on queens of country

I recently had the chance to attend a focus group screening of Queens of Country, an unpredictable, sweet and irreverent comedy by filmmakers Christopher Pomerenke and Ryan Page. Full disclosure: Ryan is married to my best friend, which one might argue makes me biased. And maybe I did go into it with unconscious favorable bias because of my personal connections, but I did my best to view the film with an open mind.

more on the wonders of ’80s movie music

Everyone who’s anyone knows that movies from the ’80s — especially those involving people between the ages of 11 and, say, 24 — kill all movies from any other time period. Turning on TBS to find a gem like Red Dawn or Lucas is a bit like finding a $10 bill in a jacket pocket on the first cold day of the year — you forgot it existed but sure are glad to see it. But what is it about these celluloid masterpieces that reduce us to wistful, line-reciting reminiscers? Is it the nostalgia factor they hold for people of a certain age? Yes, that idea may hold some weight, but tonight I propose an alternate theory.You see, the thing that makes ’80s movies so special can be boiled down to one artistic concept:

The music montage.

Long before the movie soundtrack became as important as the film itself and indie artists became overnight sensations by penning tunes for the likes of the Twilight series, movies were filled with snappy ditties by artists no one had ever heard of. These songs are inextricably linked to their respective movies, because the only place people ever heard them was when watching that film. And while these songs were not typically included on any sort of compilation album, they got prominent, full-length airtime during some important point in the plot, forever shellacking them to our frontal lobes. The music montage was a wildly popular ’80s movie device that was most commonly utilized for one of these purposes:

1) to emphasize a turning point in the plot
2) to make up for weak dialogue/script writing
3) to provide an excuse for the actors to dance.

So why don’t the movies of today use the music montage as frequently as their predecessors? It’s tough to say. It’s certainly not because the writing has grown sharper and more witty. No, I would venture to guess that the smug self-importance that has spread throughout Hollywood prevents directors/actors from giving up screen time to a car chase dubbed over with a song from some unheard of session musician. To this I say: Bad Move. I, for one, would visit the theatre far more often if I thought I would be treated to a montage of falling-in-love images set to some sappy, synth-y love song. But until the studios come to their senses and look to the past to reimagine their futures, we’ll have to take solace in the clips below, which feature the perfect blend of cheesy pop music and dialogue-free (or almost free) plot…