Labyrinth is one of my favorite 80’s movies – * not FAVORITE movie* – but favorite 80’s movie – completely different things. I can’t argue with the fact that it is probably one of the cheesiest movies of all time – but I love it nonetheless.

The movie is about this over-dramatic teenage girl Sarah who has to babysit her baby brother Toby while her father and step-mother go out for the night. She is tired of her little brother and begins quoting her favorite book – The Labyrinth – in doing the Goblin King comes and takes her baby brother away to the Goblin City. She must find her way through the Labyrinth in 13 hours – or Toby becomes a Goblin himself.

Jennifer Connelly plays Sarah and David Bowie plays Jareth – so of course he sings.

The Labyrinth might be a cheesy movie – but the special effects – for 1986 are pretty cool and fun and there are quite a few good messages.

1. Be careful what you wish for – it might come true.

2. (and I have to thank Aunt L for this one) – There are people in your life who want to keep you in the past – who want to make you forget and leave your treasures behind while you focus on the trash that sounds so appealing. When I was a freshman in college in Phillie – I was very homesick- Aunt L wrote me a letter in which she described a charachter in Labyrinth. At one point in the movie Sarah is given a peach that makes her forget what she is doing – saving Toby – and she wakes up in a junkyard where a woman leads her to a room – Sarah’s bedroom – with all her stuffed animals and jewelry and storybooks are waiting for her. This woman is bent over and has PILES of trash on her back – things that she has picked up and thinks she needs and adds to the pile – things that drag her down – things from her past that help her with grudges and selfishness – things that she will never need but cannot let go of. She tells Sarah that she is fine here with all her things – everything she has ever wanted – is right here – in her room. Sarah starts a ballerina jewelry box and begins to remember the masquerade ball with the Goblin King and that Toby is gone and she has to save him – she leaves all that she thought she needed behind to save him. Aunt L wrote to me about that woman with all the trash on her back and how she is so weighed down by the past and the trash that she carries with her. I will have to look for that letter and post what she wrote to me – her exact words flow much better – they always do.

3. All throughout the movie Sarah says – That’s not fair. At one point she says it to Jareth and he replies with – “You say that so often, I wonder what your basis for comparison is?” One of the best movie lines ever. That’s not fair – at PK on Wednesday nights I hear it quite a bit – so much so that we resorted to playing games that I named “Danielle Ball” instead of the correct game – because Danielle makes up the rules as we go. That’s not fair – she kicked it too hard – he bunted – she didn’t raise her hand that time – and yet every time “that’s not fair” is uttered – almost without skipping a beat – that same kid is doing the same “unfair” thing. I love that Sarah whines unfairness and Jareth just looks at her and says – you say that so often – i wonder what your basis for comparison is. So true – what is our basis for comparison. I find as the oldest of 3 children – things were never “fair”. Samm and Derek had different rules than I did – different times called for different measures. I remember when I went to college – my dad had moved into a better paying job – and the first time I came home my brother had a really nice leather jacket and I looked at my mom and said – that’s not fair – she said – we didn’t have that money when you were here – or we would have bought you things like that – I realized then that it wasn’t that they loved him more – but it was a different time – a different situation. When you say things aren’t fair – or when you think things aren’t fair – what is your basis for comparison?

If you haven’t gotten a chance to see this movie – check it out – don’t expect an Oscar worthy film by any means – just a fun 80’s movie.