Understated and Underrated:Good little 80's Comedies
.The 80's had some great comedies that seem forgotten, but still make us laugh every time. You won't see any blockbusters like Fast Times or Trading Places... even left off some pretty big one's like Arthur and Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. THis list contains many underrated and understated comedies from the decade. I can recommend every film on the list. Some films like "midnight Run" were on the fringe, but I included it because it is genuinely funny throughout much of the film, and certainly underrated. ENjoy the list. Just missed: Private Resort, Easy MOney, Moving Violations, Fletch Lives, Electric Dreams, Mischief.
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- DirectorAlbert BrooksStarsAlbert BrooksJulie HagertySylvia FarrelA husband and wife in their 30s decide to quit their jobs, live as free spirits and cruise America in a Winnebago.The film is short and unbelievably simple, but Brooks' writing and performance are fantastic. Hilarious.
- DirectorAlex CoxStarsHarry Dean StantonEmilio EstevezTracey WalterA young punk, recruited by a car repo agency, finds himself in pursuit of a Chevrolet Malibu with a huge, $20,000 bounty--and something otherworldly stashed in its trunk.Probably the last film to make the list... I might swap this to just missed and move-up Mischief.
- DirectorMichael LehmannStarsWinona RyderChristian SlaterShannen DohertyAt Westerburg High where cliques rule, jocks dominate and all the popular girls are named Heather, it's going to take a Veronica and mysterious new kid to give teen angst a body count.Sure it gained cult-status, but it still belongs on the list.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsGriffin DunneRosanna ArquetteVerna BloomAn ordinary word processor has the worst night of his life after he agrees to visit a girl in Soho he met that evening at a coffee shop.What a fantastic film!!! Hilarious and absolutely engrossing for the patient, undistracted viewer.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJohn NevilleEric IdleSarah PolleyAn account of Baron Munchausen's supposed travels and fantastical experiences across late 18th-century Europe with his band of misfits.Oooh.... I just thought that Time Bandits should be on the list.... adding it... Gilliams stuff was so cutting edge great for the era.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsJohn CusackDaphne ZunigaAnthony EdwardsWalter Gibson is a university freshman going through a dry spell. His old buddy arranges a "sure thing" for him in California. Gibson and his classmate Allison then take a long road trip out to Cali, and both foil each other's plans.oooh.... thought of another... "BLame it On Rio" HAS to be on the list. Yet another that would be so not-pc today... "The SUre Thing" here is harmless and good fun, but not one of the funnier on the list.
- DirectorJim AbrahamsDavid ZuckerJerry ZuckerStarsVal KilmerOmar SharifJeremy KempAn American rock and roll singer is invited to a cultural festival in East Germany in order to distract from a plot to destroy NATO submarines, but he accidentally becomes involved in a resistance plot to rescue an imprisoned scientist.So great!
- DirectorMartha CoolidgeStarsVal KilmerStacy PeraltaDaniel AdesAn uptight teenage prodigy enters a top engineering college, but feels awkward among the freewheeling students. When a professor aims to turn their laser project into a military weapon, he and his offbeat roommate plot to ruin the plan.Probably my second fave on the list to After Hours.
- DirectorDanny DeVitoStarsMichael DouglasKathleen TurnerDanny DeVitoA married couple tries everything to drive each other out of the house in a vicious divorce battle.Yet another example of they wouldn't make it today. VERY UNDERRATED! This is pretty damn funny. You might have to be inthe right mood, but it got a bad rap at release.
- DirectorBoaz DavidsonStarsLawrence MonosonDiane FranklinSteve AntinPizza delivery boy Gary, loudmouth David and hunky Rick are three high school students out to lose their virginity any way they can. Gary falls for transfer student Karen, who gets involved with Rick.This movie is as much about capturing the era and having the best soundtrack of all-time, as much as it was just flat-out funny. It's humorous, but also at times as serious as any film on the list.
- DirectorPhil JoanouStarsCasey SiemaszkoAnnie RyanRichard TysonA nerd gets himself in hot water with the new bully, a quiet bad boy who challenges him to fight on the grounds of their high school after the day's end.Guilty pleasure. SO much fun.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsKurt RussellJack WardenGerrit GrahamWhen the owner of a struggling used car lot is killed, it's up to the lot's hot-shot salesman to save the property from falling into the hands of the owner's ruthless brother and used-car rival.Deserves to be on the list.
- DirectorTom MankiewiczStarsDan AykroydTom HanksChristopher PlummerThe equally strait-laced and "by-the-book" nephew of Joe Friday must work with his more laid-back partner to solve a mystery.Another one that has seemed to have gotten funnier/better with age. Too many people were wanting laugh a minute writing, but the comedy here is far more subtle, and Hanks and Akroyd are great together.
- DirectorJoe DanteStarsDennis QuaidMartin ShortMeg RyanA test pilot is miniaturized in a secret experiment, and accidentally injected into a hapless store clerk.Underrated. Martin Short at his best.
- DirectorMartin BrestStarsRobert De NiroCharles GrodinYaphet KottoA bounty hunter pursues a former Mafia accountant who is also being chased by a rival bounty hunter, the F.B.I., and his old mob boss after jumping bail.Funny. Great film.
- DirectorGreg BeemanStarsCorey HaimCorey FeldmanCarol KaneA teen decides to go for a night on the town with his friends despite flunking his driver's test.Almost too big to be on the list, but I put it on here anyway... the last 3 were pretty big releases too...
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsRob ReinerMichael McKeanChristopher GuestSpinal Tap, one of England's loudest bands, is chronicled by film director Marty DiBergi on what proves to be a fateful tour.Hilarious.
- DirectorJoe PytkaStarsRichard DreyfussTeri GarrDavid JohansenA nosy cab driver gets a hot tip on a race horse and wins big, but he can't seem to stop gambling. Will he go broke or walk home with a pretty penny?IMO it just may be the most underrated comedy, and one of the most underrated films of the 80's. SImple, genuine, good performances, funny as heck, and sooo much fun. Infinitely rewatchable.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsJeff DanielsMelanie GriffithGeorge 'Red' SchwartzA free-spirited woman "kidnaps" a yuppie for a weekend of adventure. But the fun quickly takes a dangerous turn when her ex-convict husband shows up.As serious as funny, but a great little underrated gem.
- DirectorPaul FlahertyStarsJohn CandyJeffrey JonesAnnie PottsHarry Crumb is a bumbling and inept private investigator who is hired to solve the kidnapping of a young heiress which he's not expected to solve because his employer is the mastermind behind the kidnapping.I liked it better than Summer Rental... though SR SHOULD be on the just missed list...adding.
- DirectorFred DekkerStarsJason LivelyTom AtkinsSteve MarshallAlien brain parasites, entering humans through the mouth, turn their host into a killing zombie. Some teenagers start to fight against them.
- DirectorSavage Steve HollandStarsJohn CusackDavid Ogden StiersKim DarbyAfter his girlfriend ditches him for a boorish ski jock, Lane decides that suicide is the only answer. However, his increasingly inept attempts bring him only more agony and embarrassment. Filled with the wildest teen nightmares.
- DirectorJoe DanteCarl GottliebPeter HortonStarsRosanna ArquetteMichelle PfeifferArsenio HallA spoof of low budget 1950s science-fiction movies, interspersed with various comedy sketches and fake commercials making fun of late-night television.
- DirectorSavage Steve HollandStarsJohn CusackDemi MooreLinda WarrenAn aspiring teenage cartoonist and his friends come to the aid of a singer trying to save her family property from developers.
- DirectorRobert ButlerStarsTim MathesonJennifer RunyonStephen FurstBob McGraw is in his 12th year of college, goofing his way through life, until he has to win a river rafting race with three college buddies.
- DirectorJerry BelsonStarsMark BlankfieldBess ArmstrongKrista ErricksonDr Daniel Jekyll researching into drugs that would help mankind avoid surgery discovers a white powder that unleashes the animal in every man, and in his case turning him from a shy and timid doctor into a wild sex crazed party animal. To the delight and dismay of both his rich fiancée and stripper girlfriend.
- DirectorStewart RaffillStarsRobert UrichMary CrosbyMichael D. RobertsIn a distant future scarce of water, space pirates get caught after stealing ice from a spaceship. They are sold to a princess looking for her dad. He might have found a planet abundant with water.
- DirectorRobert BiermanStarsNicolas CageMaria Conchita AlonsoJennifer BealsAfter an encounter with a neck-biter, a publishing executive thinks that he's turning into a vampire.
- DirectorCarl ReinerStarsSteve MartinKathleen TurnerDavid WarnerA brain surgeon marries a femme fatale whose life he saved, causing his life to turn upside down. Things go even more awry when he falls in love with a telepathic brain.
- DirectorTommy ChongStarsCheech MarinTommy ChongHans Man in 't VeldCheech and Chong fly to the marijuana capital of the world, Amsterdam, for a film festival where they take Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds' place in a limo, suite, press conference and performance. They throw in some sketches as well.
- DirectorJoe DanteStarsTom HanksBruce DernCarrie FisherAn overstressed suburbanite and his neighbors are convinced that the new family on the block is part of a murderous Satanic cult.
- DirectorStanley DonenStarsMichael CaineMichelle JohnsonDemi MooreBest friends and their daughters vacation in Rio de Janeiro only for one to fall for the other's daughter.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsSean ConneryShelley DuvallJohn CleeseA young boy accidentally joins a band of time travelling dwarves, as they jump from era to era looking for treasure to steal.
- DirectorMel DamskiStarsDoug McKeonCatherine Mary StewartKelly PrestonGuided by James Dean, the eternal symbol of youthful rebellion, a gawky high school student obsessed with the hottest girl in class takes a crash course in teenage coolness from his motorcycle-rebel neighbor.