10 Great Actors Who Appeared in Cheesy 80s Comedies
The 1980s was a decade of hilarity – and we are not just talking about the big hair, the shoulder pads and the obsession the world had with white wash, acid-washed and ripped denim. Please never let that look come back. The bigger the hair, the closer you were to God (or maybe that’s just a saying we have here in the south?) and everything was just a bit over the top. There were no cell phones, the internet hadn’t been invented and social media was not even a concept at that point in time – thank goodness to those of us who got out of the 80s and 90s before that was a thing. Imagine what TimeHop would look like now if we had Facebook in the 80s (shudder).
One thing that the 80s was particularly famous for was hilariously bad comedies. They were so cheesy, so stupid and so mindless that we loved them beyond recognition and still do to this day. However, now it’s just downright hilarious to tune into these old movies and see some of the most amazing actors and actresses in the world doing work like this. I mean, we expect people like Steve Martin and John Candy to take on hilariously cheesy roles, but there are a few actors and actresses we just adore seeing play something so significantly different than anything they do today. Read on to see which of your favorite actors and actresses starred in some of the cheesiest 80s comedies around.
Jane Fonda – 9 to 5
She is one of the most diverse and most well-respected actresses in the business, and she played a hilarious role in this particular movie. Alongside Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton, she was hilarious, and we could watch her in this role over and over again. In fact, we could watch her in so many things over and over again.
Sigourney Weaver – Ghostbusters
She is so serious in so many of her roles that it’s almost a refreshing reminder to see her in this movie as anything but serious. It’s so much fun to go back and re-watch something so funny from childhood.
Tom Hanks – Splash
Pretty much is breakthrough role as an actor, this is the movie that I loved more than anything growing up. Living on the Gulf Coast of Florida my entire life, we are only about an hour from the place in which mermaids actually live and swim, and we spend our lives wishing and hoping we are actually mermaids, too. I’m sure this movie was a staple in most households during the 80s, and it’s one we little girls who never really grew up remember well.
Josh Brolin – The Goonies
It is pretty funny to think of the very serious, debonair and handsome Josh Brolin in his role, but goodness was it a good one. This is a classic movie nearly everyone has seen in their lives, and there is no getting around the fact that you cannot go through life without seeing it.
Bette Midler – Down and Out in Beverly Hills
She is so amazing and so fabulous in everything that she does. While we loved her in Hocus Pocus, it’s hard not to love her in virtually everything that she does, including this very cheesy movie that is straight out of the 80s. It’s hilarious, she’s hilarious and it is no wonder she is as famous as she is today.
Michael Keaton – Beetlejuice
Probably the most ridiculous movie ever made, Beetlejuice just looks like Michael Keaton. Even in the 80s, the makeup was fantastic, and it’s hilarious to see a man who has had so many far more important roles in his life play something like this character, who is so gross and so abhorrent, but so funny.
Alec Baldwin – Beetlejuice
He almost does not even look like himself in this role. He is so much younger, and I think that it is all the long hair and glasses that throws us off when we look at him in this film. We love it, though, and it does make us laugh. It’s a good movie for almost anyone to watch, but it is kind of stupid.
Geena Davis – Beetlejuice
I have, probably not to dissimilar from everyone else, loved her since she was in A League of Their Own, and this is one of those roles in which she plays someone so far beneath her it’s not even funny. However, it’s actually kind of funny. She was magnificent in this role, as she is in all her roles. She’s hilarious and funny, and she is always so lovely in her roles. Even when she’s playing a role like this, there is no denying her talent.
Mary Steenburgen – Melvin and Howard
She never quite made it to super famous the way that some of the other actors and actresses on this list have made it, but she has done herself some serious favors by playing roles that are always memorable. She is always the mother that everyone loves, the funny woman with too many drinks, the comforting presence. It almost seems as if she is in everything, and it’s kind of true when you consider she was in this movie, which wasn’t that great but it was pretty funny. Actually, everything about this movie screams 80s cheesy, but that doesn’t change the fact that she is consistent and good at what she does.
Phoebe Cates – Gremlins
Phoebe Cates decided a long time ago that she would give up her career and raise her kids when she got married and began her family, and there is not a thing wrong with that. Well, there is the small problem that we kind of miss her and all that she does, but that’s all right. She’s a genius at everything she does and we don’t hate that about her at all. We wish she was still part of the acting community, but we understand that she has her priorities in order. She had a real shot at an impressive career.
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