenes in the Forest as relatively tame, the scenes that take place within the castle of the Lord of Darkness are probably too intense for most children, thus leading me to leave it in the category of “Late Night” after the kiddies (or anybody that perhaps cannot deal with intense scenes) are asleep. It is also a good watch for couples (in a stereotypical sense) since the love story part appeals to the “chick flick” crowd while there is enough violence to keep many of the men folk satisfied.  If you enjoy suspending believe in a world a magic, Legend is surely an excellent film to watch.

Is there anybody that hasn’t sung this song at the top of their lungs, what seems like hundreds of times? I was in my crowd, the only one that was able to not only memorize all the words to the Phil Rizzuto call in the middle of the song, but actually got down all the voice inflections as well (such is what happens when you have parents that watch lots of Yankees baseball in the 70′s). It is hard to believe that this song is celebrating 30 years. Most people who listen to it today, probably don’t even know who Phil Rizzuto is any longer.

I have owned this song, on original 45 rpm single, on the Bat Out of Hell Album (that is a vinyl for you kids out there), Cassette, CD and now of course I have it digitally. (And you wonder why the music industry doesn’t want people to have backups of their music. Just look right there, I have purchased this album 4 times (plus the single) over the years. Now of course, I (hopefully) will never need to purchase it again.)

Added bonus for those that may want it, the Lyrics are below the fold.

Boy:
I remember every little thing
As if it happened only yesterday
Parking by the lake
And there was not another car in sight
And I never had a girl
Looking any better than you did
And all the kids at school
They were wishing they were me that night

And now our bodies are oh so close and tight
It never felt so good, it never felt so right
And we’re glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife
C’mon! Hold on tight!
C’mon! Hold on tight!

Though it’s cold and lonely in the deep dark night
I can see paradise by the dashboard light

Girl:
Ain’t no doubt about it
We were doubly blessed
Cause we were barely seventeen
And we were barely dressed

Ain’t no doubt about it
Baby got to go and shout it
Ain’t no doubt about it
We were doubly blessed

Boy:
Cause we were barely seventeen
And we were barely dressed

Baby doncha hear my heart
You got it drowning out the radio
I’ve been waiting so long
For you to come along and have some fun

And I gotta let ya know
No you’re never gonna regret it
So open up your eyes I got a big surprise
It’ll feel all right
Well I wanna make your motor run

And now our bodies are oh so close and tight
It never felt so good, it never felt so right
And we’re glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife
C’mon! Hold on tight!
C’mon! Hold on tight!

Though it’s cold and lonley in the deep dark night
I can see paradise by the dashboard light
Paradise by the dashboard light

You got to do what you can
And let Mother Nature do the rest
Ain’t no doubt about it
We were doubly blessed
Cause we were barely seventeen
And we were barely–

We’re gonna go all the way tonight
We’re gonna go allt he way
An tonight’s the night…

Radio Broadcast:
Ok, here we go, we got a real pressure cooker
going here, two down, nobody on, no score,
bottom of the ninth, there’s the wind-up and
there it is, a line shot up the middle, look
at him go. This boy can really fly!
He’s rounding first and really turning it on
now, he’s not letting up at all, he’s gonna
try for second; the ball is bobbled out in center,
and here comes the throw, and what a throw!
He’s gonna slide in head first, here he comes, he’s out!
No, wait, safe–safe at second base, this kid really
makes things happen out there.
Batter steps up to the plate, here’s the pitch–
he’s going, and what a jump he’s got, he’s trying
for third, here’s the throw, it’s in the dirt–
safe at third! Holy cow, stolen base!
He’s taking a pretty big lead out there, almost
daring him to try and pick him off. The pitcher
glance over, winds up, and it’s bunted, bunted
down the third base line, the suicide squeeze in on!
Here he comes, squeeze play, it’s gonna be close,
here’s the throw, there’s the play at the plate,
holy cow, I think he’s gonna make it!

II. Let Me Sleep On It

Girl:
Stop right there!
I gotta know right now!
Before we go any further–!

Do you love me?
Will you love me forever?
Do you need me?
Will you never leave me?
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life?
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife?
Do you love me!?
Will you love me forever!?
Do you need me!?
Will you never leave me!?
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life!?
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife!?
I gotta know right now
Before we go any further
Do you love me!!!?
Will you love me forever!!!?

Boy:
Let me sleep on it
Baby, baby let me sleep on it
Let me sleep on it
And I’ll give you my answer in the morning

Let me sleep on it
Baby, baby let me sleep on it
Let me sleep on it
And I’ll give you my answer in the morning

Let me sleep on it
Baby, baby let me sleep on it
Let me sleep on it
And I’ll give you my answer in the morning

Girl:
I gotta know right now!
Do you love me?
Will you love me forever?
Do you need me?
Will you never leave me?
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life?
Will you take me away and will you make me your wife?
I gotta know right now!
Before we go any further
Do you love me?
And will you love me forever?

Boy:
Let me sleep on it
Baby, baby let me sleep on it
Let me sleep on it
And I’ll give you my answer in the morning
Let me sleep on it!!!

Girl:
Will you love me forever?

Boy:
Let me sleep on it!!!

Girl:
Will you love me forever!!!

III. Praying for the End of Time

Boy:
I couldn’t take it any longer
Lord I was crazed
And when the feeling came upon me
Like a tidal wave
I started swearing to my god and on my mother’s grave
That I would love you to the end of time
I swore that I would love you to the end of time!

So now I’m praying for the end of time
To hurry up and arrive
Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you
I don’t think that I can really survive
I’ll never break my promise or forget my vow
But God only knows what I can do right now
I’m praying for the end of time
It’s all that I can do
Praying for the end of time, so I can end my time with you!!!

Boy:
It was long ago and it was far away
and it was so much better than it is today

Girl:
It never felt so good
It never felt so right
And we were glowing like
A metal on the edge of a knife

The Triple Venti Late Night Movie Club this week moves away from comedy and into Action films for the first time with Nighthawks.  This film sports a very good cast, including the introduction of Rutger Hauer, Billie Dee Williams, Lindsey Wagner, and Sylvester Stallone.

While the scenery, clothing and music give this early 80′s film an obviously dated look, the story is probably every bit as relevant today as it was then (perhaps even more so), with the theme of a terrorist loose in New York City.

Deke DaSilva (Stallone), and his partner and Matthew Fox (Williams) are brought in to an elite anti-terrorist task force and assigned with hunting down the international terrorist Wulfgar (Hauer).

For fans of seeing things blown up, there is plenty of that.  For intensity, there is an awesome scene in the movie where Wulfgar, takes hostages on the Roosevelt Island Tramway.

It always struck me as odd, that this film did not become more widely popular.  Was it because by 1981 it was already in vogue to trash anything Stallone did, even if it was a good film?  Was it because there isn’t the silly comedic side to it (ala Lethal Weapon) to ease the tension of the film?  It certainly had everything else, and was far more intense in character development, as DaSilva tries to get “in the head” of Wulfgar.  If you can believe Alan Rickman as an international terrorist (Die Hard), then you should be blown away (pun only slightly intended) by Hauer’s debut performance.

1983 – I graduated from college, Compact Discs were introduced, but most people were still buying vinyl and singles were on 45′s because of the price of the players, Sally Ride became the first woman astronaut. And The Fixx reached Number Two in the charts with “One Thing Leads to Another.” (This song was introduced to another generation in 2002 with the song’s inclusion in the game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.)

Tonights Triple Venti Late Night Movie Club Selection is Innerspace (1987). Tuck Pendleton (Dennis Quaid) is an arrogant, drunk and washed up Pilot, that accepts a job at a private lab to “pilot” a ship that they are planning to miniaturize and inject into a lab rabbit. Of course the “bad guys” break into the laboratory and attempt to steal the experiment. In an effort to save Tuck, one of the Doctors from the lab injects him into Jack Putter (Martin Short). Jack is a meek, keep to himself hypochondriac (Tuck’s polar opposite, of course).

Through the technology on his “ship” Tuck navigates his ship to Jack’s head so he can connect with his ears and eyes, enabling him to talk to Jack and see what Jack sees. Naturally, they find out that they only have 24 hours to get Tuck back out of Jack before the miniaturization process wears off, and the bad guys have the chip needed to get Jack back out and restored to normal size.

They enlist the help of Lydia (Meg Ryan), Tuck’s longtime (and recently ex) girlfriend to help them attempt to find the bad guys, and retrieve the chip. Of course we have the typical mayhem of silly attempt to con the bad guys, get caught, escape and still try and save Tuck. Throughout you have some excitement (although no real intense danger scenes), and lots of sight gag laughs.

Through this Jack starts to fall for Lydia. But is Lydia falling for Jack? Or is she just seeming and feeling Tuck as he helps Jack through the journey? Will they get back to the lab in time to get Tuck out of Jack? Will they be able to get him restored to normal size before he runs out of air?

This movie, as silly a premise as it is, brings out what I think may very well be the best (most well suited for his skills, maybe?) performance, that I think I ever say Martin Short in. Dennis Quaid is excellent, but I may be a bit biased on that as I believe he is a grossly underrated actor. Meg Ryan, is the sweet, somewhat gullible, “hometown” girl that she is in most of her films. It is billed as a Science-Fiction, but most of it is too far fetched, and the special effects of 20 years ago (has it really been 20 years?) strain in trying to bring the believability factor home. So really, I would consider this more of a situation comedy or (pushing it a little) romantic-comedy, than real science fiction. Nobody would ever confuse this with something along the lines of Star Wars, but to 90 minutes after everybody else has gone to bed, it is something that is fun to watch.

I had a hard time finding this one, because back in 1990, it was called, Don’t Tell Her It’s Me. But for some reason, when they (finally) released this on DVD, the decided to go back and take the title from the book the movie is based on.

Despite its 1990 release date, The Boyfriend School is clearly a 1980′s style romantic comedy. The movie was grossly under marketed, and after screenings it was released directly to Video and Cable. My guess, in retrospect is that people were at the time (and maybe justifiably so) tired of Steve Guttenberg and Shelly Long. (After a few too many Police Academy Sequels for Guttenberg, and clunkers like Troop Beverly Hills for Long, it really isn’t that hard to understand).

But that was really unfortunate as this very simple (and somewhat obvious) “You can’t judge a book by its cover” storyline is fun, light, and enjoyable.

Guttenberg plays Gus, a fat bald cartoonist that has just recently beaten cancer. His sister Lizzie (Long), a romance novelist, decides to try and fix him up on a date with Emily (Jami Gertz) who is repulsed by Gus’ appearance.

So, Lizzie sets out to transform Gus into one of her romance novel characters, in order for Gus to gain Emily’s attention. Naturally, this leads to some hysterical and outlandish situations, as Gus is transformed into a “sexy biker dude from New Zealand” to win the girls mind so that the man underneath could win the girls heart. And if he does, how does he tell her that he has been deceiving her all this time?

Cheesy? Maybe a bit (OK, yes somewhat cheesy). Funny? Not the funniest movie you’ll see, but certainly not Troop Beverly Hills either. I’d say if you like films like You’ve Got Mail (which I would say is probably on par in both the cheese factor and laugh levels) then you would probably enjoy this as well.

1982 hit Mickey by Toni Basil. A bit silly, but a huge hit back when I was in High School (yes, and when dinosaurs roamed the earth), because you can’t (OK, I can’t) help tapping and even sometimes bopping to the beat.
(Sorry this must have looked a bit silly without the video there. Apparently WordPress’ Rich Text Editor and You Tube have some issues)

Welcome to the Launch of the TripleVenti LateNight Movie Club. Here I will try to treat you to some of my favorite (usually Non-Standard) movie fare. Movies, that you have either forgotten about in the past… or quite possibly never heard of to begin with.

With everybody in the world (except me so far) having an Netflix or Blockbuster account with virtually limitless movies, I know sometimes, you need a little something different to fill your queue. Hopefully some of these will prove beneficial to those people, and anybody looking for “something different” to watch.

Seen it? Rememeber it? Chime in with your opinions in the comments. Got a suggestion, just e-mail it along to me for future TVLNMC features.

Anyway, let us move on to our first selection, shall we? My first off the beaten path film is From the Hip (1987). It stars Judd Nelson, still solidly in his “Brat Pack” days, and that may have been one of the things that turned many people off to this film.

The plot summary (from IMDB): Apprentice lawyer Robin Weathers turns a civil suit into a headline grabbing charade. He must reexamine his scruples after his shenanigans win him a promotion in his firm, and he must now defend a college professor who is apparently guilty of murder.

The movie has an excellent cast, including Judd Nelson (obviously), Elizabeth Perkins, Nancy Marchand, and more. It does an excellent balancing act of both comedy and serious drama, and shows quite pointedly the moral dilemma of defending a man possibly guilty of a heinous crime.

Looking for something a bit more though provoking a comedy than the usual brain-dead fare, or something just a little more lighthearted than your dark thriller crime stories, this is a excellent selection to sit back and enjoy.