Feb 12: Mario 3, Happy Gilmore, Breakfast Club
Plus Boyz II Men, Reality Bites, Destiny's Child, and most likely my only coverage ever of musical theater
The Retro
by 11 Points
Modern perspectives on ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia
February 12, 2021 • Issue 34
This week in nostalgic history
February 12th
31 years ago, on February 12th, 1990 - Super Mario Bros. 3 was released in North America.
Super Mario Bros. 3 is a contender for the greatest video game of all time. And it’s a good thing it was that great a game, because Nintendo went overboard with how long they made their North American fans wait for it.
SMB3 was released in Japan on October 23, 1988 — 477 days before it would finally make its way across the Pacific. (Or, based on the length of time it took, perhaps it meandered west, then paddleboarded across the Atlantic.) In the interim, American (and Canadian) fans were teased wildly by the prospect of the game, especially when it featured prominently into the climactic gaming battle of the December 1989 movie The Wizard.
As a Nintendo-obsessed youth, I couldn’t handle the wait for SMB3. My impatient prayers were mollified thanks to my go-to video game rental spot, a store called Video Syndicate (which now, after many decades, appears to be an S&S Dinette Center according to Google Street View — much less cool, no offense), that got its hands not only on a Japanese version of SMB3 but a converter that allowed it to work in the U.S. version of the NES. I also remember they charged way more than their normal prices (if I recall correctly, $10-per-week) to rent it.
It was worth it to me. My kid budget went to rental after rental of SMB3, limited only by the store’s waitlist. There was a monkey paw fallout to my SMB3 loophole, however. I played that imported version so much that by the time the North American version of SMB3 made it to stores, I was already kinda done with it. Which means I’ve only bought it about 13 times since as Nintendo has repackaged it for every subsequent gaming system.
Also on February 12th: Johnny Carson shocked the world when he shaved his beard (1985)… Over the Top hit theaters (1987)… MC Hammer’s album Please Hammer, Don’t Hurt ‘Em was released (1990)… Tiny Toon Adventures aired its series finale (1993)… Groundhog Day hit theaters (1993)… Isaiah Rider won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest (1994)… The Winter Olympics opened in Lillehammer, Norway (1994)… Edvard Munch’s famous painting The Scream was stolen (1994)… Bill Clinton was acquitted by the U.S. Senate to avoid removal from office (1999)… Vince carter won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest (2000)
February 13th
25 years ago, on February 13th, 1996 - Rent opened off Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop.
I’m not sure I’ll ever have another chance to write about musical theater in this newsletter — it’s hard to find something further from my area of expertise — but if there was one musical in the ‘90s that managed to find its way into my bubble, it was this one.
Even though I wasn’t much of a musical theater fan growing up, I still had plenty of childhood intersections with musical theater — including appearing in many musicals (despite an appreciable lack of singing or dancing ability). And in 1996, my high school girlfriend and closest friend were both musical theatre Fans with a capital F and a “re” at the end of “theatre.” So I knew all about this Rent musical that everyone was talking about.
Rent was a massive success out of the gate; just two months after this premiere, demand pushed the show from off Broadway to on Broadway and pushed its original cast recording into slot one of every theater kid’s five-disc CD changer. It’s since remained an inescapable force majeure in the musical theater world for an entire quarter of a century. Or, if you will, 113,140,000 minutes.
Also on February 13th: The Winter Olympics opened in Lake Placid, New York (1980)… the New York Times published its longest sentence ever at 1,286 words (1981)… Marvin Gaye famously sang the National Anthem at the NBA All-Star Game (1983)… The Greatest American Hero aired its series finale (1986)… Mannequin hit theaters (1987)… Michael Jackson bought the Neverland Ranch (1988)… the Winter Olympics opened in Calgary, Alberta, Canada — an Olympics in which Canada would not win a gold (1988)… Jose Canseco rammed his Porsche into his wife’s BMW (1992)… Double Dare aired its series finale (1993)… Tupac’s album All Eyez on Me was released (1996)… the U.K. government set up counseling phone lines after boy band Take That announced their breakup (1996)… The Wedding Singer hit theaters (1998)… Monica’s single Angel of Mine hit number one (1999)
February 14th
30 years ago, on February 14th, 1991 - Boyz II Men’s debut album, Cooleyhighharmony, was released.
Cooleyhighharmony did not make Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 best debut albums of all time, but I’ll say this: It’s one of those albums you listened to and, even as a kid, realized you were hearing something special. Cooleyhighharmony isn’t spectacular from top to bottom — there’s filler in there for sure — but it’s still one of the seminal pop records of the ‘90s; just Motownphilly and It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday perfectly summed up the joyous yin and devastating yang of every ‘90s kid’s adolescent life.
Also on February 14th: Whitney Houston’s self-titled debut album was released (1985)… Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer hit number one (1987)… Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie (1989)… the first GPS satellite went into orbit (1989)… Michael Jordan wore the jersey number 12 in a game (1990)… Silence of the Lambs hit theaters (1991)… Wayne’s World hit theaters (1992)… Vegas Vacation and Fools Rush In hit theaters (1997)… Usher’s song Nice and Slow hit number one (1998)
February 15th
36 years ago, on February 15th, 1985 - The Breakfast Club hit theaters.
It’s good to rewatch The Breakfast Club again.
I was way too young to see The Breakfast Club when it came out, so, like most of the John Hughes movies, I saw it well after it was released. My first watching of The Breakfast Club was when I was in college and already well aware of its hype, as a result… it was a serious letdown. It was too slow, too angsty; a bottle episode turned into a movie; with characters I’d been told we all could relate to but none of whom I found myself relating to. (No, I didn’t find Anthony Michael Hall’s “the brain” to be an analogue; I was a different kind of nerd than that.)
The Breakfast Club was a far better experience for me on second viewing, with properly calibrated expectations and no bated breath of the movie getting to the fireworks factory. Also, with more distance from high school (and school life in general), I had a newfound perspective on the movie — rather than shloffing off the high school angst, now out of the universe of school, I had the perspective to find common ground with the characters’ angst and see how it crossed generations.
(So my experience was kind of like how Beca doesn’t The Breakfast Club the first time she watches it in Pitch Perfect but really likes it the second time after she’s grown and changed a bit. Now you wanna talk about a move where I relate to the characters? Pitch Perfect for days.)
Also on February 15th: Caligula hit theaters (maybe? if any showed it) (1980)… Whitney Houston’s single How Will I Know hit number one (1986)… King Ralph and Nothing But Trouble both hit theaters (1991)… Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced to life in prison (1992)… Dale Earnhardt won the Daytona 500 for the first time in 20 tries (1998)
February 16th
25 years ago, on February 16th, 1996 - Happy Gilmore hit theaters.
Happy Gilmore was proof that Billy Madison wasn’t a fluke — and Adam Sandler wasn’t going anywhere for a while. (I’m not sure we knew “a while” meant he’d still be cranking out dozens of similar movies a year 25 years later, but we knew it’d be “a while.”)
Happy Gilmore took the Billy Madison formula and refined it even further. A man-child takes on a condescending jerk by sublimating his antisocial personality traits into something lovable and successful. In the process, he woos a blonde who’s out of his league, pivots back and forth from clown to straight man as he interacts with a plethora of crazy characters, and spews quotable line after quotable line until everything wraps up in a tidy, satisfying package. The movie also introduced another of Sandler’s go-to signatures for the decades to come: A strategic, against-type celebrity cameo (here in the personage of Bob Barker) that provides a truly memorable set piece.
Also on February 16th: Wham!’s single Careless Whisper hit number one (1985)… Magic Johnson’s jersey was retired by the Los Angeles Lakers (1992)… Tupac’s album Strictly for My [Good Buddies] was released (1993)… Real McCoy’s single One More Time was released (1997)
February 17th
23 years ago, on February 17th, 1998 - Destiny’s Child’s self-titled debut album was released.
Destiny’s Child was built for superstardom. The group’s origins go back to as early as 1990, when a nine-year-old Beyonce auditioned for a girl rap group in Houston. They would work on trying to break into the music industry for years, before Beyonce’s dad took over as their manager, they pivoted to singing from rap, kept refining (and replacing) the talent orbiting Beyonce, and, at long last, broke through and got a record deal.
It took almost a decade before the group’s self-titled album came out (the group went through at least five name changes and six non-Beyonce Pips in that time). But when the album finally did turn into a reality, all eyes were still on the original prize: Turning a group built to be stars into stars. The album featured many of the industry’s heaviest hitters at the time, including Jermaine Dupri and Wyclef Jean.
And yet… it didn’t do that well. The lead single (No, No, No) was a mid-level hit, but the album never made it higher than 67th on the Billboard 200 — hardly the debut befitting a group with the loftiest of aspirations.
The debut was successful enough, however, to earn them another shot — so once again, they retooled. They brought in new producers, including Rodney Jerkins, who I only bring up because one time about five or six years ago I played in a pickup basketball game against him and he loved jacking up corner 3s. This time the formula worked, as one year later, their album The Writing’s on the Wall would become their true breakthrough. And their “repeat three words in a song title” play went far better with Bills, Bills, Bills than No, No, No.
Also on February 17th: Flashdance hit theaters (1984)… Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure hit theaters (1989)… Heavyweights hit theaters (1995)… the series finale aired of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1996)… Everything But the Girl’s one hit, Missing, peaked at number two (1996)… Garry Kasparov defeated Deep Blue in chess (1996)… Jermaine Dupri’s single The Party Continues was released (1998)… Destiny’s Child’s self-titled debut album was released (1998)
February 18th
27 years ago, on February 18th, 1994 - Reality Bites hit theaters.
My go-to answer for the ‘90s movie that doesn’t hold up at all today is 1991’s Ski School. Watched that thing recently? A solid 90 percent of it, maybe 95 percent, wouldn’t fly under modern societal standards. Another contender for the ‘90s movie that doesn’t hold up today, for very different reasons, is Reality Bites. While nothing in Reality Bites would land the characters in jail or getting hashtag canceled, as everything in Ski School would to its characters, there’s very little about Reality Bites that still resonates today.
Reality Bites set out to be a generational film for Gen X, encapsulating the struggles it faced once entering the real world. Instead, in a modern context, the characters’ issues feel highly generic and not at all unique to Gen X: disillusionment with The System; expectations versus reality; the struggle to make ends meet even with a college degree; staying true to your art versus commercialism; vacuous relationships and casual sex; and strained relationships with parents who just don’t understand. Turns out none of those stopped with Gen X. Millennials have the same issues. Gen Z has the same issues. Boomers probably thought they had the same issues.
So if the issues are universal, why does Reality Bites feel so dated? It’s because the movie takes really good actors and has them sell the hell out of generic ‘90s cliches. Ethan Hawke’s eternally sarcastic tortured artist who mistakenly thinks he’s profound has pretty much no redeemable qualities that justify his character serving as the romantic lead. Jeaneane Garofolo is playing the too-cool-for-school pre-Daria Daria who then pivots to an out-of-nowhere “AIDS scare” role. Steve Zahn is playing the by-the-numbers gay man nervous to come out to his conservative parents. Winona Ryder is playing, well, Winona Ryder. (Hard to get more ‘90s cliche than that last one.) Oh, and Ben Stiller plays the yuppie junior TV executive. (How is it possible the people making this movie had no idea how poorly junior TV executives are paid in reality?)
Generational movies are possible. Fast Times at Ridgmont High, for instance, is a generational movie that holds up. Earlier in this newsletter I covered The Breakfast Club. It’s possible. Reality Bites just didn’t do it. Of course, there are some things the movie couldn’t have seen, like how Gen X would become a forgotten generation, one not changing the world for the better (like younger generations are trying) or worse (like older generations have done). That would’ve informed the angst, the ennui, the characters’ struggles and principles and ups and downs. But there’s plenty the movie could’ve done — like putting real characters in the ‘90s, not trying to put the ‘90s into characters — to better accomplish its goals.
All that being said, thank you for giving us Lisa Loeb.
Also on February 18th: The Sting II hit theaters (1983)… the WWF’s special The War to Settle the Score aired on MTV (1985)… the NBA Dream Team concept was revealed (1991)… Silk’s single Freak Me was released (1993)… Blue Chips hit theaters (1994)… Blessid Union of Souls’ single I Believe was released (1995)… legendary Cubs announcer Harry Carey died (1998)… Andrea Bocelli made his operatic debut (1998)
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news.
The shortlist of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees has been announced, and most of them are from the timeframe of this newsletter.
Someone spotted a mistake in Friends no one ever noticed before — a brief moment when Elliott Gould’s stand-in made it on camera.
An animated series based on Clue is in the works at Fox. Although I think it’s going to be based off the board game itself, not a remake of the wonderful ‘80s movie.
A Wizard of Oz remake is in the works.
A Mario Kart 64 speedrunner beat Luigi Raceway in 22 seconds thanks to a newly discovered shortcut glitch. Come on. It took me so long to be able to do the glitch jumps in Wario Stadium. I don’t know if I have it in me to learn this move.
Charisma Carpenter and other cast members from Buffy the Vampire Slayer have gone public about Joss Whedon’s on-set abusiveness.
A newspaper clipping from 1995 has surfaced where then-Seattle Mariners pitcher Randy Johnson said he kept a bag of baseballs by his bed to throw at any intruders.
Throwbacks and recommendations
Some dude recreated The Simpsons opening sequence using only stock footage video clips.
Fans managed to recreate the score to Super Nintendo’s Super Mario World using the original instruments after the game’s sound sample files were leaked.
A list of 31 bands that changed their original names, including many from the timeframe of this newsletter and lots I hadn’t heard before.
Here’s a surprisngly well-done video that puts the Super Bowl streaker into Tecmo Super Bowl.
Someone redubbed a clip from the ‘80s Legend of Zelda cartoon with Beavis and Butt-Head dialogue and it works way, way too well.
In honor of Valentine’s Day, here are “11 classic video game couples and whether they’re in it for love or high scores” — an article title that doesn’t at all sound like the product of Poochie-pushing network executives.
Thanks for reading!
-Sam