Pharrell Williams’ Favourite 80s Comedies

Airplane! (1980)

Pharrell says: “Man, this movie has so many special moments, but the old white woman speaking “jive” is classic!”

Airplane! is an American satirical comedy directed and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker. It stars Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty and features Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Lorna Patterson.

Stir Crazy (1980)

Pharrell says: ‘You can’t do a list of favourites comedies and not include Richard Pryor! “We bad, we bad, that’s right, we bad”…’

Stir Crazy is an American comedy starring Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor as two men framed for a bank robbery and each ending up with a 125 year prison sentence, alongside a real bank robber (played by Miguel Angel Suarez) and a man who killed his stepfather (played by Georg Stanford Brown).

Better Off Dead (1985)

Pharrell says: “The paperboy showing up everywhere asking for his 2 dollars is classic.”

Better Off Dead is an American teen romantic comedy starring John Cusack and written and directed by Savage Steve Holland. Originally released by Warner Bros. on 11 October 1985, it tells the story of high school student Lane Meyer who is suicidal after his girlfriend breaks up with him.

National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)

Pharrell says: “My favourite comedy of all time. Clark’s remarks under his breath were amazing.”

National Lampoon’s Vacation is a comedy directed by Harold Ramis and starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Randy Quaid, Dana Barron and Anthony Michael Hall. The film features numerous others, such as comedians John Candy and Imogene Coca, model Christie Brinkley, and Jane Krakowski in smaller roles. The screenplay was written by John Hughes, based on his short story in National Lampoon Magazine, Vacation 58 (the screenplay changes the year to 1983). The original story is a (reportedly) fictionalised account of his own family’s ill-fated trip to Disneyland (changed to Walley World for the film) when Hughes was a boy.

Trading Places (1983)

Pharrell says: “My favourite Eddie Murphy movie. My favourite part is Valentine’s eye when he inhaled, after overhearing the Dukes referring to him in a derogatory way.”

Trading Places is an American comedy directed by John Landis, starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. It tells the story of an upper class commodities broker and a homeless street hustler whose lives cross paths when they are unknowingly made part of an elaborate bet.