5Top: Best Forgotten 1980s Teen Flicks

Interesting factoid about Patrick Dempsey below...

Forgotten ’80s teen classic movies

By Tony Sclafani
MSNBC contributor
“The Last American Virgin” (1982)

Funny title notwithstanding, this Trojan Horse of a movie purports to
be a sexy comedy, but ends up as a warning about how Alpha Males will
always have the edge over Nice Guys. It starts out like “American
Pie,” with high school boys on a quest for ever-elusive girlie action.
But soon nerdy Gary (Lawrence Monoson) decides to court pregnant Karen
(Diane Franklin) who was just dumped by a pretty boy jock. At the risk
of spoiling the (depressing) ending, let’s just say there are now
entire blogs devoted to teaching Nice Guys how not to end up like poor
Gary.

“Heaven Help Us” (1985)

Long before the Catholic Church became mired in sex scandals, director
Michael Dinner and writer Charles Purpura were showing the abusive
side of clergy in this comic drama about 1960s Catholic School boys.
Problem was, the few people that actually saw this in the theaters
thought they were getting a teen comedy. Not quite. Future Brat Packer
Andrew McCarthy stars as an orphaned new-kid-in-town fending off bully
Kevin Dillon while acclimating to his new New York City home. Keep an
eye out for a teenage Dr. McDreamy in a supporting role and an ear out
for the great oldies soundtrack.

“Seven Minutes in Heaven” (1985)

Writer-director Linda Feferman gets great performances out of a very
young Jennifer Connelly and Maddie Corman (later of “Beverly Hills
90210”) in this tender coming-of-age comic drama. With themes running
the gamut from teen runaways to abusive parents and a somewhat maudlin
tone, this one veers just shy of “After School Special” territory. But
the sincere tone is what draws you in. Like “Pretty in Pink,” it found
more success on cable than in theaters.

“Vision Quest” (1985)

If I had hottie Linda Fiorentino hanging around my house in her
undies, I also might have made like Matthew Modine, who in this film
goes on a mission to be a top high school wrestler to Get the
Proverbial Girl. Seriously, director Harold Becker successfully melds
clichés from both sports and teen flicks to come up with a believable
mix of the “we’re number one!” and “boy gets girl” formulas. Mado
nna
fans will no doubt get into the groove of young Madge in her first big
screen role singing both “Crazy for You” and the little-heard non-LP
rocker “Gambler.”

“Morgan Stewart’s Coming Home” (1987)

OK, so they pretty much stole the title concept from “Ferris Bueller’s
Day Off.” This comedy didn’t have “Ferris’” je ne sais quois (or
a
fraction of its success) but it had more heart. “Two and a Half Men”
star Jon Cryer plays a senator’s son who is dumped off at boarding
school and summoned back to Washington, D.C. only when his calculating
folks need him to keep up appearances. Upon his return home, he
connects with a family, but it’s not his own. Contrived but cute — and
with some great footage of Washington at night.

Link :
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25144870
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