Cliché movies are a win-win situation between the production team and audience. Unlike chick flicks and romantic comedies, these movies set a base line for many genres to come. From these movies, you see ideas for Clueless, She’s All That, and Mean Girls. Although they may seem cheesy now, 80s movies weren’t cliché when they first came out. They started the amazing revolution for slow paced, hilarious films that teens of the time period could relate to.
Heathers
The movie Heathers follows Veronica (Winona Ryder) in her struggle to gain school recognition through a group of three girls (all named Heather) without losing her mind in the fragile world that is high school popularity contests. Only after meeting JD (Christian Slater) does Veronica find herself wanting to play, what started out as pranks, on students. But as time goes by, she realizes all of the so called “pranks”, encouraged by JD, become murders.
The movie progresses to a climax that you won’t soon forget (trust me) and is definitely worth the watch. (It’s on Netflix)
Sixteen Candles
Sixteen Candles is an 80s classic that stars Molly Ringwald, who feels like the whole world is turning against her after her family forgets her sixteenth birthday. Her hopeless crush on the most popular boy in school and constant admiration from geeky perverts eventually leads to content realization that you can’t always get what you want. But that doesn’t mean the world is over.
The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club shows five different personalities of students get put in detention, that initially despise one another, whether it be from socially imposed reasoning or. Over time though, they bond together through stories of mutual hardship and eventually get over the designated cliques they’re apart of.
This movie is a definite must-watch, and will make you question the society high schoolers live in, despite the generation.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off opens with Ferris (Matthew Broderick) explaining how to get away with fooling your parents into letting you stay home. The whole movie follows the adventures of Ferris, his best friend Cameron, and his girlfriend Sloane. All the while, his sister Jeanie and Principal Jones try to foil his plans at a great day off by “catching him in the act”. The movie shows recognition of fault by Cameron and introspective ideas that later become a huge deal to the movie’s theme itself.
Pretty in Pink
Pretty in Pink is yet another movie starring Molly Ringwald. The movie follows young fashionista Andie and her (slightly different) plight to over come the struggles of high school, boys, and family. Throughout the film you see a woman with strong convictions battling against conflicted feelings and peer pressure.
All in all, 80s movies are the beginning of the cliché, not the cliché itself. Put on your favorite Rush shirt, sit back, and soak in the pre-overused-trope of love triangles and struggling teens.
