July 29, 1983: National Lampoon’s Vacation

July 29, 1988: Cocktail

Say what you want about the 1980’s, but it had to be the greatest decade of all time for summer movies. The two R-rated movies above are summer movie classics, “Vacation” the family on-the-road Hall of Fame comedy that had Chevy Chase at his peak, Randy Quaid acting out his future, Michael Anthony Hall beginning a Shia Labouf like tear, Jane Krakowski getting her first credit, Christie Brinkley playing herself and a creepy young farmer kid asking, “you ever bop your baloney?” And it gave us a song that everyone now associates with their own family summer vacations. And John Candy. It spawned one classic sequal and a few terrible ones.

“Cocktail” is a movie that’s just as good with the sound down as up. Tom Cruise is having fun and when Tom Cruise is having fun (in movies, not on Oprah), we’re all having fun. There was a cry for Matthew McConaughey to get a supporting nod last year for “Magic Mike,” and he was good, but Cruise in “Rock of Ages” was just at another level of “I’m so freaking sweet that you can’t take it”. “Cocktail” is one of the best bad movies ever made, with beautiful people, awesome locations and good tunes. The fact that bartenders tried to do that shit around the country was one of the most embarrassing “80’s things” of the decade. Worse than Zubas. But if this doesn’t look fun, move to Russia.

— Bill Hubbell