We just finished watching “Stranger Things 2” with Poppy last night. She was thoroughly invested and love the show, and when it was over she had one question: “What are they going to do next season?” And Rockford, of course, had an answer, because he’s a pop culture junkie. Here’s what he thinks is going to happen in “Stranger Things 3.”
So, I think they’ll use ‘Back to the Future’ and ‘The Goonies’ and potentially ‘Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome’ as influences, because those were all top movies in 1985. ‘Back to the Future’ from a characterization standpoint seems to fit the Steve model. Marty McFly is well-intentioned but kind of clueless. So maybe Steve has a story arc that involves some time travel or just where he meets a crazy old guy. Since he’ll be going off to college, that would seem like a natural way to introduce a wacky professor — his own Mr. Clark, maybe. If there are two movies from the ’80s that best describe this crew, it’s ‘Explorers’ and ‘The Goonies.’ Both of those movies came out in 1985, so we should see more clear connections and references to those. And then with Mad Max, we’ve already had the scene where Max was driving the muscle car. If they continue with that thematically, it may be that she has to go through some tests and rigors of her own to lead them through some challenge.”
I think we can also expect to hear a soundtrack featuring some Tears For Fears, some Jesus and Mary Chain, Talking Heads, probably some New Order. Given Jonathan’s propensity for ‘edgier’ music, that was also when Sonic Youth was just releasing their first albums. Maybe some Simple Minds.
And then there’s the overarching ‘Breakfast Club,’ which was also 1985. We’ve already had a John Hughes movie referenced (“Mr. Mom,” who ended up being Steve). And now we’ve got ‘The Breakfast Club.’ You’ve got Steve as The Jock, Jonathan as The Nerd, Nancy as The Princess, and Billy as The Criminal, which suggests that they might introduce a new teen character to fill the role of the Basket Case. Maybe they’ll bring in Kali for that, but my guess is we’ll get a new female character to play off of Billy or a new love interest for Steve. If you remember, The Jock and The Basketcase did end up together in ‘The Breakfast Club.’
We also saw Paul Reiser (who was in the ‘Alien’ movies) and Sean Astin (‘Goonies,’ obviously) this season. Maybe we can look forward to Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez or Michael J. Fox next season?
While I’d love to see just a straight-up remake of “Back to the Future” with Joe Keery, I think it’s more likely that we’ll just see Steve in a puffy orange vest than actually heading back to the ’60s. I think Rockford’s “Breakfast Club” casting connection has some potential, though. What do you expect from season three?
Rockford says: “The little movie that could! This was a low-budget film that really took us all by storm. I first saw ‘Rocky’ when I was 6 years old. ‘Rocky’ I and II were some of the movies that stand out the most from when I was that young. What I remember about ‘Rocky’ was, it was the first movie I saw where you had a protaganist that came from such a difficult and/or meager existance. It was also one of the first movies that I remember seeing where the protagonist mirrors where he’s from so much. Rocky is Philadelphia and Philadelphia is Rocky. Where else is there a statue of a movie character? ‘Rocky’ is gettig up before the dawn, slogging to work, and doing everything you can to suport the ones you love. You just keep putting one foot in front of the other while also trying to better yourself.”
Rockford says: “This is a movie that I did not fully appreciate until I entered the world of business travel. This was one of the first movies to — in a fun but real way — point at the new business-travel culture that was emerging in the 1980s and the problems that came with it. The fact that we’re always in some kind of vehicle and what happens when all of those modes of trasnportation for whatever reason completely crap out. That aside, it’s a very well-done buddy comedy that features two of the best comedians of their era opposite one another. Without giving anything away, it also has a very poignant twist. It’s a movie about getting home to be with the people that you love.”
Rockford says: “Oh, is that Thanksgiving? I guess it is Thanksgiving.
Rockford says: “This is a Thanksgiving movie? Really?? 
Rockford says: “Boy I haven’t seen that in a long time. Up until ‘Nobody’s Fool’ I wasn’t really a fan of realism in film. I could appreciate it, but didn’t really enjoy it. Here’s a tale of a broken and bitter man who lives by his own set of rules that have developed through years of disappointment, discouragement and failure, and this is a brief glimpse into his life complete with the bad stuff and the good stuff.”
Rockford says: “Yeah, family is hard. This is another example of kind of, family warts and all. It’s the anti-John Hughes experience. The holidays brought to you by every painful holiday you’ve experienced. You have the peace-keeping father, who placates his daughter; a caustic mother-daughter relationsship; and it all kind of comes to a head around the Thanksgiving dinner table. The beauty of this film is that is shows what family is — taking these gritty, not-so-great pieces of each other and accepting them and wrapping your arms around it. It’s seeing love and kindness in places where you might not expect it.”