80sfilms

In 1985, I was in eighth grade and trying to fit in the best I could, and along came the film Just One of the Guys.

At the time, I had short hair, much like Joyce Hyser, the main character in the film. Unlike her, I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin, so when some of the boys in my classes started teasing me (saying, “Oh, here comes just one of the guys” when I walked by), it didn’t dawn on me until many years later that was probably their warped way of flirting. At the time I was just plain mortified.

But I liked the movie, as it pushed boundaries and embodied the androgenous-ness of the 80s so well. Girls dressed like boys to fit in, girls dressed like boys had crushes on boys, and girls had crushes on girls ressed like boys.

Just One of the Guys also kept up the ongoing underdog theme that so many other 80s films were getting at–that girls really could do whatever they wanted to, that artys boys were just as cute as jocks, and that, in the end, the underdog always gets the girl/guy.

Like many other 80s films, the parents in Just One of the Guys are also conveniently absent, which makes all the sneaking around and cross dressing very easy (slightly unbelieveable, but easy nonetheless).

Just One of the Guys is a cute, classic 80s film–it’s not deep or meaningful, but it is a fun flick. 

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