Explorers (1985, J. Dante)

AllMovieGuide Synopsis:

Explorers turns out to be much ado about nothing, but it's so sublimely assembled we're willing to overlook the sappy climax. Young sci-fi geek Ben Crandall (Ethan Hawke) (could he possibly be based on director Joe Dante?) would give anything to travel in space. Thanks to his computer-happy pal Wolfgang Muller (River Phoenix), Ben gets his wish, together with best bud Darren Woods (Jason Presson). In the Great Beyond, the boys encounter an extraterrestrial (Robert Picardo), whose knowledge of earth is limited to what he's gleaned from 1960s TV sitcoms (this is unusual?) Lots of outer-space fun ensues before the film's inevitable downward spiral. Moderately successful in theatres, Explorers had a healthy second life on video and cable TV, especially after director Dante rethought the film and rearranged a few scenes for better dramatic (and comic) impact.

The previously mentioned 80's List preparation and the continuing thread on Joe Dante at The Criterion Forum has sparked something of a Dante renaissance recently. I always watch Gremlins at Christmastime and The Howling in October, but I haven't seen some of his filmography in quite a while. I revisited Innerspace a couple weekends ago and that will be a subject of a future post, but this post is all about Explorers.

Explorers is not a film I saw much in my youth. In fact, I can't remember if I ever even saw it beyond the VHS box cover at the video store. I find it hard to believe, as I was a slave to HBO back in the day and have seen anything Amblin produced roughly a billion times. But if I had watched it back then; I believe the film would've gotten me more into science. I was already playing "Cardboard Box Spaceship" when I was little but I feel this would've compelled me to build a real spaceship in my backyard with my friends. The Goonies made me want to go treasure hunting and The Monster Squad made me want to start a club to hunt vampires; I feel this film would've had the same impact. I think I could've ended up more like River Phoenix's character when in actuality I was probably more like Ethan Hawkes: all excitement and naivety.

Thoughts While Watching Explorers:

If made today, I feel like the kids would've taken they first spaceship test/trip twenty minutes earlier than they did. It was about 40-45 minutes before the kids tested the thing out. I think the film is better for it; there is more character development to make the test more exciting.

There's a not so subtle reference to Star Wars in the film. The only sci-fi film that Presson watches, on television at home that isn't a pre-existing film, resembles the Lucasfilm as the lead character is referred to as "Starkiller" (no-brainer) and when Starkiller says "he was my father" (no-brainer as in there's no brain).

When the kids meets aliens, one of the aliens spouts out nothing but pop culture sayings like "What's up, Doc?" and sings the Mr. Ed theme song. This particular alien character (as the other is well-spoken) seems to get all his information on the earth culture from the television; not unlike kids nowadays as well as the Presson character (although he doesn't go about quoting TV shows).

When an alien listens to Presson's Walkman, the looks at the boy questioningly. Either Presson or Phoenix says "It's 80's music. It's cool!" I laughed out loud. You would think that this would be a time-stamp on the film but I think that a number of people would still say that phrase (including myself).

It was moving when the kids land and they watch their spaceship sink.

And what's with the girl at the end? When Hawke sees the spaceship appear in the classroom and the kids go flying (literally, not in the spaceship), the girl is there and she kisses Hawke midair Superman-style. But why is she there? Is this a dream and she's the girl of his dreams and...? She saw the kids land in the spaceship, so she believes them and can go flying? The ending is simultaneously baffling, poetic, cheesy, and satisfying without being so.

I wish I had seen this more when I was younger, but I love it anyways. It's an 80's movie; it's cool!

Fandango (1985, K. Reynolds)

From All Movie Guide:

Plot Synopsis by Eleanor Mannikka
The still unknown Kevin Costner carries this film that involves five college roommates on a last "fandango" before they separately face the harsh realities of an unpredictable future. It is 1971, and the Vietnam War has not yet ended. Gardner Barnes (Costner) has extended his college years by six semesters in an attempt to stave off the rapidly approaching future, Kenneth (Sam Robards) has just canceled his wedding in a drunken look at reality, Lester (Brian Cesak) loves alcohol and tags along with the group just to have a good time, Dorman (Chuck Bush) is devoted to existentialism and flights of poetic fancy, and Phil (Judd Nelson) is barely a member of the group because he is consorting with the enemy: he is a member of ROTC. This unlikely mismatch cavorts through several classic college pranks, among them taking bets on daredevil acts like skydiving into the middle of nowhere. As their high jinks continue, it becomes apparent that their real desire is not to live a wild life for its own sake, but to postpone the moment when they will have to leave school and its lifestyle behind them.

I watched Fandango for the first time last night, in order to prep for my eventual "80's List" submission on The Criterion Forum. I sought it out because I thought I had read a poster in the 80's thread (thought, because now I can't find it) say he enjoyed it more than Levinson's "Diner". Tarantino also calls it one the best film writer/director debuts ever.

Now, I wouldn't go that far (on either statement; "Diner" is a better directorial debut). But it is a fairly enjoyable on-the-road/coming-of-age film bolstered by an ensemble cast including Kevin Costner, Sam Robards, Judd Nelson, and Chuck Bush as college grads on one last road trip before the 1971 Draft. There's some other dude that is asleep/nursing a hangover with them the whole time, but I honestly forgot about him for most the movie.

The use of this cast and how they frame them is what I enjoyed most about the film. Costner is in full swagger mode , Robards' character is the one who makes bad decisions, and Nelson is the whiny one who must learn to toughen up. They all have to mature and it's fairly typical, but what saves it are:

A great understated performance by Chuck Bush as "Dorman". He's the fourth of the four/five (yeah, that sleeping kid who's not in the poster. He's five, right?) guys taking the road trip and has no back story compared to Costner, Robards, and Nelson. He's just around to read Sartre and Gibran, and help out physically. He just barely has more of a character arc than the sleeping hangover kid. Which is too bad, because I enjoyed him the most. More so than the whininess of Robards and Nelson. This movie came out the same year Nelson was in "The Breakfast Club" and "St. Elmos Fire" (which I haven't seen in forever), which now looks like kind of a peak year for the Brat Packer.

With so many movies having trouble with their endings these days, I was honestly suprised that Reynolds ended the film like he did. Affectingly melancholic indeed. And no "Where Are They Now" title cards at the end!

I found a website dedicated to the film,Howaboutafandango.com, and I learned that a plane/helicopter sequence was filmed above the highways of my old hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma! Alot of the movie was filmed around Marfa, Texas ("Giant" is referenced in the film), the same location as recent films "No Country For Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood". I swear a gas station the Groovers stop at looks like one that Anton Sugur does.

The film is set in 1971, but really has that eighties feel to it. I can't really explain it any better than to point out it is produced by Amblin, at which point I feel like they were at a high point. Maybe it's Costner's mullet in a flashback/dream(?) sequence, or Robards' fiancee having crimped hair at one point...the airplane pilot goes to pick up Robards' fiancee in a big-house suburban type nighborhood...

But I digress; I enjoyed this film and was wondering who else has seen it. I don't think it adds anything new to it's genre(s), but is a great lazy afternoon hangout type flick to put on. I may be giving it a special pass because I enjoyed these types of films popping up on HBO, growing up in the eighties. I completely missed this one back then.

Reynolds went on to "Prince Of Thieves" and "Waterword", but I've heard that "The Beast" is worth watching. Has anyone seen it? I also read that Reynolds wrote the original script for "Red Dawn" which John Milius rewrote(re-Righted).