DJariya

So I bring this up because there were a bunch made in the 80s and a lot dealing with horny teens like Porkys, Revenge of the Nerds, Hamburger the movie, Losin it, Secret Admirer, Mischief, Private School, Hardbodies and the list goes on and one etc.

Along with good and highly regarded ones like Breakfast Club, 16 Candles, Ferris Bueller and such.

Which do you think suck and are not really watchable by today’s standards and which do you think hold up now?

I just saw one called Private Resort which starred a very young Johnny Depp and Rob Morrow along with Leslie Easterbrook. It was horrible. Barely watchable.

A friend gave me the Cannon produced comedy from the 80s called The Last American Virgin on BluRay for Christmas. I’ve never seen it, but the clips I saw make it look really dated.

What do you all think? What do you think is timeless and what do you think is disposable junk?

Ash Ketchum

The only Hollywood movie comedies from the 1980s that I have any affection for are the following:

AIRPLANE!
THE BLUES BROTHERS
PEE WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE
BIG TOP PEE-WEE
BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE.

But the only one I've watched in the 21st century is THE BLUES BROTHERS.

There was a lot of good comedy coming out of the Jackie Chan/Sammo Hung machine in Hong Kong in the '80s, but I didn't discover it till the 1990s. And some good Japanese anime comedy was emerging from the fertile imaginations of Rumiko Takahashi and Akira Toriyama in the '80s, most notably "Urusei Yatsura," "Dr. Slump," "Dragon Ball," and "Ranma 1/2," but those were all TV series (with several movie spin-offs for each) and I wouldn't discover them till the 1990s and 2000s.

FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH has a large following among Millennials, to the point that my nephews' recommendation compelled me to watch it a few years ago on cable to see what the fuss was about. I just didn't get it. People have constantly raved to me about RISKY BUSINESS and when I finally saw that...nothing. I don't get the appeal.

rw2516

Don't care for 80s comedies at all. Except one, which I think is one of the funniest movies ever made, USED CARS (1980).

Perkinsun Dzees

Heathers still holds up, though it's been copied so much over the years (see the recent Thoroughbreds) that anyone just coming into it now might find it mild and derivative.

Real Genius still holds up fairly well.

Adventures in Babysitting is still amusing.

I never cared for Caddyshack even when it was released. I can't imagine it's aged well.

robin2099

Off the top of my head:

Hold Up:

-Ghostbusters

-Vacation and Christmas Vacation

-Stripes

-Planes, Trains and Automobiles

-Summer Rental

-Fletch

-Say Anything

Don't Hold up:

-Police Academy

-The Great Outdoors

-Funny Farm

-Spring Break

-Animal House(I know Ill get flamed for this one)

JCWBobC

Last American Virgin is one of the few "realistic" teen comedies that actually deals with situations kids go through in high school, including an surprise ending. I grew up in the 80's so I saw all of the ones you listed as they were released on video and loved them, at the time. The John Hughes movies still hold up because they dealt with social interactions between different groups, which I don't think will ever change.

thematahara

Peak Eddie Murphy is always funny. Trading Places, Coming to America, and Harlem Nights are still funny as hell

B5Erik

There were a ton of great comedies in the 80's...

Better Off Dead
Trading Places
48 Hours
Beverly Hills Cop
Coming to America
Ghostbusters
Stripes
The Blues Brothers
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
One Crazy Summer
The Sure Thing
Hot Pursuit
Airplane
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Caddyshack
Beetlejuice
Vacation
European Vacation
Spaceballs
SPINAL TAP
Back to the Future


That's just some of them.

Draven

I agree with The Great Outdoors - we just watched it this past week since my parents have all the cable channels and it happened to be on. It's been years since I've seen it but I LOVED it growing up. Boy, it is mildly amusing at best. Except the "Ol' 96er" part - that is still great

Most of the classics like Ferris Bueller's, Weird Science, Ghostbusters, Airplane and Real Genius still work for me. I haven't really watched anything else lately that didn't hold up, but there are definitely movies like Gotcha!, Summer Rental, Three Men and a Baby or Summer School that I loved as a kid and have no interest in revisiting now.

GoldenJCJ

I remember thinking Weekend at Bernie’s was just about the funniest movie when I was a kid. It’s pretty unwatchable now.

I’ll second a lot of the “watchable” movies listed above and I’ll add Major League as a movie that is still as funny now as when I watched it as a kid.

bluetoast

All time best:

Beverly Hills Cop


Unwatchable:

Screwballs
My Tutor

Groucho

As you should! Animal House came out in 1978.

Ash Ketchum

Haven't seen ANIMAL HOUSE since it came out--in 1978.

Draven

I was a little late to that party (saw it for the first time on VHS in probably the late 80s) never thought that movie was that great. Belushi is hilarious - the rest was always "meh" for me.

Nick Danger

1980s comedies that I've watched and enjoyed in the last 10 years:
Blues Brothers
Ghostbusters
Beverly Hills Cop
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Airplane
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
Tootsie
Peewee's Big Adventure

There's rather a lot of them, considering my low tolerance for comedies.

Boring:
Spaceballs
Goonies
Christmas Vacation
Caddyshack
A Christmas Story
Stripes

coli

These 80's comedies still hold up and are just as funny when I watched them as a kid:

Caddyshack
Ghostbusters
Stripes
Planes Trains Automobiles
National Lampoons Vacation
Fletch
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Risky Business
48 Hours
Airplane
Midnight Run (One of the most underrated comedies in the history of movies)

I will say that some of the John Hughes movies don't hold up as well 30 years later. I don't know if it's that I'm just not a teenager anymore so I can't relate to them, or they had alittle too much 80's cheese in them. Movies like Weird Science, Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club and even Ferris Buellers Day Off still have funny parts, but some parts are very cheesy.

One movie from the 80's that doesn't hold up for me is Strange Brew. I loved it as a kid and watched it a few years ago, and it just didn't pass the test.

JimRochester

Was never a fan of those horny teen comedies and those devoted to people trying to "lose" it. I have seen Sixteen Candles on occasion and thought it held up well.

Fist of Doom

Unwatchable:

-Most (if not all) sex comedies (e.g. Porkys, Losin' It)
-Cheech and Chong

Hold up:

-Bull Durham
-Repo Man
-Broadway Danny Rose
-My Favorite Year

Crocker Jarmen

A couple I think hold up great I haven't seen mentioned yet are A Fish Called Wanda and The 'Burbs.

inri222

In addition to some of the ones already mentioned, I also like these:

How to Get Ahead In Advertising
Top Secret!
Zelig
Just One of the Guys
Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life
After Hours
Raising Arizona
Hannah and Her Sisters
Withnail & I
The Naked Gun
History of the World Part 1

GoldenJCJ

There’s something about The Goonies that’s infinitely re-watchable for me. It’s probably in my top 3 most watched movies. It strikes a perfect nostalgia chord with me.

You’re right about Spaceballs. It really doesn’t hold up, despite the resurgence of Star Wars.

B5Erik

I totally forgot about that one, and it is absolutely brilliant!

Michael Corvin

The true test if a movie "holds up" is watching with a fresh pair of eyes...i.e. kids, and not just nostalgia tinted glasses.

Out of everything mentioned, I've watched the following with my tween girls:
Bill & Ted
Goonies
Spaceballs
Christmas Vacation
Pee-Weed Big Adventure

And we just watched Ferris Bueller last week, which was a big hit. Out of those I'd say only Spaceballs is near unwatchable. Pee-see is borderline.

We'll probably get to Ghostbusters this year.

Personally, I watched A Fish Called Wanda last week as well. Still funny as hell. Not mentioned, Spies Like Us and Three Amigos are a couple of my favorites.

Mike86

Yeah, Spaceballs really is a tough one to get through. I never thought it was the funniest to start out with but liked some aspects of it. I try to like it because I like actors like Rick Moranis and John Candy a lot but ugh.

Another I’ve seen mentioned that I agree with is Beetlejuice. I think I have better memories of the cartoon than the actual film to be honest.

Also I might get shit for this one but I don’t love Ghostbusters like I once did. It’s still a good film but I have to be in the right mood for it. Some of it feels kinda slow and not all the jokes work for me.

Bluelitespecial

Pretty much one of my favorite sports movies ever. I watch it every year around the start of baseball season. I think of the movies I have seen listed in terms of longevity. they all offer something else beyond its comedy. Ghostbusters is a horror movie and has some good scares in it. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, is funny along with plenty of drama as well. Hollywood doesn't make sports movies anymore, Major League is one of the best in the genre. For the movies that are unwatchable listed here, I still want a complete bluray set for the Police Academy movies.