Wednesday, March 23, 2005

STOP THE PRESSES!

Holy crap, I'm so excited about a recent online find. Years ago, I saw a movie called "The Last American Virgin" on VHS. As I was in high school at the time, I enjoyed every minute of it. Over the past few years, I have periodically checked online to see if it was available on DVD and have always been disappointed. In fact, it wasn't even available on VHS. Recently, I checked again and lo and behold, it has come out on DVD! I ordered it without hestitating, for fear that I was imagining it. It should be arriving any day now and I just cannot wait.



For those who have never heard of it, "The Last American Virgin" is, in my estimation, the quintissential '80's teen movie. Juvenile humor, raunchy jokes, unrequited love, teen angst, it's all here, accompanied by the ubiquitous high school party scene and an unbelievably great soundtrack that features such 80's luminaries as Devo, the Cars, and even has the song "Oh No" by the Commodores (which you may remember from my post a few days ago). And, perhaps the best thing about the movie is that the female lead is played by none other than...wait for it...Diane Franklin! If you don't know who Diane Franklin is then, frankly, I question your knowledge of '80's films (you may not recognize the name but if you grew up in the '80's, I guarantee you'll recognize the face). Here's my recommendation if you're going to check out this film - don't read anything about it first. Don't google it. Don't read reviews. Don't even read the back of the box. Just get it and watch it. It's the only way to get the full effect. Going into it without knowing anything about it is the best way to enjoy it.

Rik

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Rik, I'm sure Diane Franklin is the same girl who appeared in "Amityville2", played one of the children in the family murdered by the eldest son. I also like to collect 80's movies on DVD. Latest acquisition is "10 to Midnight" with Charles Bronson.

Rik said...

Suannie - Right you are, she was in "Amityville2". Most people know her as the French foreign exchange student that Ricky (who would later gain fame as Dennis on "Head of the Class") had his tentacles all over in "Better Off Dead".

I remember seeing "10 to Midnight" when I was a kid. Looking back, I was probably a bit too young for that one. But it did star another of those '80's legends, Jan Michael Vincent (remember "Airwolf"?!)

Rik

Jo Travels said...

i dont know if i have seen this but i think so...

remember revenge of the nerds? i had fun with that and also the police academy 1 (the rest were corny).

have seen amityville too but nightmare on elm street i think was better.

and speaking of better, i too have seen better off dead :-)

Rik said...

MissT, Holy crap, how could I have forgotten Revenge of the Nerds?!!!! I ought to be shot! I'd better go amend my Top 10 list...

And you're 100% right ,the first Police Academy was great but the rest sucked. "Nightmare on Elm Street" is a classic too. I wasn't much of an Amityville fan.

Rik

Ed said...

I was going to comment on her being in one of my favorites "Better Off Dead" but you mentioned if first. So then it was going to be my next favorite "Revenge of the Nerds" but then someone else mentioned it first. So I'll mention another one a ways down on the list; she played Princess Joanna in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure."

Rik said...

Ed, I remember seeing that one in the theater. The movie itself was disappointing, but she was the saving grace. I never understodd how Molly Ringwald became the "it" girl in the '80's. She was not...pretty.

Rik

Anonymous said...

Before I saw "10 to Midnight" again after so many years, I vaguely remember that the actor who played the psychopathic guy was Jan Michael Vincent but it was actually a lesser known actor named Gene Davis who has some resemblance to Vincent.

Jo Travels said...

i think i watched the revenge o the nerds 10x! at that time it was betamax in the philippines, haha

and yeah, molly ringwald doesnt have the "it". strange.

another nice for us girls is sarah jessica parkers, "girls just wanna have fun" movie.

hey suannie, you better get yourself a blog! :-)

Anonymous said...

Jori, I am really tempted to jump in the bandwagon but what I need first is a "clear head" and lots of materials to start off. I might surprise you one these days, we'll see.:)

Rik said...

Suannie - I stand corrected. I thought sure it was Jan Micheal Vincent in that. I guess it's just been too long since I've seen it. Either that or I'm starting to get old...

Rik