comedy – Page 2 – Around the World in 80s Movies Podcast

Hairspray (1988) | John Waters

November 12, 2018April 18, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

John Waters writes and directs this most accessible of his films, his only one to be rated PG, with HAIRSPRAY, the film that made Ricki Lake a prominent star to be. Set in 1962, HAIRSPRAY explores race and class in a mostly divided Baltimore, where teens of different races weren’t allowed to dance on the […]

Explorers (1985) | Joe Dante

September 7, 2018April 18, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Joe Dante’s Explorers marks the big screen debuts of two future stars, Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix, who, along with Jason Presson, make up the three young boys with a thirst for adventure and scientific exploration. In their dreams, the boys have a connection to a circuit board that they eventually use to build their own little […]

Superman III (1983) | Richard Lester

July 28, 2018April 18, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Gone is Richard Donner, gone is Gene Hackman, and gone is the epic feel of the SUPERMAN series with SUPERMAN III, in which the creators finally wrest the controls away to make what they’ve been wanting to make all along: comedies! Richard Lester returns as director, as Superman, once again played by Christopher Reeve, has […]

The Return of Swamp Thing (1989) | Jim Wynorski

June 28, 2018April 18, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Seven years after Wes Craven’s original adaptation of the DC Comics superhero, Jim Wynorski takes a stab by sending the whole thing up as a campy b-movie sci-fi/horror hybrid. Swamp Thing (Dick Durock again) is back as protector of a hot babe in the form of Abigail, portrayed by Razzie Award-winning actress Heather Locklear, to […]

Little Shop of Horrors (1986) | Frank Oz

June 16, 2018April 18, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s off-Broadway darkly comical stage musical came to life in 1986, directed by Muppet-alum Frank Oz, featuring Rick Moranis, and small roles for Steve Martin, Bill Murray and John Candy. Ellen Greene co-stars in this story about a 1960s loser who finds success with an exotic plant that makes all his […]

Splash (1984) | Ron Howard

April 6, 2018April 17, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Ron Howard directs this delightful romantic comedy that would score one of the biggest hits of 1984, SPLASH. Tom Hanks, Darryl Hannah and John Candy would all propel to a more secure stardom after their roles in this screwball but tender love story between a man who has trouble finding the right woman until a […]

Mannequin (1987) | Michael Gottlieb

March 30, 2018April 17, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Andrew McCarthy and Kim Cattrall star in this smash hit bubblegum romance about a struggling artist who falls in love with a mannequin possessed by a lovelorn ancient Egyptian spirit who turns his life around. James Spader, Estell Getty, and Meshach Taylor have supporting roles in this quintessential 80s fantasy-romance. Does it hold up?

Xanadu (1980) | Robert Greenwald

March 24, 2018April 17, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The much-maligned 1980 musical gets re-evaluated in this podcast review. Olivia Newton-John plays a muse who is sent to earth to inspire a struggling artist (Michael Beck) fulfill his dream of starting a roller-disco club with a retired construction magnate (Gene Kelly). Newton-John and pop group ELO deliver a powerhouse soundtrack in this visually impressive […]

Back to the Future Part III (1990) | Robert Zemeckis

February 23, 2018April 17, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The third and final entry in the BACK TO THE FUTURE Trilogy sees Marty and Doc in the Old West of Hill Valley in 1885, where Marty must save Doc from getting gunned down by an ancestor of Biff Tannen. It’s a softer, and more romantic effort, as Doc finds love with the charming schoolteacher, […]

Back to the Future Part II (1989) | Robert Zemeckis

February 15, 2018April 17, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Marty and Doc must head 30 years into the future to save Marty’s kids from calamity,l but end up making a mess of the past when Biff Tannen takes over the DeLorean. Will they save themselves, and their pasts, as well as their futures? This ingenious sequel takes the premise of the original film for […]

Back to the Future (1985) | Robert Zemeckis

February 8, 2018April 17, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale and Steven Spielberg present the original 1985 class, BACK TO THE FUTURE! Michael J. Fox plays 17-year-old Marty McFly, a spirited teenager who doesn’t seem to quite fit in with his current family, so much so that he spends a great deal of his time helping out an eccentric local scientist, […]

My Science Project (1985) | Jonathan R. Betuel

February 1, 2018April 16, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

John Stockwell, Fisher Stevens and Dennis Hopper appear in this low-budget sci-fi/comedy from 1985, MY SCIENCE PROJECT, where teens find an alien contraption of seemingly unlimited power that opens a portal from which people and things from Earth’s past and future pour into their high school. Now the teens need to pull the plug on […]

Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) | Francis Ford Coppola

January 27, 2018April 16, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Francis Ford Coppola directs this fluffy but endearing film that asks the age-old question, “what if we could do it all over again?” An Oscar-nominated performance from Kathleen Turner bolsters this whimsical romantic comedy-drama with a time-travel twist, with a quirky role for Nicolas Cage as her no-good husband.

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) | Stephen Herek

January 20, 2018April 16, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The breakthrough performance for Keanu Reeves, along with co-star Alex Winter, in this fun time-traveling romp through history, as two California teens pick up verious historical figures in their phone booth through time to pass an oral presentation that will secure Earth’s future — a future in which Bill & Ted are revered as saviors! […]

Scrooged (1988) | Richard Donner

December 24, 2017April 16, 2019 qwipster Comment is Closed

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

I look back at a film that some people herald as a great Christmas film. I’ve always had issues, but wanted to give it another shot. Do I come around? Bill Murray stars as Frank Cross in this modern take on the Charles Dickens’ class, “A Christmas Carol”. Richard Donner directs.