Best Rom-Coms of the '80s
by jamariana | created - 12 Jul 2017 | updated - 12 Jul 2017 | PublicWhich of these 1980's romantic-comedy films is your favourite?
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1. Say Anything... (1989)
PG | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college.
Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney, Lili Taylor
Votes: 80,814 | Gross: $20.78M
2. Bull Durham (1988)
14 | 108 min | Comedy, Romance, Sport
A fan who has an affair with one minor-league baseball player each season meets an up-and-coming pitcher and the experienced catcher assigned to him.
Director: Ron Shelton | Stars: Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Trey Wilson
Votes: 46,451 | Gross: $50.89M
3. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
PA | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Harry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby
Votes: 189,141 | Gross: $92.82M
4. Tootsie (1982)
PG | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Michael Dorsey, an unsuccessful actor, disguises himself as a woman in order to get a role on a trashy hospital soap.
Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman
Votes: 95,192 | Gross: $177.20M
5. Heathers (1989)
14A | 103 min | Comedy, Crime
In order to get out of the snobby clique that is destroying her good-girl reputation, an intelligent teen teams up with a dark sociopath in a plot to kill the cool kids.
Director: Michael Lehmann | Stars: Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk
Votes: 85,225 | Gross: $1.11M
6. The Princess Bride (1987)
PG | 98 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
While home sick in bed, a young boy's grandfather reads him the story of a farmboy-turned-pirate who encounters numerous obstacles, enemies and allies in his quest to be reunited with his true love.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright, Chris Sarandon
Votes: 382,304 | Gross: $30.86M
7. Big (1988)
PG | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
After wishing to be made big, a teenage boy wakes the next morning to find himself mysteriously in the body of an adult.
Director: Penny Marshall | Stars: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia, John Heard
Votes: 192,043 | Gross: $114.97M
8. The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
82 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
In New Jersey in 1935, a movie character walks off the screen and into the real world.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels, Danny Aiello, Irving Metzman
Votes: 45,804 | Gross: $10.63M
9. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
107 min | Comedy, Drama
Between two Thanksgivings two years apart, Hannah's husband falls in love with her sister Lee, while her hypochondriac ex-husband rekindles his relationship with her sister Holly.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest, Michael Caine, Barbara Hershey
Votes: 65,278 | Gross: $40.08M
10. ¡Átame! (1989)
R | 101 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
An unbalanced but alluring former mental patient takes a porn star prisoner in the hopes of convincing her to marry him.
Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Victoria Abril, Antonio Banderas, Loles León, Julieta Serrano
Votes: 23,547 | Gross: $4.09M
11. Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)
PG | 95 min | Drama, Romance
When Keith goes out with Amanda, the girl of his dreams, Amanda's ex-boyfriend plans to get back at Keith. Meanwhile, Keith's best friend, tomboy Watts, realizes she has feelings for Keith.
Director: Howard Deutch | Stars: Eric Stoltz, Mary Stuart Masterson, Lea Thompson, Craig Sheffer
Votes: 26,779 | Gross: $18.55M
12. Sixteen Candles (1984)
13+ | 93 min | Comedy, Romance
A girl's "sweet" sixteenth birthday becomes anything but special, as she suffers from every embarrassment possible.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Justin Henry, Michael Schoeffling
Votes: 101,699 | Gross: $23.69M
13. Pretty in Pink (1986)
PA | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A poor girl must choose between the affections of dating her childhood sweetheart or a rich but sensitive playboy.
Director: Howard Deutch | Stars: Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer, Harry Dean Stanton, Annie Potts
Votes: 72,321 | Gross: $40.47M
14. Mystic Pizza (1988)
14A | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Three teenage girls come of age while working at a pizza parlor in the Connecticut town of Mystic.
Director: Donald Petrie | Stars: Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts, Lili Taylor, Vincent D'Onofrio
Votes: 23,954 | Gross: $12.79M
15. Dirty Dancing (1987)
PG | 100 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Spending the summer at a Catskills resort with her family, Frances "Baby" Houseman falls in love with the camp's dance instructor, Johnny Castle.
Director: Emile Ardolino | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach, Cynthia Rhodes
Votes: 194,937 | Gross: $0.62M
16. Coming to America (1988)
14A | 116 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 will.
Director: John Landis | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Paul Bates, Garcelle Beauvais, Feather
Votes: 158,914 | Gross: $128.15M
17. Mischief (1985)
97 min | Comedy, Romance
1956. Obsessed with the hottest girl in class, a gawky high school student takes a crash course in teenage coolness from his motorcycle rebel neighbour, under the watchful eye of the eternal symbol of teenage rebellion: James Dean.
Director: Mel Damski | Stars: Doug McKeon, Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelly Preston, Chris Nash
Votes: 5,354 | Gross: $8.69M
18. Secret Admirer (1985)
14A | 90 min | Comedy, Romance
An anonymous love letter left in Michael's locker on the last day of school wreaks havoc on his life and the lives of everyone who come in contact with it.
Director: David Greenwalt | Stars: C. Thomas Howell, Lori Loughlin, Kelly Preston, Dee Wallace
Votes: 6,171 | Gross: $8.62M
19. The Sure Thing (1985)
PG | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Walter Gibson is a university freshman going through a dry spell. His old buddy arranges a "sure thing" for him in California. Gibson and his classmate Allison then take a long road trip out to Cali, and both foil each other's plans.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: John Cusack, Daphne Zuniga, Anthony Edwards, Boyd Gaines
Votes: 18,746 | Gross: $18.14M
20. She's Gotta Have It (1986)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Romance
Story of a woman and her three lovers.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell, Spike Lee
Votes: 10,590 | Gross: $7.14M
21. The Little Mermaid (1989)
G | 83 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
A mermaid princess makes a Faustian bargain in an attempt to become human and win a prince's love.
Directors: Ron Clements, John Musker | Stars: Jodi Benson, Samuel E. Wright, Rene Auberjonois, Christopher Daniel Barnes
Votes: 230,039 | Gross: $111.54M
22. Splash (1984)
PG | 111 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
A young man is reunited with a mermaid who saved him from drowning as a boy. He falls in love with her, not knowing who or what she is.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Tom Hanks, Daryl Hannah, Eugene Levy, John Candy
Votes: 67,267 | Gross: $62.10M
23. Broadcast News (1987)
133 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Take two rival television reporters: one handsome, one talented, both male. Add one Producer, female. Mix well, and watch the sparks fly.
Director: James L. Brooks | Stars: William Hurt, Albert Brooks, Holly Hunter, Robert Prosky
Votes: 26,059 | Gross: $51.25M
24. Working Girl (1988)
14+ | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When a secretary's idea is stolen by her boss, she seizes an opportunity to steal it back by pretending she has her boss' job.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, Alec Baldwin
Votes: 50,226 | Gross: $64.00M
25. Risky Business (1983)
18A | 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: 78,336 | Gross: $63.50M
26. Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)
PG | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Peggy Sue faints at a high school reunion. When she wakes up, she finds herself in her own past, just before she finished school.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Kathleen Turner, Nicolas Cage, Barry Miller, Catherine Hicks
Votes: 31,876 | Gross: $41.38M
27. Hairspray (1988)
PG | 92 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
A 'pleasantly plump' teenager teaches 1962 Baltimore a thing or two about integration after landing a spot on a local TV dance show.
Director: John Waters | Stars: Sonny Bono, Ruth Brown, Divine, Debbie Harry
Votes: 19,337 | Gross: $6.67M
28. Romancing the Stone (1984)
PA | 106 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A mousy romance novelist sets off for Colombia to ransom her kidnapped sister, and soon finds herself in the middle of a dangerous adventure hunting for treasure with a mercenary rogue.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Zack Norman
Votes: 80,431 | Gross: $76.57M
29. Arthur (1981)
PG | 97 min | Comedy, Romance
Arthur spends his time with booze and whores. His dad has a wife lined up for him that he keeps rejecting - until it's her or being cut off from $750,000,000. Then he goes shopping where he falls in love with a shoplifter.
Director: Steve Gordon | Stars: Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud, Geraldine Fitzgerald
Votes: 25,219 | Gross: $95.46M
30. Overboard (1987)
112 min | Comedy, Romance
A cruel but beautiful heiress mocks and cheats a hired carpenter. When she gets amnesia after an accident, he decides to introduce her to regular life by convincing her they're husband and wife.
Director: Garry Marshall | Stars: Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Edward Herrmann, Katherine Helmond
Votes: 50,833 | Gross: $26.71M
31. About Last Night... (1986)
18A | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A man and woman meet and try to have a romantic affair, despite their personal problems and the interference of their disapproving friends.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, Jim Belushi, Elizabeth Perkins
Votes: 13,978 | Gross: $38.70M
32. Moonstruck (1987)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Loretta Castorini, a bookkeeper from Brooklyn, New York, finds herself in a difficult situation when she falls for the brother of the man she has agreed to marry.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: Cher, Nicolas Cage, Olympia Dukakis, Danny Aiello
Votes: 47,766 | Gross: $80.64M
33. Roxanne (1987)
G | 107 min | Comedy, Romance
The large-nosed C.D. Bales is in love with the beautiful Roxanne; she falls for his personality but another man's looks.
Director: Fred Schepisi | Stars: Steve Martin, Daryl Hannah, Rick Rossovich, Shelley Duvall
Votes: 39,798 | Gross: $40.05M
34. Valley Girl (1983)
14A | 99 min | Comedy, Romance
Julie, a girl from the valley, meets Randy, a punk from the city. They are from different worlds and find love. Somehow they need to stay together in spite of her trendy, shallow friends.
Director: Martha Coolidge | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman, Elizabeth Daily, Michael Bowen
Votes: 12,753 | Gross: $16.80M
35. Can't Buy Me Love (1987)
PG | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An outcast secretly pays the most popular girl in school one thousand dollars to pretend to be his girlfriend for a month.
Director: Steve Rash | Stars: Patrick Dempsey, Amanda Peterson, Courtney Gains, Tina Caspary
Votes: 31,660 | Gross: $31.62M
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