Broadcast News (1987)

Warm-Up Teasing Kisses

Director/writer James L. Brooks' romantic comedy-drama told about the relationships and careers of employees while they worked at a TV news organization in Washington, D.C., including:

• talented, intense and spunky female news producer Jane Craig (Holly Hunter)
• intellectually-feeble, handsome, yet superficial network news anchorman Tom Grunick (William Hurt)

During a budding but mismatched romance between the two, they attended a Correspondent's Dinner event, but Jane pulled him outside before they went through security (embarrassed that the condoms she had boldly brought in her purse would be discovered).

Outside, Tom felt Jane's breast through her clothing and teasingly ran his fingers along the top of her low-cut dress. She laughed and told him: "At least kiss me when you do that." He replied: "You just can't stop editing me, huh?" She quipped back: "This is hysterical," and they passionately kissed. They talked further:

Jane: "I was half-hoping I wouldn't have a good time tonight. You know why?"
Tom: "Because you're nuts?"
Jane: "Right, right. Isn't she fun to tease."
Tom: "More and more lately, I've been watching your reactions, seeing all your energy. I've been wondering what it'd be like to be inside all that energy."

She took a drink to strengthen her resolve to his sexual advances and replied: "Me too." When he responded that he couldn't say why he just said what he did, she answered for him:

"Well, I can think of two reasons...three, I just thought of a third. If you talk about it, you don't have to do it...Another is, you're trying to make it all about sex and heat and nothing else, or it's that great feeling that you don't want to hold anything back. You know, intimacy."

Broadcast News (1987)

The Promise of Time-Off Kiss

As the entire office was packing up after a severe hiring cutback, handsome but vacuous network news anchorman Tom Grunick (William Hurt) gestured to young intensely-driven, workalcoholic female producer Jane Craig (Holly Hunter) to join him in one of the offices to talk privately.

She complained about the "awful" situation everyone faced:

"It just hurts...physically, doesn't it? Like something's wrong with your bones. Like your organs are shifting inside your body."

Unsympathethic and callous about everyone's plight, he said: "Maybe I haven't been here long enough" - and then congratulated her on her promotion to the position of bureau chief. He explained how the same thing had happened at every station where he had previously worked ("I'm sorry I can't stand here feeling bad because I don't feel worse"). He then asked whether she would join him during her "fourteen weeks" of time off, before he had to relocate in a week to a new position in London: "Let's get the hell away to some island fast and, and find out how we are together away from this" - she responded in awe: "Well, I just think that's an extraordinary proposal."

When he wondered whether she meant "yes," she replied with an affirmative and enthusiastic 'yes': "That's more than 'yes'. That's 'you bet'!" After he passionately kissed her, she wrapped her arms around him.

Later however, after she realized that he had breached some ethical boundaries by faking tears (on cue) in a cutaway shot during an emotional interview (that she viewed on videotape), she left him at the airport to take the trip by himself.

Dirty Dancing (1987)

Sensual Dancing Moves Kisses

In this popular teen dance film by director Emile Andolino, a young girl learned some hard truths about life and 'dirty' dancing during her time in 1963 at a summer resort in the Catskill Mountains. The two principals were:

• macho resort hotel resident dance instructor and streetwise sexy suitor Johnny Castle (Patrick Swayze)
• impressionable 17 year-old Frances 'Baby' Houseman (Jennifer Grey)

She fell in love with him, during expressive R 'n' B, hip-to-hip dance moves, and when he put other romantic moves on her, while teaching her how to balance on a suspended log, and how to do an extended dive into his outstretched arms (both in a field and in a lake).

The film's most sexual kissing scene took place one night after Baby had been scolded by her repressive father and she visited Johnny in his red-lit bungalow to express her fear:

"I'm scared of everything. I'm scared of what I saw, I'm scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you."

She then invited the shirtless Johnny to symbolically "Dance with me." Incredulous, Johnny asked: "Here?" and she replied boldly: "Here." She sensuously put her arms around his shoulder and dipped backwards, coming close to almost kissing him, as they danced to Solomon Burke's "Cry to Me." He helped her to remove her blouse from the bottom up, exposing her white bra and jeans as he caressed and kissed her when she came close to his lips.

Their final dance was during the stage revue show at the end of the season, to the tune of Oscar-winning: "(I've Had) the Time of My Life."

A Man in Love (1987, Fr./It.) (aka Un Homme Amoureux)

Kisses as Prelude to Torrid Love-Making

French director/writer Diane Kurys told a tale of infidelity in a passionate and erotic art film (a film about film-making itself) about the life of the Italian poet Cesare Pavese (who committed suicide) and his last love, Gabriella, with the tagline: "Love Devours Only the Hungry."

The two lovers having an extra-marital affair while on an Italian set during film-making:

• self-possessed, temperamental, egotistical married American movie star Steve Elliott (Peter Coyote), as Cesare Pavese himself
• earthy and sensual leading lady co-starlet, British actress Jane Steiner (Greta Scacchi), as Gabriella

During dinner, Steve asked Jane a blunt question: "Will you stay with me tonight?" but they were unable to be intimate. Their secretive romance was threatened by the unexpected arrival of Elliott's neglected and estranged wife Susan (Jamie Lee Curtis), Jane's own French boyfriend, and the lingering illness of Jane's dying mother Julia (Claudia Cardinale).

They had another chance later on, when he began slowly touching her under her blouse, and they hesitated to kiss each other until their erotic tension was so great that they couldn't resist each other. He dropped his pants and they began to make love against the wall, as they continued to nibble at each other with love bites - the camera tracked in for close-ups of their faces. They were clearly in love, and had many more opportunities to kiss each other and be torridly intimate.

The character of Jane was self-awakened and transformed by film's end, and typing a manuscript titled "A Man in Love."

Moonstruck (1987)

A Kiss for a Wolf

In a memorable scene in Ronny's apartment, 37 year-old Italian bookkeeper Loretta Castorini (Cher) after being widowed for seven years (after being married at age 28), was recently engaged to 42 year-old Momma's boy Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello).

She cooked up a steak, served with a bottle of whiskey, to Johnny's younger estranged and tortured brother Ronny Cammareri (Nicolas Cage) who was still cynical about love. A bread-slicer bakery accident five years earlier involving Johnny had left him maimed (one-handed) and without a fiancee.

Both called each other "stupid" for not following through with love since their mutual life-altering events. He told her: "She was right to leave me." Loretta confessed to Ronny about the loss of her previous husband:

"Look, you know, I was raised when a girl gets married young. I felt that I was below. I got married when I was 28. I met a man, I loved him, I married him. And then he wanted to have a baby right away, and I said no, that we should wait. And then he gets hit by a bus. So whadda I got? I got no man, no baby, no nothin'. You know, how did I know that that man was a gift I couldn't keep. My one chance at happiness."

She also offered unsolicited advice to him about his life, calling him a wolf:

"That woman didn't leave you, OK. You can't see what you are, and I see everything. You are a wolf!...The big part of you has no words, and, uh, it's a wolf. You know, that woman was a trap for you. She caught you and you couldn't get away. So you, you chewed off your own foot. That was the price you had to pay for your freedom. You know, Johnny had nothin' to do with it. You did what you had to do between you and you. And now, now you're afraid because you know the big part of you is a wolf that has the courage to bite off its own hand to save itself from the trap of the wrong love. That's why there's been no woman since that wrong woman. OK? You're scared to death of what the wolf would do if you try and make that mistake again!"

Then, Loretta admitted why she was marrying Johnny - whom he called a 'fool': "Because I have no luck."

Ronny stood up: "He [Johnny] made me look the wrong way and I cut off my hand. He could make you look the wrong way, you could lose your whole head!" Ronny called her: "A bride without a head" and she retorted back: "A wolf without a foot."

And then, Ronny tossed the dining table aside and grabbed Loretta for a passionate kiss. For a moment, Loretta pushed him away with: "Wait a minute! Wait a minute!", but then lunged back for another kiss. He cried out: "Son of a bitch," as he carried her into his bedroom ("To the bed!") and she surrendered to him:

"Take me to the bed. I don't care about anything."

During the night, they both stood in the moonlight (that "looks like a big snowball") of the venetian-blinded window, and kissed again.

Moonstruck (1987)

A Kiss to Seal the Marriage Deal

In the climactic breakfast proposal scene, Johnny canceled his engagement to Loretta, and their wedding was off ("Loretta, I can't marry you...If I marry you, my mother will die"). She removed her ring, threw it at him, and mutually declared the engagement off.

But then, Ronny immediately proposed to Loretta instead ("Loretta...'Will you marry me?'", with Johnny's stunned reaction: "WHAT?!"), and another wedding was on.

Ronny borrowed and then offered the same engagement ring when he formally requested her hand in marriage ("Loretta Castorini - Will you marry me?"). Loretta accepted ("Yes, Ronny, in front of all these people, I'll marry you") and assured her mother Rose (Olympia Dukakis) of her love: "Ma, I love him awful." The mother responded: "Aw god, that's too bad."

They kissed to seal the deal, after Johnny smiled: "She loves me."

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

An Enticing and Seductive "Freddy Krueger" Tongue-Tied Kiss

In the third film in the long-running horror-film franchise, a group of suicidal teens, all children of the vigilante parents in Springwood who had burned and killed child murderer Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), were experiencing a group hypnosis therapy session during their treatment at Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital.

During his own dream experience, mute and infatuated teen Joey Crusel (Rodney Eastman) followed cute candy-striper Marcie (Stacey Alden) down the hallway to an unoccupied room, where she confided how she was attracted to him. In the empty dorm room, sexy Marcie enticed Joey by inviting him to "unzip me" - and she soon stood bare-breasted before him, asking: "Do you like my body, Joey?"

Wearing only a skimpy white thong, she urged him to lie back, crawled on top of him, and then kissed him. The probing, deep kiss gagged Joey as Marcie's tongue grew supernaturally and burrowed deep into his mouth. Two elongated tongues burst from her mouth and twisted around Joey's wrists on the headboard, and two more tongues lashed his feet to the footboard bedposts.

Her face and body were transformed into the grotesque Freddy Krueger, who quipped:

"What's wrong, Joey? Feeling tongue-tied?"

The Princess Bride (1987)

The Most Passionate and Pure Kiss

In this classic fairy tale by director Rob Reiner, the Grandfather (Peter Falk) was reading a bedtime story to his Grandson (Fred Savage) who was often perturbed by the many kissing parts between Buttercup/Princess Bride (Robin Wright) and her heroic Westley (Cary Elwes), a poor farm boy:

"They're kissing again. Do we have to read the kissing parts?"

The young Grandson asked: "Is this a kissing book?" as evidenced by an early kissing scene between the two fairy tale characters as they parted ways. They also kissed after rolling down a hll together, when Buttercup realized that the masked Dread Pirate Roberts was her long-lost love Westley ("Westley: "Death cannot stop true love").

There was also a kiss between the two of them when Westley saved Buttercup from committing suicide in despair, after she was forced into a marriage with Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon). He surprised her when she was about to suicidally thrust a dagger into her chest: "There's a shortage of perfect breasts in this world. It would be a pity to damage yours." She rushed over to the bed and profusely kissed him.

Ultimately it was a "kissing book." The Grandfather introduced the "most passionate" kiss to his Grandson in the film's conclusion (when the fairy tale story ended with a happy ending)

"They rode to freedom. And as dawn arose, Westley and Buttercup knew they were safe. A wave of love swept over them. And as they reached for each other...Since the invention of the kiss there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind. The End."

Roxanne (1987)

Awkward Long-Nosed Kiss

Director Fred Schepisi's romantic comedy updated Edmond Rostand's 1897 Cyrano de Bergerac tale about a man with a grotesquely-long nose.

The enchanting Roxanne (Daryl Hannah) delivered a heartfelt, romantic speech in the film's happy ending, to disbelieving, modern-day Cyrano fire chief C.D. Bales (Steve Martin) as he sat on his roof under the stars.

She professed her love for him:

"All these other men, Charlie, they've got flat, featureless faces. No character, no fire, no nose. Charlie, you have a big nose. You have a beautiful, great, big, flesh and bone nose. I love your nose. I love your nose, Charlie. I love you, Charlie (pause) Well?"

He responded: "Are you kidding?" and then slid down the roof and performed a full-body forward flip to the ground to be next to her.

After a few awkward moments of finding the right angle and having him tilt his head to the right, she kissed him.

Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)

Tutoring Kisses

In this successful teen coming-of-age drama-romance (similar to Pretty in Pink (1986), although gender-reversed) from writer John Hughes (directed by Howard Deutch, star Lea Thompson's future husband), lone outsider, sensitive and working-class high school senior Keith Nelson (Eric Stoltz), and also an aspiring artist, was friends with pert tomboy and fellow misfit Watts "Drummer Girl" (Mary Stuart Masterson).

(One of Watts' crew-cut admirers Ray (Scott Coffey) told her that he didn't believe she was gender "confused": "You radiate this sexual vibe. If you wanted to, you could be a girl - (he snapped his fingers) like that!" She replied: "This is 1987. Did you know that a girl can be whatever she wants to be?")

Keith became smitten with and had a crush on the unattainable, popular and beautiful Amanda Jones (Lea Thompson), after she had accepted a date with him. Amanda was regularly dating rich Hardy (Craig Sheffer). Watts proposed proper planning and advice, suggesting that Amanda was not a "minor leaguer" and that he must learn how to kiss (beyond his own "amateur lips") for his big date to "deliver a kiss that kills." She gave him a hands-on lesson in kissing, while secretly in love with him - in this love-triangle tale of unrequited love:

Watts: "Pretend I'm a girl. Okay? I mean...pretend I'm her. Amanda. (She removed her leather jacket) I know it's a big stretch, but try it. Come here. I didn't mean to scare you. All right. What do you do with your hands?"
Keith: "Well, that depends."
Watts: "No, it doesn't depend. They go on her hips."
Keith: "OK."
Watts: "Do it. (He obliged) Look into my eyes. (He laughed) Well, I don't have to do this, you know."
Keith: "I know. I'm sorry."
Watts: "Just grow up a little. She'll probably do this." (She draped her arms on his shoulders)
Keith: "How do you know?"
Watts: "I watch a lot of TV. Close your eyes." (She proceeded to kiss him - a lengthy and heartfelt kiss)
Keith: (She pushed him away, and he reacted) "What? What?"
Watts: "Lesson's over. You're cool."
Keith: "You're blushing."
Watts: "Yeah, right. The day I blush - "
Keith: "No, no, that, that was very nice. You're, you're pretty."
Watts: "If this is how you repay a favor, I don't know if I'm rich enough to be your friend."
Keith: "No, no, wait, wait, wait. I didn't mean anything. I'm sorry. Don't be mad, OK? I'll see you tonight."

Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)

Revealing Kisses

In the happy ending, Keith (Eric Stoltz) was presented with the diamond earrings that he had originally bought for Amanda (Lea Thompson). She returned them to him, encouraging him to give them to someone else who truly loved him:

"Remember how I said I'd rather be with someone for the wrong reasons than alone for the right ones? I'd rather be right. It's gonna feel good to stand on my own. Here. In your heart, you wanted to give these to somebody else. Go, go on."

Keith realized - finally - that Watts (Mary Stuart Masterson) truly cared about him, and he ran after her to kiss her in the middle of the street:

Keith: "I'm sorry, I didn't know."
Watts: "Yeah, well, you're stupid. I always knew you were stupid."
Keith: "Why didn't you tell me?"
Watts: "You never asked. (He showed her the returned diamond earrings) I wanted these. I really wanted them."
Keith: "They're yours. You knew you were gonna get these."
Watts: (She put on the earrings) "No, I didn't, I hoped. I didn't know."
Keith: "You knew."
Watts: "I had a feeling. Well, how do they look?"
Keith: "You look good wearing my future."

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)

Another Amnesia-Inducing or Memory-Wiping Kiss

Superman gave Lois a similar amnesia-inducing kiss, as he had in Superman II (1980). Concerned about what to do about the nuclear arms race, Clark (Christopher Reeve) jumped off his Metropolis' outdoor balcony - with Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), and as Superman, they flew cross-country as he cleared his mind, and she assured him that he would do the "right thing."

He was buoyed by being with her: "You make me laugh. You're the only one I can talk to, Lois." She also revealed: "I remember everything" - she knew about his identity, even his original name Kal-El. As he looked down, he said to himself:

"Never set one of them above the rest. Love all humanity instead. It's not fair."

He then delivered a quick kiss, to instantly erase her memory of their idyllic time together.