History Podcast / EightiesAllOver

** With regards to childhood favorites, they feel that ''Film/SupermanIII'' defenders are very, ''very'' affected by this trope, with Scott even saying "Your childhood is '''''WRONG!'''''" In fact, when they get to films that are deeply, deeply loved by kids of the 1980s, Drew and Scott will warn the listener if they're about to tear them down, with ''Film/TheNeverEndingStory'' (July 1984) a case in point. They do believe, firmly, that people should like what they like (as discussed in a bonus feedback episode, regarding how their stinging ''Film/{{Condorman}}'' review garnered a surprising amount of response from fans of the film) -- but warn them to beware of revisiting childhood favorites all the same, arguing in the ''[=NeverEnding Story=]'' review that people who love that movie probably haven't watched it lately. The following month, the film is brought up again in their discussion of ''Film/CloakAndDagger1984''. Drew and Scott don't think ''Cloak'' completely works but unlike ''[=NeverEnding Story=]'', they point out it's ''earned'' its devoted fans via the genuinely moving depiction of a realistically troubled father-son relationship.

The format is summed up by that above OpeningNarration: Drew and Scott, who both came of age as huge movie geeks in TheEighties, examining as many films that received a proper theatrical release (whether "mainstream" or on the arthouse circuit; trial releases limited to, say, a week in New York weren't eligible) in the United States of America in that decade as possible. Each episode, released biweekly, covered one month's worth of releases (save for the wrap-up "Best of 198[X]" episodes following each December 198[X] installment). The critics' aim was to move beyond the SmallReferencePools version of the decade that saw MediaNotes/TheBlockbusterAgeOfHollywood formally unfold -- examining not only landmark blockbusters and trendsetters like ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'', ''Film/{{Ghostbusters|1984}}'', the teen comedies of Creator/JohnHughes, the SlasherFilm crush, etc., but also famous flops, cheap cash-ins, forgotten success stories, foreign imports, short-lived and/or oddball trends, reissues of older films, and early stabs at independent cinema...all in an age when cable and home video burst onto the scene and multiplexes were exponentially multiplying across the country.

* TheEighties: All over!

** From their look at ''How to Beat the High Cost of Living'' in January 1980 onwards, Drew and Scott note that a lot of 1980s movies -- even comedies such as this one (about a trio of suburban women who plot a robbery to pay their bills) -- deal with socio-political issues that are still/again problems in TheNewTens, in particular economic/class woes in the United States.
** In the HalloweenEpisode Drew and Scott saw the run of remakes/reboots of 1980s and '80s-adjacent horror films that's been on since the TurnOfTheMillennium as this, because in the Eighties there was a run of variations on 1930s-50s horror films. The main differences is that while the '80s cycle yielded up a few genuine classics, such as ''Film/TheThing1982'' and ''Film/TheFly1986'', the later cycle...didn't. (This could be because the huge advances in technology and looser restrictions on content that the '80s afforded filmmakers who wanted to reinvent old stories didn't apply in TheNewTens -- meaning that they were more likely to be pale imitations of the originals.)

* MagicalComputer: Discussed with regards to such films as ''Evilspeak'' and ''Film/{{TRON}}''. As Drew puts it in their look at ''Film/ElectricDreams'' in July 1984, "Remember, in TheEighties computers were magic! They were weird, dark magic!" (He and Scott move on to [[Film/TheMuppetsTakeManhattan the next film]] by noting that computers can't replicate the joys of Creator/JimHenson and Franchise/TheMuppets, though.)

** NostalgiaAintLikeItUsedToBe for TheSixties. Drew especially hates how the Baby Boomer generation venerated itself in the '80s, partially because it was shoved down ''his'' generation's throat. This, oddly enough, was one of the reasons why he liked ''Film/TheBigChill''; despite its reputation as the film that really kicked off the Baby Boomer nostalgia industry, Drew found it to be a surprisingly nuanced and cynical take on the subject matter in [[UnbuiltTrope how it deconstructed the myth]] of TheSixties.
** SecondActBreakup, specifically the "Well, I guess you're just a whore!" version of ''Film/NightShift'', ''Theatre/TheBestLittleWhorehouseInTexas'', ''Film/DoctorDetroit'', etc.

* RedemptionQuest: In the Musicals bonus episode, Drew sees the reversal of the Walt Disney Company's fortunes in the second half of the 1980s under the Michael Eisner-Jeffrey Katzenberg-Frank Wells regime as this, culminating with the triumphant release and reception of ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid|1989}}'' in November 1989, which became the cornerstone of the company's journey to becoming '''THE''' dominant force in media by the end of TheNewTens.

* TheSeventies: The two "test episodes" subsequently released as bonus episodes cover August and December of 1979 (including ''Film/ApocalypseNow'', ''Film/LifeOfBrian'', ''Film/NineteenFortyOne1979'', and ''Film/BeingThere''). In addition, it's pointed out that up through 1983, many films are reflecting '70s culture and priorities rather than those of TheEighties, with Drew calling November of '83's ''Film/Star80'' the last film of TheSeventies.

* ValuesDissonance: [[invoked]] Drew and Scott like to examine how many '80s movies got away with things that just don't fly in TheNewTens (or only fly with certain audiences):

* ValuesResonance: [[invoked]] On the other side of the coin, they also find movies that could just as easily have been made in TheNewTens with a little tweaking. ''Film/{{Frances}}'' (December 1982) and ''Film/Star80'' (November 1983), for example, have this in the light of the [=#MeToo=] and Time's Up movements, going to show how little has changed in Hollywood and society at large when it comes to the treatment of women.

The format is summed up by that above OpeningNarration: Drew and Scott, who both came of age as huge movie geeks in TheEighties, examining as many films that received a proper theatrical release (whether "mainstream" or on the arthouse circuit; trial releases limited to, say, a week in New York weren't eligible) in the United States of America in that decade as possible. Each episode, released biweekly, covered one month's worth of releases (save for the wrap-up "Best of 198[X]" episodes following each December 198[X] installment). The critics' aim was to move beyond the SmallReferencePools version of the decade that saw UsefulNotes/TheBlockbusterAgeOfHollywood formally unfold -- examining not only landmark blockbusters and trendsetters like ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'', ''Film/{{Ghostbusters|1984}}'', the teen comedies of Creator/JohnHughes, the SlasherFilm crush, etc., but also famous flops, cheap cash-ins, forgotten success stories, foreign imports, short-lived and/or oddball trends, reissues of older films, and early stabs at independent cinema...all in an age when cable and home video burst onto the scene and multiplexes were exponentially multiplying across the country.

* EndOfAnAge: Drew is among those who regards the critical and financial failure of ''Film/HeavensGate'' as the end of the "auteur era" of American film. He points out that it wasn't so much the price tags of films like that and ''Film/ApocalypseNow'' that upset the powers-that-be in Hollywood -- it was that directors had more power than suits as to how the money was spent. ''Heaven's Gate'' bombing as badly as it did gave them an easy justification to exert creative control over filmmakers again. This explains how in UsefulNotes/TheBlockbusterAgeOfHollywood far more money has been entrusted to far worse filmmakers than Michael Cimino.

** UsefulNotes/ThreeDMovie, as not only were most of the '80s examples of this trope poorly scripted and produced, they look awful thanks to the "muddy pantyhose" cinematography they ended up with.

* TheSmurfettePrinciple: Scott's one complaint against ''Film/TheAdventuresOfBuckarooBanzaiAcrossTheEighthDimension'' is that it has only one significant female character as opposed to all the memorable guys and she spends a third of the movie as a DistressedDamsel to boot. Drew chalks it up both to the film being an affectionate goof on PulpMagazine tropes and that it was made in 1984, and that if such a film were made today there would be a better ratio of male-to-female characters.

** When Drew and/or Scott are really (often sarcastically) impressed by something, he'll say "Wow!" -- promptly echoed by a soundbite of Eddie Deezen saying "Woooow!"

** Sword-and-sorcery LowFantasy even ''before'' the release of ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian''.

** ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian'' had a lot of ripoffs, yes -- but several LowFantasy / sword-and-sorcery movies such as ''Hawk the Slayer'' and ''The Sword and the Sorcerer'' were released ''before'' it hit screens in May 1982. Reasons why there was already a push for this sort of fantasy included the popularity of ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', and exploitation filmmakers [[{{Mockbuster}} just having a good feeling that the Conan movie would be a hit and hedging their bets]].

-->'''Opening narration of each regular episode'''

** December 1984 has Drew tearfully recount a life-changing experience: He got to spend a day visiting the location shoot of ''Film/{{Starman}}'' (his mom helped with the extras casting), and thanks to a kind unit publicist even got to meet Creator/JohnCarpenter, Creator/JeffBridges, and Karen Allen, all of whom were gems. Well over a decade later, Drew visited the set of ''Film/{{Evolution}}'' and encountered the same unit publicist, who recognized him. They ''both'' cried as Drew thanked him for his kindness years ago. Add to that how much Drew loves ''Starman'' as a film...

In June 2021 [=McWeeny=] not only announced that a book project created as a companion to this show, ''The Last '80s Book (You'll Ever Need)'' (featuring capsule reviews of all the films covered), was still in progress but also launched a Substack newsletter, ''[[https://thelast80snewsletter.substack.com/ The Last '80s Newsletter (You'll Ever Need)]]'', for interested patrons to follow that progress with, turning this podcast into a case of TheResolutionWillNotBeTelevised as the book(s) will completely cover the 1980s.

* AdoredByTheNetwork: [[invoked]] Drew and Scott point out the often-minor films that ended up getting frequent airings on Creator/{{HBO}} and other pay movie networks -- and why. Beyond ''Film/TheBeastmaster'', those included ''Savannah Smiles'' and ''Kidco'' -- in part because back then R-rated movies were only shown between 8 pm on the East Coast and the wee hours of the morning. G and PG movies thus had to fill out about 2/3rds of the schedule once these channels were broadcasting 24/7, and [[Creator/DisneyChannel the Walt Disney Company moving into pay cable in 1983]] left a relatively limited selection of new family-friendly films for other channels to choose from. Elsewhere, Scott suspects the BoxOfficeBomb ''Theatre/ThePiratesOfPenzance'' was an HBO staple ''because'' it flopped so badly, meaning the TV rights would have been extremely cheap. (Ironically, it flopped because it was originally supposed to be released to theaters and over-the-air pay TV channels ''at the same time''. Many theater chains refused to book the film as a result.) In September 1984, Drew notes that some movies fondly remembered by people who had cable in the '80s might have those reputations due to a combination of this trope and NostalgiaFilter -- just because somebody ''watched'' a movie that was constantly being aired a lot (such as the subject of discussion, ''Film/IrreconcilableDifferences'') doesn't mean it was ''good''.

''There are few decades in film history that have been as scrutinized as the 1980s. But to really understand the decade and its movies, it's gonna take a couple someones who were there for it the first time around. Drew [=McWeeny=] and Scott Weinberg are ready to review every major film of the decade one month at a time to look at what worked then, what endures now, and how it felt to be there when it all went down. Turn back the calendar with us...it's the '80s All Over.''

** Child actors who come off as middle-aged people in child bodies onscreen due to being overly rehearsed and brash (i.e. Aileen Quinn as the title character in ''Film/Annie1982'')
** Cruelty to animals, whether staged or real, to the point that they spoil the ending of a movie covered in the October 1983 episode because it hinges on this and was too nasty for them not to discuss. Suffice it to say that both hosts had a ''really'' hard time watching ''WesternAnimation/ThePlagueDogs'' come 1985.

* ExcitedShowTitle: Drew and Scott don't think this trope should be used by anyone besides the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker team, but Troma especially liked using it for wacky comedies (''Waitress!'', ''Stuck on You!'', etc.) after ''Film/{{Airplane}}'' was a hit. Whenever they have to cover one of those films they ponder how exactly its title should be read out loud.

* QuestioningTitle: Drew and Scott wonder if ''Stuck on You!'' (January 1983) might have been better off as ''Stuck on You?'' in part because it would fit the framing device (a pair of lovers unsure about their relationship) and just because this trope isn't as common as ExcitedShowTitle is.

* OvershadowedByControversy: [[invoked]] Drew regards ''Film/TheCottonClub'' as this and, unusually for this show, decides not to go into depth about its various travails (most infamously the murder of a potential financier) because, unlike with ''Film/TwilightZoneTheMovie'' (where, due to the deaths of its performers, the original HappilyEverAfter ending for the first segment couldn't be shot/used and had to be replaced with [[spoiler: a Downer Ending]]), they didn't have much to do with how the actual film turned out.

** In February 1983, the transition to the discussion of ''Threshold'' has Scott note that the film reunited the male leads of ''Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers1978'' (Creator/DonaldSutherland and Creator/JeffGoldblum), and with that a sound clip of the distinctive screech of a pod person is played. The next movie is the divorce/child custody drama ''Table for Five'', and Drew notes that the movie's WhamLine moment is underlined with "a Creator/JohnCarpenter music cue" so over-the-top that "it is [[spoiler: Donald Sutherland at the end of]] ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' in tone!" ''Screeeeeech!'' Finally, the screech is part of TheStinger of the episode!

** Comedies in which a character's behavior (said character is usually a white {{Fratbro}}) is treated as wacky good fun when it's actually a sex crime. This is how they describe many of the teen {{sex comed|y}}ies of the era, especially after ''Film/{{Porkys}}'' became a hit, and even some more straightforward comedies such as ''Film/StrokerAce'' and ''Blame It on Rio''. It's also a big part of why they loved ''Film/FastTimesAtRidgemontHigh'' and ''Film/RiskyBusiness'', which both come off as {{Genre Deconstruction}}s in their handling of the tropes of teen sex comedies. And as discussed in the August 1984 episode, the lead characters of these movies might as well grow up to be...
** The middle-aged protagonists of many ''other'' comedies, particularly the [[RomanticComedy romances]] and/or "midlife crisis" farces. They're all white men prone to selfish, entitled libidos, usually well-off and married. They're bickering, harassing, dishonest, unprofessional, even lawbreaking -- yet get happy endings all the same. Creator/DudleyMoore (the lead in the film that kicked off the midlife crisis subgenre, ''Film/Ten1979'' ended up playing '''a lot''' of these characters post-''Arthur''[[note]]the films discussed: ''Lovesick'', ''Romantic Comedy'', ''Best Defense'', ''Micki + Maude'', and -- due to {{Flanderization}} -- the title character in ''Arthur 2: On the Rocks''[[/note]], to the point that by ''Best Defense'' the hosts note that they ''like'' Moore himself and [[MeanCharacterNiceActor they don't want listeners to be confused and think he was a scumbag]]. Creator/BurtReynolds also did a run of these films[[note]]''Paternity'', ''Best Friends'', ''The Man Who Loved Women''[[/note]], and Creator/GeneWilder had ''The Woman in Red'' -- which Wilder '''wrote and directed''', making Drew wonder about what kind of a person Wilder must have been in real life.

* VideoGameMoviesSuck: [[invoked]] Discussed along with its inverse (see above) in the "Video Games" bonus episode. Drew and Scott argue that it's generally easier and better to incorporate video game culture into films rather than try to straight-up translate the plots of video games into another medium. For example, ''Film/CloakAndDagger1984'' has a video game serve as a MacGuffin, and ''Film/TheLastStarfighter'' hinges on an arcade game actually being a means of finding starship fighter pilots. And even that can smack of desperation.

** With regards to childhood favorites, they feel that ''Film/SupermanIII'' defenders are very, ''very'' affected by this trope, with Scott even saying "Your childhood is '''''WRONG!'''''" In fact, when they get to films that are deeply, deeply loved by kids of the 1980s, Drew and Scott will warn the listener if they're about to tear them down, with ''Film/TheNeverEndingStory'' (July 1984) a case in point. They do believe, firmly, that people should like what they like (as discussed in a bonus feedback episode, regarding how their stinging ''Film/{{Condorman}}'' review garnered a surprising amount of response from fans of the film) -- but warn them to beware of revisiting childhood favorites all the same, arguing in the ''[=NeverEnding Story=]'' review that people who love that movie probably haven't watched it lately. The following month, the film is brought up again in their discussion of ''Film/CloakAndDagger''. Drew and Scott don't think ''Cloak'' completely works but unlike ''[=NeverEnding Story=]'', they point out it's ''earned'' its devoted fans via the genuinely moving depiction of a realistically troubled father-son relationship.

* VideoGameMoviesSuck: [[invoked]] Discussed along with its inverse (see above) in the "Video Games" bonus episode. Drew and Scott argue that it's generally easier and better to incorporate video game culture into films rather than try to straight-up translate the plots of video games into another medium. For example, ''Film/CloakAndDagger'' has a video game serve as a MacGuffin, and ''Film/TheLastStarfighter'' hinges on an arcade game actually being a means of finding starship fighter pilots. And even that can smack of desperation.

** Rat-based horror movies in 1983 (''Deadly Eyes'', ''Rats: Night of Terror'', one segment of ''Film/{{Nightmares}}'', ''Film/OfUnknownOrigin''). Drew theorizes that this wasn't due to one movie taking off but rather a bunch of producers seeing the same documentary about rats on TV and deciding the critters would make a good horror antagonist.

* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: Drew sees director Stanley Donen's final film turning out to be the morally reprehensible ''Blame It on Rio'' as a serious case of this for the guy who directed/co-directed films like ''Film/SinginInTheRain'' and ''Film/{{Charade}}''.

** April 1982: "''Battletruck''!" (a trailer-specific soundbite)

** Adaptations of characters who were fairly well known yet hadn't been seen on the big screen for decades -- Heidi, Pippi Longstocking, etc. Reasons why studios did this, especially early in the decade, vary -- ''Film/ZorroTheGayBlade'' was a SpiritualSuccessor to lead actor George Hamilton's hit Dracula comedy ''Film/LoveAtFirstBite'', ''Film/TheFiendishPlotOfDrFuManchu'' and ''Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen'' were parodies, ''The Legend of the Lone Ranger'' was trying to follow in the high-adventure footsteps of ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'', etc. '''None''' of these films were hits.

** Drew on February 1983's ''Threshold'', to the point of {{Corpsing}} even as he sincerely means it as a compliment: "If you're looking for a decently entertaining movie about somebody trying to build an artificial heart, you can't go too wrong with ''Threshold''."

** Discussed in July 1984: Scott was starting to feel too old for Franchise/TheMuppets by the time ''Film/TheMuppetsTakeManhattan'' was released, but "Saying Goodbye" brings him to tears -- every time -- nonetheless. Drew then recounts attending a press junket for ''Film/TheMuppets'': Kermit the Frog (as performed by Steve Whitmire) was available for interviews, and Drew saw a Mexican journalist burst into tears and hug Kermit upon entering the room. One of the attendants said that this was not the first time ''that day'' that tears flowed.

* BreakoutCharacter: In August 1983 the discussion of ''Curse of the Pink Panther'' brings up how Inspector Clouseau was this, as in the original ''Pink Panther'' he was a supporting character but wound up being the focus of the sequels because he was so popular. (Scott casually notes "He's like [[WesternAnimation/DespicableMe the Minions]] in that regard.")

* WolverinePublicity: In the November 1983 episode, they regard ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfsAndTheMagicFlute'' as a case of this for American kids. The 1976 animated feature predated [[WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs the famous Hanna-Barbera adaptation of the characters]] and as it adapts the original Johan and Peewit comic album that ''introduced'' the Smurfs (who became {{Breakout Character}}s), the little blue guys don't get a lot of screen time. Atlantic Releasing Corporation played up the Smurfs' presence when they picked up the film for an American release, and Drew and Scott imagine a lot of Smurf-loving kids were downright confused if not upset by the results -- especially since Atlantic didn't even bother to hire the H-B voice actors for their English-language dub.

* PetPeeveTrope: [[invoked]] Certain tropes and concepts can severely affect Drew and Scott's enjoyment of films that use them, or simply prove too annoying not to note when they appear.