It’s Thursday and I’m back with a new Thursday Movie Picks feature post. This series is hosted by Wandering through the Shelves and offers you a weekly prompt to post some movie recommendations/talking points according to the theme. Usually, you are supposed to post about 3-5 examples, which I find a very manageable amount.
Today’s theme is Movies That Haven’t Aged Well and was suggested by Getter @Mettel Ray, which is another fantastic blog if you are interested in all sorts of TV and movie content. I can really only recommend checking it out! As for the topic at hand, I have no idea if I’ll do well or not. I have a feeling that, if you take a closer look, a lot of movies from the past did not age well and have quite a lot of issues people wouldn’t tolerate these days. I’ll do my best to bring up some good examples, but just know that I know that there are a lot more movies out there that have issues.
American Beauty
This movie always creeped me out, but has won like 5 Academy Awards and was huge back in the day. I know that it’s not the only movie/story about a middle-aged man discovering himself and lusting after much younger/underage girls, but with this one, it’s just especially uncomfortable because of the discoveries about Spacey’s real life on top of everything.
The Breakfast Club
I liked the movie a lot when I first watched it and still think it has iconic scenes, but you really can’t think about a lot of those scenes too much or it will get really troublesome. Molly Ringwald has written her own essay about the matter, detailing why she is not comfortable with some scenes now (e.g. just think about the up-skirt-shot, even though a body double was used at the time, because she was still underage). Read her own words here.
Never Been Kissed
We can acknowledge that an adult made inappropriate remarks to someone they thought were their student and underage, even if that wasn’t the case in the end, right? I don’t want to bash these movies just to bash them, because that’s not the point of this post and Never Been Kissed is not the only movie with that sort of stuff. Even 10 Things I Hate About You had a principal that talked to her students about her erotic novel, which is just as inappropriate.
Life and Other Disasters 
Disney+ recently advertised Never Been Kissed to me and I just wanted to scream NOOOOOO at my screen. It’s not cute, it’s inappropriate, troublesome, and makes me very uneasy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, it’s really not as cute as they made it out to be. Like, kid me did not understand that part being inappropriate at all, because what is age?? But these days, I don’t like it? haha
LikeLiked by 1 person
I still really like ‘American Beauty’ and ‘The Breakfast Club.’
LikeLike
And that’s your prerogative.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Breakfast Club was the first one that came to my mind to. I remember enjoying it at first, but given enough time to think about certain moments takes away from the appeal.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Right? I like the archetypes etc., but there’s quite a lot wrong with that movie haha
LikeLike
It has been so very long since I saw Never Been Kissed my only clear memories of it are Drew Barrymore giving a good performance and she and the teacher being on a Ferris Wheel. I didn’t hate it but have never felt a pull to go back and watch it again.
American Beauty didn’t thrill me at the time although I thought the acting was strong. I do remember the scene where Wes Bentley and the daughter watched a video of a bag blowing and somehow thinking it was a deep statement. I thought it was vapid and dumb.
As with Never Been Kissed it’s been years since I last saw Breakfast Club and my feelings about it are about the same. I remember when it was out and people were just going into rhapsodies about it but I never found that much in the picture.
I struggled a bit but came up with three that opened to great acclaim but that the years have not been kind to.
Crash (2005)-Inexplicable Best Picture winner is a dreadful collection of noxious elitists having conniptions about all “the dark people” threatening their privileged existence in Los Angeles. Yuck!
Lovers and Other Strangers (1970)-They say nothing ages faster than topical comedy and here’s the proof! Awash in shag carpeting, Nehru jacket, love beads and “groovy” talk of raising consciousness, EST, and a bunch of other hippie dippy subjects of the ME decade. In its favor it does have a phenomenal cast-Bea Arthur, Cloris Leachman, Stiller & Meara, Gig Young, Bonnie Bedelia and in her screen bow Diane Keaton among others, plus the Oscar winning song “For All We Know”. This was a big hit, but you’ll be scratching your head as to why if you watch.
Easy Rider (1969)-Meandering biker flick was a seminal turning point in cinema the year of its release, made on a minuscule budget it was unbelievably successful becoming the fourth highest grossing film of 1969, creating the whole “Born to Be Wild” rebel motorcycle genre. But it is a collection of maddeningly diffuse thinkspeak vignettes when viewed today.
LikeLike
I can’t say that I have watched any of the movies I have mentioned recently. But since the assignment was about movies that haven’t aged well, they had to have been in the past haha
I also haven’t actually seen any of the movies you mentioned, so I can’t speak to them, but I hear you.
LikeLike
Sixteen Candles and Revenge of the Nerds both have scenes that have not aged well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I haven’t seen either, but I’ve spotted them on a couple lists, so I totally believe it.
LikeLike
Nice picks! American Beauty always creeped me out and the performances weren’t all that great either. I was never quite a big fan of The Breakfast Club either – not just the filming info of how they shot some of Molly’s scenes but the way her character ends up with Judd Nelsons after he berates throughout the entire film. That’s not a boyfriend teens should aspire to like or root for.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I heard so much rave about the Breakfast Club and then was kind of weirded out by some of the performances/scenes when I finally watched. I could still see the appeal, but also the issues.
LikeLike
Hmmm…men lusting after younger women…Charlie Chaplin, Harrison Ford, Dick Van Dyke, Tony Randall, etc… They all married women who were over the age limit(well, Charlie just squeaked by) but still this just shows that men will be …who they are. Tony Randal was in his late 70’s married to a 26 yr old and had a young child when he died which is just too old. I don’t get it but I almost think this is some deep neanderthal gene to be with someone young plus they are rich and famous and these women are fine with that(bleccchhh). I like American Beauty and found the scenes quite funny. I really try to look at the character and the actor not the scumbag. Never Been Kissed is like a girl’s daydream when we met a good-looking teacher we wish we could be with. I had my crush but he was a priest…what a waste. The Breakfast Club is just annoying. It was such a huge hit when it came out. When I finally saw it, I found Judd nelson’s character to be extremely annoying and the same with Molly Ringworm. The one I really liked, Ally Sheedy, was so interesting until she was made up to look popular…ughhh. That the dumb ass boys try and look up a girl’s skirt…nothing new and has always happened because they are horniness on wheels. Does this make it right? No! I was a victim of this and I felt violated and started smacking them. I think we need to have these films around, never censor but talk about it in a good discussion.
LikeLike
I rewatched American Beauty recently and it was such a disturbing film, and Spacey being in it made it even more unbereable.
LikeLike
Sorry for the delayed reply, for some reason your comment was in spam, but I completely understand! Knowing what we do about Spacey now just makes the movie even worse.
LikeLike
I am yet to see The Breakfast Club, which I hear is an excellent 80’s classic film.
LikeLike
It’s definitely not the best movie out there, but it is a classic indeed.
LikeLiked by 1 person