The Shermer High Alumni Association

Revenge of the Nerds 🤓 follows a group of college freshmen who arrive at Adams College hoping to get a fresh start, only to find themselves dealing with the same kind of bullying they thought they left behind in high school. When the jocks take over their dorm and the nerds are forced to find somewhere else to live, they end up forming their own fraternity with a bunch of other campus misfits. Of course, the jocks aren't exactly thrilled about that, and things turn into a full-blown rivalry between the two groups. Between fraternity parties, ridiculous pranks, and the Gre...

In Wes Craven's classic slasher film, several Midwestern teenagers fall prey to Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), a disfigured midnight mangler who preys on the teenagers in their dreams -- which, in turn, kills them in reality. After investigating the phenomenon, Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) begins to suspect that a dark secret kept by her and her friends' parents may be the key to unraveling the mystery, but can Nancy and her boyfriend Glen (Johnny Depp) solve the puzzle before it's too late?

Thanks for joining us at The Shermer High Alumni Association. If you had as...

Welcome to Cuesta Verde, where every house looks the same and one of them is about to get very different.

Five-year-old Carol Anne starts chatting with the TV static. Chairs slide across the kitchen by themselves. Then a storm rolls in, a tree eats her brother through his bedroom window, and the spirits drag Carol Anne into the closet. Into another dimension. Her voice keeps coming through the TV. Fun!

Enter Tangina, a pint-sized medium with zero patience. Her diagnosis: lost souls are drawn to Carol Anne's light, and something much nastier, "the Beast," wants...

Killer Klowns from Outer Space is what happens when someone asks, “What if aliens came to Earth… but instead of being terrifying, they were fucking creepy clowns?” A small town in California is minding its own business when a mysterious circus tent suddenly appears in the woods. And, because apparently nobody in this town has ever seen a horror movie, people start wandering toward it. Inside is an entire race of murderous extraterrestrial clowns who have come to Earth looking for dinner—and humans are apparently what’s on the menu. Armed with cotton-candy guns, balloon animals, killer shadow puppets, a...

Seymour Krelborn is a nerdy, downtrodden employee at a failing Skid Row flower shop who spends his days pining for his coworker Audrey, who is stuck in an abusive relationship with a sadistic dentist (Steve Martin). Everything changes when Seymour discovers a strange, unidentified plant during a total eclipse. He names it Audrey II, and it turns the struggling shop into a sensation. There's just one problem: the plant is a wisecracking, soul-singing carnivore that needs human blood to survive, and its appetite keeps growing. As Seymour gets sucked into the fame, the fortune, and a few increasingly bad...

Summer camp, counselors, mysterious killings

Thanks for joining us at The Shermer High Alumni Association. If you had as much fun as we did, hit follow, leave a review, and share this episode with your fellow 80s movie lovers. Until next time, be kind… and don’t forget to rewind.

 Hoosiers follows Norman Dale, a former college basketball coach with a troubled past, who takes a job coaching the high school team in the tiny Indiana town of Hickory. The team is struggling, the town has very strong opinions about basketball, and Norman's unconventional coaching style isn't exactly winning him any popularity contests. But with the help of a talented young player, a troubled former basketball star, and a team that slowly learns to trust one another, Hickory begins to find its rhythm. As the boys make an unlikely run towards the state championship, Norman has to confront his ow...

Kristin and Carole are off this week, so Jeannine is joined by a returning favorite: Tommy, back in the co-host chair for a movie he specifically requested and clearly knows inside and out.

Flight of the Navigator follows 12-year-old David Freeman, who vanishes in the woods in 1978 and wakes up eight years later without having aged a single day. His little brother is now older than he is. His parents have moved on without him. And NASA wants very badly to know exactly where he's been. Then David finds Max, a wildly sarcastic alien spacecraft, and the...

Dirty Dancing takes us to a Catskills resort in the summer of 1963, where 17-year-old Baby Houseman falls in with the staff after hours and ends up covering for dance instructor Penny by stepping in as Johnny Castle's new partner. We can't get past the age gap between Baby and Johnny, something nobody in 1987 seemed to blink at. We also dig into the abortion subplot that almost cost the movie its Clearasil sponsorship, since the company backed out once they found out and the writer refused to cut it anyway.

Turns out the shoot was just as dramatic...

This episode is dedicated to Dolly Parton, who passed away last week at 80. Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole had another movie planned, but pivoted to spend the week with one of Dolly's most beloved films instead.

9 to 5 follows three coworkers, played by Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton, who've had enough of their sexist, credit-stealing boss Franklin Hart. After a shared joint leads to three increasingly unhinged revenge fantasies, each woman gets her own dream sequence. Judy imagines hunting Hart down like the deer head mounted on his office wall. Doralee flips the office harassment script and...

Stand by Me follows four twelve-year-old boys: Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern, who set out on a two-day journey to find the body of a missing boy named Ray Brower. What begins as an exciting adventure quickly becomes something much more meaningful as the boys confront danger, fear, and the complicated realities of growing up.

Starring:

Wil Wheaton

River Phoenix

Corey Feldman

Jerry O'Connell

Kiefer Sutherland and

Richard Dreyfuss

Released: August 22, 1986

Rated: R

Cozy Earth...

Valley Girl is a 1983 romantic comedy that captures the vibrant culture clash between two distinct Los Angeles teenage worlds. The story follows Julie Richman, a popular, trendsetting Valley Girl from the San Fernando Valley, who grows tired of her arrogant boyfriend and her shallow, conformist social circle. When she meets Randy, a raw, edgy Hollywood punk rocker with a sweet heart, the two share an instant, undeniable connection.

As their whirlwind romance blossoms against a backdrop of iconic new wave music, Julie faces intense peer pressure from her judgmental friends to dump him, forcing her to choose...

An aspiring teenage cartoonist goes to Nantucket for the summer and accidentally gets drafted into a high-stakes class war, where the only logical way to save a singer's ancestral home from greedy yacht-club billionaires is by unleashing pure 1980s chaos, a ragtag group of misfits, and Godzilla. This masterpiece of absurdity turns a standard coming-of-age romance into a beautiful disaster of property damage and working-class spite, proving that John Cusack doesn't need smooth words to woo Demi Moore when he can just draw aggressive cartoon rhinoceroses and win a rigged regatta. It is a wonderfully unhinged time capsule where...

Kurt Russell stars as Jack Burton, a big-talking, wisecracking truck driver who's suddenly hurled into a wild adventure even he could never invent. At the root of it all is Lo Pan, a 2,000-year-old evil magician who rules an empire of spirits beneath San Francisco's Chinatown. Doomed to a fleshless existence, he can only be saved by a green-eyed Asian beauty. When the fiancé of Jack's friend is kidnapped by Lo Pan's minions, Jack goes to the rescue. He finds himself dodging demons, grappling with goblins, and facing baffling terrors like the Room of the Upside-Down Hell as he b...

This week Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole take on Jim Henson's 1982 puppet fantasy The Dark Crystal, a movie plenty of us remember as a cozy childhood favorite and absolutely none of us remembered as being this dark. Kristin walks through the story of Jen and Kira, the last two Gelflings, and the thousand year old crystal that split one race into the gentle Mystics and the monstrous Skeksis. The group gets into how Henson wanted to strip fantasy back down to something closer to the older, stranger versions of fables before Disney smoothed all the edges off them, and there's...

Part two picks up right where Tuesday's episode left off, with Tommy still along for the ride as the Goonies make their way through the Fratellis' hideout and down into the tunnels below. Chunk gets taken hostage and ends up locked in a room with the mysterious chained-up man the family's been keeping prisoner. That relationship turns out to be one of the sweeter surprises in the whole movie.

So did The Goonies earn a spot with the greats, or does it belong back in 1985? Listen to find out.

Thanks for joining us at the...

We have a special guest, and he might be the most qualified one yet!

Tommy, a friend of the pod, met Jeannine during her travels to Ireland and is a Goonies EXPERT.

This 1985 Spielberg-produced classic follows a group of Astoria, Oregon kids who find a centuries-old pirate map in Mikey's attic and go after One-Eyed Willy's treasure to save their neighborhood from a real estate deal that's about to wipe it out. Part one covers the setup: how the doubloon lines up with Haystack Rock, a real debate over whether the movie's foreclosure plot actually...

This week we go WAY BACK, back to Episode THREE - a classic: Howard the Duck:

Some movies age like fine wine. And some age like a humanoid duck with a questionable libido.

In this episode, we dive headfirst into Howard the Duck (1986)—a high-budget, high-concept, low-explanation film that somehow features space travel, duck boobs, demon possession, and Lea Thompson in full 80s rockstar mode.

We break down:

Risky Business

Starring: Tom Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay, Joe Pantiolano, Curtis Armstrong, and Bronson Pinchot.

Distributed by: Warner Bros.

Release date: August 5, 1983

Budget: $6.2 million

Box office: $63.5 million

This week's movie opens with Joel Goodsen (played by Cruise) being left alone for a week by his parents, and what should be a quiet stretch of teenage freedom turns into sinking his dad's Porsche into a lake after hiring a call girl (De Mornay). We talk about Tom Cruise in one of his...

This week, we rewatch Popeye, the 1980 cocaine-fest from Malta. Arguably Robin Williams' best role ever. We love everything about it - Sweethaven, Sweet Pea, Dennis Franz(?). We talk about our forever friend Adams recent trip to Popeye Village and Jeannine sings for us.

The question now is... is it Hall of Fame-worthy?

#popeye #robinwilliams #shelleyduvall #80smovies #adamthewoo #popeyevillage

IT'S OUR 50TH EPISODE!!!!

Ferris Bueller's Day Off turns 40 this year, and Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole rewatch John Hughes' love letter to Chicago. They've collectively seen this movie so many times they briefly debated whether rewatching it was even necessary. It was. Is it cringe? Is it Hall of Fame material? Listen this week to find out!

#ferrisbueller #matthewbroderick #ferrari #80smovies #genxpod

SpaceCamp turns 40 this year, and Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole are rewatching the 1986 film that sent five teenagers and one very unprepared flight instructor into actual orbit because a robot had a feelings problem.

Jeannine is back from Ireland with thoughts on roundabouts and fizzy water. Kristin attended real Space Camp in 1989, had a boyfriend there, and a Ponderosa manager stole her flight jacket, and she will never be over it.

Also: Roger Ebert had a lot to say, Jeannine looked up what actually happens to your body when you run out of oxygen and that...

Footloose turns 42 this year, and Kristin and Carole are recording in person from Olmsted Falls, Ohio, while Jeannine is somewhere in Ireland living her best life. Jeannine would have sung every word of the soundtrack, and they both know it. This week's movie is the 1984 Kevin Bacon classic where rock music and dancing are banned in a small Utah town, a Chicago kid named Ren shows up with a cassette collection and an attitude, and somehow changes everything. They get into Ariel's ongoing death wish, Willard as the Neville Longbottom of Footloose, the council meeting scene that is genuinely...

 Today, we're rewinding to 1986 to revisit a movie that defined teen relationships and gave us a soundtrack that slaps.

From thrift store prom dresses to love triangles that still spark debate decades later, this John Hughes classic asked the big questions: Is Ducky actually the best guy? Was Andy's dress iconic or just aggressively pink? And how did Blaine manage to look confused for the entire film?

So grab your cassettes, don your best Jessica McClintock, and get ready as we break down the style, the soundtrack, and the swoon-worthy and sometimes cringey moments of Pr...

Heathers turns 36 this year, and Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole are diving headfirst into one of the darkest, funniest, and most quoted teen movies ever made. A $3 million budget, a five-week box office run that grossed $1.1 million, and somehow a cult classic — go figure.

They break down:

Did it age well? Not at all. Bu...

It's the one-year anniversary of The Shermer High Alumni Association, and the girls are celebrating with one of the biggest movies of 1986: Top Gun. Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole revisit Maverick, Goose, Iceman, and Charlie for the film's birthday week, and it turns out Jeannine has never actually seen it, because she thought she wasn't allowed.

They cover the glycerin sweat that defies physics, volleyball in jeans, a sex scene folded up like a middle school note, and the homoerotic undertones the internet won't stop talking about.

Did it age well? It's not really cringe. Would...

It's the 40th birthday of Fire with Fire, the 1986 Paramount film that asked the age-old question: what could possibly go wrong when a juvenile delinquent and a Catholic schoolgirl fall in love in the Oregon woods? Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole rewatch this barely-remembered PG-13 romance starring Virginia Madsen and Craig Sheffer, and find a movie that plays like an after school special until it suddenly doesn't. Complete with a helicopter budget that nearly bankrupted the production, crypt sex, an extremely abrupt ending, and bacon grease that burns down a cabin in the state of Oregon. Also featuring Jean Smart...

It's 1980, it's Disney, and somehow it's also completely unhinged. This week the Shermer High Alumni Association dives into Midnight Madness, the cult classic nobody reviewed, nobody released nationally, and apparently everybody loves anyway. A citywide overnight scavenger hunt, five wildly mismatched teams, zero prize money, and one very mysterious man named Leon. What could go wrong?

Kristin is back from her trip and catching up on everything she missed (Short Circuit's fake Indian accent, Annie's extremely suspicious Daddy Warbucks), and then it's straight into the chaos. We've got the Dr. Pepper guy, a very young Michael J...

This week’s movie is: Annie, a movie that asks the important question: what if capitalism, child labor, and jazz hands all came together for one wildly chaotic musical?

Annie follows a spirited young orphan living in New York City during the Great Depression. Stuck in a strict and often miserable orphanage run by the bitter Miss Hannigan, Annie refuses to give up hope that her parents will one day return for her. Her life takes an unexpected turn when billionaire Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks invites her to stay at his mansion for a week as part of a publ...

This week’s movie is: Short Circuit… Before A.I. was everywhere and smart devices ran our lives, there was Johnny Five—a military robot who gets struck by lightning, gains a mind of his own, and suddenly just wants one thing…“Input.”

The movie kicks off when a high-tech military robot, Number 5, is struck by lightning during a power demo, causing a tactical malfunction that accidentally gives him a soul. Intrigued by "input," he wanders off-base and meets Stephanie, an animal lover who feeds him encyclopedias and TV commercials until he’s basically a walking, talking 80s pop-culture...

This week’s movie is: Caddyshack! A movie where the golfers are rich, the caddies are poor, the groundskeeper is at war with a gopher and no one takes golf seriously.

Caddyshack is a chaotic comedy set at the exclusive Bushwood Country Club, where the wealthy members take their golf — and themselves — far too seriously. The story loosely follows young caddie Danny Noonan, who hopes to win a college scholarship from the club while navigating the outrageous behavior of its members and staff.

Along the way, the club is turned upside down by the ar...

This week’s movie is: Flash Gordon. A wild space opera packed with love, lasers, and the heroic fight against Ming the Merciless.

When mysterious natural disasters begin striking Earth, a New York Jets quarterback named Flash Gordon ends up on a small plane with travel agent Dale Arden. The plane crash-lands into the laboratory of eccentric scientist Dr. Hans Zarkov, who believes the disasters are being caused by an alien ruler. To prove his theory, Zarkov launches himself—and his unwilling passengers—into space aboard a rocket. They arrive on the planet Mongo, ruled by the...

 This week's movie is The Money Pit, a movie about how home renovation makes you absolutely lose your sh!t.

 This is a tale about Walter and Anna, who live in a New York City apartment owned by Max, Anna's ex-husband, who suddenly decides to return to New York and subsequently kicks them out, needing a new home. They settle on buying a country estate outside the city, available at a suspiciously low price. It soon becomes apparent why, as doors fall off their hinges, staircases come tumbling down, and a bathtub falls through the floor. The coup...

We head back to 1982 with Fast Times at Ridgemont High, to revisit Stacy Hamilton, who wants a relationship, but what she gets is a crash course in the difference between sex and love, guided by the questionable romantic “wisdom” of her “experienced” friend Linda.

Meanwhile, her older brother, Brad watches his “king of the school” status crumble through a series of humiliating fast food jobs and a surprise breakup. Floating through it all is Jeff Spicoli, the quintessential stoner-slacker who discovers that even his carefree surfer lifestyle must eventually answer to the iron-fisted Mr. Hand.

#80spod...

 This week's movie, Platoon, is about Chris Taylor (played by Charlie Sheen), who leaves his university studies to enlist in combat duty in Vietnam in 1967. Once he's on the ground in the middle of battle, his idealism fades as he fights alongside his unit. Between Staff Sergeant Barnes, played by Tom Berenger, who believes that the nearby villagers are harboring Viet Cong soldiers, and Sergeant Elias, played by William Defoe, who has a more sympathetic view of the locals, the situation ends up pitting the soldiers against each other as well as against the enemy.

We also ha...

Never heard of it? That's ok.  To catch you up, this is the story of Cru Jones, a young man who can overcome all obstacles that prevent him from participating in the BMX race Hill Track as he works towards his dream proof falls in love with Christian, who's a girl, an amateur racer with the help of Christian who's a girl, and her friends can cruise Rad Racing team defeat the top BMX factory rider Bart Taylor.

Suspenseful.

Where will this rate on the cringe scale?

#rad #radbmx #80srewatch #80spod

 St. Elmo's Fire is about a group of recent college graduates who embark on a series of misadventures in the real world. There's Kirby, a waiter who's a law student and a questionable sociopath. Kevin, a melancholy writer for the Washington Post, yearns for Alex's girlfriend, Leslie. Alec, whose political aspirations alienate his girlfriend, Leslie, and Wendy, a quiet girl in love with Billy, who juggles roles as husband, dad, and drunk. And then there's Jules, who fails miserably at international banking and managing what went into her body. Together, they grapple with adulthood.

#stelmosfire #br...

Join us this week as we rewatch the 1984 Tom Hanks classic, Splash. And boy, do we go down some pretty disturbing rabbit holes on this one. Mermaid s*x, mermaid babies, mer-men, you name it. Did it age well? Will we watch it again?

#splash #tomhanks #darrellhannah #johncandy #eugenelevy

In this episode, hosts Kristin, Jeannine, and Carole from the Schirmer High Alumni Association rewatch the iconic 1982 film, ET the Extra-Terrestrial. They discuss memorable scenes, the talented cast including Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore, and the film's impact on their childhoods. The hosts delve into behind-the-scenes details, such as the movie's original use of Reese's Pieces instead of M&Ms, and the filming locations in California. They also talk about the film's critical acclaim, including reviews from Roger Ebert and screenings at places like the United Nations and the White House. Finally, they share their thoughts on whether the...

 This week's movie is the 1985 Sarah Jessica Parker classic, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Jump on your motorcycle, practice your dance moves, and put a grasshopper on your head.

 Though she's a talented gymnast, Janie has always followed her strict Army Colonel father's orders and stayed out of the spotlight. However, when she moves to Chicago and meets the carefree Lynne Stone, she disobeys her father for the first time in her life.

With Lynne's encouragement, Janie enters a TV dance competition she's dreamed about her whole life and soon finds herself with both a cute...