Welcome to an exciting year-long project here at The Nerdy. 1986 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.
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 1986 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 1986 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 April 11, 1986, and we’re off to see At Close Range, Desert Bloom, Murphy’s Law, and Wise Guys.
At Close Range
Sean Penn’s early career continues to prove to be such a mixed bag of takes, and it continues to make it that much more impressive.
Brad Jr. (Sean Penn) looks to start his own criminal career, following in the footsteps of his absentee father, Brad Sr. (Christopher Walken). Jr. is finally convinced to try to work his way into his father’s larger crime syndicate by his girlfriend, Terry (Mary Stuart Masterson), not realizing this will lead to everyone’s eventual downfall.
I was unfamiliar with this film prior to this viewing other than the Madonna song from the soundtrack. And was even more surprised to learn it was based on a true story.
Penn shines here, parting ways with his other roles from the time as someone truly trying to find his place in the world. This is also one of Walken’s best roles that I’ve seen. He feels dangerous here and belivable that as someone who will taken anyone down that gets in his way.
It’s not difficult to predict how the story will play out, but it’s still an enjoyable watch and worth your time.
Desert Bloom
Just in case you weren’t sure how terrifying the Cold War was in the 1950s for young people, lets sprinkle some family drama on top of it for the fun of it.
Jack Chismore (Jon Voight) returned from World War II with PTSD, a situation that was greatly misunderstood at the time. He’s also step-father to three girls who live with his constant mood swings, Rose (Annabeth Gish), the oldest, having the hardest time with it. Meanwhile, they all live in Las Vegas during the age of nuclear bomb tests casting a shadow over all of their lives.
The film is well acted, but it feels as though the story just borrows from too many sources. Adding in Aunt Starr (Ellen Barkin) as almost a direct lift of Maggie from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof seems at odds with everything else going on in the film. There was more than enough story without her involvement, and she almost feels tacked on for no good reason.
The film is fine, but it seems confused as to what story it was trying to tell. There are essentially four stories running, and they all seem somewhat short changed because of it.
Murphy’s Law
In December 1985 there was a movie called Murphy’s Romance. Now, here I am in April 1986 reviewing Murphy’s Law. No… they are not connected
Jack Murphy (Charles Bronson) is a cop playing by his own rules (was there any other kind in the 80s?), and now he’s being set up by a woman he arrested years ago seeking revenge for her years in prison. He’s forced to go on the run with another criminal he arrested, Arabella (Kathleen Wilhoite) to clear his name and keep the both of them alive.
Murphy is not a likable character, and honestly you start rooting for the woman out to destroy him. He’s a misogynist, an alcoholic, and, frankly, horrible at his job.
Yet another forgettable Bronson vehicle.
Wise Guys
This movie should have worked, but it didn’t.
Harry Valentini (Danny DeVito) and Morris “Moe” L. Dickstein (Joe Piscopo) are best friends with dreams of climbing the ranks in the mafia. Sadly, Harry’s gambling addiction gets them in a spot of bother that leads to them not only going on the run, but having to kill a whole lot of other gangsters.
The biggest issue with this film is there is so little chemistry between DeVito and Piscopo that you never once believe they are best friends. They have more co-worker energy than anything, but are supposedly such great friends they live next door to one another. I didn’t buy it for a second.
The humor is sophomoric, the mafia tropes are even worn out for 1986, and it was just a miserable time all around.
I’m not sure what director Brian DePalma was going for, but he definitely didn’t achieve it.
1986 Movie Reviews will continue on April 18, 2026, with 8 Million Ways to Die, Act of Vengeance, Crimewave, and Violets Are Blue.
