Elisabeth Shue really only appeared in four memorable films during the 80s, but as I said earlier, those appearances really made an impression on me. She also appeared in several commercials, so maybe it was the cute way she tried to get me to eat at Burger King that first caught my attention. Here is a link to watch Shue in a Burger King commercial from 1984. No, I think it was probably the movies, so I will briefly mention the four movies from the 80s that helped prolong my crush through the decade and beyond.

The Karate Kid (1984) as "Ali Mills" - This is one of my very favorite guilty pleasure movies of the 80s and I did an entire issue on it a while back. Go check that out if you have not read it before. This was Shue's movie debut as she played the "Ali" who ends up as Ralph Macchio's girlfriend in the film. Macchio's character falls for her the moment he sees her and that is kind of the same thing that happened to me. She is probably a big part of why I have always loved that movie so much.

Adventures in Babysitting (1987) as "Chris Parker" - Now this is a film that no boy in his teens would have any business wanting to watch other than the fact for me that Elisabeth Shue was in it. This was Shue's first starring role and I feel she made the most out of what she had to work with. Her opening scene of lip-synching "Then He Kissed Me" made my Top Singing Scenes from 80s Movies list. Fun movie for girls, but guys would have to be an Elisabeth Shue fan like me to make it worth while for sure.

Cocktail (1988) as "Jordan Mooney" - This movie hit the jackpot for me since I am a confessed Tom Cruise fan and it also stars Shue as Cruise's love interest. It would nearly impossible to beat that combination for me. I have always found the film to be entertaining, so I am disappointed that it actually won the Golden Raspberry award for Worst Picture. Though definitely not one of my very favorites, I will watch this movie anytime.

Back to the Future Part II (1989) as "Jennifer Parker/McFly" - I was a big fan of the original BTTF movie, but not quite as much of the sequels. In the original, "Jennifer" was played by Claudia Wells but she declined to reprise her role in the sequels and Elisabeth Shue was chosen to take her place. This required re-shooting the final scene of the original film since it was used at the beginning of Part II. I was very happy to see Shue get to play a role in this trilogy which I had enjoyed so much.

None of these were award-winning performances (no matter how much of an impression they made on me), but Shue would go on to get an Oscar, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nomination for her role in 1995's Leaving Las Vegas. She would also star in Soapdish (1991), The Saint (1997), Palmetto (1998) and Hollow Man (2000) among many other roles. I will always remember her best as "Ali" or "Chris" or "Jordan" from those 80s films and that might mean there's a little bit of me that will always have a little bit of a crush on Elisabeth Shue. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?

That will do it for this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "Become a Fan". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also now follow Old School on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". Trying to send daily 80s tweets out via Twitter, so be sure to follow me there. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: Here are a few classified ads which I found humorous, so I share them with you here...

Quote of the day: "Never let anyone tell you ‘no' who doesn't have the power to say ‘yes'." -Eleanor Roosevelt