Totally 80's

Jeff and I recently had a discussion about 80's movies.  I told him, give me a choice between an 80's movie and anything else and I would pick the 80's movie hands down. 


I'm sure you've seen on the news about The Goonies anniversary and reunion and it got me thinking about my favorite 80's movies.  Granted, I was born in the 80's and by the end I was only 7, but thanks to cable T.V. I've seen all these movies over and over again.  So here they are, my top 10 favorite 80's movies.  I tried to put them in order from my favorite on down, but it just hurt my heart too much to try and decide!  So, in no particular order:

#1 Dirty Dancing

Heather Hayes and I must have watched this movie at least once a week for 2 years.  We loved it!  It was only years later that I finally figured the whole movie out.  Baby tries to help out a dance instructor, Penny, when she gets herself into a "situation".  Amidst all the drama she finds herself falling in love with the much older Jonny (Patrick "Hottie" Swayze). Of course her Dad hates it, yadda, yadda, yadda they dance at the end in the most famous of all dance scenes. "Nobody puts Baby in a corner!"


The Final Dance


#2 The Goonies


"Hey you guyyyys!"

Of COURSE The Goonies will make this list.  What kid doesn't want to go on a buried treasure hunt?  I've actually watched it so much on DVD that my disc is worn out and skips.  That's called true dedication people (or too many times of having no cable).


#3 The Little Mermaid

This one barely makes the cut, made in 1989.  Oh the songs, I knew every word, the story, it's heart wrenching, the action, it keeps you on pins and needles.  Ariel dreams of being a human and marrying the man of her dreams.  Even after making a deal with the devil a.k.a Ursula and almost ruining herself and her family the story ends happily ever after. If I had to make a call, I would say this is the BEST Disney movie EVER.  And if you disagree, I'll fight you.


"Under the Sea"

#4 E.T.

I just fulfilled a life long dream of actually being in the movie E.T.  Yes, that's right I got to ride a bike on the E.T. ride at Universal Studios, it's pretty high tech let me tell you.  The movie was actually made a year before I was born (oh yea, be jealous if you were in High School when it came out)  It's about a poor little adorable alien that gets left behind by his people, and all he wants to do is phone home.  Sweet faced Drew Barrymore (before she was smoking cigarettes two years later) and her on screen brother Elliott have to help E.T. go home. 

#5 Sixteen Candles

No list of 80's movies would be complete without Sixteen Candles. It's every High School girls dream to have the head jock want to date you, the lowly sophomore.  Hopefully not every girl gives her panties to the resident geek, but I blame her parents, they forgot her freaking birthday!

#6 The Breakfast Club

While we're talking about Molly Ringwald why not include The Breakfast club, the Jock, the Brain, The Criminal, the Princess and the Kook.  5 kids have to spend a Saturday at school for various offenses they committed during the week.  Like all good 80's movies it starts out as a group of unlikely friends but by the end everyone has learned something, about someone else and themselves.  LOVE IT!

#7 Hoosiers

What self respecting Indiana girl would not include Hoosiers on her best of (all time) movie list??  Growing up our school usually had a pretty decent basketball team and every tournament season our school would shut down one afternoon to watch the inspiration we know as "Hoosiers".  If you can watch this movie without feeling some kind of emotion then your heart must be black. I do wish the movie was called "Boilermakers" though.

Jimmy Chitwood's final shot

#8 The Princess Bride

"As you wish" Dang, I wish I heard that once in a while.  KIDDING!  What can I say about the sets and the animitronics.  The part where Wesley wrestles the Rodents of Unusual Size, amazing.  And
Andre the Giant was in it!  You can't beat that! 

#9 Back to the Future

Marty McFly, to escape death, goes back in time, 30 years earlier.  While he is there he almost ruins his own existence by interfering with his parents original meeting.  After finally ensuring his parents meet and fall in love, he has to dramatically make it back to the future in the DeLorean (Coach Kerr anyone?).

If you missed this movie when it came out, just tune into TBS or TNT on a Sunday afternoon and you're sure to catch it then.

#10 Gremlins

Holy moly!  This movie scared the crap out of me when I was little.  Those little creatures are so cute and cuddly and then BAM! they want to kill you!  It should be a lesson to all kids about what happens when you don't follow directions.  No getting wet, no eating after midnight and no bright lights.




So those are my top movies from the 1980's.  What were yours?