Now, of all '80s kids, Wyatt Donnelly is among my favourite. Of the dynamic duo Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell-Smith, the latter is without a doubt the more awesome. Why? Simple. Look at the uber-nerds that Anthony Michael Hall had the privilege to play during the '80s. Farmer Ted, Brian Johnson. Then he went and played that jerkozoid in Edward Scissorhands. And you can't exactly call his character in Johnny Be Good overly cool.
Okay, now. Check out Ilan Mitchell-Smith's roles. So we've got 15 year old Wyatt, who gets to snog Kelly LeBrock and walk around in her knickers. Then there's Jim Conrad from The Wild Life. And what does he spend his time doing? Robbing army-surplus stores, blowing up monuments and cop cars, and hanging out with junkie war veterans. Then we've got Jerry Renault from The Chocolate War. Wanna learn to be a rebel? Well, tell the Catholic school equivalent of preppy frat boys to go f#@* themselves and their stupid bullyboy rituals, and become a hero in the process. Then go act like Sylvester Stallone and knock some Catholic-boy teeth out. Now THAT is cool.
Tell me that the above doesn't qualify Ilan Mitchell-Smith for a "whatever happened to" and I'll stick a bra on your head.
1984 saw Cameron Crowe unofficially 'sequel-ize' the teen classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The Wild Life delves into the lives of various high-school kids, who all know each other in one way or another. Lea Thompson is best friends with Jenny Wright, who is dating Chris Penn. And Chris works at a bowling alley beside his soon to be roommate Eric Stolz. And brother to Eric Stolz is, you've got it. Ilan Mitchell-Smith! The most badass of all the high schoolers, Ilan, or Jim, is hooked on 'nam, rock & roll, and destruction. He pretty much just goes around causing mayhem, rigging up police cars with explosives and breaking into school during the night.
Grossing $9,500,000 at the box office, The Wild Life hasn't even managed to earn itself a DVD release yet, which adds to the movie's already substantial cult following. It at least deserves thanks for being the movie that broke Ilan into the world of teen film, leading to his most well-loved role just a year later.
Next came John Hughes masterpiece Weird Science. Yes, masterpiece. It is a movie that, no matter how many times you watch it, never gets old. You'll laugh every time, and notice subtle comedic moments that you missed the million viewings before. I mean, how can you go wrong. Kelly LeBrock, Bill Paxton, Robert Downey Jr, that goddamn bald dude from The Hills Have Eyes. It is pure gold. Who has never wanted to hypnotize their annoying grandparents and chuck 'em in a cupboard at one point in their lives?! Or turn their asshole brother into some great big fly-eating turd?
Ilan is perfectly cast as the levelheaded, responsible half of the pair, and although apparently disliking Athony Michael Hall in real life, the two made a legendary teen partnership. If you don't know the plot of such a classic teen movie of the '80s, then I am sending you on your way now.
Three years on from locking lips with the Brockster came a very underrated movie, The Chocolate War, based on a novel of the same name. It is one of those awkward movie titles; Chocolate and War. So wait. The movie is about.. chocolate? A chocolate war? To answer simply, yes. Set in a Catholic school, the film centers around a group of lads known as the 'vigils', who, hand-in-hand with a corrupt teacher, run the school the way they like it. Think of them as frat house leaders, setting initiation challenges. Their cushy little system is going fine until they pick on Jerry Renault (Mitchell-Smith), who decides to rebel against their demands, causing uproar among the vigils, and huge problems for the school's annual chocolate sale.
If you haven't read the book (which I haven't), the above plot outline may slightly confuse you, or leave you thinking the whole thing sounds a bit boring. In actual fact, I adore this movie. Very intense and emotionally charged at points, it is something a bit different within the teen movie genre. Having only seen it for the first time this January, i'm already a big fan of the movie, and refused to press pause the entire time. I suggest you seek it out if you haven't seen it.
And so, 1988 was the last of the good-stuff for Ilan. 1989 saw two minor roles in god-awful, less-than-watchable low budgeters, Journey to the Center of the Earth and Identity Crisis. The tagline of the second is enough to deter you for a lifetime; When they Switch brains, a GIRLIE MAN turns a LADIES MAN into a WILD MAN!From 1989 to '91, it was all about television work, with Ilan starring in five thirty-minute episodes of Superboy. As you can probably gather, Superboy follows the escapades of a young Clark Kent, as he battles the baddies and arch-enemy Lex Luthor. Finally, he starred in one episode of the 8-series Florida crime drama Silk Stalkings. And with the blink of an eye, another teen star bites the dust.
In 1991, Ilan quit acting completely, giving Hollywood the boot, because of the whole thing getting in the way of his academic dreams. He got a place at the junior college in Santa Monica, where he met his wife. He went on to earn himself B.A. & M.A. degrees in medieval studies, and a Ph.D., and is now known as a Dr. Mitchell-Smith in his current job as Assistant Professor of English at Angelo State University. The university website lists his interests as: Medieval literature and Chivalric Romance, Gender Studies, Literature of Violence, Modern Depictions of the Middle Ages and Medieval Fantasy, Games of all kinds, and Bluegrass Mandolin.
Who would have thought it eh?
