Category: Comedy

#655 Mischief (1985)

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If there was a competition for the most sympathetic movie ever (and there isn’t, I’ve checked), Mischief would rate pretty high up there.

The at first unlikely friendship between Jonathan, the class nerd and a Gene, a greaser from the big city is a delightful and interesting one. Both outcasts in their own rights, united in their struggling to get ahead in life – and love. In all honesty, the romance between McKeon and super hot Kelly Preston at times feels a bit far fetched, but they both – along the rest of the cast – come out with flying colors in their performances. Especially Jonathan, played by Doug McKeon, is a perfectly lovable geek that perfectly suits the tone of the movie.

Mischief is not your yet-another average lowest common denominator 50s nostalgia trip, but a lighthearted, lovable comedy that might be set in the past, but its themes are certainly timeless.

80s-o-meter: 61%

Total: 92%

#649 Crackers (1984)

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A loose remake of an italian movie Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958), Crackers at first has the look and feel of a movie that’s going to be a tiresome movie with some relationship drama and comedic but dull insights about adult life and unemployment.

Instead, what we have here is a pretty snappy caper comedy about five dimwits planning to rob their friend’s pawn shop. The characters are well fleshed out caricatures that feel like they’ve started writing themselves in the manuscript phase and they compliment each other in a believable fashion.

Crackers is a positive experience that much to my surprise even managed to stir up some actual laughworthy moments.

80s-o-meter: 65%

Total: 81%

#644 The Return of Swamp Thing (1989)

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There’s no doubt about the star of this show: The Swamp Thing played by the stunt man Dick Durock has to be one of the most sympathetic super heroes to ever appear on the silver screen.

The movie itself is so-and-so. The decision to make it an intentionally campy comedy works half the way, but should’ve been faded out or carried out even further. As it is, it just takes away from the thrills and makes the movie seem more trivial. The overall production quality is way stronger than the plot, and creatures are hilariously imaginative and skilfully masked.

80s-o-meter: 90%

Total: 75%

#642 C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud (1989)

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The biggest flaw in the sequel is that is isn’t actually a sequel at all, but a completely different horror comedy rewritten to mimic one. While this is not unusual at all (as is the case with House III and Halloween III for example) it does set the viewer to a wrong mood to begin with, only to get something completely different than anticipated.

Viewed as a completely separate entity, Bud the Chud is actually not that bad.

There are a few actual laughs every now and then, and the showdown in the swimming pool is pretty unique. It’s just the amazingly strong competition of the late 80s horror comedies that make it look bad: Compared to the likes of The Lost Boys, Return of the living dead, Night of the creeps or Beetlejuice it’s just totally forgettable.

80s-o-meter: 89%

Total: 73%

#640 Cheech & Chong’s The Corsican Brothers (1984)

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The sixth installation in the Cheech & Chong line of movies is their attempt at Mel Brooks’ style of historical comedy, but the few and far between jokes it has to offer are idiotic and can be seen approaching miles away.

While the duo’s movies have always taken sometimes hilarious pride of being stupid, but charmingly so, The Corsican Brothers lacks that certain charm of its predecessors, and is so dreadful that even the die hard fans of the comedy duo deny it from ever happening.

The Corsican Brothers was the last traditional movie from the duo, followed only by the short mockumentary Get Out of My Room, released the following year.

80s-o-meter: 7%

Total: 0%

#638 The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)

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Taking place in some alternative comic book reality, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension is intentionally campy movie that deserves praises for trying out something so completely different that it’s hard to explain in one sentence.

Although the movie has become something of a cult classic, personally the calculated weirdness here never manages to really entertain.

80s-o-meter: 71%

Total: 35%

#637 Clue (1985)

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Although a bit short and rushed though and the three alternative endings are needlessly smart-alecky, Clue (based on the classic board game) is a charming murder in a mansion whodunnit that keeps the viewer engaged and entertained while the events unravel.

The atmosphere here beats the actual plot: Clue gets is its play-like murder mystery atmosphere just right, and while not that bad at all, it’s only the manuscript that could’ve be improved. Overall presentation and the characters are top notch.

If the 80s mystery in a mansion movies are your thing, be sure to also check out The Private Eyes (1980)

80s-o-meter: 62%

Total: 82%

#636 The Golden Child (1986)

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The Golden Child has a lot going for it: It’s an adventure comedy starring Eddie Murphy with great supporting acts from my favourite baddie Randall ‘Tex’ Cobb and Charles Dance, who’s as chilling as always. Too bad it’s the overall lack of vision that makes the movie a letdown; The Golden Child is more than often too childish, but still has a lot of adult themes like graphic kills and sexual innuendo. The effects are extremely bad for a late 80s movie, and for some reason the movie decides to rely very heavily on the towards the end.

Eddie Murphy is his likeable self, but very much just repeats his mischievous character form the Beverly Hills Cop (1984) to play it safe and to please the audience.

The Golden Child mixes tons of good ingredients – and a few bad ones – into a potpourri that ends up being less than the sum of it parts.

80s-o-meter: 90%

Total: 74%

#635 The Goonies (1985)

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The definite adventure of the 80s, The Goonies ticks almost all the right boxes from the great array of the characters to the great sense of adventure. The buildup with skeletons, pirates and Indiana Jonesy type of adventure works fluently that the actual showdown inside the cove feels rushed in comparison and is even a bit of a letdown. Luckily the movie is redeemed by the last act on the beach.

The Goonies is synonymous to the 80s adventure movie and its charm and magic holds amazingly well after 30 years of its original release.

80s-o-meter: 97%

Total: 94%

#634 Back to School (1986)

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Back to school provides exactly what you’d except from an 80s Rodney Dangerfield movie with Rodney being his likeable rough around the edges and clashing with the powers that be. Dangerfield rightfully steals the show in every scene he is in, but be sure to check out Robert Downey Jr as a sidekick character in one of his earliest film roles, and Ned Beatty who does a superb job as the dean caught between the rock and a hard place.

80s-o-meter: 92%

Total: 88%

#629 The Couch Trip (1988)

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The Couch Trip is much like many other Dan Aykroyd movies of the time where he plays a somewhat eccentric, obnoxious character that everyone in the movie seems to love for some inexplicable reason. The real star of the show is once again Charles Grodin who portrays his Beverly Hill shrink on the verge of a mental breakdown in a hilarious fashion.

All in all The Couch Trip ends up much too trite and trivial experience that is forgotten as soon as it finishes: I watched the movie yesterday and had to watch the last 15 minutes of the movie again today to remember how it actually ended.

80s-o-meter: 90%

Total: 63%

#627 Real Genius (1985)

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Val Kilmer’s always wise cracking – but never exactly laugh-out-loud funny – character is at hard to stomach for the first 30 minutes, but as soon as the movie introduces an actual plot, Real Genius becomes interesting enough to watch for the remaining 45 minutes.

The movie kind of tries something new, but the theme was already better handled one year earlier in Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

80s-o-meter: 84%

Total: 63%