MTDb › Best of › Comedy › 1980s
Best Comedy Movies of the 1980s
#1 Back to the Future (1985) · ★ 8.3 · 22,492 votes · 1h 56m · comedy, adventure, science-fictionEighties teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time to 1955, inadvertently disrupting his parents' first meeting and attracting his mother's romantic interest. Marty mu…
#2 Back to the Future Part II (1989) · ★ 7.8 · 14,344 votes · 1h 48m · comedy, adventure, science-fictionMarty and Doc are at it again as the time-traveling duo head to 2015 to nip some McFly family woes in the bud. But things go awry thanks to bully Biff Tannen and a pesky sports alm…
#3 The King of Comedy (1982) · ★ 7.8 · 2,682 votes · 1h 49m · comedy, dramaAspiring comic Rupert Pupkin attempts to achieve success in show business by stalking his idol, a late night talk-show host who craves his own privacy.…
#4 The Marquis of Grillo (1981) · ★ 7.8 · 504 votes · 2h 19m · comedyIn 18th-century Rome, impish aristocrat Onofrio del Grillo amuses himself by playing pranks on all sorts of people — his reactionary family and fellow nobles, the poors, the French…
#5 The Breakfast Club (1985) · ★ 7.7 · 8,752 votes · 1h 38m · comedy, dramaFive high school students from different walks of life endure a Saturday detention under a power-hungry principal. The disparate group includes rebel John, princess Claire, outcast…
#6 The Princess Bride (1987) · ★ 7.7 · 5,305 votes · 1h 39m · comedy, fantasy, adventureIn this enchantingly cracked fairy tale, the beautiful Princess Buttercup and the dashing Westley must overcome staggering odds to find happiness amid six-fingered swordsmen, murde…
#7 The Blues Brothers (1980) · ★ 7.7 · 4,692 votes · 2h 13m · action, comedy, crimeJake Blues, just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised.…
#8 Brazil (1985) · ★ 7.7 · 3,844 votes · 2h 23m · comedy, science-fictionLow-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. Investigating a cas…
#9 Nothing Left to Do But Cry (1984) · ★ 7.7 · 1,194 votes · 1h 52m · comedy, fantasyTwo 20th-century friends accidentally stumble into the year 1492, where they meet a charming teen and try to alter history.…
#10 Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) · ★ 7.6 · 5,561 votes · 1h 43m · comedyAfter high school slacker Ferris Bueller successfully fakes an illness in order to skip school for the day, he goes on a series of adventures throughout Chicago with his girlfriend…
#11 I'm Starting from Three (1981) · ★ 7.6 · 714 votes · 1h 47m · comedyGaetano, a young Neapolitan, decides to leave home, work and friends, to look for other moments of life and meet other people.…
#12 Ghostbusters (1984) · ★ 7.5 · 10,029 votes · 1h 45m · comedy, fantasyAfter losing their university jobs, three parapsychologists start a ghost-catching business in New York City and uncover a supernatural threat that could destroy the world.…
#13 The Goonies (1985) · ★ 7.5 · 6,430 votes · 1h 54m · comedy, adventure, familyYoung teen Mikey Walsh and his friends set off on a quest to find Pirate One-Eyed Willie's treasure in hopes of saving their homes from demolition. However, on their quest to find…
#14 Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) · ★ 7.5 · 6,365 votes · 1h 44m · comedy, fantasy, animationToon star Roger is worried that his wife Jessica is playing pattycake with someone else, so the studio hires detective Eddie Valiant to snoop on her. But the stakes are quickly rai…
#15 Evil Dead II (1987) · ★ 7.5 · 3,536 votes · 1h 24m · comedy, fantasy, horrorAsh Williams and his girlfriend Linda find a log cabin in the woods with a voice recording from an archeologist who had recorded himself reciting ancient chants from "The Book of t…
#16 After Hours (1985) · ★ 7.5 · 1,830 votes · 1h 37m · comedy, thriller, dramaDesperate to escape his mind-numbing routine, uptown Manhattan office worker Paul Hackett ventures downtown for a hookup with a mystery woman.…
#17 Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) · ★ 7.5 · 1,209 votes · 1h 47m · comedy, dramaBetween two Thanksgivings, Hannah's husband falls in love with her sister Lee, while her hypochondriac ex-husband rekindles his relationship with her sister Holly.…
#18 Police Story (1985) · ★ 7.5 · 1,054 votes · 1h 39m · action, comedy, thrillerOfficer Chan Ka Kui manages to put a major Hong Kong drug dealer behind the bars practically alone, after a shooting and an impressive chase inside a slum. Now, he must protect the…
#19 Beetlejuice (1988) · ★ 7.4 · 8,706 votes · 1h 32m · comedy, fantasyA newly dead New England couple seeks help from a deranged demon exorcist to scare an affluent New York family out of their home.…
#20 When Harry Met Sally... (1989) · ★ 7.4 · 4,757 votes · 1h 36m · comedy, romance, dramaSex always gets in the way of friendships between men and women. At least, that's what Harry Burns believes. So when Harry meets Sally Albright and a deep friendship blossoms betwe…
#21 An American Werewolf in London (1981) · ★ 7.4 · 2,728 votes · 1h 37m · comedy, fantasy, horrorAmerican tourists David and Jack are savagely attacked by an unidentified animal while hiking on the Yorkshire Moors. After retiring to the home of a beautiful nurse to recuperate,…
#22 This Is Spinal Tap (1984) · ★ 7.4 · 1,700 votes · 1h 22m · comedy, music"This Is Spinal Tap" shines a light on the self-contained universe of a metal band struggling to get back on the charts, including everything from its complicated history of ups an…
#23 The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) · ★ 7.4 · 1,180 votes · 1h 22m · comedy, fantasy, romanceCecilia is a waitress in New Jersey, living a dreary life during the Great Depression. Her only escape from her mundane reality is the movie theatre. After losing her job, Cecilia…
#24 Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) · ★ 7.4 · 1,011 votes · 1h 28m · comedy, dramaAfter being dumped by her lover, Pepa finds her life and the lives of those around her spiraling out of control in a deliciously chaotic series of events.…
#25 Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) · ★ 7.4 · 976 votes · 1h 44m · comedy, drama, crimeA renowned ophthalmologist is desperate to cut off an adulterous relationship…which ends up in murder; and a frustrated documentary filmmaker woos an attractive television producer…
#26 Zelig (1983) · ★ 7.4 · 941 votes · 1h 19m · comedyFictional documentary about the life of human chameleon Leonard Zelig, a man who becomes a celebrity in the 1920s due to his ability to look and act like whoever is around him. Cle…
#27 Down by Law (1986) · ★ 7.4 · 878 votes · 1h 46m · comedy, drama, crimeA disc jockey, a pimp and an Italian tourist escape from jail in New Orleans.…
#28 Airplane! (1980) · ★ 7.3 · 5,289 votes · 1h 28m · comedyAn ex-fighter pilot is forced to take over the controls of an airliner when the flight crew succumbs to food poisoning.…
#29 Lethal Weapon (1987) · ★ 7.3 · 5,232 votes · 1h 50m · action, comedy, adventureA veteran cop and an unstable detective become partners who must put their differences aside in order to bring down a heroin-smuggling ring run by ex-Special Forces.…
#30 The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988) · ★ 7.3 · 4,699 votes · 1h 26m · comedy, crimeWhen the bumbling Lieutenant Frank Drebin investigates events following the shooting of his partner, he stumbles upon an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II.…
#31 Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) · ★ 7.3 · 3,112 votes · 2h 1m · comedy, drama, warA disk jockey goes to Vietnam to work for the Armed Forces Radio Service. While he becomes popular among the troops, his superiors disapprove of his humor.…
#32 Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) · ★ 7.3 · 2,326 votes · 1h 32m · comedyAn irritable marketing executive, Neal Page, is heading home to Chicago for Thanksgiving when a number of delays force him to travel with a well meaning but overbearing shower curt…
#33 Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983) · ★ 7.3 · 2,176 votes · 1h 47m · comedyLife's questions are 'answered' in a series of outrageous vignettes, beginning with a staid London insurance company which transforms before our eyes into a pirate ship. Then there…
#34 Heathers (1989) · ★ 7.3 · 1,952 votes · 1h 43m · comedy, crimeA girl who halfheartedly tries to be part of the "in crowd" of her school meets a rebel who teaches her a more devious way to play social politics: by killing the popular kids.…
#35 The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980) · ★ 7.3 · 1,374 votes · 1h 49m · action, comedyA Coca-Cola bottle dropped from an airplane raises havoc among a normally peaceful tribe of African bushmen who believe it to be a utensil of the gods.…
#36 Santa Claus Is a Stinker (1982) · ★ 7.3 · 1,082 votes · 1h 28m · comedyTwo neurotics, working for a suicide hotline on the night of Christmas Eve, get caught up in a catastrophe when a pregnant woman, her abusive boyfriend, and a cross-dresser visit t…
#37 Bianco, rosso e Verdone (1981) · ★ 7.3 · 758 votes · 1h 50m · comedyThree very different Italians travel to their hometowns on election day: Pasquale, a Southern immigrant living in Munich, finds a country far removed from the one he left behind; R…
#38 Project A (1983) · ★ 7.3 · 595 votes · 1h 45m · action, comedy, adventureIn late 19th century Hong Kong, the British may rule the land, but the pirates rule the waters. Coast Guard officer Dragon Ma is determined that his beloved Coast Guard will not be…
#39 Mystery Train (1989) · ★ 7.3 · 538 votes · 1h 46m · comedyIn Memphis, Tennessee, over the course of a single night, the Arcade Hotel, run by an eccentric night clerk and a clueless bellboy, is visited by a young Japanese couple traveling…
#40 Beverly Hills Cop (1984) · ★ 7.2 · 4,759 votes · 1h 45m · action, comedy, crimeFast-talking, quick-thinking Detroit street cop Axel Foley has bent more than a few rules and regs in his time, but when his best friend is murdered, he heads to sunny Beverly Hill…