Aahh, the great movies of the eighties....

These are some of my favorite teen movies from the era. What's the criteria for a great teen movie from the 80's? Start with a hot leading lady with great eighties hair, (ala Elisabeth Shue or Molly Ringwold) add a quirky best friend (we're talking Jon Cryer as Duckie or even Alan Ruck as Cameron) throw in a little teen angst and lots of horny teenagers with a splash of totally bitchin' tunes and at least one dance sequence and VOILA! You've got yourself a teen movie!

Of course there are tons of great 80's teen movies and I think it goes without saying that there will be some you feel I've left out. But, these are my faves, and like I've mentioned before, I don't like to repeat movies on lists. So, although there are a couple I'm leaving out of this list--they appear elsewhere :)

Released August 14, 1987, Can't Buy Me Love is a hilarious comedy starring Patrick Dempsey and Amanda Peterson. Directed by Steve Rash, the movie is about a nerdy high school student named Ronald Miller (Dempsey) who buys the fake affections of his crush Cindy Mancini (Peterson) in order to appear cool to the other kids. The movie follows Ronald's transformation from "totally geek to totally chic" and all the ups and downs that come along with it.

Believe it or not, twenty years ago, Patrick Dempsey was still a far cry from McSteamy. His portrayal of geeky Ronald is perfect and funny. You don't know whether to laugh at him or feel sorry for him.

Written and directed by John Hughes, 16 Candles was released in May 1984. It has remained ever since in the hearts of many a movie lover. Who could forget classic characters like Samantha Baker and Jake Ryan or farmer Ted or Long Duck Dong. There are probably few of us who don't have a line or two of this eighties favorite memorized.

16 Candles tells the story of Samantha Baker (played by Molly Ringwald) whose family forgets her 16th birthday in the wake of her sister's wedding. Chased by a dork, enamored with a senior and playing host to a crazy exchange student named Dong, Sam's life is full of embarrassing moments and dramatic disappointments.

Adventures in Babysitting was released in July of 1987 and was Chris Columbus's directorial debut. The movie stars Elisabeth Shue as 17 year old babysitter Chris and Keith Coogan, Maia Brewton, and Anthony Rapp as the crazy kids she is in charge of for the evening.

The film's tagline, "She thought babysitting was easy money - until she started hanging out with the Andersons" is pretty fitting, as the movie follows the four through the streets of Chicago on one long night. They get caught in a shoot out, have to run from car thieves, scale skyscrapers and even meet Thor...well sort of.

The opening scene of this movie is one of my absolute favorites. Elisabeth Shue lip syncing to "And Then He Kissed Me" was a great opening.

Released in February of 1985, The Breakfast Club is a John Hughes classic. As with many of his infamous eighties gems, it stars several members of the group dubbed 'the brat pack'.

The movie stars Molly Ringwald as the princess, Judd Nelson as the criminal, Anthony Michael Hall as the geek, Ally Sheedy as the outcast and Emilio Estevez as the jock. The group of five students meet in a Saturday detention and have the time of their lives stuck in the library ofthe school.

More than just a comedy or a drama about a bunch of kids, The Breakfast Club is a revealing look into the lives of those we tend to not notice; those who are different from us or challenge us to look outside the boxes we confine ourselves in.

Released in 1982 and directed by Amy Heckerling, Fast Times at Ridgemont Highboasted an impressive cast of up and comers. Many starring in their first roles. Fast Times is about a group of California High School students looking for love and fun and based on the real life stories of Cameron Crowe.

The movie follows characters Jeff Spicoli; the stoned surfer, Stacy and Brad Hamilton; the naive brother and sister, Vic Damone; the slick tough guy and Phoebe Cates' boobs, aka Linda Barret; the hot best friend.

The list of names in the movie's cast spells out the future of Hollywood. With names like Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Forest Whitaker and even bits parts for Eric Stoltz, Nicholas Cage and Anthony Edwards, the cast roster reads like a who's who.

Released in June of 1986 and starring Matthew Broderick in the title role, Ferris Beuller's Day Off is nothing less than a cult classic. There are few who aren't familiar with the many favorite lines from the film.

Ben Stein's recognizable nasal voice, for instance, calling out, "Beuller.... Beuller.... Beuller..." or Broderick himself telling the camera, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

The film follows high school senior Ferris Beuller and girlfriend Sloane along with buddy Cameron on a trip through the city of Chicago. Lunch in a fancy restaurant, singing Wayne Newton songs atop a parade float and dodging the ever vigilant principal, Ed Rooney, keeps the three on their toes. Everything about this movie is fun, from the music to the scenery to the message of living life, this movie makes you smile.

Karate Kid was released in 1984. It was directed by John G. Avildsen and stars Ralph Macchio as Daniel, Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi and Elisabeth Shue as Ali. The movie tells the story of a young kid named Daniel who moves to a new town and finds acceptance and meaning with an older karate teacher, Mr. Miyagi. He learns Karate basics by taking care of menial tasks for his instructor. Everybody surely remembers, 'wax on, wax off...sand the floor....paint the house....and paint the fence'

Released in 1984, Footloose stars Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer and Chris Penn as a group of teenagers fighting the powers that be in a small town. They play high school student battling a town law banning any type of dancing. In true eighties fashion, this movie provides plenty of dance scenes with Ren (Bacon) and Willard (Penn).

This movie has a amazing soundtrack and many toe tapping dance portions. It's an eighties movie night staple in my book.

Released in 1987, Some kind of Wonderfulstars Eric Stoltz as Keith and Mary Stuart Masterson as his best friend Watts. Keith works at a garage and is in love with Lea Thompson's character, Amanda. Watts helps Keith pull off a magical date night with Amanda despite her secret love for her best friend.

This is one of my favorites, surprise surprise, and I love Watts. She tries so hard to be a tough girl and put off the impression that nothing bothers her but underneath she is hopelessly in love with her best friend.

I wasn't able to use the trailer for this one, so I went with the best part (well one of the best) of the movie.

Pretty in Pink is another John Hughes masterpiece released in 1986. It stars Molly Ringwald as Andie; a girl from the wrong side of the tracks hoping for a storybook romance with rich kid Blane, played by Andrew McCarthy. Her best friend Duckie (Jon Cryer) is, of course, in love with her but can't tell her.

This movie is full of hilarious lines, "Drinking and Driving don't mix. That's why I ride a bike." ala Duckie and plenty of the required romance and music of the eighties teen genre.