"Thank you for a frightening, confusing, strange and dangerous time."
I must admit when I first watched "Dream A Little Dream" as a teenager it just didn't quite resonate with me. I loved Corey Haim and Corey Feldman in "The Lost Boys" and "License Drive", but I struggled at the time with the concept of "Dream A Little Dream". However, my opinion has changed dramatically as I've grown older. This movie is actually a dysfunctional 80's hidden gem.
The Coreys are a bit wacky at times and Feldman's tribute to Michael Jackson just seems out of place, but otherwise their performances are quite entertaining. Jason Robards and Piper Laurie almost make the thought of getting older seem less painful.
"Dream A Little Dream" has become a movie that I now appreciate and the performance of Meredith Salenger as Lainie is one of the major reasons. Most people remember her best as Natty Gann, but for me it is this flick.
"When you're young, every little thing seems so big. "
Posted by Veronica Sawyer (Member # 2221) on :
I have always loved this movie!! I'm a big fan of the Coreys 80's movies, and I think they were pretty good in this, but I also love the older actors too, like Jason Robards and Harry Dean Stanton. The secondary characters were memorable too - especially Lanie's beyotch mother and that Dumas guy. Corey Feldman's MJ impressions are hilariously bad!! Especially during the end credits when Feldman does a little "dance off" with Robards (and the gym scene of course). The soundtrack is awesome too. What other 80's teen movie features a Van Morrison song??
I think one of the other big reasons I love this movie is because I did dance class when I was a kid, and in 5th grade the song we did for our recital was the 80's version of "Dream a Little Dream" from this movie.
Valley, did you notice "The Lost Boys" movie poster hanging in Corey Feldman's bedroom?
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Veronica...I totally missed The Lost Boys poster! Now I want to watch it again..it has been about 3 months since I broke it out originally.
"Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison is an incredible tune.
Posted by Veronica Sawyer (Member # 2221) on :
I need to watch it again too...It's been awhile since I've seen it.
Posted by aTomiK (Member # 6575) on :
I really like this one too. A little bit different kind of teen flick.
Posted by logan5 (Member # 1467) on :
This movie - to its credit, tried to do something a little different. Not entirely sure the whole thing works, though.
It would never have occurred to me to try and impress Natty Gann by dressing up and dancing like Michael Jackson! Mouth knew better! Just a shame Lucas had a broken leg and couldn't join in.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Logan5 .. hilarious!
But if you're so depressed, how come you're eating pizza?
I agree that "Dream a Little Dream" is searching to be something different and doesn't always work, but overall it is a good movie.
Posted by logan5 (Member # 1467) on :
"But if you're so depressed, how come you're eating pizza?!"
Heartbreaking!
What did you think of "Dream a Little Dream 2"? I never saw it... I don't think.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
quote:Originally posted by logan5:
What did you think of "Dream a Little Dream 2"? I never saw it... I don't think.
Let me start by saying that I've always been a fan of Robyn Lively, but overall... "Dream a Little Dream 2" is like watching a trainwreck in my opinion. To call it a sequel to the original is a stretch.
Posted by pettyfan (Member # 2260) on :
I remember just DYING to see Dream a Little Dream. Boy was I disappointed! I loved the Coreys in the Lost Boys and License to Drive...bu Dream a Little Dream did nothing for me. Maybe I didn't understand it? The Encore channel is good for showing 80s movies...maybe they'll show it sometime and I can watch it again. See if I change my mind.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Pettyfan... I totally understand what you are saying. The first time I watched "Dream a Little Dream" I was more confused than anything. I recommend giving it another chance. I don't think it is a good as "The Lost Boys" or even "License To Drive", but it has a uniqueness that I now appreciate.
Posted by Secret Admirer (Member # 3574) on :
This movie rules but it definitely suffers from being too hard to follow on one watch only. That's why it gets horrible reviews I think. People expected business as usual with the two coreys and they were hit with a metaphysical love story instead.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
This might be hard for Corey Haim fans that are struggling to bring themselves to watch his movies just yet, but today is actually Meredith Salenger's 40th birthday .. so my plan is to watch "Dream A Little Dream" later tonight.
I've been planning it for awhile as a tribute to her.. I saw an interview that she did the other day where she stated that she had been woke up twice in her life to incredibly heartwrenching news. The other day with regard to Corey Haim and several years back when River Phoenix passed away. Wow.. Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
"A strong power of suggestion planted in a tender young mind by a clever young man with a novel approach to stealing his friend's girl"
Posted by oneyedwilly (Member # 8730) on :
So so glad to see people talking about this movie. It was possible the LAST great 80s movies i saw as it was made in 1989. And like many other 15 yr old boys, i too fell in love with meredith. Its got a tremendous soundtrack which im sure gets as many sales as the movie itself. HEH what was that heh sound bobby you know heh - thats how i laugh - heh who laughs like that
Posted by logan5 (Member # 1467) on :
quote:It was possible the LAST great 80s movies i saw as it was made in 1989
'Pump Up the Volume', 'Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead'. There were a couple left over at the end of the 80's.
quote:i too fell in love with meredith.
She likes to be called 'Natty Gann'. Honest.
quote:Its got a tremendous soundtrack which im sure gets as many sales as the movie itself.
I think the Michael Damian version of 'Rock On' got to # 1 in the US.
Posted by Two Lost Souls (Member # 8863) on :
I watched this movie last night for the first time in over 10 years! And I enjoyed it just as much as when I was a kid. I actually appreciated it more.
The music in this movie is great. It's so wonderfully 80's!
And you can't go wrong with the two Corey's!
Posted by Secret Admirer (Member # 3574) on :
So many people hate this movie. I just love it, always have. There are a lot of good characters and a story I get and enjoy. I guess there's no movie with Harry Dean Stanton in it that I don't like.
The Feldman-bleacher dance routine doesn't hurt either!
Posted by logan5 (Member # 1467) on :
THE PAIN!!! Posted by oneyedwilly (Member # 8730) on :
i must admit, the dance feldman does is awful and i found it hard to watch even at 15...but i think it wasnt supposed to be great in any way at all. It tool me a couple of dollars renting it twice to figure out what the hell was going on and eventually i just enjoyed the relationship between dumos, joel, bobby and dinger. ive got dreams, dreams to remember (remember), ive got dreaeeeeeems, dreeeeeeams to remember.
Posted by Two Lost Souls (Member # 8863) on :
I have to admit, the whole MJ dance thing kinda threw me off. It wasn't my favorite scene, but it wasn't too bad, a little uncomfortable.
Interesting factoid that I didn't know, apparently Corey Haim had a broken leg in real life and they wrote it into the script.
Man, the soundtrack to this movie is so amazing...I was bummed to discover that it isn't available on i-Tunes.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Two Lost Souls.. welcome to The Rewind.
For me... "Dream A Little Dream" gets better as you get older and appreciate the adult characters in the movie a little more. As a kid .. I was expecting just a cute teen romantic comedy and I struggled to grasp the entire concept of this film at that point. Watching "Dream A Little Dream" now makes me see it a complex, but entertaining gem with a great mixture of tunes that I want to crank up the volume on while watching.
I have always seen Feldman's Michael Jackson tribute as misguided, but after the recent loss of MJ and Corey Haim I appreciate it a little more. Plus.. the looks Meredith Salenger gives him during the performance makes it all worth it!
Posted by logan5 (Member # 1467) on :
quote: the looks Meredith Salenger gives him during the performance makes it all worth it!
Her reactions are great! It's almost like she's thinking... "I think you're cute. And the fact that I can watch this horrendous dance and still think you're cute must mean I like you a lot!"
It is interesting how - because the characters in the movie don't age - we can find ourselves gradually relating to the older cast more and more. Then again... Jason Robards was always a cool guy.
Posted by Valley (Member # 1322) on :
Totally agree logan5.. Salenger's thoughts and Robards coolness!
Posted by Two Lost Souls (Member # 8863) on :
quote:Originally posted by Valley: Two Lost Souls.. welcome to The Rewind.
For me... "Dream A Little Dream" gets better as you get older and appreciate the adult characters in the movie a little more. As a kid .. I was expecting just a cute teen romantic comedy and I struggled to grasp the entire concept of this film at that point. Watching "Dream A Little Dream" now makes me see it a complex, but entertaining gem with a great mixture of tunes that I want to crank up the volume on while watching.
Thanks for the welcome! This place is pretty cool!
I totally agree with your comment. The movie has more meaning as you get older. I understood the older couple more then I did when I was a kid.
And, yes, Jason Robards was an awesome guy!
Posted by Spreadking (Member # 7280) on :
Feldman : " I really need you to hear this. "
HDS : " Your not working with the young Republicans are you? "
too funny
Posted by Two Lost Souls (Member # 8863) on :
quote:Originally posted by Valley: Originally posted by logan5:
What did you think of "Dream a Little Dream 2"? I never saw it... I don't think. Let me start by saying that I've always been a fan of Robyn Lively, but overall... "Dream a Little Dream 2" is like watching a trainwreck in my opinion. To call it a sequel to the original is a stretch.
I literally had no idea the second one existed until a few weeks ago. I found it on Netflix and decided to watch it, and I finally did last night, my goodness it was so bad! Who thought that movie was a good idea?! lol
And I totally agree, it wasn't sequel...the characters (Bobby and Dinger) didn't even act the same. It was like a whole seperate movie.
And Corey Feldman's MJ impersonation in this one was ridiculous! It actually made me laugh! LOL
I kinda wish I didn't watch it, because the first one is so great.
Posted by Muffy Tepperman (Member # 1551) on :
I just watched this for the trillinth time last night.
I love what you guys had to say about Feldman's dance routine! Lanie's smiles at him really are what made the mj dance watchable. Lanies leotard in that scene is the coolest!!!
I have to give Feldman props honestly he was great in this movie...I always thought of his as Coleman stuck in a teens body.
The soundtrack always made the movie for me...some of my favorites are Time Runs Wild and You'd Better Wait. What I think is so great about the placement of songs is they are played in a few scenes to help the story....not just one scene....you know what I mean? Time Runs Wild plays when Lanie and Bobbie go on their date then again when Gina is dancing at the end...Rock on starts and plays over and again in many scenes. It was creative. Just love the characters, story and all the actors! i'll always hold this dear to my heart awww
P.S. Dream a Little Dream 2 is a mess a mess I tell you!
Posted by Secret Admirer (Member # 3574) on :
This post is a reminder to all who read it that this movie RULES. Thanks.
Posted by Muffy Tepperman (Member # 1551) on :
I agree this movie RULES!! and even though I watched it in May.....I could watch it all over again tonight and love it even more!!
"I can remember the dress that you wore....but I never really understood what those tears were for" I dance like Piper Laurie everytime I hear that intro.
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)