Tommy Drake staying in shape for the coming wrestling season.
Later today I’ll be joining Michael Branson Smith to talk about the 1984 teen comedy The Wild Life for episode 23 of our awesome THE Family Pictures Podcast. This movie brought back all the memories, especially sinceI haven’t seen it since the 80s and I was surprised by just how many scenes triggered all kinds of memories, like Tommy Drake doing sit-ups with weights attached to a modified football helmet. This film is all about older brothers for me. I grew up with an older brother I was super close to and very much idolized, so identifying with Chris Penn was easy for me. The Wild Life has him following in the footsteps of his older brother, taking over the spirit at the heart of the iconic role of stoner/surfer Jeff Spicoli and transferring it to partier/wrestler Tommy Drake. I would have never been able to articulate these deep familial connections as a 13 year old kid, but in retrospect they explain my deep connection to this movie.
Rick Moranis and Jenny Wright sporting peak New Wave in The Wild Life
Beyond that this movie has an amazing cast of characters, many of whom are just starting their Hollywood careers–including a peak new wave Rick Moranis. The film is worth watching for his outfits and hairdo alone, its a bit of an early 80s time machine for sure—and I loved it!
