On a night in the East Village last month, the near-empty burger joint Black Iron was gearing up for the dinner rush. “You know,” a bearded bartender remarked to his fellow servers, “I need to start the night properly.”
He cut the music and cued up a new album: “Huey Lewis & The News: Greatest Hits.” Excitement rippled through the room. There was even some whooping. For the next half hour, all conversation revolved around Huey’s guitar prowess. Apparently, it’s very hip to be square right now.
GET INTO THE ’80S GROOVE IN NYC
In fact, this spring, the cheesy ’80s are back in full force, with power ballads, film remakes and pink lipstick leading the way.
Case in point: Friday’s “Hot Tub Time Machine” is a time-travel flick in the tradition of the cheesy R-rated ’80s romp: Think “Porky’s” meets “Back to the Future” (by way, unavoidably, of “The Hangover”). Starring John Cusack, Craig Robinson and Rob Corddry, the film gives shout-outs to Dead or Alive, “Miami Vice,” the yellow Sony sports Walkman, “Better Off Dead” (an early Cusack classic), leg warmers, the Jheri Curl, INXS and Michael Jackson being black — and that’s just in the two-minute trailer.
But that’s not the only flick flashing back. In April, Sam Worthington dons a toga for a “Clash of the Titans” remake, and Jackie Earle Haley suits up in finger-knives for “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” Plus, Liam Neeson chomps a cigar in “The A-Team.”
A “Karate Kid” reboot starring Will Smith’s son Jaden comes out this summer, while “Tron Legacy,” the sequel to the techno-fabulous 1982 movie, is out in December. A remake of “Red Dawn” shows up later this year, and “Footloose,” “Flight of the Navigator,” “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” and “Ghostbusters” are currently in production for 2011. Reportedly, “Mannequin,” “Heathers,” “Dirty Dancing” and “Gremlins” remakes are in the works, too.
“People are plundering these ’80s hits right now,” says Harry Hamlin, star of the original “Clash of the Titans,” who grumbles a bit about the trend. “Isn’t there anything new out there?” he says.
Not in New York, there isn’t. And further proof comes by way of two words: acid-washed denim.
Oh, we’re not calling it that now? That’s right. It’s “distressed” or “tie-dyed,” and it sells for a very un-’80s price: upwards of $200 a pair from labels such as Citizens of Humanity and Rock & Republic. But make no mistake — that denim is acid-washed, and Tiffany would’ve been proud to squeeze into a pair before taking the stage at a suburban mall.
In fact, we hit the Roosevelt Field mall on Long Island and found countless reminders of the ’80s sported by current shoppers. Thirteen-year-old Bria Noone had on a pair of highly frayed acid-washed jeans, and 15-year-old Frankie Costa, with his spiked hair and arms full of bracelets, could easily sit in as a character in a John Hughes movie (“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” back row of economics class).
Meanwhile, it’s been a banner year for the late Hughes. The majority of his cast regulars showed up at the Oscars for a lengthy tribute montage, and the insanely popular Fox show “Glee” is heavily mining the psychological territory of “The Breakfast Club.”
“John Hughes put high school on the map as a viable place to tell stories,” says Ian Brennan, the show’s co-creator. “Today that might seem like a no-brainer, but without his movies, we wouldn’t be doing what we are.”
Brennan, whose show is devoting upcoming episodes to Madonna and Olivia Newton-John (who will guest star), attributes the current ’80s fixation to his generation’s formative experiences then. “People who are in their 30s and 40s now had a sexual awakening in that time,” he says. “The first person you thought was hot was dressed like Punky Brewster.”
While orange vests and mismatched sneakers might not exactly be flying off the shelves, ’80s styles such as shoulder pads, clogs and espadrilles are.
“Crop tops are our new favorite item,” says Karen Bonser, head of design at TopShop, who adds that she’s into pairing them with lace or mesh bodysuits — “very ’80s-revived items as well.”
At Target, Zac Posen’s new line, out next month, will feature flouncy minidresses, bright, geometric patterns and Hawaiian prints (“Weekend at Bernie’s,” anyone?).
“It’s kind of fast fashion,” Sasha Inglehart, deputy fashion director at Glamour, says of the retro trend. “It’s pretty much everywhere, from the punky side of the ’80s, with chains and grommets and studs, to the neon, sportier side . . . Proenza Schouler has these great shoes with neon, in a crazy mix of fabrics and textures and colors. It just makes you happy.”
That said, she thinks one ought to be careful when stepping back in time, fashion-wise. “Marc Jacobs has these pants that were a little high on the waist, with pleats, and they got skinny at the ankle.
“I had a [bad] flashback,” she says. “I mean, it was really pretty intense. You can’t hide in those pleats.”
The one ’80s look more potentially cringe-worthy than pleats? The perm. But that, too, is making a comeback, and Rihanna’s leading the way, having donned a blond Sheena Easton look for her appearance at last month’s Haiti benefit.
“My salon is definitely getting some perm requests — it’s a total renaissance of the ’80s,” says celebrity hair guru Sally Hershberger. “I feel like it’s been so long since we’ve seen it that I am actually into it. It feels fresh again.”
And to accessorize the perm, think early Madonna. At the Marc by Marc Jacobs Spring 2010 fashion show, models’ hair accessories and makeup evoked a specific throwback look: “It’s very inspired by Madonna in ‘Desperately Seeking Susan,’” Redken creative consultant Guido said in an Elle interview, of the big hair bows, bright lips and heavy brows.
Even little girls, for whom the Reagan era is officially The Olden Days, are into the decade: Barbie is coming out with a line of “Ladies of the ’80s” dolls, the first three of which are Debbie Harry, Cyndi Lauper and Joan Jett.
Another ’80s rock icon, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, recently sounded off on a surprising retro resurgence: “I only listen to cassettes,” he said in a radio interview. Many musicians, in fact, are embracing the cassette tape, with all its imperfections, as a backlash against what they see as a too-perfect and too-accessible MP3 culture.
“Many children of the ’80s first owned their music on cassette, so for them the format represents a nostalgia for simpler times,” writer Marc Hogan observed in music magazine Pitchfork.
This year’s throwback to the ’80s isn’t the first of its kind. The prior decade saw various incarnations, with an emphasis on edgy, fringy influences, including a number of ’80s musical acts that tried to capitalize on fan nostalgia, such as (poorly selling) new releases by Tears for Fears and Duran Duran. There was also VH1’s “We Love the ’80s,” which was actually more devoted to mockery than love.
Today’s ’80s mania, however, is more exuberant, more earnest and, most importantly, fully mainstream, which, of course, comes with a price.
“One of my big gripes about bars in Brooklyn was always that kind of arrogant thing about ‘Your music isn’t cool enough,’” says Chris Laidlaw, a 36-year-old resident of the “other” borough whose tastes run from Journey to Bryan Adams. “I was like a pariah for liking that s – – t,” he says. And then everything changed.
“My friend and I were in this bar South, which is the hot new bar in the Slope, and there were all hipsters around. And we heard a block of Van Halen songs.
“It wasn’t cool like a year ago,” he says. “Now it’s all you hear.”
Get into the ’80s groove in NYC
* Crunch’s new fitness class, “Awesome ’80s Prom”
Cast members from the long-running interactive show will teach the Robocop, Moonwalk, Pop & Lock, and more to ’80s hit tunes such as “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go,” “Beat It” and “Maniac.” The $16 class (without membership) will be given Thursdays at 5:15p.m. at Crunch Union Square.
* Corey Haim memorial at the Knitting Factory
Tonight at 7 p.m., Brooklyn comedy group The Raspberry Brothers hosts a celebration of the life and work of the late “Lucas” star. Clips from “Dream a Little Dream,” “License To Drive” and “The Lost Boys” will be shown, and Haim will be both roasted and toasted (specials on Canadian beer: Moosehead, Labatt’s and Molson).
* Midnight shows at the Landmark Sunshine
The East Village arthouse theater will feature a run of classics over the next month including Eddie Murphy’s “Coming to America” onSaturday. The following week they’ll show the Tom Hanks classic “Big,” followed by “The Neverending Story” and “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” the weekend of April 16.
* “Back to the ‘80s” at Canal Room
The campy decade-tribute band Rubix Kube can be found late nights at Canal Room most weekends, playing covers of synth-pop greats like “99 Red Balloons” and “Take On Me.”
* “Teen Witch” singalong at 92Y Tribeca
At the 11p.m. Friday screening of this 1989 movie, fans can sing along to the film’s classic cult hits such as “I Like Boys,” “Top That” and “Popular Girl.” Tickets are $13 and can be purchased in advance at 92y.org.
* “Rock of Ages”
“Don’t Stop Believin’” is just the tip of the iceberg; this hair-metal Broadway musical pays tribute to Night Ranger, Styx, Poison, Whitesnake, Pat Benatar and a host of other cheesy ‘80s rock greats.