The Five – 80s High School Comedies
Written by Cameron Galvin
Compiled by Cameron Galvin and Brionna Raum
High school was a time in which we all wish we could go back too. Unfortunately we can’t, but we have movies to help us remember. Deciding on high school comedies was way too much of a broad topic. Therefore, our crack team of film enthusiast has come up with the idea to break it up by decade. For this list, the films have to be about high school and had to have been made in the 80s. As always some films didn’t make the cut and they deserve some recognition. Weird Science, Teen Wolf, and Pretty in Pink.
5. Risky Business (1983)
Tom Cruise is a good student who finds himself with his parents’ house all to himself for the weekend. Looking for some fun he decides to order an escort for the night. It isn’t until he takes his father’s Porsche out for a joyride and has an unfortunate accident, that the weekend goes bad. Needing money, he and his new friend come up with unorthodox way to raise the money. Filled with funny laughs throughout and some great action, this piece has the hearts of us all. It makes everyone think back to the times they had their parents’ house all to themselves.
4. Sixteen Candles (1984)
Being a teenage girl is hard enough; dealing with a crazy family and other obstacles on your “sweet sixteen” is the worst. Molly Ringwald stars in this comedic classic about a girl that has the worst sixteen birthdays ever. She has a crush on the hottest boy in school, and the geekiest boy in school is in love with her. Not to mention her entire family forgets her birthday because of her sister’s wedding going on the same weekend. A journey to womanhood can sometimes be rough, but sixteen candles show us everything great and horrible about high school and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
3. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
This film follows a group of Southern California high school students with different agendas on how to just get out of there alive. Some are looking for love, the others are looking to party, and one is just trying to coast by. The center of the movie no doubt goes through surfer stoner Jeff Spicoli, a teen who cares only about girls, drugs, and good waves. An epic showdown between him and his teacher Mr. Hand is the ultimate truth to any trouble maker dealing with a hard ass. The great thing about this film is the subtle growth that each kid goes through during the confusing time of being a teenager. A classic that no one will forget.
2. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Every high school student needs a day off once in a while. Wise guy Ferris Bueller is determined to have his and live it up to the fullest. Along with his girlfriend and best friend they set out to have an action packed day in the City of Chicago. Of course first, they have to pick up his father’s prized classic Ferrari. With his principal on the hunt and dodging his parent’s throughout the day the kids pull off the ultimate sick day by racing home at the last minute. This masterpiece has everything you could ask for, even a dancing scene in the middle of a parade. Every kid grows up wanting to have a legendary sick day like the king Ferris Bueller.
1. The Breakfast Club (1985)
It’s no surprise this classic is at number one. All the thrills of being a high school teenager are compacted into 8 hours. Five high school students meet in Saturday detention and find out they have a lot more in common than they think. Each sharing their stories of how they got there and the problems they face within their lives. The film has ups and downs; the students go from sitting in silence, to crying at points, and then smoking pot and dancing to loud music, basically just being normal teenagers. The ultimate message in this film is that no matter if you are the popular kid or the looser of the school. All teenagers have the same problems that they need to figure out. A classic that will always be a favorite and everyone wishes they had a detention as cool as this one.
