In case you forgot, the ‘80s were a great time for coming-of-age movies and dance flicks. All about the funk which was exemplified by large, poofy hairstyles and oversized blazers fitted with shoulder pads, relive the era with these classic vintage films that defined the decade.
The Breakfast Club
Widely considered to be one of film director John Hughes’ most memorable works and a cult classic, The Breakfast Club has an irrefutable place in this list. Essentially a bottle movie, the plot is simple—five high school students show up on a Saturday morning for an all-day detention in the library, where they learn more about the very different lives they lead. Now on Netflix.
Dirty Dancing
Credit: Vestron Pictures
Starring Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze, Dirty Dancing follows the story of a young woman who falls in love with a dance instructor at a holiday resort in the Catskills mountains. And who can ever forget the climactic lift in the final dance number? After all, no one puts Baby in a corner. Check it out on Amazon Prime Video.
Footloose
Romantic dance dramas really found its footing in the ‘80s, no pun intended. In the 1984 Footloose, Kevin Bacon is a suave teenager named Ren who has moved into the small town of Bomont, Oklahoma to live with his aunt and uncle, and soon learns that the community has placed a ban on rock music and dancing. There, he raises the roof and falls in love with a pretty rebel. ‘Nuff said.
Stream Footloose on Amazon Prime Video.
Pretty in Pink
Credit: IMDB
Another ‘80s classic, Pretty in Pink is a coming-of-age flick by The Breakfast Club’s director John Hughes. Watch a young Molly Ringwald navigate a different high school where she’s not quite as well-liked, and intends to head to prom alone. Now on Amazon Prime Video.
Scarface
Not quite in the same league as the Brat Pack films due to its excessive violence, drug use and non-involvement of high schoolers, Scarface, staring Al Pacino, is however, still an unforgettable movie that rolled out in 1983. Inspired by the life of American mobster Al Capone, watch Tony Montana and his friend Manny build a drug empire throughout Miami, all as his paranoia takes over. Find Scarface on Hulu or Amazon Prime Video.
