Best comedies of the 1980's
by Tom6253 | created - 19 Jun 2011 | updated - 19 Jun 2011 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Breakfast Club (1985)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama
Five high school students meet in Saturday detention and discover how they have a great deal more in common than they thought.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy
Votes: 436,863 | Gross: $45.88M
2. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
PG-13 | 103 min | Comedy
A popular high school student, admired by his peers, decides to take a day off from school and goes to extreme lengths to pull it off, to the chagrin of his Dean, who'll do anything to stop him.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Jeffrey Jones
Votes: 386,739 | Gross: $70.14M
3. Major League (1989)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Sport
The new owner of the Cleveland Indians puts together a purposely horrible team so they'll lose and she can move the team. But when the plot is uncovered, they start winning just to spite her.
Director: David S. Ward | Stars: Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, Margaret Whitton
Votes: 76,500 | Gross: $49.80M
4. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
R | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A freewheeling Detroit cop pursuing a murder investigation finds himself dealing with the very different culture of Beverly Hills.
Director: Martin Brest | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher
Votes: 203,505 | Gross: $234.76M
5. Coming to America (1988)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Romance
An extremely pampered African prince travels to Queens, New York and goes undercover to find a wife that he can respect for her intelligence and strong will.
Director: John Landis | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Paul Bates, Garcelle Beauvais, Feather
Votes: 223,687 | Gross: $128.15M
6. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama
A group of Southern California high school students are enjoying their most important subjects: sex, drugs and rock n' roll.
Director: Amy Heckerling | Stars: Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Robert Romanus
Votes: 115,828 | Gross: $27.09M
7. Used Cars (1980)
R | 113 min | Comedy
When the owner of a struggling used car lot is killed, it's up to the lot's hot-shot salesman to save the property from falling into the hands of the owner's ruthless brother and used-car rival.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Kurt Russell, Jack Warden, Gerrit Graham, Frank McRae
Votes: 16,784
8. Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
R | 90 min | Comedy
At Adams College, a group of bullied outcasts and misfits resolve to fight back for their peace and self-respect.
Director: Jeff Kanew | Stars: Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Timothy Busfield, Andrew Cassese
Votes: 58,399 | Gross: $40.90M
9. Eddie Murphy: Raw (1987)
R | 93 min | Documentary, Comedy
Eddie Murphy in a stand-up performance recorded live. For an hour and a half he talks about his favourite subjects: sex and women.
Director: Robert Townsend | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Tatyana Ali, Billie Allen, Clebert Ford
Votes: 20,746 | Gross: $50.50M
10. Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)
PG | 91 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
When eccentric man-child Pee-wee Herman gets his beloved bike stolen in broad daylight, he sets out across the U.S. on the adventure of his life.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Paul Reubens, Elizabeth Daily, Mark Holton, Diane Salinger
Votes: 59,124 | Gross: $40.90M
11. Better Off Dead (1985)
PG | 97 min | Comedy, Romance
After his girlfriend ditches him for a boorish ski jock, Lane decides that suicide is the only answer. However, his increasingly inept attempts bring him only more agony and embarrassment. Filled with the wildest teen nightmares.
Director: Savage Steve Holland | Stars: John Cusack, David Ogden Stiers, Kim Darby, Demian Slade
Votes: 49,403 | Gross: $10.30M
12. Summer School (1987)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Romance
Freddy the gym teacher has to teach remedial English in summer (high) school, if he wants tenure. As he can only teach gym and his students want fun, emphasis is on "field trips" - until he's fired unless all his students pass the test.
Director: Carl Reiner | Stars: Mark Harmon, Kirstie Alley, Robin Thomas, Patrick Labyorteaux
Votes: 22,160 | Gross: $35.66M
13. Teen Wolf (1985)
PG | 91 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
An ordinary high school student discovers that his family has an unusual pedigree.
Director: Rod Daniel | Stars: Michael J. Fox, James Hampton, Susan Ursitti, Jerry Levine
Votes: 59,726 | Gross: $33.09M
14. Vacation (1983)
R | 98 min | Adventure, Comedy
The Griswold family's cross-country drive to the Walley World theme park proves to be much more arduous than they ever anticipated.
Director: Harold Ramis | Stars: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Imogene Coca, Randy Quaid
Votes: 120,184 | Gross: $61.40M
15. Christmas Vacation (1989)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy
The Griswold family's plans for a big family Christmas predictably turn into a big disaster.
Director: Jeremiah S. Chechik | Stars: Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Juliette Lewis, Johnny Galecki
Votes: 220,188 | Gross: $71.32M
16. Caddyshack (1980)
R | 98 min | Comedy, Sport
An exclusive golf course has to deal with a flatulent new member and a destructive dancing gopher.
Director: Harold Ramis | Stars: Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray, Ted Knight
Votes: 127,244 | Gross: $39.85M
17. Porky's (1981)
R | 94 min | Comedy
In 1954, a group of Florida high-school guys try to help their buddy lose his virginity, which leads them to seek revenge on a sleazy nightclub owner and his redneck sheriff brother for harassing them.
Director: Bob Clark | Stars: Dan Monahan, Mark Herrier, Wyatt Knight, Roger Wilson
Votes: 45,769 | Gross: $111.29M
18. Back to the Future (1985)
PG | 116 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Marty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover
Votes: 1,307,791 | Gross: $210.61M
19. Making the Grade (1984)
R | 105 min | Comedy, Romance
A spoiled rich young man hires a young hustler, who lives in a broken car and owes money to a dicey loan shark, to take his place in his elite prep school and graduate for him.
Director: Dorian Walker | Stars: Judd Nelson, Jonna Lee, Gordon Jump, Walter Olkewicz
Votes: 1,627 | Gross: $4.56M
20. Risky Business (1983)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A Chicago teenager is looking for fun at home while his parents are away, but the situation quickly gets out of hand.
Director: Paul Brickman | Stars: Tom Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay, Joe Pantoliano, Richard Masur
Votes: 99,912 | Gross: $63.50M
21. Adventures in Babysitting (1987)
PG-13 | 102 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
A babysitter must battle her way through the big city after being stranded there with the kids she's looking after.
Director: Chris Columbus | Stars: Elisabeth Shue, Maia Brewton, Keith Coogan, Anthony Rapp
Votes: 49,161 | Gross: $34.37M
22. Weird Science (1985)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Two high-school nerds use a computer program to literally create the perfect woman, who promptly turns their lives upside-down.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Kelly LeBrock, Bill Paxton
Votes: 97,480 | Gross: $23.83M
23. Ghostbusters (1984)
PG | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
Three parapsychologists forced out of their university funding set up shop as a unique ghost removal service in New York City, attracting frightened yet skeptical customers.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis
Votes: 450,650 | Gross: $238.63M
24. Sixteen Candles (1984)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Romance
A girl's "sweet" sixteenth birthday is anything but special: her family forgets about it, and she suffers from every embarrassment possible.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Justin Henry, Michael Schoeffling
Votes: 126,464 | Gross: $23.69M
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