I think it could have done with a scene where the boys are playing nintendo. That's how most kids spent their summer.
shareTHank god this wasn't:
New Kids on the Block. the Arrogant asshole Justin Beibers of their time, their leader did a little Pennywise-ism of his own.
I'd go with Airplane!, only Paramount released it, and in 1980 (if Paramount's more recent, in the late 1980s, refences COULD be cleared, Naked Gun).
more films showing at the cinema (e.g. Indy, GB2 and Star Trek V). maybe one of the kids watching Star Trek TNG on tv :)
maybe some more films posters in the room - e.g. Return of the Jedi, Temple of Doom, BTTF, Terminator, Aliens, Robocop, etc and Batman (cmon every kid had a frickin Bat logo poster up in 89!), maybe someone wearing a Bat t shirt too (again every kid was wearing that back then)
In 1989 me and my friends were all collecting batman trading cards. That was a lot of fun. Trading, seeing friends with rare cards you've never seen before.
shareGhostbusters poster instead of Gremlins. Gremlins was pretty forgotten by 1988. But Ghostbusters was a hot toy line and cartoon. And it fits with the theme of the movie.
shareYeah we had family computers, the red ones and then the blue ones, and the first Nintendo in the 80s and early 90s (before playstations), I remember the boys bring a bit obsessed with it in my neighborhood. I wondered by they didn't feature that one thing a lot of kids did as the time.
shareAnd the gameboy came out in summer 1989. A good joke could have been about how good the graphics were or something.
shareSeriously? OK, I've got one: how about a reference to HOW STUPID THIS THREAD IS?
period piece movies provoke interest, particularly those of which many of us here lived through.
shareI should point out that the movie already had plenty of 80s references: any more and it would've made the movie 20 minutes longer or more!
A reference can be as simple as a t-shirt, or song playing on the radio.
share The current references the film had should have been dwarfed by the main ones. Nintendo was definitly bigger then new kds on the block. During that time I coulden't stand New kids on the block but thats all they would play at schools. IE they coulden't play guns n roses during gym class.
I can't stand Nintendo to this day, but it's all I ever hear about from nostalgic YouTube celebrities! If you ask me, the Commodore Amiga should've been in the NES's place, but no-one in the USA cared about that amazing PC-beating platform, only us Europeans and Brits. I like the year setting in this movie because the Demoscene was just starting out at that point.
except that it was like $1500 which is like $3000 in todays compared to the $100 NES of the time.
shareDo you know if that was the original Amiga 1000 or the cheaper and popular Amiga 500? I think the A500 (launched in 1987) may have been launched AFTER the NES, so it wouldn't have mattered anyway, as Nintendo cornered the market first.
I'm referring to the origina Amiga. Even back then we still considered the NES and the Amiga as apples and oranges. One was an entire computer the other was just a toy.
None. All the references in the film stood out as references - the music stood apart from the scenes without adding to or being part of them, the NKOTB poster was unnecessary, and so on. There are almost no references in the original miniseries and you can still tell it's not of this time - and that's something you can do more by leaving things out rather than adding specific reference points.
shareThe New Kids on the block poster was more of a joke than a reference. They would be pretty far down on the list when it comes to 80s music. But they were insanely popular with girls, and boys acted like they hated them, but they were a guilty pleasure for many. So Ben being a fan, but not wanting his friends to find out worked really well
shareI had a male friend who when I visited turned out was a big fan. He called them NKOTB and I was shocked that he of all people would be a fan.
shareIn the 1990s when the boys started acting like jackasses, showing their asses on some cruise ship, literally setting a hotel on fire, and it was a SOUTHERN one, with them in rap pants, it sure attracted boys. I've basically personally resented this and have pointed it out as being a terrible turning point for the group and with Lindsay Lohan in the later 2000s and currently Justin Bieber I sure expect it. :(
shareI don't disagree with you about the popularity of the band. And I get the joke. But it's jarring and unnecessary is the point I'm making. It isn't just a poster on a wall, it's pointed out and as a result it stands out in a bad way rather than casually indicating that it's the 80s.
share Yea thats pretty much how I saw them. Girls loved them but boys just put up with them to be around the girls. It was more an elementary school thing then Junior High and up.
Glad you pointed that out. I was a toddler in 89 so I was confused why he was ashamed to be a fan of NKOTB. I thought both sexes enjoyed them
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