With Josh Brolin up for an Oscar tonight for his devious role in "Milk", I thought it was only fitting to pay tribute by mentioning the cult classic Thrashin'. While "The Goonies" launched his career, skateboarding fans know that Thrashin' cemented his legacy.
Did you know that the director actually wanted Johnny Depp for the lead role in Thrashin', but the studio overruled him and it was quite the disturbance in retrospect? So maybe Brolin would have been on "21 Jump Street" instead and thus Depp's and Brolin's career paths might have been dramatically altered forever.
Okay back to the movie, in the Los Angeles raging skateboarding scene of the mid-1980s, Val dude Corey Webster falls in love with the sister of Tommy Hook, the punk leader of a rival gang. While the forbidden romance seems to crumble under social pressure, the two gangs compete in a 20-mile downhill race -- with corporate sponsorship as the reward for whichever team can thrash its way to victory.
Cindy Mancini mentioned Robert Rusler the other day while discussing the movie "Vamp" and let me say that he is at his wicked best in Thrashin'.
But being a guy, my fav character was actually Chrissy played by Pamela Gidley. She was adorable, but tough enough to stand up to her big bro when it really matter the most.
I can't finish this thread without acknowledging that Sherilyn Fenn had quite the run of movies in the 80's....."The Wild Life", "Just One of the Guys", Thrashin', and "The Wraith" to name a few.
Oh and let's not forget that you get a performance by The Red Hot Chili Peppers!
I happen to own and love Thrashin' I might be the only other one. It has it's moments.
WE are DEVO
Posted by 80'sRocked (Member # 6979) on :
You're not the only one Devo. I own and love this movie bigtime. What a cast for one. I loved skateboarding growing up and watched this movie tons of times back in the day. Have to mention a pretty awesome soundtrack as well. Great write up Valley! Love the pics too!
Posted by Tim Cappello (Member # 3594) on :
Love this flick! If anyones looking for the soundtrack, PM me and i'll hook it up. The song playing when Corey (Brolin) is training for the LA Massacre "Staring Down the Demons" is one of my favorite lost-80's tunes! Posted by JAY LEE (Member # 6345) on :
Own it, love it, have the songs!
Posted by Mike. (Member # 7179) on :
Used to watch this film all the time when i was younger,i think me and my mates must have worn the copy out at the video shop. Just recently managed to get a copy on dvd and it's still a good film, some parts haven't aged to well and some of the stunts seem a bit lame by todays standard but still worth a watch. Also Pamela Gidley made all the more watchable.
Posted by Mike. (Member # 7179) on :
Beat it ya Val jerk.
Posted by xchazx (Member # 7158) on :
great movie. need to buy this.
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
Just watched this and i love it! Great movie with great soundtrack. Sherilyn was hot as always.
Posted by jdocster (Member # 5752) on :
Guess I'll have to put it on the list... Posted by ISIS (Member # 1780) on :
I have never seen it.
Josh Brolin totally looks just like his Dad now.
Posted by Kash (Member # 297) on :
I've never seen this one, the only skateboarding film I knew of was 'Gleaming The Cube', excellent write up, sounds quite good.
By the way, Valley: I finally saw your favourite movie, loved it. Surprised as to why it wasn't as popular here back in the day.
So I'm going to find & watch 'Thrashin' and play this...
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Originally posted by Kash: By the way, Valley: I finally saw your favourite movie, loved it. Surprised as to why it wasn't as popular here back in the day.
Kash, I'm so glad you finally got to watch "Valley Girl" and even better is the fact that you loved it. For some of us, VG symbolizes the total 80's experience.....music, fashion, parties, beach, mall shopping, prom, and of course a night with Julie Richman at the Valley Sheraton.
[ 26. February 2009, 05:50: Message edited by: Valley ]
Posted by Kash (Member # 297) on :
quote:Originally posted by Valley: Originally posted by Kash: By the way, Valley: I finally saw your favourite movie, loved it. Surprised as to why it wasn't as popular here back in the day.
Kash, I'm so glad you finally got to watch "Valley Girl" and even better is the fact that you loved it. For some of us, VG symbolizes the total 80's experience.....music, fashion, parties, beach, mall shopping, prom, and of course a night with Julie Richman at the Valley Sheraton.
When they started off with their Valley vernacular, I thought: this is gonna try my patience (did all the women really talk like that?) but then the story got going & it all worked; Nic Cage was hilarious (never before has a scene with a dude waiting for a chick whilst hiding in a shower at a party he just got thrown out of, been as funny or suspenseful).
So were you a trad Val dude or a quirky hipster like Randy? Posted by skatexedge (Member # 5712) on :
Notice in the poster that Corey has his wrist guards on backwards!!
My brother and I went to see this movie when it was in the theaters! We knew it would be silly and fun which it was. It was a full on skate session out front too! Management was not stoked.
I had an old vhs copy of it and was glad when the DVD finally came out. Watch this movie with the commentary on, it's absolutely hilarious.
By the way, my brother and I are still skaters to this day! We'll never quit!
Posted by 80'sRocked (Member # 6979) on :
Check out this soundtrack that my man TNUC helped me track down. Wow, there are some rare gems on here that were never released EVER on any format! Thanks again for the help TNUC....you have no idea how long I have been searching for some of these tracks! If anyone else is interested, send me a PM and I'll hook you up.
Posted by TNUC (Member # 3594) on :
Not a problem 80's Rocked!
Plenty more where that came from. Soundtracks that have been on rotation in my apt recently have been "The Wraith", "Risky Business" and "The Wizard".....all killer!
Posted by Spreadking (Member # 7280) on :
You can catch Thrashin' on EPIX3 on the overnight tonight. at 530AM eastern.
gives me a chance to watch it for the first time.
Posted by Secret Admirer (Member # 3574) on :
quote:Originally posted by Spreadking: gives me a chance to watch it for the first time.
Get ready to have your face rocked off by extreme awesomeness.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Spreadking.. So gnarly that you are getting to watch Thrashin' for the first time tonight.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Decided to watch Thrashin' tonight.. Robert Rusler was one bad dude in this flick. I quite enjoy the ending, but would his character really have been that cool about the whole thing in real life?
Posted by Lovers with Cassie (Member # 7794) on :
Impressive thread.
Should I put Thrashin' on my must see list?
Posted by Mike. (Member # 7179) on :
Without a doubt Cassie must see film.
Posted by Secret Admirer (Member # 3574) on :
The main thing about this film is that it is hot, reckless, and totally insane.
Posted by oneyedwilly (Member # 8730) on :
quote:Originally posted by Lovers with Cassie: Impressive thread.
Should I put Thrashin' on my must see list?
OMG cassie come on mate, get with the program This movie shaped me as a young teenager. This movie was responsible for loads of teens becoming familiar with Tony Hawk, the video game 720 and the scars i now have tryiin to hand plant on a quarter pipe that could have been made better by Mcguiver out of bean curd and potato skins. Great cheese, great bad guys meet good guys, boy meets girl etc etc. In hind sight the only thing really missing in this was a definitive 80s song which could have made it an a grade rather than b movie, but will always remain in my top 3 of all time.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Watched Thrashin' again this morning for the first time in awhile.. definitely an entertaining flick with an against the odds romance intertwined.
Great skateboarding stunts throughout with an edgy style to them that seemed missing for me in "Gleaming The Cube". Though Cube's seemed extremely dangerous as well .. they were just had too much of a planned feel to them for me.
And the Thrashin' soundtrack is quite underrated..
When "That's Good" by Devo starts playing during the ramp scene you realize early on it is time to pay attention.
My fav tune from the movie is the gem "Staring Down the Demons" by Animotion.
But "Let the Love Begin" fits well with the romantic scenes between Corey and Chrissy.
Oh Ronnie .. Thrashin' also has the France Joli tune "Don't Think Twice" from Modern Girls which totally made me think of you and our discussion about our quest to obtain "Angels In the Night". btw, did you ever find it?
Several more tunes .. but those are a few that stuck with me.
Posted by Ronnie (Member # 465) on :
hey valley, angels in the night still hasn't made it into my collection.
i wonder what that song sounds like other than the angels in the night part haha. 'don't think twice' a great song.
i have this movie but i don't ever think to watch it. my daughter seems to like it though. probably because she knows Brolin from the Gooonies. Posted by Bernie_Lomax (Member # 8571) on :
With the X Games in full swing with some wicked skateboard action .. thought it was a good time to break out Thrashin' for another viewing!
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
for a minute i thought this was the one with lori loughlin in,but i'm getting my skateboarding films mixed up with my bmx films,that's rad. i wouldn't mind seeing both of them,as they both sound like good fun!
hows this rate for entertainment value against the only other 80s skateboarding film i can think of - 1989's gleaming the cube!
[ 31. July 2011, 10:07: Message edited by: the young warrior ]
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
just watched the trailer http://youtu.be/6allGZw0-qU for this and got to say it looks pretty wicked,i think i'm going to have to track this one down!
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
I'm a fan of "Gleaming the Cube", Slater and wicked skateboard stunts, but there is truly no comparison really. For 80's skateboarding .. Thrashin' is where it is at!
Warrior .. let me turn your double feature plans into a slamming Triple Feature:
1. Thrashin' - skateboarding
2. RAD - BMX biking
3. Airborne - rollerblading
And if you are really digging in for a night of X .. add in:
4. Winners Take All - motocross
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
i'm going to check out rad,winners take all and airborne on youtube valley as someone's posted the complete movies on there.
i'm going to start with rad,this looks a pretty cool movie,bmx biking,lori loughlin and with john farnham on the soundtrack,can't be bad!
as for thrashin i'm going to grab myself a region 1 dvd copy of it from ebay,the dvd's been discontinued but it's still reasonably cheap on there.
i've got a good gut feeling that i'm going to like it!
[ 01. August 2011, 15:46: Message edited by: the young warrior ]
Posted by noikz (Member # 1000) on :
Valley > Spooky that you mention Winners Take All, I picked that up last week having never seen it before. Not had chance to watch yet but will this week at some point.
MGM HD in the UK have been showing Thrashin' a lot this year. I wish one of the HD channels would air RAD over here though, one of my all time faves.
Posted by the young warrior (Member # 9554) on :
my father gets mgm hd noikz,i'll have to keep an eye on the film listings,see if i can catch it on there at some point,i watched men at work on there the other month.
i noticed they show another film i've been longing to see-the malibu bikini shop (listed on there as just - the bikini shop)i've been trying to get my hands on that one for an absolute age! great channel showing some great films with the bonus of them being in hd!
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