If there was one thing the 1980’s had an abundance of, it was Teen Comedies, Teen Coming-of-Age Films and Sex Comedies – often all rolled into one film. From 1980 – 1985, it seemed like every comedy released during that time featured teenage sexual escapades and hijinks. Some of the funniest comedies from the last 50 years were released during this time period, so it’s only appropriate that we honor these films with our ranking of the Best 1980’s Sex Comedies.
This is the second “Best Of” subgenre list where we will rank the Top 20 films of the subgenre. While we include Raunchy Comedies & Sex Comedies in our full list of these types of films, the 1980’s period of Sex Comedies was truly a unique time that deserves its own Best Of subgenre list. We will also have follow-up articles that highlight some of the lesser-known and rare 1980’s Sex Comedies that didn’t make our Top 20 list.
For this list, we had to use some simple criteria in what defines a “Sex Comedy”. First, the film had to have been released in the 1980’s so the infamous Sex Comedy Animal House (1978) won’t be featured on this list.
Second, sexual situations or sex as the primary narrative focus were also a requirement for our list. This is where narratives include teenagers trying to ‘get laid’, the early 80’s ‘male jailbait’ films of an older woman with a younger teen, bachelor parties or plots where prostitutes are featured and so on. Here is where we had to make some judgment calls with a film like Airplane! (1980) which was more of a parody of disaster films with some sexual content (and not included on our list) vs. a film such as Stripes (1981) that had more sexual situations to warrant inclusion on our list.
And third, we had to follow our rule for all of KBZ’s film listings where we only list films that have a 4.0/10 or higher rating. Though this rule doesn’t impact this list much, it will be a bigger determining factor on our follow-up lists of Top Sex Comedies from the 1980’s You Haven’t Seen.
Our complete list of Raunchy Comedies & Sex Comedies features over 341+ films from 1972 – 2023. If you don’t see a Sex Comedy favorite of yours on our Best Of list, you can likely find it in our collection of all subgenre films. So without further ado, here is our rankings of the Best Sex Comedies from the 1980’s.
We have embedded a compilation video of our Best 1980’s Sex Comedies and more details on these films can be found in the list below. Note: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
The Best 1980’s Sex Comedies Ranked 20-1:
#20 Private School (1983) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3GJTSGF
#19 Loveryboy (1989) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3QT6WxV
#18 Fraternity Vacation (1985) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3w8tz7V
#17 Losin’ It (1983) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3kojzFd
#16 Mischief (1985) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3XFdORH
#15 History of the World: Part 1 (1981) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3ZGY0j8
#14 Police Academy (1984) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3CPW5PF
#13 Night Shift (1982) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3ZKixDo
#12 Stripes (1981) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3ITvTHC
#11 Up the Creek (1984) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3wa8SIR
Plot: When Terry Griffith loses her high school’s writing competition, she’s convinced that it’s because she’s a girl. So Terry decides to change high schools and pose as a boy to prove her point. Her brother, Buddy, helps her pass as a guy so well that she is soon making friends with the boys at school, including the attractive Rick, who becomes her new best friend. But her gender-swapping makes things difficult when she falls in love with him.
KBZ’s Take: Often overlooked Teen Comedy that trades the raunchiness for more gender swapped-based comedy. However, this still has loads of laughs especially from Billy Jayne as Buddy (the younger sex starved brother of his now male impersonating sister). Be on the lookout for William Zabka of Cobra Kai in yet another role as the main high school bully (Karate Kid and Back to School being the other films with Zabka as the lead bully).
Additional Lists: Top Raunchy Comedy Films and Sex Comedies You Haven’t Seen #10, Top Teen & College Comedies 1985 – 1989 #2
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3IV7hy3
Plot: Two unpopular teenagers, Gary and Wyatt, fail at all attempts to be accepted by their peers. Their desperation to be liked leads them to create a woman via their computer. Their living and breathing creation is a gorgeous woman, Lisa, whose purpose is to boost their confidence level by putting them into situations which require Gary and Wyatt to act like men.
KBZ’s Take: While the late John Hughes ruled the 1980’s Teen Comedy subgenre with Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985) and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), Weird Science was his more direct PG-13 foray into Sex Comedy. Unlike his other films which focused more on teen angst and relationships, Weird Science is simply about two nerds who create a dream woman who they can hopefully lose their virginity with. It’s one of the more unique films of the entire 80’s Sexy Comedy run and definitely shouldn’t be missed.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3GQYE54
#8
Class
Plot: Naïve Midwestern prep student Jonathan bonds with his more worldly roommate, Skip, who takes the small-town boy under his wing. At Skip’s urging, the inexperienced Jonathan is emboldened to seek out older women in the cocktail lounges of nearby Chicago, where he meets and beds the alluring Ellen, who unfortunately turns out to be Skip’s mother. The division between the friends is further deepened when a cheating scandal engulfs the school.
KBZ’s Take: Given the prominence of the ‘male jailbait’ theme of the early 1980’s, we had to select one film from this theme, and Class is the best film of the lot. Unlike the other films which feature early years teenagers and sex fantasies with older women (which we’re pretty sure would never be made in this day and age), Class actually is a more realistic coming-of-age story. It’s entirely plausible that Jonathan (Andrew McCarthy) would meet and fall for Ellen (Jacqueline Bisset). Though the remainder of the story is a bit predictable, it’s still engaging due to a stellar cast with McCarthy, Bisset, Rob Lowe, Cliff Robertson, John Cusack, Alan Ruck and Virginia Madsen. It’s also one of better films of the subgenre to balance an adult theme with drama and comedy. The film foregoes raunchiness to bring ‘class’ to the subgenre theme of teens in love with older women. If you still haven’t seen this film, it’s one of the better films of the subgenre and highly recommended.
Additional Lists: Top Teen & College Comedies You Haven’t Seen 1980 – 1984 #1
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3IVd7j3
#7
Zapped!
Plot: Peyton and Barney are fun loving high school students working on a science project with white mice. When one of the mice begins to move food toward itself without touching it, Barney finds he has accidently discovered a formula for telekinetic powers. Now, how much trouble can a high school boy who can move things with just his mind get into?
KBZ’s Take: Unless you grew up during the early 80’s Sex Comedy craze, you likely are not aware of this film. Though it sits firmly in the B-tier of Sex Comedies during this period, its unique storyline and ‘moments’ helped give the film an infamous reputation amongst early 80’s teens. Current generations of viewers might find the film tame in comparison to more notorious Sex Comedy fare like Porky’s (1981), but for any film lovers that want the full 80’s Sex Comedy experience, Zapped! should definitely be included on your viewing list.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3Hbi2Ln
Plot: The friendship of a group of young friends struggling with teen sex, drugs, and work is jeopardized by a romantic interest which may turn pals into bitter rivals.
KBZ’s Take: One of the earlier teenage / coming-of-age sex comedies on the 80’s, The Last American Virgin has a paint-by-the-numbers first 2 acts similar to most other sex comedies. Where it diverges and becomes its own special film, is how it treats the 3rd act and an ending which is more of a reality than most people are expecting.
Additional Lists: Top Raunchy Comedy Films & Sex Comedies You’ve Never Seen #2
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3iRZfLM
Plot: On the eve of his wedding to his longtime girlfriend, Debbie (Tawny Kitaen), unassuming nice guy Rick (Tom Hanks) is dragged out for a night of debauchery by his friends. The gang includes cocky Jay (Adrian Zmed), self-appointed ringleader of the party, and depressed, recently divorced Brad (Bradford Bancroft). Along the way, they run into Debbie’s wealthy, disapproving father (George Grizzard) and her ex-boyfriend, Cole (Robert Prescott), who attempt to stop the wedding in an unexpected way.
KBZ’s Take: This is our personal favorite Tom Hanks comedy as it shows that “America’s Dad” also had a funny Raunchy side. Though Hanks rose to prominence throughout the 80’s with more PG rated fare such as Splash (1984) and Big (1988), Bachelor Party came out at the height of the Sex Comedies craze and immediately established itself as one of the best. As you might expect, when a film is centered around a bachelor party, there are all forms of raunchiness and sex included which this film hilariously delivers during much of its 105 minute running time.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3CR1YvS
Plot: Meet Joel Goodson, an industrious, college-bound 17-year-old and a responsible, trustworthy son. However, when his parents go away and leave him home alone in the wealthy Chicago suburbs with the Porsche at his disposal, he quickly decides he has been good for too long and it is time to enjoy himself. After an unfortunate incident with the Porsche Joel must raise some cash, in a risky way.
KBZ’s Take: Risky Business is one of the more subtle Sex Comedies on our list and of the entire subgenre. It’s a film that passes on the usual juvenile raunchiness for more mature Sex Comedy themes. Though Tom Cruise had already established himself as an up and coming teen actor in Taps (1982), Losin’ It (1983) and The Outsiders (1983), Risky Business was more or less his first starring role where he shines throughout as the teen who takes on more than he can handle. This was not only Tom Cruise’s breakout film but also helped launch the career of Rebecca De Mornay. A must-see Sex Comedy from the 80’s.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3iHVXuA
#3
Porky’s
Plot: Set in 1954, a group of Florida high schoolers seek out to lose their virginity which leads them to seek revenge on a sleazy nightclub owner and his redneck sheriff brother for harassing them.
KBZ’s Take: Outside of Animal House (1978), Porky’s is both one of the raunchiest Sex Comedies of the 80’s and also one of the funniest. While the film spawned numerous sequels, the first film is still the best and most memorable. It has some of the classic scenes of the subgenre with the peek-hole in the women’s shower, the gang getting ready to ‘make it’ with a prostitute, Kim Cattrall’s special moaning skill, and so on. Porky’s didn’t launch the 80’s Sex Comedy craze but it definitely upped the ante with the amount of nudity and raunchiness teens came to expect from subsequent subgenre efforts.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3ZFWii5
Plot: At Adams College, the jocks rule the school from their house on high, the Alpha Beta fraternity. So when a group of socially-challenged misfits try to go Greek, they’re instantly rejected by every house on campus. Deciding to start their own fraternity to protect their outcast brothers, the campus nerds soon find themselves in a battle royale as the Alpha Betas try to crush their new rivals.
KBZ’s Take: This film seemed to have come out of nowhere in 1984 to become one of the best of the 80’s Sex Comedies. Though it initially starts off as a Buddy Comedy with two nerds forming their own fraternity, it soon takes a detour into Raunchyville with some of the funniest and most memorable moments in any Sex Comedy. While the film will likely always be remembered for its “There’s a little bit of nerd in all of us” theme set to Queen’s “We Are the Champions”, we’ll take the film’s characters as the most memorable from any Sex Comedy. Louis, Gilbert, Poindexter, Wormser, Booger, Lamar, Takashi, Stan Gable, Betty Childs and Ogre all make the film and have their own unique moments and catchphrases that most fans of the film and subgenre can recite to this day.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3XDBk1v
Plot: Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is a pretty, but inexperienced, teen interested in dating. Given advice by her uninhibited friend, Linda Barrett (Phoebe Cates), Stacy gets trapped in a love triangle with nice guy Mark Ratner (Brian Backer) and his more assured buddy Mike Damone (Robert Romanus). Meanwhile, Stacy’s classmate Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn), who lives for surfing and being stoned, faces off against Mr. Hand (Ray Walston), a strict teacher who has no time for the slacker’s antics.
KBZ’s Take: Fast Times takes all the elements of Teen Sex Comedies, Teen Coming-of-Age films and Stoner Comedies and mashes them together for the best 80’s Sex Comedy. Because this film incorporates all those elements of different subgenres, it has intertwined storylines that have atypical results (in comparison to other Sex Comedies of the time period). While the film still has memorable Sex Comedy scenes including Phoebe Cates infamous emergence from the pool, the film strives for a more realistic cause and effect from the film’s Sex Comedy situations.
Most Sex Comedies of the time only focused on one end of the spectrum – a teens quest to getting laid and finally achieving victory. Fast Times takes this a step further with a more realistic view of the effect from the cause. In this instance, Stacy (Jennifer Jason Leigh) sleeping with Mike Damone (Robert Romanus) even though his friend Mark Ratner (Brian Backer) likes her. The film shows not only the cause and effect on the friend’s relationship but the resulting impact on Stacy after unprotected sex.
While the film also has your typical Sex Comedy moments, it’s the realistic view of teens from the time period and their growing pains that make this a classic film of a generation.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3GNJ0HR
Comments 2