instruction:
In this task, you must classify if a given review is positive/negative, indicating your answer as P or N.
question:
you may not have heard of lucas , or if you have , you might not think much of it .
probably because it stars corey haim , or maybe because it 's about a little geek who collects insects , or maybe because it does n't feature slick one - liners or the chart topping soundtrack albums that were almost a requirement for teen films in the 80 's . however , you have been missing out on a true masterpeice , the best film of 1986 , and the best film about adolescent life ever made .
corey haim stars as lucas bligh , a tiny 14 year old with scruffy hair , thick glasses , and an interest in insects and other outdoor life .
one day he stops by the tennis courts and sees what must be an angel to him .
her name is maggie , a 16 year old who certainly is a beauty , with lovely red hair and a sweet , innocent complexion .
maggie seems to be a little disturbed by this little kid watching her , but somehow he interests her , and soon they are talking and getting to know one another .
they gradually become good friends , and spend the summer together doing various things , such as studying insects ( namely locusts , who come out of hiding once every 17 years ) , playing tennis , and listening to a symphony orchestra through a manhole cover .
lucas is obviously in love with maggie , and while she is charmed by him , it 's clear that she would never consider him anything more than a very good friend .
this is not clear to lucas , however .
he still beleives that maggie is his soulmate , and he dreads the impending start of school because he knows what 's about to happen .
we soon find out why in a painful scene where lucas is humiliated by the jocks during a pep rally .
they throw him on stage , right in front of his beloved maggie .
surprisingly , he turns the tables on the jocks with some clowning around , but he takes it too far , and is embarassed in front of the entire school .
the next scene is brilliant .
maggie follows lucas outside of the pep rally .
she tries to talk to him as if nothing happened .
he rails back against her , in a cruel unfair fashion .
in lesser movies this would 've turned into a confrontation between the two characters .
but maggie is written smarter than that .
she understands what lucas is feeling and knows exactly what to say to console him .
next we are introduced to another great character named cappie ( charlie sheen ) .
he is a jock with a typical cheerleader girlfriend .
what 's interesting about him is that he sticks up for lucas and protects him from the other jocks .
of course anyone with a brain can tell what 's gon na happen next .
cappie will cause conflict in maggie and lucas ' relationship .
this begins in classic scene in the school laundry room when cappie and maggie are alone .
she 's been assigned to show him how to operate the washer / dryer so he can clean his shirt .
maggie is charmed by cappie 's tender undertsanding demeanor , not to mention his shirtless body .
this scene is so delicate and sweet , but cappie still has a girlfriend , preventing either one from acting on their desires .
desperately trying to puncture the tension , cappie begins to kick basketballs around the room .
it 's not long before cappie does break up with his girlfriend ( in the films only subpar scene ) .
lucas finally figures out what 's going on when he tries to pick maggie up for the dance .
this causes him to take severe actions to prove himself to maggie and himself , such as try out for the football team .
the last third of the film revolves around this attempt .
while the idea seems cliched , the way it is executed is not .
there are many surprises
during the last half hour which lead to an ending so emotionally involving it should make the most heartless of cynics get choked up .
dave grusin 's memorable score , played at the perfect moments , certainly helps .
lucas is filled with great performances .
forget everything you know about corey haim .
back in 1986
he had talent , and that is proven here as he delivers a perfect fully 3-dimensional performance filled with anger , humor , and pain .
kerri green is very appealing
as maggie , showing us why she cares about lucas so much and why he is so attracted to her .
sheen 's cappie is almost too good to be true , but sheen makes him beleivable , especially when he explains the reason why he protects lucas .
there are other wonderful minor characters such as ciro popitti 's ben , a friend of lucas , whose diminutive stature does not mean he will take crap from the jocks .
also turning up in a few key scenes is winona ryder as rina , the girl who admires lucas from afar .
when people talk about the great teen angst films of the 80s , you hear john hughes this and john
hughes that .
lucas seems to be lost among the crowd of his so - called classics .
but hopefully , like with heathers and say anything , lucas can begin to find it 's own loyal following and help people realize there were more to the 80s than anthony michael hall and molly ringwald .
it deserves more than that , but i do n't want to be greedy .
answer:
P

question:
the reunion film is not an original idea in any way , shape , or form .
it 's been done throughout film history over and over again , and has become one of the many sub - genres , like the prep school sub - genre , the angst - filled teen sub - genre , and the slasher sub - genre .
what makes " peter 's friends
" so remarkable is not how it does n't follow the rules of this sub - genre , but how it follows it so well , and creates characters that i would n't mind hanging with .
what are the rules of the reunion sub - genre ?
well .
. .
. 1 .
you need a group of friends , most of them married or at least dating , and sometimes even married or dating eachother .
2 .
you need to have them brought back together over some sort of a crisis .
3 .
they are not to have spoken together much since they split apart .
4 .
the reunion has to come in intervals divisible by 10 . 5 .
they all have to be slightly to highly neurotic .
6 .
the reunion has to bring them together , seperate them with little crises , then bring them back together because , after all , they 're friends .
7 .
there has to be some sex or at least some making out either between the friends or with other people that are there or were invited .
8 .
eightly , they 're all unhappy or marginally so .
9 .
there 's some sort of sexual tension amongst some of them that 's built up over the years .
10 .
the friends are all wildly successful in the world of entertainment and the arts , sometimes internationally so .
11 .
the film is filled with nostalgic radio hits from the time when they were friends , sometimes causing them to get together in dance / song .
since it follows these rules so closely , it will probably be ( and has been ) coined off as just a " british ' big chill . '
" and in some ways it is .
both follow the rules , as i said , and both feature lots of bitching , big confessionals , and broken relationships .
but while " the big chill " was , at least to me , a tad too whiny and unsatisfying , " peter 's friends " hits its mark , making this film funny , dramatic , and poignant .
the friends of peter 's were all in the same theatre group back in ' 82 , performig wildly outrageous british acts for people far too stuck up to enjoy them
( the opening scene has them all dancing in tux tops and tutus ) .
after peter 's ( stephen fry ) wealthy father ( richard briers , hardly on screen enough to register , but oh well ) dies , leaving a giant mansion to him , he has to decide whether or not to keep it .
not sure what to do with it immeadiately , he decides to throw a giant reunion party , inviting back all his old chums .
of course , all or most of his chums follow the tenth rule .
andrew ( kenneth branagh , also directing here ) is an actor who 's unhappily married to a tv star , carol ( co - writer rita rudner ) .
maggie ( emma thompson )
is a successfuly publisher of self - help books , but looks like she needs them more than her customers , as she is lonely and unhappy .
roger and mary ( hugh laurie and imelda staunton , who were also married in " sense and sensibility " ) are married , and are the most successful creators of jingles in the uk , but have suffered a tragedy as one of their newly born twins has recently died .
and sarah ( alphonsia emmanuel ) is as promiscuous as ever , having a new boyfriend as of two weeks named brian ( tony slattery ) who 's married and wants a divorce because of her , giving her doubts .
as for peter , things seem okay . . .
the film features lots of inner - friend jokes , and even some old theatre anecdotes ( which i at least find a lot of fun in , as i 've done lots of theatre myself ) .
and there are big confessions , brawls between the friends , and by the end , almost everyone is unhappy , even though some have resolved their problems long before the end ( which i kinda dug ) .
the final twist would seem forced an anti - climactic , but for some reason , i felt the same way the rest of the friends did .
maybe it 's because the people in this film are so likable that i just wanted to join their clique .
that 's really what makes " peter 's friends
" so lovable
: the way you just want to hang with a group of friends who can be so dysfuntional sometimes , but when someone 's in crisis , can come together wonderfully for one another .
it 's when you have a giant crisis like this and people want to selflessly help you out instead of subtely pushing you away
that makes you realize you have true friends , and these people are true friends .
not to mention kenneth branagh is able to make the film seem nostalgic for the 80s
( a decade i grew up in , unfortunately ) without taking us outside of the 90s .
there are some 80s classics and anti - classics like tears for fears " everybody wants to rule the world , " but unfortunately no stupid / fun 80s songs ( i think if i ever did an 80s reunion film , i 'd put some crap go gos song on , or at least some good old " come on eileen " ) , but this is the british 80s we 're talking about .
oh well .
but anyway , the direction is pretty good , although nothing amazing .
branagh 's forte is really making shakespeare fresh and magical , but at least he 's very good with making a less ambiguous film like this .
the writing is good from rita rudner and martin bregman , with lots of good one - liners , and even some really bad but good puns ( to mock the fact that andrew lives in l .
a .
, peter , while cutting some logs , asks him is he has wood in l .
a . , and andrew says ,
" no ,
but we have hollywood
" - punishment like that ) .
the actors , as in most speaking movies , are better than their material , though , with some stand - out performances to the six friends , as well as the outsiders like slattery , rudner , and phyllida law as the old housekeeper of the peter 's mansion .
a little note should be made about hugh laurie 's performance , as he looks like he took some massive doses of prozac before doing this - i mean , i 've never seen him actually act this dramatically .
"
peter 's friends " is a really enjoyable film which makes people like me pine for some sort of future reunion , although i do n't know what kind i 'll have ( like most people , i do n't look forward to my high school reunion ) .
because of the way these friends are still able to maintain the same amount of care they have for one another and after such a long period of seperation , i just look forward to the day when i can have friends like that .
answer:
P

question:
the rapid - fire formula that worked so well in airplane ! , the " police squad ! " television series , top secret ! , three naked gun films , and two hot shots !
movies has finally reached a desperate dead - end with spy hard .
even ezio gregio 's
the silence of the hams is arguably funnier than this over - extended spy- and action - movie spoof .
leslie nielsen stars as secret agent wd-40 , who returns from retirement to battle his old nemesis , general rancor ( a cackling andy griffith ) .
the jokes fly in every direction and with hardly a hint of restraint , timing , or tact .
most the movie is comprised of recycled airplane and naked gun gags , recreated movie sequences , and soggy star cameos
.
yeah ,
maybe we * do * need ray charles driving an l .
a . bus bound for a speed bump , but
did mr .
t , hulk hogan , and dr .
joyce brothers also have to appear in the same movie ?
leslie nielsen plays it straight with his usual dopey flair .
there is something oddly inspiring about the sight of nielsen wearing a nun 's habit , even the resulting sister act spoof is silly .
as are the bits directly lifted from home alone , pulp fiction , true lies , etc .
etc .
( adolescent males might enjoy this mess , tho .
the butt shots , breast peeks , penis pokes , flatulence gags , and related innuendo are right up beavis and butthead 's alley . )
beyond the hilarious title sequence with " weird " al yankovich performing the theme song , spy hard is barely the stock that it 's printed on .
my recommendation : duck in while you 're waiting for another movie to start .
stay long enough to see the camera dart inside of weird al 's nostril and then leave .
you wo n't miss a thing .
answer:
N