Best Comedy Fletch Best Ensemble Cast After Hours – Griffin Dunne, Rosanna Arquette, Verna Bloom, Teri Garr, Linda Fiorentino, John Heard, Will Patton, Catherine O’Hara, Cheech & Chong Most overrated movie Out of Africa Best juvenile performance Lukas Haas in Witness Notes from awards committee: The year 1985 was packed with high quality films and great performances, but Oscar picks were wildly off the mark for the 1986 noms and winners. In one of the major blunders of the decade, the snooze fest Out of Africa was voted best motion picture. In fact, several quality films and great performances were snubbed at the 1986 awards; including, our Best Picture – To Live and Die in L.A. - a brutal, tough, and underrated crime film by Director William Friedkin. The media critics had expected another cute “buddy cop” cookie-cutter film. They didn't get it; so the switch blades came out for To Live and Die in L.A. But the film has held up over the years and can be found on numerous lists for the Best Films of the 80s decade. World at Large
Fun Surprises -
Witness - What starts as a routine cop show about a senseless murder in a Philly bus station develops into a thriller with a powerful story of unfulfilled love. Book, the city cop, and Rachel, the Amish widow, never once talk about how they feel about one another as their sexual desire for one another grows. Their last scene together is a masterpiece of acting and direction—like a silent film communicated through the eyes and body language. As one film critic wrote – “Witness made Kelly McGillis a star, and you can see why. It’s all there—the beauty, intelligence, and that magic mix of innocence and womanly sensuality.” Harrison Ford earned a Best Actor Simpson award for what is still his peak performance. The entire movie is gorgeous to look at; majestic and sweeping camera shots of lovely, rural Amish country, and striking close-ups of the two attractive movie stars. After Hours - This movie is a personal favorite, and I watch it almost every year. A regular single guy Paul (Griffin Dunne) is lonely and gets intrigued by a lovely Marcy (Rosanna Arquette) while having dinner in a small café. She gives him her phone number, and off we go. Paul steps outside his comfort zone and a bizarre sequence of events unfold. Most of the characters are funny oddballs - I especially liked Terri Garr as a whacky waitress, and Cheech & Chong as a pair of stoned burglars. This underrated Martin Scorsese film effortlessly captures the urban paranoia and “downtown” NYC hipster-ism that scores of inferior indie flicks try and miss. Live and Die in LA – refuses to soften its blows or coddle its audience, showing an increasingly blurry line between the good guys and the criminals. Richard Chance (William Petersen) stars as a determined federal agent on the trail of a dangerous counterfeiter, Ric Masters (Willem Dafoe). The lead characters barely have enough charm to win over their mothers, but they do have the testosterone of a football team. Chance and Masters play a volatile cat and mouse game that must end with the loser in hell and the winner in Valhalla – all set to a perfect Wang Chung score. Desperately Seeking Susan - has several good things going for it: great acting, a clever amnesia plot, classic 1980’s style, set in summertime New York City, and the debut of pop music star Madonna all set to a cool soundtrack. Rosanna Arquette plays a bored and ignored housewife who is obsessed about reading the personals where she tracks an intriguing couple, Jim and Susan (Madonna). This independent, low budget comedy was a surprise hit that has aged remarkably well. The chemistry of the cast is perfect for the unique storyline, and is Arquette's best work to date. She is awarded the Simpson for Best Actress. Fletch - SNL star Chevy Chase plays Fletch, an undercover journalist with a penchant for funny disguises. The film never takes itself seriously, as we see Fletch dash from place to place making up goofy names, and spouting off classic wisecracks, one after another. This is Chevy at the top of his game with a career best performance. Fletch is hard to beat when in the mood for a light-hearted, funny popcorn flick. Murphy’s Romance – is a classic feel-good-romantic–comedy set in a small town in West Texas. Sally Field, as Emma, plays her typical role as an independent, spirited lady, who buys a run-down horse ranch. Yet James Garner steals the show as Murphy Jones, an intelligent, strong man and also a bit of a rebel. Garner and Field make a charming couple despite their age difference. Lots of family dynamics here – both good and bad – happen when Emma’s good-for-nothing ex-husband shows up at the ranch. Flesh & Blood –presents a realistic and grim portrayal of the 1500s depicting peasants as they really were with filthy clothing, rotten teeth, and living in squalid, muddy villages. Hence a vision quite the opposite from Hollywood movies with gallant knights, chivalry, fancy castles and villages with people wearing colorful (and sparkling clean) costumes. Rutger Hauer is a natural in the role of Soldier Martin, and Jennifer Jason Leigh has one of her best performances in the role of a virgin princess trying to survive in a very hostile world. Barbarian Queen – features the late Lana Clarkson’s signature role. Her shapely, statuesque proportions are perfect for leather loincloths. In days of yore, she lives in one of those peaceful villages that all but beg to be massacred by savage barbarians because that’s what always happens in these movies. Queen Lana manages to get away, along with some other ladies who are warriors, and immediately heads out for revenge. This is a classic 1980s sword-and-sandal-sleaze adventure. Disappointments - Kiss of the Spider Woman – has four hard strikes against it; over-the-top gay, a prison flick, overlong by 30-45 min, and all the visual impact of a one act stage play. I hated it. Why did I watch it? My wife and I often double dated on movie night, and we took turns picking the film. Karen Robinson (not her real name) picked KofSW. I walked in clueless, and walked out bitching and moaning. Karen shouted out, “I finally got you back!” I realized our movie tastes were miles apart and we ceased movie nights with the Robinsons. Out of Africa - There isn't a better actress in Hollywood than Meryl Streep, but even she can't fake an ounce of believable chemistry with Robert Redford in this prissy, too talky Lion Country farce. Tron - This is one of the first movies to utilize computer animation, and it shows. The harsh day glow graphics make it difficult to watch. The plot is so weak it's almost impossible to tell there is one. Santa Claus: The Movie - tries to impart all the standard Christmas movie messages about the evils of greed and commercialization of the holiday (things Hollywood loves to preach about but doesn’t actually believe), which fall flat. Despite a princely budget of $50 million, the movie was a critical and commercial flop. Back to the Future – was the big-budget box office action-comedy hit of the summer. The movie is entertaining but fractured in about 10 places. How sleazy is it that a young and sexy Lea Thompson is seriously seductive with Michael J. Fox, her future son? And how weird is it that this feel good comedy throws in an attempted rape scene into its climax? Also, what’s with the bromance between the geriatric Christopher Lloyd and a 17 year old high school kid? The whole time traveling deal is nuts, but you end up going along with it.
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