No other decade seems to represent teen comedies as well as the 1980s. Not that the actors or screenwriters were any more talented back then, but the teen comedy had come into its own and the ideas were fresh. Fast forward 20-plus years, and it all seems played out. Whether popular or not, these film characters were sure to be guys you wanted to kick it with.
Photo credit: YouTube/Atlantic Releasing Corporation
7 Scott Howard – ‘Teen Wolf’ (1985)
Scott fell into the same category in high school as probably a lot of people; not super popular but not a dork either — just right in the middle — average. Unlike most of us though, he had the power to transform into a werewolf and dunk on guys who were a foot taller than him. Which is a feat in itself considering Michael J. Fox is only 5’4″. Going all wolfman made him the pride of the school and everybody from the geeks to the head cheerleader were clawing to hang with the guy. Hanging with Teen Wolf meant you were sure to enjoy Saturdays van surfing and getting schooled on the court.
Photo credit: YouTube/Atlantic Releasing Corporation
6 The Lambda Lambda Lambda Guys – ‘Revenge of the Nerds’ (1984)
Upon first glance the guys in Tri-Lambda were probably not the group you'd want to spend your freshman year with if you planned on socializing with the opposite sex. They were the laughing stock of the Greek community and lived in a house constantly under attack by the jocks. However, any group of guys gutsy enough to go on sorority house panty raids with a member named Booger, must have had something going for them. By the end of the movie pretty much everybody on campus was clearing their schedules to make room for the next Lambda Lambda Lambda kegger.
Photo credit: YouTube/20th Century Fox
5 Jeff Spicoli – ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ (1982)
Every high school in America has a guy that is molded in the form of Jeff Spicoli; it's just a rule of the universe. He's constantly late for class and oblivious to the rest of the world around him, but as long as he's got a nice buzz and good tunes it's all good. You might not want to spend every waking moment tagging along with Spicoli, but he's good for a few laughs and come the weekend he's your go to guy for a gnarly party. Just don't invite the guy to your study group if you plan to graduate.
Photo credit: YouTube/Universal Pictures
4 Edgar Fog/Ricky Butler – ‘The Lost Boys’/'The Burbs’ (1987/1989)
It's been two decades since Corey Feldman played anybody in a movie that you'd remotely want to chill with, but in the 1980s he was THE teen when there was weirdness going down in the neighborhood. Got a vampire biker gang terrorizing your seaside town? Call Corey. Creepy neighbors who may be serial killers… call Corey. The guy new everybody's back story long before Facebook stalking existed.
Photo credit: YouTube/Warner Bros. Pictures
3 Gary Wallace & Wyatt Donnelly – ‘Weird Science’ (1985)
It's blatantly obvious why hanging with these two guys would clearly be an awesome time. A computer generated supermodel genie with the powers to alter time and space is going to be a definite advantage to your high school social life. So what if she's a soulless computer generated sorceress, she's a perfect 10, damn it! While just hanging out with a couple of guys because they happen to have a wish granting super model might be a bit shallow, it really beats a Saturday afternoon shopping for slacks at the mall with your mom.
Photo credit: YouTube/Universal Pictures
2 Marty McFly – ‘Back to the Future’ (1985)
Michael J. Fox plays a teen who's not really popular, but not a total dork either… wait didn't we already cover this? Oh wait a second, now he has a time traveling DeLorean and isn't a werewolf. Having a friend with a DeLorean is pretty baller to begin with, but if it has the power to travel through time you really couldn't ask for more. Sure Marty might have been kind of odd, not everybody hangs out with a mad scientist and making out with your mom is all kinds messed up. But then again, most people would probably overlook those red flags because of the time machine sitting in the dude's garage. Not to mention his mom was pretty hot.
Photo credit: YouTube/Universal Pictures
1 Ferris Bueller – ‘Ferris Bueller's Day Off’ (1986)
Basically, everyone in Ferris' high school except for the principal and his sister were lining up to kiss his ass. And from the first 10 minutes of the movie it's easy to see why. The guy knew he was cool, but wasn't a dick about it, had a hot girlfriend on his arm and wasn't afraid of taking risks. Not only did the guy successfully ditch school, visit Chicago landmarks and take over a parade, but he did it all while driving a Ferrari 250 GT California. Hanging out with Ferris might be stressful, but if you stopped resisting and just let him take you along for the ride, you were sure to have a hell of a lot more fun than attending Econ class.
Photo credit: YouTube/Paramount Pictures
(Previously published on April 6, 2011.)
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