Comedy / Parody / Disaster / Slapstick / Romantic Comedy
1980
Airplane!
A pilot who can’t fly, a plane full of nonsense — and the odd inflatable hero called Otto.
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Explore the genre
Romance movies from the 80s
Romance in the 1980s stretched far beyond straightforward love stories, appearing in teen movies, comedy, fantasy, drama and even science fiction.
The decade delivered everything from awkward first love to sweeping adult relationships, often accompanied by the songs, fashions and stars that now make the era instantly recognisable.
95 movies so far
Romance movies
Romantic Comedy / Musical / Pirate / Live Action
1980
Popeye
Popeye: family and parents protecting their children, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy
1980
Seems Like Old Times
Seems Like Old Times: the safety of home and family, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Romance / Science Fiction / Fantasy / Drama / Time-travel
1980
Somewhere in Time
A love so determined it teaches itself to travel.
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Romance / Teen / Coming-of-age / Drama / Survival / Melodrama
1980
The Blue Lagoon
The Blue Lagoon: family and mortality, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Romance / Musical / Drama
1980
The Competition
The Competition: family, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Drama / Romance
1980
Urban Cowboy
Urban Cowboy: family and the safety of home, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Musical / Fantasy
1980
Xanadu
Xanadu: love and family, and why this 1980 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy
1981
Continental Divide
Continental Divide: love, and why this 1981 movie still matters.
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Romance / Teen / Coming-of-age / Drama
1981
Endless Love
Endless Love: family and love, and why this 1981 movie still matters.
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Drama / Romance
1981
On Golden Pond
A summer cottage, a stubborn old man and a boy who quietly upends the whole family.
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Biographical / Drama / Romance / War
1981
Reds
A movie about witness, appetite and the private cost of public conviction.
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Romance / Drama / Historical Drama
1981
The French Lieutenant's Woman
The French Lieutenant's Woman: love and loss, and why this 1981 movie still matters.
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Romance / Drama
1982
An Officer and a Gentleman
A hard-edged coming-of-age wrapped in military drill, unexpected tenderness and one stubborn loner.
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Comedy Drama / Coming-of-age / Romantic Comedy / Sex Comedy
1982
The Last American Virgin
The Last American Virgin: the safety of home and friendship, and why this 1982 movie still matters.
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Drama / War / Romance
1982
The Year of Living Dangerously
The Year of Living Dangerously: mortality and lifespan, and why this 1982 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Comedy Drama / LGBTQ-related / Satirical
1982
Tootsie
An actor in drag discovers how the world really treats women.
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Romantic Comedy / Musical / LGBTQ-related / Comedy
1982
Victor/Victoria
A clever musical about disguise, showbiz and the friendships that make it bearable.
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Romance / Musical / Drama / Dance
1983
Flashdance
Flashdance: family and mortality and lifespan, and why this 1983 movie still matters.
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Comedy Drama / Teen / Coming-of-age / Romantic Comedy / Comedy / Erotic
1983
Risky Business
A suburban teenager, a one‑night business and the day ambition learned to look dangerous.
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Romantic Comedy / Drama / Comedy Drama
1983
Terms of Endearment
A sharp, sentimental and sometimes infuriating love story — mostly between a mother and her impossible daughter.
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Romantic Comedy / Teen
1983
Valley Girl
Valley Girl: the safety of home and friendship, and why this 1983 movie still matters.
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Romance / Neo-noir / Erotic Thriller / Action / Drama
1984
Against All Odds
Against All Odds: family and greed, and why this 1984 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Science Fiction / Science Fiction Comedy / Drama
1984
Electric Dreams
Electric Dreams: love and our relationship with technology, and why this 1984 movie still matters.
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Romance / Musical / Drama / Teen / Coming-of-age / Dance
1984
Footloose
Teen rebellion, a ban on dancing and one determined outsider — Footloose still kicks up dust.
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Romantic Comedy / Comedy Drama / Flashback / Drama
1984
Moscow on the Hudson
Moscow on the Hudson: family and love, and why this 1984 movie still matters.
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Musical / Neo-noir / Drama / Romance / Biographical
1984
Purple Rain
One musician, First Avenue and a mess of ambition — Purple Rain still hums.
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Treasure Hunt / Action Comedy / Romance / Romantic Comedy
1984
Romancing the Stone
A romance novelist, a smuggler, an emerald and a jungle: the adventure that taught Joan Wilder to stop waiting and start kicking.
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Teen / Coming-of-age / Romantic Comedy
1984
Sixteen Candles
Teenage longing, family oblivion and one very awkward bet — with Samantha Sam Baker keeping the whole thing human.
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Romantic Comedy / Comedy Drama / Fantasy
1984
Splash
A mermaid arrives in New York, a sensible man gets sensible about love — and the rest is splashy business.
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Romance / Science Fiction / Drama
1984
Starman
A road movie in which an alien borrows a dead husband's face and, with a borrowed curiosity, teaches a widow how to keep living.
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Romance / Drama / Teen / Martial Arts / Coming-of-age / Action
1984
The Karate Kid
A teenager, a handyman, and the long, strange apprenticeship that taught a generation how to stand up for themselves.
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Drama / Romance
1984
The Natural
The Natural: family and the safety of home, and why this 1984 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy
1984
The Woman in Red
The Woman in Red: friendship and freedom, and why this 1984 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Teen / Black Comedy / Surrealist
1985
Better Off Dead
Better Off Dead: family, and why this 1985 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Mystery / Drama
1985
Desperately Seeking Susan
Desperately Seeking Susan: authority and loss, and why this 1985 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Musical / Teen
1985
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
Girls Just Want to Have Fun: family and friendship, and why this 1985 movie still matters.
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Action / Spy / Comedy / Romantic Comedy
1985
Gotcha!
Gotcha!: freedom, and why this 1985 movie still matters.
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Teen / Coming-of-age / LGBTQ-related / Romantic Comedy
1985
Just One of the Guys
Just One of the Guys: growing up, and why this 1985 movie still matters.
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Romance / Fantasy / Adventure / Drama / Sword And Sorcery
1985
Ladyhawke
Ladyhawke: courage and freedom, and why this 1985 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Comedy Drama / Drama / LGBTQ-related
1985
My Beautiful Laundrette
My Beautiful Laundrette: family and friendship, and why this 1985 movie still matters.
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Biographical / Drama / Romance / Adventure
1985
Out of Africa
Out of Africa: love and greed, and why this 1985 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Science Fiction / Science Fiction Comedy / Teen
1985
Real Genius
Real Genius: the safety of home and family, and why this 1985 movie still matters.
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Coming-of-age / Drama / Romance / Melodrama
1985
St. Elmo's Fire
St. Elmo's Fire: family and friendship, and why this 1985 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy
1985
Summer Rental
Summer Rental: family and the safety of home, and why this 1985 movie still matters.
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Comedy / Fantasy / Teen / Romantic Comedy
1985
Teen Wolf
A teenage werewolf, a basketball court and a lesson about who you really want cheering for you.
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Romantic Comedy / Treasure Hunt / Action
1985
The Jewel of the Nile
The Jewel of the Nile: parents protecting their children and heroism, and why this 1985 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Christmas
1985
The Sure Thing
The Sure Thing: friendship, and why this 1985 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Science Fiction / Fantasy / Science Fiction Comedy / Buddy / Teen / Action
1985
Weird Science
Fast talk, bad luck and a very literal wish come true — with consequences.
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Romantic Comedy / Comedy Drama / Melodrama / Comedy
1986
About Last Night...
About Last Night...: family and friendship, and why this 1986 movie still matters.
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Romance / Drama
1986
Children of a Lesser God
Children of a Lesser God: family and love, and why this 1986 movie still matters.
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Adventure / Romantic Comedy
1986
Crocodile Dundee
A bushman's grin in Manhattan — watch Crocodile Dundee and you remember why that mismatch still makes you laugh.
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Romantic Comedy / Drama
1986
Hannah and Her Sisters
Hannah and Her Sisters: love and greed, and why this 1986 movie still matters.
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Spy / Comedy Thriller / Romantic Comedy
1986
Jumpin' Jack Flash
Jumpin' Jack Flash: our relationship with technology and freedom, and why this 1986 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Crime / Comedy Thriller
1986
Legal Eagles
Legal Eagles: loss and family, and why this 1986 movie still matters.
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Teen / Coming-of-age / Comedy Drama / Drama / Romantic Comedy / Romance / American Football
1986
Lucas
Lucas: friendship and family, and why this 1986 movie still matters.
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Romance / Drama / Crime / LGBTQ-related
1986
Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa: friendship and authority, and why this 1986 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Fantasy / Science Fiction / Drama / Time-travel / Comedy / Melodrama
1986
Peggy Sue Got Married
Peggy Sue Got Married: family and growing up, and why this 1986 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Teen / Coming-of-age
1986
Pretty in Pink
A working‑class girl, a prom dress and a triangle that still stirs up arguments.
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Romantic Comedy / Comedy Drama / Drama
1986
She's Gotta Have It
Nola Darling: not needy, just complicated — and still brilliant company.
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Romantic Comedy / Comedy Drama / Crime
1986
Something Wild
Something Wild: authority and love, and why this 1986 movie still matters.
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Horror / Science Fiction / Monster / Drama / Romance / Body Horror / Science Fiction Horror / Romantic Drama / Romantic Horror / Thriller
1986
The Fly
The Fly: humanity and our relationship with technology, and why this 1986 movie still matters.
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Romance / Drama / Teen / Martial Arts / Coming-of-age / Action
1986
The Karate Kid Part II
A seaside sequel about duty, dancing and learning when not to fight.
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Action / Drama / Romance / Melodrama
1986
Top Gun
A roaring, macho thrill ride — but it’s Maverick that keeps the heart beating.
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Teen / Drama / Romance
1986
Youngblood
Youngblood: family and courage, and why this 1986 movie still matters.
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Romance / Drama / Musical
1987
Babette's Feast
A refugee, a single extravagant dinner and the curious way generosity becomes a kind of worship.
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Romantic Comedy / Comedy Drama / Drama
1987
Broadcast News
A newsroom rom‑com that prefers arguments to punchlines — and Tom Grunick makes those arguments pay.
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Romantic Comedy / Teen / Coming-of-age / Sex Comedy / Drama
1987
Can't Buy Me Love
Can't Buy Me Love: friendship and peer pressure, and why this 1987 movie still matters.
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Romance / Musical / Drama / Teen / Dance
1987
Dirty Dancing
Dirty Dancing: family and love, and why this 1987 movie still matters.
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Romance / Drama / Crime / Coming-of-age / LGBTQ-related / Christmas
1987
Less Than Zero
Less Than Zero: family and friendship, and why this 1987 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Fantasy
1987
Mannequin
Mannequin: love and corporate power, and why this 1987 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy
1987
Moonstruck
Moonstruck: family and love, and why this 1987 movie still matters.
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Horror comedy / Teen comedy / Romance
1987
My Best Friend Is a Vampire
The Lost Boys made them cool. Fright Night made them frightening again. Once Bitten turned vampirism into a dating problem. And then there was My Best Friend Is A Vampire.
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Romantic Comedy
1987
Overboard
Overboard: family and parents protecting their children, and why this 1987 movie still matters.
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Comedy Drama / Romantic Comedy
1987
Radio Days
Radio Days: family and the safety of home, and why this 1987 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy
1987
Roxanne
Roxanne: family and love, and why this 1987 movie still matters.
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Action / Buddy / Buddy Cop / Comedy / Romantic Comedy / Detective
1987
Stakeout
Stakeout: the safety of home and love, and why this 1987 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Fantasy / Pirate / Swashbuckler / Sword And Sorcery / Cinematic Fairy Tale
1987
The Princess Bride
A swashbuckling love story told like a bedtime tale — and still disarmingly good company.
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Romantic Comedy / Coming-of-age / Fantasy / Drama
1988
Big
Big: our relationship with technology and friendship, and why this 1988 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Sport / Drama
1988
Bull Durham
Mentorship, rites of passage and a catcher called Crash — Bull Durham still teaches a lesson.
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Romance / Buddy / Drama / Romantic Comedy
1988
Cocktail
Cocktail: family and greed, and why this 1988 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy
1988
Coming to America
A prince in disguise, a fast-food job and a fairy-tale that prefers laughs to pomp.
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Romance / Drama / Erotic
1988
Dangerous Liaisons
Dangerous Liaisons: love and mortality and lifespan, and why this 1988 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Musical / Teen / Drama
1988
Hairspray
Hairspray: family and parents protecting their children, and why this 1988 movie still matters.
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Buddy / Romantic Comedy
1988
License to Drive
License to Drive: family and the safety of home, and why this 1988 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Female Buddy / Comedy Drama / Coming-of-age / Drama
1988
Mystic Pizza
Mystic Pizza: family and love, and why this 1988 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Fantasy / Christmas / Ghost / Comedy
1988
Scrooged
Scrooged: fear and belief in the supernatural, and why this 1988 movie still matters.
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Action / Crime / Romance / Thriller
1988
Tequila Sunrise
Tequila Sunrise: love and the safety of home, and why this 1988 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Comedy Drama
1988
Working Girl
One woman's Staten Island ferry commute to the boardroom.
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Heist / Comedy Drama / Comedy / Hood / Romance
1989
Harlem Nights
Harlem Nights: friendship and greed, and why this 1989 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy
1989
Look Who's Talking
Look Who's Talking: family and parents protecting their children, and why this 1989 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Teen / Coming-of-age / Drama
1989
Say Anything...
Lloyd Dobler: underachieving, hopelessly sincere and still the film's heartbeat.
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Romance / Musical / Drama
1989
The Fabulous Baker Boys
The Fabulous Baker Boys: family and love, and why this 1989 movie still matters.
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Romance / Musical / Fantasy / Children's / Melodrama / Cinematic Fairy Tale
1989
The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid: humanity and love, and why this 1989 movie still matters.
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Romantic Comedy / Christmas / Comedy
1989
When Harry Met Sally
Cynicism, chemistry and a very public argument about friendship — still funny, still persuasive.
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