I realize that this formula has been around for a while but in my opinion it’s getting downright ridiculous. The latest Hollywood 80s love-fest is with TV actioner The A-Team. Don’t get me wrong. I was among the millions that tuned in to watch The A-Team as a kid, but the campy special-op Vietnam vets that MacGyvered their way out of peril each week with Reagan-era machine-gun-toting inaccuracy was a genre that shouldn’t be messed with (I still marvel at the way the ultra-violence was made palatable for prime time by making sure any vehicle that rolled forty times featured a shot of the passengers crawling out uninjured. And don’t even get me started with all the lead flying and no one getting killed; even my Dad snickered at the shoddy marksmanship of the “A” Team.)
No one doubts that this series had a profound impact on 80s culture (Mr. T was not only a household name but camouflage and muscle shirts became a fashion staple) but it’s as if Hollywood is harvesting the low-hanging fruit. They’ve discovered a bank roll with Gen X man-boys the world over. My guess is it won’t be long before Magnum PI starring Robert Downey Jr. in a ‘stache gets the silver screen send-up. They’ll probably even cast Selleck himself to make a cameo as a villain or something.