Daily Dirt: The decade when Ferris Bueller met Harry and Sally

Daily Dirt for Aug. 12, 2021

A case could be made that the 1980s produced the most legendary films of any decade in the past 60 years. See what you think from my top 10 from that memorable 10-year period in Vol. 35 of the Daily Dirt:

1. “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (1986): The movie could be the perfect punctuation for the entire decade of excess. Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, Ben Stein … and Charlie Sheen formed a near-perfect cast.

2. “When Harry Met Sally” (1989): If not for our boy Ferris Bueller, this would have been my runaway No. 1 for the decade. Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal lead an incredible list of performers.

3. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981): The first of three epic films with Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones.

4. “Mystic Pizza” (1988): One of my all-time favorites. This is the movie that introduced Matt Damon as a major talent. Julia Roberts wasn’t bad, either.

5. “Terminator” (1984): I’ll. Be. Back.

6. “Die Hard” (1988): Back when Bruce Willis had hair.

7. “Pretty in Pink” (1986): One of director John Hughes’ masterpieces centered on teen angst. A cast of future stars including Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer, Andrew McCarthy, James Spader, Annie Potts and numerous others.

8. “Dirty Dancing” (1987): Yes, there was Jennifer Grey. Yes, there was Patrick Swayze. But most of all, there was Eric Carmen’s “Hungry Eyes.”

9. “Rain Man” (1988): The film was nominated for eight Oscars, including best picture and best actor (Dustin Hoffman). Oh, and a guy named Tom Cruise also played a large role.

10. “The Breakfast Club” (1985): Think “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” with a bit of an edge. Also think Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy and Anthony Michael Hall.

Honorable mentions:

“The Lost Boys” (1987): Long before “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Twilight,” there was this movie — and a great vampire film it was starring a young Kiefer Sutherland.

 “Beverly Hills Cop” (1984): Arguably Eddie Murphy’s finest film effort as detective Axel Foley.

2. Not everything McDonald’s has offered on its menus through the years has been a solid choice. Here’s a few things that didn’t work out for the golden arches:

A. McLobster: I have to admit, that doesn’t even sound good.

B. McHotDog: Seriously?

C. McPizza: This item was actually great, at least in my humble opinion. I never knew why this didn’t catch on.

D. McSpaghetti: Ugh. Shudderrrrr …

E. McSoup: Oh come on, McDonald’s!

3. The Rolling Stones will be minus their drummer, Charlie Watts, during their upcoming No Filter Tour. Watts, who recently turned 80, had medical procedures done that were not made public. Watts has been with the band since 1963. That’s 58 years for those who struggle with math. To put it another way, I was in third grade when Watts joined the band, and in case you didn’t know, I’m old. Real old.