Airplane! (1980)

A spoof of disasters films, specifically the “Airport” movies and “Zero Hour” (1957), this comedy standard is sophomoric and really funny. Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves and Leslie Nielsen are outstanding, satirizing dramatic versions of themselves.

d: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker | imdb.com | trailer
Don’t call me Shirley. | I speak jive. | Rex Kramer | Johnny

Urban Cowboy (1980)

John Travolta rounds out his dance trilogy (“Saturday Night Fever,” “Grease”) with a two-step at Gilley’s, a real-life country bar with Charlie Daniels and a mechanical bull, which Travolta rides right out of his volatile marriage to sexy Debra Winger.

d: James Bridges | imdb.com | trailer | You wanna get married?
Bud and Sissy get married. | Sissy rides the bull. | Swallow his pride.

Where the Buffalo Roam (1980)

Bill Murray does a great Hunter S. Thompson, throwing away every line in a mumbled monotone. The film is funny but too safe in its sketch comedy-style humor. Peter Boyle plays Thompson’s attorney (Carl Lazlo, Esq.), and Neil Young provides the score.

d: Art Linson | imdb.com | trailer | Super Sunday | For writers ...

Hero at Large (1980)

The film wants to say something about fictional super heroes and everyday ones — “people putting themselves on the line for other people.” John Ritter is engaging but not enough to save a script that needs some real substance to counter its cloying optimism.

d: Martin Davidson | imdb.com | trailer

Starting Over (1979)

In possibly his best performance, Burt Reynolds is sweet and sensitive in a romantic comedy about life after divorce. Dumped by Candice Bergen, Reynolds portrays the uneasiness of dating again with the equally wary Jill Clayburgh. Bergen performs three songs.

d: Alan J. Pakula | imdb.com

Meatballs (1979)

Bill Murray’s charming friendship with 12-year-old Chris Makepeace and his “It just doesn’t matter” speech highlight the comedic set pieces at Camp North Star, where the counselors fool around and there’s an Olympiad showdown with Camp Mohawk.

d: Ivan Reitman | imdb.com | trailer | It just doesn’t matter