I sweat the 80's!

Jane Fonda

2005-12-08T15:40:00.000-08:00

In the early 80's, it was Jane Fonda who led a workout craze with her popular Original Workout Video. According to a Jane Fonda workout website , this video is the best selling home video of all time, and by 1985, only three years after it was released, one million copies had been sold. Fonda is multitalented, achieving fame through acting and political activism as well. But personally, I like her workout tapes the best. I came across an old exercise video of my moms a few years ago, and decided to try it out. Although the music and exercise clothes are definitely cheesy and very 80's (which is part of why I love it), it's actually a pretty decent workout and is a nice alternative to the gym. The New Workout and the Complete Workout are two of my favorites. Both have beginner and advanced options, and have arms, legs and aerobics sections. If you're looking for a great workout and some classic 80's music and styles, Jane Fonda workouts are definitely for you!

nworbxela

Outdoor Trampolines Chester

80's Night at Kates!

2005-12-04T08:55:00.000-08:00

For any of you 80's fans out there looking to rock out to some awesome 80's music every week, Klondike Kate's is the place to be! Every Saturday night from 9 pm until close, Kate's plays amazing 80's jams. As a brand new 21 year old, I've made my list of Main Street hot spots to check out and this is definitely at the top! If you're feeling especially adventurous, you can even break out your leg warmers, cut off t-shirt and side ponytail and dress the part!

The Breakfast Club

2005-11-28T15:47:00.000-08:00

"They only met once, but it changed their lives forever."

This famous tag line is from none other than The Breakfast Club, an 80's classic about five high schoolers stuck in Saturday detention. Directed and written by John Hughes, The Breakfast Club is definitely a Brat Pack movie. It tells the story of five teens from very different social groups who are forced to spend the day together and come to realize they actually have a lot in common. The five main characters are:

Claire, the princess (Molly Ringwald)

Andrew, the jock (Emilio Estevez)

Brian, the nerd (Anthony Michael Hall

Allison, the basket case (Ally Sheedy)

John, the rebel (Judd Nelson)

Bueller, Bueller, Anyone?

2005-11-17T17:33:00.000-08:00

Ever dreamed of skipping a day of high school? Thats what Ferris Bueller's Day Off is based on; every kids dream of faking sick, getting your friends out of school, and running wild for the day- all without getting caught. Released in 1986, it stars Matthew Broderick as Ferris and Jennifer Grey (Baby from Dirty Dancing ) as his sister determined to get him in trouble. Ferris, along with his best friend Cameron and girlfriend Sloane, spend the day having fun and dodging his parents and Mr. Rooney, the principal who is out to get Ferris. It will definitely go down as one of Matthew Brodericks best works and as one of my all time favorite movies.

Here's a few interesting facts: (thanks to this amazing Ferris Bueller wesbite)

Matthew Broderick and Jennifer Grey were actually dating when it was filmed

Ferris Bueller's Day Off was made into a short lived tv show, which starred Jennifer Aniston as Jeanie (Ferris' sister)

Anthony Michael Hall (from Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club) was supposed to play Cameron, but turned it down because he didn't want to be typecast as the geek

The shots inside the high school take place in the same school as The Breakfast Club

Ben Stein plays Ferris' teacher, and Charlie Sheen plays the guy in the police station who Jeanie ends up kissing

Leg Warmers

2005-11-09T09:39:00.000-08:00

As we approach winter, I thought that it's about time I started discussing how to stay warm in the 80's. The obvious solution to keeping your ankles/calves warm and looking cool all at the same time- LEG WARMERS! They actually began as a trend with dancers, but in the early 80's (and even to this day), everyone could be found with brightly colored leg warmers pulled over their jeans. They can be worn either under your pants to serve a functional purpose, or on the outside (as I prefer) as a fashion statement. You can even layer multiple leg warmers on top of one another to add some color to your wardrobe. As this amazing 80's website mentions, plenty of legwarmers were featured in the opening sequence of Footloose. If you're wondering where to find leg warmers these days, I've found them at Macy's and Boscov's, and I'm sure plenty of dance studios still sell them.

Top Gun

2005-11-02T05:19:00.000-08:00

No 80's blog would be complete without a tribute to Top Gun, quite possibly one of the BEST movies made in the 1980's. Although I am not usually a fan of any kind of action movies, this one has so many other elements to it that you hardly notice it. Maverick (Tom Cruise) and Goose (Anthony Edwards) are co pilots at the coveted elite Navy air training academy, competing against rival Iceman (Val Kilmer) for top honors. After holding himself responsible for Goose's tragic death and losing the trophy to Iceman, Maverick reconsiders his rebellious ways and almost gives up flying. The plot is further complicated by Mavericks relationship with their instructor Charlie (Kelly McGillis). As with all quality 80's movies, the soundtrack is amazing. Some of the highlights include "Take my Breath Away" by Berlin, "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins and of course "You've Lost That Lovin Feelng" by The Righteous Brothers, which Mav and Goose sing in a famous bar scene.

Good Morning Miss Bliss

2005-10-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

I'm sure everyone knows and loves Saved by the Bell, but how many of you remember Good Morning Miss Bliss (also known as Saved by the Bell: The Junior High Years)? Only thirteen episodes aired starting in 1987, and most of the characters on the Junior High season were never seen again at the Bayside High that we are all familiar with. The focus of Good Morning Miss Bliss was teacher Carrie Bliss and her relationships with the students in her class. I was very surprised to discover that the pilot episode actually featured Brian Austin Green and Jaleel White (David from 90210 and Urkel from Family Matters), who were obviously later traded in for Mark Paul Gosselar and Dustin Diamond. It was also set in Indiana, which seems odd because many of the characters end up at Bayside High in California the following year, all together and in an oddly similar building. The Disney Channel first aired Good Morning Miss Bliss, but Saved by the Bell was later picked up by NBC in 1989. Zack Morris and his nerdy sidekick Screech were the main characters of the new show, along with Lisa and Mr. Belding from Good Morning Miss Bliss and a whole bunch of new characters. Although it had a very short run and wasn't very well known, Good Morning Miss Bliss paved the way for the classic high school tv show, Saved by the Bell.

Small Wonder

2005-10-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

Any child of the 80's has to remember the TV show Small Wonder, which ran from 1985 through 1989. The shows premise is as follows: Ted Larson, a technology genuis, creates a robot and pretends that she is Vicki, his daughter. Ted and his wife Joan, along with son Jamie pretend that Vicki is a 'normal' person and desperately try to cover up the fact that she is actually a robot with very few human characteristics. This is a great example of classic 80's television, and the technology they employ to create Vicki is almost laughable in todays world. My favorite characters were always the obnoxious next door neighbors, Harriet Brindle, who is best friends with Jamie, and her mom Bonnie. They always suspect something is a little odd about Vicki, but never quite figure it out. Small Wonder was actually Fox Broadcasting's very first show. If you've never seen Small Wonder, there's probably a good chance you never will, since it hasn't been released on video. I'll leave you with a little trivia about Small Wonder- Seth Green auditioned for the part of Jamie Larson and Candace Cameron (DJ from Full House) auditioned for the role of Vicki. That could have made for an entirely different show....

I Love the 80's 3D

2005-10-11T15:37:00.000-07:00

First it was "I Love the 80's". Then it was "I Love the 80's Strikes Back". Now its "I Love the 80's 3-D"! Starting Monday, October 24, VH1 will premier the newest installment in this wildly popular series. They are showing two new episodes per night, starting at 9pm all week and I can't wait! The "I Love the ..." series are filled with hilarious commentary by actors, singers, comedians, reality tv stars and anyone else they can scrounge up to talk about a certain year. Who knew there were so many things to make fun of in the 80's?

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

2005-10-05T09:28:00.000-07:00

Everyone's heard of the Cyndi Lauper song, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun
", but the movie of the same name is a little less well known. It was released in 1985, and is full of amazing 80's music and fashion. Starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt, Girls Just Want to Have Fun is a typical feel good 80's movie. Parker plays Janey, the new kid in town, who immediately become friends with Lynne (Hunt) because of their mutual love for dancing. They enter a contest to be on DanceTV, the hottest dance show on tv, and Janey is paired with Jeff, played by Lee Montgomery. Shannon Doherty, in her pre-90210 days, plays Jeff's annoying little sister. Like all 80's chick flicks, Janey and Jeff fall in love and win the contest. It kind of has a Footloose feel to it, because Janeys strict father is against her participating in the contest, but eventually comes around in the end. It definitely wasn't the highest budget movie, and is totally cheesy, but still is a great rental if you're in the mood for an 80's classic!

Dirty Dancing

2005-09-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

"Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

This is arguably one of the most famous quotes from any 80's movie. Dirty Dancing is another of my all time top movie choices, again partially due to the dancing and amazing soundtrack. It was originally released in 1987, and a sequel called "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" was made in 2004. I still don't understand why anyone bothered to even try and recreate the magic of the original. In my opinion, noone could touch the chemistry of Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. The highlight of the movie is clearly the final scene where Baby (Grey) and Johnny (Swayze) dance for everyone and her parents finally realize that Johnny's not so bad after all. The soundtrack is an excellent complement to the dancing and the movie wouldn't be the same without it. Here's an interesting fact: Patrick Swayze sings "She's Like the Wind" on the soundtrack. Who knew he was so multitalented?

Say Anything

2005-09-21T09:28:00.000-07:00

The next movie up for review is another one of my personal favorites, Say Anything. It barely makes the cut for being an 80's movie, because it was released in 1989, but still has all the essential qualities of being thoroughly 80's. John Cusack
plays Lloyd Dobber, a senior on the verge of graduation who has fallen in love with the completely out of reach valedictorian Diane Court, played by Ione Skye. The movie shows the progress of their relationship and how Lloyd relentlessly pursues Diane until she can't help but fall for him. Hands down, the best scene of the entire movie is when Lloyd Dobbler drives to Diane's house, stands outside of her window and holds huge boom box over his head blasting the Peter Gabriel song, "In Your Eyes". This scene alone could very well be my favorite part of any 80's movie. Lloyd's classic response to Diane's fathers question of what he plans on doing with his life proves that he is just as clueless as the rest of us.
"I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that."
The plot is further complicated by the fact that Diane's father is caught and tried for fraud and tax evasion at the nursing home that he runs. As the relationship between Diane and her father is put to the test, Lloyd Dobbler steps in, with his passion for kickboxing, which he proclaims to be 'the sport of the future', and gives Diane someone to love. As in all of John Cusack's films, his sister, Joan Cusack, makes an appearance, this time to play his sister in the movie as well.

Footloose

2005-09-08T19:40:00.000-07:00

My name is Molly Levin and this is a blog dedicated to the 1980's. Although I was only around for the latter half of it, and was barely old enough to appreciate the fabulousness of the decade, I have come to learn how amazing it was. This blog is created for an Information Technology Applications in Marketing class I am taking at the University of Delaware, where I am a senior. In each post I will be reviewing one of my favorite movies, bands or possibly a rockin 80's trend.
I'll start out by talking about one of my all time favorite movies (and musicals as well)- FOOTLOOSE! Footloose stars many of todays famous actors and actresses, including Kevin Bacon (Here's a great six degrees of Kevin Bacon site!), Sarah Jessica Parker and John Lithgow. It tells the story of a small midwestern town where dancing is made illegal after the preacher (Lithgow) convinces everyone that it leads to sin and evil. Ren (Bacon) moves there from Chicago and takes the town, and the preacher's daughter by storm. He can't believe (and nor can I) that such a place would exist where dancing and rock n roll music are not allowed. Footloose shows how Ren and his new found friends band together to prove to the town that nothing bad comes from dancing, and eventually they are able to convince Reverend Moore and the rest of Beaumont to repeal the law. In addition to the amazing dancing, Footloose is complimented by an amazing soundtrack. The title song, "Footloose", by Kenny Loggins is probably the most popular, but you will also recognize "Holding Out For A Hero" by Bonnie Tyler, "Let's Hear it For the Boy" by Denise Williams and "Dancin in the Streets" by Shalamar. The music is really what makes the movie such an 80's classic. Many of the songs were later used in the Broadway musical version of Footloose, which didn't hit the stage until the 90's. One last interesting fact about Footloose- it's actually based on a true story of a small town in Oklahoma.

I sweat the 80's!

2005-09-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

This is a blog devoted to my favorite decade- the 80's! Here's a great link to VH1's I love the 80's!