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 March 14, 1986, and we’re off to see Crossroads and Gung Ho.
Crossroads
As stories go that tap into little-known bits of musical history, this one is surprisingly compelling.
Eugene Martone (Ralph Macchio) is training to be a classical guitarst, but he also happens to be obsessed with the blues. He figures out that Willie Brown (Joe Seneca), the man mentioned in Robert Johnson’s song “Crossroads,” is alive, and becomes obsessed with learning the blues from them. Once the two meet, they set off on a journey that will close chapters of their lives, while opening new ones.
In the pre-Internet days, Robert Johnson was not a well-known musical influence to the general public. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the same year this movie came out, but for general audiences, this was the first time many people had ever heard of the famed Bluesman.
The film deftly incorporates the folklore surrounding Johnson into a compelling story. The least compelling part is the romance between Frances (Jamie Gertz) and Eugene. Perhaps just have her accompany them on their journey, but there was no need to throw the romance aspect into the story.
A fun film worth your time if for no other reason than the Johnson angle.
Gung Ho
Remember when everyone thought the Japanese were going to take over the world business-wise? This is most definitely a product of that belief.
Hadleyville, Pennsylvania is in need of someone to take over the closed auto factory. Hunt Stevenson (Michael Keaton) heads to Japan to convince Assan Motors to take on the factory, to which they agree. What follows is two cultures trying to find a way to work together.
From a historical perspective, this is fascinating. There truly was a time where everyone was convinced the Japanese were going to completely take over the business world. As we all know, however, that never came to fruition.
What is also historically fascinating is the very casual racism happening throughout this movie. For a major film directed by Ron Howard and starring a future Batman, there were multiple times I audible said “oof” to some off-handed comments about Japan and its culture.
I would say watch it for the historical aspect of what the world though, but be warned you may find parts of it a bit off putting.
1986 Movie Reviews will continue on March 21, 2026, with Just Between Friends, Police Academy 3: Back in Training, and Rad.
