The stars of "Take Me Home Tonight"

The ‘80s Are Back!

Summer is coming to a close in San Fernando Valley and so is the decade of side ponytails, Mohawks, boom boxes and Cyndi Lauper. That could only mean one thing, right? Sounds like an excuse for one ‘wicked’ end of the summer party.

It is Labor Day weekend, 1988. The economy is good (those were the days, huh?) and opportunities for success seem endless. Twenty-two year old MIT grad, Matt Franklin (Topher Grace, “Valentine’s Day” 2010) just turned down a well-paid position at a local lab to work as a clerk at the mall’s Suncoast Video store. Matt’s dad, played by Michael Biehn (“The Blood Bond” 2010), is less than thrilled with his son’s decision. Matt’s career seems to be on the backburner for now, however, as other things in his life are taking precedence. His best friend, Barry, (Dan Fogler, “Love Happens” 2009) just got fired from his job as a luxury car salesman. Matt’s intelligent twin sister, Wendy (Anna Faris, “The House Bunny” 2008), is engaged to her dud of a boyfriend, Kyle (Chris Pratt, “Bride Wars” 2009) and is now setting aside her dreams of receiving further education abroad in England.

That isn’t all though. One day, a typical boring shift at Suncoast takes a major turn. The one and only Tori Frederking (Teresa Palmer, “I Am Number Four” 2011) the most popular, unattainable girl from Shermer High, walks into the store. Matt has been waiting a long time for this moment.

After taking a giant leap over the front counter, sneaking out the back door and re-entering through the front, Matt pretends to be a fellow customer looking for a great flick. Matt partakes in an incredibly fake conversation with Tori where he claims he doesn’t remember her from high school and before he knows it, he is invited to the biggest party of the summer…tonight.

Matt, Wendy and a very drunk and depressed Barry decide to attend this party, but not without a few bumps in the road. To avoid ruining too much of the film let’s just say theft, reckless driving, proposals, drugs, ‘cougars’ and fake identities result in a long night for the trio, and an entertaining movie for the viewer.

Grace plays his directionless, nerdy character to a tee and his coy chemistry with Palmer will put a smile on your face. Faris, who usually plays the ‘ditzy girl’ in films, shows us a more intellectual, mature side, along with her and Grace’s peculiar brother/sister chemistry. Fogler’s outrageous character contributes many ‘laugh out loud’ moments to this film as he always finds himself in a sticky situation. Comedian, Demitri Martin (“Taking Woodstock” 2009) also adds some zest to the film in his cameo as Carlos. Every single line that comes out of his mouth is pure genius. I am even more impressed with his performance after learning that all but one of his lines was ad-lib.

I had the pleasure of attending the Q & A session with Grace and Martin post screening and was very intrigued with what I learned. For one, this movie sets the record for one of the longest shelved films in Hollywood. Due to its overabundance of cocaine use, many production companies were weary to get on board. Finally, almost four years later, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer of Imagine Entertainment came into the picture and not only agreed to take on the project but even ended up putting more drug related scenes back into the film. Grace, who also produced this film, was adamant that it did not take on an ‘80s spoof reputation. He wanted to make it seem as though it was created in the ‘80s, hence, its surplus of drug use. When asked if Grace and his character, Matt, had any similarities he said, “You’re not going to believe this, but I was actually a loser in high school.” Grace also added that he actually worked at Suncoast Video for two years. Another interesting fact is that Faris and Pratt, who were a couple in the movie, actually ended up as a couple off screen and are now married.

The film is rated “R” for language, sexual content and heavy drug use.

Bottom Line? An energetic, fulfilling, totally, tubular ‘80s flick worth viewing.

Jessica Aymond © March 4, 2011

Side note: The cast also got together to create Atomic Tom’s official music video, “You Don’t Want Me” spoofing classic movie scenes and characters from the ‘80s. Can you name them all?