After reading yesterday's post about VHS tapes I foolishly threw away, my Bestest Friend dropped me a note about another movie not available on DVD. This would be the 1984 romantic drama Windy City, starring John Shea and Kate Capshaw.
Never heard of it? Not surprised. It was an obscure little movie even when released and only got the modest amount of attention it did because Ms. Capshaw had just made a splash starring in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Windy City belonged to the genre of mopey-yuppies-bonding films that were churned out by the gross in the 80s (thanks for that, The Big Chill). It was one of those films that did nothing at the box office and then "found an audience" on video.
This movie is a Very Big Deal to Bestest Friend. It has Associations. Like, working-at-a-video-store-and-meeting-your-first-love-there-and-watching-movies-together-and-then-later-that-movie-always-made-you-cry-but-you-still-watch-it-sometimes-and-it-still-makes-you-cry-but-only-because-it's-a-sad-movie-and-totally-not-because-you-first-saw-it-with-that-guy Associations. But I'm not going to go into details. It's very personal and stuff.
Anyway, Bestest Friend reminded me that she still has Windy City on tape, and that it's never been released on DVD. Also, that if I had bothered to tell her I was about to chuck all of my videotapes she would have talked me out of it, because that was kind of dumb. What can I say? She knows I'm an idiot and loves me anyway.
Two more things. First, she also reminded me that another of my discarded tapes, the adorably mediocre Paul McCartney movie Give My Regards to Broad Street, can be found on DVD. Once again, she has saved me from slitting my wrists.
Second, that first love, who broke my Bestest Friend's heart? She still has the videotape, but he no longer has his hair, his wife, or his youth. VHS for the win.
meeting-your-first-love-there
ReplyDeleteWait. What?
This is information I did not have. As your Bestest Friend might say, there's some backstory here.
Note: DO NOT SHARE the backstory. Far as I'm concerned, past is the past. Also, whatever tragically hilarious 80s movie narrative I'm constructing about the situation in my mind is much better than any reality possibly could be.
And look, each of us has our own Windy City (sort of like El Guapo). For BF, her Windy City is actually Windy City. Mine might be Pretty in Pink.
Hey, that suggests a topic for you: Jon Cryer deserves to have had a better career arc. I blame Superman IV. Discuss.
Which leads to another one: John Shea -- great Lex Luthor, or GREATEST Lex Luthor?
Okay, trick question. It's Hackman all the way.
Or, really, just more Untold and Little Known Tales of Shatner, please. Didja know he once crashed his motorcycle in Harlan Ellison's driveway? And that Ellison subsequently used the experience as the kernel of an unpublished 80,000 word story called "Captain Shatterbike" that you can occasionally find at SF conventions.
At least half of the above is a lie.