The Shermer High Alumni Association

SpaceCamp turns 40 this year, and Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole are rewatching the 1986 film that sent five teenagers and one very unprepared flight instructor into actual orbit because a robot had a feelings problem.

Jeannine is back from Ireland with thoughts on roundabouts and fizzy water. Kristin attended real Space Camp in 1989, had a boyfriend there, and a Ponderosa manager stole her flight jacket, and she will never be over it.

Also: Roger Ebert had a lot to say, Jeannine looked up what actually happens to your body when you run out of oxygen and that Space Camp is still a thing you can do for $800.

Did it age well?

Would they watch it again?

Footloose turns 42 this year, and Kristin and Carole are recording in person from Olmsted Falls, Ohio, while Jeannine is somewhere in Ireland living her best life. Jeannine would have sung every word of the soundtrack, and they both know it. This week's movie is the 1984 Kevin Bacon classic where rock music and dancing are banned in a small Utah town, a Chicago kid named Ren shows up with a cassette collection and an attitude, and somehow changes everything. They get into Ariel's ongoing death wish, Willard as the Neville Longbottom of Footloose, the council meeting scene that is genuinely good teenage activism, and why the critics in 1984 completely missed what this movie was actually about. Also: Kevin Bacon hates when DJs play Footloose at weddings, and the soundtrack might be in the same conversation as Top Gun. Did it age well? It's a Hall of Fame contender. Check back when Jeannine lands.

 Today, we're rewinding to 1986 to revisit a movie that defined teen relationships and gave us a soundtrack that slaps.

From thrift store prom dresses to love triangles that still spark debate decades later, this John Hughes classic asked the big questions: Is Ducky actually the best guy? Was Andy's dress iconic or just aggressively pink? And how did Blaine manage to look confused for the entire film?

So grab your cassettes, don your best Jessica McClintock, and get ready as we break down the style, the soundtrack, and the swoon-worthy and sometimes cringey moments of Pretty in Pink.

#prettyinpink #80spod #podcast #movierewatch #mollyringwald #joncryer #andrewmccarthy #jamesspader

Heathers turns 36 this year, and Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole are diving headfirst into one of the darkest, funniest, and most quoted teen movies ever made. A $3 million budget, a five-week box office run that grossed $1.1 million, and somehow a cult classic — go figure.

They break down:

• Veronica's diary
• The Heathers' color-coded power structure
• JD's red flags
• Corn Nuts
• Why this movie could never be made today
• The mineral water "evidence"
• ... and the eternal question of whether Ed McMahon ever had anything to do with Publishers Clearing House.
• ALSO: Surprise bonus content

Did it age well? Not at all. But if it comes on, some of us aren't changing the channel.

It's the one-year anniversary of The Shermer High Alumni Association, and the girls are celebrating with one of the biggest movies of 1986: Top Gun. Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole revisit Maverick, Goose, Iceman, and Charlie for the film's birthday week, and it turns out Jeannine has never actually seen it, because she thought she wasn't allowed.

They cover the glycerin sweat that defies physics, volleyball in jeans, a sex scene folded up like a middle school note, and the homoerotic undertones the internet won't stop talking about.

Did it age well? It's not really cringe. Would they watch it again? The soundtrack might be enough. Danger zone, indeed.

It's the 40th birthday of Fire with Fire, the 1986 Paramount film that asked the age-old question: what could possibly go wrong when a juvenile delinquent and a Catholic schoolgirl fall in love in the Oregon woods? Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole rewatch this barely-remembered PG-13 romance starring Virginia Madsen and Craig Sheffer, and find a movie that plays like an after school special until it suddenly doesn't. Complete with a helicopter budget that nearly bankrupted the production, crypt sex, an extremely abrupt ending, and bacon grease that burns down a cabin in the state of Oregon. Also featuring Jean Smart in a career highlight as a very permissive nun, a Taylor Swift connection nobody asked for but everyone deserved, and one Washington Post critic who has thoughts. Did it age well?

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It's 1980, it's Disney, and somehow it's also completely unhinged. This week the Shermer High Alumni Association dives into Midnight Madness, the cult classic nobody reviewed, nobody released nationally, and apparently everybody loves anyway. A citywide overnight scavenger hunt, five wildly mismatched teams, zero prize money, and one very mysterious man named Leon. What could go wrong?

Kristin is back from her trip and catching up on everything she missed (Short Circuit's fake Indian accent, Annie's extremely suspicious Daddy Warbucks), and then it's straight into the chaos. We've got the Dr. Pepper guy, a very young Michael J. Fox credited under the wrong name, Pee-wee Herman running a pinball parlor with a coin-dispensing gun, and a final prize that turns out to be a buffet and a plaque while the neighbors cleaned up betting on them. Classic.

The ladies debate whether the Yellow team deserved to win, whether Adam is redeemable (Jeannine says no, he's still a douche), and how this movie somehow kept them more engaged than Caddyshack. Also: Roger Ebert gave it one star in 2004, the audience gives it 70%, and Kristin paid $4.08 on Amazon Prime and now owns it for eternity.

Cringe? A little. Fun? Absolutely. Would they watch it again if it popped up on TV? Without question.

This week’s movie is: Annie, a movie that asks the important question: what if capitalism, child labor, and jazz hands all came together for one wildly chaotic musical?

Annie follows a spirited young orphan living in New York City during the Great Depression. Stuck in a strict and often miserable orphanage run by the bitter Miss Hannigan, Annie refuses to give up hope that her parents will one day return for her. Her life takes an unexpected turn when billionaire Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks invites her to stay at his mansion for a week as part of a publicity campaign. What starts as a temporary arrangement quickly turns into something more, as Annie’s optimism begins to soften Warbucks’ tough exterior. Meanwhile, Miss Hannigan teams up with her scheming brother and his girlfriend to try and pretend to be Annie’s parents in order to collect a large reward. With plenty of music, humor, and heart, the story follows Annie as she navigates this new world, all while holding onto her belief that things will get better—no matter how hard life gets.

Join us as we rewind, rewatch, and remember the decade that shaped us.

This week’s movie is: Short Circuit… Before A.I. was everywhere and smart devices ran our lives, there was Johnny Five—a military robot who gets struck by lightning, gains a mind of his own, and suddenly just wants one thing…“Input.”

The movie kicks off when a high-tech military robot, Number 5, is struck by lightning during a power demo, causing a tactical malfunction that accidentally gives him a soul. Intrigued by "input," he wanders off-base and meets Stephanie, an animal lover who feeds him encyclopedias and TV commercials until he’s basically a walking, talking 80s pop-culture encyclopedia. The plot thickens when Number 5 realizes that "disassemble" is just a polite military word for death, leading to a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse as his nerdy creator, Newton Crosby, and a bunch of trigger-happy soldiers try to hunt him down. After learning about mortality by accidentally crushing a grasshopper, Number 5 uses his superior robotic brain to outsmart the Army in a climactic showdown, faking his own destruction with a clever decoy made of scrap metal. The film wraps up with the robot officially naming himself "Johnny 5" and escaping to a peaceful life in Montana, proving once and for all that he’s more than just a pile of wires and lasers—Johnny 5 is alive!

Grab your popcorn, input some data, and get ready to malfunction with us as we rewind, rewatch, and remember the decade that shaped Number Five and all of us.

This week’s movie is: Caddyshack! A movie where the golfers are rich, the caddies are poor, the groundskeeper is at war with a gopher and no one takes golf seriously.

Caddyshack is a chaotic comedy set at the exclusive Bushwood Country Club, where the wealthy members take their golf — and themselves — far too seriously. The story loosely follows young caddie Danny Noonan, who hopes to win a college scholarship from the club while navigating the outrageous behavior of its members and staff.

Along the way, the club is turned upside down by the arrival of loud, free-spending newcomer Rodney Dangerfield, the laid-back antics of smooth golfer Chevy Chase, and the increasingly unhinged mission of groundskeeper Carl Spackler — played by Bill Murray — who is locked in an absurd, escalating battle with a mischievous gopher tearing up the golf course.

The film blends slapstick, outrageous one-liners, and golf-course chaos into one of the most beloved comedies of the 1980s. ⛳️🐿️

Join us as we rewind, rewatch, and remember the decade that shaped us.