cover image Life Moves Pretty Fast: The Lessons We Learned from Eighties Movies

Life Moves Pretty Fast: The Lessons We Learned from Eighties Movies

Hadley Freeman. Simon & Schuster, $16 (352p) ISBN 978-1-5011-3045-8

As this book attests, many Hollywood blockbusters of the 1980s have retained their popularity; to audiences beset on all sides by homogenized, focus-grouped studio behemoths, they can seem refreshingly lighthearted and surprisingly honest. In this love letter to ’80s popcorn cinema, Guardian columnist Freeman (The Meaning of Sunglasses) breaks down the life lessons that she gleaned from the work of John Hughes, John Landis, and John Cusack, among many others. Focusing each chapter on a specific title, she uses anecdotes from her own life, interviews with actors and filmmakers, and feminist-flavored social commentary to drive home the continuing relevance of the films, which include Back to the Future, Dirty Dancing, and Ghostbusters. Freeman amply demonstrates why the hits of three decades ago are still beloved of many—not least for their now- nostalgic sound track choices and core themes of life, love, and friendship. This informative and humorous (if slightly obsessive) book is a recommended read for anyone who has felt abandoned in recent years by mainstream filmmaking. Agent: Georgia Garrett, Rogers, Coleridge and White. (June)