#1,885. The Lost Boys (1987) - Teen Movies of the '80s and '90s

Directed By: Joel Schumacher

Starring: Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Dianne Wiest



Tag line: "Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It's fun to be a vampire"

Trivia: Keenan Wynn and John Carradine (a veteran of vampire films) were both original choices for Grandpa. Wynn died right before filming and Carradine was too ill







From the moment Bela Lugosi donned his cape in 1931’s Dracula, movie vampires have been a suave, debonair bunch, a tradition carried on by the likes of Christopher Lee (Horror of Dracula), Frank Langella (1979’s Dracula), Gary Oldman (Bram Stoker’s Dracula) and, yes, even Robert Pattinson (the Twilight series). Often brooding and sophisticated, it’s easy to see why women fell for these Princes of the Undead. Yet as smooth as these cinematic bloodsuckers could be, it wasn’t until 1987’s The Lost Boys that I actually thought it would be pretty cool to be a vampire.

Recently divorced mom Lucy (Dianne Wiest) and her two sons Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim) have just arrived in Santa Carla, California, a raucous beachside community that has one hell of a nightlife. It’s so crazy, in fact, that Lucy’s widowed father (Barnard Hughes), with whom the family is now living, refuses to go into town.. ever! 

Still, despite its reputation as “The Murder Capitol of the World”, the three new arrivals decide to give Santa Carla a chance. During their first night out, Lucy meets Max (Edward Herrmann), a local business owner, while Sam pays a visit to a boardwalk comic store owned by the Frog brothers, Edgar (Corey Feldman) and Alan (Jamison Newlander), who warn Sam that evil is afoot in Santa Carla.

As for Michael, he falls hard for a pretty brunette that goes by the name of Star (Jami Gertz). Unfortunately, Star is with bad-boy David (Kiefer Sutherland) and his gang of hell-raising bikers. To Michael’s surprise, David welcomes him into their group, inviting Michael back to the abandoned resort that the gang calls home. 

While there, David offers Michael some wine, but after drinking from the bottle, Michael starts to change. Before long, he’s wearing sunglasses during the day, and staying up all night. It isn’t until a bit later, though, that Michael realizes the truth: David and his friends are vampires! And what’s more, by drinking that so-called “wine”, Michael is turning into one as well!

To save his brother, Sam enlists the help of the Frog brothers, who, aside from running the comic shop, are self-proclaimed vampire hunters. Together, the three set out to destroy David and his gang, but will they do so in time to prevent Michael from joining the ranks of the undead?

“You'll never grow old, Michael, and you'll never die”. 

This is what David says to Michael to persuade him to join their group, and I'll admit that, when I was younger, this seemed like a pretty sweet deal. I also loved how these vampires spent their nights hanging out at the boardwalk, and instead of a musty castle in Eastern Europe, they lived in the remains of an old hotel that also provided an ocean view. The scenes in which Michael hangs out with David’s band of vampires are some of the movie’s best (the railroad bridge sequence is outstanding). 

Of course, the major drawback of being a vampire is you have to kill to survive, and while we do occasionally get a glimpse of David and his friends feeding on the locals, most of the time we’re flying through the air with them, the camera giving us a POV of what they see from up high, and, along with everything else, this had me thinking there were worse fates than being a creature of the night.

In addition to making its vampires so appealing, The Lost Boys boasts a phenomenal cast. Dianne Wiest, fresh off her Oscar-winning turn in Hannah and Her Sisters, is strong as the sympathetic mother who doesn’t understand why her son is behaving so strangely, and Edward Herrmann is likable as Max, a seemingly nice guy with a few secrets of his own. Yet as good as the adults are (including Barnard Hughes, who gets plenty of laughs as the former hippie grandfather), it’s the kids who steal the show.

Jason Patric perfectly conveys the confusion and anger his character deals with during his unwanted “transformation”, while Kiefer Sutherland and his “Lost Boys”, played by Brooke McCarter, Billy Wirth and a young Alex Winter, are having the time of their lives, enjoying every minute of their vampiric existence.

The Lost Boys also marked the first time that “The Two Coreys”, Corey Haim and Corey Feldman, shared the screen (the duo made a bunch of films together over the years, including Licensed to Drive and Dream a Little Dream). Feldman in particular is hilarious as one-half of the “serious-as-a-heart attack” Frog brothers, and along with co-star Jamie Newlander is responsible for some of the movie’s funniest moments (the dinner scene, where they try to determine whether or not Max is a vampire, had me laughing out loud).

Being older now, and hopefully wiser, I no longer find the vampire lifestyle as appealing as I did back in 1987. But even today, whenever I watch The Lost Boys, I find myself daydreaming, imagining what it would be like to fly over the ocean, knowing that I was going to live forever… 

Sure, I’d probably turn David’s offer down. But I'd definitely think about it!

#1,252. Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) - Teen Movies of the '80s and '90s

Directed By: Stephen Herek

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin




Tag line: "History is about to be rewritten by two guys who can't spell..."

Trivia: This film's writers, Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson, make cameo appearances in the movie, playing waiters at the ice cream parlor






Let me begin by saying that I love Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Love it! The story of two dim-witted teens who travel through time “collecting” some of history’s notable personalities, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is, without a doubt, one of the most endearing teen comedies to emerge from the ‘80s.

Bill S. Preston, Esq. (Alex Winter) and Ted "Theodore" Logan (Keanu Reeves) aren’t exactly the best students at San Dimas High. In fact, they’re failing history, and according to their teacher, Mr. Ryan (Bernie Casey), if they don’t get an “A+” on their final presentation, they’re going to flunk out of school. 

Ted’s father (Hal Landon Jr.), a gung-ho policeman and strict disciplinarian, has already threatened to ship Ted off to an Alaskan military school if he doesn’t get good grades, meaning Bill and Ted’s dream of making it big as rock stars could be over before it begins.

Yet there’s more hanging in the balance than even Bill and Ted realize. 

In the future, their band, the Wyld Stallyons, will not only become the most popular duo in rock history, but will also produce music so beautiful that it brings an end to war and famine. Of course, none of this will happen if the two fail their final presentation. So to put them on the right path, a visitor from the 27th century named Rufus (George Carlin) goes back to 20th century San Dimas, bringing along a time machine (which looks exactly like a telephone booth) that will allow Bill and Ted to travel to the past, where they can witness first-hand a few of history’s most significant events. 

But instead of simply visiting the past, they decide to kidnap historical figures, including western outlaw Billy the Kid (Dan Shor), Greek philosopher Socrates (Tony Steedman), and Napoleon Bonaparte (Terry Camilleri), and bring them back to San Dimas to help present their report. 

The question is: can these two slackers pull it off in time?

One of the things I love about Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is it never takes itself seriously. In most movies dealing with time travel, filmmakers go to great lengths to lay out the “ground rules”, chief among them being the characters cannot interfere with the course of history, and should avoid any interactions that might alter the future. Unfortunately, no one told Bill and Ted this rule, so when they stop by the old west, the two immediately stroll into a bar and order a couple of beers (thrilled they can do so without the bartender asking to see their I.D.). They even agree to help Billy the Kid cheat at a card game. 

And if their sojourns to the past don’t disrupt the space-time continuum, it's at least safe to say the historical figures they bring back with them will be forever changed by the experience. When their report is finished and Bill and Ted return Beethoven (Clifford David) to the 18th century, will he be content composing music on an ordinary piano, or will he miss the state-of-the-art organ - complete with synthesizer - that he played during his visit to the San Dimas Mall? 

The best thing about Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure is it never asks these questions. The past and the present collide head-on throughout the entire film, and to hell with the consequences!

Another great aspect of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure are Bill and Ted themselves. Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves are terrific as the eternally optimistic best friends, parading through time without a care in the world. Initially portrayed as a couple of lovable losers (in class, Bill describes Napoleon as a “dead French dude”), the duo eventually learn a lot more about history than they ever dreamed possible. 

It’s the near-perfect blend of character and story that makes Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure such an awesome film, and no matter how often I see it, it always brings a smile to my face.