Take Me Home Tonight – Crank the Wayback Playback for a Totally Awesome Trip to the 80s

If you would, take a trip with Wolfgang MacLeod and myself (@WriterTLK). Where are we headed? To the magical, whimsical, and musically fantastic era known as the 1980s! Take Me Home Tonight is a tale primarily centered around a guy's last chance to find love with the girl he pined over in high school, but it's also about growing up.

Listen, I know. "Coming-of-Age" movies are not exactly unique. The angst of our teenage years is something that is instantly relatable to a great percentage of the population. That's why they work so well. What separates Take Me Home Tonight is its unabashed admiration for the 80s. Unlike movies that were filmed during the decade, this one had the benefit of time. It is able to incorporate some of the more outlandish elements of the period in a way that is equal parts comical and nostalgic. It also boasts an incredible cast—Topher Grace, Dan Fogler, Michael Biehn, pre-fat Pratt Pratt, and Anna Faris, to name a few—as well as a soundtrack chock full of totally awesome 80s hits. 

Unfortunately, and despite our fervent recommendation, this film was a flop. On a budget of $19 million, it grossed just over $7. As egregious as we may find that, it just never found an audience. Don't be one of the people who missed it. Watch this movie. It's not perfect, but like an ice cold Bartles & Jaymes, it's pretty damn close.

So sit back, pour yourself a Most Excellent IPA, and crank the Duran Duran because its time to go back to a better time! A time when the hair was moussed, the shirts were pastel, and Breakdancing was the purest form of combat!

This Week's Segments:

• Introduction – Our general reaction to the film and lingering questions we have. (00:00)
• “Am I full of s**t or not?” – Wolfgang MacLeod attempts to debunk or confirm facts I discovered while investigating the interwebs. (32:13)
• Where Does Kyle Masterson (Chris Pratt) Rank on the All-Time High School/College A**hole Scale – How bad a guy is Kyle Masterson? Well, we stacked him up against some notorious bullies from the history of film to find out. (42:00)
• Six Degrees of Movie Separation & Recommendations – Can I again connect two actors in six degrees or less? (50:00)
• *Thrones Talk – We dive into the fifth and penultimate episode of the final season of Game of Thrones. (54:07)
  • *This segment is dark and full of spoilers.

As always, hit us up on Twitter (@HopsandBOFlops) to check out all the interesting factoids—Biff Trump, our beer recommendation, and more—from this week’s episode! And stay tuned for more awkward teen comedies as we journey to the 90s in the coming weeks with She's All That (which, and I found this to be baffling, was a huge hit) and Can't Hardly Wait!

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