Saturday, March 22, 2014

Top Ten Movies of the 1980s

   Ah, the 1980s... the "Me" Decade. Yuppies. PCs. Big hair and shoulder pads. Parachute pants. And a lot of awesome movies that defined my junior high and high school years. Born in 1972, I lived the Eighties. Naturally, this is the era of nostalgia for me. As always, these are listed not in any particular order, and are just my personal preferences. Here is a list of someone else's Top 100.

10. The Breakfast Club (1985)


   If only detention had really been this cool. Not that I spent much time in detention. Just, you know... this was way better than the reality. Not uncommon, I suppose. And the way it looked at the various cliques in schools was real. A brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal... every school had them, and every school has them now (or some version of them). Plus, Claire (Molly Ringwald) was a hottie.

9. Red Dawn (1984)


   At the height of the rhetoric of the Cold War, this movie about a Communist invasion of the United States and the resistance of a bunch of small-town kids was dynamite. "WOLVERINES!" I swear, I left this movie foaming at the mouth to kill me some Commies. Hey, I was 12, gimme a break.

8. Risky Business (1983)



  Um, Rebecca De Mornay. And that kid, Tom Whatever-His-Name-Is. For me, it's all about two things: smoking hot Rebecca De Mornay and the "Old Time Rock and Roll" scene. Favorite quote: 
"I've got a trig midterm tomorrow, and I'm being chased by Guido the Killer Pimp."

7. Caddyshack (1980)


   Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Ted Knight, Rodney Dangerfield, and written by Harold Ramis. Loads of classic lines in this one. I can't play a round of golf without quoting it. I have a gopher club cover. It sings Kenny Loggins. My favorite quote?
"So I got that goin' for me, which is nice."
6. The Blues Brothers (1980)


   Honestly, this is probably my favorite movie of all time. Love it. Now appearing at the Palace Hotel Ballroom on beautiful Lake Wassipomottie...

"It's a hundred and six miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, a half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses."

5. Highlander (1986)


   As you can tell, this is a list of movies that appealed to a teenage boy. Highlander rocked. Literally, thanks to Queen's score. It starred my favorite Scottish actor as a Spaniard/Egyptian and the worst French actor of the last 50 years as a Scottish Highlander. And it's still awesome. Like many other movies of the 1980s, it spawned terrible sequels. "There can be only one!"

4. Top Gun (1986)


  "She's lost that loving feeling." "No, she hasn't." "Yes, she has." "I hate it when she does that." A movie that improved Navy recruiting for years. Because everyone wanted to go to Miramar and hook up with Kelly McGillis, just like Maverick. Plus, the term 'wingman' was created to describe Goose for his role in helping Mav get some. Favorite scene: When Maverick flips off the Russian while inverted above him. Favorite quote: "Yeehaw! Jester's dead!"

3. The Princess Bride (1987)


"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

   Another eminently quotable movie. Fun for all ages, and clean, too. I have put Inigo Montoya on so many name badges that start off "Hello, my name is..." that I can't keep track. Every once in awhile, someone gets it and chuckles. Just like you are doing now.

2. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)


   "I am your father."

   'Nuff said? Okay, let's throw in Yoda. And the Battle of Hoth. And Han Solo's ultimate player line: "I know." Well, I saw it 27 times in the theater the summer it came out. You could say I like it.

1. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)



   Where to start? I love this movie. Always have. Still have my FBDO button somewhere. My sons and I watch it every year on the night before school begins. Favorite scene: The Parade.

Honorable Mentions:
Sixteen Candles (1984)
Big (1988)
Terminator (1982)
A Christmas Story (1983)
Robocop (1987)
They Live (1988)

3 comments:

Unknown said...

hmmm. I think some of them never made it to France when I was young. But I sure know some of them ;)

Chuckaroobob said...

Must disagree regarding Breakfast Club (the original "Let's blame our parents!" movie) and FBDO (I knew too many folks like him).
Hated both. With all my heart and stomach.
Why not substitute a really awesome flick, Big Trouble in Little China? Not sure if it was in the 1980's but its so damn good it should make the list anyway.

J Womack, Esq. said...

Big Trouble in Little China was a good one.

I think what I liked best about Breakfast Club (other than Molly Ringwald and the soundtrack) was how they hated the assistant principal. I had a jerk of an AP then, and I really connected.

FBDO is just fun. Sure, Ferris is a fat balding used car salesman somewhere now, but man, he was a lot of fun in high school. We all knew someone like him.