Okay, so one of the things I wanted to do with my vast (now, nearly depleted) Christmas vacation, was to catch up on some movies. I don't get out to the moving pictures much, unless my friend Stupid Monkey Planet entices me out for a brew and a view. So, one of the 2011 movies I missed was the remake of the classic 80s horror/comedy flick, Fright Night. The original is treasured by folks of my vintage (seventies/eighties pop culture fiends), but it is not--by any stretch--award winning cinema.
Image from Wikipedia
The original Fright Night starred a pre-Herman's Head William Ragsdale, a pre-Married. . .with Children's Amanda Bearse, a pre-gay porn Stephen Geoffreys and a post-Susan Sarandon Chris Sarandon. It was as much humor as horror, and is a pastiche of the 80s. I loved it then, I loved it later, and I. . .kind of. . .like it now. It is simply a product of its era. So, quite rightly, a remake should be of its current era.
Whether it is or not is a question for a future time, and for a student of the twenty-pre-teens. As it is, I quite liked it. Anton Yelchin (2011's Star Trek's Chekov) stars in the Ragsdale role of Charley Brewster. As in the original, Brewster is the unfortunate neighbor of new home owner Jerry Dandridge (Colin Farrell), a vampire. As in the original, Brewster comes to realize Dandridge's real nature with the assistance of his nerdy friend Evil Ed. And Evil Ed gets to live up to his name this time too.
Chris Sarandon, the original sexy vampire.
The new version amps up the effects (the original's were effective the first time, but don't hold up well upon repeated viewings), and has the advantage of almost thirty years in technology. Farrell is at least as sexy as Sarandon (who appears in a cameo), but lacks the subtlety of the original. The change in venue to Las Vegas makes sense, but will not fool a near-native like me. And there is something about modern movie making that simply surpasses the art of the 1980s. But the charm of the original is lacking.
I liked 2011's Fright Night. It even made me jump at least once, matching the original. But will it rate in my lifetime top 100, to be viewed over and over as I age into oblivion? Probably not.
My rating: *** (on a scale from crap to *****, genre always kept firmly in mind)
In the 80s, I had the good fortune to be the right age at the right time for the home video explosion. VCRs (video cassette recorders, if you didn't know) were finally affordable to the masses. Mine had a wired remote! And video rental stores popped up all over the damned place. My favorite was called West Coast Video, because they had a seemingly endless supply of cheesy, bad--but so good--horror movies. And my old, VCR with the wired remote? It was cheap enough--oddly enough, a Samsung, which today produces my awesome new cell phone--that the MacroVision copy protection could be thwarted with some simple RCA patch cables! My pirated VHS cassette collection was legend--wait for it--dary!
And it is now landfill. But back in the day, I had everything. And one of the ones that got the most play was Fright Night (1985). This was one of those "genre savvy" movies, where the characters have an inkling that they are in a horror movie scenario. But of course, none of the adults believe them. Also, the movie was chock full of wink-and-a-nod pop culture references, and a definite vein of humor to it. Add to that stellar performances by the actors (William Ragsdale of Herman's Head, Amanda Bearse of Married. . .with Children, the gorgeous Chris Sarandon, ex of Susan, Stephen Geoffreys of gay porn, and the also gay, but fabulous Roddy McDowell), and you have what should be a masterpiece of cinema. A timeless mixture of genres for the ages. But it isn't.
The original Fright Night was one of my favorite movies for many years. But I put it down for 10 or 15 years, and revisited it. Annnnnd. . . you know what? It doesn't hold up. The 80s music and fashions just wreck the picture. There are still things about I like. But it must be viewed as a period piece. In fact, maybe if you go into it with the notion: "Back in the 80s, Charlie Brewster faught the sexy, suave vampire, Jerry Dandridge, with the assistance of cheeseball horror movie host, Peter Vincent," then maybe it would be okay. So, a remake of one of my (former) favorite movies is not a stake to the heart after all. And this preview? Rocks. And Colin Ferrell? Fangtastic. And (squeeeeee!) it's set in my backyard in Las Vegas? AWESOME!!!
They say Hollywood is out of ideas, and it would seem they are right. Everything old is new again, and even newish movies like Spider-Man and Superman Returns are being rebooted (starting over from scratch). Remakes of Halloween and Friday the 13th have come out and are starting a whole new chain of sequels with A Nightmare on Elm Street hot on their heels. The results are mixed so far. New fans are probably born, but more often than not, the original fans are underwhelmed.
Star Trek seemed to please mostly everybody last year. So what will the next big one be? Gilligan's Island is on tap, though it can't be worse than the source material. And now, Fright Night is being remade. You many not have heard of the 80s vampire flick, but it was one of my favorites of the era. It starred Chris Sarandon (Susan's ex), William Ragsdale (Herman's Head), Amanda Bearse (Married. . .with Children) and Roddy McDowell. It is appreciated best with large doses of nostalgia, as the 80s vibe is thick on this one. The soundtrack is atrocious, the makeup effects a little sub-par. But I loved it enough to wear out the videotape, and then buy it on LaserDisc and DVD. I'm sure the Blu-ray will follow.
A remake could probably be worth a view. The original only really suffers for the era in which it was filmed, so an update just might be the ticket.
[Excerpt]
FRIGHT NIGHT Reboot starring Chekov?
Craig Gillespie, the director behind 2007’s “Lars and the Real Girl,” is helming the new version, which sticks to the concept of a teen being convinced that his new neighbor is a vampire, although no one will believe him.
The new iteration, written by Marti Noxon, keeps the character’s name the same as in the original: Charley Brewster. William Ragsdale, now seen on FX’s “Justified,” originated the role. . .
In a recent post about 80s music, I pointed out how difficult it is to separate "good" from "nostalgic." Things you loved in your childhood hold warm fuzzy memories, and then you see and hear them again, and some of the charm is lost. My best example is the movie Fright Night, a film I dearly loved in the 80s that simply doesn't hold up as a classic 22 years later (though it's still fun in its way).
I was happy to find that Laverne & Shirley still holds up. It remains funny, and my nostalgic memories are not proven wrong. It still has some of that old-fashioned 50s-70s sitcom, "playing to the balcony" unreality about it, but so did I Love Lucy.
Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams were a remarkable comic team, with a prowess for physical comedy only rivaled at the time by John Ritter. Michael McKean and David L. Lander were seen as silly and stupid as Lenny & Squiggy back in the 70s. Modern day viewing shows a subversive--almost dirty--undercurrent to much of their comedy. I'm sure some of my love for this show still is colored by nostalgia, but I'm confident that there's more to it than that.
The third season DVD release has finally been slated for November 27th, after having been set for September. Since there were a few years between seasons 1 & 2's DVDs, I guess I should be grateful. I still can't figure out how so many crappy shows get full releases, and this one is just trickling out (and with box-cover art semi-foreign to the graphics on the show too). Oh well.
I posted the theme song to Laverne & Shirley several weeks ago, in one of my other "Guilty Pleasures" posts. So, to prevent making this post a rerun (hah!), here is the theme song that ran during the much-lamented California years. People tend to think Laverne & Shirley jumped the shark after the move. I disagree. Lots of funny adventures were found in LA. And don't tell me that whole groups of people don't just pick up and move across the country together. I DID!
Five of us quit the same company, and all moved to Las Vegas together 13 years ago! And I don't think we've jumped the shark yet! Anyway, it was only after Cindy Williams left, and the show became "Laverne & Furniture" that this show ran out of gas.
