Over the years Val Kilmer has earned the reputation of being temperamental and difficult to work with in films such as "The Doors" (1991) and "Batman Forever" (1995). But before he was challenging, he was goofy. In "Real Genius" (1985), Kilmer portrays Chris Knight, a casual genius who attends a highly competitive technical college who avoids burnout by goofing off. Written by the same people who gave us the "Naked Gun" and "Police Academy" movies, you know going in that this isn't going to be Oscar-worthy entertainment. The cold war / Star Wars subplot make the movie relevant for the times in which it was made, but it's Kilmer's deadpan delivery of his lines that makes this movie work. The movie features tons of quotable, zingy one-liners that now seem completely out of character for Kilmer. Although during my research I discovered that Kilmer actually talked about the film and character to the press, I'd still bet he'd like to see this one disappear from his resume.
James Spader first garnered attention as bad boy Steff in the teen classic "Pretty In Pink" (1986). He went on to become an indie darling in "sex, lies and videotape" (1989) and has enjoyed a successful career in both film and television. But back in 1985, he made "Tuff Turf", starring alongside a young Robert Downey Jr. and Kim Richards of Disney film fame. Spader portrayed Morgan Hiller in this movie that tried to be a combination of "Rebel Without A Cause" (1955) and "West Side Story" (1961). However, it fails miserably. "Tuff Turf" has the requisite disenfranchised hero who falls for the girlfriend of the local badass. He woos and eventually wins her, but not without getting his butt kicked in the process. Spader plays Hiller as irrepressibly smarmy, which was how he played a lot of his early characters. Spader even sings a ballad to Richards in the film, which is all the proof I need to know he'd cross this one off his resume if he could. Spader, and indeed the movie itself, takes the whole thing way too seriously.
Before she was the legendary Carrie Bradshaw on HBO's "Sex and the City," Sarah Jessica Parker had a lot of supporting roles in some good, and some not so good, 80s movies. First, the good. In 1984, she played Rusty, the best friend of the female lead, in "Footloose." "Footloose" is generally agreed to be one of the movies that best represent the 80s. SJP wasn't the first choice for the role of Rusty. She landed it after Tracy Nelson, who costarred with Parker on TV's "Square Pegs," thought script revisions made Rusty look too rowdy and goofy. Now, the not so good. From "Footloose" Parker went on to make "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" (1985). In this silly teen comedy, Parker played Janey Glenn, whose dream is to dance as a regular on an MTV-like dance show. She falls for her dance partner and in the end lands both him and the coveted spot on the show. As anyone who's seen the movie will surely tell you, Helen Hunt steals the movie as Janey's quirky friend Lynne. I'm sure Carrie Bradshaw would give kudos to Lynn's eclectic style, but would quickly turn her Manolos on both Rusty and Janey.
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