MovieChat Forums > Smooth Talk (1985) Discussion > Did the movie represent the 80s

Did the movie represent the 80s

posted 16 years ago by starships-1
7 replies | jump to latest

The song Handy Man by James Taylor, were kids in the 80s really listening to that. The mall scene is definitely 80s. The burger joint, maybe maybe not. The movie theater seemed a little ancient for the 80s. The clothes they wore seemed 80s. The house in the country didn't seem very 80s. and hitch hiking not very popular in the 80s. Most of the music was 80s except for some oldies, again not very 80s. When laura refers to Connie's sister as "old maid" was that an expression we used in the 80s to refer to a girl who's conservative and homely. Anyone else's observations.

[–] NuevoOzCinema 16 years ago

I'm not sure what you mean by "represent the 80s". Whatever socio-cultural stereotypes people ascribe to that decade, I don't think they're present in this movie. Connie's mall visit could just as easily have ocurred in the 1970s or even 60s. Keep in mind that the products in peoples' lives may hail from various eras. I grew up in the 70s-80s, but I recall an old vacuum cleaner we had which was made in the 50s. In 1985, when this film was released, my mother was still driving a 1973 Dodge. You can't expect every item in the movie to scream, "1985!". By the way, it's among my favorite films of that decade, and took Grand Prize at the United States Film Festival(now Sundance)that year.

[–] thePharoah90086 15 years ago

in a Word ... NO !!!

[–] justalottapage 15 years ago

Looked to be more like the early 70s.

[–] SiamBlu 15 years ago

I think she was listening to the song Handy Man reminiscing about when she was younger -- not so much that she was listening to it because it was the "latest" and "hippest" thing to listen to.

As for the other things...the burger joint, the movie theater, their house and hitch hiking -- I think there were parts of America where such things were common, particularly in rural America that was not over developed by urban sprawl. Therefore, I could see such sightings being common in such a place.

And Laura calling Connie's sister an "old maid", I think it's an expression some people use -- depending on where you come from. It's not necessarily a term confined to a specific generation.

In my opinion, it did represent the 80's because of the area in which they lived.

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[–] bogonbeast 15 years ago

I think that, because Smooth Talk was released in 1985, an attempt was made to give certain things an "80s feel" (the clothing, the stores in the mall, etc).

Still, keep in mind that ST is an adaptation of a short story by Joyce Carol Oates. The original story, titled "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" was written in the 1960s and, IMO, has a very "60s feel" to it. So it seems that some of the 60s atmosphere from the story spilled over into the film -- despite the filmmakers' efforts to update the material.

In any event, I don't think the film's era is particularly relevant. It's really just a story about a naive young girl who's bored with her provincial surroundings and yearns to experience a more adult, more adventurous, life. Then fate steps in and grants the girl her wish, and the girl finally realizes how good she had had it before.

So, really, I think the main theme of the story comes across regardless of what specific decade it takes place in.

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[–] Snoopymichele 12 years ago

The clothes and the hairstyles of the mom and every teen in the movie but June were 80's. In the 80's, James Taylor was still on the radio, albeit not Handyman-that was 1976-1977. But she could have loved the song because it reminded her of childhood. hence Jill just sitting there when Connie was singing along and dancing. One thing I have to say-young men in their late teens and early 20's in the mid-80's had that Sure Thing mentality, and they wouldn't have just settled for making out with a sexed up fox like Connie. The mall and the movie theater were really 80's-I remember standing in lines like that in my hometown. And I still hitchhiked in the mid-80's.

[–] lazarillo 10 years ago

The story is set in the 60's and the movie was made in the 80's, so I think they just kind kept the time period vague.

Some things were anachronistic. There was no such thing as an "old maid" in 1985 (and the gorgeous Elizabeth Berridge is VERY unconvincing as one). No young woman no matter how unattractive, overweight, completely stupid, and thoroughly obnoxious she may be, ever ended up an "old maid" by 1985. I'm not sure why that happened in earlier days, I suspect it's because those women were actually lesbians or suffered from mental illness.