Groundhog Day (1993)

As a weather man living the same day over and over, Bill Murray deftly portrays the five stages of grief, balancing the comedy and existentialism in every scene — sometimes with a single look. It’s that look — the Murray look — that makes him so compelling.

d: Harold Ramis | imdb.com | trailer | I’m a god. | Ned Ryerson!
Critics’ Choice | Great Performances | “Comedy First”

King of New York (1990)

Christopher Walken is scary good as a drug kingpin on a mission to put competing dealers and gangs out of business, with the help of henchmen Laurence Fishburne and Giancarlo Esposito. David Caruso and Wesley Snipes lead the vigilante cops after them.

d: Abel Ferrara | imdb.com | trailer

Scrooged (1988)

Bill Murray plays the youngest (and meanest) network president in television history in an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” and a dark satire of 1980s greed. David Johansen and Carol Kane steal scenes as two of the ghosts who visit Murray.

d: Richard Donner | imdb.com | trailer | Towel or VHS
Christmas past | Christmas present | Death | A Christmas miracle

Clean and Sober (1988)

Michael Keaton adeptly uses his kinetic energy to play an alcoholic and drug addict who enters rehab to hide from his problems. Keaton is dark and comic and angry all at once. Morgan Freeman plays Keaton’s counselor and Kathy Baker his love interest.

d: Glenn Gordon Caron | imdb.com | trailer |

Midnight Run (1988)

Robert De Niro (a bounty hunter) escorts Charles Grodin (an embezzler) from New York to Los Angeles, and they’re a fantastic comedy team in an action road picture. The duo spends most the film handcuffed — De Niro the put-upon ex-cop and Grodin perfectly droll.

d: Martin Brest | imdb.com | trailer | These things go down.
Only Good Movies: Best Action Comedy Films

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

Ferris Bueller is the most popular kid in school, the son of doting parents. Why exactly does he need a day off? Matthew Broderick is charming as Ferris, especially when breaking the fourth wall. Jennifer Grey plays his jealous sister with glee.

d: John Hughes | imdb.com | trailer | Jeanie Bueller’s Day Off