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«« Mini-Rewind ««

• Tom Cruise received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for this performance in Born on the 4th of July (released December 20, 1989).

  • The movie won two Oscars: Best Director (Oliver Stone) and Best Film Editing.

• Johnny Dangerously (December 21, 1984) featured Michael Keaton, who at the time was at the height of his early comedy fame, just before Beetlejuice and Batman would hit the big screen.

• Tango & Cash hit the big screen on December 22, 1989. Patrick Swayze was originally cast as Gabe Cash but dropped out to star in Road House.

• The music video for Like A Virgin was filmed in Venice, Italy, and featured a real lion. Madonna famously said the lion was a bit too close for comfort during filming, but she stayed in character!

• This Christmas Eve split (1989) of Ice Cube & N.W.A. marked the end of an era for the original lineup but paved the way for Ice Cube to become one of the most influential voices in film and music.

• Poison’s management team and label originally hated the single “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn”, fearing it was "too country" and would alienate their hard-rocking fanbase. It ended up being their only #1 hit!

• Murphy’s Romance, starring James Garner & Sally Field hit theaters December 25, 1985. Garner’s performance was so beloved that he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor—a rare feat for a lighthearted romantic comedy.

• Fine Young Cannibals released their hit single, “She Drives Me Crazy” (December 26, 1988). That iconic, head-snapping snare drum sound wasn't a real drum. Producer David Z created it by whacking a wooden ruler against a metal table and blending it with a 12-bit drum machine sample.

• On December 26, 1983, the landscape of professional wrestling shifted forever at Madison Square Garden. In a shocking upset that silenced the New York crowd, The Iron Sheik defeated Bob Backlund to become the WWF Champion, ending Backlund’s legendary reign of nearly six years.

  • The Bridge to Hulkamania: The Sheik’s title win was actually a calculated move by Vince McMahon. He needed a "transitional" heel champion to beat the clean-cut Backlund so that a rising star named Hulk Hogan could swoop in and win the belt a month later.

If you want to talk about 1980s action excess, look no further than Tango & Cash (1989). Released just days before the decade ended, it serves as the ultimate "buddy cop" time capsule—complete with Armani suits, mullets, and a truck that looks like it belongs in Mad Max.

The film stars Sylvester Stallone as Ray Tango, a suave, stock-market-playing detective, and Kurt Russell as Gabe Cash, a rugged, wisecracking renegade. It’s a classic "odd couple" setup: two rival cops framed for murder who must break out of prison to clear their names.

Behind the scenes, the production was famously chaotic. The original director, Andrei Konchalovsky, was fired mid-shoot for wanting a "grittier" tone, while the producers wanted a goofy blockbuster. The movie eventually cycled through three different directors and multiple script rewrites.

In the late 1980s, you couldn’t walk past a newsstand without seeing the bright, mischievous smile of Corey Haim. Alongside his frequent co-star and best friend Corey Feldman, "The Two Coreys" became the definitive face of teenage cool, ruling the box office and the bedroom walls of millions.

Haim’s breakout arrived with the 1986 drama Lucas, but it was the 1987 vampire classic The Lost Boys that catapulted him into the stratosphere. Playing Sam Emerson, Haim brought a perfect blend of vulnerability and comedic timing that made him instantly relatable. Following that with the 1988 hit License to Drive, he solidified his status as the ultimate "boy next door" with a rebellious edge.

In 1984, the ultimate status symbol didn’t fit in a stocking—it barely fit on the TV stand. While TIME magazine had famously named the PC its "Machine of the Year" back in '82, it was the December 24, 1984 cover story that officially crowned the VCR as "Santa’s Hottest Gift."

The magazine described the "plop, click, whirr" of the machine as the "anthem of an entertainment revolution." Owning one meant you were a pioneer of "time-shifting," finally able to record Dallas or Dynasty while you were out. By Christmas '84, VCRs were selling at double the rate of the previous year, with a staggering one million units moving in December alone.

🎧 Retro Picks of the Week

📺 T.V. Show: After the orphaned son of a former teammate unexpectedly moves in, a retired NFL player and his socialite wife must navigate their new roles as parents in this heartwarming 1980s sitcom, Webster. Though the show was originally pitched as a romantic comedy for its adult stars, the pint-sized Emmanuel Lewis became an instant breakout sensation, famously calling his adoptive mother "Ma'am" as a sweet nod to the word "Mom."

📼 Movie: In 1987, the theaters erupted with a shout that still echoes today: "Goooooood Morning, Vietnam!" Starring the inimitable Robin Williams, the film wasn’t just a war movie; it was a masterclass in comedic lightning being caught in a bottle.

🎵 Song: In 1986, the world tilted its head and struck a pose as The Bangles released "Walk Like an Egyptian." It wasn't just a song; it was a global phenomenon that spent four weeks at #1 and became the first song by an all-female band playing their own instruments to top the Billboard year-end charts.

🕹️ Video Game: In 1984, long before hyper-realistic shooters like Call of Duty dominated our screens, Nintendo gave us a job at the FBI—or at least, a cardboard version of it. Hogan’s Alley was one of the original "Black Box" launch titles for the NES, and it turned our living rooms into high-stakes tactical training ranges.

👾 Cartoon: In 1979, children’s television took a trip into the whimsical and the truly bizarre with Doctor Snuggles. This British-Dutch animated series featured a jolly, optimistic inventor who lived in a house with a sentient, talking shed and traveled the world in a pogo-stick-powered umbrella or his wooden spaceship, the Sentimental Snail.