Dec 10: C+C Music Factory, The Wizard, Miss Congeniality
Plus Wayne's World 2, Sister Act 2, the first website, and more
The Retro
by 11 Points
Modern perspectives on ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia
December 10th, 2021 • Issue 77
This week in nostalgic history
December 10th
28 years ago, on December 10th, 1993 - Wayne’s World 2 and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit both hit theaters.
Wayne’s World and Sister Act were both larger hits than expected in 1992, so both sequels were fast tracked and then highly anticipated when they came out during the 1993 holiday movie season.
Neither franchise got a third movie. (Well, at least until this new Sister Act revival coming nearly three decades later.)
It’s unfair to call both movies franchise killers, as that’s not really what happened in either case. Both of the original films told very specific, unique underdog stories; it was a serious challenge to squeeze out a second underdog story in both cases that could have equal resonance.
While both movies did sometimes struggle to find the balance between microwaving the top beats of the first movie versus establishing new material, at least neither went full American Pie 2 where they could only succeed playing the hits.
With Wayne’s World, the biggest limiting factor in continuing the franchise was Mike Myers — both his prickliness and his desire to move on to other projects. With Sister Act, the second film just wasn’t successful enough for the studio to push to figure out a third story.
And finally, in both cases, the movies were as much victims of the era of anything. In today’s market, everything with half a heartbeat is franchise-able and both movies would’ve kept going and going with even larger budgets. In 1993? There was such a thing as two-and-out.
Also on December 10th: 48 Hrs. and Airplane II both hit theaters (1982)… Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson’s single Say, Say, Say hit number one (1983)… Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles premiered (1987)… Chicago’s single Look Away hit number one (1988)… Naughty by Nature’s Hip Hop Hooray was released (1992)… Doom was released (1993)… the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, and Yasser Arafat (1994)… Whitney Houston’s single I Believe in You and Me was released (1996)… Amistad hit theaters (1997)… The Green Mile, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, and The Cider House Rules all hit theaters (1999)
December 11th
39 years ago, on December 11th, 1982 - Toni Basil’s one hit, Mickey, hit number one.
Toni Basil was a high school cheerleader, so in retrospect, her cheerleading-inspired hit seems inevitable. Inevitable, if ultimately unexpected — because when she recorded the song, her cheerleading days were a long behind her at age 39.
That’s not just impressive, it’s monumental; in an age-obsessed industry, 39-year-old Toni Basil created a bubblegum, ostensibly “for teens by teens” pop song that became a massive success. (The song itself was a cover of a 1979 song called Kitty, but Toni added the cheerleading hook of “Oh Mickey you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind, hey Mickey” which was essentially the reason her version becoming as successful as it was.)
Toni Basil, though known as a one-hit wonder in the world of music, is still going strong today in the dance world — continuing to laugh in the face of ageism. In 2019, at age 75, she did the choreography for Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and had an uncredited cameo in a dance scene.
Also on December 11th: Magnum P.I. premiered on CBS (1980)… Muhammad Ali lost his final fight (1981)… the Chicago Bears’ Super Bowl Shuffle was released (1985)… Throw Momma from the Train and Wall Street were released (1987)… Hook hit theaters (1991)… A Few Good Men and The Muppet Christmas Carol hit theaters (1992)… Janet Jackson’s single Again hit number one (1993)… K7’s one hit, Come Baby Come, peaked at number 18 (1993)… Rushmore and Shakespeare in Love hit theaters (1998)
December 12th
30 years ago, on December 12th, 1991 - The first website in North America, a site out of Stanford University about particle physics literature, went live.
The first website ever was published in August 1991 in Switzerland. For the next few months, the soon-to-be World Wide Web was only the Europe Wide Web.
But on this day in 1991, Stanford University set up the first web server in North America and with it, the first website. The website was intended to be a resource for particle physics; it contained lots of acronyms and just two links: one to research, one to the team members’ email addresses.
In a way, this site was emblematic of what the web has become 30 years later — resources of deep interest to niche groups or subcultures, often speaking in in-group vocabulary and acronyms, and sharing information that would never be so easily disseminated or developed without the technology of the web.
Also on December 12th: Apple filed its IPO (1980)… Three Amigos hit theaters (1986)… Fraggle Rock premiered (1987)… George Michael’s single Faith hit number one (1987)… Leona Helmsley was sentenced to four years in prison for tax fraud (1989)… Scream 2 hit theaters (1997)… the Alec Baldwin Schwetty Balls sketch premiered on Saturday Night Live (1998)… Winona Ryder was arrested for shoplifting (2001)
December 13th
31 years ago, on December 13th, 1990 - C+C Music Factory’s single Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) was released.
There are several people who played major roles in Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) en route to its status as one of the most iconic — or, at least, still to this day ubiquitous — dance songs of the decade.
And as a result, the seemingly simple party song also surprisingly contentious.
The C and C in C + C are Robert Clivilles and Robert Cole, a DJ and keyboardist, respectively, who met in the NYC club scene in the ‘80s. The rapper on the song was a journeyman bars-for-hire performer named Freedom Williams. The singer was Martha Wash of The Weathergirls (the group known for, and named because of, their hit It’s Raining Men).
When the music video for the song came out, however, Marsha’s part was infamously lip synced by a non-plus size model named Zelma Davis. Wash was, rightfully, furious and sued; she settled out of court with Sony, one condition of which was MTV would add a disclaimer to the video where Wash was credited with vocals and Davis was credited for “visualization.”
And that wasn’t close to the end of the Everybody Dance Now saga.
Though C+C’s run was short, the parties involved have battled over the name ever since. Freedom Williams even managed to trademark “C and C Music Factory” which he uses to tour — and when on tour, he even performs covers of songs by the original C+C where he wasn’t the rapper. To this day, Clivilles will pop up from time to time talking about taking legal action to get back the name.
Also on December 13th: Clue, A Chorus Line, and Jewel of the Nile hit theaters (1985)… Bruce Hornsby & the Range’s single The Way It Is hit number one (1986)… Tecmo Super Bowl was released (1989)… Driving Miss Daisy hit theaters (1989)… the series finale of Remote Control aired on MTV (1990)… Jerry Maguire and Mars Attacks hit theaters (1996)… Charles Woodson became the first defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy (1997)… Norm MacDonald anchored SNL’s Weekend Update for the final time (1997)… Al Gore conceded the presidential election to George W. Bush after the Supreme Court stopped the Florida recount (2000)
December 14th
21 years ago, on December 14th, 2000 - Miss Congeniality hit theaters.
Miss Congeniality is near the top of my list of “movies that were accidentally good,” up there with Taken and Eurotrip.
Miss Congeniality was created as a Sandra Bullock vehicle to really put over her “gorgeous but snorts” persona. It features a lite mystery set against the fish-out-of-water setting of a beauty pageant. But… the movie somehow just works. It’s funny and well structured and even has what every accidentally good movie needs: its accidentally iconic quote.
In this case, that quote belongs to someone other than Sandra Bullock — a surprise in a movie designed around one person.
The quote comes from a supporting character, beauty pageant contestant Miss Rhode Island Cheryl Frasier (played by actress Heather Burns), who responds to the pageant question to describe her perfect date. She says, “That’s a tough one. I’d have to say April 25th. Because it’s not too hot, not too cold, all you need is a light jacket.”
So much like October 3rd has become Mean Girls Day, October 21st Back to the Future Day, February 2nd both Groundhog Day and Groundhog Day Day, and February 12th the Parks and Rec-inspired Galentine’s Day, April 25th is now the Miss Congeniality day.
Also on December 14th: The Jerk hit theaters (1979)… Dune, Starman, A Passage to India, and 1984 hit theaters (1984)… Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and I’m Gonna Git You Sucka hit theaters (1988)… Glory hit theaters (1989)… Mermaids hit theaters (1990)…Look Who’s Talking Too and Mermaids hit theaters (1990)… Charles Schulz announced his retirement from drawing the Peanut comic strip (1999)… Vanilla Sky, Not Another Teen Movie, and The Royal Tenenbaums hit theaters (2001)
December 15th
32 years ago, on December 15th, 1989 - The Wizard hit theaters.
The Wizard was one of the many media expansions of Nintendo during its explosive late ‘80s rise. The movie was blasted by some for being a thinly-veiled Nintendo commercial, which it was — but in retrospect, the movie could’ve benefitted by going even harder on Nintendo.
Because everything in the movie outside of the Nintendo scenes was pretty depressing, especially for the target demo. The eponymous Wizard was a young boy with either PTSD, autism, or (most likely) both who stopped talking after his twin sister died. In the movie, his stepfather decides to have him committed, so his older brother (Fred Savage) breaks him out to take him on a road trip to a Nintendo championship — all while the kids are pursued bounty hunters.
There’s a reason the movie’s most enduring scene is when the kids encounter a video game bully who dominates Nintendo games with the Power Glove controller — so much of the rest of the movie is dark and tense, a cheesy-to-the-max scene about a random Nintendo peripheral is a welcomed oasis.
Also on December 15th: Eddie Murphy’s sketch White Like Me aired on SNL (1984)… 2 in a Room’s one hit Wiggle It peaked at number #15 (1990)… Dr. Dre’s album The Chronic was released (1992)… Schindler’s List premiered in theaters (1993)… Netscape 1.0 launched (1994)… the AltaVista search engine launched (1995)… Jumanji and Heat both hit theaters (1995)… Bret Hart made his debut on WCW Nitro (1997)… Shania Twain’s single That Don’t Impress Me Much was released (1998)… Dude Where’s My Car, What Women Want, and The Emperor’s New Groove all hit theaters (2000)… the Leaning Tower of Pisa reopened after 11 years of renovations — not including a complete fix to the lean (2001)
December 16th
28 years ago, on December 16th, 1993 - Shannen Doherty was fired from Beverly Hills, 90210.
Shannen Doherty had a reputation of being difficult through the early run of 90210 and it finally came to a head on this day in 1993 when, after multiple seasons of problems, she was fired from the show.
In theory, that could’ve been a career killer, but instead, just raised Doherty’s profile and helped cultivate a bad girl mystique that propelled her. She quickly landed on another TV series, Charmed… where she was fired again for causing problems. Once again, not close to the end. She went on to be hired back both times FOX has rebooted 90210.
Shannen Doherty didn’t create the template for famous-enough-to-be-difficult, but certainly served as it’s ‘90s poster child. Still, to this day, there are stories of famous actors who are notoriously difficult to work with on set; and often, that reputation can fuel someone’s success more than hold them back.
Also on December 16th: The Who broke up for the first time (1983)… Rain Man hit theaters (1988)… Nirvana’s Unplugged performance aired on MTV (1993)… Dumb and Dumber hit theaters (1994)… the series finale of Ren & Stimpy aired (1995)… the Spice Girls’ single 2 Become 1 was released (1996)
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news.
Reading Rainbow will return next year with a rotation of hosts — but not LeVar Burton.
Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You just became the first holiday single ever to hit 10 million sales. It also hit one billion streams on Spotify. And McDonald’s has launched a holiday collaboration with Mariah for later this month.
The Seinfeld writer who created the Festivus storyline elaborated on the back story of how it was really a part of his family tradition.
The new Sex and the City reboot addresses Samantha’s absence in the first episode, basically saying she rudely cut off all communication with the other women.
1996 presidential candidate and longtime member of Congress Bob Dole passed away on Sunday at age 98. And Nintendo and Super Nintendo creator Masayuki Uemura passed away on Monday at age 78.
Throwbacks and recommendations
A law firm in Los Angeles calculated that Homer Simpson has racked up $143 million in injuries over the course of The Simpsons.
Here are 20 facts about Ocean’s Eleven on its 20th anniversary.
A writer on Uproxx makes the case that A Long December by Counting Crows is the “best holiday song.”
The web exclusive from the most recent episode of John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight dives into the strange ‘90s craze of snack brands making video games.
Thanks for reading!
-Sam