Comedymovies can be hit or miss for critical and audience success, as the genre isn’t typically taken as seriously as other films. This meanseach decade has a litany of overlooked comedic movies that should be better rememberedfor their hilarious plots and campy visuals. While theBrat Pack movies of the 1980shave come to define this period of cinema because of their popularity, they don’t capture the full humor and cultural moment of the ’80s. The most underrated and rarely remembered movies from this period deserve a second life in the eyes of critics and viewers today.
Comedy is a strong indicator of the social and cultural opinions of a time.
Genre movies were having a heyday in the ’80s, as thegreat cult sci-fi movies of the 1980sand other outlandish fantasy films often come to mind when remembering the decade. However, comedy is a strong indicator of the social and cultural opinions of a time. It can provide insight into what types of humor evolved and currently inform what modern audiences find funny.Many of these lesser-known films blend genres and incorporate aspects of sci-fi, fantasy, romance,and much more into their stories, which might appeal to contemporary viewers.
10 1990s Comedies Barely Anyone Remembers
The 1990s were packed with incredible comedy movies, although some truly under appreciated gems have been mostly forgotten by modern audiences.
Better off Dead
Cast
Better off Dead is a 1985 teen romantic comedy directed by Savage Steve Holland. The film stars John Cusack as Lane Myer, a high school student who becomes despondent after his girlfriend breaks up with him. Amidst his comedic and dramatic attempts to win her back, Lane eventually finds new perspectives on life and love through his interactions with friends and a new romantic interest.
Better Off Deadis not for everyone, but for certain viewers, its brand of humor lands effectively.
Time has been kind toBetter Off Dead,a deeply dark and absurdist comedy that was well ahead of its time in 1985.John Cusak stars as Lane Meyer, a teen boy who can’t catch a break after his girlfriend breaks up with him and everything in his life starts going wrong. It should be noted that there are intensely morbid scenes inBetter Off Dead, and the film does contain some moments that lean into sensitive territory regarding mental health.Better Off Deadis not for everyone, but for certain viewers, its brand of humor lands effectively.
Cusak would prove to have an affinity for projects likeBetter Off Ted, taking on roles that featured characters with dark impulses and tendencies of self-loathing. He shows his strength as an actor inBetter Off Ted, and though the film underperformed at the box office and didn’t land with critics, it’s enjoyed a second life as a cult classic.Better Off Tedis much closer to the surrealist takes on the teen comedy genre that audiences are used to todayrather than the formulaic rom-coms of the ’80s.
Dragnet
Dragnet is a comedy film released in 1987, directed by Tom Mankiewicz and starring Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks. The film is a humorous adaptation of the classic television series, following the rigid, by-the-book Sgt. Joe Friday and his laid-back partner, Pep Streebek, as they investigate a series of bizarre crimes in Los Angeles. The film combines elements of parody with a traditional buddy-cop dynamic.
For a movie starring two heavy-weight actors like Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd, it’s surprising that more viewers haven’t rediscoveredDragnetwithin the past few years. Based on the TV series of the same name,Dragnetpokes fun at the buddy cop genre, but the filmmakers clearly have great love and respect for the projects that came before it.The mystery at the heart ofDragnetpales in comparison to the types of stories told by the original show, but the performances of Aykroyd and Hanks are what save the film.
Unfortunately,Dragnetdidn’t bring the success of the series into a new era, and it fell short of audience expectations, even if it wasn’t a box office flop.Better buddy comedies came out in the 1980s, as did better films featuring Hanks and Aykroyd,so it makes sense that fewer audiences are familiar with this comedic project than their other works. However, a remake ofDragnettoday might fit into the cultural landscape if the film returned to the stylization of classic noir detective work.
Night Shift
Night Shift is a comedy film directed by Ron Howard, featuring Henry Winkler and Michael Keaton in leading roles. The story follows an uptight morgue worker whose dull life takes an unexpected turn when he partners with a free-spirited new colleague to operate a nighttime prostitution ring out of the morgue. The film, noted for its humorous take on unconventional entrepreneurship, marked a significant departure from mainstream themes in early 1980s cinema.
Though there are moments of grittiness and emotional poignancy,Night Shiftis, first and foremost, a comedy, and it manages to capture this delicate tone.
Ron Howards’sNight Shifthas a strange premise, but the script and direction make it work,as do the stellar performances by the cast. The story follows the night shift manager at a morgue in New York City, Chuck, who collaborates with his coworker to help facilitate the career of a sex worker who lives in Chuck’s apartment building. Though there are moments of grittiness and emotional poignancy,Night Shiftis, first and foremost, a comedy, and it manages to capture this delicate tone.
Night Shifthas a surprisingly star-studded cast with Henry Winkler and Michael Keatoncostarring alongside Shelley Long. The performances from Winkler and Keaton have been praised across the board, along with the witty dialogue that the actors so successfully deliver. Though the way the main characters and the film engage with sex work isn’t up to today’s standards, it does have a positive message woven into the story and doesn’t judge its characters.
Earth Girls Are Easy
Earth Girls Are Easy is a comedic sci-fi film directed by Julien Temple, featuring Geena Davis, Jeff Goldblum, and Jim Carrey. The movie follows three aliens who crash-land in a Southern California pool and transform into culturally confused humans. Their presence disrupts the life of a manicurist named Valerie, leading to humorous situations as they navigate earthly customs and romance.
Geena Davis and Jeff Goldblum make a hilarious pair inEarth Girls Are Easy,a rom-com with an intergalactic twist. When a trio of aliens crash-land in Valerie’s (Davis) backyard, she and her friend Candy (Julie Brown) realize the potential the young aliens have to be their new love interests after an intense makeover scene. Though it’s a bit outlandish in premise and execution,Earth Girls Are Easyis full of music, classic ’80s styling, and fast-paced montages, making it engaging to the end.
Though Davis and Goldblum would go on to star in movies with much bigger impacts and higher critical acclaim, it’s fun to see them flex their comedic muscles in such a campy project.The visuals and cohesive aesthetic setEarth Girls Are Easyapart from other sci-fi rom-comsof the era, as do the heavy references to pop culture and contemporary music. While the referential humor does date the movie, it also makes it charmingly nostalgic for viewers who grew up in the ’80s or have an affinity for the decade.
Can’t Buy Me Love
Can’t Buy Me Love is a teen romantic comedy directed by Steve Rash. The movie follows high school student Ronald Miller, played by Patrick Dempsey, as he pays popular cheerleader Cindy Mancini, portrayed by Amanda Peterson, to pretend to be his girlfriend in order to elevate his social status. As the facade continues, their relationship and Ronald’s newfound popularity bring unexpected complications.
Starring a young Patrick Dempsey in one of his first romantic leading roles,Can’t Buy Me Loveis an underrated ’80s rom-com that never received the hype of its contemporaries.
Starring a young Patrick Dempsey in one of his first romantic leading roles,Can’t Buy Me Loveis an underrated ’80s rom-com that never received the hype of its contemporaries. It was difficult to compete with the biggest romantic comedies of the decade, as the likes ofWhen Harry Met Sallyand almost everything starring Molly Ringwald was released in the ’80s. However,Can’t Buy Me Lovestill has plenty of charm and adolescent misstepsthat fall in line with classic coming-of-age comedies.
Dempsey’s chemistry with Amanda Peterson, who plays his love interest, Cindy, is undeniable, and it’s clear the actors are having a lot of fun together. Overall, despite some of the dated elements of the period that are rarely avoided in these films,Can’t Buy Me Lovehas positive messages about being yourself and not capitulating to the pressures to assimilateto certain cliques in high school. It helps that the movie shares its name with the iconic song by The Beatles and has the track featured during its romantic moments.
Harry And The Hendersons
Harry and the Hendersons is a family comedy film directed by William Dear. The movie centers on the Henderson family, who, while driving through the Pacific Northwest, accidentally hit and then bring home a Bigfoot they name Harry. Starring John Lithgow as the head of the family, the film explores the humorous and touching dynamics that ensue as they try to protect Harry from the authorities and integrate him into their lives.
John Lithgow plays the anxious patriarch inHarry and the Hendersons, who desperately tries to keep his family together after they discover Bigfoot. Harry is the sasquatch creature they encounter in the woods. In the tradition of movies likeE.T. the Extraterrestrial, Harry soon endears himself to the family and becomes a vital part of their lives. However,matters grow complicated when it becomes clear that there are people in the world who wish to hunt Harryfor their own gain, adding an emotional core to the sensationalized comedy.
The spinoff TV series of the same name premiered in 1991 and ran for three seasons, but it never quite captured the heart of the original film. It’s a lesser-known aspect of Lithgow’s filmography, as though it performed well at the box office,it didn’t have the longevity of other blockbusters of the period.One of the major issues withHarry and the Hendersonsis that it retreads familiar territory and doesn’t have much that makes it unique compared to the competition.
Summer School
Summer School is a comedy film directed by Carl Reiner, featuring Mark Harmon as a laid-back, reluctant teacher named Freddy Shoop who is forced to teach a remedial English class during the summer. Faced with a group of underachieving students, Shoop employs unconventional methods to garner their interest and improve their grades, while also learning valuable life lessons along the way.
His character, Freddy Shoop, has a classic case of arrested development, as the high school gym teacher behaves as if he’s still mentally a student.
BeforeMark Harmon played Gibbs onNCISfor years and became defined by this role, he had a brief turn as a movie star in the little-known filmSummer School. His character, Freddy Shoop, has a classic case of arrested development, as the high school gym teacher behaves as if he’s still mentally a student. However,his easy-going outlook on life is upended when he’s required to teach summer schooland his job is on the line if his rag-tag group of students don’t pass the end-of-summer test.
It’s somewhat shocking to see the tough and no-nonsense detective from the beloved crime procedural transform into the goofball lead of this late ’80s pastiche of films likeThe Breakfast Club. The film had a lukewarm performance at the box office and an even weaker critical reception. However, it’s still a good-natured time capsule ofa period when narratives about the high school experience and adolescence were gaining popularity.Summer Schoolmakes good use of its southern California setting, including beach scenes and palm trees, to make it feel like a true summertime flick.
Wise Guys
Wise Guys is a comedy film directed by Brian De Palma, featuring Joe Piscopo and Danny DeVito as Harry and Moe, two low-level mobsters who inadvertently find themselves in trouble with their boss. Set in New Jersey, the plot chronicles their misadventures as they try to flee from their superiors and navigate a series of chaotic and humorous situations.
This dark comedy features a somewhat shocking collaboration between Brian De Palma and Danny DeVito, who couldn’t have more different filmographies.Wise Guysis one of De Palma’s only comedies, as the director is better known for projects likeScarface,The Untouchables, andBody Double. Unsurprisingly,Wise Guysis a satirical take on the Mafia genre, but few connected with the film, which was considered a career misstep for the famed director. However, today,there has been such an oversaturation of the crime genre thatWise Guysmight be a welcome reprieve.
DeVito stars alongside Joe Piscopo as the bumbling leads who can’t seem to get the approval of the members of their crime family who are higher up the ladder. Their chemistry is unexpected, as is the morbid premise ofWise Guys, butthere are enough jokes and slapstick moments of physical comedy that the plot never loses momentum.Wise Guysis a welcome reminder that no actor or filmmaker is incapable of exploring new genres.
Top Secret!
Top Secret! is a 1984 satirical comedy directed by Jim Abrahams and David Zucker. Starring Val Kilmer as Nick Rivers, an American rock star, who becomes embroiled in a resistance movement in East Germany. The film humorously blends elements from spy thrillers and musical comedies, delivering a quirky narrative set against a Cold War backdrop. The ensemble cast includes Lucy Gutteridge, Omar Sharif, and Peter Cushing.
Despite sharing the same brand of humor and its timely take on espionage thrillers,Top Secret!lacked the quotability and freshness of the team’s past projects.
Top Secret!comes from David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, or ZAZ,as they were known professionally in their collaborations. While the directing and writer partners were behind classics likeAirplane!,Top Secret!has failed to become the same kind of cult classic. Despite sharing the same brand of humor and its timely take on espionage thrillers,Top Secret!lacked the quotability and freshness of the team’s past projects. Though the film’s jokes still land, it didn’t connect with audiences enough to be well-remembered.
Val Kilmer plays against type as a rock star who gets embroiled in a plot by a fictionalized East German government. While the social and political context is undoubtedly dated,Kilmer does good work poking fun at himself and diverging from the typical action hero he embodiedfor much of his career. Overall,Top Secret!was criticized most for trying to do too much with its many pastiches to classic films of the 1980s. However, it’s still found audiences who appreciate its unique brand of humor as time has progressed.
10 Best Action Comedies Of The 1980s
The 1980s were a fantastic time for action comedies as major movie stars took up now iconic roles in buddy cop stories and franchise starters.
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a fantasy adventure film directed by Terry Gilliam. It stars John Neville as Baron Munchausen, who embarks on a series of fantastical escapades with his band of misfit companions. The story blends historical and fictional elements, presenting surreal and imaginative scenes. The film also features performances by Eric Idle, Sarah Polley, and Robin Williams, amidst a whimsical and visually rich setting.
Terry Gilliam’sThe Adventures of Baron Munchausenis the final movie in the filmmaker’s informalTrilogy of Imagination,which includes the 1981 filmTime Banditsand 1985’sBrazil. However,The Adventures of Baron Munchausenis one of the most overlooked installments of the series, as Gilliam’s later work would overshadow his fantastical comedies, which delighted the minds of a generation. Gilliam’s work in the Monty Python comedy troupe comes through in the playful script and the way he hones his comedic edge.
Despite its critical acclaim,The Adventures of Baron Munchausenwas a flop at the box office. Gilliam was no stranger to having his offbeatcomedymovies misunderstood, but there are enough high-profile stars and intricate set pieces in the film that it should have been a success.A young Uma Thurman and Robin Williams make appearances in the project, as well as John Neville,who plays the titular Baron with the perfect balance of charisma and melancholy.The Adventures of Baron Munchausenis a delightful romp that would appeal to audiences of all ages.
