Movies that feature obnoxious aspirational yuppie stereotypes of the 80s and early 90s

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BIG
WEEKEND AT BERNIE'S
CITY SLICKERS
TEH FIRM!!!

I really hate characters written like this. It is awful and bad film.

― A BOLD QUAHOG (ex machina), Saturday, 11 February 2006 23:53 (twenty years ago)

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000542C9.01._PE54_.Baby-Boom._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

― C0L1N B... (C0L1N B...), Saturday, 11 February 2006 23:54 (twenty years ago)

I feel like the screenwriters must have had a bad time in college and hate people.

― A BOLD QUAHOG (ex machina), Saturday, 11 February 2006 23:57 (twenty years ago)

Mr Mom
Every Jay McIerney(sp?) movie ever
3 Men & A Little Lady

― kingfish has gene rayburn's mic (kingfish 2.0), Sunday, 12 February 2006 00:19 (twenty years ago)

Did Singles have one? Or several?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 12 February 2006 00:20 (twenty years ago)

http://www.affichescinema.com/insc_t/taking_business.jpg

― RJG (RJG), Sunday, 12 February 2006 00:26 (twenty years ago)

http://qwipster.net/tradingplaces.jpg

― RJG (RJG), Sunday, 12 February 2006 00:28 (twenty years ago)

ruthless people!

― having fun with stockholm cindy on stage (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 12 February 2006 00:28 (twenty years ago)

wall street

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Sunday, 12 February 2006 00:32 (twenty years ago)

Aliens

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 12 February 2006 00:36 (twenty years ago)

http://www.itvmovieclub.com/itv/images/products/2/4322-large.jpg

― having fun with stockholm cindy on stage (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 12 February 2006 00:40 (twenty years ago)

Cocktail

― kingfish has gene rayburn's mic (kingfish 2.0), Sunday, 12 February 2006 00:40 (twenty years ago)

http://www.screenselect.co.uk/images/products/5/14635-large.jpg

― phil d. (Phil D.), Sunday, 12 February 2006 00:48 (twenty years ago)

Christmas Vacation

― my name is latebloomer, please take my hand (latebloomer), Sunday, 12 February 2006 08:52 (twenty years ago)

http://www.affichescinema.com/insc_a/american_psycho.jpg

― my name is latebloomer, please take my hand (latebloomer), Sunday, 12 February 2006 09:09 (twenty years ago)

this is not exactly the same thing, but I realized a couple of years ago that the movie Adventures in Babysitting is a huge apologia for Reaganite politics. There are a bunch of different ways this manifests itself (including "scary" black people on the El and the fact that Elizabeth Shue=good guy because she's a virgin), but the scene that most fully drives it home is when the Elizabeth Shue character is on the phone with her friend, whose rescue is the whole impetus of the film. The friend is at a bus station which is portrayed as the deepest level of hell. The friend has commandeered a phone booth which is usually occupied by a homeless man. While friend is on the phone with ES, homeless man returns and knocks on the door of the phone booth, imploring, "that's my home!" ES's friend, with whom we're meant to sympathize, kicks the homeless man's personal effects out of the booth (I remember slippers) and shouts, "you just moved!" I used to love this movie, but it is some chilling shit to rewatch.

― horsehoe (horseshoe), Sunday, 12 February 2006 09:42 (twenty years ago)

American Psycho was "aspirational"?

Good call on "Trading Places". It's kinda freaky how it shows a homeless black man being made into a yuppie and a yuppie white guy facing poverty, but towards the end it totally forgets any questions about race and class that might've actually entailed, and both of them just end up being stinking rich happy millionaires, whee!

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Sunday, 12 February 2006 10:24 (twenty years ago)

Aspiration /= inspiration.

― ailsa (ailsa), Sunday, 12 February 2006 10:37 (twenty years ago)

St Elmo's Fire.

― JimD (JimD), Sunday, 12 February 2006 12:20 (twenty years ago)

As far as I can tell, this thread is surprisingly Michael J Fox-free.

― Redd Harvest (Ken L), Sunday, 12 February 2006 14:27 (twenty years ago)

WORKING GIRL

― Kim (Kim), Sunday, 12 February 2006 14:41 (twenty years ago)

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00009OWJR.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00003CXDB.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

― Ben Mott (Ben Mott), Sunday, 12 February 2006 16:35 (twenty years ago)

As far as I can tell, this thread is surprisingly Michael J Fox-free.

You missed a few posts up before yours (besides this new one.)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Sunday, 12 February 2006 16:37 (twenty years ago)

beetlejuice!!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 12 February 2006 16:38 (twenty years ago)

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005JKOI.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

― Ned T.Rifle (nedtrifle), Sunday, 12 February 2006 19:41 (twenty years ago)

Aren't there any English movies? We had yuppies too...

― Ned T.Rifle (nedtrifle), Sunday, 12 February 2006 19:42 (twenty years ago)

ELLIS from die hard, who made the movie suck more than it should have (along with reginald veljohnson, paul gleason, and the FBI dudes)

― gear (gear), Sunday, 12 February 2006 19:44 (twenty years ago)

http://img.tesco.com/pi/entertainment/DVD/LF/548171_DV_L_F.jpg

Another "The Firm" - in it (for those what don't know) Gary Oldman plays a kind of aspirational football hooligan. It's all about property speculation, flash motors, and those kind of flash loadsmoney types that hung around East London at the time. So I think it counts.

― Ned T.Rifle (nedtrifle), Sunday, 12 February 2006 19:49 (twenty years ago)

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00000F0D3.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

"I wish we were yuppies. Young, upwardly mobile, professional. Those are *good* things, not bad things."

― Ned T.Rifle (nedtrifle), Sunday, 12 February 2006 19:53 (twenty years ago)

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B00002E23C.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.gif

― Ned T.Rifle (nedtrifle), Sunday, 12 February 2006 19:56 (twenty years ago)

I was trying to think of some film and I thought it was this...
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005AUJU.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

But then I realised it was this...
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000286RNE.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
It's a sub-genre - Yuppies in trouble...

― Ned T.Rifle (nedtrifle), Sunday, 12 February 2006 19:59 (twenty years ago)

Whoops
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000286RNE.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Actually come to think of it - although both the 'heroes' of those two films are yuppies, neither are particularly obnoxious...

― Ned T.Rifle (nedtrifle), Sunday, 12 February 2006 20:00 (twenty years ago)

Yuppies from another planet

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000AOX0F.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

― The Equator Lounge (Chris Barrus), Sunday, 12 February 2006 20:07 (twenty years ago)

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004COJ2.02.LZZZZZZZ.gif

― Bidfurd (Bidfurd), Sunday, 12 February 2006 20:18 (twenty years ago)

I always knew there was something creepy about Adventures in Babysitting!

― rrrobyn (rrrobyn), Sunday, 12 February 2006 20:20 (twenty years ago)

http://www.affichescinema.com/insc_d/doc_hollywood.jpg

(basic storyline lifted to make teh new movie Cars from the ppl @ Pixars)

Also, does Kramer vs. Kramer ('79...) and Teh Big Chill count?

― Jimmy Mod (I myself am lethal at 100 -110dB) (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Sunday, 12 February 2006 20:23 (twenty years ago)

Of course! Mike Leigh films...they've been about aspirational types since the 1970s...
http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000096KEQ.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

And...
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000AX8N06.01-A1HZSA5JUUDTUK._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
was all about aspirational yuppie cooks...or something...

― Ned T.Rifle (nedtrifle), Sunday, 12 February 2006 20:30 (twenty years ago)

Or rather a chef who aspires to cook for yuppies...

― Ned T.Rifle (nedtrifle), Sunday, 12 February 2006 20:32 (twenty years ago)

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005R5G9.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

― rrrobyn (rrrobyn), Sunday, 12 February 2006 20:33 (twenty years ago)

I liked yr dress at the ACE awards...

― Jimmy Mod (I myself am lethal at 100 -110dB) (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Sunday, 12 February 2006 20:36 (twenty years ago)

we should have a thread of films where people look over the top of dark glasses on the dvd box cover...
http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004CY4L.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
dark glasses - such a yuppie signifier...
http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/paramount_pictures/pretty_in_pink/_group_photos/james_spader2.jpg

― Ned T.Rifle (nedtrifle), Sunday, 12 February 2006 20:38 (twenty years ago)

Also - note how the guy walking behind Spader is wearing the same jacket - talk about aspirational...

― Ned T.Rifle (nedtrifle), Sunday, 12 February 2006 20:40 (twenty years ago)

Spader was the greatest yuppie of all time ever...
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00006L92O.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B0006IIPLM.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0000683DG.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

― Ned T.Rifle (nedtrifle), Sunday, 12 February 2006 20:46 (twenty years ago)

You right about Spader, especially in Bad Influence.

I never saw it, but does this count?
http://www.dacre.org/flash/www/gbq01754.jpg

― Redd Harvest (Ken L), Monday, 13 February 2006 18:44 (twenty years ago)

Jingle All The Way

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Monday, 13 February 2006 18:57 (twenty years ago)

Last Days Of Disco might be my favourite film I think!

― Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Monday, 13 February 2006 20:20 (twenty years ago)

Which was that Diane Keaton film where she has a baby and moves to Vermont and makes jam? Baby Boom? That was perfect, yuppies fantasizing about being post-yuppie super-yuppies.

English versions: How to Get ahead in Advertising?

― nabisco (nabisco), Monday, 13 February 2006 20:26 (twenty years ago)

Have you folks who dislike this character type just never met any people like this? Because they absolutely exist and I meet them constantly.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Monday, 13 February 2006 20:29 (twenty years ago)

http://www.onlyolivia.com/visual/videos/88havbaby.jpg

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 13 February 2006 20:30 (twenty years ago)

Hart Bochner's character in Die Hard

― senseiDancer (sexyDancer), Monday, 13 February 2006 21:09 (twenty years ago)

I love She's Having a Baby.

― nabisco (nabisco), Monday, 13 February 2006 21:17 (twenty years ago)

St Elmo's Fire, people!!

― ailsa (ailsa), Monday, 13 February 2006 22:33 (twenty years ago)

It's up there already, ailsa. But I did the same thing, I mentioned something that had already been posted. There is something about this thread that makes you not want to look at it too closely, so as not to be blinded by the awfulness. And, looking out of the corner of your eye, you might miss a few things.

― Redd Harvest (Ken L), Monday, 13 February 2006 22:46 (twenty years ago)

Does every brat pack movie count, even when they are playing high school students? I guess they usually play them as embryonic yuppies, so I'd say yes.

― Redd Harvest (Ken L), Monday, 13 February 2006 22:47 (twenty years ago)

I don't know if Last Days of Disco counts, because it makes an issue of the "obnoxious aspirationbal yuppie stereotype." It's all self-conscious.

― horsehoe (horseshoe), Monday, 13 February 2006 23:27 (twenty years ago)

http://www.dacre.org/flash/www/gbq01754.jpg

that's some intense cleavage going on there

― my name is latebloomer, please take my hand (latebloomer), Tuesday, 14 February 2006 00:53 (twenty years ago)

http://www.cinelove.com/cinelove/main/pds/poster/w/Wayne.jpg
Oh, actually all champagne is French, it's named after the region. Otherwise it's sparkling white wine. Americans, of course, don't recognize the convention so it becomes that thing of calling all of their sparkling white champagne, even though by definition they're not.

But while I was searching for the movie poster, this came up:
http://www.dlc.fi/~hurmavi/990832.html
Spooky, non?

― S- (sgh), Tuesday, 14 February 2006 02:11 (twenty years ago)

haha fucking mike leigh. 'high hopes' is the ultimate 'yuppies EAT BABIES' statement.

― The Man Without Shadow (Enrique), Tuesday, 14 February 2006 09:49 (twenty years ago)

The yuppie in Naked was preposterous; striped shirt, red braces!, flared nostrils, cruel sneer at all times. It was like he was parachuted into the film (which was fantastic in lots of ways) from a cartoon.

― bidfurd__, Tuesday, 14 February 2006 11:48 (twenty years ago)

five years pass...

nicholas cage movie where he plays a vampire. and i guess that is deeper symbolism for something or other

― dell (del), Monday, 20 June 2011 18:14 (fourteen years ago)

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