The Shermer High Alumni Association

Risky Business Starring: Tom Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay, Joe Pantiolano, Curtis Armstrong, and Bronson Pinchot. Distributed by: Warner Bros. Release date: August 5, 1983 Budget: $6.2 million Box office: $63.5 million This week's movie opens with Joel Goodsen (played by Cruise) being left alone for a week by his parents, and what should be a quiet stretch of teenage freedom turns into sinking his da...

This week, we rewatch Popeye, the 1980 cocaine-fest from Malta. Arguably Robin Williams' best role ever. We love everything about it - Sweethaven, Sweet Pea, Dennis Franz(?). We talk about our forever friend Adams recent trip to Popeye Village and Jeannine sings for us. The question now is... is it Hall of Fame-worthy? #popeye #robinwilliams #shelleyduvall #80smovies #adamthewoo #popeyevillage

IT'S OUR 50TH EPISODE!!!! Ferris Bueller's Day Off turns 40 this year, and Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole rewatch John Hughes' love letter to Chicago. They've collectively seen this movie so many times they briefly debated whether rewatching it was even necessary. It was. Is it cringe? Is it Hall of Fame material? Listen this week to find out! #ferrisbueller #matthewbroderick #ferrari #80smovies #g...

SpaceCamp turns 40 this year, and Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole are rewatching the 1986 film that sent five teenagers and one very unprepared flight instructor into actual orbit because a robot had a feelings problem. Jeannine is back from Ireland with thoughts on roundabouts and fizzy water. Kristin attended real Space Camp in 1989, had a boyfriend there, and a Ponderosa manager stole her flight...

Footloose turns 42 this year, and Kristin and Carole are recording in person from Olmsted Falls, Ohio, while Jeannine is somewhere in Ireland living her best life. Jeannine would have sung every word of the soundtrack, and they both know it. This week's movie is the 1984 Kevin Bacon classic where rock music and dancing are banned in a small Utah town, a Chicago kid named Ren shows up with a casset...

 Today, we're rewinding to 1986 to revisit a movie that defined teen relationships and gave us a soundtrack that slaps. From thrift store prom dresses to love triangles that still spark debate decades later, this John Hughes classic asked the big questions: Is Ducky actually the best guy? Was Andy's dress iconic or just aggressively pink? And how did Blaine manage to look confused for the entire f...

Heathers turns 36 this year, and Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole are diving headfirst into one of the darkest, funniest, and most quoted teen movies ever made. A $3 million budget, a five-week box office run that grossed $1.1 million, and somehow a cult classic — go figure. They break down: Veronica's diary The Heathers' color-coded power structure JD's red flags Corn Nuts Why this movie could never...

It's the one-year anniversary of The Shermer High Alumni Association, and the girls are celebrating with one of the biggest movies of 1986: Top Gun . Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole revisit Maverick, Goose, Iceman, and Charlie for the film's birthday week, and it turns out Jeannine has never actually seen it, because she thought she wasn't allowed. They cover the glycerin sweat that defies physics,...

It's the 40th birthday of Fire with Fire , the 1986 Paramount film that asked the age-old question: what could possibly go wrong when a juvenile delinquent and a Catholic schoolgirl fall in love in the Oregon woods? Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole rewatch this barely-remembered PG-13 romance starring Virginia Madsen and Craig Sheffer, and find a movie that plays like an after school special until it...

It's 1980, it's Disney, and somehow it's also completely unhinged. This week the Shermer High Alumni Association dives into Midnight Madness , the cult classic nobody reviewed, nobody released nationally, and apparently everybody loves anyway. A citywide overnight scavenger hunt, five wildly mismatched teams, zero prize money, and one very mysterious man named Leon. What could go wrong? Kristin is...

This week’s movie is: Annie, a movie that asks the important question: what if capitalism, child labor, and jazz hands all came together for one wildly chaotic musical? Annie follows a spirited young orphan living in New York City during the Great Depression. Stuck in a strict and often miserable orphanage run by the bitter Miss Hannigan, Annie refuses to give up hope that her parents will one day...

his week’s movie is: Short Circuit… Before A.I. was everywhere and smart devices ran our lives, there was Johnny Five—a military robot who gets struck by lightning, gains a mind of his own, and suddenly just wants one thing…“Input.” The movie kicks off when a high-tech military robot, Number 5, is struck by lightning during a power demo, causing a tactical malfunction that accidentally gives him a...

This week’s movie is: Caddyshack! A movie where the golfers are rich, the caddies are poor, the groundskeeper is at war with a gopher and no one takes golf seriously. Caddyshack is a chaotic comedy set at the exclusive Bushwood Country Club, where the wealthy members take their golf — and themselves — far too seriously. The story loosely follows young caddie Danny Noonan, who hopes to win a colleg...

This week’s movie is: Flash Gordon. A wild space opera packed with love, lasers, and the heroic fight against Ming the Merciless. When mysterious natural disasters begin striking Earth, a New York Jets quarterback named Flash Gordon ends up on a small plane with travel agent Dale Arden. The plane crash-lands into the laboratory of eccentric scientist Dr. Hans Zarkov, who believes the disasters are...

 This week's movie is The Money Pit, a movie about how home renovation makes you absolutely lose your sh!t.  This is a tale about Walter and Anna, who live in a New York City apartment owned by Max, Anna's ex-husband, who suddenly decides to return to New York and subsequently kicks them out, needing a new home. They settle on buying a country estate outside the city, available at a suspiciously l...

We head back to 1982 with Fast Times at Ridgemont High, to revisit Stacy Hamilton, who wants a relationship, but what she gets is a crash course in the difference between sex and love, guided by the questionable romantic “wisdom” of her “experienced” friend Linda. Meanwhile, her older brother, Brad watches his “king of the school” status crumble through a series of humiliating fast food jobs and a...

 This week's movie, Platoon, is about Chris Taylor (played by Charlie Sheen), who leaves his university studies to enlist in combat duty in Vietnam in 1967. Once he's on the ground in the middle of battle, his idealism fades as he fights alongside his unit. Between Staff Sergeant Barnes, played by Tom Berenger, who believes that the nearby villagers are harboring Viet Cong soldiers, and Sergeant E...

Never heard of it? That's ok.  To catch you up, this is the story of Cru Jones, a young man who can overcome all obstacles that prevent him from participating in the BMX race Hill Track as he works towards his dream proof falls in love with Christian, who's a girl, an amateur racer with the help of Christian who's a girl, and her friends can cruise Rad Racing team defeat the top BMX factory rider...

 St. Elmo's Fire is about a group of recent college graduates who embark on a series of misadventures in the real world. There's Kirby, a waiter who's a law student and a questionable sociopath. Kevin, a melancholy writer for the Washington Post, yearns for Alex's girlfriend, Leslie. Alec, whose political aspirations alienate his girlfriend, Leslie, and Wendy, a quiet girl in love with Billy, who...

Join us this week as we rewatch the 1984 Tom Hanks classic, Splash. And boy, do we go down some pretty disturbing rabbit holes on this one. Mermaid s*x, mermaid babies, mer-men, you name it. Did it age well? Will we watch it again? #splash #tomhanks #darrellhannah #johncandy #eugenelevy

In this episode, hosts Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole from the Schirmer High Alumni Association rewatch the iconic 1982 film, ET the Extra-Terrestrial. They discuss memorable scenes, the talented cast including Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore, and the film's impact on their childhoods. The hosts delve into behind-the-scenes details, such as the movie's original use of Reese's Pieces instead of M&am...

 This week's movie is the 1985 Sarah Jessica Parker classic, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun . Jump on your motorcycle, practice your dance moves, and put a grasshopper on your head.  Though she's a talented gymnast, Janie has always followed her strict Army Colonel father's orders and stayed out of the spotlight. However, when she moves to Chicago and meets the carefree Lynne Stone, she disobeys her fa...

Lane Meyer, played by John Cusack is a teen with a peculiar family and a bizarre fixation with his girlfriend, Beth, played by Amanda Wyss. When Beth dumps Lane, he decides to unalive himself, making several bumbling attempts at taking his own life. Outside of his morbid endeavors, Lane spends time with his oddball buddy, Charles, played by Curtis Armstrong, and befriends Monique, played by Diane...

This week, we rewatch Popeye, the 1980 cocaine-fest from Malta. Arguably Robin Williams' best role ever. We love everything about it - Sweethaven, Sweet Pea, Dennis Franz(?). We talk about our forever friend Adams recent trip to Popeye Village and Jeannine sings for us. The question now is... is it Hall of Fame-worthy? #popeye #robinwilliams #shelleyduvall #80smovies #adamthewoo #popeyevillage

This week's movie is Some Kind of Wonderful. John Hughes' 1987 remake of his 1986 romance/comedy, Pretty in Pink. Blue-collar teen Keith Nelson (Eric Stoltz) goes out with the popular Amanda (Lea Thompson), a girl he has always dreamed of dating. Her ex-boyfriend plots revenge on him, while Keith's tomboy best friend Watts realizes she has feelings for Keith. Did it age well? Did it age better tha...