This week Neil Calloway looks at more 80s films that would benefit from a gender reversal remake…
With the official synopsis of the new Ghostbusters film announced this week, soon after Dan Aykroyd saying it might be better than the original (given that he has a cameo in the new film, he’s probably contractually obliged to say that), alongside the recent new that mixed martial artist Ronda Rousey will appear in a remake of 1989’s Road House, here are more films from the 1980s that need an all female reboot, or in the words of Flickering Myth’s Oli Davis in the much missed Flickering Myth Newsgasm, “re-high heel”.
Die Hard – A Good Day To Die Hard was, in North America at least, the lowest grossing of the series, and though there is a planned prequel, wouldn’t it be better to remake the original with a woman as the lead? Visiting her estranged husband in Los Angeles for the holidays, she stumbles on a robbery masquerading as a terrorist attack, with an all female group of criminals.
An American Werewolf In London – A film that had a disappointing sequel and a stalled remake a few years ago, the original still stands as one of the great examples of practical effects and is a triumph in terms of creature make up (Rick Baker, the man who created the make up for it and worked on everything from Star Wars to Maleficent, announced his retirement earlier this year). A pair of women hiking on the Yorkshire Moors would be a brilliant twist on the cult classic.
Indiana Jones – Yes, Harrison Ford said he’d love to do another Indy film this week, and a female Indiana Jones would basically be Tomb Raider, but come on – a woman in a fedora, female Nazis, what’s not to like? It’s not like Indiana is exactly a guy’s name anyway, is it? A new franchise is born and there would be no sign of Shia LaBeouf.
Twins – there has been much talk recently about a possible sequel, tentatively titled Triplets, which would star Eddie Murphy as the third mismatched sibling of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, but surely what’s needed is a straight remake but with women; the late 1980s/early 1990s buddy comedy is due a revival, so why not do it with an all girl twist?
Top Gun – The US Navy have allowed women to fly combat missions since 1993, and while they no longer have anything as cool as the F-14 at their disposal, though Iran still have some – a relic of an arms deal from before the Islamic Revolution in Tehran, but the story of women trying to be the best of the best would be better than any proposed update; the beach volleyball scene would get interest from men, at least.
There are a few 1980s films that wouldn’t benefit from a female update; Three Men and a Baby wouldn’t be interesting (even a straight update on that film would be pretty boring now), Working Girl would have to be Working Boy, which just sounds like a hard hitting documentary about child labour.
If the new Ghostbusters film is a success, you can expect at least one of the above to be discussed among studio executives sometime soon.
Neil Calloway is a pub quiz extraordinaire and Top Gun obsessive. Check back here every Sunday for future instalments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=lJSdv333_EI
Originally published November 15, 2015. Updated April 15, 2018.
