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I’m on a bit of an ‘80s kick right now. Could it be because I spent the last few months bingeing Newhart? It could be. Whatever the reason, I decided to make my weekend film recommendations a collection of movies from the ‘80s. I turned to the Roku Channel, which allows people with a Roku to watch these movies for free. With ads? Sure, but free nonetheless. Plus, when I looked over the ‘80s movies they had on offer I saw three goofy ‘80s teen films that would make a fine, light evening of viewing.
Now, I should say that only one of these movies is actually good. The other two are more of the cheesy fun, “so bad it’s good” style of movie. Let’s start with the one that is genuinely an excellent ‘80s comedy. That would be Real Genius. The movie focuses on a 15-year-old who gets into college early and while he struggles with fitting in finds a mentor in Chris Knight, played with aplomb by a young Val Kilmer. Kilmer is great in the movie. It’s kind of like a “slobs vs. snobs” campus comedy, only the “slobs” are all geniuses and not fratty or anything like that. Real Genius is the rare old comedy about collegiate antics that hasn’t aged terribly. It’s still a lot of fun.
After opening with an actually good movie, move on to Teen Wolf. Michael J. Fox plays a teenage werewolf who is great at basketball. His best friend calls himself “Stiles.” Fox surfs on top of a van as a werewolf. This movie is so goofy, but it knows it to some degree. It’s enjoyable to watch as a slice of ‘80s silliness and cheese. Fox is a charming performer and, again, a werewolf plays basketball.
Finally, we end with a movie that is even worse than Teen Wolf, but even better as a film to watch and laugh at. That would be Teen Witch. This is a classic “so bad it’s good” movie. I had heard tell of it for many years but even though I am a Mystery Science Theater 3000 devotee I had not actually watched it. About a year ago I finally did, and man did it live up to the hype. It’s an amazingly bad but thoroughly entertaining movie. Watching it late on a Saturday night with some friends or on a wonderful date night is the perfect way to do it.
There are other teen options on the Roku Channel, by the way. You could also watch Heathers or Valley Girl if you want to give over your full weekend. Hey, there are worse ways to spend a couple days.
