Peter Billingsley sits on Santa's lap in a scene from the 1983 comedy 'A Christmas Story.'
Movies

Best '80s comedy movies

Written by:
November 4, 2022
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer // Getty Images

Best '80s comedy movies

Stacker compiled a list of the best '80s comedy movies of all time based on our own Stacker score, a weighted index split evenly between IMDb user rating and Metascore. To qualify, the film had to have comedy as one of its genres on IMDb, have a Metascore, and have at least 5,000 IMDb user votes. Ties were broken by votes.

 

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#50. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)

- Director: Frank Oz
- Stacker score: 86.2
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 68
- Runtime: 110 minutes

#49. Bagdad Cafe (1987)

- Director: Percy Adlon
- Stacker score: 86.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 71
- Runtime: 95 minutes

#48. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)

- Director: Bruce Beresford
- Stacker score: 86.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 81
- Runtime: 99 minutes

#47. Local Hero (1983)

- Director: Bill Forsyth
- Stacker score: 86.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 82
- Runtime: 111 minutes

#46. Radio Days (1987)

- Director: Woody Allen
- Stacker score: 86.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 74
- Runtime: 88 minutes

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#45. Say Anything (1989)

- Director: Cameron Crowe
- Stacker score: 87.0
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 100 minutes

#44. Hope and Glory (1987)

- Director: John Boorman
- Stacker score: 87.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: 86
- Runtime: 113 minutes

#43. Terms of Endearment (1983)

- Director: James L. Brooks
- Stacker score: 87.4
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 79
- Runtime: 132 minutes

#42. Trading Places (1983)

- Director: John Landis
- Stacker score: 87.4
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 69
- Runtime: 116 minutes

#41. Beetlejuice (1988)

- Director: Tim Burton
- Stacker score: 87.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 70
- Runtime: 92 minutes

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#40. Broadway Danny Rose (1984)

- Director: Woody Allen
- Stacker score: 87.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 82
- Runtime: 84 minutes

#39. The Meaning of Life (1983)

- Director: Terry Jones
- Stacker score: 87.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 72
- Runtime: 107 minutes

#38. High Hopes (1988)

- Director: Mike Leigh
- Stacker score: 87.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 84
- Runtime: 108 minutes

#37. Stranger Than Paradise (1984)

- Director: Jim Jarmusch
- Stacker score: 88.2
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 86
- Runtime: 89 minutes

#36. Police Story (1985)

- Director: Jackie Chan
- Stacker score: 88.4
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 78
- Runtime: 100 minutes

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#35. Midnight Run (1988)

- Director: Martin Brest
- Stacker score: 88.4
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 78
- Runtime: 126 minutes

#34. Tootsie (1982)

- Director: Sydney Pollack
- Stacker score: 88.4
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 88
- Runtime: 116 minutes

#33. Mystery Train (1989)

- Director: Jim Jarmusch
- Stacker score: 88.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 80
- Runtime: 110 minutes

#32. A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

- Director: Charles Crichton
- Stacker score: 88.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 80
- Runtime: 108 minutes

#31. Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)

- Director: John Hughes
- Stacker score: 88.8
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 72
- Runtime: 93 minutes

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#30. The Goonies (1985)

- Director: Richard Donner
- Stacker score: 88.8
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 62
- Runtime: 114 minutes

#29. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)

- Director: Pedro Almodóvar
- Stacker score: 89.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 88 minutes

#28. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)

- Director: David Zucker
- Stacker score: 89.2
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 76
- Runtime: 85 minutes

#27. Back to the Future Part II (1989)

- Director: Robert Zemeckis
- Stacker score: 89.3
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 57
- Runtime: 108 minutes

#26. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

- Director: John Hughes
- Stacker score: 89.8
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 61
- Runtime: 103 minutes

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#25. My Life as a Dog (1985)

- Director: Lasse Hallström
- Stacker score: 89.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 82
- Runtime: 101 minutes

#24. Evil Dead II (1987)

- Director: Sam Raimi
- Stacker score: 89.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 72
- Runtime: 84 minutes

#23. Victor/Victoria (1982)

- Director: Blake Edwards
- Stacker score: 90.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 84
- Runtime: 134 minutes

#22. Withnail & I (1987)

- Director: Bruce Robinson
- Stacker score: 90.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 84
- Runtime: 107 minutes

#21. Down by Law (1986)

- Director: Jim Jarmusch
- Stacker score: 90.2
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 75
- Runtime: 107 minutes

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#20. The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)

- Director: Woody Allen
- Stacker score: 90.2
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 75
- Runtime: 82 minutes

#19. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

- Director: Rob Reiner
- Stacker score: 90.3
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 76
- Runtime: 95 minutes

#18. The Breakfast Club (1985)

- Director: John Hughes
- Stacker score: 90.3
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 66
- Runtime: 97 minutes

#17. Airplane! (1980)

- Director: Jim Abrahams
- Stacker score: 90.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 78
- Runtime: 88 minutes

#16. The Little Mermaid (1989)

- Director: Ron Clements
- Stacker score: 90.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 88
- Runtime: 83 minutes

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#15. After Hours (I) (1985)

- Director: Martin Scorsese
- Stacker score: 90.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 90
- Runtime: 97 minutes

#14. The Blues Brothers (1980)

- Director: John Landis
- Stacker score: 90.7
- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Metascore: 60
- Runtime: 133 minutes

#13. Ghostbusters (1984)

- Director: Ivan Reitman
- Stacker score: 90.8
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 71
- Runtime: 105 minutes

#12. My Dinner with Andre (1981)

- Director: Louis Malle
- Stacker score: 91.0
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 83
- Runtime: 110 minutes

#11. The King of Comedy (1982)

- Director: Martin Scorsese
- Stacker score: 91.0
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 73
- Runtime: 109 minutes

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#10. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

- Director: Robert Zemeckis
- Stacker score: 91.0
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 83
- Runtime: 104 minutes

#9. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

- Director: Woody Allen
- Stacker score: 91.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: 77
- Runtime: 104 minutes

#8. A Christmas Story (1983)

- Director: Bob Clark
- Stacker score: 92.5
- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Metascore: 77
- Runtime: 93 minutes

#7. Tampopo (1985)

- Director: Jûzô Itami
- Stacker score: 93.6
- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 114 minutes

#6. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

- Director: Woody Allen
- Stacker score: 93.9
- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Metascore: 90
- Runtime: 107 minutes

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#5. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

- Director: Rob Reiner
- Stacker score: 94.1
- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Metascore: 92
- Runtime: 82 minutes

#4. Do the Right Thing (1989)

- Director: Spike Lee
- Stacker score: 94.2
- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Metascore: 93
- Runtime: 120 minutes

#3. Dead Poets Society (1989)

- Director: Peter Weir
- Stacker score: 94.9
- IMDb user rating: 8.1
- Metascore: 79
- Runtime: 128 minutes

#2. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

- Director: Hayao Miyazaki
- Stacker score: 95.6
- IMDb user rating: 8.1
- Metascore: 86
- Runtime: 86 minutes

#1. Back to the Future (1985)

- Director: Robert Zemeckis
- Stacker score: 100.0
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 116 minutes

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