In the1980s, the movie industry mostly relied on straightforward storytelling and decent practical special effects, in the hope of producing easily comprehensible and marketable releases. It witnessed the rise ofaction stars like Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, and Chuck Norris, but alsocomedy household names like Leslie Nielsen, John Candy, Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, and Dan Aykroyd.
While quintessential funny films from that decade includeFerris Bueller’s Day OffandBigor action hybrids likeBig Trouble in Little ChinaandBeverly Hills Cop, some titles will go down in the history of cinema as exaggerated, adrenaline-fueled entertainment because of their outrageous and unrealistic premise and dialogue and hilarious cast.
FromBill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, toThe ‘Burbs, toHistory of the World, Part 1, these are the wackiest, zaniest, most over the top comedy movie releases of the 1980s.
10Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
Directed by Stephen Herek,Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventureis the first installment of a science fiction and comedy franchise starring Alex Winter as Bill Preston and Keanu Reeves as Ted Logan, two dimwitted and inseparable teenage boys who risk failing high school if they don’t present a history report. Enter a guy from the future (George Carlin) with a phone booth/time machine and the ability to introduce them to prominent historical figures.
What Makes It Over the Top
From befriending Billy the Kid and Socrates; to losing then finding Napoleon having a blast at their local water park, incidentally called Waterloo; to abducting the likes of Beethoven, Lincoln, and Joan of Arc for their live school presentation, the boys are in over their heads. They even manage to incur the wrath of a Renaissance king by falling for his daughters, and find out they are revered figures in the future, for their music “will help put an end to war and poverty. It will align the planets and bring them into universal harmony, allowing meaningful contact with all forms of life, from extraterrestrial beings to common household pets.”
Stream it on Prime Video
9¡Three Amigos! (1986)
Three Amigos!
¡Three Amigos!is a 1986 Western comedy set in 1916, directed by John Landis and starring Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Martin Short, and Tony Plana. The plot centers on three silent film actors who accept an invitation to the Mexican village of Santa Poco and find themselves fighting a gang under the leadership of El Guapo (The Handsome One).
The actors think they are invited to reenact their famous on-screen roles as gunfighters, but it’s all a misunderstanding: Carmen, the villager who sent them the telegram, had seen their film and mistaken them for actual heroes. They thus find themselves entangled with German arms smugglers and become Santa Poco’s only hope to fend off El Guapo and his thugs.
Stream it on Tubi
8National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)
Directed by Harold Ramis,National Lampoon’s Vacationcenters on the misadventures of the Griswold family as theyhop on a cross-country tripto a theme park. It stars the iconic Chevy Chase as Clark, the patriarch, Beverly D’Angelo as Ellen, his wife, Anthony Michael Hall as their son Russell, Dana Barron as their daughter Audrey, and Imogene Coca as Aunt Edna.
“We’re ten hours from the fin’ fun park, and you want to bail out? Well, I’ll tell you something; this is no longer a vacation. It’s a quest for fun! We’re all gonna have so much fin’ fun we’ll need plastic surgery to remove our gddmn smiles!”
It’s a blast watching Chase do his magic as the optimistic and charming vacation planner who slowly loses his mind as the mishaps unfold, not to mention the hillbilly relatives, the grumpy Aunt Edna, and a sexy and mysterious temptress in a red Ferrari played by Christie Brinkly.
Stream it on Apple TV
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7Beetlejuice (1988)
Beetlejuice
Tim Burton’s fantasy horror comedyBeetlejuicefollows the ghosts of Barbara and Adam Maitland (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin), who haunt their former home, now inhabited by the Deetz family: Charles (Jeffrey Jones), Deelia (Catherine O’Hara), and the Goth teenage daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder). Michael Keaton plays Betelgeuse, a malicious spirit hired to drive the Maitlands out.
The entire premise is farfetched and hilarious, with campy dialogue and stellar performances. Iconic moments include the Day-O dinner scene, Betelgeuse’s angry rants, the Inferno Room, and lines like, “Go ahead, make my millennium!” and “I’m a ghost with the most, babe.”
Stream it on Max
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!is a crime comedy film helmed by David Zucker and starring the hilariously impassive Leslie Nielsen as the clumsy police lieutenant Frank Drebin, who finds himself taken hostage, then tries to foil an assassination attempt on Queen Elizabeth II; Ricardo Montalbán as the criminal mastermind Ludwig; Priscilla Presley as the latter’s sultry but unsuspecting assistant, Jane; George Kennedy as Captain Hocken; and O. J. Simpson as Detective Nordberg.
This is an ideal pick for fans of fast-paced action and exchanges, irreverent visual and spoken puns, satire, misunderstandings, and classic slapstick comedy in a colorful, contemporary context. Also, central to Ludwig’s evil plan is a beeper with the ability to hypnotize anyone into becoming an assassin.
5Police Academy (1984)
Police Academy
Hugh Wilson’sPolice Academycenters on a vagueNorth American police departmentthat makes the decision to accept all new applicants no matter how ludicrous, inept, or out of shape, even those with a criminal record, due to labor shortage. It stars Steve Guttenberg as Cadet Carey Mahoney, Kim Cattrall as Cadet Karen Thompson, and Bubba Smith as Cadet Moses Hightower.
The movie grossed $149 million worldwide and spawned six sequels. It’s one confrontation after another between the incompetent and mischievous misfits and their serious, frustrated instructors, who do not approve of this disastrous hiring policy. Per fans on IMDB, “Hilarious one-liners and one gag after another,” “They don’t make this kind of movies anymore,” “Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large numbers,” and “The final riot sequence is entertaining and reminded me a little ofAnimal House.”
4The ‘Burbs (1989)
Directed by Joe Dante,The ‘Burbsis a black comedy starring Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Corey Feldman, Henry Gibson, and Gale Gordon. The plot centers on a bunch of suburbanites who suspect that the Klopeks, their newly, cloistered neighbors, are murderous Satanists.
“Remember what you were saying about people in the ‘burbs, Art, people like Skip, people who mow their lawn for the 800th time, and then SNAP? WELL, THAT’S US. IT’S NOT THEM, THAT’S US. WE’RE the ones who are vaulting over the fences, and peeking in through people’s windows. We’re the ones who are THROWING GARBAGE IN THE STREET, AND LIGHTING FIRES. WE’RE THE LUNATICS.”
This lesser-known release is now considered a cult classic; it aims to poke fun at bored American suburbanites in need of excitement, and the eccentric, mysterious characters who become the focal point of noisy neighbors. Witnessing the protagonists’ increasing paranoia alone is very entertaining.
Stream it on Starz
3The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980)
Jamie Uys’The Gods Must Be Crazyis a co-production of South Africa and Botswana centering on Xi (Namibian actor Nǃxau ǂToma), a Bushman from the San tribe; Dr. Andrew Steyn (Marius Weyers), a biologist studying manure in the wild; Kate Thompson (Sandra Prinsloo), a village school teacher; and Sam Boga (Louw Verwey), a guerrilla leader.
The chain of events is triggered by a pilot throwing an empty Coca-Cola bottle into the Kalahari Desert. The San tribe people believe the bottle to be a gift from the gods and start fighting over it; as a result, the wise and kind-hearted Xi decides to travel as far as possible to dispose of the divisive object. His misadventures and encounters in the industrialized world are a wild ride but also serve as a reminder that peace and happiness do not necessarily stem from materialism and technology.
2Airplane! (1980)
Written and directed by Jim Abrahams and the brothers David and Jerry Zucker,Airplane!stars Leslie Nielsen, Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Peter Graves, Lloyd Bridges, Lorna Patterson, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The plot revolves around an airplane crew who falls ill to food poisoning and a troubled ex-fighter pilot who is forced to land all passengers safely.
Airplane!is a fast-paced and surreal parody of deadpan comedy blockbusters and big-budget disaster productions, drawing inspiration from theAirportfilm series and grossing $171 million worldwide. As forAirplane! II: The Sequel, released at the end of 1982, itpokes fun at both the science fictionand disaster genres.
Stream it on Fubo
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1History of the World, Part 1 (1981)
The History of the World: Part I
Read Our Review
Written, produced, and directed by Mel Brooks and narrated by Orson Welles,History of the World, Part 1takes an irreverent look at significant historical and mythical events and figures, from the Stone Age to the Roman Empire, the Spanish Inquisition, and the French Revolution. It features a large cast including Brooks in five different roles, Dom DeLuise as Emperor Nero, Gregory Hines as Josephus, Carl Reiner as God, John Hurt as Jesus, Hugh Hefner as a Roman entrepreneur, and Bea Arthur as a clerk.
This cult classic is a crude and derisive parody of key figures and grandiose epic and period drama films; it is therefore not suitable for those who are quick to take offense. Deemed “vulgar,” “rushed,” and “forced” by some critics and “one-of-a-kind” and a “masterpiece of spoof humor” by others, it ends with a mock teaser for a second part featuring “Jews in Space,” “Hitler on Ice,” and “A Viking Funeral.”
Watch it on Roku
