So the other day we were scrolling through available movies on streaming, and I spotted The Outsiders* on the list. Readers of a certain age** are likely to remember The Outsiders, the novel, which we all read in high school back in the day. Or at least, most of us did.
Me: “Hey, look! The Outsiders!”
Wife: “What’s The Outsiders?”
The Outsiders, of course, is a novel written by Susan Eloise Hinton, which at the suggestion of her publisher was released in 1967 under her initials, as S.E. Hinton, because God forbid you should publish a young adult novel with male characters under the name of a female author since no boys will want to read it. Good thing we’ve come a long way since then, right, J.K. Rowling?
Anyway, having spotted the trailer for The Outsiders, I decided my wife simply had to watch it (the trailer, not the movie).
Me: “Watch this trailer. You’re going to see extremely young versions of people you recognize.”
So … Did my wife see extremely young versions of people she recognized? What do you think? Let’s review:
Wife: “Who’s that?”
Wife: “That name is familiar, but I don’t know the face …”
Wife: “It’s wax-on, wax-off!!!”
Me: “Don’t worry about this one, I know you don’t know who Diane Lane is. But I do.”
Wife: “The name is familiar, but I don’t recognize him.”
Wife: “Everybody knows him! But he’s dead now.”
Wife: “I don’t know who that is.”
Me: “What?! He was in The Breakfast Club!
Wife: “I didn’t watch The Breakfast Club. It was so boring.”
Me: “You’re gonna get kicked out of Generation X, saying things like that.”
Me: “I know you know this one.”
Wife: “Yes, I know that one. Crazy short couch-jumping guy. Does he even still make movies?”
Me: “Oh sure, he’s got a sequel to Top Gun coming out soon, I think.”***
Me: “What about Leif Garrett?”
Wife: “Uhh, no.”
Me: “Really? Famous singer? Teen idol?”
Wife: “What did he sing?”
Me: “Umm … I don’t know. But he was famous once.” (beat) “Bob. He plays Bob. You’ve got Ponyboy, Dallas, Cherry, Sodapop, Two-Bit, and … Bob.“
Me: “Look at that! Co-Starring Tom Cruise! He not only gets ninth billing, he only gets a co-starring! When do you suppose was the last time that happened to Tom Cruise?”****
So there you have it: The Outsiders, featuring a bunch of people whose names kind of sound familiar, plus wax-on-wax-off, the dead guy, and the short crazy guy. An all-star production!
But boy, movie trailers sure were boring 40 years ago.
* Not to be confused with the Stephen King outsider.
** I.E., mine.
*** Of course, before I see that—and speaking of things that can get you kicked out of Generation X—I should probably see the original Top Gun FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER …
**** Probably in The Outsiders.
Viscosity 
The Stephen King novel was made into a mini-series which has been released this year, I believe. I’m looking forward to checking that out.
Not to be confused with this The Outsider, of course. I love the back and forth of who’s who. I can’t quite believe Cruise is still making big movies, Mission Impossible ones no less. But wait a minute, you’ve not seen Top Gun???
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I have indeed never seen “Top Gun”! But I am quite familiar with the soundtrack and all the music videos, and I did see the parody film “Hot Shots!”, so I must be at least halfway there, right … ?
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Hot Shots is great and that Berlin track is one of my favourites. I reckon you can be let off the hook 😉 xx
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OMG your wife did not actually know any of them except Patrick aka ‘He’s dead now” Swayze!! ROFL!!
Rob Lowe looked about 14 in this movie…I wonder where Leif Garrett is these days?? Oh I found him on Wikipedia…58 & not so cute anymore. Poor man has had a rough road……
A GREAT movie for the 80’s. I hope you can talk your wife into watching it with you James! 😉
Sherri-Ellen
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As for ** (readers of a certain age), we were discussing The Outsiders in the office and how many future stars were in it. A young analysts spoke up and said he had never heard of the movie and didn’t know who any of the actors other than Tom Cruise was (that older guy who does action movies – I swear). But, in his defense, he said he looked the movie up on IMDB and discovered it was made before he was born.
Ouch.
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#NowIFeelOld #NotEvenUsingAHashtagCanMakeMeFeelYoungAfterThat
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Wow! This will probably get me kicked out of Generation X, but “The Outsiders” is one of the FEW 80’s movies I have yet to see, although I want to. I’ll definitely order the DVD.
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Don’t worry about Top Gun; it has Tom Cruise in it … We all know his best, if you can call it that, movie was Cocktail 😉
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I’ve just looked up the boundaries for generation X, and have discovered that according to some, I just predate it. That’s lucky, as I only knew a couple more than your wife… thanks to having their names supplied. I usually figure out who actors are about halfway through a whole movie.
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