After the ‘70s brought unabashed absurdity to the silver screen with game-changing hits like Blazing Saddles, The Jerk, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the ‘80s brought on a whole new revolution in film comedy via filmmakers who were inspired by the boldness of their predecessors.
The National Lampoon team continued to pump out comedies that were light on plot and heavy on gags following the success of Animal House, while John Hughes pioneered the modern high school comedy through a six-movie process of trial and error. So, here are the five best and five worst comedies of the ‘80s.
Best: When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Anchored by Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan’s unparalleled chemistry, When Harry Met Sally may be the greatest romantic comedy ever made. Nora Ephron’s airtight script uses relatable situations to develop real characters, which is seldom seen in the romcom genre.
There’s a snappy Seinfeldian wit in the dialogue, but the humor also comes with a genuine emotional attachment that Seinfeld intentionally lacked. When Harry Met Sally is a movie that is impossible not to love.
Worst: National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985)
The first National Lampoon’s Vacation movie is a slam dunk. It hasn’t aged particularly well, but most of its comedic set pieces land and it spawned many tropes that have been done to death by derivative road trip comedies in the years since.
It’s not exactly clear what happened with the sequel, European Vacation, which sluggishly veers between cartoonish and outright creepy for 94 minutes that feel like an eternity. Fortunately, the franchise got things back on track with Christmas Vacation, a beloved holiday classic.
Best: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
John Hughes reportedly wrote the entire script for Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in less than a week. Most screenwriters could be given years of creative freedom and still not come up with a script as inspired or perfectly structured that hits on such a human level as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
Matthew Broderick’s electrifying performance as the title character made him an icon, while his chemistry with foils Alan Ruck, Jennifer Grey, Mia Sara, and Jeffrey Jones ties the whole movie together. Plus, Hughes’ cinematic snapshot of life in Chicago gives the movie a visual identity of its own — a rarity in the comedy genre.
Worst: Howard The Duck (1986)
Named by plenty of critics as one of the worst movies ever made and ranking as Lucasfilm’s lowest-rated production in the company’s history, Howard the Duck is a pretty dismal display.
Adapting the cartoonishly absurd Marvel Comics character into an oddball live-action sex comedy was a fundamentally bad idea. The character is better-suited to animation, or at least live-action with CGI effects, which didn’t exist at the time.
Best: Back To The Future (1985)
Movies don’t get more iconic than this one. From Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd’s on-screen chemistry to a perfectly structured plot that moves along at a breezy pace, there’s a lot to love in Back to the Future.
It’s rare that a time travel movie isn’t riddled with plot holes, but Back to the Future has one of the most airtight scripts ever written. Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale managed to fit in all the necessary exposition while maintaining a high joke quotient.
Worst: Caddyshack II (1988)
Studio interference hurt the first Caddyshack movie, but Harold Ramis and his cast and crew had enough creative control to make it a comedy classic nonetheless.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the 1988 sequel, Caddyshack II (which got a PG rating in contrast with the original’s hard R), which Ramis didn’t even want to make. It was a cash grab by the studio and that’s painfully obvious.
Best: This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
The mockumentary, in various forms, has been around for decades. But its first application in contemporary film comedy came in the form of 1984’s This is Spinal Tap. It’s a parody of “rockumentaries” like Gimme Shelter and The Last Waltz. The story is technically fictional, but Jimmy Page, Ozzy Osbourne, and Dee Snider have all testified to its accuracy as a satirical representation of the world of major-label rock music.
The improvisational skills and chemistry between cast members Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer are unparalleled. Director Rob Reiner provides solid support as fictional director Marty DiBergi, setting up the cast for improv brilliance in on-camera interviews.
Worst: Revenge Of The Nerds (1984)
The message in Revenge of the Nerds is supposed to be one of tolerance and consideration, but its many uncomfortable (to put it lightly) sexist and racist gags are a blatant display of the polar opposite.
This is a prime example of a movie that has aged horribly, but it didn’t even sit well with a lot of moviegoers in 1984 as the contemporary reviews can attest to.
Best: Airplane! (1980)
Visionary writer-directors Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker boldly changed the face of film comedy with their debut movie, casting dramatic actors to deliver their comedic dialogue completely straight.
Comedies that throw the idea of plot out the window and cram as many jokes as possible onto each page of the screenplay can sometimes feel thin and insubstantial if the humor doesn’t consistently land. Thankfully, every gag in Airplane! is top-notch.
Worst: Leonard Part 6 (1987)
It’s impossible to watch any Bill Cosby movie these days, knowing what a monster he was the whole time, but Leonard Part 6 was always an unbearable nightmare of a film. It’s a brainless spoof of spy movies, and Cosby himself disavowed and disowned the movie in the weeks leading up to its release.