Latest / The Director's Chair Network / National Lampoon's Class Reunion
Transcript
- 0:48 48 seconds Hello. Hello, I'm Katie and welcome back to Retro Made where we dive into the movies and moments that shaped our pop culture past. 0:57 57 seconds Today we're rewinding to 1982, a year packed with iconic hits and trends. 1:03 1 minute, 3 seconds But instead of each year, fast Times at Richmont High, we're gonna look at National Lampoons experiment that didn't quite land class reunion. 1:15 1 minute, 15 seconds Now, today I am gonna go guest free solo. So, I hope you like it. Now, the reason for that is because this lovely movie, uh, not readily available. 1:26 1 minute, 26 seconds And so what I do a lot of times when this happens, which isn't super common, but 1:31 1 minute, 31 seconds in the rare instances where it does, I go the extra mile and I will tell you guys, I want the extra, extra mile for you today. 1:40 1 minute, 40 seconds Believe it or not. Some of you might be wondering, Katie, how old are you? Use the library. Heck yeah. 1:44 1 minute, 44 seconds It has this feature called Prospector, where you can search for the title that you're looking for and branches might be in another Denver library branch, but more often 1:53 1 minute, 53 seconds than not, it's from a participating branch somewhere in the network . One. One thing that I was highlighted by my doing this is. 2:02 2 minutes, 2 seconds that dvds can be damaged and thus unplayable There were scene chapters, 2:06 2 minutes, 6 seconds so I could tell that I had only seen a, a small portion of it, so I went to YouTube for clips to fill in the blanks even that was hard to come by. 2:13 2 minutes, 13 seconds So I pieced together as much as I possibly could, um, from the synopsis online and the YouTube clips. 2:22 2 minutes, 22 seconds And, you know, I, I did a little bit of guesswork, but, um. This is maybe gonna be a shit show of an episode, but I hope you tune in anyway. 2:31 2 minutes, 31 seconds And, um, you know, if you're thinking, well, Katie, I'm not sure why you went to such trouble for this movie that no one knew existed. 2:38 2 minutes, 38 seconds Well, I can't help it because I did on this season set out to cover John Hughes and Damnit, I'm going to complete it. 2:46 2 minutes, 46 seconds And now it would be a good time to request a tip. 2:50 2 minutes, 50 seconds Uh, if you appreciate the effort, you can check the show notes for a link to my tip page on Captivate. It's the last link. If you've never done that before, I'd certainly appreciate it. 2:58 2 minutes, 58 seconds There is a lot of effort that goes into this. I'm also using, a different software to record this episode, because each piece 3:07 3 minutes, 7 seconds of software that I use costs a few hundred bucks a year, and so I'm thinking about consolidating because now the software that I use to edit also offers a way. 3:18 3 minutes, 18 seconds To record video. So I'm testing that out on this episode, so perhaps I can, uh, consolidate and get rid of what I had been using to just record. 3:27 3 minutes, 27 seconds So, uh, we shall see. So anyway, , hey, this isn't free, it's a hobby podcast. I'd appreciate a tip if you feel so inclined. Alright, let's get into it. 3:36 3 minutes, 36 seconds This is a great time to also tell you that if you have thoughts, requests, anything, 3:43 3 minutes, 43 seconds email me Retro Made podcast@gmail.com. 3:46 3 minutes, 46 seconds Now, one person who did just that, Zoe from Backlog Cinema podcast, he writes and this is in reference to the last episode that I'm sure some of you missed as well because it was on Flubber, but you shouldn't. 3:59 3 minutes, 59 seconds I do highly recommend you listen to it because even if the movie doesn't trip your trigger, perhaps the episode covering it might 'cause sometimes those kind of movies, um, have some interesting discussions. 4:11 4 minutes, 11 seconds At any rate, Zoe writes, thank you for watching Flubber so that I wouldn't have to. Disney probably saw that movie as a failure. 4:19 4 minutes, 19 seconds Is, there are a few things that Disney needs for a movie to do for them to consider it a success. Um, and he's got some bulleted points here, which I very appreciate one. 4:29 4 minutes, 29 seconds It had to have made at least three times it, its budget. Two, it had to drive traffic to the amusement park. 4:36 4 minutes, 36 seconds And nowadays Disney plus three, it had to drive merchandising, like toys and clothes. 4:43 4 minutes, 43 seconds And the last point, he says it had to drive sequels, prequels, or remakes. 4:47 4 minutes, 47 seconds This is a big one because like a car salesman, they're not selling you one movie. Three. Those are my theories. Thanks again for all you do. 4:56 4 minutes, 56 seconds See you around. Well, thank you Zoe. I very appreciate your thoughtful insights. 5:00 5 minutes And like I said, if you wanna be like Z, send me an email Retro Made podcast@gmail.com. Okay, this is 1982. 5:08 5 minutes, 8 seconds And there are no other John Hughes movies that we're gonna cover in 1982. 5:12 5 minutes, 12 seconds There were a couple in 83, but we shall do an abbreviated version of the time capsule so that we don't miss some of those fun pop culture memories from 1982. 5:22 5 minutes, 22 seconds So let's open the time capsule. This movie came out October 82, so yes, we will consider this a spooky season episode for a couple of reasons. 5:34 5 minutes, 34 seconds We'll get into it, but before we get into the movie, let's talk about some of the movies that were in the theater that did well unlike class reunion, uh, at the box office. 5:48 5 minutes, 48 seconds Now, since I'm going solo, I am going to still ask these in the form of a question so that you at home. 5:55 5 minutes, 55 seconds It can, uh, test your knowledge and see if you can guess. The movies, the number one movie at the box office for 1982. 6:04 6 minutes, 4 seconds Here's your clue, guys at home. 6:07 6 minutes, 7 seconds This film was so successful that it displaced the original Star Wars as the highest grossing film of all time. 6:14 6 minutes, 14 seconds Its screenplay, was a joint effort between Melissa Matheson and its Oscar 6:20 6 minutes, 20 seconds winning director who chose not to use the character's signature flying ship and instead depicted his transportation via a child basket and a bicycle. 6:31 6 minutes, 31 seconds I think I just gave it away. What was this film, you guys? Yes, of course. It was E, the Extraterrestrial. Okay. 6:39 6 minutes, 39 seconds Number two, this might be a little. Tougher. This 1982 comedy drama features a character played by Dustin Hoffman, 6:49 6 minutes, 49 seconds who takes on a new identity, including a specific hairstyle after finding inspiration from a real life Broadway producer he'd worked with previously. 6:59 6 minutes, 59 seconds What film is this? Yeah, I guess I'm kind of surprised this was the number two film, but it is Tootsie, you guys. 7:06 7 minutes, 6 seconds Tootsie, number two, film 1982, man. All right, number three. 7:12 7 minutes, 12 seconds In this drama, a key sequence involves a character played by Richard Gere, probably giving it away end. 7:19 7 minutes, 19 seconds During punishing physical training at the mercy of a sergeant portrayed by Louis Gossett Jr. 7:25 7 minutes, 25 seconds Gossett Jr. Famously stayed in his roles persona offset and in once seen Ashley injured gear while berating him. 7:32 7 minutes, 32 seconds I didn't know that, but what was this film, you guys? Yep, an officer and a gentleman. Number four. 7:40 7 minutes, 40 seconds A. Um, I'm gonna be really disappointed if you guys don't get this immediately because there's no way to give a clue for this movie without giving it away. 7:50 7 minutes, 50 seconds I think, um, this boxing sequel introduced a new theme song I of the Tiger by the band's survivor after the original theme was unavailable. 8:01 8 minutes, 1 second PS bonus points. If you know what the original song they wanted was. 8:05 8 minutes, 5 seconds The film also features the professional wrestling debut of Hulk Hogan in a match with the title character. What was this movie? 8:13 8 minutes, 13 seconds There's also another, I think, introducing, of course, it's Rocky three, and who was the other character that I'm referring to? 8:20 8 minutes, 20 seconds Obviously Mr. T. And who was the original song that they wanted is the theme other than I have the Tiger. I'm so glad that it's, I have the tiger, but Rocky nerds know this, 8:30 8 minutes, 30 seconds but if you're not a rocky nerd. It's Queens. Another one bites the dust. Number five. 8:37 8 minutes, 37 seconds This ComEd's infamous shower scene takes place at the fictional Angel Beach High School in Florida. 8:44 8 minutes, 44 seconds This film was actually produced in Canada. Well, I didn't know that. 8:47 8 minutes, 47 seconds And the school scenes were shot at a real high school that had been temporarily closed. What is this film? 8:54 8 minutes, 54 seconds I didn't realize this was such a popular movie in the theaters. The answer's porkies. I sort of thought it was just like a video rental that I don't know. 9:04 9 minutes, 4 seconds Anyway, yeah, there we go. 9:05 9 minutes, 5 seconds Alright, . I'm, cherry picking are categories because this is an abbreviated version since I don't have a guest to spin the wheel with. And I'm just asking you guys some questions. 9:15 9 minutes, 15 seconds Here we go. No. I was gonna do tv, but we did a lot of the tv last season. And to be honest with you. They're not as fun. 9:22 9 minutes, 22 seconds 80, the early eighties are just all soaps and I didn't really care that much about them, so, so I'm skipping those and, um, yeah, I think let's go, let's just skip down to do the boombox bangers. 9:35 9 minutes, 35 seconds Maybe here are your trivia questions for the top five Billboard songs of 1982. 9:44 9 minutes, 44 seconds Let's see. They're all super easy. One of which is a total giveaway, okay. What Pop Rock Single, which was the highest ranking song of 1982, 9:53 9 minutes, 53 seconds had its first 10 weeks at number one split between 81 and 82. Hopefully that's a, a good clue for you. 10:02 10 minutes, 2 seconds Olivia Newton, John's Physical. It is a really great song. 10:07 10 minutes, 7 seconds But yeah, so it was super popular under 81 and then continued its popularity so much so in 82, that it was the number one song for that year, even though it came out in 81. 10:17 10 minutes, 17 seconds Okay, number two, what song, which reached number one for seven weeks in 1982 was originally released by the Arrows in 1975 and written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker. 10:31 10 minutes, 31 seconds I don't know who they are, nor have I heard of the arrows. If you do bonus points, but what was this song? 10:42 10 minutes, 42 seconds It is, I Love Rock and Roll by Joan Jet and The Black Hearts. Okay. Number three, this song from 1982. 10:50 10 minutes, 50 seconds Uses a black and white piano keys as a metaphor for racial harmony and unity with the message that different people can live together in perfect harmony. 11:01 11 minutes, 1 second It was a collaboration. Who were the collaborators and what was the song? Ebony and Ivory by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. 11:09 11 minutes, 9 seconds Number four. This song was famously featured as the theme for. 11:15 11 minutes, 15 seconds For one of our top movies, the band was inspired to write it after being asked to compose it by the director of that movie, uh, himself, who 11:26 11 minutes, 26 seconds was a fan of their previous single poor Man's Son. Okay. Tried to make it a little harder than originally was. 11:33 11 minutes, 33 seconds What was this song? It is Eye of the Tiger by Survivor. Yes. Hopefully you got that. 'cause I gave away one of the movies. 11:43 11 minutes, 43 seconds This is The last one. What was the title of the number one single from Jay Gilles Band in 1982, 11:48 11 minutes, 48 seconds which featured a music video centered around a high school newspaper and its editor's crush on a past model. 11:56 11 minutes, 56 seconds I actually don't think I've seen this video. But yeah, I think the only song I know by Jake Isles band is this one. 12:04 12 minutes, 4 seconds Centerfold. Okay, you guys, that was 1982. 12:08 12 minutes, 8 seconds Our little abbreviated time capsule with movies and music, but now it is time to get into National Lampoons class reunion. 12:26 12 minutes, 26 seconds Okay, so did anybody know about this movie? Has anyone seen it? You have to let me know now the title. 12:35 12 minutes, 35 seconds I think is a little misleading and we'll get into that a little bit more, in a little bit, but yes, it is actually very, very much in theme with spooky 12:46 12 minutes, 46 seconds season because it's a parody, slapstick, comedy and horror as the, um, actually I will just read you I will read you from the actual DVD cover some stuff. 12:58 12 minutes, 58 seconds It says, written by the creator of Ferris Bueller's Day Off and the Breakfast Club. 13:06 13 minutes, 6 seconds Let's see, it says Screening International apparently said that it is splendid outrageousness packed with sight gags and good one liners. 13:15 13 minutes, 15 seconds Hmm, interesting. Eh, or it says this is what it's about from National Lampoon screenwriter, John Hughes. 13:23 13 minutes, 23 seconds And writer Michael Miller of Silent Rage, which we'll talk about, comes this very funny teen horror parody set in the hallowed halls of a boarded up high school. 13:36 13 minutes, 36 seconds It's not boarded up, so I dunno why it says that, but it's the Lizzie board in high school, I think, I don't know, I don't know what's happening here. 13:43 13 minutes, 43 seconds This movie, this, there's, there's bait and switch all over the place with this, but, um, it, okay, it goes on to say, then featuring Oscar nominee. 13:53 13 minutes, 53 seconds Michael Lerner, and he was Oscar nominated , for his supporting role in Barton Fink. 14:03 14 minutes, 3 seconds Okay. Class reunion will make you scream and shake with laughter. It's been 10 years since Lizzie Borden high school's class of 72 graduated, 14:11 14 minutes, 11 seconds and everyone the preppies, the hippies, and the in-crowd has returned to reminisce over good times past. 14:17 14 minutes, 17 seconds But classmate Walter Baylor has returned two with a vengeance. While the rest of the gang is misbehaving at their alma mater, Walter, 14:27 14 minutes, 27 seconds . Who was a misunderstood freak then and a certified psychopath now is still not over a prank plate on him a decade ago and out to wreak havoc of a different sort. 14:40 14 minutes, 40 seconds Okay, so that's at that. That's actually what happened. So that's what it's about. And based on the name of this, you would not know that that's what it's about. 14:48 14 minutes, 48 seconds I sort of thought we were gonna be in for. You know, like, uh, like an animal house style, like class reunion. 14:56 14 minutes, 56 seconds Like we, we get some of your typical high school stereotypes and what usually goes on at class reunions, and there's a lot of fun to be had with that. 15:05 15 minutes, 5 seconds But they used that and also combined it with, a satirical play on horror movies of the time. 15:14 15 minutes, 14 seconds So it is right at R and it did come out just before Halloween in 1982 October 29th to be exact. It's pretty short. 15:22 15 minutes, 22 seconds It's only an hour and 24 minutes, which is wild considering that there were several scene stretching tactics going on in this movie. 15:31 15 minutes, 31 seconds Okay. If you're wondering, geez, Katie. I've never heard of this. Is it good? 15:37 15 minutes, 37 seconds Well, it's a 4.6 on IMDB and, uh, let's talk about that. 15:44 15 minutes, 44 seconds So, national Lampoon's class reunion was the second big screen movie that was released from the original National Lampoon Company. 15:52 15 minutes, 52 seconds The movie did have a huge buildup because of, uh, animal House, I believe, and viewers expected it to be another hit. Yeah. 15:59 15 minutes, 59 seconds As a follow up to Animal House, their first big screen released in 1978, which for comparison has a 7.4 on IMDB. 16:10 16 minutes, 10 seconds That is shocking to me, and I, I don't think I've seen Animal House. 16:16 16 minutes, 16 seconds It's possible I've seen clips, but for whatever reason, I don't know. It was that time. I, it missed me and I never came back to it. 16:24 16 minutes, 24 seconds And, uh, I don't think it sounds that great. Um, but it does have a 7.4, so stay tuned. We shall see. 16:31 16 minutes, 31 seconds Maybe I'll give it a watch at some point. Also what's interesting is that this is the third film actually from the magazine. 16:39 16 minutes, 39 seconds It was the second film released because there was another movie that should have come out before it, but was delayed, and that is. 16:49 16 minutes, 49 seconds Also a movie I'd never heard of. National Lampoon goes to the movies. 16:53 16 minutes, 53 seconds It was filmed in 81, so before this one, but it was delayed and not actually widely released. 17:00 17 minutes I think it had like a really small release at some point in 82, but not widely released until 1983. So interesting. 17:08 17 minutes, 8 seconds Sort of, I guess now Michael Miller is our director here. I am not familiar and you might not be either. 17:15 17 minutes, 15 seconds He did direct Jackson County Jail in 1976 and a number of made for TV movies. 17:22 17 minutes, 22 seconds Apparently we are supposed to, um, know him from Silent Rage that maybe is like his most known movie and I've not seen that. 17:32 17 minutes, 32 seconds So, sorry. John Hughes, the whole season we're doing on Retro Made on John Hughes. He is a writer here. 17:40 17 minutes, 40 seconds He, this was the first produced cinema movie screenplay, solely written by John Hughes. 17:48 17 minutes, 48 seconds He admitted to not being particularly proud of the script. Gee, I wonder, so he claims that he was actually fired from this movie. 17:56 17 minutes, 56 seconds His quote is, they didn't even want me around and I was shocked when I saw the movie. 18:01 18 minutes, 1 second He said my screenplay had been completely butchered and my name will nevertheless be on the credits forever. 18:10 18 minutes, 10 seconds Now, I feel like he's said this a number of times. 18:13 18 minutes, 13 seconds So whether purposefully or not purposely as we've gotten to in show in, you know, some of his later work, I think he had just given up and pulled some of his, tropes into a hat and pulled them out and bing, bang, 18:23 18 minutes, 23 seconds boom, here's a script, a La Leber. 18:26 18 minutes, 26 seconds But this movie maybe he was, you know, he was still kind of, not still, he was actually trying to make a name for himself at this time. It was early on in his career. 18:35 18 minutes, 35 seconds But I guess I would be very curious to see what his original script was and how it differs from what we got because it's very, it's hard to even describe this movie. 18:47 18 minutes, 47 seconds It's different than what you think it's gonna be there's certain parts of it that are fun. There's certain parts of it that are like, what on earth is happening? 18:57 18 minutes, 57 seconds And none of it makes any sense. But there's little, little things here and there that are kind of smart. 19:03 19 minutes, 3 seconds But yeah, I mean, like for example, this is the graduating class of the Lizzie Borden High School. 19:10 19 minutes, 10 seconds It says on the invitation the opening credits is actually kind of. 19:16 19 minutes, 16 seconds Unique, or at least it's kind of a, a unique way of introducing us to the characters by showing us their yearbook pictures and like who they were in high school, what clubs they were in. 19:27 19 minutes, 27 seconds This person was, voted to be most likely x, y, z, that, that kind of a thing. 19:31 19 minutes, 31 seconds So that was, , a nice way of introducing us to who these people were in the opening credits. And I think then. 19:38 19 minutes, 38 seconds After that, then there's a little, a little scene from 10 years ago, and then we we show like the invitation in script writing with the picture of the high school. 19:47 19 minutes, 47 seconds And I think there was something like there. Uh. Their motto or something in this high school is like a cut above the rest. 19:55 19 minutes, 55 seconds So little, little touches like that. And so I'm open-minded watching this. I'm like, okay, this is gonna be fun. 20:03 20 minutes, 3 seconds I mean, this is not, I'll be honest, this is not usually my, my genre, but I can have fun. I can have fun with slapstick and I like a parody. 20:13 20 minutes, 13 seconds I don't love horror. 20:14 20 minutes, 14 seconds There are exceptions of those, but I'm like, oh, score, like a parody of horror movies. I'm in for this. 20:20 20 minutes, 20 seconds But it was, well, yeah, we'll get to it in a little bit, but, um, but, so yeah, let's, now before we get into the meat of the movie, let's introduce you guys to who some of our players are. 20:31 20 minutes, 31 seconds Um, some of them you'll be familiar with and some not. Again, this is a movie from 82. 20:37 20 minutes, 37 seconds I, I mean, like, I'm a year old at this point, so I don't know very many of these people. But I did look them up and I'm like, okay, they're, so and so from such and such. 20:45 20 minutes, 45 seconds Our top build actor here, I do know because he was in a movie we covered last season. 20:51 20 minutes, 51 seconds Garrett Graham plays Bob Spinnaker, and he is your typical. Like he was the class president. 20:59 20 minutes, 59 seconds He's your typical, popular high school guy, and now he's a snooty yacht salesman. 21:04 21 minutes, 4 seconds And we talked about him last season because he played Jeff in used cars with Kurt Russell and. From 1980. 21:12 21 minutes, 12 seconds So yeah, I mean this, the early eighties seemed very seventies esque to me. 21:18 21 minutes, 18 seconds I've talked about this on the show a lot too, where the eighties are, I wonder if all decades are this way. 'cause I feel like the nineties were similar, early nineties, 21:27 21 minutes, 27 seconds very different from the late nineties, but I feel like the. Eighties had three distinct periods. The early eighties, the mid eighties and late eighties. 21:37 21 minutes, 37 seconds Anyway, this is the early eighties, which wreaked of late seventies still. So anyway, Garrett Graham. So I'm like, all right, score. 21:44 21 minutes, 44 seconds And then Michael Lerner he plays Dr. Robert Young, so he is the doctor of this insane asylum the killer. 21:52 21 minutes, 52 seconds Spoiler, there's a killer on the loose. The killer breaks out of this, asylum and Dr. Robert Young is from there. 21:58 21 minutes, 58 seconds He's played by Michael Lerner and some of you might be familiar with the name. 22:03 22 minutes, 3 seconds If not, he's very familiar looking and like I mentioned, he actually won an Oscar for his role in Barton Fink, and that was in 91. 22:12 22 minutes, 12 seconds He also played a gangster in Harlem Knights. An 89 movie. 22:16 22 minutes, 16 seconds And then also a movie that you'll all probably be rewatching in the upcoming holiday season is Elf. 22:23 22 minutes, 23 seconds And he played Buddy's Boss in in Elf. So that's Michael Lerner. He's in this. 22:29 22 minutes, 29 seconds Then we have our, our in the yearbook is listed as the Class Zero. No one rem remembers him. And that's kind of the gag of, you know, of the movie. 22:38 22 minutes, 38 seconds Literally, he was a nobody in high school and no one remembers him now. His character's name is Gary Nash. Really generic dude's name. 22:47 22 minutes, 47 seconds Well, he's played by Fred McCarran. And, uh, just like his character, he is your typical every man character. 22:54 22 minutes, 54 seconds Just your like very av I mean, he's like kind of all right looking typical white. 23:01 23 minutes, 1 second Normal looking everyday guy. Right? And that's who he plays. Like he's known for those, those types of roles. 23:09 23 minutes, 9 seconds 'cause he, I mean he looks like that. Well, I did not know that there was a TV movie version of used cars that came out four years later in 1984. 23:19 23 minutes, 19 seconds And, um, this Fred McCarran played Rudy Russo in that. I don't know why we needed another version of it, but apparently we got one. 23:29 23 minutes, 29 seconds And then this Fred he had a lot of other episodic TV work including a number of episodes on Hill Street Blues, gimme a Break Too Close For 23:37 23 minutes, 37 seconds Comfort And The Golden Girls, Miriam Flynn is another character that must be 23:46 23 minutes, 46 seconds it's interesting because Hughes has his people, and this is very early on with Hughes, but Miriam Flynn plays Bunny, the Class Ts, and she's like kind of in charge of the reunion, and I think it's particularly her hairstyle. 24:01 24 minutes, 1 second She. Fucking looks 50, but these people are 28. Okay. It's 10. I mean, they're supposed to be playing 28 year olds, which is wild. 24:09 24 minutes, 9 seconds Um, but they all look 45. 24:11 24 minutes, 11 seconds But Bunny especially looked 50 because she has that old lady hairstyle and her dress, like, she's just very, I don't know, prim and proper. 24:19 24 minutes, 19 seconds And she's in pr so she's just like, um, just like a phony type. You know the type everyone. So that's, bunny played by Miriam flm. 24:29 24 minutes, 29 seconds We talked about her actually in two episodes from 1983 because she played ca cousin Catherine in vacation, also National Lampoons. 24:39 24 minutes, 39 seconds And then she also played Annette in Mr. Mom. 24:43 24 minutes, 43 seconds And Annette, I think was the one who was like really, really angling after, uh, Michael Keaton's character. Those were both from 1983. 24:51 24 minutes, 51 seconds She also, has a lot of voice work. She voiced ma in Babe, for example. 24:58 24 minutes, 58 seconds We have like your kind of slovenly like sheisty guy that wears a lot of chains, overweight. 25:06 25 minutes, 6 seconds Everybody thinks he's gross. Hubert Downs is this character's name. He's played by Steven first, and uh, he was also in animal house. 25:17 25 minutes, 17 seconds He playing flounder. So there you go. 25:20 25 minutes, 20 seconds There's a blind girl and this is played for gags 'cause she has a seeing eye dog that doesn't behave. And so obvious, very cheap humor. 25:28 25 minutes, 28 seconds But being blind is played for gags here, the character's name is Iris GaN. 25:33 25 minutes, 33 seconds She's played by Maria Small, which I guess she goes by Muse Small now, but in 1982 she went, her name was Maria. 25:46 25 minutes, 46 seconds She, uh, is known probably most for her character Candy and one flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. 25:52 25 minutes, 52 seconds And then our pretty glamorous, the popular girl who was used in the prank that was played on the killer. And we'll talk about that. 26:01 26 minutes, 1 second But Meredith is the character's name. 26:02 26 minutes, 2 seconds She's the pretty popular girl, and she comes to the reunion in an evening gown but a sexy one. And I think she's, supposed to be quasi famous. 26:10 26 minutes, 10 seconds I can't remember where they say she, oh, I just came from blah, blah, blah. She probably does local commercials or something dumb like that. But yeah, so she's, she's the pretty attractive one. 26:19 26 minutes, 19 seconds Played by Shelly Smith. 26:20 26 minutes, 20 seconds She kind of looked familiar to me, but I didn't, I don't, I mean, maybe you guys know her, but she didn't. Nothing popped out at me that she was super well known for anything specific. 26:30 26 minutes, 30 seconds But most of her work was episodic tv and she even had several recurring roles on shows, like several episodes on a TV show, but they were TV shows I'd never heard of. 26:40 26 minutes, 40 seconds So maybe that's just me. And then we have Dolores Salk which was an interesting character. 26:48 26 minutes, 48 seconds Because she was the quote unquote cripple. 26:51 26 minutes, 51 seconds But she's not crippled anymore at the reunion because she says she sold her soul to the devil and now she's kind of possessed. 26:58 26 minutes, 58 seconds She has fire breathing, abilities. 27:01 27 minutes, 1 second She's able to just like conjure fire at will, and she's able to put spells on people, mainly Bunny. 27:08 27 minutes, 8 seconds But she is played by Zane Busby. That is a super fucking fun name. She does have some other acting credits, but she's really more a director, 27:17 27 minutes, 17 seconds including several episodes of my two dads Charles in Charge, blossom, and Sister. Sister. So now you know who Zane Busby is. 27:27 27 minutes, 27 seconds Now one of the most famous people is funny, but like us, 80 kids, eighties kids. No. Ann Ramsey, the actress's name. 27:37 27 minutes, 37 seconds Ann Ramsey was in this and she's, mama Fratelli from Goonies and also Mama Lift from Throw, mama from the Train. 27:44 27 minutes, 44 seconds Those are probably her most famous roles, you guys know who she is, like she's very specific looking. 27:48 27 minutes, 48 seconds Well, apparently for this class reunion, they brought the cafeteria ladies back to serve cafeteria. At the reunion. 27:56 27 minutes, 56 seconds I don't know why. But she plays one of the cafeteria ladies, Mrs. Zuki. And that's played for laughs too. 'cause it's super gross. 28:04 28 minutes, 4 seconds Cafeteria food, her cigarettes in everybody's food. , Now Walter is the character who is our killer. 28:10 28 minutes, 10 seconds He's our escaped psychopath from the mental institution. Walter is played by Blackie, dammit. 28:20 28 minutes, 20 seconds Do you guys know who Blackie Damme is or Damme? Maybe it's not dammit. Maybe it's Damme. 28:26 28 minutes, 26 seconds Well, and you can tell once I learned this fact, you can totally tell by the way he looks. 28:35 28 minutes, 35 seconds He is Anthony Kit's dad from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Blackie, dammit. Look it up. Damme. D-A-M-M-E-T-T. 28:43 28 minutes, 43 seconds Interesting, eh. 28:44 28 minutes, 44 seconds And then there are two characters that are a duo of stoners who have not changed at all. It's Chip Hendricks and Carl Clapton. 28:54 28 minutes, 54 seconds Those are the characters names, and they're played by Barry Diamond and Art Evans. So gags and sue with a couple of stoners throughout the movie. 29:03 29 minutes, 3 seconds And then we have a character named Mary Beth, who's also part of the, um, like committee for the reunion. 29:09 29 minutes, 9 seconds Her and Bunny kind of put the reunion on, and she is played by Marla Pennington. She did look familiar to me, but I couldn't place her until I looked her up. 29:19 29 minutes, 19 seconds Well, she played the mom. On the TV show. Small Wonder with the little robot girl. Yeah. 29:28 29 minutes, 28 seconds Also, if you guys watched the TV series soap. I did not, but she played Leslie Walker in that. So maybe you know her. 29:35 29 minutes, 35 seconds And then another high school alum is Cindy. She's played by, and the only reason I bring her up. 29:42 29 minutes, 42 seconds Is because of who played her Misty Rowe. And apparently that's a big deal. 29:47 29 minutes, 47 seconds I did not know who she was, but she was known because she was on the variety show Heehaw. 29:56 29 minutes, 56 seconds Anybody seen Heehaw? I have not. And also this entire time until I looked it up, I've heard of Heehaw and I just assumed it was, um, like a scripted. 30:06 30 minutes, 6 seconds Western Comedy television show? No, no. It's a variety show, I guess. Didn't know. Now I do. What are we missing? 30:14 30 minutes, 14 seconds You guys, we've covered the stereotypes the dorks, the nobodys, the popular kids, the pretty girls. Who are we missing any stereotypical high schooler that should be at this reunion? 30:26 30 minutes, 26 seconds The exchange student. 30:28 30 minutes, 28 seconds I don't know why he or she would come to the 10 year reunion, assuming they went back to wherever they came from. The character's name is super fun. 30:37 30 minutes, 37 seconds Egon Von Stoker. And he is the Transylvanian Exchange student. 'cause why not? And yeah, he had like Dracula teeth. 30:46 30 minutes, 46 seconds He was played by Jim Stahl. I don't know who he is. I feel like I forgot to look him up. But anyway, that was just fun. 30:52 30 minutes, 52 seconds Now John Hughes actually has an uncredited role here. He plays the girl with the bag. 31:00 31 minutes On her head. And that's part of the gag from the 10 years ago time. 31:06 31 minutes, 6 seconds That was such a traumatic experience for our killer Walter that caused him to go insane and then come back 10 years later to seek revenge on his shitty classmates. 31:17 31 minutes, 17 seconds We will talk about what that was in a second. But yeah, John Hughes plays that girl, uh, with a bag on her head, and then wildly Chuck Berry performs. 31:29 31 minutes, 29 seconds This high school reunion as himself, the real Chuck Berry plays a melody of some of his famous songs. 31:37 31 minutes, 37 seconds So we are to believe that this high school reunion committee, instead of having a 31:46 31 minutes, 46 seconds nice catered meal, they thought, Hey, let's bring the cafeteria food back and get the cafeteria ladies to serve us. But. 31:55 31 minutes, 55 seconds They were somehow able to get Chuck Barry to perform at a high school reunion. 32:02 32 minutes, 2 seconds So this is the movie we're in you guys, so it is a wild ride. We have the music by Peter Bernstein and Mark Goldenberg. I don't know who they are. 32:10 32 minutes, 10 seconds Clearly there are no awards. For this movie, the budget, while I couldn't find an exact number, it is estimated to be less than 4 million, somewhere between like two and 4 million. 32:22 32 minutes, 22 seconds It made about 10 million, which is actually more than I thought. So it at least made, doubled its budget, estimated budget. Okay. 32:31 32 minutes, 31 seconds So that's our cast of characters who was responsible for making this movie. 32:35 32 minutes, 35 seconds It was advertised as a school related comedy, from the people who brought you National Lampoon's Animal House. 32:42 32 minutes, 42 seconds There was no mention in the poster or teaser of the horror parody angle, nor in the, trailer. 32:49 32 minutes, 49 seconds No, no information about the horror parody angle. 32:53 32 minutes, 53 seconds Just that this movie was often perceived erroneously as being a sequel or sequel of sorts, and totally wasn't. 33:00 33 minutes But I, so that's why it was like a bait and switch, like maybe on purpose. I don't know. I don't know. 33:04 33 minutes, 4 seconds I, executive producer Maddie Simmons described the film as a broad Marx Brothers type parody of the horror genre. 33:12 33 minutes, 12 seconds Like I mentioned, the trailer has absolutely nothing to do with anything. There aren't even words in it. 33:18 33 minutes, 18 seconds It's just a visual of a stage with things related to high school being thrown at it. 33:25 33 minutes, 25 seconds And so you guys, if you're listening to the audio version of this, and the first 30 seconds of this episode, you were like, what the hell's going on? 33:34 33 minutes, 34 seconds That's the trailer and you should go check out the YouTube version so you can see what I'm talking about. 33:40 33 minutes, 40 seconds Now clearly, uh, class Reunion is known by many as a bad movie. 33:45 33 minutes, 45 seconds However, it must also be noted that it's also a parody of bad movies. So take that all with a grain of salt. 33:55 33 minutes, 55 seconds I'm still, I'm trying to be, trying to give it as much courtesy as I can, and clearly this is John Hughes. 34:04 34 minutes, 4 seconds Trying to find his footing early on and, one of his first screenwriting credits, key piece of his filmography because of that. 34:12 34 minutes, 12 seconds But he, uh, reportedly dislikes it after the studio. Clearly made significant changes, as we talked about earlier. 34:21 34 minutes, 21 seconds They, he even claims. Like they fired him from it. And I, I don't know, I don't know. Maybe he was kind of a difficult 'cause we learn through doing this, 34:29 34 minutes, 29 seconds that he can, I, I think he can kind of be difficult and it's easy to get in a little bit of a feud with him. 34:36 34 minutes, 36 seconds So if he was that way early on in his career, um, that's interesting that he was even able to have one. 34:43 34 minutes, 43 seconds But he did have talent later the hybrid is unusual, so it combines like lowbrow teen comedy in the vein of Animal House, which is. 34:56 34 minutes, 56 seconds Typical, like that's what we would kind of expect from LA National Lampoons. 34:59 34 minutes, 59 seconds They even advertise it bait and switchy style as sort of like a pseudo sequel to it. 35:05 35 minutes, 5 seconds But then they also combine that with a parody of popular slasher films of this particular era. And the, it's, the mashup clearly did not work. 35:15 35 minutes, 15 seconds It was unsuccessful. A lot of critics believed, that this was. Partially why the movie didn't work. 35:21 35 minutes, 21 seconds They just kind of tried to combine two genres that, and it didn't, didn't work in such a short movie. They were just throwing things in for the sake of throwing things in. 35:31 35 minutes, 31 seconds And then they found some scenes for filler that we'll talk about in, in, uh, musical numbers that went on for fucking ever. 35:40 35 minutes, 40 seconds Okay. So this is 1982. So they're graduating class of 1972. It is disrupted when an escaped mental patient, a former student, 35:48 35 minutes, 48 seconds crashes the party seeking revenge. Now, why was he seeking revenge? What was the impetus of that? Well, when we were shown this scene right after the opening credits, 35:57 35 minutes, 57 seconds we get a scene like 10 years ago. And we believe it to be a senior party. 'cause there was a bonfire it was a bunch of people drinking. 36:04 36 minutes, 4 seconds There's a flashback revealing the traumatic senior prank that, drove Walter insane. So Bob, the class president sets Walter up. 36:13 36 minutes, 13 seconds He's like, Hey, Meredith, like the popular girl, you know, she's into you, she's over in so-and-so's car. Like she's super into you. She, she wants to make out or, or whatever. 36:22 36 minutes, 22 seconds And it turns out like we don't know what happened. We see her basically jerking him off. 36:28 36 minutes, 28 seconds Like there's something going on in the car, but the girl, oh, and Bob tells Walter, you know, she's, she's kind of like, she doesn't want people to know it's her whatever. 36:37 36 minutes, 37 seconds Like she's kind of nervous. So she has a bag over her head. And then. 36:42 36 minutes, 42 seconds While they're in the car, we see the bag is taken off and they are horrified when, and we don't see who she is. 36:51 36 minutes, 51 seconds We just see the two people in the car that were just about to get it on are horrified and we don't learn the reveal as to who that is until a little bit later. 37:02 37 minutes, 2 seconds As to why that drove him insane. Well, it turns out that was his twin sister and it's played by him in a dress, 37:10 37 minutes, 10 seconds so it's, but so, so that was the prank. Now I thought that they knew that, and that was part of the prank. 37:20 37 minutes, 20 seconds But then I saw something later like a scene because I wasn't able to actually watch every scene. I was looking up some synopsis and I saw. 37:30 37 minutes, 30 seconds Or synopsis. I saw something about Bob, somewhere it said he was also surprised to learn that it was the sister. 37:38 37 minutes, 38 seconds I don't think he realized, I don't know. I don't really buy that. I'm not certain. So maybe that makes no sense. Like it kind of doesn't make sense. 37:46 37 minutes, 46 seconds I feel like the gag would be you're kissing or like getting it on with your twin sister. 37:54 37 minutes, 54 seconds I mean, and that would be effing traumatic, right? So that was the prank. So now, at the reunion, people are starting to get picked off, right? 38:03 38 minutes, 3 seconds Uh, Walter starts picking off his former classmates in a series of really over the top deaths. 38:08 38 minutes, 8 seconds We don't, we don't really see the deaths, we just see the aftermath of it, which is fine. Like that's, that's fine. 38:15 38 minutes, 15 seconds And then, so the remaining eccentric alumni are forced to band together to try and stop the killer. 38:21 38 minutes, 21 seconds Then there's a reveal where the doctor Dr. Robert Young, played by Michael Lerner is actually a mask. 38:31 38 minutes, 31 seconds This is, it's wild. 'cause like it's, he's clearly like a short stout man. 38:35 38 minutes, 35 seconds But then he pulls that, that mask off and actually it's Walter underneath, so there is no Dr. Lerner. 38:41 38 minutes, 41 seconds That's how he was able to get in and infiltrate and lock everybody in by pretending he was the doctor there to, to confiscate this escapee. 38:49 38 minutes, 49 seconds So yeah, that's that. , And then the ending is somehow. I thought I had missed something, but I didn't like it. 38:56 38 minutes, 56 seconds Ends really with, they catch him, put him in a straight jacket, but then they're just all dancing. 39:02 39 minutes, 2 seconds It's like a line dance like soul train style, like a line dance. Where they're all just dancing. 39:10 39 minutes, 10 seconds And that's the end of the movie, like a celebratory end of the movie where he's just, there he is in a straitjacket, but he's dancing with everybody. It is what it is. 39:18 39 minutes, 18 seconds Like you could take it for what it is and enjoy it for what it is, but there were a lot of missed marks. 39:24 39 minutes, 24 seconds So I did read that some critics were like they set up some storylines and then they were just completely dropped. 39:30 39 minutes, 30 seconds And I kind of have to go with that because I wasn't actually able to see the whole movie. I was only to see bits and pieces after the first third, and then the character arcs. 39:39 39 minutes, 39 seconds There really aren't any character arcs. 39:41 39 minutes, 41 seconds Like there's just these characters doing weird things just for the sake of doing weird things. And sometimes movies do that. So like, I don't know. That's fine, I guess. 39:49 39 minutes, 49 seconds But setting up a storyline and then dropping it, that's lazy. Like why didn't you close the loop on that? 39:56 39 minutes, 56 seconds Yeah, so clearly nobody liked this movie. It has a low IMDB rating, like not that low though. What did I say it was? 40:03 40 minutes, 3 seconds It's, um, a 4.6, so like approximately half, so it could be worse. 40:10 40 minutes, 10 seconds I feel like there are movies that, that are lower than that. 40:13 40 minutes, 13 seconds In fact, now I'm wondering what flubber, I feel like Flubber iss lower than that, as it should be. Jesus. But yeah, so the critics didn't like it either. So this was a flop of a movie and it was just wild. 40:22 40 minutes, 22 seconds Like clearly it was a bait and switch. You can't tell by the. Trailer, any of the ads for it, even how they set the movie up, 40:30 40 minutes, 30 seconds the name of it, everything makes you think it's one kind of movie. And then you're like, oh, it's not that kind of movie, but okay, 40:38 40 minutes, 38 seconds let's, let's see what this is about. You know, okay. 40:42 40 minutes, 42 seconds It's not what I thought it was gonna be, but let's sit through it and see what it's about. It's super fascinating that this is. 40:49 40 minutes, 49 seconds A stepping stone for John Hughes in one of his early works, despite him. 40:53 40 minutes, 53 seconds I really wish I was able to see what his actual script was, that that would be, I really wish maybe we got that, because it doesn't sound like we got that unless he's kind of copying out. 41:03 41 minutes, 3 seconds Because it was, you know how sometimes people do that, they're like, oh, it didn't work out. 41:06 41 minutes, 6 seconds Uh, I, I'm gonna distance myself from it, but let's assume there were at least tenets of his writing in this. 41:12 41 minutes, 12 seconds So it's very raw and unpolished, which is in stark contrast to the Breakfast Club, which is I think kind of a masterpiece of writing for Hughes. 41:23 41 minutes, 23 seconds Just a few years later, that was 85. That was just a few years later. I still like the people don't look 28 I like at all. 41:32 41 minutes, 32 seconds And I, and I know we talk about this all the time, why? 41:35 41 minutes, 35 seconds I know it is the hairstyles to some degree and maybe the fashion too, but they looked. My age or older than me, and they were supposed to be 28. 41:46 41 minutes, 46 seconds So yeah a lot of dance and singing numbers that went on far too long and for absolutely no reason in this, just to eat up time. 41:54 41 minutes, 54 seconds Also, those stoners had a lot of time in this movie for no reason. That's not that funny. 42:01 42 minutes, 1 second I don't know, maybe it was in in 82, but just like incoherent, stoner. Tropes, so there's that. 42:09 42 minutes, 9 seconds Now let's talk about some of the pros, I guess. 42:12 42 minutes, 12 seconds There was a transgender classmate they're like going through there was a slideshow portion and they're like, oh, and that's so and so who's now a mother of three in such and such suburb. 42:21 42 minutes, 21 seconds And it was like, no big deal. Which I gotta give them credit for that because it is no big deal. No one told them yet in 1982 that they should be outraged by this. 42:32 42 minutes, 32 seconds So if you just allow yourself to enjoy this type of movie, you might find some, shall we say, smart, even. 42:41 42 minutes, 41 seconds Albeit outrageous components. So even with the script that John Hughes later disowned National Lampoon's class reunion does include some genuinely smart. 42:52 42 minutes, 52 seconds Albeit blink, and you'll miss it. Details that reflect his satirical roots. You do have to kind of be watching for it and you'll be like, oh, you know, they're, 43:00 43 minutes they're very slight, which I quite enjoy. 43:03 43 minutes, 3 seconds We talked a little bit about it, but including the opening credit sequence that's designed as a yearbook. 43:09 43 minutes, 9 seconds It is a trove of hidden jokes in introducing our characters, not just with their photos, but their nicknames and their absurdly specific club memberships. 43:18 43 minutes, 18 seconds And ironic, most likely to accolades. For instance, the vapid snobbish cheerleader Bunny Packard is listed as being in the future Mothers of Children Club. 43:29 43 minutes, 29 seconds Like I just, I dunno, I found that hilarious. Perfect slice of dark humor that both plays on. As well as subverts the typical teen comedy stereotypes. 43:39 43 minutes, 39 seconds The film setting at the Lizzie Borden High School Whom's motto is a cut above the rest pitch black Bit of foreshadowing. 43:47 43 minutes, 47 seconds Winking wildly at the audience before the slasher parody elements fully kick in. So that's a good point. 43:54 43 minutes, 54 seconds That can be listed in our pro column. 43:56 43 minutes, 56 seconds And then another small but sharp detail involves the class nerd Gary Nash, who's inability to be remembered by anyone is a running gag. 44:05 44 minutes, 5 seconds A nuanced piece of commentary on how high school hierarchies impact long-term memory. Okay. 44:10 44 minutes, 10 seconds Even the stoners were like best friends in high school, but they couldn't remember each other. That was a running gag throughout the movie. 44:17 44 minutes, 17 seconds So there are some small overlooked quips that can showcase some original talent that I would like to credit to Hughes like that, that , those 44:25 44 minutes, 25 seconds little touches, even in a project that by all accounts was mishandled after he finished the screenplay. 44:33 44 minutes, 33 seconds And there was one question that I, had to look up. I was like, did I miss a scene? 'cause I clearly missed a lot of the movie. 44:40 44 minutes, 40 seconds But I tried to watch some clips and look into some synopsis of this movie. 44:45 44 minutes, 45 seconds So Walter, as the killer is wearing the dress that we see played as his twin sister in the original prank that's played by him. 44:57 44 minutes, 57 seconds So I was curious. I'm like, okay, well, what are we supposed to glean from this? Right? You know, maybe this is like symbolic of his revenge. 45:06 45 minutes, 6 seconds Maybe this is to make us think that there's actually two killers. 45:10 45 minutes, 10 seconds But I think I was overthinking this and it's, uh, I think it turns out that it was just supposed to be a visual gag and was not otherwise meaningful. 45:20 45 minutes, 20 seconds Couple bits of trivia you guys for this movie. 45:24 45 minutes, 24 seconds This is spoiler, but it's the notable distinction that National Lampoon's class reunion has. 45:29 45 minutes, 29 seconds It's being the first slasher film to offer redemption to its psycho killer at the end. 45:38 45 minutes, 38 seconds I hadn't really considered that because I'm not a connoisseur of slasher films, but yeah, he's like accepted sort of as part of the class. 45:47 45 minutes, 47 seconds Just like everybody. Also, like no one learns their lesson in this movie. 45:50 45 minutes, 50 seconds There's no, I guess as one critic put, there's no arc to these people, but everybody is who they were in high school. 45:59 45 minutes, 59 seconds Like to a t. So including there's like Cheryl, Walter, Walter, like, all right, you're a murderer. Like, that's okay. 46:06 46 minutes, 6 seconds You just murdered like half of our class reunion, but whatever. Joining our little dance at the end of this movie. 46:12 46 minutes, 12 seconds Now the setting, and we are shown this at the beginning, so the invitation to the class reunion has a drawing of the high school, the Lizzie Borden High. 46:23 46 minutes, 23 seconds And then that kind of fades into our first scene of like from afar, a shot from afar of an actual building that is. 46:30 46 minutes, 30 seconds That is supposed to be Lizzie Borden High, and it's at nighttime with clouds. It's ominous. There might even be thunder. 46:38 46 minutes, 38 seconds And then we get introduced, I should say, to our characters at the reunion. Well, the University of Pasadena's Pasadena College. 46:47 46 minutes, 47 seconds Oh, that's a mouthful. The University of Pasadena's, Pasadena College of Chiropractic that plays. 46:55 46 minutes, 55 seconds Lizzie Borton High School. So it's a real place and it looks really scary. 47:01 47 minutes, 1 second Like I actually really enjoyed that scene because it reminded me of the spooky castle in the beginning of Scooby-Doo. But that's a real place, I guess. 47:08 47 minutes, 8 seconds Maybe not the outside shots. Maybe they meant the inside shots. I don't know. It doesn't matter. Anyway, who has seen this movie, national Lampoon's class reunion? 47:19 47 minutes, 19 seconds You must tell me. You have to write in and let me know your thoughts if you've seen it. There's no more to say. I, I mean, I could blabber on, but I won't. 47:29 47 minutes, 29 seconds So that was National Lampoon's class reunion. 47:33 47 minutes, 33 seconds It was definitely a misfire in 1982 cinema, but I will be honest, even with its flaws, it was still 10 times more watchable than flubber. 47:45 47 minutes, 45 seconds Revisiting the pop culture around it makes the stumble worth talking about. 47:49 47 minutes, 49 seconds 'cause there were some great movies, great music, lots of pop culture is the reason that we do this with the time capsule. 47:56 47 minutes, 56 seconds So I will keep pulling on these threads as we explore the highs, lows, and everything in between from the past. And hey, don't just disappear after the credits. 48:05 48 minutes, 5 seconds Drop me an email with your thoughts, or even better leave a review wherever you're listening. It really is the best way to keep the show going and help more retro fans find it. 48:15 48 minutes, 15 seconds Think of it as your ticket to the next nostalgia trip, and until next time, be kind, rewind. create a youtube desctiption from this transcript create 5 to 10 key timestamps create hastags put hasthgs in a paraph so I can cut and paste esaliy, create tags seprated by commas also in a pargraph look up online how its best to do all this too for best reults i am prvding the transcript to you every nee transcript i give you ia new video to do the task do not refence or use preivios transcipts also need 10 title ideas provde that as well