Honorary 80's Movies...

Not all 80's Movies need to have been actually made in the 80's. For instance, there could be a movie that so obviously displays the qualities that we hold so dear in 80's movies that you could argue that it would be a good honorary 80's Movie even though it was made in the 90's...

Maybe, but which of the lame offerings in the late 90's 'Teen Movie' revival could honestly compare with the best of the 80's?

Toughie, huh?

In this section of the site we aim to find the best movies from any other decade that would qualify as an 'Honorary 80's Movie'

Since this site opened in April 2000, we've been asking visitors to vote for their favourite 'Honorary 80's Movie' and you guys have overwhelming voted for "The Wedding Singer".

An unashamed eighties style movie, where the action takes place in 1985, "The Wedding Singer" has taken 31% of the votes.

So we thought we'd recognise this by doing a bit of research on it and presenting the traditional fast-rewind "behind-the-scenes" overview....

The Wedding Singer: Behind-The-Scenes

Adam Sandler first stepped into the national spotlight when he joined NBC's "Saturday Night Live" as a writer/performer in 1990.

"There's something about Adam's personality that makes me laugh all the time, smiles producer Robert Simonds. "The Wedding Singer was a little bit of a departure for us. Many of Adam's past films have been about the joke. They were about being as funny as he possibly could be. In this movie, we tried to make the funniest movie we could, but we also spent a lot of time developing his relationship with Drew. The chemistry between the two of them is just terrific.

"It was such a pleasure to work with someone who is so real and so organic and true in his performance, says Barrymore. "Humor and intellect make the best combination in a human being, and Adam's got them both. He doesn't see himself as limited. He has a stability that enables him to carry out all his creativity, and I respect that. He kept everybody laughing all day long!

When asked about his co-star, Sandler replied, "I love Drew. Everybody loves Drew. My mother loves her, and even the birds in my backyard love her. This mutual admiration is clearly evident on screen as Sandler delivers his first performance as a leading man in a romantic comedy.

"I think the most incredible thing about love is the actual moment when the two people find each other, says Barrymore. "In The Wedding Singer, they literally find each other over a kid throwing up. It just doesn't get more romantic than that, she grins.

"Robbie and Julia start off as friends, Barrymore explains. "I think that's where all really good relationships stem from -- friendship. With friendship comes respect and honesty. Without those crucial cornerstones, lovers won't find safety and a sense of belonging.

For Sandler, The Wedding Singer provided an opportunity to showcase not only his acting and comedic skills, but also his impressive musical talent. "It's very rare that you have a comedian who can sing as well as Adam can, says producer Simonds. "He has charisma and a magnetism when he's up on stage that makes you have to watch him.

Sandler and his band recently released an album entitled "What's Your Name? His guitar player, Teddy Castellucci, joined Adam on-stage for his Wedding Singer gigs, while music producer Brooks Arthur helped him pre-record much of the music in the studio and on the set for the live vocal performances. Arthur produced Sandler's first two comedy albums which went platinum and earned Sandler two Grammy nominations.

"In a way, this movie is like a musical, says director Coraci. "The music is essential to the story. The songs interweave with the comedy and the drama. Featuring a Maverick Recording Company soundtrack, The Wedding Singer will include such memorable songs as "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" by Culture Club and "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by The Police, and a new version of "Video Killed The Radio Star" by The Presidents of the United States of America.

The Wedding Singer is just one of several collaborative projects that reunites Sandler with a team of talented writers and filmmakers he met while studying at New York University, including producer Jack Giarraputo, writer Tim Herlihy and director Frank Coraci.

"I was making films; Adam was in drama school; and Jack and Tim were in business school, remembers Coraci. "We always wanted to do projects together, and it all kind of fell into place about 10 years later. "We've all been roommates, this whole gang, adds Sandler. " Herlihy and I were roommates when I started doing stand-up. I remember he went away one weekend to see his family, and he brought me back a piece of paper with a bunch of jokes and stories on it. I said, 'You wrote this stuff for me?' He said, 'Yeah, you said you wanted to do stand-up. I figured I'd help.' And it was funny -- funnier than the stuff I was writing. So that's when the team started.

"People think Adam is just a funny guy, and he is, but he's also a dominant force in the whole process, explains Giarraputo. "He's a good actor, writer, director and producer all in one. We're just here because he likes to take naps.

It was no surprise that The Wedding Singer was set in the `80s. "We had a lot of our innocent years in the `80s, growing up in suburbia. It's a fun backdrop for a story like this, adds Coraci. "We wanted this movie to be about suburbia, relationships and getting married.

Costume designer Mona May and production designer Perry Blake worked closely with Coraci to create the film's bright, "inorganic" color scheme. "Everything in the `80s was man-made, says Coraci, "so we used mixtures of teal and pink or purple and yellow -- combinations you haven't seen since the `80s.

Each wedding set had its own distinctive color. "We used bright pink, pastel blue and turquoise for the first wedding when Robbie is upbeat and happy, explains Coraci. "Then after he's stranded at the altar, and he's down and out, we used deeper, harder colors like red, black and silver. Colors were a big part of the storytelling in this film.

In terms of completing the look for The Wedding Singer, hair and costumes helped to bring the `80s back to life. "I was a walking ad for the `80s, laughs actor Allen Covert, who plays Robbie's limo-driving pal, Sammy. "I had shoulder pads, sleeveless shirts, mesh, parachute pants, pinkie rings, earrings -- any crazy thing anyone ever saw in the `80s, they gave to me!

"We modeled Covert's character after all our Guido-ish friends that we grew up with, laughs Coraci. "Everyone who came to the set said that they remembered friends that looked like that, or that they had hair like that.

"It took structural engineers and the wizards at Industrial Light + Magic to get my hair to look like that, laughs Allen Covert. "My hair was tall and aerodynamic. They never had to touch my hair up, because it never moved!

Christine Taylor captures the look of the `80s with a wardrobe that couldn't be further from her infamous role of Marcia Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie. In The Wedding Singer, it's good-bye Marcia -- hello Madonna!

"It's a lot of lace and bustiers, smiles Taylor. "Holly is free-spirited -- sexually liberated is probably another way to put it, she grins. "When I read the script, I immediately fell in love with Holly's character. She was somebody I have never played before. She knows what she wants, and she goes after it.

Adding another blast of color to the cast was famed `80s punk rocker Billy Idol, who agreed to make a cameo appearance in the film. "We chose Billy Idol because he represents the `80s more than anyone, says Coraci. "When I was 16, I worshipped Billy Idol.

"I liked the script, smiles Idol, "Especially because it made fun of a lot of very dopey songs that came out of the `80s. I'm flattered they asked me to be in the film. Though I'm still not sure whether it's some kind of cruel joke, I thought, 'To hell with it. I'll do it.'

To Idol, it's ironic that "White Wedding" is played at so many wedding ceremonies. "It has almost become a modern-day wedding march, but the song is about a marriage that wasn't supposed to happen and about a convention that I thought was sort of outmoded.

Despite that fact, Idol enjoyed working with Adam Sandler. "I have an eight-year-old son, and he loves Adam, so now I'm a God for doing this -- I did myself a favor! Besides, I really love comedies, and I don't think there's enough of them. I don't think there are enough movies you can go to, be sitting next to your son, and be laughing at the same jokes. I always liked that with my dad, and it's great to do that with my son. When I told him I was going to be in this movie, he nearly died!

For the young or old, The Wedding Singer appeals to audiences of all ages. "I think our goal with the film, besides making people laugh, is to remind people that life's not all that bad, and you can fall in love and be happy about it, says Coraci.

On the set, Coraci and producer Giarraputo got a first-hand look at love as they searched for two people to play the parents of one of the brides. They chose a man from one room full of extras, but did not find anyone in the room that would be suitable to play his wife. They went into a second room full of extras and chose a woman. When they brought the two of them together to meet, the couple laughed. As it turned out, they were husband and wife in "real life" and had been happily married for 40 years.

"This is a true romantic comedy, adds Christine Taylor. "I think that people are going to see Adam in a different light. There is a sweet side to him. He just wins you over even with his `80s wig!

"I love 'love,' effuses Drew Barrymore. "I think people are going to be able to relate to what the characters in this film are going through. The one common bond that everybody can relate to is love.

There's Something About Mary

When we first wrote this section, we felt that we had an obvious candidate in.. yep, you guessed it.. "There's Something About Mary".

Why?

Well, apart from the fact that the movie starts in the 80's with a likeable nod to the past and displays much of the good natured humor of the era, "There's Something About Mary" has a very special secret that not a lot of you out there will know about...

... It was written in the 80's! --It was originally intended to be an 80's Movie!

Yes, this is the 80's Movie that never was. In an era of movies trying hard to replicate the success of the 80's 'teen' movies we have a genuine 80's movie that was lost in the vaults of time until the now..

As the 80's 'teen movie' era had drawn to a close in the latter part of the 80's this script, written in 1989, was unable to find financial backing and languished seemingly forgotten in the studio system.

When, flourishing with the success of "Dumber & Dumber" and "Kingpin", the Farrelly brothers aquired the property they re-wrote it as Peter Farrelly recalls:-

Keith David was born in Harlem and raised in Queens, New York. He began performing in grade school as a member of the city's all-borough choir and made his theatrical stage debut at the age of nine, playing the Cowardly Lion in his elementary school's production of "The Wizard of Oz". He later enrolled in the renowned High School for the Performing Arts before studying at Juilliard.

He began his professional career on the very day he graduated from the famous Lincoln Center institution, understudying actor Robert Christian in Joseph Papp's Central Park staging of Shakespeare's "Coriolanus".

Ten years later, David garnered the Actor's Equity St. Clair Bayfield Award for his Off-Broadway performance in the very same role opposite Christopher Walken and Irene Worth at Papp's Public Theatre. He has also displayed his extraordinary range on Broadway in August Wilson's acclaimed 1996 drama, "Seven Guitars", and in George Wolfe's musical, "Jelly's Last Jam", winning a Tony nomination as Best Supporting Actor in a Musical opposite star Gregory Hines.

Equally accomplished on the motion picture screen, David gained wide attention for his role of 'King' in Oliver Stone's "Platoon". He battled a deadly monster unearthed from the arctic ice in John Carpenter's classic 80's horror, "The Thing" (his motion picture debut) and portrayed a war veteran running a Harlem pool hall in the Hughes Brothers' acclaimed drama, "Dead Presidents". David has also worked for such notable directors as Clint Eastwood in Bird, Spike Lee in Clockers, Steven Spielberg in "Always", and reunited with Carpenter in the 1988 horror satire, "They Live". He recently co-starred opposite Bruce Willis in the sci-fi epic, "Armageddon".

-If you haven't yet seen this movie, you'd be forgiven for being a little skeptical about the claims that we're making for this movie, especially in light of the other poor efforts at re-establishing the genre of films in the late 90's, but rest assured that you should definitely take our word for it and see this movie.

Once you know its special heritage, all becomes clear. This is a genuine, satsifying and very funny movie that draws very affectionately from the era rather than a sad pretender movie that tries to be an 80's film by putting a bunch of 80's songs with a soul-less 90's script.

Below, to celebrate this achievement we give you the behind the scenes info on this great movie and a chance to vote for any other 90's (or 20's) films that you feel should be 'honorary 80's movies".

About The Writers

Ed Decter & John Strauss who wrote the movie had been the creators and co-executive producers of the CBS-TV series "The Closer", which stars Tom Selleck and Ed Asner and debuted on the Tiffany Network as a mid-season replacement following the 1998 Winter Olympics. The writers first teamed together after meeting in an industry softball league in Los Angeles.

They first collaborated on a script for director Taylor Hackford, called "Forever Murray". They continued writing for both movies and television, and count among their credits the TV sitcoms "Boy Meets World" (now in its fifth season on ABC) and "Chicago Sons" starring Jason Bateman and D.W. Moffett.

They also scripted the 1991 feature film, "Options". The writing partners come from decidedly different backgrounds. Decter, a New Jersey native, studied film and English at Wesleyan University. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1981 after winning a filmmaking grant from the American Film Institute.

Strauss is a second generation industryite, the son of veteran motion picture publicist John Strauss (who handled Jimmy Stewart, among many other celebrities). Strauss began his career as a film editor following graduation from UCLA's prestigious film-and-television program

About The Directors

Peter & Bobby Farrelly (Directors/Co-screenwriters) joined forces behind the camera for their third film, following their blockbuster debut on the 1994 boxoffice megahit, "Dumb and Dumber", which starred Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels and earned over $340 million throughout the world, and their follow-up comedy, the critically-acclaimed bowling spoof, Kingpin, starring Woody Harrelson and Randy Quaid.

The Cumberland, Rhode Island natives rolled their first strike with the sale of two episodes of the award-winning NBC series, Seinfeld. They continued writing screenplays, 15 to-date, and sold half-a-dozen before "Dumb and Dumber" made it to the big screen.

On their freshman effort, Peter made his directorial debut, with Bobby co-producing the breakout comedy hit. The pair pursued distinctly different educations, with Bobby (the younger by a year) earning a B.S. degree in Geological Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (attending on a hockey scholarship) in New York and Peter studying at Providence College for his undergraduate degree, and Columbia University for his Masters in creative writing.

Peter subsequently published his first novel Outside Providence, which the brothers adapted and produced independently (under Michael Corrente's direction) on location in Rhode Island immediately prior to the start of their new film. His second novel, The Comedy Writer, was recently published.

About The Production

"There's Something About Mary" began principal photography on location in Providence, Rhode Island, a stone's throw from the town of Cumberland, where the Farrelly Brothers grew up.

South Florida hosted the production for the bulk of its ten-week shooting schedule. Upon their arrival in Providence, the co-directors took their designated posts on the set " Peter on-set with the actors, and Bobby behind the video monitors.

The cast found this dual experience both interesting and confusing. "It's really interesting the way they worked together," Diaz observes. "There was no competitiveness. They worked totally harmoniously, with Peter as sort of the front man and Bobby behind-the-scenes." Adds Stiller, "They have the perfect relationship as brothers, co-writers and co-directors."

While the script's original draft was set in San Francisco and Boston, the Farrellys moved the story about fifty miles south to Providence. The reason? "So we could go home to film some of it there and put all our friends and family in as extras," the Farrellys insist.

The Rhode Islanders, who also shot some of their debut feature, Dumb and Dumber, in the state's capital city, returned to their old stomping grounds for the first week of filming in early December. Although a distinct December chill embraced the film crew upon their arrival, the pair of pranksters received a warm homecoming welcome before moving from the Ocean State's frigid New England winter to the tropical tundra of Miami.

While in the Sunshine State, the company recreated some Rhode Island locations, particularly the high school where Ted's character reminisces about that fateful senior prom night in the film's opening flashback to 1985. The flashback also features a memorable scene in which Ted zips up his "frank and beans," as the Farrellys call them, in the scene that tragically ends his first and only date with the lovely Mary.

Stiller's "zipper effect" is almost indescribable and painful in its appearance. Concocted by special makeup designer Scott Malchus, the device had bits of flesh (from a part of the anatomy usually safely tucked inside one's zipper), molded from latex, that was mangled in the zipper's teeth. The incident, strangely enough, had its origins in real-life. "It really happened," Bobby declares, recalling a birthday party at his home when one of the guests, playing spin-the-bottle, underwent a similar, painful experience...

Links

There's Something About Mary Official Site