The 80s-est

Valley Girl gets undersold by its title. This 1983 film is a genuinely sweet Romeo-and-Juliet story set against the San Fernando Valley’s new wave moment that gave America many of its cultural sayings of the 80s. Caddyshack, Harold Ramis’ 1980 directorial debut, is the country-club comedy that gave Bill Murray one of his most iconic characters (Carl Spackler, largely improvised on set), and put Ke...

Round two of the Red Dawn Region, and it’s puppets vs. performing arts kids. In one corner: The Dark Crystal, Jim Henson and Frank Oz’s 1982 fantasy epic — every character a puppet, no humans on screen, timeless. In the other corner, Fame, the 1980 musical drama that won two Oscars, launched a TV series, a remake, and a stage musical. Two cult favorites, two very different fanbases. Which one is M...

We’re opening the Red Dawn Region, and as always the first matchup is one of the most lopsided, on paper, at least. In one corner we have Red Dawn , the 1984 John Milius film that made history as the first movie ever released with a PG-13 rating, launched the careers of Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson, C. Thomas Howell, and Jennifer Grey, and gave American teenagers the battle cry ‘WOL...

The Fast Times Region is closing out its first round, and this one’s a genuine odd couple. In one corner: Revenge of the Nerds, the 1984 comedy that became a cultural institution. Joe and Keith both ranked it #13, which might be the most agreement they’ve had all season. But they do agree it is the most problematic film of the first 32! In the other corner: Poltergeist, the 1982 haunted-house film...

The Fast Times Region moves to its near conclusion! In one corner: Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, the 1984 sequel that gave the English language a permanent shorthand for unnecessary follow-ups. The film contains a scene where Turbo literally dances on the ceiling, no explanation, and the film just does it anyway. In the other corner: The Cannonball Run, Hal Needham’s 1981 all-star road-race comed...

The Fast Times Region has something special for us this week! To kick off our third year of The 80s-est, we welcome Alejandro Saya back to the show! We would also like to promote Alejandro & Marco’s show, “Lo más ochenta,” in which Keith appears this week: Anyway, back to the matchup! In one corner: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Steven Spielberg’s 1982 mega-hit that became the highest-grossing film...

The Fast Times Region serves up one of its most fascinating/lopsided matchups yet. In one corner: Purple Rain, the 1984 Prince film that won the last Academy Award for Best Original Song Score ever given — then the category was retired. The soundtrack was OTHERWORLDLY. But there’s really not much of a movie there. In the other corner: The Thing, John Carpenter’s 1982 paranoid sci-fi horror masterp...

The Fast Times Region delivers a matchup that covers a lot of 80s ground. In one corner: Risky Business, Paul Brickman’s 1983 coming-of-age classic where Tom Cruise slides across a living room in his socks, accidentally turns his parents’ house into a brothel, and somehow comes out ahead. It made Tom Cruise a superstar and gave the decade one of its defining images. In the other: An American Werew...

Guys, we were recording, and I didn’t have a clock, time got away from us on this one! You do have a week to listen, so…enjoy? This may be the Fast Times Region’s biggest matchup yet. In one corner: Beverly Hills Cop, the 1984 Eddie Murphy machine that became the #1 film of the year. Axel Foley drove into Beverly Hills in a beat-up car, and the whole decade basically stopped to watch. In the other...

The Fast Times Region doesn’t slow down! This week it’s a matchup of two very different flavors of 80s comedy, and maybe the most lopsided box office stories in the bracket. In one corner: Class, the 1983 prep-school drama-comedy where Andrew McCarthy accidentally sleeps with his roommate’s mother, a film that quietly launched a generation of Brat Pack careers. In the other corner: Police Academy,...

Welcome to the Fast Times Region! And what a way to kick things off! In one corner: Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Amy Heckerling’s sun-drenched 1982 snapshot of teenage California life, packed with a killer soundtrack, an iconic cast of future stars, and one Jeff Spicoli who just wanted to surf. In the other: Friday the 13th, the 1980 micro-budget slasher that terrified a generation, launched a fr...

It’s 1984 vs. 1982, and the SIXTEEN CANDLES Region is throwing down! In one corner: Footloose, the movie that made Kevin Bacon a household name and convinced America that dancing could start a revolution! In the other: 48 Hrs., the buddy-cop thriller that launched Eddie Murphy into the stratosphere and taught us all that you can get a lot done in two days if you’re mad enough about it. One has a l...

In this episode of The 80s-est, it’s (7)The Big Chill vs (10)National Lampoon's Vacation. We're diving into a fascinating Boomer clash from the Sixteen Candles Region between two very different sides of 1983: the serious Boomer introspective ensemble drama versus the Boomer-as-dad broad family road trip comedy. Both have more than a whiff of ass to them. Which is more essentially 80s? You decide!...

This week on a super-sized The 80s-est, we tackle a fascinating clash between two very different sides of the decade: the epic space opera that defined blockbuster filmmaking versus the domestic comedy that captured Reagan-era anxieties. One film launched a thousand space operas and toy lines; the other launched Michael Keaton's career and reflected the economic uncertainty many families were actu...

In the Sixteen Candles Region, sixth-seeded Airplane! meets eleventh-seeded Streets of Fire in a matchup that is tough to quantify. Airplane! invented the modern spoof, launched Leslie Nielsen's second career, and gave the world "don't call me Shirley." Streets of Fire slapped "A Rock & Roll Fable" on the poster, put Willem Dafoe in shirtless leather overalls, and dared you to take it completely s...

This week, it’s a battle of 1982 with (4)Tootsie up against (13) Rocky III . On one side, you've got Rocky III which practically sweats neon. You’ve got Mr. T in his film debut, Hulk Hogan in a wrestling cameo, Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" blasting over a montage, and Sylvester Stallone looking less like a boxer and more like a man who ate a bodybuilder. On the other side sits Tootsie, a sophisti...

Blade Runner was near-future sci-fi; Amadeus was far-past musical composer drama. Since neither film is anchored in the 1980s, which will capture our votes for most 80s? Listen and see how we navigate the pillars of this interesting matchup! Vote below, and if you don’t have time to revisit the films, we have included the trailers so that you can get a quick refresher! This is a public episode. If...

Well, this is it, the hypothetically closest matchup in the tournament, as 8-seed “Hot Dog…the Movie” takes on 9-seed “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” These two were right in the middle of the rankings, 32 and 33 overall. Hot Dog defined the raunchy ski-movie genre, Nightmare re-defined the teen slasher film. Which is better? Well, that’s not much of a contest. Which is more 80s?? You decide! Vote bel...

Season 4 starts off with a matchup of a dialogue-heavy teen movie against a dialogue-sparse post-apocalyptic action flick. Sixteen Candles struts in with John Hughes cred and a cast of 80s stalwarts, but MM2:TRW is making a case with the look and feel that defined a franchise. Don’t get confused: the one seed has the word “sixteen” in its title, and the sixteen seed has the word “two” in its title...

Hello, friends! We have returned for The 80s-est, Season 4! This season is called Reel A: 1980-84, and in it, we will explore the 64 most 80s movies, as voted by you, our loyal listeners! Today’s pilot episode will get us started down a road to finding the most 80s film in the United States from the beginning of the decade! In the pilot, we discuss the methodology used to arrive at the top 64 (tha...

It’s the end of the season, and yes, we reveal the winner of the Duets Region, and the ultimate winner of Season 3: Legends Only. No spoilers here in the post! BUT FIRST… Before we reveal those things, instead of posting a “best moments” episode this season, we decided to do something more interesting! We instead had a lengthy, interesting discussion with Keith’s friend, a professor, a communicato...

This is all that there is, there is no more. You have one more decision to make. Which of these incredibly legendary 80s songs will win this whole damn bracket, and take the Season 3: Legends Only crown? (OK, you have one other decision to make—which song will win 3rd place?) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit t...

It’s all down to one last vote, so gather your justifications and your experiential data and get ready to crown a champion! Listen, then VOTE! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit the80sest.substack.com

Folks, it doesn’t get anymore “THIS IS IT!” than this, AGAIN! The second half of your Final Four. We are working together to send one more song to the Season 3: Legends, Final! Which of these evenly-rated 3-seeds will advance to the Final??? YOU get to decide! Listen, then VOTE! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visi...

[NOTE: the attempt to publish this last evening was thwarted by a massive failure at Substack at 3AM through at least 4AM. I eventually just went to bed.] [Here now is the episode you were supposed to have for your morning commute!] Folks, it doesn’t get anymore “THIS IS IT!” than this. The Final Four. Sending one song to the Season 3: Legends, Final! Will it be the odds-on favorite, or the dark-h...