I was born on November 11, 1988. It was a great year for movies, let me tell you. I had a tough time narrowing it down, but here are my Top 5 Favorite movies from 1988.
5. Scrooged
“It’s Christmas Eve! It’s the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we smile a little easier, we cheer a little more. For a couple hours out of the whole year, we are the people that we always hoped we would be!”
This is not the only Christmas movie on my list. 1988 came out with two fantastic ones! This version of A Christmas Carol is my favorite and the best. It’s honestly exactly what you’d think an 80s version of A Christmas Carol would be. That’s all you need to know. Bill Murray is amazing. My mom and I go to see A Christmas Carol performed on stage every year! Here’s to hoping we’ll be able to go this year.
Interesting trivia:
- Miles Davis cameos as a street musician
- This was the first movie where Bill Murray wasn’t part of an ensemble cast leading the movie. He had to lead on his own, which he says was a huge challenge for him
- Roger Ebert disagrees with me. He said this is the worst adaptation of A Christmas Carol ever
4. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
“I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way.”
This movie is a classic. I remember wearing out my VHS copy of this. If you don’t know what it’s about, IMDB says, “A toon-hating detective is a cartoon rabbit’s only hope to prove his innocence when he is accused of murder.” Sure, let’s go with that. I know that Jessica Rabbit was the sexual awakening for many a millennial.
Interesting trivia:
- This is the first and only film where Disney and Warner Brother cartoon characters show up in together.
- Bill Murray was the #1 choice for the role of Eddie Valiant but neither could get a hold of him for some reason. Murray read the interview in a public place and actually screamed his lungs out in horror, as he 100% would have accepted the role.
3. Die Hard
“Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker”
Fun fact: I actually just watched this movie for the first time in the summer of 2018, on the way home from my Wolfventure in Germany. Die Hard is probably one of the best Christmas movies of all time. Bruce Willis tries to save his wife and other hostages from German terrorists (SNAPE!) during a Christmas party (therefore, Christmas movie). If you don’t think this is a Christmas movie, you’re wrong and should be ashamed.
Interesting trivia:
- This was Alan Rickman’s Hollywood debut! He was 41 at the time. So honestly people, it’s never too late to follow your dreams.
- The Hungarian title for this movie is “Give your life expensive”, the title of the sequel is “Your life is more expensive”, and the third is “The life is always expensive”
2. Beetlejuice
“I myself am strange and unusual.”
When I first saw this movie, I was blown away by Lydia because she was the coolest girl I’d ever seen (next to Wednesday and Morticia Addams) and I wanted to be exactly like her. I feel like this entire list is movies you haven’t seen but JUST IN CASE, this one is a Tim Burton classic about a deceased couple who harass the new family that moves into their house. They find an accomplice from the beyond (thanks IMDB).
Interesting trivia:
- Michael Keaton ad-libbed 90% of his lines
- Tim Burton almost didn’t include the “Day-O” music sequence because he feared that the audience wouldn’t find it funny (ICONIC SCENE)
- This movie was the first DVD sent out by Netflix in 1998
- Beetlejuice only actually has 14.5 minutes of screentime
- Alyssa Milano almost played the part of Lydia. She was the 2nd choice actress for the part.
1. Willow
“Magic is the bloodstream of the universe. Forget all you know, or think you know. All that you require is your intuition.”
After Labyrinth, Willow is the movie that I remember most from my childhood. After David Bowie, Val Kilmer was my biggest Hollywood crush. There’s magic, there’s violence, there’s fantasy, there’s a prophecy about a baby, there’s an evil Queen. It’s all around GREAT. Also George Lucas wrote this.
Interesting trivia:
- Warwick Davis was only 17 during the filming of this movie! In fact, George Lucas specifically wrote this role for him after meeting during Star Wars.
- John Cusack auditioned for Madmartigan (Kilmer’s part) but lost out on it. He considers this his biggest disappointment. (Wow, Cusack could have been my 2nd crush)
Writes with Wolves 