A Time to Remember: '80s Outdoor Film Fest

| Print Post This | Like (0) | Comments (1)

NOW THAT THE decade has been deemed nostalgia, '80s film festivals are catching on. AFI has one coming later this summer, but in the meantime, enjoy the I (Heart) the '80s Rosslyn Outdoor Film Festival every Friday at dusk through Labor Day. (Leg warmers not required, unless there's a cold snap.)

This is a public space, so expect teen comedies such as "Meatballs" (Aug. 28) and blockbusters like "Footloose" (June 26).

Aside from their popcorn value (it's BYOP), it's possible to enjoy these films as cultural touchstones, particularly now that the John Hughes/Gen-X crowd is approaching middle age. Instead of goodbye, "Big Chill," hello, "Breakfast Club" (June 12) it's goodbye, "Sixteen Candles" (May 22), hello, "Superbad."

Not that the boomers are forgotten in these films: Most of "Back to the Future" (July 17) takes place in 1955, and the musical highlight of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (Sept. 4) is the Beatles' "Twist and Shout." Also expect fashion atrocities, cheesy synth music and pre-show '80s-themed games.

» Gateway Park, Lee Highway near Key Bridge; through Sept. 4, free. (Rosslyn)

Written by Express contributor Paul Stelter
Photo courtesy Ambiln Entertainment