80s-90s Must See Movies for a Non-Nerd
- Thread starter Kestra
- Start date
I was just going to suggest Uncle Buck. Another favorite is Doc Hollywood.
Nick Nolte had some good films then
48 Hours: classic police comedy
Under Fire: Journalists in Nicaragua during the revolution against Somoza.
Farewell to the King: WWII, a soldier wants no more of the war and goes native in Borneo, but the war catches up to him. Great John Milius directed film.
48 Hours: classic police comedy
Under Fire: Journalists in Nicaragua during the revolution against Somoza.
Farewell to the King: WWII, a soldier wants no more of the war and goes native in Borneo, but the war catches up to him. Great John Milius directed film.
Stripes
Animal House
Caddyshack
The Blues Brothers
Top Gun
Animal House
Caddyshack
The Blues Brothers
Top Gun
How could I forget this one? And I just caught the end of it on TV the other day too.
I rarely even have time to watch any movies at all anymore, so I really have no excuse for creating such a long list. But that's why I segmented it into genres, so that her friend can skip right to the ones she would like. And I'm hoping that she's already seen some of them!
Two of my favorite 1980's films which nobody has mentioned yet:
Spaceballs (don't eat or drink anything while watching, you might choke to death)
Batman: Nicholson and Keaton version (the absolute BEST Batman movie that will never be topped in my opinion)
And, if you're looking for a "chick flick", Pretty Woman. yes, I know that film came out in 1990, but it was the only thing I could think of.
Spaceballs (don't eat or drink anything while watching, you might choke to death)
Batman: Nicholson and Keaton version (the absolute BEST Batman movie that will never be topped in my opinion)
And, if you're looking for a "chick flick", Pretty Woman. yes, I know that film came out in 1990, but it was the only thing I could think of.
It appears you're the first, and don't call me Shirley.
Just to be a nerd and point out, but it came out in 1987. Unless you meant to put 80s
There are a lot of great suggestions here. I would boil them down to
Big
When Harry Met Sally
The Princess Bride
Silverado
Top Gun
Pretty Woman
Beverly Hills Cop
The Breakfast Club
Risky Business
Spaceballs
I think those movies would give your friend a "leg up" on pop culture references from that era. Oh, and don't forget The Big Chill.
Big
When Harry Met Sally
The Princess Bride
Silverado
Top Gun
Pretty Woman
Beverly Hills Cop
The Breakfast Club
Risky Business
Spaceballs
I think those movies would give your friend a "leg up" on pop culture references from that era. Oh, and don't forget The Big Chill.
Oops. Yes, I meant the 80's.
I'll see your VAMP and raise you LIFEFORCE. (Yes, I know I'm mixing gambling metaphors. Sue me.)
Although, in fairness to the OP, I should probably mention that their friend's response to LIFEFORCE may depend on her tolerance for gratuitously naked space vampires . . . .
(Come to think of it, has anyone mentioned COCOON? I actually saw COCOON and LIFEFORCE on the same day, which can seriously mess with your head!)
Has Good Will Hunting been mentioned? If not, it has been now. Also, more obscure but really funny: Grosse Pointe Blank.
ETA: I forgot The Big Lebowski - very quotable. I guess Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas also belongs in that category.
ETA: I forgot The Big Lebowski - very quotable. I guess Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas also belongs in that category.
I have to disagree with this. Silverado is boring and totally not a pop culture touchstone.
If you really want to teach this woman the depths of the 80s, I would go no further than the Police Academy Movies. All of them. Just keep going until she breaks down crying, offering you the pink slip to her car to stop.
My list of movies I think would give a big overview of the 80s and 90s. This is not all the movies I love from this period but ones I think are important from a pop culture perspective.
1980 Airplane!, The Blues Brothers, Caddyshack, The Blue Lagoon
1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark, Arthur, Stripes, Chariots of Fire, Superman II, Excalibur
1982 Star Trek II, ET, An Officer and a Gentleman, Poltergeist, Blade Runner, Tron, Porky's, Gandhi, Conan
1983 Flashdance, Risky Business, National Lampoon's Vacation, The Big Chill, Scarface, Wargames
1984 Ghostbusters, The Terminator, Beverly Hills Cop, The Karate Kid, Footloose, Gremlins, Romancing the Stone, Splash, Amadeus, Revenge of the Nerds, A Nightmare on Elm Street
1985 Back to the Future, The Breakfast Club, The Color Purple, The Goonies, Rambo
1986 Top Gun, Crocodile Dundee, Platoon, Aliens, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Stand By Me, Three Amigos, Short Circuit
1987 Fatal Attraction, Good Morning Vietnam, The Untouchaables, Lethal Weapon, Dirty Dancing, Robocop, Predator, Spaceballs, Princess Bride, Wall Street, La Bamba
1988 Rain Man, Die Hard, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Naked Gun, Beetlejuice
1989 Batman, Dead Poets Society, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Driving Miss Daisy, When Harry Met Sally, The Little Mermaid, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Weekend at Bernies, The Abyss
1990 Ghost, Home Alone, Pretty Woman, Dances With Wolves, Total Recall, Hunt for Red October
1991 Terminator 2, Beauty and the Beast, Silence of the Lambs, Cape Fear, The Addams Family
1992 Aladdin, The Bodyguard, Basic Instinct, A Few Good Men, Bram Stoker's Dracula, White Men Can't Jump, Scent of a Woman, League of Their Own
1993 Jurassic Park, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Fugitive, Schindler's List, Indecent Proposal, Sleepless in Seattle, Philadelphia, Groundhog Day
1994 The Lion King, Forrest Gump, True Lies, Speed, Interview with the Vampire, Pulp Fiction, Ace Ventura, The Crow
1995 Toy Story, Apollo 13, Goldeneye, Seven, Casino
1996 Independence Day, Twister, Mission Impossible, Jerry Maguire
1997 Titanic, Men in Black, The Fifth Element
1998 Saving Private Ryan, There's Something About Mary, Armageddon
1999 The Sixth Sense, The Matrix, The Mummy, American Beauty, Austin Powers, The Phantom Menace
On the fence...
1980 Friday the 13th, Flash Gordon
1981 An American Werewolf in London, Escape From New York
1985 Fletch, Cocoon, Weird Science, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Mask
1987 Three Men and a Baby, Moonstruck
1988 Twins, Young Guns
1989 Christmas Vacation, Born on the Fourth of July, Road House
1992 Sister Act, Unforgiven, Wayne's World
1993 Demolition Man, Free Willy
1994 Natural Born Killers, Dumb and Dumber, Santa Clause
1980 Airplane!, The Blues Brothers, Caddyshack, The Blue Lagoon
1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark, Arthur, Stripes, Chariots of Fire, Superman II, Excalibur
1982 Star Trek II, ET, An Officer and a Gentleman, Poltergeist, Blade Runner, Tron, Porky's, Gandhi, Conan
1983 Flashdance, Risky Business, National Lampoon's Vacation, The Big Chill, Scarface, Wargames
1984 Ghostbusters, The Terminator, Beverly Hills Cop, The Karate Kid, Footloose, Gremlins, Romancing the Stone, Splash, Amadeus, Revenge of the Nerds, A Nightmare on Elm Street
1985 Back to the Future, The Breakfast Club, The Color Purple, The Goonies, Rambo
1986 Top Gun, Crocodile Dundee, Platoon, Aliens, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Stand By Me, Three Amigos, Short Circuit
1987 Fatal Attraction, Good Morning Vietnam, The Untouchaables, Lethal Weapon, Dirty Dancing, Robocop, Predator, Spaceballs, Princess Bride, Wall Street, La Bamba
1988 Rain Man, Die Hard, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Naked Gun, Beetlejuice
1989 Batman, Dead Poets Society, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Driving Miss Daisy, When Harry Met Sally, The Little Mermaid, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Weekend at Bernies, The Abyss
1990 Ghost, Home Alone, Pretty Woman, Dances With Wolves, Total Recall, Hunt for Red October
1991 Terminator 2, Beauty and the Beast, Silence of the Lambs, Cape Fear, The Addams Family
1992 Aladdin, The Bodyguard, Basic Instinct, A Few Good Men, Bram Stoker's Dracula, White Men Can't Jump, Scent of a Woman, League of Their Own
1993 Jurassic Park, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Fugitive, Schindler's List, Indecent Proposal, Sleepless in Seattle, Philadelphia, Groundhog Day
1994 The Lion King, Forrest Gump, True Lies, Speed, Interview with the Vampire, Pulp Fiction, Ace Ventura, The Crow
1995 Toy Story, Apollo 13, Goldeneye, Seven, Casino
1996 Independence Day, Twister, Mission Impossible, Jerry Maguire
1997 Titanic, Men in Black, The Fifth Element
1998 Saving Private Ryan, There's Something About Mary, Armageddon
1999 The Sixth Sense, The Matrix, The Mummy, American Beauty, Austin Powers, The Phantom Menace
On the fence...
1980 Friday the 13th, Flash Gordon
1981 An American Werewolf in London, Escape From New York
1985 Fletch, Cocoon, Weird Science, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Mask
1987 Three Men and a Baby, Moonstruck
1988 Twins, Young Guns
1989 Christmas Vacation, Born on the Fourth of July, Road House
1992 Sister Act, Unforgiven, Wayne's World
1993 Demolition Man, Free Willy
1994 Natural Born Killers, Dumb and Dumber, Santa Clause
