As the credits rolled and the screen went black, the image of John Bender's fist thrown proudly in the air stood clear in my mind. The room fell quiet and the familiar notes of "Don't You Forget About Me" seemed to keep playing. These feelings of contentment and pure bliss are coined as a common side effect to an 80's movie. An hour and a half of gutsy teens, fantastic montages, dance breaks, bad boys, and Molly Ringwald; combine to create one of the greatest things on the planet. The question has to be asked... why are 80's movies so magical? What is it about riding on the back of lawnmower or a heroic attempt to ditch school that makes every part of us smile? Or a leap that leaves a mark on cinematic history forever forward? Is it more than just a story?
These moments stay with us long after the movie is over. There is a feeling of hope that we seem to latch onto and a feeling of absolute happiness is left beating through our hearts. For that short amount of time we get the chance to live in a simpler world where detention had no cellphones and sixteenth birthdays couldn't be reminded by Facebook. A world with dancing feet, karate lessons and hats... so many hats.
There should be a petition to elect Duckie Dale as the sole fashion icon of 80's movie history. No one embodies the spirit of this image better than Duckie himself, and those glasses will live on as his greatest wardrobe accessory. These carefully crafted outfits seen in every movie embody the greatness of the 80's. Can we please bring back leg warmers and excessive fringes? Thank you. Some may choose to look back at this decade and laugh at the ruffles and windbreakers, but through the lens of an 80's movie we can truly appreciate all these outfits in their true glory.
I think we can also acknowledge that the best 80's movies were the ones with a fantastic dance number. Ranging from dancing on a library table to dancing on a parade float; any random dance sequence boosted the magic aspect up a high percent. (Long live Kevin Bacon). Why can't my life just break out into random song and dance and everyone around me will join in without a question? Preferably a song that Ferris Bueller stars in.
An 80's movie is magical for many different reasons, but perhaps the most magical is the fact that in an 80's movie... the boy always gets the girl. This long awaited build up to an unlikely pair is cheered for universally. There's a slight skip in your heart when John Cusack holds up his stereo, or when Harry and Sally meet at midnight. This perfect story of love has always been a pulsing theme in media and entertainment, but no one does it better than an 80's movies... and John Hughes. This idea of everything falling together perfectly in place and having it set to a killer soundtrack makes these movies stay in our minds long after watching.
Yes, it may be unrealistic or cheesy and yes, it might just be to good to be true. But still, we root for it. We root for this idea of love that is so real and perfect. We root for the underdog, the basket case, the bad-boy, the princess, the outcast. We root for these people because deep down, we see them as a small reflection of ourselves. In an 80's movie, we get to win. We get to see what a perfect ending would look like. We root for it because it's an 80's movie... and 80's movies are simply magical.
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