A comedy with a great array of funny and memorable characters that started an uniform sub-genre of its own, Police Academy is an 80s landmark comedy often imitated, but never surpassed.
80s-o-meter: 80%
Total: 90%
Category: Comedy
#553 Spies Like Us (1985)
Directed by the great John Landis, and starring front line comedy skill along with some celebrity cameos, Spies Like Us is a lukewarm experience much less than the sum of its parts.
80s-o-meter: 78%
Total: 58%
#550 Something Wild (1986)
A refeshingly different combination of a romantic comedy and a triller rolled in one movie, the real gem in Something Wild is its latter part with the intensive performance by the superb Ray Liotta as the chilling ex-boyfriend from hell.
80s-o-meter: 82%
Total: 76%
#549 The Wild Life (1984)
A spiritual sequel to the superb Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The Wild Life beautifully captures the few quick passing moments of being young, but feels overall much less weighty than its predecessor.
80s-o-meter: 88%
Total: 82%
#543 We’re No Angels (1989)
From the convincingly build locations to the hilarious close calls and subtle humour, We’re No Angels is a skilfully crafted movie topped off with the vast acting talent of Robert De Niro and Sean Penn.
80s-o-meter: 35%
Total: 93%
#541 Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)
A bunch of kids get shrunk by a shrinking ray and venture around in a very glass fiberish and styrofoamish micro world of their back yard in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, an ok’ish sleeper hit of the 1989 that hasn’t hold its magic quite as well as I’d hoped for.
It was a lucrative project for the team though as the movie netted a cool $130,000M, making it the fifth biggest box office hit of the year and later spawned two sequels, released in 1992 and 1997 respectively.
80s-o-meter: 65%
Total: 74%
#540 Wise Guys (1986)
Wise Guys is a delightful little comedy packed with thrills and tight situations. The on-screen chemistry between the lead actors conned to waste each other works a treat and it’s always a pleasure seeing the superb Denny DeVito truly on top of his game.
80s-o-meter: 75%
Total: 82%
#537 Caveman (1981)
Caveman (1981) is a two-minute sketch that didn’t work in the first place prolonged to 90 minutes makes for a movie that’s not just exceptionally bad, but bad enough to make you angry.
80s-o-meter: 0%
Total: 0%
#536 Chances Are (1989)
A noteworthy romantic comedy, Changes Are manages to show a plenty of heart and soul despite the utterly silly premise.
The movie was a part of the mini-cycle of the body switching comedies in late 80s along with the likes of Vice Versa and Like Father Like Son.
80s-o-meter: 88%
Total: 83%
#534 Better Off Dead.. (1985)
More of a collection of random scenes than an actual movie, Better Off Dead is a very uneven experience – even a mess at times – but as such it’s also a bit like its protagonist: Clumsy, but in a cute and charming way.
80s-o-meter: 85%
Total: 68%
#523 Strange Brew (1983)
Apparently quite a cult movie in the stateside, Strange Brew – Based on a Canadian TV show – evolves much too little from its origins, and ends up feeling like a patchy collection of 1970’s TV sketches, shot on film.
80s-o-meter: 30%
Total: 38%
#520 Real Men (1987)
Real Men becomes somewhat easier to digest and a little more coherent once you realise that all the events in it are sketch-like, very far fetched from the reality and done very much with tongue-in-cheek.
80s-o-meter: 88%
Total: 72%
#519 Private Resort (1985)
A film that Rob Morrow and Johnny Depp later regretted being part of, Private Resort is a light, insignificant comedy where every slap sticky event is somehow related to sex.
80s-o-meter: 85%
Total: 58%
#518 Can’t Buy Me Love (1987)
Even though Can’t Buy Me Love often gets a bit too silly for its own good, it encapsulates the struggle of being popular in the cruel world of high school in a funny and heartbreaking way.
80s-o-meter: 90%
Total: 84%
#515 Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold (1986)
Shot simultaneously and released one year later than the first movie, The Lost City of Gold is surprisingly a much more solid adventure film with an interesting array of characters.
#514 King Solomon’s Mines (1985)
An Indiana Jones spinoff with glass fiber caves and green screen superimposed footage, King Solomon’s Mines feels much older than its release day and much cheaper than its budget.
#512 When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
Two metropolitan friends keep on going backwards and forwards for years before finally committing to a relationship in a little above the average romantic comedy.
#511 Going Overboard (1989)
Going Overboard kind of works at first when it keeps on mocking its own low budget shoddiness – but crashes and burns the minute it starts to pass itself as a real comedy.
#509 Michael Keaton Marathon: The Dream Team (1989)
What could’ve been your average 80s comedy is levelled up by Keaton’s, Lloyd’s, Boyle’s and Furst’s acting talent that help the movie find its heart and to provide the laughs.
#508 Michael Keaton Marathon: Gung Ho (1986)
Two cultures clash after a japanese company buys out a out-of-business american car company in Ron Howard’s delightful comedy that only falls short in its final denouement.