So it’s probably not the most life changing cinematic moment but do you remember what was happening in your life when you first saw ‘About Last Night’? I was in high school and in the grips of a ‘St Elmos Fire’ obsession. I remember buying the sheet music for the theme song and learning to play it on the piano. Considering how much I loathed my piano lessons, this was no mean feat. One of my besties was a die hard Rob Lowe fan. Her passion was contagious and she managed to pique my interest in seeing his body of work beyond his role in St Elmos.
The Demi Moore / Rob Lowe film was made in 1986 and had an R rating. Demi and Rob played a couple of yuppies (been a while since I’ve seen that word in print) in a new relationship with each other and the film chronicles their ups and downs as they move in together. No great shakes these days but I think the bedroom scenes were pretty racy for the time.
 |
| www.heyuguys.co.uk |
In 2013, I’ve just watched the film again with a different perspective. I was up in the early hours of the morning yesterday in a kind of mental fog as I battled my need for sleep with endless cups of tea. I was too tired to read but had it in me to concentrate on a bit of late eighties cult film.
With the baby balanced in an awkward back flipping seal position on my lap (the only way he falls sleeps these days) I pondered some big issues:
- didn’t Demi look a lot like her daughters back in the day. The tenses are all mixed up in that phrase but then again, a lot of plastic surgery has taken place.
- were chunky knits really the height of fashion in 1986?
- was moving in with someone so much of a deal that it was worthy of being central to the plot of a film 20 years ago?
As the credits rolled at the end of the film, I felt as if I’d taken a 90 minute step back in time. Watching the film in the context of contemporary society and with the knowledge of how the actors’ lives played out since the film was made definitely kept my brain ticking over enough to stay awake for the duration.