Matinee Idols
August 7th, 2009
When my parents took me to the video store as a kid, I always went for movies that I had already seen. This annoyed my dad to no end, but now I realize that probably had more to do with my choices than anything else. I mean, who really needs to watch La Bamba several times a week? My taste refined over time and John Hughes played an integral part in a lot of my choices (Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Pretty in Pink, etc.). His untimely passing yesterday made me think of my favorite films from my childhood and ones that still hold up today.
1. Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken. I renamed all of my dolls “Sonora” and contemplated chopping off my hair to look like her.
2. The Princess Bride. ROUS’s are still one of the best creatures ever put on film. They were even funnier once I realized it was just a person in a furry suit.
3. Now and Then. This movie spawned several unsuccessful seances at slumber parties.
4. Newsies. The beginning of a 17-year long crush on Christian Bale.
5. A League of Their Own. There may not be “crying in baseball,” but I know every line in this movie.
What were your favorite childhood films?
Oh, Now and Then and A League of Their Own were on my heavy rotation. I have always been big on soundtracks also and successfully annoyed my mother into getting the Now and Then soundtrack for me. Little Women spawned an early Christian Bale crush for me!
amen to christian bale in newsies!
i often break into various newsies songs.
The Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies of all time! I was more of a Disney princess junkie.
XO.
Wow! I loved all the same movies! However I also need to add: Adventures in Babysitting, Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead, Troop Beverly Hills, and The Sandlot!
Funny, I was thinking about “Wild Hearts Can’t be Broken” yesterday.
Every time I brought it up to someone, no body knew what I was talking about. It’s one of my Favorites.
Love watching movies that I’ve watched before!
-Hayanna&Cathy
loved loved loved wild hearts can’t be broken!!!
hi emily! i love your blog! so inspiring to me
ps i totally agree with all your picks of movies! pretty much the EXACT same when i was little.
I love Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken!!! My babysitter when I was little had me watch it. I always rememvered how much I loved it and just watched it again recently.
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The Little Mermaid! Still is. I watch it a few times a month
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OMG!! I also thought my sister and I were the only ones who watched Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken. I love this movie. I cry all the time when I watch it. The main guy is fine!!! I also watched The Sandlot because of that cute guy who helps the geek learn baseball. Other movies I loved are The Wiz, League of Their Own, NeverEnding Story, Labrynith, and Muppets Take Manhattan. Sorry for the last one but it is classic.
I always love to watch Now and Then movie. =D
Summer
A Writers Den
The Brown Mestizo
ha i was in love with wild hearts cant be broken- but no one i knew had ever seen it! i still own the vhs and break it out on those rare lonely, rainy days.
other childhood favorites? abbot and costellos jack & the beanstalk. i re-watched the other day and i now understand why my parents hated it. other than that, pretty sure just disney.
Oh my goodness, Now and Then is one of my all time favorites! Best soundtrack too.
Oh. My. Goodness. You have got my heart racing with all the memories these movies bring! I hadn’t thought of ‘wild hearts’ in years, but how amazing is it?
and if I had a dollar for every time i tried to learn the choreography to all those newsies dance routines? i even pulled my mom’s broom into service to use the broomstick as a prop…
Another fave? The mighty ducks—how cute was joshua jackson back in the day?!
I love this post. I really got me thinking of all those movies we loved back in the day. (Many of which I now own on DVD) My all time favorite is Cutting Edge. Other favorites already mentioned include – Goonies, Dirty Dancing (Great Soundtrack – Patrick Swayze singing?), Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Sandlot, Space Camp.
Others not mentioned:
Lost Boys!
My Science Project (My brother and I wore out the VHS tape.)
Short Curcuit
Outsiders (Started my short crush on Tom Cruise)
Liar’s Moon (with Matt Dillion)
The Big Chill (For months in high school, my friends and I watched this every day. This has the absolutely best soundtrack ever!)
I loved Iron Will, Say Anything, The Cutting Edge, Man In The Moon & Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. I did really love Wild Hearts… too. When her husband organized her clothes by color so she could dress… it melted my heart!
Oh wow, totally with you on Wild Hearts Can’t be Broken and Now and Then, 2 of my all time faves!!
Jeez, I really loved to see Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Stand By Me.
I love your blog! Keep visiting every single day.
Cya!
Oh wow… Now and Then… that really brings back some great childhood memories…
XO
I LOVED Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken–thought I was the only one because it is so random
You NAILED it here! My sis and I watched all of these endlessly. Especially,…Newsies! Christian Bale, who would have thunk it?
I also loved the soundtrack. A pair of new shoes with matching laces,…
Oh man – Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken… I was obsessed with this film! And Newsies is still a fave.
I love all of your picks- I don’t know many people who know of Wild Hearts.
My name is Sonora, incidentally. I wasn’t named after the movie, but I’ve always loved that the main character’s name matched mine. 
omg. i LOVE wild hearts cant be broken. one of my all time faves. i also don’t know many peeps who know about that movie. awesome.
I love Now & Then! I remember when it came out I wanted to see it with all my best friends! Thanks for the flashback!
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haven’t seen the rest, but absolutely adored The Princess Bride
1. Sound of Music
2. Troop Beverly Hills
3. Mary Poppins
4. Annie
I watched Newsies on my 13th birthday and promptly fell in love with Christian Bale. I then proceeded to watch a VHS tape that my friend taped off of the Disney channel for 6 months straight. On the one tv that was in my house. I am sure my parents loved that.
Also a huge fan of “Wild Hearts Can’t be Broken”.
Hahaha, my friends and I were definitely guilty of the Now & Then seances as well!!
My all time favorite move is “Wild Hearts Can’t be Broken” and I am so glad that there are so many people who love this wonderful movie as well.
Your blog is wonderful. Thank you for sharing.
LOVE all the throwbacks!
I don’t believe anyone has mentioned some of the best comedic movies from the early to mid-90′s; how about Heavyweights?? Prob. one of my all-time favorites next to A League of Their Own
Um, I was seriously obsessed with EVERY SINGLE ONE of those movies. Especially “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken..” My sister and I used to quote it to no end!!
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Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken, Now and Then, and A League of Their Own are def in my top 5 too!! Im home sick today as well, maybe Ill Netflix those.
LOVED Now and Then and A League of Their Own! Other faves: Beaches, Little Women, Bed of Roses (so bad but so good)!
Now & then! cutest movie ever.
I love Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken!! I had the biggest crush on Al and went so far as to google him. FYI – he now builds furniture in Pennsylvania.
two of my favorites were little monsters with fred savage and troop beverly hills, soo good!
There’s no telling how many times I watched “Now & Then” at sleep overs. In the scene were the girls get the boys clothes, we always tried to pause it to see Devon Sawa’s business. It never worked.
AHHH- randomly looking through your old posts and I love these movies. The Newsies was seriously underrated! Who can resist a teenage Christian Bale? To this day I get upset that Jo doesn’t accept his proposal in Little Women.
As always, your blog is brilliant. It would mean so so much if you stopped by mine. http://sometimeshavingitall.blogspot.com
xo
Taylor