Teased hair, new wave and neon colors — here at Watch With Us, we love the 1980s movies.
If you haven’t traveled back in time to the ’80s in a minute, we want to encourage you to take a trip down memory lane by revisiting some of the best movies that the decade had to offer.
This January, we’ve picked and ranked our three favorite movies of the ’80s that deserve a rewatch on Tubi and Paramount+.
Our choices include stars like Eddie Murphy and the one and only Madonna herself.
The Best Movie of Every Year of the ’80s
3. ‘Starman’ (1984) — Tubi
Answering a message sent to outer space from NASA, an extraterrestrial (Jeff Bridges) descends on planet Earth but is grounded by an American missile. Finding the home of grieving widow Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen), he sees photos of her deceased husband and takes on his form. After he communicates with his home planet to rescue him at a rendezvous in three days, the “Starman” persuades a very freaked-out Jenny to accompany him to the location. Meanwhile, they are pursued by government officials seeking to kill the benevolent being.
Director John Carpenter departed from the horror of the Halloween franchise to this romantic sci-fi adventure that has shades of Spielberg. With some top-notch practical effects (particularly, the scene when Starman transforms into his chosen body) and a surprisingly moving script, Starman succeeds as an exciting science-fiction fantasy that is silly, but undeniably sweet.
2. ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’ (195) — Tubi
Roberta Glass (Rosanna Arquette) is a bored New Jersey housewife who adds some zest to her mundane day-to-day by reading the personal ads in the newspaper. However, Roberta is particularly intrigued by a series of ads between a woman named Susan (Madonna) and her suitor Jim (Robert Joy), eventually following them to a meet-up. But Roberta’s eavesdropping unintentionally ends with amnesia, Susan’s jacket and an unfortunate case of mistaken identity leading to a comedy of errors.
Desperately Seeking Susan served as Madonna’s first major screen role and remains an ’80s classic to this day, in no small part due to the exuberant chemistry between the “Material Girl” singer and Arquette. It’s a comic New York City fairytale adventure that leans heavily on screwball comedy and unforgettable side characters.
1. ‘Trading Places’ (1983) — Paramount+
Wealthy brokers Mortimer (Don Ameche) and Randolph Duke (Ralph Bellamy) devise a wicked plot to throw one of their top executives into turmoil, all for the benefit of their own amusement — and a bet of one dollar. They intentionally swap the lives of Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) and a drifter named Billy Ray Valentine (Murphy), leaving Louis destitute while Billy Ray gets to live like a king. When the two men realize they’ve both been hoodwinked, they team up to take down the scheming Duke brothers.
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A funny social satire led by terrific performances from Aykroyd and Murphy — and a supporting role from Jamie Lee Curtis that lifted her from the horror movie doldrums and into the mainstream — Trading Places endures as one of the greatest American comedies and a holiday season classic. The film also served as a career boost for both Murphy and Aykroyd, who display some unforgettable chemistry.
