Welcome to an exciting year-long project here at The Nerdy. 1984 was an exciting year for films giving us a lot of films that would go on to be beloved favorites and cult classics. It was also the start to a major shift in cultural and societal norms, and some of those still reverberate to this day.
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We’re going to pick and choose which movies we hit, but right now the list stands at nearly four dozen.
Yes, we’re insane, but 1983 was that great of a year for film.
The articles will come out – in most cases – on the same day the films hit theaters in 1984 so that it is their true 40th anniversary. All films are also watched again for the purposes of these reviews and are not being done from memory. In some cases, it truly will be the first time we’ve seen them.
This time around, it’s January 13, 1984, and we’re off to see Angel and Hot Dog – The Movie!
Angel
I can remember when Angel was being marketed and it was very much playing up to the idea of ‘innocent school girl by day, hooker by night’ aspect of it, but it turns out there was a lot more going on here.
Molly “Angel” Stewart (Donna Wilkes) is the aforementioned school girl with a secret life. As the movie unfolds, you learn why this 15-year-old (more on that in a moment) has had to turn to this life, but she, of course dreams of the day she can stop. She works on Hollywood Blvd., one of the most famous streets in those days for its seedy underbelly. But in recent days it has become even worse as a serial killer has begun not only stalking the girls, but living out his necrophilic fantasies with them post-mortem.
Make no mistake, this film is a sexploitation film from top-to-bottom. Topless scenes abound – oddly, even when in the high school locker rooms where it was completely unnecessary – and it plays into the revenge genre as well.
However, as unappetizing as that may all sound, there are some good performances in this film. From Wilkes herself, to her ‘found family’ of Hollywood Blvd. eccentrics. Wilkes can be a bit over the top from time to time in the film, but she is very clearly giving it her all and trying to make something out of this character. Rory Calhoun as Kit Carson and Dick Shawn as Mae are both a lot of fun in their portrayals as Angel’s, well, Guardian Angels, as she works the streets.
The biggest downfall I felt was the killer, We never get any real exploration of him other than a throwaway line towards the beginning of the film and you just kind of have to accept this is the way he is.
This is not a classic by any means, but it’s an interesting bridge in film history from the 1970s exploitation cinema into some more thoughtful fare of the 80s. I went into this one expecting to hate it, and found myself rather enjoying it.
Hot Dog – The Movie
I bet you never thought you’d see a movie about a bunch of misfits who have to take on the popular and successful people and overcome them to be the winners! Well, look no further… this is one of those 3 million movies.
Hot Dog – The Movie tells the story of downhill skiers who just want to be the best in their sport, but, of course, there’s those darn uppity Germans in their way. And it turns out the officials on the side of the Germans because they sell more tickets. I know you will be shocked to learn that by the end of the movie the misfits have the trophy.
If this movie hadn’t come out before Revenge of the Nerds, I would say it was ripping it off, but, it actually came out first. So I’ll lean more into the idea this was a really soft attempt at ripping off Caddyshack with far fewer laughs, although this basic premise dates back much further, and most famously, with The Bad News Bears.
For a comedy, this movie bordered on joyless. No one seemed to be having a good time and everything that happened in it felt like someone simply ticking boxes on a checklist of 80s sex romp movies.
An utterly forgettable movie that I will hopefully never to think of again.
1983 Movie Reviews will return on Jan. 27, 2024 with The Lonely Guy!
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