remember the ’80s?

I don’t. Except when I watch really great movies from that decade, like, say, Quicksilver (1986), starring a young Kevin Bacon before his creepy phase.

If you haven’t seen it, or if it’s been too long, I will wait while you watch this scene of him dancing on his bicycle with his ballerina lady friend:

Okay, now that you have scene fresh in your mind, I will give you points two through six for why you should watch the whole thing:

2. The first race scene, bike vs. taxi in rush hour, in which we get a dramatic close-up of the rear derailler shifting to a higher gear so our bicyclist can propel himself forward at a faster rate. Is this the only cinematic presentation of derailler drama? It’s the only I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, they actually show the chain shifting to a lower gear, which looks an awful lot like it should be shifting to a higher gear, but is it too nerdy to point that out?

3. Kevin Bacon trues a wheel after his bike messenger lady friend crashes. Notable quote from said lady friend, seeing Kevin Bacon lube his chain: “Why do you do that?”

4. The whole bike messenger crew doing bicycle circus tricks during their 15.

5. A moment of unmistakable foreshadowing of Kevin Bacon’s creepy phase, in which he creepily pretends to be asleep while his lady friend puts a blanket on him, and then his eyes open in a creepy fashion to reveal that he was awake the whole time.

6. The part where the killer guy, looking for our bike messenger lady friend in a diner, walks past the men’s bathroom with a glance, the air thick with ‘Well she sure won’t be found in there‘, and enters the women’s bathroom, where lo and behold! See, even if we are running for our lives, you will not find us ladies going into the men’s bathroom. At least some things are still sacred in this crazy world.