New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

25 YEARS AGO

Wayne’s World - February 14, 1992
One of SNL’s classic skits, Mike Myers and Dana Carvey appeared as the headbanging hosts of a public access heavy-metal enthusiast show in early 1989 and another dozen episodes before it jumping to the silver screen.  In the film’s plot, Wayne and Garth step up from their basement to the big time thanks to a smooth talking TV producer (Rob Lowe).  Wayne falls for a musician named Cassandra (Tia Carrere) and nearly loses her and his friendship with Garth.  Among the supporting cast: their light blue AMC Pacer they use to cruise around and sing along to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”  Wayne’s World was a bona fide hit with critics and fans, and easily outpaced The Blues Brothers to become the best performing of SNL’s film adaptations.  Opening at #1 with $18.1 million from 1,768 theaters, Wayne’s World held the #1 spot for 4 more weekends and didn’t drop out of the top ten at the box office until the end of May.  It grossed $121 million in the U.S., the eighth highest total among films released in 1992.  Wayne’s World 2 followed in December of 1993.

30 YEARS AGO

Mannequin - February 13, 1987
While we’re quick to dismiss Fifty Shades of Gray and Fifty Shades Darker as silly female fantasies, we should remember that the '80s had its share of silly male fantasies, often centered around a dream girl come alive for the benefit of a lonely, awkward guy: Splash and Weird Science earned audiences, while Xanadu and Date With an Angel flopped.  This one stars Kim Cattrall as an ancient Egyptian princess who appears in modern day Philadelphia as a standard department store mannequin, coming to life only in the presence of the store’s window-display artist. Andrew McCarthy had become a star after St. Elmo’s Fire and Pretty in Pink.  James Spader and Police Academy’s G.W. Baily play the store baddies, and Meshach Taylor plays an over-the-top (the 1980s style of depicting a “super gay” character) artist named Hollywood.  

Against harsh reviews but taking advantage of the Valentine’s Day mood, Mannequin opened at #3 behind Platoon and Outrageous Fortune with $6.0 million from just 932 theaters and kept going strong all the way to $42 million.  Its theme song “Nothing’s Going to Stop Us Now” was also a #1 Billboard hit for Starship and later earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.  The box office success, of course, spawned a sequel in 1991 (which is actually one of the worst movies ever made), in which Meshach Taylor appears among a new cast headed by Kristy Swanson.  But don’t feel bad for having fun memories about Mannequin - there are many like you out there.

Over the Top - February 13, 1987
Putting away the guns and gloves for a moment, Sylvester Stallone stars in this action drama as Lincoln Hawk,  a single father and truck driver.  He sees the World Armwrestling Championship prize as a way to start his own business and reclaim custody of his son, but is stymied by his rich, disapproving father-in-law (Robert Loggia).  Most of the memorable scenes come from the antics of the tournament competitors, which include real life pros and professional wrestlers as well as Rick Zumwalt, Hawk’s nemesis on the movie poster. David Mendenhall, who was a regular on the soap opera General Hospital in the early 1980s, "won" Razzie awards for Worst Supporting actor and Worst New Star as Hawk’s son, and Stallone was also nominated for Worst Actor.  Despite hitting his box office career high just two years earlier, Over the Top was Stallone’s career low, opening at #4 with $5.1 million from 1,758 theaters and finishing with just $16.0 million - five million less than Rhinestone.

Come back next week for another edition of Marquee History!

Continued:       1       2       3       4