It's time for round 3 of the
80s Movie Smack-Off: the Sweet Sixteen! See parts 1-6 in previous posts for details on rounds 1 and 2. We'll complete all of round 3 here. The winners of round 3 go to the Elite Eight. Let's review the remaining movies and their respective match ups and seeds:
Bracket 1 (Haim/Feldman Bracket)
1. Revenge of the Nerds
5. Better Off Dead
6. Police Academy
2. The Money Pit
Bracket 2 (Gag Me with a Spoon Bracket)
1. Fletch
13. Summer School
3. Airplane!
2. The Naked Gun
Bracket 3 (B. A. Baracus Bracket)
1. Caddyshack
13. Amazon Women on the Moon
14. Bachelor Party
2. Weird Science
Bracket 4 (Rocky Dennis Bracket)
1. National Lampoon's Vacation
5. Raising Arizona
3. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
2. Sixteen Candles
Round 3 Results: Haim/Feldman Bracket
The first match in the Sweet Sixteen is between
Revenge of the Nerds and
Better Off Dead. It's obvious how far we are into the tournament, because each of these movies is quintessential 80s. Each are similar in that they are really silly and pure comedies. Some may consider it an upset, but
Better Off Dead gets the squeaker win here. Why? Because it just has a few more weapons in its arsenal (but only a few!). Think about when Lane Myers is forced to date Joanne Greenwald (Rima Delane), his Dad's business partner's daughter. That date goes well. Or how about the Asian dude who talks like Howard Cosell? The cartoon segments in
Better Off Dead are great too.
Nerds is completely awesome and may have gone further in the
Smack-Off if it were in a different bracket, but
Better Off Dead simply has too much.
Better Off Dead wins, 58-56.
The match between 6 seed
Police Academy and 2 seed
The Money Pit isn't nearly as close as the previous one. And, the result is not as the seeding would imply: this match is an upset.
The Money Pit is not nearly as great as
Police Academy.
Police Academy has more 80s style shenanigans, and represents more of what one would expect from an 80s comedy. How about Larvell Jones, the Black dude who can make all the sound effects with his voice. Classic. Or George Martin, the Latin playboy who fakes his smarmy accent to get chicks. Yes,
Police Academy is fantastic. It was so good it spawned about 100 sequels, none of which are as good but funny in their own ways (Lt. Mouser in Police Academy 2 is awesome).
The Money Pit is very good, just not good enough.
Police Academy to the Elite Eight.
Round 3 Results: B. A. Baracus Bracket
The first match of this bracket is between 80s favorite
Fletch and
Summer School.
Summer School, a 13 seed, shockingly blazed into the Sweet Sixteen. The dance is over for it though, because while it deserves to come this far, it just can't compete with
Fletch.
Fletch is too polished, and better in almost all aspects.
Fletch is Chevy Chase's tour de force, and has so many memorable lines.
Summer School has nothing to feel bad about - it is one of the best little gems of the 80s . But, it doesn't have what it takes to be considered the best 80s comedy.
Fletch beats
Summer School, 74-68.
The next match is between 3 seed
Airplane! and 2 seed
The Naked Gun. Yikes. How can one of these movies go down? This is easily one of the closest matches in the entire
Smack-Off. Each features Leslie Nielson, and each is great from start to finish. Both these movies are very similar in their brand of humor - both extremely silly and ridiculous.
Airplane! gets the final shot off with a second on the clock...the ball hits the rim...rattles around...and drops through the bucket!
Airplane! wins here by 2 points, and narrowly escapes to round 4. It's sad to see
The Naked Gun fall here, but
Airplane! wins because of its unreal cast. There are more funny actors in
Airplane!, and it accomplishes just a bit more of what
The Naked Gun attempted to do.
Round 3 Results: Gag Me with a Spoon Bracket
This match is between #1
Caddyshack and upstart sleeper #13
Amazon Women on the Moon.
Amazon Women crushed its previous opponents and surprised the field by making the Sweet Sixteen. It really is an awesome movie. If you like stupid humor, it is for you.
Caddyshack is pretty much the same though. It has plenty of stupid funny moments. This is a tough match to call. However,
Caddyshack pulls through and secures the win.
Amazon Women is fantastic, but
Caddyshack just features to many all-stars (Ted Knight, Rodney Dangerfield, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray). Everyone knows lines from
Caddyshack, and its popularity is well deserved.
Caddyshack to round 4.
14 seed
Bachelor Party and 2 seed
Weird Science round out bracket 3. These are both great movies and offer a compelling match. They are a bit different, with
Bachelor Party perhaps appealing to just a slightly older demographic than
Weird Science.
Weird Science gets the win here though, as it is much more original, zany, and overall funnier.
Bachelor Party has great moments, but the plot gets a bit stale.
Weird Science is another John Hughes favorite and really represents the era perfectly. Anthony Michael Hall is awesome, and Kelly LeBrock does a decent job too. You just have to love her accent - it made her that much hotter ("I'm taking Gary to a pah-tee").
Weird Science is great...it moves on to the Elite Eight.
Round 3 Results: Rocky Dennis Bracket
The first match of the Rocky Dennis Bracket is between 1 seed
Vacation and 5 seed
Raising Arizona. Sheesh. This is a close one.
Vacation represents yet another of John Hughes' seemingly endless examples of 80s comedy gold;
Raising Arizona is a masterpiece as was discussed in previous rounds. It was decreed that the only way
Raising Arizona could lose the
Smack-Off was if it ran into a movie that was as funny and more indicative of the era. Unfortunately,
Vacation is just that movie. Yes,
Vacation gets the win here, in triple overtime, because it is as funny, and definitely represents the pinnacle of 80s comedy. If the tournament was a
Smack-Off to determine masterpiece cinema,
Raising Arizona would bury
Vacation. But, this
Smack-Off seeks the best 80s comedy, and all things considered,
Vacation is just great and slightly edges out
Raising Arizona.
The final match of the Sweet Sixteen is between
Ferris Bueller's Day Off and
Sixteen Candles (what a shock, TWO more John Hughes movies). Each are of course great, and each indicative of 80s teenage life.
Sixteen Candles is a bit more realistic, as
Ferris Bueller gets a bit out of control at times (Ferris singing on a parade float? And why is there a parade on a weekday in Chicago?).
Sixteen Candles gets the nailbiter win here, as it is just so charming and somehow rides the fence perfectly between being a genuine romance and ridiculous side splitter. Long Duck Dong, Bryce, and Ted are too much for
Ferris.
Sixteen Candles just has more of what made 80s comedies great, and is perfect in every way.
Sixteen Candles to round 4.
That completes the Sweet Sixteen!
Better Off Dead, Police Academy, Fletch, Airplane!, Caddyshack, Weird Science, Vacation, and
Sixteen Candles all move on to the Elite Eight. Check the bracket to the right for a review of the brackets as they now stand. And, check back soon for the Elite Eight match ups as we move closer and closer toward crowning the best 80s comedy movie!
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