Following Up on '80s Crushes

My Tumble 4 Ya Blogfest experience was so much fun that it merits a follow up. Connecting with other bloggers is always rewarding. I appreciate all of the feedback on my post and have likewise enjoyed learning about everyone else's youthful yearnings.


Image via Amazon.com

First, I must address a question posed by both Suze and Jennifer Lane regarding WarGames. Prior to 1985's The Breakfast Club, Ally Sheedy's biggest role was Jennifer Katherine Mack, love interest of David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) in the 1983 cyber-terrorism thriller. As I commented on the original post, WarGames was a serendipitous discovery for our family. We only went to see it because we arrived at the theater too late for our first choice (no idea what it was). All worked out fine as we all enjoyed the film.

Truth be told, it's been years since I've watched WarGames and I don't remember much about the love interest aspect of the story. It is possible that I was a little too young to appreciate it. The Pentagon hacking angle was far more intriguing to my 10-year-old mind. But I also think it says something for Matthew Broderick's talent that even in his earliest roles, he managed to be the screen presence in his films. Broderick was occasionally touted as a Brat Packer by association but let's be honest. As an actor, he was and is in a higher class than most of his teen idol contemporaries.

I haven't seen St. Elmo's Fire in a long time either and, in fact, have little desire to watch it. In her Tumble 4 Ya post, Julie Flanders cited the film as cringe-worthy and I have a sneaking suspicion that I also would find it unbearable now. I wanted to post the following clip in my original post but our Internet connection wasn't very cooperative that day. In trying to play it, I just got the first line over and over again: "Alec was the first love of my life...Alec was the first love of my life...Alec was the first love of my life..." Painful!

It Is Tomorrow
St. Elmo's Fire at MOVIECLIPS.com

On the other hand, I'd happily watch Some Kind of Wonderful anytime. I was tempted to give Watts top billing for my crush post but Ally Sheedy came to mind first so it seemed only fair. But I consider SKoW to be the great, under-appreciated work of the John Hughes opus. With justification, it has been called a recycled Pretty in Pink, albeit with the sex roles reversed. However, I've always felt that version 2.0 is superior to the original. Role by role, I think all of the actors are stronger:

- Eric Stoltz over Molly Ringwald - Both are redheads - interesting.

- Mary Stuart Masterson over Jon Cryer - Sorry, Ducky fans. I like him, too. But Watts is my girl.

- Lea Thompson over Andrew McCarthy - The closest call of the bunch, though I think the extra wrinkle with Thompson's character - girl from the wrong side of the tracks hanging with the rich crowd - pushes her over the top

- Craig Sheffer over James Spader - Sheffer's a great heavy, especially interesting in light of the completely opposite role he plays in A River Runs Through It.

- Elias Koteas over Annie Potts - That one's a slam dunk.

Also, this is a great screen kiss:



The Armchair Squid began as a sports blog and as such, it seemed only appropriate to feature an athlete. My crush on Katarina Witt was quite genuine and she would have made an excellent top choice. Recent photos would suggest that she is still one of the most beautiful women in the world.


Photo via SportsFeatures.com

Much was made of a "rivalry" between Witt and American Debi Thomas in 1988, especially when they chose the same piece of music for their long programs. But was there ever really any doubt? Here is Witt's gold medal-winning "Carmen":



In perusing the other blogs in the hop, I have learned much about the women of my generation. I always knew that Top Gun was a big deal for the Cruise and Kilmer crushers but I had no idea that the beach volleyball scene was the main draw. I am most definitely not too proud to pander so here you are, ladies (I think this is an Italian dub but come on, you're not really in it for the sparkling dialogue, are you?):



Finally, a little gift for Annalisa Crawford, though really for all of you. Ms. Crawford chose Morten Harket, A-Ha's dreamy lead singer, as her '80s crush. I must credit My Sister for this wonderful find. Enjoy:

My '80s Crush: Leslie Hunter

For me, the '80s were the heart of adolescence. Crushes were like pimples, popping up all over the place. For the Tumble 4 Ya Blogfest, the hard part was coming up with just one. Leslie Hunter, Ally Sheedy's character in St. Elmo's Fire, came to mind first so she wins top billing.


Photo via Tee Shirt Soup

My choice of the character rather than the actress is deliberate. At the time, I would have said that my crush was on Sheedy but thinking back now, she never did much for me in her other films. I tried. The Breakfast Club is outstanding, of course, and she deserves a lot of credit for creating a believable character. I knew girls like that in high school, the ones who worked a little too hard at being invisible. But Allison Reynolds wasn't exactly crush-worthy. Stephanie Speck in Short Circuit? The whole film was a bit too precious and Sheedy's character especially.

So, why Leslie Hunter? Well, she was darn cute for starters. The eyes, the hair and the impish smile just made you want to gather her up in a blanket for the evening. I suppose, too, the protector within me wanted to save her from her womanizing boyfriend, Alec (Judd Nelson). In fact, I suspect that my crush on Leslie may have had its roots in my sympathy for Kevin, Andrew McCarthy's character. He was her trusted confidant, secretly in love with her. That's a role I knew well at that age.

There are many others worthy of honorable mention. Watts, Mary Stuart Masterson's character in Some Kind of Wonderful, was a big one.


Photo via Trespass Magazine

Masterson was also great in Heaven Help Us, another Andrew McCarthy picture and an under-appreciated film if you've never seen it.

Among athletes, East German figure skater Katarnia Witt was without equal, on the ice or in my heart.


Photo via Nick Verreos

I had a Sports Illustrated subscription for most of that decade and the arrival of the swimsuit issue was a deeply spiritual annual event. Now, I recognize that the issue is completely gratuitous, though far from the most objectifying rag on the newsstand. But at the time, pictures of scantily-clad supermodels delivered to my mailbox were like manna from heaven. I believe Ric Ocasek when he says he's the luckiest man alive for being married to Paulina Porizkova (cover model in '84 and '85). My favorite SI model, though, was Kathy Ireland ('89, '92 and '94).


Photo via My Fashion


Curious about other '80s crushes? Take a stroll through the participating blogs listed below.