Ruthless People (1986)

Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker reunited on one last film before going their separate ways in the '90s. In a departure from their previous spoof style, they tackle a dark plot involving kidnapping, blackmail and murder which goes all sorts of wrong. Danny DeVito plays a man who despises his wife (Bette Midler) and plans to have her killed, when he finds out she's been taken and held at ransom by two desperate captors who don't know what they're doing. In some ways, this satirical black comedy feels like a precursor to Fargo. The result is wildly uneven at times, even though it contains many memorable moments.

2½ Stockholm syndromes out of 5

Supergirl (1984)

Not only does Supergirl not fit into the existing Superman mythos created by the films that came before it, it fails to keep even its own self-contained designs on the world intact. The story has witches, black magic, an invisible demon and an unravelling script that would confuse even Mister Mxyzptlk.
Faye Dunaway's pantomime villain/cougar is a lot of fun, but what holds it all together is Helen Slater’s ability to give the titular character the innocence and naivety she needs to be sympathetic in the alien world.
Helen's months of training on the wire really paid off. When she flies around it's like a dance, full of elegance and grace.

2½ dicky bows out of 5

The Legend of Billie Jean (1985)

It's a hot day in Texas and without trying Billie Jean raises the temperature of the local horn-dogs ever higher. One dumb-shit act of machismo by the worst of them leads to repercussions, which in turn leads to a teen-movie outlaw situation that’s utterly ridiculous but somehow entertaining.
Eighties teen movies were different to their modern equivalent; they were simpler, less hurried and usually a lot more fun.
The music of Billy Idol and Pat Benatar that’s used in the soundtrack fits the film’s vibe perfectly: an orchestrated story of safe rebellion in response to the underlying sting of acquiescence that accompanies growing up.

3 handwritten I.O.U notes out of 5