Even More Iconic Movie Songs - Matching Quiz

Answer: American Graffiti

"American Graffiti" is one of the first major films that George Lucas made. Set in the early '60s, the movie is a reflection of life in Modesto, California, when and where Lucas grew up. It has one of the best soundtracks, in my opinion. "Rock Around the Clock" was mainly featured when they first showed up at Mel's Drive-In. The film centers around a few different groups of people, all cruising in Modesto one night. They mostly encounter some high school-aged issues: trying to figure out how to talk to the girls they like; drag racing; anxiety about the future and trying to buy liquor when underage ("Bottle of Old Harper").

Interesting side note: I got the chance to go to the original Mel's in Modesto before they tore it down. Great burgers!

Answer: Ghost

"Ghost" is the story of Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) and Molly Jensen (Demi Moore), who are in love, but their world collapses when Sam is murdered. Sam doesn't go to heaven; he becomes a ghost (I guess that "unfinished business" stuff is in play here) and with the help of a storefront psychic (Whoopi Goldberg), Sam tries to warn Molly that she's in danger from the same men who murdered him. "Unchained Melody" plays in the background when Sam and Molly are working with clay on a potter's wheel.

It is a beautiful scene.

Answer: Footloose

"Footloose" is the story of Ren McCormick (Kevin Bacon), a teenager from Chicago who moves to a small town and subsequently runs into trouble with a lot of locals. The town has outlawed loud music and dancing. Ren tries to help the town change its thinking. One of the bullies from the town challenges Ren to a game of chicken with tractors on a canal bank.

The song "Holding Out for a Hero" plays during this scene.

Answer: Say Anything...

"Say Anything..." tells the story of Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack), an aspiring kickboxer ("Kickboxing: sport of the future - as it was in 1989), as he tries to escape his loser persona and date one of the most popular girls in his school, Diane Court (Ione Skye). Along the way, there are any number of misadventures, including a high school party and varying levels of intoxication, grand gestures of love, and pressure from your social group about who you're dating. "In Your Eyes" is in the iconic scene where Lloyd holds a boombox over his head, trying to get Diane to give him another chance. Ironically going against the typical high school film trope, his grand gesture does NOT work...

Answer: Shrek

Yes, I know this one was super easy, but the song and sequence in "Shrek" were just too fun to not include in this quiz. "Shrek" follows the adventures of the ogre Shrek (voice of Mike Myers) and Donkey (voice of Eddie Murphy) as they are tasked with saving the princess Fiona (voiced by Cameron Diaz). Shrek begins to having feelings for Fiona, but is scared to act on them because he is...well, an ogre. Little does he know that Fiona is cursed to turn into an ogress every night after sundown. "All Star" plays in the opening sequence where we're introduced to Shrek and the (imagined) life of an ogre.

Answer: Dirty Dancing

"Dirty Dancing" follows the story of Baby (Jennifer Grey) and Johnny (Patrick Swayze). Baby is a teenager on vacation with her parents at a resort in the Catskill mountains in the early '60s. Baby has aspirations of joining the newly-formed Peace Corps and helping people in foreign countries. Johnny is a dance instructor, hired by the resort to teach classes to the vacationers. Baby comes from a rich family and Johnny is from working-class circumstances.

The two social classes clash when Johnny and Baby work on a routine to showcase the dancers at the end of the summer. Of course, they fall in love and "Hungry Eyes" plays during the love scenes/montages.

This film gave us one of the worst (in my opinion) movie quotes ever: "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

Answer: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

"Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" is a retelling of the classic Robin Hood story. We do get a little more of the backstory, like where Robin of Locksley (Kevin Costner) was when things were going to hell back home (he was fighting in and became a prisoner during the Crusades). We also see Robin get a sidekick, Azeem (Morgan Freeman), a Moor who pledges to stay by Robin's side until he repays his life debt. Azeem feels he owes Robin his life because they escaped the prison together. Robin returns back to England with Azeem.

He reunites with Maid Marian (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) and forms a band of outlaws - the Merry Men. "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" is the love theme in the film.

Answer: The Karate Kid Part II

Following some of the events after the first "Karate Kid" movie, Daniel (Ralph Macchio) and Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) travel to Okinawa to help with Mr. Miyagi's dying father. Mr. Miyagi is hesitant to go because he is viewed as a coward in their village.

He fell in love with his old friend, Sato's girlfriend/arranged marriage bride. Sato challenged him to a fight to the death. Miyagi fled to the United States. Once back in Okinawa, Mr. Miyagi has to deal with the ghosts of his past. Meanwhile, Daniel is having problems with Sato's nephew. Daniel also has a romance with one of the local girls, Kumiko. "Glory of Love" is the love theme for this film.

Answer: Philadelphia

I hope you got this one! It's the obvious choice. "Streets of Philadelphia" is the main theme song in "Philadelphia", the story of Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) who is being fired from his job at a law firm simply because he has AIDS. Denzel Washington plays Joe Miller, the attorney who reluctantly takes Andrew's lawsuit for wrongful termination. Joe must navigate his preconceptions of gay people and anyone afflicted with AIDS. Tom Hanks won the first of his consecutive Best Actor Oscars for his portrayal.

He played the role with amazing humanity. The second Best Actor Oscar came the following year with "Forrest Gump". "Streets of Philadelphia" is a hauntingly beautiful song.

Answer: Batman Forever

The third installment of the new Batman movies, "Batman Forever", featured Val Kilmer as Bruce Wayne/Batman. This would be the only film in which Kilmer played the role. "Batman Forever" followed Bruce Wayne as he battles Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) and Edward Nygma (E. Nygma or "Enigma"), also known as The Riddler (Jim Carrey). "Kiss From a Rose" doesn't actually play in the film itself, but is in the closing credits.

Many people didn't like Kilmer's portrayal, but I think he did a good Bruce Wayne.

His Batman left a little to be desired. I guess we can forgive him somewhat. He DID have to follow Michael Keaton in the role, who was surprisingly awesome. AND...he had to try to balance Jim Carrey's frenetic energy onscreen. Pretty tall order!