The Most Underrated Comedies Of The 1980s

Ryan Izay
Updated May 1, 2024 282.9K views 18 items
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Vote up the '80s comedies that hold up to the best of the decade.

The 1980s were a great decade for comedy. On top of the teen and family films of John Hughes, the various releases launching the film careers of Saturday Night Live cast members, and the countless memorable parodies now thought to be classics of the genre, there are plenty of underrated comedies, as well. Some of these films were once beloved but have been forgotten over time, while others were lost in the shuffle and never got the attention they deserved. Whether underappreciated or overlooked, each of these 1980s comedies is worth revisiting. 

This was a decade of blockbusters, big names, and a preoccupation with consumerism. This led to multiple massively successful comedies, and even more imitators looking to capitalize on their success. Independent cinema would explode the following decade, filling the 1990s with plenty of its own underrated comedies, but in the '80s, these were more typically passion projects funded by studios. They may have failed to make enough at the box office to be considered a success, but sometimes this was just a sign the films were ahead of their time. In an age where more and more of film history is becoming available through various streaming options, modern audiences can reevaluate and decide for themselves. 

  • 1
    4,559 VOTES

    Top Secret!

    Top Secret!
    Photo: Paramount Pictures

    Jim Abrahams and brothers David and Jerry Zucker were a filmmaking team well known for parody and satire films by the mid-1980s, following the release of The Kentucky Fried Movie and Airplane! The trio of directors set their sights on musicals, spy films, and war films for the 1984 parody, Top Secret!

    In his film debut, Val Kilmer stars as American rock star Nick Rivers, who travels to Germany on a secret mission under the guise of performing at a cultural festival. Although Top Secret! doesn’t have much in terms of plot, the jokes come fast and don’t let up. Irreverent at its core, Top Secret! is just plain silly fun, poking fun at popular movies of cinema’s past.

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  • 2
    4,307 VOTES

    Better Off Dead

    Better Off Dead
    Photo: Warner Bros.

    Better Off Dead is a dark comedy presented with such zany irreverence that even suicide attempts are humorously depicted. Following a devastating break-up with his girlfriend, high school student Lane Myer (John Cusack) is resigned to taking his own life, though he fails at multiple attempts. Desperate to overcome the shame of being dumped for the popular captain of the ski team, Lane challenges him to a race down the most dangerous mountain in the area, with the help of an attractive new French foreign-exchange student named Monique (Diane Franklin).

    Although Better Off Dead is not as well-remembered as some of Cusack’s other teen roles, the surreal humor of the film results in several memorably absurd sequences and quotable lines.

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    4,915 VOTES

    The Great Outdoors

    The Great Outdoors
    Photo: Universal Studios

    Although it was written and produced by John Hughes, The Great Outdoors isn't as well remembered as most of his other 1980s releases. The film is one of the multiple '80s comedies involving a family vacation gone wrong. Chester Ripley (John Candy) attempts to have a peaceful family trip at a lakeside resort in Wisconsin, only to be invaded by his extended relatives.

    Chester is particularly annoyed by the arrival of his loud-mouthed brother-in-law, Roman Craig (Dan Aykroyd). With talking raccoons, a massive steak challenge, a bald bear, and countless other notable moments, it is a shame that The Great Outdoors isn’t better remembered.

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  • 4
    4,208 VOTES

    Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

    Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
    Photo: MGM

    Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a remake of the 1964 film, Bedtime Story, with Steve Martin and Michael Caine starring as two con men who specialize in conning money from wealthy older women. The rival grifters each set their sights on soap heiress Janet Colgate (Glenne Headly) as their latest mark, agreeing that the first to con her of $50,000 will be allowed to stay in town, while the loser must leave.

    The film gleefully embraces the amoral behavior of its dual protagonists and has just as much fun watching them fail in their deception. Despite the 2019 release of The Hustle, a female-centered remake of the 1988 film, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is rarely given the credit it deserves.

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    4,191 VOTES

    The 'Burbs

    The 'Burbs
    Photo: Paramount Pictures

    Tom Hanks rose to fame in the 1980s, breaking out with fantasy comedies like Splash and Big, but the horror-comedy The 'Burbs was considered a box-office failure despite the creativity of the premise. The film works both as a light horror movie and a satire of suburban life, a balance easily found by Gremlins director Joe Dante.

    Hanks stars as average suburban homeowner Ray Peterson, who begins to suspect nefarious activity is occurring in the home of his odd new neighbors while spending a week on vacation at home. Although Ray's wife (Carrie Fisher) has little patience for his wild theory, his neighbors (Bruce Dern and Rick Ducommun) join in a delightfully spooky investigation of the newest homeowners.

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  • 6
    3,642 VOTES

    Strange Brew

    Strange Brew
    Photo: Warner Bros.

    Based on popular characters from the Canadian sketch comedy show SCTV, Strange Brew is a sophomoric comedy loosely based on William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, with the two bumbling leads in roles similar to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

    After failing to impress an audience with a cheaply made film, unemployed slackers and brothers Bob and Doug McKenzie (Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas) attempt to swindle a beer company into giving them free alcohol, only to become employees entangled in a plot of world domination by the evil Brewmeister Smith (Max von Sydow) involving mind control, as well as the mystery surrounding the murder of the brewery’s former owner. Strange Brew was well received by critics but failed to find a wide audience upon its initial release.

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  • 7
    4,046 VOTES

    Monty Python's The Meaning of Life

    Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
    Photo: Universal Pictures

    For Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, the British comedy troupe brought out their absurdist impulses in examining each aspect of life, from birth to death. Although the film won the Grand Prix at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival, The Meaning of Life hasn’t had the lasting success of two earlier Monty Python films, Holy Grail and Life of Brian.

    This may be due in part to the film’s structure, which is a collection of sketches connected thematically, rather than a single narrative presented. In reality, this makes The Meaning of Life closer to Monty Python’s Flying Circus, the TV show and format that first catapulted the comedy troupe to fame. 

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  • 8
    3,023 VOTES

    Night Shift

    Night Shift
    Photo: Warner Bros.

    Night Shift was director Ron Howard’s sophomore feature, and it stars his Happy Days co-star Henry Winkler, along with Michael Keaton in his first leading role. When Chuck Lumley (Winkler) leaves his life as a successful stockbroker in search of a more peaceful existence, he takes a job as an attendant at a New York City morgue.

    Everything is going well until he is assigned the night shift alongside his excitable co-worker Bill Blazejowski (Keaton), who comes up with the idea of turning the morgue into headquarters for local prostitutes. The situation quickly escalates and Lumley finds himself in a position more stressful than Wall Street.

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  • 9
    3,288 VOTES

    UHF

    UHF
    Photo: MGM

    After the successful release of two comedy music albums, "Weird Al" Yankovic developed the idea for a film with similar parodic intentions. In UHF, Yankovic stars as George Newman, a creative but aimless man who is inexplicably put in charge of a failing local television station.

    When he starts creating wacky new shows with the help of a fired janitor from their rival station, Newman begins to build an audience and has a chance to save the station. Although UHF was a financial failure, it has since built a cult following for its surreal and irreverent humor.

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  • 10
    3,882 VOTES

    Twins

    Twins
    Photo: Universal Pictures

    Although Arnold Schwarzenegger was best known for action in the 1980s, he also found his way into several buddy comedies. Opposites often make the best pairings in buddy comedies, and Danny DeVito couldn’t be more different from Schwarzenegger. The fact that they are meant to be fraternal twin brothers is absurd, though their massive physical differences are explained with a secret genetics experiment.

    Small-time criminal Vincent Benedict (DeVito) is surprised to discover he has a brother and uses Julius (Schwarzenegger) to benefit himself until earnestly discovering the joys of having a sibling. Twins was massively successful on release but has since been mostly forgotten despite efforts to make a sequel over the years.

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    3,427 VOTES

    Roxanne

    Roxanne
    Photo: Columbia Pictures

    Roxanne is a modern reimagining of Edmond Rostand's classic play, Cyrano de Bergerac, with the tragic ending swapped out for a typical romantic comedy resolution. Charlie "C.D." Bales (Steve Martin) is the fire chief of a small town, but despite his confidence, physical prowess, and sharp wit, he doesn’t believe he has a chance with the woman he loves because of his abnormally large nose.

    In an effort to get closer to astronomy student Roxanne Kowalski (Daryl Hannah), C.D. ghostwrites letters for Chris McConnell (Rick Rossovich), a dim-witted fireman she is attracted to. Roxanne is as clever as it is romantic, with the sequence featuring C.D. listing off endless creative insults for his nose matching the wit of Rostand’s play.

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  • 12
    2,962 VOTES

    Throw Momma from the Train

    Throw Momma from the Train
    Photo: Orion Pictures

    In a darkly comedic take on the Alfred Hitchcock's 1951 thriller Strangers on a Train, Throw Momma from the Train follows a pair of unlikely criminal accomplices. When failing writer and community college professor Larry Donner (Billy Crystal) tells his middle-aged student Owen Lift (Danny DeVito) to watch Hitchcock’s film for inspiration, Lift takes this suggestion as an indicator that his teacher wants him to carry out the plot of the film.

    Owen kills his teacher’s ex-wife, in hopes that Larry will then take out his overbearing mother (Anne Ramsey). Although Throw Momma from the Train received positive attention upon its release, even earning Ramsey an Academy Award nomination, the dark comedy is often forgotten in the discussion of 1980s comedies.

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  • 13
    2,751 VOTES

    The War of the Roses

    The War of the Roses
    Photo: 20th Century Fox

    Based on the 1981 novel by Warren Adler, The War of the Roses is a dark comedy about a wealthy couple ruthlessly turning against each other during the process of divorce. The entire narrative is presented as a cautionary tale told by divorce lawyer Gavin D'Amato (Danny DeVito), who recounts the escalating conflict between Oliver and Barbara Rose (Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner).

    What begins as petty games of resentment and cruelty eventually turns into the couple attempting to murder each other, with D’Amato stuck in the middle. The War of the Roses is a screwball comedy with a more cynical resolution, presenting the end of a marriage in the most horrific way imaginable thanks to the materialistic ideology of the 1980s.

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  • 14
    2,342 VOTES

    I'm Gonna Git You Sucka

    I'm Gonna Git You Sucka
    Photo: MGM

    Written and directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka is a parody of 1970s blaxploitation films, featuring many of the stars who helped popularize the genre. When Jack Spade (Wayans) returns home from the war, he discovers that his younger brother died from an overdose of gold chains and sets out for revenge.

    Every trope found in the genre is exaggerated to absurd levels. Although I’m Gonna Get You Sucka was a surprise success, the comedy has lost some appeal since its release, primarily because modern audiences are less familiar with the movies being parodied.

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  • 15
    1,194 VOTES

    After Hours

    After Hours
    Photo: Warner Bros.

    In between some of Martin Scorsese’s most iconic and highly praised films, he made a few small dark comedies, including After Hours. The film follows an average New York City computer data entry worker named Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) through a series of misadventures as he attempts to get home from the SoHo district over the course of a long night.

    The influence of the film’s simple premise can be found in several modern comedies, such as Date Night, Walk of Shame, Moms’ Night Out, and even Superbad. Although rarely mentioned when listing Scorsese’s filmography, After Hours earned high awards at the Independent Spirit Awards and Cannes Film Festival and is a cult classic for its surreal approach to a comedy of errors.

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  • 16
    1,187 VOTES

    Hollywood Shuffle

    Hollywood Shuffle
    Photo: The Samuel Goldwyn Company

    Hollywood Shuffle is a satire about the way Black actors are used in the film industry, focusing on a young man named Bobby Taylor (Robert Townsend). Taylor is determined to become a movie star, but most of the roles he is considered for are based solely on stereotypes.

    Throughout the film, Taylor often fantasizes about starring in film genres typically reserved for white actors. Much of the film comes from Townsend’s own experiences attempting to break into the film industry, and the stereotypical roles he was offered.

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  • 17
    1,158 VOTES

    Zelig

    Zelig
    Photo: Warner Bros.

    Presented in the format of 1920s newsreel, complete with black-and-white archival footage and reenactments of historical events, Zelig is a heavily stylized mockumentary from Woody Allen. The film traces the life of Leonard Zelig (Allen), a man who inadvertently takes on the characteristics of those around him, including several famous historical figures. The same technique would be used in the 1990s to create sequences in the highly successful Forrest Gump, with few giving Zelig credit for doing it first.

    Edited in with the historical recreations and faux-documentary footage, Zelig also cleverly inserts interviews with real-life academic figures discussing the fictional character, including philosopher Susan Sontag, psychologist Bruno Bettelheim, and historian John Morton Blum.

    1,158 votes
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  • 18
    866 VOTES

    Modern Romance

    Modern Romance
    Photo: Columbia Pictures

    A comedy about romantic jealousy with a self-involved protagonist shouldn’t work as well as it does in Modern Romance. The fact that it does is a testament to director and star Albert Brooks, who also co-wrote the screenplay. When Hollywood film editor Robert Cole (Brooks) begins to question his relationship with bank executive Mary Harvard (Kathryn Harrold), he breaks up with her, only to regret the decision.

    Following failed attempts at dating other women, Robert shifts his focus to winning Harvard back, making plenty of mistakes along the way. Modern Romance is funny in a painfully relatable way, somehow managing to be entertaining without losing realism in the depiction of complicated adult relationships.

    866 votes
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