Recommended Rental: They Live (1988) 3.75/5

Before I saw They Live, the undisputed champions of movies featuring 80’s professional wrestlers were Predator and Suburban Commando. However, now John Carpenter's cult classic has been tagged in.

This film is 80’s cheese at it’s best with former WWF star “Rowdy” Roddy Piper taking on the role of down on his luck, homeless laborer John Nada and his quest to enlighten his fellow Earthlings to the fact that aliens have taken over the planet and are profiting through human ignorance in a twisted form of capitalism and media control through subliminal messaging and a signal that hides their true form. Much of the acting and dialogue will get you rolling on the floor laughing, but this dark comedy is a perfect satire of 80’s consumer culture, something viewers can identify with today in our current gimmie, gimmie society.

They Live teachers viewers why they shouldn’t just wear their sunglasses at night as, while lazing about his shantytown dwelling, Nada uncovers an underground revolutionary movement creating sunglasses that allow its wearers to see through the aliens’ subliminal signal. The effects are shocking as Nada finds the truth is a black and white reality where magazine and billboard advertisements are replaced with sayings like “OBEY” and “MARRY AND REPRODUCE.”

Look out for one of the longest and most hilarious fight scenes in movie history as, after what looks like a murderous rampage to the unenlightened public, Nada tries to convince his fellow down on his luck best friend Frank Armitage (Keith David) to the truth. Here we see why Piper was cast as he continually takes punches and body slams Armitage while repeatedly wiping the blood from his lip and saying “Put on the glasses,” until Armitage finally does, sees the world for what it really is, and joins Nada and the underground revolutionary movement.

I’ll leave it up to you to see how this ends but I will say it concludes with a perfect middle finger before death. Check this movie out if you are looking for something to quote and laugh along with while receiving a strong satirical, sociological message.

THE HIGHS: Classic dialogue. Examples: Nada to Armitage, “Brother, life's a bitch... and she's back in heat.” Nada walking into a bank during his alien killing spree, “I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum.”

THE LOWS: Acting from crazy eyed actress Meg Foster that is amazingly worse than Piper’s. For her sake, I hope her dismal performance is due to an accidental Piper elbow slam from the top rope.