Watched this modern classic last night with the family. The parents were touched by the way the movie makes romantic teen cliches feel a little new. The teen felt the movie worked like all movies, predictably.

What struck this parent most was the way John Mahoney did an almost perfect imitation of Remnant Gene’s vocal inflection and, perhaps, parenting approach. Mahoney has just one kid to work with, but I get the sense Gene was half of a team (hi Vickie) that got them out the door and on the way, and then the rest of the way there. I couldn’t find a Mahoney clip from the movie worthy of Gene, the trailer uses Mahoney as a foil, not the much more interesting character he plays, but the connection is striking, if dubious.

This being a Cameron Crowe movie, there is music. Crowe’s wife, Nancy Wilson, is the musical director. Two songs that are awfully nice to wake up to. First an excellent Cheap Trick tune:

And a Replacements tune that presages Paul Westerberg’s solo career, but has a very quirky arrangement that is a quieter moodier Replacements.