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2martens
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We're about to live through one of the worst filmmaking decades all over again. Gina Piccalo on the coming invasion of worn plotlines and recycled movie franchises. The 1980s were arguably one of the worst eras in film, when every year brought another Porky's or Police Academy, when Look Who's Talking was a bona fide blockbuster, when hilarity ensued with every inter-racial cop duo, every country-meets-city plot, and every fast-talking career gal brought down a peg by some manly man.
It was the dawn of the senseless sequel and the coming-of-age of movie merchandising, when the gonzo filmmaking of the 1970s gave way to unadulterated greed. With the exception of some rare gems from the likes of John Hughes, Terry Gilliam, and yes, Steven Spielberg, it's an entire decade of filmmaking worth forgetting.
If only Hollywood would let us. This year alone, there are at least eight films hitting theaters that are remakes of 1980s movies: The Karate Kid, Clash of the Titans, Tron Legacy, Conan, Predators, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Red Dawn, and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. There will be more next year with retreads (or, as some producers would have it, "re-imaginings") of the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi hit Total Recall and of the 1982 remake (of the 1951 original) The Thing. By 2012, we'll likely see Lethal Weapon 5, Battleship, based on Milton Bradley's popular board game, another Muppet Movie, and maybe even a 21 Jump Street rehash starring Jonah Hill.
Surely nostalgia is largely to blame for all this recycling. Generation X is now middle-aged and ready to revisit its formative years. Or so studio marketers hope. They're raising their own kids now, who—if this sales strategy is still credible—will eagerly consume their parents' preoccupations.
Surely nostalgia is largely to blame for all this recycling. Generation X is now middle-aged and ready to revisit its formative years. Or so studio marketers hope. They're raising their own kids now, who—if this sales strategy is still credible—will eagerly consume their parents' preoccupations.
