Category: Comedy

#1038 Class (1983)

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A private school brainiac goes for a wild night out and hooks up with a woman of his dreams who woefully turns out to be his roommate’s mother in Class, probably the only decent early 80s comedy with the adult-youngster forbidden love theme (the other ones being My Tutor, Private Lessons and Blame it on Rio).

The movie works because it is first and foremost a decent comedy instead of cringeworthy voyeuristic peeping tom flick like its aforementioned competition. There’s some genuinely good chemistry between Andrew McCarthy and Rob Lowe and I can see the movie failing in many ways with other some less skilled leads.

The well built conflict that tears the friendship apart proves out to be too big for the screenwriters of the movie who weasel out of the situation in a disappointingly lukewarm fashion in the end.

80s-o-meter: 82%

Total: 79%

#1037 School Daze (1988)

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Spike Lee’s School Daze makes a successful and interesting late 80s look on African-American college life that’s very convincingly portrayed from inside out.

Being quite far away from its frame of reference as a pale skinned European I probably missed a lot of the references and subtleties of the movie, but on the other hand many of the themes here are still universal enough for me to relate to, especially the way the young and somewhat misguided adults having to choose their side to belong, be it jigaboos, wannabes or fraternities. We’ve all been there.

I also love how many of the clashes on the movie are built around petty issues of the middle-class college students and thus feel like actual, interesting conflicts.

Lee makes admittedly many uniquely interesting insights about the interracial conflicts, principles, having to choose one’s side, fraternities and the petty power that corrupts. But if the movie was out there to make a clear statement, it’s lost in translation for me.

80s-o-meter: 87%

Total: 72%

#1034 Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

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If you have never heard of Indiana Jones, chances are you’ve been living under the rock for the last 40 years. The franchise and the line of movies, kickstarted by 1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark have been featured so much in the popular culture, articles, studies and reviews that there’s frankly little left to say about them that hasn’t been better worded elsewhere.

A testament to the iconic status of the movie is how many of its scenes, gear and clothing have since had a life of their own outside the movie: The rolling boulder, melting faces, bringing sword to a gunfight scene and revolving airplane, as well as the fedora, bullwhip and the leather jacket are all immediately recognised to be part of the Indy saga as soon as they are featured elsewhere in the pop culture, usually as a nod towards the original. There are pages that list these references, but there are quite frankly so many that nobody can really keep up with them – and they still keep pouring in day after day.

Due to the massive impact the it had when it was released, the movie remains much more than just a perfect adventure; Raiders of the Lost Ark is the very definition of an adventure, and an undertaking still waiting to be topped.

80s-o-meter: 75%

Total: 96%

#1030 My Tutor (1983)

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A rich kid hellbent on losing his virginity gets a private french tutor in My Tutor, a blatant teen exploitation movie. As it goes, she also ends up teaching the youngster about life and love and as she finally exits, he has finally become a man.

Honestly, I wouldn’t had mind this kind of tutoring back in the days. But having to watching through 90 minutes of this voyeuristic baloney just never hit the spot for me.

80s-o-meter: 74%

Total: 37%

#1028 Throw Momma from the Train (1987)

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Throw Momma from the Train, Danny DeVito’s feature film directional debut is a success.

The movie is never taxing to follow, visually pleasing and would’ve even withstood a somewhat longer cut; at its current running time of only 87 minutes, the great roleplay of Anne Ramsey is cut short and the nastiness of the mother from hell is never established quite enough. Not enough to warrant throwing her out from the train, at least.

The movie is based on the 1951 Hitchcock classic Strangers on a Train and does a smart move by not trying to hide this, but intertwining it as the central turn of events in the movie.

I do love nods like these in movies.

80s-o-meter: 89%

Total: 85%

#1026 Bull Durham (1988)

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A veteran catcher joins a minor-league baseball team Durham Bulls and crosses paths with up and coming star pitcher Ebby and Ann, a baseball groupie who has her own view on how to mature Ebby to the big leagues.

All in all Bull Durham is a quite refreshing sports movie as it concentrates on its characters instead of playing the tired from the bottom of the barrel to the champions schtick; there’s no training montages, no big motivational speeches and no last second game winning throws here.

Kevin Costner performs one of his strongest roles as a charismatic 33-year old baseball veteran on his very last game leg.

80s-o-meter: 87%

Total: 74%

#1024 The Private Eyes (1980)

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The Private Eyes presents us with a classic mansion whodunnit comedy that makes for a surprisingly entertaining watch.

It’s a slapstick comedy making a solid imitation of the similar movies from the famous comedic duos of the yesteryear, namely Abbot and Costello. Starring Tim Conway and Don Knotts who made a series of comedies together starting from 1975, The Private Eyes is their best known movie, and also their final full length feature film together.

The movie is made with the young audience in mind with spooky bits comparable to an episode of Scooby Doo. The jokes are somewhat tame and obvious, but performed in an entertaining way by the duo.

80s-o-meter: 41%

Total: 68%

#1023 Jinxed! (1982)

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For a movie about gambling, Jinxed really truly pulls a great sleight of hand. With its story of a boorish, womanising gambler going after one specific blackjack dealer who he thinks is jinxed, the movie really seems to have an interesting and unique little comedic story in its hands.

But as the we reach the end of the act one, the movie really goes down the shitter and an interesting story that was being developed all along is changed to something of a cannonball run where the woman lead played by Bette Midler goes for a hunt after heritage left behind by his late husband. Nothing in the movie really works from hereon.

Midler does his comedic work in a satisfactory way, and Ken Wahl – who later gathered fame as the lead in Wiseguy, a successful late 80s TV series – co-stars as a hunk of a casino worker, delivering one of the most wooden acting ever recorded on film, yet somehow managing to be likeable.

80s-o-meter: 72%

Total: 41%

#1022 A Little Sex (1982)

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A newly married man keeps on landing on his dick on every woman that crosses his path in A Little Sex, an early eighties sex comedy.

The theme of the movie might’d still been somewhat relatable if the main male character wasn’t written in such a dull way: He’s portrayed as this whiny, poor thing that is forced to extramarital affairs by the sex craving women, instead of taking any of the initiative himself.

There’s somewhat interesting tension built between the couple as the dude finally is caught, but even that is quickly diluted in a disappointing, uninspired romantic comedy ending.

80s-o-meter: 78%

Total: 32%

#1020 Outrageous Fortune (1987)

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Bette Midler had a running streak of four solid comedies in just two years, all of which were solid box office successes.

Looking at Outrageous Fortune it’s no wonder: The movie is an obvious crowd pleaser and presses quite a lot of right buttons for moviegoers wanting a nice nonsense escape from reality for 90 minutes.

Personally I found all the agent nonsense totally unnecessary. The chemistry between Midler and Shelley Long works a treat and personally I would’ve been pretty happy just following the urban love triangle that was already well established and appetising. Luckily it all wraps up satisfactorily in the end in a finale done in the very best tradition of the 80s.

80s-o-meter: 90%

Total: 71%

#1019 Modern Romance (1981)

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Modern Romance follows the on / off relationship between hemming and hawing urban male and her very patient girlfriend.

The movie is such a chore to watch. That overly neurotic male shtick might’ve been pretty cute back in the early 80s, but from the present day’s standpoint the cuteness just isn’t there. The guy tries to cover all of his bases while spying on her love, breaking up with her cold blood one moment and then demanding her back just to not to have to share her with anyone else, probably more sane person. Cute? Try possessive, smothering or borderline sociopathic. Nothing modern about it.

I’ve really dug Albert Brooks in his various roles throughout the years, but Modern Romance falls quite far from that list.

80s-o-meter: 73%

Total: 31%

#1018 Steel Magnolias (1989)

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For a movie in where next to nothing happens, Steel Magnolias is a surprisingly entertaining ordeal, thanks to its interesting array of smartly written characters portrayed by the top talent of the era.

I really did not feel for the tearjerker story nor the syrupy depictions of the close knit, loving white community only seen in highly fictitious movies. But for a wholehearted sappy melodrama clearly targeted for the female audience, Steel Magnolias isn’t really half that bad.

80s-o-meter: 87%

Total: 71%

#1017 My Best Friend Is a Vampire (1987)

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A spinoff of the teenage werewolf subgenre, My Best Friend Is a Vampire, an underdog of a horror comedy is one pleasant surprise.

The movie gets the mood right straight off the bat. Young Robert Sean Leonard – who’s only 17 at the time – makes for a perfect foundation for the timid teen undergoing the change of a lifetime.

Sure, it’s all done before, but My Best Friend Is a Vampire manages to find the tone of voice of its own, offering an entertaining little adventure that doesn’t just settle for recreating the most obvious clichés of the genre.

80s-o-meter: 91%

Total: 85%

#1016 Sunset (1988)

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Second cooperation between the director Blake Edwards and the up and Bruce Willis (the first one being a failure of a comedy called Blind Date) Sunset is a modern Hollywood take of a crime story taking place in the classic Hollywood of the late 1920s.

Willis shows a lot of the same onscreen magnetism that made him a superstar later in the same year with the release of Die Hard, and fits well to the part of a fancy pants silent era western star. James Garner also plays the role of the aged Wyatt Earp with a similar charism and his presence on the screen is always a pleasure to follow. And that’s pretty much all the movie has going for it.

Despite all the action the movie just doesn’t have the momentum to keep things interesting enough and I did notice I had to struggle a little to keep up the interest, and Sunset is ultimately kept afloat solely by its above average cast.

80s-o-meter: 59%

Total: 61%

#1015 Young Doctors in Love (1982)

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A crazy comedy no doubt inspired by the iconic Airplane, Young Doctors in Love many cues from its paragon, but doesn’t really measure up to enough for any further comparison.

The usual problem with crazy comedies – making an attempt for a joke all the time and at all the cost – easily makes the plot and the events in the movie feel trivial. This is very much the case with Young Doctors in Love as well, and I noticed getting somewhat indifferent about the events and characters in the movie.

Young Doctors in Love is not a total dud, but I have this nagging feeling that the movie could’ve worked better as a more traditional comedy – with a bit less crazy in it.

80s-o-meter: 71%

Total: 50%

#1014 Big Top Pee-wee (1988)

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While Pee-wee’s Big Adventure made a good effort in taking an remarkably insignificant event and making it an amazingly big adventure, Big Top Pee-wee tackles somewhat bigger things, but ends up a more insignificant movie.

Like with the original I really can’t tell who this movie is made for. Its lush and colourful scenes seem perfect for a kiddies movie, but many of the themes presented here really aren’t suitable for the young ones, and I wouldn’t feel comfortable watching the movie with my offspring. All in all it feels like an episode of Teletubbies edited some Youtuber who added some raunchier elements to the mix.

Big Top Pee-wee is an easy-to-watch, easy-to-forget movie that, unlike the original, leaves absolutely no lasting appeal.

80s-o-meter: 84%

Total: 47%

#1013 Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985)

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It was only now during my second time watching the movie that I realised how much Spongebob Squarepants (and his movie) owe to Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.

I never was big fan of the lead who seems mostly annoying most of the time and rarely likeable. In fact, he always seems the weakest link in an otherwise above average movie. Although the premise with the character is finding your inner child and overcoming problems with sheer stupid luck, there’s just something very dark and heinous about him.

A Tim Burton’s directorial feature debut, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure is colorful and technically well made movie, but a very hard one to to recommend to anyone since I’m not quite sure to whom it is aimed for. In the end, being something of a catalyst and a paragon for Spongebob might just be the movie’s best asset.

80s-o-meter: 80%

Total: 59%

#1012 Meatballs Part II (1984)

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The 1979 Meatballs movie starring one Bill Murray started a wave of summer camp comedies over the following years and in this sense Meatballs Part II was sort of a latecomer to its own party. Rebranded to an official sequel from a title that was originally going to be just another Meatballs ripoff, it’s clear that part II should’ve just been released as a separate movie.

Pretty much everything the movie introduces to the old mix is for the worse, aliens and flying pugilists to name a few. Otherwise the movie sticks to the worn out formula or horny elder teens and younger clueless kids on a camp, with some pranks thrown in – and does it all in a much less interesting way than the competition.

What it comes to goofy comedies, there’s certainly good kind of stupidity and the bad kind. While its predecessor and even its successor both manage to find the right balance, Meatballs Part II just goes badly south.

80s-o-meter: 84%

Total: 31%

#1010 Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988)

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Made a whopping seven years after the original, Arthur 2: On the Rocks picks up remarkably well from where the first movie left off, looking like it was shot pretty much back to back with the original.

Four years in the movie time have passed and Arthur and Linda are enjoying the life of the filthy rich. After their decision to adopt a child the dark clouds start to gather as Arthur’s old arch enemy Burt Johnson appears out of the blue and strips the couple out of every penny they have in a hostile business deal.

As a movie the sequel is much less tight than the original, especially including the final payoff, but on the other many of the jokes themselves are much to my surprise actually funnier. And the side plot of clueless butler Fairchild trying to grow into the shoes of his predecessor is smartly written and offers some of the most genuinely heartwarming moments of the movie.

But most importantly for the fans of the original: The once-in-a-lifetime chemistry between the two leads is still most definitely there.

80s-o-meter: 85%

Total: 85%

#1009 Arthur (1981)

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Watching Arthur, one of the most renowned comedies of the 80s after many years has been a mixed bag.

One of my favourite aspects of the original, the endless wisecracking between the drunk Arthur and his butler Hobson actually got old pretty fast this time around. But to my delight I found myself enjoying some of the other aspects of the movie I’d never noticed before, like Linda’s old man who at times seems to be the one most emotionally moved by the rocky relationship of the two lovebirds.

Despite all this the movie is still a delight to watch. Dudley Moore’s and Liza Minnelli’s witty, but genuine chemistry is one of the most delightful ones of the decade and very much the glue that still holds the movie firmly together.

80s-o-meter: 85%

Total: 84%