Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for those 1980s comedy films that still tickle our collective funny bones.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for those 1980s comedy films
00:09that still tickle our collective funny bones.
00:25Chevy Chase has starred in a number of our favourite comedies, but there's just something
00:29special about the original Vacation film that started it all.
00:32For starters, this initial entry still possesses much of the satirical bite that links Vacation
00:37to the National Lampoon magazine.
00:42Elsewhere, the Griswold family's journey to Wallyworld is a true comedy of errors,
00:50a journey that's full of hilarious disasters.
00:52Chase's comedy timing is impeccable, his delivery amazing, and the ensemble cast are
00:57more than game to bring their own enviable skills to the table.
01:00This one is just as funny now as it ever was.
01:15There's an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the cast and crew behind 1981's
01:24Stripes.
01:25For starters, the film was helmed by the formidable Ivan Reitman, the future Ghostbusters
01:29director that's paired here with Bill Murray and Harold Ramis.
01:32Ramis also helped co-write the screenplay, which sees a down-on-his-luck New Yorker decide
01:37on a whim, really, to join the army.
01:46The likes of John Candy, Judge Reinhold and Sean Young also appear in the film, which
01:51possesses a chaotic and anarchic sense of humour.
01:54Stripes has held up surprisingly well over the years, and remains a likeable and very
01:58funny 80s comedy gem.
02:15One underlying theme to this list is how scenes that could be considered problematic today
02:20don't necessarily need to ruin the totality of a film's goodwill.
02:23Trading Places, from 1983, has been singled out for a scene featuring Dan Aykroyd in blackface,
02:28which is undoubtedly uncomfortable today.
02:30That said, much of Trading Places also calls out the classist and racist beliefs held by
02:34its antagonists, the Duke Brothers.
02:41It's up to Aykroyd and co-stars Eddie Murphy and Jamie Lee Curtis to take down the Dukes
02:47after their lives are turned upside down by the brothers' cruel wager.
02:51Trading Places straddles a line between black comedy and wacky hijinks, and does so with
02:55an amazing amount of energy and charm.
03:09There are road trip movies, and then there's planes, trains and automobiles.
03:13The much-missed John Candy co-stars with Steve Martin in a film that's become something
03:16of a Thanksgiving tradition.
03:18It's about the journey more than the destination with this film, as Martin's Neil Page is
03:23attempting to make it home for Thanksgiving dinner.
03:25The success of planes, trains and automobiles primarily lies with the chemistry of Martin
03:29and Candy as the leads, particularly the latter's character of Del Griffith.
03:33There's a heartfelt reveal near the end of the film that's both foreshadowed and
03:40earned, lending planes, trains and automobiles a welcome place at our Thanksgiving table
03:44every single year.
03:59There's perhaps no more lovably dim-witted duo in all 1980s comedy.
04:04Bill S. Preston Esquire and Ted Theodore Logan are destined to bring peace to the world with
04:08the music of their rock group, Wild Stallions.
04:11First things first however, a most excellent journey throughout time, in order to collect
04:15all of the correct pieces for a most triumphant school presentation.
04:21We just love to watch these two metalheads travel in their phone booth time machine,
04:25while comic legend George Carlin puts in a welcome appearance as Rufus, who's assigned
04:29to help them along their way.
04:30Bill and Ted's excellent adventure was successful enough to spawn a franchise, reuniting the
04:35boys for two sequels that were most definitely not bogus.
04:49Can you even be considered a card-carrying 80s kid if you can't quote the Goonies verbatim?
04:53The film is basically bulletproof at this point, a family-friendly classic with an impeccable
04:57young cast of actors that pave the way for later TV series like Stranger Things.
05:09Viewing it fills our hearts with a warm, life-affirming nostalgia.
05:13This wouldn't matter much if the Goonies was a lesser film, but thankfully this classic
05:16has endured to the modern day, thanks in part to generations of film fans passing it along
05:21to their own kids, and we hope it never goes away.
05:38This is another film with a fantastic premise and an iconic execution, with one glaring
05:44asterisk.
05:45Does the fact that Tom Hanks' Josh Baskin entering into a romantic relationship with
05:49an adult, when his wish to become big comes true, make this movie problematic?
05:58Some might say yes, but Penny Marshall's film remains firmly within the realm of fantasy,
06:02never making this plot point feel icky, sleazy or gross.
06:06Instead, the big picture of well, er, Big, is about not wanting to grow up too fast,
06:10to enjoy fleeting youth while we can.
06:12Hanks was still known largely as a comedic actor at this stage, but Big did a great job
06:17hinting at the more dynamic work the man would do in coming years.
06:29We're honestly gobsmacked that a film based upon a board game turned out this good.
06:33Heck, Clue is better than good.
06:35It's an 80s comedy that we totally don't mind watching on repeat.
06:38We always notice something new with each new viewing, too, thanks largely to how game this
06:42ensemble cast is.
06:44Christopher Lloyd, Madeleine Kahn, Michael McKean, Martin Mull and, of course, Tim Curry
06:48all make Clue a wonderful viewing experience.
06:55The whodunit aspect of the plot flies by at a breakneck pace, with tons of physical comedy
07:00along the way that's sublimely silly.
07:02Oh, and the multiple ending gimmick is brilliant, too.
07:05What can we say?
07:06It's just the best.
07:16There have been a multitude of comedy movies based upon sketches from Saturday Night Live,
07:20and all of them have this film as a benchmark.
07:23The Blues Brothers is the standard against which all other SNL movies are measured, thanks
07:27primarily to the well-building at play.
07:29The backstory of Jake and Elwood Blues feels lived in, like an old pair of shoes.
07:40Meanwhile, director John Landis, alongside co-screenwriter Dan Aykroyd, helps create
07:45tons of wacky situations for the duo, not to mention car crashes galore.
07:48There's also plenty of guest stars on hand, from Carrie Fisher and Ray Charles, to Aretha
07:53Franklin, James Brown and John Candy, to help lift the Blues Brothers to true classic
07:57status.
08:10It's difficult for us to narrow down the best of all Mel Brooks' wacky parodies and
08:13stone-cold comedy classics.
08:15Spaceballs just has to be on the shortlist of Brooks' finest work, however.
08:19A gloriously nutty send-up of the Star Wars franchise and space operas in general, with
08:23a million quotable lines.
08:30We'd honestly have to comb the desert in order to find any line from Spaceballs that
08:34we'd forgotten, and we never tire of re-watching this one over and over again.
08:38Not all genre parody films possess enough creative legs to endure through the years,
08:42but the humour of Spaceballs is both specific and broad enough to appeal to anyone and everyone.
08:48Oh sure, one could ask the question, is 1988's Beetlejuice a horror movie or a comedy?
09:05To which we'd answer simply, yes.
09:08There are plenty of kooky, imaginative set-pieces to place Beetlejuice in the perennial Halloween
09:12time movie canon.
09:13However, Michael Keaton's performance as the titular ghost with the most, is one of
09:17the funniest of the decade, and ensures Beetlejuice never feels too scary.
09:29The balance here is perfect, from morbid jokes about life, death and everything in between,
09:34to hilarious physical comedy bits that helped make Beetlejuice one of the defining films
09:38of the 1980s.
09:44Isn't it funny how certain movie characters can be perceived differently by subsequent
09:55generations?
09:56Many modern viewers claim the character of Ferris Bueller, he of the famed Day Off, is
10:00actually kind of a jerk.
10:02This takes nothing away from the movie being funny, yet the catalyst for so much of what
10:05happens to Ferris Bueller and his friends comes down to the star being rather selfish,
10:09deceptive and, well, inconsiderate.
10:16At the time, Ferris Bueller was considered the height of cool, a likeable scamp for whom
10:21we're supposed to cheer.
10:22Yeah, these days, it may be more fun to turn Ferris Bueller's Day Off into a game about
10:26counting how many questionable choices are made by its lead.
10:40Eddie Murphy will always be a big deal, but he was a really big deal back in the 1980s,
10:44an ultra-bankable movie star that was responsible for some of the decade's biggest and best
10:48hits.
10:49Going to America is one of the most beloved 80s comedies, but it's not just Murphy that
10:52helps make this movie great.
11:01Director John Landis and crew also brought together some of the industry's best African-American
11:06actors and created a massive ensemble backdrop for Murphy's international quest for true
11:11love.
11:12Going to America is imminently quotable, and not only for the scenes featuring profanity.
11:15Instead, this film combines heart and a wicked sense of humour, not to mention a callback
11:20to those dirty Duke brothers from trading places.
11:35Britain doesn't have to be British in order to appreciate the humour at play in 1988's
11:39A Fish Called Wanda.
11:41The script from Monty Python alum John Cleese is one part crime caper, one part absurdist
11:45comedy and 100% hilarious.
11:49Love, sex, jealousy and greed all combined in a film that makes the most of its incredibly
11:57talented cast.
11:58Cleese co-stars alongside Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline and Cleese's former Python partner,
12:03Michael Palin.
12:04The jokes here are smart but never stuffy, and if anything they lean more into physical
12:08comedy gags and one-liners that never fail to make us giggle, even today.
12:28Leslie Nielsen may be the best known today for his comedic chops, but it's important
12:32to note that this Canadian actor had previously been cast as either square-jawed heroes or
12:36dastardly antagonists.
12:38This first film in the Naked Gun franchise continues Nielsen's comedic run by having
12:42the actor reprise his television role of Police Lieutenant Frank Drebin.
12:51Anything goes in this type of film, with sight gags and silly humour being the order of the
12:55day.
12:56This was the sort of material at which the Zucker Brothers excelled, alongside their
13:00creative writing partner, Jim Abrahams.
13:02Sure, the Naked Gun may also feature O.J. Simpson as a co-star, but we still advise
13:06checking this one out, and laughing along if you've never seen it.
13:27Some people believe that the tropes and traditions of a particular decade usually aren't codified
13:31until close to the halfway point of the decade.
13:34Perhaps this explains why Caddyshack from 1980 still feels like a comedy that could
13:38have been released back in the mid-70s.
13:46The slobs vs the snobs premise hadn't yet become deeply ingrained within cinematic comedy
13:51culture, so the execution here never feels tiresome.
13:55Additionally, Caddyshack contains a whole bunch of comedic talent, including Rodney
13:59Dangerfield, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase and Ted Knight, and Knight in particular is adept
14:03at playing the ultimate stuck-up stick-in-the-mud, serving as a perfect foil for Dangerfield's
14:08everyman routine.
14:09Oh, and there's a gopher.
14:24If you want a good party game for the next time your friends sit down to watch This Is
14:27Spinal Tap, try this one.
14:28Shout out what bands you think are being parodied within the ultimate rock mockumentary.
14:43The truth is, what happens to the fictional group Spinal Tap is an amalgamation of every
14:47hard rock cliche in the book.
14:48Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and more serve as great sources of inspiration for the extravagance
14:53that went into stadium touring back in the 1970s and 80s.
14:56Beyond this however, This Is Spinal Tap is just funny.
15:00It doesn't even matter if you're a fan of heavy metal, this one just ticks all of
15:03those funny bone boxes.
15:11It's one of those movies that we can quote from front to back, a Stone Cold classic of
15:23which we never tire.
15:24It's Ghostbusters, and it's just about as perfect as 80s comedy gets.
15:27Hell, it might be the best comedy ever, full stop.
15:37Every decade possesses one of those lightning rod tentpole movies, one that becomes intertwined
15:42within that era's DNA, and Ghostbusters is that movie, a cultural phenomenon whose
15:46influence is still being felt today with sequels, recalls and reboots.
15:51There's a great balance here of smarts, smarm and silliness that brings something
15:55for everyone to the table.
16:06There's probably no creative team out there that mastered the art of film parody better
16:10than the Zucker Brothers.
16:111977's Kentucky Fried Movie introduced audiences to their special wit, and 1980's Airplane
16:17was a perfect distillation of their screwball zaniness.
16:28The film was a three-way collaboration involving both David and Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrams,
16:33and skewers 1970s disaster movies with no perfect accuracy.
16:37Again, this is a film whose humour works regardless of whether you actually get the jokes.
16:42Sure, if you happen to be an expert on all of these tropes, Airplane works on multiple
16:47levels of humour.
16:48That said, movie fans of all ages will certainly be able to pick up what this hilarious satire
16:53is putting down.
17:18If we've learned anything throughout this list, it's that 80s comedies could be a
17:27lot of different things to a lot of different people.
17:30Back to the Future, however, just might possess the biggest heart of them all.
17:33There's a sincerity at play here, within both cast and script, that sets Back to the
17:37Future apart from so many other films of the day.
17:46The attention to detail is also astonishing, and viewers see something new with each subsequent
17:51viewing.
17:52Throughout it all, though, Back to the Future is funny.
17:55Funny, entertaining and heartwarming all at once, it's a perfect movie, and a cornerstone
18:00of any proper cinematic diet.
18:08So what are your thoughts on how comedy ages throughout the years?
18:11Which films do you think are timeless?
18:13Let us know in the comments.