What’s Aged the Worst?
Bowie opening quote; Bender joining the dance; Bender's crotch move; Bender's bullying and locker slur; thin writing for Claire and Allison; Allison's nymphomaniac lie; boredom
In the discussion (10)
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:33Read transcript
- The David Bowie opening quote is offered, with one host admitting it was his yearbook quote; another doesn't recall having one.
- The window-breaking scene is raised, with a claim that Hughes called it his biggest regret, but deferred to later.
- Bender would not join the dance under any circumstances; the hosts say Ringwald was supposed to dance alone and felt uncomfortable, so the group choreography was added.
- Bender trying to stick his head in Claire's crotch would not fly in 2020.
- Bender is called genuinely mean, even a sociopath, with a homophobic slur written on his locker among the first images.
- A remake would scale Bender back or strengthen Claire and Allison, whose writing is thin; Allison doesn't speak until about 45 minutes in.
- The made-up nymphomaniac claim is unrealistic, though teen lies were unprovable then, as in jokes about hanging out with Dwight Gooden or Walter Payton before Instagram.
- Ringwald's New Yorker piece is recommended as a thoughtful look at showing the film to her kids, her relationship to Hughes, and what to do with flawed work, including jokes the hosts describe as racist and sexist.
- Sixteen Candles is called more problematic; one host watched these with his kids and says they must be judged in the context of the decade, wanting his daughter to see what 1985 was like.
- Boredom has aged worst: the kids could just pick up a book in a library, and the only book they touch is the Moliere they destroy.