15 80s Movies That Are Guilty Pleasures No One Admits to Loving

The 80s were like a wild party for movies, where even the ones that didn't win awards or get praised by critics ended up becoming the kind of guilty pleasures we secretly love to watch over and over again; these are the movies that make us laugh with their over-the-top fashion, groan at their cheesy lines, and dance in our living rooms to soundtracks filled with classic hits.

1. Three O'Clock High (1987)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 57%

High school nerd Jerry Mitchell inadvertently offends the new, notoriously dangerous student, Buddy Revell, and is challenged to a fight after school at 3 PM, leading Jerry through a day of desperate and comedic attempts to avoid the confrontation.

2. River's Edge (1986)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%

A group of high school friends faces a moral crisis when one of them murders his girlfriend, leaving her body by the river's edge, leading to a tension-filled exploration of loyalty, apathy, and the breakdown of morality among the youth.

3. Better Off Dead (1985)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 77%

After his girlfriend dumps him for a more successful ski jock, Lane Meyer becomes obsessed with winning her back or dying trying, embarking on a series of comedic suicide attempts and quirky adventures, including racing the ski jock down a deadly mountain.

4. Red Dawn (1984)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 50%

When Soviet and Cuban forces invade the United States, a group of high school students turned guerrilla fighters, calling themselves the "Wolverines," defend their town and fight back against the occupiers, learning about survival, warfare, and loss.

5. Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon (1985)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 61%

Leroy Green, a martial artist who admires Bruce Lee, quests through New York to achieve the final level of martial arts mastery known as "The Glow," battling a motley crew of villains, including the evil Sho'nuff and rescuing a beautiful video jockey.

6. Heathers (1989)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%

In a darkly comedic take on high school social hierarchies, Veronica Sawyer tries to navigate and dismantle the toxic reign of the popular girl clique known as the Heathers, but her plans spiral out of control when her sociopathic boyfriend starts murdering students and making it look like suicides.

7. Less Than Zero (1987)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 50%

College freshman Clay returns home to Los Angeles for Christmas to find his former girlfriend in a relationship with his drug-addicted best friend Julian, leading him into the seedy underworld of drug addiction, debt, and despair in an attempt to save Julian.

8. Little Darlings (1980)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 67%

Two teenage girls from different social backgrounds, attending a summer camp, make a bet to lose their virginity first, leading to a series of heartwarming and revealing events that test their friendship and their perceptions of love and sex.

9. Short Circuit (1986)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 61%

After being struck by lightning, Number 5, a military robot, gains human-like intelligence and escapes the lab, befriending a kind-hearted animal caretaker and an inventor while on the run from the military, who seeks to destroy him.

10. My Chauffeur (1986)

Rotten Tomatoes Audience score: 57%

Casey Meadows, a spirited young woman, becomes a chauffeur for an elite limousine service in Los Angeles, facing challenges and sexism in the male-dominated industry, all while entangling with eccentric passengers and finding love in unexpected places.

11. The 'Burbs (1989)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 56%

Ray Peterson's suburban life takes a turn towards the bizarre when he and his neighbors become obsessed with the mysterious, reclusive new family on the block, leading to a series of misadventures and the discovery of a dark secret next door.

12. The Wraith (1986)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 36%

In a small Arizona town, a mysterious driver in a futuristic car seeks vengeance against a gang of car thieves responsible for his murder, racing and eliminating them one by one while reconnecting with his former girlfriend.

13. The Last American Virgin (1982)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 77%

A coming-of-age story follows Gary, an awkward high school student, as he falls in love with Karen, but his attempts to win her heart are complicated by his best friend's interest in her, leading to a painful lesson in love and friendship.

14. Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 76%

Keith, an artistic high school outsider, spends his college savings to take the popular girl, Amanda, on a lavish date, only to realize that his true love has been his tomboy best friend, Watts, all along.

15. White Water Summer (1987)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 25%

A timid city boy, Alan, is taken on a challenging wilderness adventure by an overbearing guide, Vic, where he faces his fears and learns about survival, friendship, and the importance of stepping out of his comfort zone.