Thursday Movie Picks: Movies That Haven’t Aged Well
Wandering through the Shelves hosts a weekly movie challenge in which you choose 3-5 movies based on that Thursday’s theme and explain why you chose those movies.
Today’s theme is Movies That Haven’t Aged Well, so here are my choices!
Sixteen Candles (1984)
An Asian character named Long Duk Dong is the epitome of an Asian stereotype, complete with the sound of a gong any time he makes an appearance. The movie is also awash in date rape culture, where consent is non-existent. Racist and sexist, and I had a really difficult time enjoying this movie. You can read my review here.
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
I'm really starting to love Audrey Hepburn after watching her in this movie and in Roman Holiday. But her performance in Breakfast at Tiffany's is the film's real highlight. The rest of it? It's pretty good, too... I might even have called it great, but for one thing, it's a fairly large stain on the film. The horribly, horribly racist portrayal of an Asian man played by Mickey Rooney is enough to tag this film as one that aged terribly, despite being considered a classic among film lovers. Even worse, Rooney continued to defend his performance years later.
Dirty Dancing (1987)
While never explicitly stated in the movie (that I remember, anyway), Baby's age has been rumored to be around 18, though an interview with star Jennifer Grey put it at 17. Johnny Castle's age in the movie was 25. So yeah, I guess you could say a 25-year-old seducing a minor is pretty problematic. I still love this movie, though I can't help it.
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I agree with all three of these. Mickey Rooney is awful and distracting. I didn’t see Sixteen Candles until I was a bit older so I was shocked that the the rape culture part of it was so brushed over. 80’s movies all have huge problems with that.
I only saw SC as an adult myself. A co-worker told me to “remember” it was a different time. But it was impossible to enjoy it… honestly, even without the horrible racism and date rape culture, it just wasn’t a good movie.
Molly Ringwald is fetching in Sixteen Candles and it does have some funny parts but other parts mostly definitely have not.
I LOVE Breakfast at Tiffany’s and just completely ignore Rooney’s awfulness. He must have been cast to have a bit more name recognition in the cast (though with Audrey, Patricia Neal, Buddy Ebsen plus white hot at the moment George Peppard they really had enough) but he is a blot on a fine film.
The age difference between Johnny and Baby never made that big an impression on me. She’s young but mature and it’s not a case where he’s stalking or grooming her, their attraction is mutual and slow in evolving.
I picked three that opened to much acclaim but whose attitudes have not held up.
Crash (2005)-Inexplicable Best Picture winner is a dreadful collection of noxious elitists having conniptions about all “the dark people” threatening their privileged existence in Los Angeles. Yuck!
Lovers and Other Strangers (1970)-They say nothing ages faster than topical comedy and here’s the proof! Awash in shag carpeting, Nehru jacket, love beads and “groovy” talk of raising consciousness, EST, and a bunch of other hippie dippy subjects of the ME decade. In its favor it does have a phenomenal cast-Bea Arthur, Cloris Leachman, Stiller & Meara, Gig Young, Bonnie Bedelia and in her screen bow Diane Keaton among others, plus the Oscar winning song “For All We Know”. This was a big hit, but you’ll be scratching your head as to why if you watch.
Easy Rider (1969)-Meandering biker flick was a seminal turning point in cinema the year of its release, made on a minuscule budget it was unbelievably successful becoming the fourth highest grossing film of 1969, creating the whole “Born to Be Wild” rebel motorcycle genre. But it is a collection of maddeningly diffuse thinkspeak vignettes when viewed today.
Yeah I don’t understand Rooney’s character or his casting. The movie was funny enough without him popping in.
I was never all that concerned about the age difference in DD because when I watched it, I never really thought about it. Now, being an adult I can see why it would be a problem… however, I don’t SEE it as problematic now, but I could understand how some might say it was.
I agree with you about Crash! I’ve never seen Lovers and Other Strangers though and I’ve only watched a few minutes here and there of Easy Rider, but that’s definitely an interesting take on it!
Nice picks! I haven’t seen many of Molly Ringwald’s movies as I didn’t like how her character is treated in The Breakfast Club, and figured most of John Hughe’s movies had problematic elements. But I loved the piece she wrote a few years ago about being in those movies and how it’s affected her. Mickey Rooney’s insertion in Breakfast at Tiffanys is just so cheap to an otherwise charming movie. I never quite figured out the ages of Baby and Johnny in Dirty Dancing. Her being more of a minor’s age is an issue but I think it’d be worst if it asn’t consensual or Johnny was grooming her.
I do think a lot of Hughes’s movies had problems, especially the teen movies. I started reading You Couldn’t Ignore Me if You Tried by Susannah Gora, but haven’t finished it yet! It’s a really interesting book about Hughes and the Brat Pack, etc.
I also agree about DD. I never got any creepy vibes from it. I think it’s more being an adult now, and a mom… I wouldn’t let my teen daughter hook up with a 25 year old LOL… although… Patrick Swayze… yum.
I like Breakfast At Tiffany’s and knew, even when I was a kid, that Mickey Rooney’s character was way over the top. Sixteen Candles is very much the 80s and there were so many bad comedies out there with stereotypes like in this flick. I actually found him the most fun and wanted to know more about him than anyone else because I was never for Molly Ringworm. Dirty Dancing…so she is 17..big whoop. Do you know how many girls I have as clients and have kids already at 17? Is it right? No way! Do they know what they are doing….yup and they have a rough life ahead but they are not innocent by any means. I was bloody innocent at 17 but so many girls and women were married at this age and happily so. Now I hate this film except for Patrick Swayze.
I also think it’s just how we perceive movies we grew up with and movies we watch for the first time when we’re older. I’m not sure I would have liked Sixteen Candles even if I had seen it when I was young… but I loved St. Elmo’s Fire…. watching it as an adult, I found myself loathing it.
Micky Rooney was godawful in Breakfast at Tiffany’s but I have a soft spot for anything Audrey Hepburn, so try as I might, I cannot give up on this film.
I don’t blame you! Audrey is amazing. I can’t wait to watch more of her movies. I liked BAT quite a bit. It’s just Rooney that keeps it from being brilliant.
I picked Sixteen Candles for the same reasons.
I don’t remember much about Breakfast at Tiffany’s other than Audrey and the cat. I’ve been meaning to rewatch it but I keep putting it off.
As for Dirty Dancing, the age difference didn’t bother. The problem for me was the movie, I just didn’t like it.
I adored the cat in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I would have rather Hepburn’s character just live happily ever after with her cat to be honest!
I haven’t seen any of these but are you kidding me about Sixteen Candles?! That is SHOCKING!
Yeah, Sixteen Candles is extremely problematic. I was baffled watching it.