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Heard the term 80's “Cult Movie Classic†the other day and it got me thinking it might be an interesting topic? What are your favorite 80's Cult Movies? I Love the 1980's and I would argue that the 3 best consecutive years for movies was 1984, 1985 and 1986! Check out the list of Movies released on these years, it will blow your mind! I love what I would call “Cult Movies†Although I'm not sure what qualifies as a “Cult Film� Classics like Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Arthur, Uncle Buck, Sixteen Candles, Revenge of the Nerds, Trading Places, Stripes, Planes Trains and Automobiles. Porky's, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the Vacation movies, Caddyshack, St. Elmo's Fire, The Breakfast Club and others are so well known I'm not sure they qualify? Anyway, here are my personal favorites from the 80's! I realize this is quite lengthy, but if just one person is turned on to a “new†movie that becomes one of their favorites, then it's worth it! If you're not familiar with them check them out!
Better Off Dead - In my Top 5 overlooked 80's Favorites! John Cusak stars in this brilliant Comedy as a heartbroken nice guy trying to win back his girlfriend with help from “Booger†from the Nerds and a pretty foreign exchange student! Great musical appearances from cutie actress/singer E.G. Daily and Clay-mation video to Van Halen!
Secret Admirer- C. Thomas Howell, Kelly Preston, Lori Loughlin A series of love letter causes chaos not only in the lives of teenagers, but their parents as well! Great double story lines! One of my 80's favs!
Night of the Comet - Armageddon Sci-Fi Comedy stars Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Belran and Kelly Maroney who's character inspired Buffy the Vampire Slayer!
Other Sci-Fi Movies worth checking out are The Last Star Fighter, The Wraith, Explorers, Starman and SpaceCamp!
Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother - The Cast of Young Frankenstein and Dom Deluise star! Gene Wilder takes over on a case for his brother Sherlock with Marty Feldman as his Watson!
Mischief - Great Dramedy set in a small town in the 1950's! Rebel new kid in town teaches his nerdy neighbor how to be cool! Catherine Mary Stewart, Christ Nash, Doug McKeon and Kelly Preston who does Full Frontal guys!) star. Also check for debut of Jamie Gertz! Another Great Movie along this line is “The In Crowd†set in the early 60's and centering around a local teenage dance show! Stars Donovan Leitch, Joe Pantoliano and Jennifer Runyon!
The Great Outdoors - Super funny movie starring John Candy as an everyday guy whose plans for peaceful family time in a lakeside cabin are rudely interrupted by the unwelcome unannounced invasion of his overbearing, well-to-do, big city brother-in-law Dan Aykroyd and his strange family as well as a ferocious bald-headed bear Candy had a run in with years ago at that very cabin!
One Crazy Summer -Demi Moore & John Cusak, Bobcat Goldwait and others star as a group of oddballs trying to save a house from a greedy family! Demi's & her band rocks the house!
Johnny Be Good -Anthony Michael Hall top quarterback is offered everything from cars, cash and girls form colleges to his friend's Robert Downey Jr. joy and his girlfriend Uma Thurman's disdain!
Three O' Clock High- High school nobody Casey Siemaszko (Young Guns) is challenged to a fight after school by the bully from hell Richard Tyson (Kindergarten Cop)! The characters, camera angles and “special effects†are worth the price of admission alone! This one should be on everyone's list!
Spies Like Us - Two novice intelligent agents are sent to the Soviet Union as decoys for a real spy team! Steve Forrest (Amazon Women on the Moon) and beauties Donna Dixon (Dr. Detroit) and Vanessa (TV version of Weird Science)
How I Got into College -Lara Flynn Boyle tries to get into college as lovesick Corey Parker tries to follow her! Another Savage Steve Holland Comedy who did Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer!
Class - Rob Lowe is attracted to his college roommate Andrew McCarthy (film debut) sexy mom Jacqueline Bisset and the feeling is mutual! John Cusack and Virginia Madsen's debut films as well!
Zapped! - When a high school lab accident leaves student (Scott Baio) with special telekinetic powers including making clothes come off people at will, he and his buddy (Willie Ames) cause chaos on the school's administrators and students including sexy Heather Thomas!
Other T&A Comedies/Movies worth checking out are Hardbodies I & II, Private Resort, Summer Job, My Tutor, Private School, Tomboy, Malibu Summer, The Beach Girls, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama, Hamburger the Motion Picture, Loose Screws, Fraternity Vacation, H.O.T.S. Mugsy's Girls, Spring Break, School Spirit and The Perils of Gwendoline!
The Secret to My Success - Michael J. Fox stars as a mid-western farm boy and recent college graduate trying to make it in the corporate world in New York City! He gets a mail room job from his uncle and schemes his way into the corporate boardroom along the way succomming to the seductive Margaret Whitton who turns out to be his aunt and falling in love with pretty Helen Shaffer who's having an affair with his boss, his uncle!
Other overlooked and some arguably cult Michael J Fox movies I'd highly recommend are Doc Hollywood, For Love or Money, The Hard Way, Light of Day, The Frighteners, Bright Lights Big City, Class of 84 and Greedy!
Can't Buy Me Love - High school nerd (Patrick Dempsey) pays desperate cheerleader (Amanda Peterson) a $1,000 to pretend to be his boyfriend and get him into the cool crowd!
The Legend of Billie Jean -When pretty Helen Slater (Ruthless People) and her brother Christian Slater (no relation) become wrongly accused fugitives she becomes a teen iconic symbol of injustice in society!
Making the Grade - When spoiled prep student's (Dana Olsen) parents threaten to cut him off if he doesn't graduate from college, he pays con artist (Judd Nelson) to take his place and graduate as him! The Diceman cameos as a loan shark Nelson owes money to!
The Couch Trip - A clever mental patient (Dan Aykroyd) assumes the identity of his doctor and fills in for a talk radio psychiatrist! With the help of an attractive assistant (Donna Dixon) and a crazy priest (Walter Mattheau) who knows his secret, he becomes very popular with his unorthodox but seemingly effective methods in helping people resolve their mental health issues!
History of the World I -Mel Brooks hilarious irreverent & un-P. C. Epic Comedy with a cast of thousands! An Absolute Must See!
Losin It - Tom Cruise stars as four guys in the late 1950's who travel to Mexico to lose their virginity and they pick up hitchhiker Shelley Long (Cheers) who wants a quickie divorce along the way!
Doctor Detroit - Dan Aykroyd stars with future Mrs. Aykroyd beauty Donna Dixon, Lynn Whitfield, Fran Drescher and Howard Hesseman. To weasel out of money he owes to a mob boss, a pimp (Hesseman) creates a fictitious mobster “Doctor Detroit†and leaves his call girls with a college professor (Aykroyd) who assumes the Doctor's identity om an effort help out the girls!
Lust in the Dust - Funny Western farce in the vain of “Blazing Saddlesâ€! Stars Tab Hunter, Divine, Geoffrey Lewis, Lainie Kazan, Courtney Gaines, Gina Gallego, Henry Silva and Caesar Romero! John Waters turned down directing but has earlier used Hunter and Divine in his cult film “Polyesterâ€!
Seems Like Old Times - Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn and Charles Grodin star in this fantastically funny Romantic Comedy! When writer Nick Gardenia (Chase) is used as a pawn in a bank robbery, he needs his ex-wife (Hawn) a lawyer's help, but she is married to the district attorney (Grodin) who is looking for him along with the police! Robert Guillaume (TV's Benson) also stars! I would be remiss if I didn't mention “Foul Play†another great Chase / Hawn Romantic Comedy from 1977!
The Flamingo Kid - Matt Dillon stars as a teen from blue collar Brooklyn in the early 60's who gets a job at a private beach club where he gets seduced by gorgeous Janet Jones, playing gin rummy games and the good life of money and cars from Richard Crenna! Look for a cameo debut by Marissa Tomei!
The Last American Virgin - Lawrence Monoson (Mask), Joe Rubbio (World According to Garp), Steve Antin (Goonies) and Diane Franklin (Better Off Dead) star in this overlooked coming of age movie!
Fletch and Fletch Lives - Chevy Chase is hilarious as an investigative reporter with a knack for winging it and a pension for disguises in these two very funny Comedies that much like the “Vacation†series will have you soon quoting lines!
The Lost Boys - Keifer Sutherland, Jamie Gertz, Jason Patric, The Coreys (Haim & Feldman) and others Lots of 80's Star in this Absolutely Fantastic Vampire Dramedy!
Gotcha! - Fun loving college student Anthony Edwards travels to Paris where he meets sexy Linda Fiorentino who involves him in espionage and danger in East Berlin and from Soviet agents!
Real Genius - Val Kilmer is brilliant (no pun intended!) in this story of helping young newbie (Gabe Jarret) navigate the social waters and at a science & technology university! He and other genuises wok on a laser that may just be a secret weapon for the CIA! Actors who play characters you love to hate William Atherton (Ghostbusters and Die Hard) and Robert Prescott (Bachelor Party) also star!
Modern Problems - Chevy Chase stars in this overlooked Comedy (like “Funny Farmâ€!) as a divorced as recently dumped air traffic controller who after an encounter with nuclear waste finds out he has telekinetic powers! He decides to use them on the people in his life who torment him! Mary Kay Place, Patti D'Arbanville, Dabney Coleman, Nell Carter and Brian Doyle Murray star! Other Chevy Chase Movies that are overlooked are The Three Amigos, Deal of the Century and Funny Farm!
The Sure Thing - College student John Cusack is forced to travel with pretty but prissy Daphne Zuniga from from New England to LA on his way to meet a “sure thing†gorgeous Nicollette Sheridan!
Teen Wolf - Average high school student Michael J. Fox finds out he is the school badass, hero basketball player and a big hit with the girls when he turns into a werewolf! Sequel “Teen Wolf Too†starring Jason Bateman (It's Your Move) is pretty entertaining as well!
Miracle Beach - Homeless beach bum (Dean Cameron) finds a magic and gets his wishes granted by a beautiful genie (Ami Dolenz) including a palatial beach house for himself and his wild buddies and the attention of his dream girl (Felicity Waterman)! Pat “Mr. Miyagi†Morita also stars!
Big Trouble in Little China - Kurt Russell and sexy Kim Cattrall star in yet another John Carpenter masterpiece that is the perfect blend of Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi and Romance! Something for everyone!
The Man with Two Brains - Steve Martin is a brilliant and very rich brain surgeon who performs brain surgery on a beautiful woman he accidentally hits with his car (Kathleen Turner). When he finds out after marrying her that she's a lying, cheating, gold digger he turns to another doctor who practices an unorthodox medical practice of after people have died keeping brains alive in jars! Laugh out loud funny from start to finish!
Down and Out in Beverly Hills - A Beverly Hills couple Richard Dreyfuss and Bette Midler) loves are turned upside down when a depressed homeless man (Nick Nolte) literally plunges into their lives! Tracy Nelson (Square Pegs), Little Richard and Mike the Dog also star!
Night Shift - Henry Winkler and Michael Keaton run a call girl escort service out of the city morgue om this hilarious Ron Howard directed Comedy! Winkler starts to fall for one of the girls, Shelley Long (Cheers) while Keaton deals with cops and competing pimps! Look for brief scenes with a young Shannen Doherty and Kevin Costner!
Rustlers' Rhapsody - Overlooked Western Parody starring Tom Berringer as Good Guy singing cowboy who foils corrupt gay rancher Andy Griffith and his henchmen! Patrick Waytne (son of John Wayne), G. W. Bailey (MASH) and beauties Sela Ward and Marilu Henner (Taxi) also star!
Cannonball Run, Cannonball Run II, Speed Zone and Gumball Rally(1977) ALL with Tons of Stars, Tons of Cars, Bevies of Beauties and Tons of Silly Fun!
Night Patrol -Airplane/Top Secret type Humor in this crazy over the top Comedy with Linda Blair, Pat Paulsen, Billy Barty, Jaype Morgan and The Unknown Comic! Great appearances from Pat “Mr. Miyagi†Morita and Andrew “Dice†Clay!
Another Overlooked Airplane Type Humor movie worth checking out is “A Man Called Sargeâ€!
The Man with One Red Shoe -Tom Hanks master of everyday Joe put in extreme conditions Comedies including Joe vs The Volcano, Volunteers, The Burbs, The Money Pit (ALL of which I highly recommend!) stars as a concert violinist mistaken by the CIA for a brilliant spy! Sexy Lori Singer (Footloose), Dabney Coleman, Jim Belushi and Carrie Fisher also star in this fantastic overlooked film!
Let it Ride - Richard Dreyfus stars as a usually unsuccessful habitual gambler who has the luckiest day of his life at the horse racing track when he just can't lose! David Johansen, Teri Garr, Robbie Coltrane and Jennifer Tilly also star!
Up the Creek - Possibly my My All-time Personal favorite! The four worst college students in the nation Tim Matheson, Stephen Furst (“Otter†& “Flounder†of “Animal Houseâ€), Sandy Helnerg (Spaceballs) and Dan Monahan (“Peewee†from Porky's) are extorted by their dean John Hillerman (Magnum P. I.) into entering an intercollegiate raft race! With help from Chuck the Wonder Dog and fueled on by alcohol, they'll take on arrogant cheating preppies, an insanely lead ROTC team, beautiful honeys and very rough waters! “The love of my life†Jennifer Runyon (Charles in Charge) also stars!
The Hollywood Nights - On Halloween might 1956 a group of high school pranksters the Hollywood Knights vow revenge on the Beverly Hills Residents' Association's for the planned shutdown and demolition of their favorite hangout, 'Tubby's Drive-In' Tony Danza, Robert Wuhl, Fran Drescher and Michelle Pfeiffer star!
Once Bitten - When virgin high school senior Jim Carrey is seduced and bitten by sexy older vampiress Lauren Hutton his beautiful girlfriend (Karen Kopins) and friends try to keep him from turning into a vampire for eternity! Cleavon Little (Blazing Saddles) also stars! Great soundtrack and dance scene as well!
Used Cars - “Back to the Future†trilogy Robert Zemeckis writer director's fantastic Comedy starring Kurt Russell stars as as an aspiring Senator who agrees to a help elderly salesman (Jack Warden) with his failing used car lot! A myriad of hilarious mishaps incur! Deborah Harmon (Bachelor Party), Michael McKean (Spinal Tap), Joe Flaherty (Happy Gilmore) and Al Lewis (The Munsters) also star!
The Dream Team -When their doctor (Dennis Boulsikaris) is hospitalized in a coma by bad cops, four patients from a sanitarium Michael Keaton (delusions of grander & violent tendencies), Stephen Furst (only speaks words from the game of baseball), Peter Boyle (thinks he's Jesus Christ) and Christopher Lloyd (an obsessive compulsive who thinks he's a doctor) must try to save their doctor from being murdered and deal with the real world!
Foxes - Coming of age story of four teenage girls in California at the end of the 70;s! Jodie Fosterm Scott Baio, Randy Quaid, Sally Kellerman and Cherie Currie lead singer of The Runaways!
Spaceballs- Mel Brooks brilliant Star Wars Parody starring Bill Pullman, John Candy, Daphne Zuniga, Joan Rivers, Rick Moranis and others! Cult Classic!
The Hotel New Hampshire- Often humorous, often bizarre story featuring a myriad of stars including Rob Lowe, Natasha Kinski, Matthew Modine, Anita Morris, Seth Green, Amanda Plummer, Wilford Brimley and Jodie Foster among others!
Moving Violations - Corrupt Judge (Sally Kellerman) and deputy (James Keach) scheme to keep the cars impounded from people who lost their driver's licenses (John Murray, Wendie Jo Speber, Fred Willard, Jennifer Tilly and others) who are forced to take a rigged driver's test run by Keach!
Who's Harry Crumb? - Great lesser known John Candy movie! Candy stars as a sometimes inept, sometimes brilliant, master of disguise P. I. Harry Crumb! When Barry Corbin (Northern Exposure) and Annie Potts (Ghostbusters) eldest daughter is kidnapped. “Family friend†Jeffrey Jones (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) the actual kidnapper and wannabe lover to Potts who's in on it with him, hires Harry counting on him failing! Harry is helped out by cutie pie Shawnee Smith (Anger Management).
Others lesser known Candy movies I'd highly recommend are Going Berserk, Summer Rental, Volunteers, Only the Lonely, Armed and Dangerous)
Splash - Fantastic! Ron Howard directed this must see Romantic Comedy starring Tom Hanks who unknowingly falls for a beautiful mermaid Daryl Hannah! John Candy and Eugene Levy deliver comedic performances of a lifetime!
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka!- Hilarious and completely un-P.C. Parody of Blaxploitation Movies from Keenan Ivory Wayans! Features Keenan, Bernie Casey, Jim Brown, Isaac Hayes, Ja'net Dubois Kadeem Hardison, Damon Wayans, Clarence Williams III, Antonio Fargas, Anne Marie Johnson, David Allan Grier, Kim Wayans, Steve James, Chris Rock, Eve Plumb, John Vernon (Dean Wormer from “Animal Houseâ€) and “Mr. Big†and More!
House of the Long Shadows - Writer (Desi Arnaz Jr.) makes a bet he can write a “Wuthering Heights†caliber novel. To get in the mood he stays in what he thinks is an empty old Welsh manor. He soon discovers the house is anything, but empty! A virtual who's who of classic Horror Movies star in this fantastic much overlooked movie! Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, John Carradine and Peter Cushing!
Other 80's Horror Movies I'd highly recommend are Phantasm I & II, The Changeling, The Incubus, Haunted, Scanners, The Hitcher and The Fog! (Some 70's overlooked Horror Movies are The Night Stalker, Prophecy, Arnold, Impulse, Salem's Lot, Magic, Let's Scare Jessica to Death, Patrick, Race with the Devil and Don't Be Afraid of the Dark!)
After Hours - A sleepless computer programmer (Griffin Dunne) decision to go late night diner turns into a comedic night from hell when he has encounters Rosanna Arquette, Teri Garr, Cheech & Chong, Linda Fiorentino, Bronson Pinchot, Catherine O'Hara and others!
The Wrong Guys - Comedians abound when Louie Anderson tracks down his Cub Scout group from 30 years ago Richard Belzer, Tim Thomerson, Franklyn Ajaye and Richard Lewis and they try to by camping on Mout Whitehead. Where they encounter two bullies who were kicked out of their den, an escaped dangerous criminal and a ferocious squirrel! Ernie Hudson and John Goodman also star!
The Beastmaster - Marc Singer stars as a half Tarzan, half Doctor Doolittle swordsman in this Sci-Fi Fantasy who battles creatures and black magic from sorcerer Rip Torn with help from his animals including a purple tiger and a hunter bodyguard John Amos and his charge the younger brother of a kidnapped slave girl played by gorgeous Tanya Roberts!
Other Sci-Fi Sword & Sorcery / Fantasy Movies worth checking out are Excalibur, Conan the Barbarian, Labyrinth, Conan the Destroyer, Krull, Legend, Willow, Red Sonja, The Golden Child!
She's Out of Control - Tony Danza stars as a dad trying to keep his beautiful teenage daughter Ami Dolenz from growing up! The lovely Catherine Hicks (7th Heaven) plays Danza's wife and Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride) is great as a the psychiatrist who does more harm than good! Watch for a young Matthew Perry (Friends) and Dustin Diamond (Saved by the Bell)!
Jake Speed - In the vein of action adventure of King Solomon's Mine and Romancing the Stone! When beautiful Karen Kopkins (Once Bitten) sister is kidnapped she blames herself. Her grandfather suggest she find “Jake Speed†(Wayne Crawford) the hero of series of 40's style pulp fiction novels. When she finds out the stories are based on his true real life adventures, she hires him and his sidekick Desmond (Dennis Christopher) to rescue her sister!
Oxford Blues - Casino gambler and gigolo Rob Lowe travels to England to pursue the girl of his dreams, the lovely Amanda Pays! He tries to get into Oxford and on the rowing team, but can only get into a rival college where he meets a cute, but bossy cox of their rowing team (Ally Sheedy)!
Vibes - From the guys who brought you “Splash†and “City Slickersâ€! Jeff Goldblum and Cyndi Lauper star as two quirky psychics hired by Peter Falk (who steals the show!) to find his missing son in Ecuador! Along the way they find out the truth of why they were hired and have to face a dangerous doctor (Julian Sands) with a psychic of his own (Googy Gress).
Something Wild - Jeff Daniels get taken for a wild ride when he get involved with waitress Melanie Griffith who is being pursued by her psychotic ex Ray Liotta!
Ruthless People - Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker (Airplane, Top Secret) team try their hands at a “Serious†comedy! Judge Reinhold (Fast times at Ridgemont High) and Helen Slater (Legend of Billie Jean) kidnapped and hold for ransom millionaire “Sam Stone†(Danny DeVito of Taxi) wife Bette Midler (Down and Out in Beverly Hills)! One problem he doesn't want her back! He had planned on murdering her and running off with her millions and his bombshell mistress “Carol†Anita Morris (Hotel New Hampshire). When “Carol†learns of “Samâ€'s plan she tries to blackmail him with help from her dim-witted lover (Bill Pullman-Spaceballs)!
My Bodyguard - A geeky new high schooler (Chris Makepeace -Meatballs) hires a bodyguard with literally a killer reputation (Adam Baldwin - Firefly, The Last Ship) to help him deal with a menacing bully (Matt Dillon (The Outsiders) who regularly threatens and extorts money from him and other kids.
Just One of the Guys -When cutie Joyce Hyser goes undercover as a guy in her high school and has to deal with the school bully, feelings for a new guy in school, the locker room, being hit on by girls and her blackmailing brother she finds out it isn't so easy being Just One of the Guys!
The Heavenly Kid - An early 60's rebel (Lewis Smith) who who died in a car game of chicken and spending years in limbo gets his chance to become an angel or in up in hell from a motorcycle riding angel (Richard Mulligan) when he's sent back to help a nerdy kid (Jason Gedrick) the son of his old girlfriend (Jane Kazmerick) and (Maek Metcalf) the man he rivaled in the car game of chicken!
Head Office - Judge Reinhold, Richard Masur, Jane Seymour, Eddie Albert, Wallace Shawnm Danny DeVito and Father Guido Sarducci among others star in the hilarious dark Comedy about the cut-throat inner workings of a big corporate company! One could easily argue this started the whole Clerks, Office Space, The Office type movies and TV shows!
Summer School - Fun loving P. E. teacher Freddy Shoop (Mark Harmon) is forced to teach a class full of misfits including a very pregnant (Shawnee Smith), surfer girl (Courtney Thorne-Smith) and two Horror Movie obsessed underachievers (Dean Cameron and Gary Riley) Things seem hopeless for Shoop until an attractive fellow teacher (“Cheers†Kristie Alley) catches his eye!
Brewster's Millions - Richard Pryor inherits $300 million, just one catch he has to spend $30 million in thirty days or he gets nothing and he can't tell anybody why he's spending the money! John Candy also stars! Other Richard Pryor movies well worth checking out are The Toy, Stir Crazy, Harlem Nights, See No Evil Hear No Evil, Bustin' Lose, Car Wash and Silver Streak!
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - A small time American con-man (Steve Martin) tries to out do a well to do British confidence man (Michael Caine) in a winner take all bet on the same mark (Glenne Headly) in the French Rivera! As the stakes get higher the hilarity gets elevated as well! Terrific comedic chemistry between the stars! Martin and Caine should have done more movies together!
Fandango - One of my All-time Favorites! Kevin Costner and Judd Nelson star in this Dramedy set at the end of the Vietnam War. Five friends graduate from college and find out that two of them have been drafted! They decide to take one last road trip to Mexico and learn about life, love and each other along the way! “The Train Scene†and “The Parachute Lesson Scene†are worth the price of admission alone on this one folks!
Some Honorable Mentions that just missed the 80's either before or after that I have to include are:
Taking Care of Business (1990)- Car thief Jimmy (Jim Belushi) breaks out of prison three days before his release to see a baseball game! He finds uptight ad exec Spencer (Charles Grodin) Filofax and impersonates him! This turns Spencer's life upside down, while Jimmy's living the good life! In the end they find that they both need a little bit of what the other has! One problem Jimmy has to break back into prison so he can be legally released!
Loose Cannons (1990) - A hard-nosed cop (Gene Hackman) is partnered with a with a detective who has multiple personality disorder (Dan Aykroyd) as they search for a Nazi sex tape featuring Adolph Hitler! The lovely Nancy Travis (So I Married an Axe Murderer), Ronny Cox (Beverly Hills Cop) and he late great Dom DeLuise who's performance is priceless also star!
Short Time (1990) - When a detective (Dabney Coleman) mistakenly thinks he has two weeks to live he finds that his insurance will not be enough for his wife (Teri Garr) and son. They could receive a very large benefit, but there's just one catch! He must die in the line of duty! With not only zero fear of death, but a short timeline “death wish†he becomes a super cop! Matt Frewer (Max Headroom) stars as Coleman's confused partner! Barry Corbin (War Games) and Joe Pantoliano (Risky Business) also star!
Once Upon A Crime -(1991) Richard Lewis, Ornella Muti, Sean Young.Kim Belushi, Cybil Shepherd and John Candy! Fantastically funny whodunit on the vain of “Clueâ€! Another movie I'd highly recommend!
Oscar (1991)- Sylvester Stallone, Ornella Muti, Vincent Spano, Marisa Tomei, Kurtwood Smith and Tim Curry star in this overlooked slap-stick crime comedy about a 1930's gangster trying to go legit!
Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991) - High school senior Christina Applegate's summer of fun comes to an abrupt end when the babysitter her mom hires to look after her wild brothers and sister suddenly dies and takes their money for the summer with her! Also stars Keith Coogan, Joanna Cassidy, Josh Charles, David Duchovny among others!
Noises Off (1992) - Michael Caine, Carol Burnett, Christopher Reeve, John Ritter, Nicolette Sheridan, Julie Hagerty and Mark Linn-Baker star in the riotous Comedy based as a cast of misfits trying and hilariously failing to put on a play production!
The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)- Early hilarious insanity of exploitation movie parody's including Bruce Lee's “Enter the Dragon†from the future “Animal House†director and writers of “Airplane!â€, “Top Secret!†and “Police Squad!â€!
The Groove Tube (1974) - Early Chevy Chase and Richard Belzer make appearances in hilarious R-rated parodies of Television Shows and Commercials!
Sex O'Clock News - Wayne Knight (Seinfeld's “Newmanâ€) stars in this crazy Comedy about a TV network who's programming revolves around sex! Watch for Porn legend Vanessa Del Rio in a Foxy Boxing Segment!
TunnelVision (1976) John Candy, Chevy Chase, Laraine Newman, Joe Flaherty Roger Bowen, Al Franken, Betty Thomas, Howard Hesseman and others star in this satirical Comedy where in the future (1985) a television network is completely free of censorship!
The Cheap Detective (1978) - Peter Falk stars in this fantastic overlooked Humphrey Bogart “Sam Spade†detective parody Comedy with an ensemble cast including Madeline Kahn, Louise Fletcher, Ann Margret, Eileen Brennan, Stockard Channing, Marsha Mason, Sid Caesar, Dom DeLuise, Abe Vigoda, James Coco, Phil Silvers, Nicol Williamson, John Houseman, Fernando Lamas, Scatman Crothers, Vic Tayback and Paul Williams!
The Jerk (1979) - The Carl Reiner Steve Martin Classic! Martin is masterful as a moron who believes he's a black man who leaves his poor family to seek his fortune in the big city! Bernadette Peters, M. Emmet Walsh and Jackie Mason also star!
Murder by Death (1976) - Master writer Neil Simon's brilliant Comedy which is the Original “Clueâ€! All star cast Peter Falk, Eileen Brennan, Teuman Capote, Maggie Smith, James Coco, Alec Guinness, Elsa Lanchester, David Niven, Estelle Winwood, James Cromwell, Nancy Walker and Peter Sellers! This movie is laugh out loud funny throughout!
Johnny Dangerously (1979) - Michael Keaton, Joe Piscapo, Marilu Henner, Maureen Stapleton, Peter Boyle, Griffin Dunne, Dom DeLuise, Dick Butkus, Alan Hale Jr and Danny DeVito star in this awesome 1940's Crime Parody Comedy! Speaking of Michael Keaton “Gung Ho†and “Mr. Mom†are absolute must sees!
One thing A LOT of these movies have in common that MUST be mentioned are their Awesome Soundtracks which are filled with Popular Artists performing Songs Most of which are Exclusive to these Soundtracks! I have tons of rare Soundtracks/Songs! A few of my favorite Soundtracks here are: Better Off Dead, Secret Admirer, Once Bitten, Secret of My Success, Up the Creek and Lost Boys!
Anyway, those are some of My Favorites! How about Yours?!
“There can't be a winner… If there isn't a river!â€
Better Off Dead - In my Top 5 overlooked 80's Favorites! John Cusak stars in this brilliant Comedy as a heartbroken nice guy trying to win back his girlfriend with help from “Booger†from the Nerds and a pretty foreign exchange student! Great musical appearances from cutie actress/singer E.G. Daily and Clay-mation video to Van Halen!
Secret Admirer- C. Thomas Howell, Kelly Preston, Lori Loughlin A series of love letter causes chaos not only in the lives of teenagers, but their parents as well! Great double story lines! One of my 80's favs!
Night of the Comet - Armageddon Sci-Fi Comedy stars Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Belran and Kelly Maroney who's character inspired Buffy the Vampire Slayer!
Other Sci-Fi Movies worth checking out are The Last Star Fighter, The Wraith, Explorers, Starman and SpaceCamp!
Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother - The Cast of Young Frankenstein and Dom Deluise star! Gene Wilder takes over on a case for his brother Sherlock with Marty Feldman as his Watson!
Mischief - Great Dramedy set in a small town in the 1950's! Rebel new kid in town teaches his nerdy neighbor how to be cool! Catherine Mary Stewart, Christ Nash, Doug McKeon and Kelly Preston who does Full Frontal guys!) star. Also check for debut of Jamie Gertz! Another Great Movie along this line is “The In Crowd†set in the early 60's and centering around a local teenage dance show! Stars Donovan Leitch, Joe Pantoliano and Jennifer Runyon!
The Great Outdoors - Super funny movie starring John Candy as an everyday guy whose plans for peaceful family time in a lakeside cabin are rudely interrupted by the unwelcome unannounced invasion of his overbearing, well-to-do, big city brother-in-law Dan Aykroyd and his strange family as well as a ferocious bald-headed bear Candy had a run in with years ago at that very cabin!
One Crazy Summer -Demi Moore & John Cusak, Bobcat Goldwait and others star as a group of oddballs trying to save a house from a greedy family! Demi's & her band rocks the house!
Johnny Be Good -Anthony Michael Hall top quarterback is offered everything from cars, cash and girls form colleges to his friend's Robert Downey Jr. joy and his girlfriend Uma Thurman's disdain!
Three O' Clock High- High school nobody Casey Siemaszko (Young Guns) is challenged to a fight after school by the bully from hell Richard Tyson (Kindergarten Cop)! The characters, camera angles and “special effects†are worth the price of admission alone! This one should be on everyone's list!
Spies Like Us - Two novice intelligent agents are sent to the Soviet Union as decoys for a real spy team! Steve Forrest (Amazon Women on the Moon) and beauties Donna Dixon (Dr. Detroit) and Vanessa (TV version of Weird Science)
How I Got into College -Lara Flynn Boyle tries to get into college as lovesick Corey Parker tries to follow her! Another Savage Steve Holland Comedy who did Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer!
Class - Rob Lowe is attracted to his college roommate Andrew McCarthy (film debut) sexy mom Jacqueline Bisset and the feeling is mutual! John Cusack and Virginia Madsen's debut films as well!
Zapped! - When a high school lab accident leaves student (Scott Baio) with special telekinetic powers including making clothes come off people at will, he and his buddy (Willie Ames) cause chaos on the school's administrators and students including sexy Heather Thomas!
Other T&A Comedies/Movies worth checking out are Hardbodies I & II, Private Resort, Summer Job, My Tutor, Private School, Tomboy, Malibu Summer, The Beach Girls, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama, Hamburger the Motion Picture, Loose Screws, Fraternity Vacation, H.O.T.S. Mugsy's Girls, Spring Break, School Spirit and The Perils of Gwendoline!
The Secret to My Success - Michael J. Fox stars as a mid-western farm boy and recent college graduate trying to make it in the corporate world in New York City! He gets a mail room job from his uncle and schemes his way into the corporate boardroom along the way succomming to the seductive Margaret Whitton who turns out to be his aunt and falling in love with pretty Helen Shaffer who's having an affair with his boss, his uncle!
Other overlooked and some arguably cult Michael J Fox movies I'd highly recommend are Doc Hollywood, For Love or Money, The Hard Way, Light of Day, The Frighteners, Bright Lights Big City, Class of 84 and Greedy!
Can't Buy Me Love - High school nerd (Patrick Dempsey) pays desperate cheerleader (Amanda Peterson) a $1,000 to pretend to be his boyfriend and get him into the cool crowd!
The Legend of Billie Jean -When pretty Helen Slater (Ruthless People) and her brother Christian Slater (no relation) become wrongly accused fugitives she becomes a teen iconic symbol of injustice in society!
Making the Grade - When spoiled prep student's (Dana Olsen) parents threaten to cut him off if he doesn't graduate from college, he pays con artist (Judd Nelson) to take his place and graduate as him! The Diceman cameos as a loan shark Nelson owes money to!
The Couch Trip - A clever mental patient (Dan Aykroyd) assumes the identity of his doctor and fills in for a talk radio psychiatrist! With the help of an attractive assistant (Donna Dixon) and a crazy priest (Walter Mattheau) who knows his secret, he becomes very popular with his unorthodox but seemingly effective methods in helping people resolve their mental health issues!
History of the World I -Mel Brooks hilarious irreverent & un-P. C. Epic Comedy with a cast of thousands! An Absolute Must See!
Losin It - Tom Cruise stars as four guys in the late 1950's who travel to Mexico to lose their virginity and they pick up hitchhiker Shelley Long (Cheers) who wants a quickie divorce along the way!
Doctor Detroit - Dan Aykroyd stars with future Mrs. Aykroyd beauty Donna Dixon, Lynn Whitfield, Fran Drescher and Howard Hesseman. To weasel out of money he owes to a mob boss, a pimp (Hesseman) creates a fictitious mobster “Doctor Detroit†and leaves his call girls with a college professor (Aykroyd) who assumes the Doctor's identity om an effort help out the girls!
Lust in the Dust - Funny Western farce in the vain of “Blazing Saddlesâ€! Stars Tab Hunter, Divine, Geoffrey Lewis, Lainie Kazan, Courtney Gaines, Gina Gallego, Henry Silva and Caesar Romero! John Waters turned down directing but has earlier used Hunter and Divine in his cult film “Polyesterâ€!
Seems Like Old Times - Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn and Charles Grodin star in this fantastically funny Romantic Comedy! When writer Nick Gardenia (Chase) is used as a pawn in a bank robbery, he needs his ex-wife (Hawn) a lawyer's help, but she is married to the district attorney (Grodin) who is looking for him along with the police! Robert Guillaume (TV's Benson) also stars! I would be remiss if I didn't mention “Foul Play†another great Chase / Hawn Romantic Comedy from 1977!
The Flamingo Kid - Matt Dillon stars as a teen from blue collar Brooklyn in the early 60's who gets a job at a private beach club where he gets seduced by gorgeous Janet Jones, playing gin rummy games and the good life of money and cars from Richard Crenna! Look for a cameo debut by Marissa Tomei!
The Last American Virgin - Lawrence Monoson (Mask), Joe Rubbio (World According to Garp), Steve Antin (Goonies) and Diane Franklin (Better Off Dead) star in this overlooked coming of age movie!
Fletch and Fletch Lives - Chevy Chase is hilarious as an investigative reporter with a knack for winging it and a pension for disguises in these two very funny Comedies that much like the “Vacation†series will have you soon quoting lines!
The Lost Boys - Keifer Sutherland, Jamie Gertz, Jason Patric, The Coreys (Haim & Feldman) and others Lots of 80's Star in this Absolutely Fantastic Vampire Dramedy!
Gotcha! - Fun loving college student Anthony Edwards travels to Paris where he meets sexy Linda Fiorentino who involves him in espionage and danger in East Berlin and from Soviet agents!
Real Genius - Val Kilmer is brilliant (no pun intended!) in this story of helping young newbie (Gabe Jarret) navigate the social waters and at a science & technology university! He and other genuises wok on a laser that may just be a secret weapon for the CIA! Actors who play characters you love to hate William Atherton (Ghostbusters and Die Hard) and Robert Prescott (Bachelor Party) also star!
Modern Problems - Chevy Chase stars in this overlooked Comedy (like “Funny Farmâ€!) as a divorced as recently dumped air traffic controller who after an encounter with nuclear waste finds out he has telekinetic powers! He decides to use them on the people in his life who torment him! Mary Kay Place, Patti D'Arbanville, Dabney Coleman, Nell Carter and Brian Doyle Murray star! Other Chevy Chase Movies that are overlooked are The Three Amigos, Deal of the Century and Funny Farm!
The Sure Thing - College student John Cusack is forced to travel with pretty but prissy Daphne Zuniga from from New England to LA on his way to meet a “sure thing†gorgeous Nicollette Sheridan!
Teen Wolf - Average high school student Michael J. Fox finds out he is the school badass, hero basketball player and a big hit with the girls when he turns into a werewolf! Sequel “Teen Wolf Too†starring Jason Bateman (It's Your Move) is pretty entertaining as well!
Miracle Beach - Homeless beach bum (Dean Cameron) finds a magic and gets his wishes granted by a beautiful genie (Ami Dolenz) including a palatial beach house for himself and his wild buddies and the attention of his dream girl (Felicity Waterman)! Pat “Mr. Miyagi†Morita also stars!
Big Trouble in Little China - Kurt Russell and sexy Kim Cattrall star in yet another John Carpenter masterpiece that is the perfect blend of Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi and Romance! Something for everyone!
The Man with Two Brains - Steve Martin is a brilliant and very rich brain surgeon who performs brain surgery on a beautiful woman he accidentally hits with his car (Kathleen Turner). When he finds out after marrying her that she's a lying, cheating, gold digger he turns to another doctor who practices an unorthodox medical practice of after people have died keeping brains alive in jars! Laugh out loud funny from start to finish!
Down and Out in Beverly Hills - A Beverly Hills couple Richard Dreyfuss and Bette Midler) loves are turned upside down when a depressed homeless man (Nick Nolte) literally plunges into their lives! Tracy Nelson (Square Pegs), Little Richard and Mike the Dog also star!
Night Shift - Henry Winkler and Michael Keaton run a call girl escort service out of the city morgue om this hilarious Ron Howard directed Comedy! Winkler starts to fall for one of the girls, Shelley Long (Cheers) while Keaton deals with cops and competing pimps! Look for brief scenes with a young Shannen Doherty and Kevin Costner!
Rustlers' Rhapsody - Overlooked Western Parody starring Tom Berringer as Good Guy singing cowboy who foils corrupt gay rancher Andy Griffith and his henchmen! Patrick Waytne (son of John Wayne), G. W. Bailey (MASH) and beauties Sela Ward and Marilu Henner (Taxi) also star!
Cannonball Run, Cannonball Run II, Speed Zone and Gumball Rally(1977) ALL with Tons of Stars, Tons of Cars, Bevies of Beauties and Tons of Silly Fun!
Night Patrol -Airplane/Top Secret type Humor in this crazy over the top Comedy with Linda Blair, Pat Paulsen, Billy Barty, Jaype Morgan and The Unknown Comic! Great appearances from Pat “Mr. Miyagi†Morita and Andrew “Dice†Clay!
Another Overlooked Airplane Type Humor movie worth checking out is “A Man Called Sargeâ€!
The Man with One Red Shoe -Tom Hanks master of everyday Joe put in extreme conditions Comedies including Joe vs The Volcano, Volunteers, The Burbs, The Money Pit (ALL of which I highly recommend!) stars as a concert violinist mistaken by the CIA for a brilliant spy! Sexy Lori Singer (Footloose), Dabney Coleman, Jim Belushi and Carrie Fisher also star in this fantastic overlooked film!
Let it Ride - Richard Dreyfus stars as a usually unsuccessful habitual gambler who has the luckiest day of his life at the horse racing track when he just can't lose! David Johansen, Teri Garr, Robbie Coltrane and Jennifer Tilly also star!
Up the Creek - Possibly my My All-time Personal favorite! The four worst college students in the nation Tim Matheson, Stephen Furst (“Otter†& “Flounder†of “Animal Houseâ€), Sandy Helnerg (Spaceballs) and Dan Monahan (“Peewee†from Porky's) are extorted by their dean John Hillerman (Magnum P. I.) into entering an intercollegiate raft race! With help from Chuck the Wonder Dog and fueled on by alcohol, they'll take on arrogant cheating preppies, an insanely lead ROTC team, beautiful honeys and very rough waters! “The love of my life†Jennifer Runyon (Charles in Charge) also stars!
The Hollywood Nights - On Halloween might 1956 a group of high school pranksters the Hollywood Knights vow revenge on the Beverly Hills Residents' Association's for the planned shutdown and demolition of their favorite hangout, 'Tubby's Drive-In' Tony Danza, Robert Wuhl, Fran Drescher and Michelle Pfeiffer star!
Once Bitten - When virgin high school senior Jim Carrey is seduced and bitten by sexy older vampiress Lauren Hutton his beautiful girlfriend (Karen Kopins) and friends try to keep him from turning into a vampire for eternity! Cleavon Little (Blazing Saddles) also stars! Great soundtrack and dance scene as well!
Used Cars - “Back to the Future†trilogy Robert Zemeckis writer director's fantastic Comedy starring Kurt Russell stars as as an aspiring Senator who agrees to a help elderly salesman (Jack Warden) with his failing used car lot! A myriad of hilarious mishaps incur! Deborah Harmon (Bachelor Party), Michael McKean (Spinal Tap), Joe Flaherty (Happy Gilmore) and Al Lewis (The Munsters) also star!
The Dream Team -When their doctor (Dennis Boulsikaris) is hospitalized in a coma by bad cops, four patients from a sanitarium Michael Keaton (delusions of grander & violent tendencies), Stephen Furst (only speaks words from the game of baseball), Peter Boyle (thinks he's Jesus Christ) and Christopher Lloyd (an obsessive compulsive who thinks he's a doctor) must try to save their doctor from being murdered and deal with the real world!
Foxes - Coming of age story of four teenage girls in California at the end of the 70;s! Jodie Fosterm Scott Baio, Randy Quaid, Sally Kellerman and Cherie Currie lead singer of The Runaways!
Spaceballs- Mel Brooks brilliant Star Wars Parody starring Bill Pullman, John Candy, Daphne Zuniga, Joan Rivers, Rick Moranis and others! Cult Classic!
The Hotel New Hampshire- Often humorous, often bizarre story featuring a myriad of stars including Rob Lowe, Natasha Kinski, Matthew Modine, Anita Morris, Seth Green, Amanda Plummer, Wilford Brimley and Jodie Foster among others!
Moving Violations - Corrupt Judge (Sally Kellerman) and deputy (James Keach) scheme to keep the cars impounded from people who lost their driver's licenses (John Murray, Wendie Jo Speber, Fred Willard, Jennifer Tilly and others) who are forced to take a rigged driver's test run by Keach!
Who's Harry Crumb? - Great lesser known John Candy movie! Candy stars as a sometimes inept, sometimes brilliant, master of disguise P. I. Harry Crumb! When Barry Corbin (Northern Exposure) and Annie Potts (Ghostbusters) eldest daughter is kidnapped. “Family friend†Jeffrey Jones (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) the actual kidnapper and wannabe lover to Potts who's in on it with him, hires Harry counting on him failing! Harry is helped out by cutie pie Shawnee Smith (Anger Management).
Others lesser known Candy movies I'd highly recommend are Going Berserk, Summer Rental, Volunteers, Only the Lonely, Armed and Dangerous)
Splash - Fantastic! Ron Howard directed this must see Romantic Comedy starring Tom Hanks who unknowingly falls for a beautiful mermaid Daryl Hannah! John Candy and Eugene Levy deliver comedic performances of a lifetime!
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka!- Hilarious and completely un-P.C. Parody of Blaxploitation Movies from Keenan Ivory Wayans! Features Keenan, Bernie Casey, Jim Brown, Isaac Hayes, Ja'net Dubois Kadeem Hardison, Damon Wayans, Clarence Williams III, Antonio Fargas, Anne Marie Johnson, David Allan Grier, Kim Wayans, Steve James, Chris Rock, Eve Plumb, John Vernon (Dean Wormer from “Animal Houseâ€) and “Mr. Big†and More!
House of the Long Shadows - Writer (Desi Arnaz Jr.) makes a bet he can write a “Wuthering Heights†caliber novel. To get in the mood he stays in what he thinks is an empty old Welsh manor. He soon discovers the house is anything, but empty! A virtual who's who of classic Horror Movies star in this fantastic much overlooked movie! Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, John Carradine and Peter Cushing!
Other 80's Horror Movies I'd highly recommend are Phantasm I & II, The Changeling, The Incubus, Haunted, Scanners, The Hitcher and The Fog! (Some 70's overlooked Horror Movies are The Night Stalker, Prophecy, Arnold, Impulse, Salem's Lot, Magic, Let's Scare Jessica to Death, Patrick, Race with the Devil and Don't Be Afraid of the Dark!)
After Hours - A sleepless computer programmer (Griffin Dunne) decision to go late night diner turns into a comedic night from hell when he has encounters Rosanna Arquette, Teri Garr, Cheech & Chong, Linda Fiorentino, Bronson Pinchot, Catherine O'Hara and others!
The Wrong Guys - Comedians abound when Louie Anderson tracks down his Cub Scout group from 30 years ago Richard Belzer, Tim Thomerson, Franklyn Ajaye and Richard Lewis and they try to by camping on Mout Whitehead. Where they encounter two bullies who were kicked out of their den, an escaped dangerous criminal and a ferocious squirrel! Ernie Hudson and John Goodman also star!
The Beastmaster - Marc Singer stars as a half Tarzan, half Doctor Doolittle swordsman in this Sci-Fi Fantasy who battles creatures and black magic from sorcerer Rip Torn with help from his animals including a purple tiger and a hunter bodyguard John Amos and his charge the younger brother of a kidnapped slave girl played by gorgeous Tanya Roberts!
Other Sci-Fi Sword & Sorcery / Fantasy Movies worth checking out are Excalibur, Conan the Barbarian, Labyrinth, Conan the Destroyer, Krull, Legend, Willow, Red Sonja, The Golden Child!
She's Out of Control - Tony Danza stars as a dad trying to keep his beautiful teenage daughter Ami Dolenz from growing up! The lovely Catherine Hicks (7th Heaven) plays Danza's wife and Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride) is great as a the psychiatrist who does more harm than good! Watch for a young Matthew Perry (Friends) and Dustin Diamond (Saved by the Bell)!
Jake Speed - In the vein of action adventure of King Solomon's Mine and Romancing the Stone! When beautiful Karen Kopkins (Once Bitten) sister is kidnapped she blames herself. Her grandfather suggest she find “Jake Speed†(Wayne Crawford) the hero of series of 40's style pulp fiction novels. When she finds out the stories are based on his true real life adventures, she hires him and his sidekick Desmond (Dennis Christopher) to rescue her sister!
Oxford Blues - Casino gambler and gigolo Rob Lowe travels to England to pursue the girl of his dreams, the lovely Amanda Pays! He tries to get into Oxford and on the rowing team, but can only get into a rival college where he meets a cute, but bossy cox of their rowing team (Ally Sheedy)!
Vibes - From the guys who brought you “Splash†and “City Slickersâ€! Jeff Goldblum and Cyndi Lauper star as two quirky psychics hired by Peter Falk (who steals the show!) to find his missing son in Ecuador! Along the way they find out the truth of why they were hired and have to face a dangerous doctor (Julian Sands) with a psychic of his own (Googy Gress).
Something Wild - Jeff Daniels get taken for a wild ride when he get involved with waitress Melanie Griffith who is being pursued by her psychotic ex Ray Liotta!
Ruthless People - Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker (Airplane, Top Secret) team try their hands at a “Serious†comedy! Judge Reinhold (Fast times at Ridgemont High) and Helen Slater (Legend of Billie Jean) kidnapped and hold for ransom millionaire “Sam Stone†(Danny DeVito of Taxi) wife Bette Midler (Down and Out in Beverly Hills)! One problem he doesn't want her back! He had planned on murdering her and running off with her millions and his bombshell mistress “Carol†Anita Morris (Hotel New Hampshire). When “Carol†learns of “Samâ€'s plan she tries to blackmail him with help from her dim-witted lover (Bill Pullman-Spaceballs)!
My Bodyguard - A geeky new high schooler (Chris Makepeace -Meatballs) hires a bodyguard with literally a killer reputation (Adam Baldwin - Firefly, The Last Ship) to help him deal with a menacing bully (Matt Dillon (The Outsiders) who regularly threatens and extorts money from him and other kids.
Just One of the Guys -When cutie Joyce Hyser goes undercover as a guy in her high school and has to deal with the school bully, feelings for a new guy in school, the locker room, being hit on by girls and her blackmailing brother she finds out it isn't so easy being Just One of the Guys!
The Heavenly Kid - An early 60's rebel (Lewis Smith) who who died in a car game of chicken and spending years in limbo gets his chance to become an angel or in up in hell from a motorcycle riding angel (Richard Mulligan) when he's sent back to help a nerdy kid (Jason Gedrick) the son of his old girlfriend (Jane Kazmerick) and (Maek Metcalf) the man he rivaled in the car game of chicken!
Head Office - Judge Reinhold, Richard Masur, Jane Seymour, Eddie Albert, Wallace Shawnm Danny DeVito and Father Guido Sarducci among others star in the hilarious dark Comedy about the cut-throat inner workings of a big corporate company! One could easily argue this started the whole Clerks, Office Space, The Office type movies and TV shows!
Summer School - Fun loving P. E. teacher Freddy Shoop (Mark Harmon) is forced to teach a class full of misfits including a very pregnant (Shawnee Smith), surfer girl (Courtney Thorne-Smith) and two Horror Movie obsessed underachievers (Dean Cameron and Gary Riley) Things seem hopeless for Shoop until an attractive fellow teacher (“Cheers†Kristie Alley) catches his eye!
Brewster's Millions - Richard Pryor inherits $300 million, just one catch he has to spend $30 million in thirty days or he gets nothing and he can't tell anybody why he's spending the money! John Candy also stars! Other Richard Pryor movies well worth checking out are The Toy, Stir Crazy, Harlem Nights, See No Evil Hear No Evil, Bustin' Lose, Car Wash and Silver Streak!
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - A small time American con-man (Steve Martin) tries to out do a well to do British confidence man (Michael Caine) in a winner take all bet on the same mark (Glenne Headly) in the French Rivera! As the stakes get higher the hilarity gets elevated as well! Terrific comedic chemistry between the stars! Martin and Caine should have done more movies together!
Fandango - One of my All-time Favorites! Kevin Costner and Judd Nelson star in this Dramedy set at the end of the Vietnam War. Five friends graduate from college and find out that two of them have been drafted! They decide to take one last road trip to Mexico and learn about life, love and each other along the way! “The Train Scene†and “The Parachute Lesson Scene†are worth the price of admission alone on this one folks!
Some Honorable Mentions that just missed the 80's either before or after that I have to include are:
Taking Care of Business (1990)- Car thief Jimmy (Jim Belushi) breaks out of prison three days before his release to see a baseball game! He finds uptight ad exec Spencer (Charles Grodin) Filofax and impersonates him! This turns Spencer's life upside down, while Jimmy's living the good life! In the end they find that they both need a little bit of what the other has! One problem Jimmy has to break back into prison so he can be legally released!
Loose Cannons (1990) - A hard-nosed cop (Gene Hackman) is partnered with a with a detective who has multiple personality disorder (Dan Aykroyd) as they search for a Nazi sex tape featuring Adolph Hitler! The lovely Nancy Travis (So I Married an Axe Murderer), Ronny Cox (Beverly Hills Cop) and he late great Dom DeLuise who's performance is priceless also star!
Short Time (1990) - When a detective (Dabney Coleman) mistakenly thinks he has two weeks to live he finds that his insurance will not be enough for his wife (Teri Garr) and son. They could receive a very large benefit, but there's just one catch! He must die in the line of duty! With not only zero fear of death, but a short timeline “death wish†he becomes a super cop! Matt Frewer (Max Headroom) stars as Coleman's confused partner! Barry Corbin (War Games) and Joe Pantoliano (Risky Business) also star!
Once Upon A Crime -(1991) Richard Lewis, Ornella Muti, Sean Young.Kim Belushi, Cybil Shepherd and John Candy! Fantastically funny whodunit on the vain of “Clueâ€! Another movie I'd highly recommend!
Oscar (1991)- Sylvester Stallone, Ornella Muti, Vincent Spano, Marisa Tomei, Kurtwood Smith and Tim Curry star in this overlooked slap-stick crime comedy about a 1930's gangster trying to go legit!
Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991) - High school senior Christina Applegate's summer of fun comes to an abrupt end when the babysitter her mom hires to look after her wild brothers and sister suddenly dies and takes their money for the summer with her! Also stars Keith Coogan, Joanna Cassidy, Josh Charles, David Duchovny among others!
Noises Off (1992) - Michael Caine, Carol Burnett, Christopher Reeve, John Ritter, Nicolette Sheridan, Julie Hagerty and Mark Linn-Baker star in the riotous Comedy based as a cast of misfits trying and hilariously failing to put on a play production!
The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)- Early hilarious insanity of exploitation movie parody's including Bruce Lee's “Enter the Dragon†from the future “Animal House†director and writers of “Airplane!â€, “Top Secret!†and “Police Squad!â€!
The Groove Tube (1974) - Early Chevy Chase and Richard Belzer make appearances in hilarious R-rated parodies of Television Shows and Commercials!
Sex O'Clock News - Wayne Knight (Seinfeld's “Newmanâ€) stars in this crazy Comedy about a TV network who's programming revolves around sex! Watch for Porn legend Vanessa Del Rio in a Foxy Boxing Segment!
TunnelVision (1976) John Candy, Chevy Chase, Laraine Newman, Joe Flaherty Roger Bowen, Al Franken, Betty Thomas, Howard Hesseman and others star in this satirical Comedy where in the future (1985) a television network is completely free of censorship!
The Cheap Detective (1978) - Peter Falk stars in this fantastic overlooked Humphrey Bogart “Sam Spade†detective parody Comedy with an ensemble cast including Madeline Kahn, Louise Fletcher, Ann Margret, Eileen Brennan, Stockard Channing, Marsha Mason, Sid Caesar, Dom DeLuise, Abe Vigoda, James Coco, Phil Silvers, Nicol Williamson, John Houseman, Fernando Lamas, Scatman Crothers, Vic Tayback and Paul Williams!
The Jerk (1979) - The Carl Reiner Steve Martin Classic! Martin is masterful as a moron who believes he's a black man who leaves his poor family to seek his fortune in the big city! Bernadette Peters, M. Emmet Walsh and Jackie Mason also star!
Murder by Death (1976) - Master writer Neil Simon's brilliant Comedy which is the Original “Clueâ€! All star cast Peter Falk, Eileen Brennan, Teuman Capote, Maggie Smith, James Coco, Alec Guinness, Elsa Lanchester, David Niven, Estelle Winwood, James Cromwell, Nancy Walker and Peter Sellers! This movie is laugh out loud funny throughout!
Johnny Dangerously (1979) - Michael Keaton, Joe Piscapo, Marilu Henner, Maureen Stapleton, Peter Boyle, Griffin Dunne, Dom DeLuise, Dick Butkus, Alan Hale Jr and Danny DeVito star in this awesome 1940's Crime Parody Comedy! Speaking of Michael Keaton “Gung Ho†and “Mr. Mom†are absolute must sees!
One thing A LOT of these movies have in common that MUST be mentioned are their Awesome Soundtracks which are filled with Popular Artists performing Songs Most of which are Exclusive to these Soundtracks! I have tons of rare Soundtracks/Songs! A few of my favorite Soundtracks here are: Better Off Dead, Secret Admirer, Once Bitten, Secret of My Success, Up the Creek and Lost Boys!
Anyway, those are some of My Favorites! How about Yours?!
“There can't be a winner… If there isn't a river!â€
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