Stardust

[Flopper]

Our grandkids, a 13 and 15 years old were staying with us last weekend and there mother gave us instructions to make sure any movies they watch are suitable. What the hell do I know about suitable movies for teenagers. I saw this fantasy movie, Stardust on Netflix. It had a PG-13 rating, had some violence and the obligatory sexy scene with the stars ready to be bedded so I decided it will past muster.

When they came over, and I suggested this movie, I was met with a no way, that's a kid movie. So I let them explore cable and they came up with some semi-objectionable movies.

Although the kids would have nothing to do with this movie, I watched it and found it pretty good, not great but maybe it you like fairytale type fantasies it would be OK.

 

[MarathonMike]

Thanks for the tip! My wife and I are terrible at picking movies.

 

[Bob Blaylock]

Our grandkids, a 13 and 15 years old were staying with us last weekend and there mother gave us instructions to make sure any movies they watch are suitable. What the hell do I know about suitable movies for teenagers. I saw this fantasy movie, Stardust on Netflix. It had a PG-13 rating, had some violence and the obligatory sexy scene with the stars ready to be bedded so I decided it will past muster.

When they came over, and I suggested this movie, I was met with a no way, that's a kid movie. So I let them explore cable and they came up with some semi-objectionable movies.

Although the kids would have nothing to do with this movie, I watched it and found it pretty good, not great but maybe it you like fairytale type fantasies it would be OK.

I like that movie.

An interesting observation about it.

There was a genre of movie that was very popular for a while, in the 1980s, usually set at a high school. The main protagonist is usually a nerdy, unpopular high school student who is in love or lust with the prettiest, most popular girl at his school.

In the simplest of these films, the protagonist somehow ends up winning the heart of the girl.

A slightly more complex form of the plot has the nerd eventually realizing that the girl he has been lusting after is really not that great a person, and in the mean time, another eventually catches his attention, not as pretty or popular, but really more suitable, and he and she fall in love.

Stardust is really that second form of the teen high school nerd-lusts-after-the-popular-girl movie, except that it's not set in a modern high school, but in a much earlier time period, in some generic European town, that happens to border a a magical fairy-tale-ish realm. But it's the same plot. Nerdy protagonist thinks he's in love with the prettiest girl in his town; to win her heart, he goes into the magical realm to retrieve a fallen star. The star turns out to be a woman, far more suitable for him than the pretty, but relatively superficial girl that he thought he loved.

 

[Flopper]

I like that movie.

An interesting observation about it.

There was a genre of movie that was very popular for a while, in the 1980s, usually set at a high school. The main protagonist is usually a nerdy, unpopular high school student who is in love or lust with the prettiest, most popular girl at his school.

In the simplest of these films, the protagonist somehow ends up winning the heart of the girl.

A slightly more complex form of the plot has the nerd eventually realizing that the girl he has been lusting after is really not that great a person, and in the mean time, another eventually catches his attention, not as pretty or popular, but really more suitable, and he and she fall in love.

Stardust is really that second form of the teen high school nerd-lusts-after-the-popular-girl movie, except that it's not set in a modern high school, but in a much earlier time period, in some generic European town, that happens to border a a magical fairy-tale-ish realm. But it's the same plot. Nerdy protagonist thinks he's in love with the prettiest girl in his town; to win her heart, he goes into the magical realm to retrieve a fallen star. The star turns out to be a woman, far more suitable for him than the pretty, but relatively superficial girl that he thought he loved.

Yeah, back 20 or 30 years ago, there was a lot of teenage movies, all with the same general theme, rejection or acceptance of the group and the boy/girl friend. The one movie theme that movie audiences never seem to tire of is boy meets girl, boy loses girl, and boy gets girl. There must be thousands of variations of this basic theme. In fact, a of lot writers build this into just about everything they write.

Also the same basic story line in movies is often repeated in a different time, and place. Remember movies and TV about Wagon trains going west taking pioneers on a great adventure into the great unknown encountering Indians natural disasters. Jump ahead to the 22nd century and we have explorers going into the great unknown, not in a wagon train but a space ship going where no has been before encountering adventures and strange new beings. And along the way in the covered wagons or the spaceship we have stores of love, wonder, greed, sacrifice, and betrayal.

I found Stardust was a good movie for those who enjoy fantasy with a fairy tale twist. I found it amusing but not the kind of movie I will remember.

 

[Bob Blaylock]

Yeah, back 20 or 30 years ago, there was a lot of teenage movies, all with the same general theme, rejection or acceptance of the group and the boy/girl friend. The one movie theme that movie audiences never seem to tire of is boy meets girl, boy loses girl, and boy gets girl. There must be thousands of variations of this basic theme. In fact, a of lot writers build this into just about everything they write.

Also the same basic story line in movies is often repeated in a different time, and place. Remember movies and TV about Wagon trains going west taking pioneers on a great adventure into the great unknown encountering Indians natural disasters. Jump ahead to the 22nd century and we have explorers going into the great unknown, not in a wagon train but a space ship going where no has been before encountering adventures and strange new beings. And along the way in the covered wagons or the spaceship we have stores of love, wonder, greed, sacrifice, and betrayal.

I found Stardust was a good movie for those who enjoy fantasy with a fairy tale twist. I found it amusing but not the kind of movie I will remember.

At a broader level, yes, that's the classic basis for many tales, throughout the existence of literature.

But there truly is a very specific, identifiable genre of teen high school romantic comedies from the 1980s, where the main protagonist is a nerd who thinks he's in love with the prettiest, most popular girl at his school.

I do not know how many times I watched Stardust, before I recognized how closely it was descended from that genre.


I think my favorite of the genre is Can't Buy Me Love, which takes a rather unique twist. In this story, the nerd isn't really interested in the girl; he wants to become part of the “cool” crowd, and avails himself of a rare opportunity to make a deal with the girl to pretend, for a month, to be his girlfriend, as a way of gaining acceptance among the “cool” cliques. During the course of their fake, staged relationship, the girl ends up sincerely falling in love with the nerd, who continues to see her as nothing more than a way for him to get in with the popular groups. It then falls to the pretty, popular girl, to try to win the heart of the nerd.

 

[Flopper]

At a broader level, yes, that's the classic basis for many tales, throughout the existence of literature.

But there truly is a very specific, identifiable genre of teen high school romantic comedies from the 1980s, where the main protagonist is a nerd who thinks he's in love with the prettiest, most popular girl at his school.

I do not know how many times I watched Stardust, before I recognized how closely it was descended from that genre.


I think my favorite of the genre is Can't Buy Me Love, which takes a rather unique twist. In this story, the nerd isn't really interested in the girl; he wants to become part of the “cool” crowd, and avails himself of a rare opportunity to make a deal with the girl to pretend, for a month, to be his girlfriend, as a way of gaining acceptance among the “cool” cliques. During the course of their fake, staged relationship, the girl ends up sincerely falling in love with the nerd, who continues to see her as nothing more than a way for him to get in with the popular groups. It then falls to the pretty, popular girl, to try to win the heart of the nerd.

I don't recall it but I've seem many similar films.