I rewatched 1982′s “An Officer and a Gentleman” recently. Still holds up! There’s more depth to the story than I remember, Richard Gere and Debra Winger at their best. Reading up on the film afterward, I was startled to see that it was the third highest grossing film of ‘82. I remember it being a hit. But Top 3? It shares that distinction with the other two big box office draws that year: “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and “Tootsie.”
All are original stories. Not a blockbuster-style flick among them, unless you count “E.T.,” which doesn’t feature alien powers or massive action sequences, but centers on a young boy’s bond with a stubby little thing from outer space who just wanted to phone home.
We’re in a vastly different movie landscape 40 years later. The top three movies of 2022: “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” and ”Jurassic World Dominion.” It’s probably no coincidence they are all sequels.
