Groundhog Day (1993)

"It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life."

It's always intimidating nutting one of my favorite movies because my paltry words can never come close to summating the impact it's had on my life. This classic time-loop rom-com pits Bill Murray against an eternally repeating day as he perpetually tries to get it right (a fantasy we can all relate with, if there were no consequences). This is one of those movies that grows on you as you revisit it over and over throughout the years until it can finally do no wrong. The perfect blend of darkness and despair, with lightheartedness and hope.

5 doozies out of 5

Animal House (1978)

AKA: National Lampoon's Animal House

Before Porky's and Revenge of the Nerds, there was the outrageous fraternity comedy known as Animal House, the first film produced by National Lampoon. Taking place in 1962, it follows the exploits of a troublemaking fraternity who challenges the authority of the dean and the competing frat house. The result is pure unadulterated anarchy and cements it the best college comedy of its time. Of particular note is John Belushi as Bluto, who steals every scene that he's in. It's crass and tasteless in a way that movies don't have the guts to be anymore. A product of its time for sure, but one that is immensely revisitable.

5 food fights! out of 5

Caddyshack (1980)

Harold Ramis's classic sports comedy has a lot of good things going for it; namely Chevy Chase and Rodney Dangerfield as two freewheeling golfers crashing a stuffy old country club, but most people will undoubtedly be well acquainted with Bill Murray as the groundskeeper trying to outsmart a gopher who's digging holes throughout the green. There's a lot going on here and most of it works, so long as you're in an '80s frame of mind. It's politically incorrect, outrageous and irreverent. So it's got that going for it, which is nice.

4 pool floaters out of 5

National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)

"I must be crazy. I'm on a pilgrimage to see a moose. Praise Marty Moose!"

The classic road trip comedy about a well-meaning father (Chevy Chase) who tries to take his wife and kids on a good old-fashioned family vacation, while everything goes wrong at every turn. John Hughes adapts the memories of his youth while Harold Ramis directs the mayhem. It's down and dirty, but this film is pitch-perfect and I won't hear any differently. That's it. That's the review.

5 girls in a red Ferrari out of 5

Airheads (1994)

Brendan Fraser, Steve Buscemi and Adam Sandler play three dopey members of a struggling rock band who hijack a local radio station in an attempt to get their demo tape played on the air. The situation escalates quickly from there as hostages and cops add to the chaos. It's a decent enough set-up, but my main issue is that not much happens in the 90 minute runtime and the stakes feel low. Despite strong performances from all involved, it's neither clever nor memorable beyond the premise, while the overall execution is lacking.

2 Beavis & Butt-Head cameos out of 5

Analyze This (1999)

De Niro takes the NY gangster persona that Scorsese gave to him and sucks all the gravitas out of it. He plays it for laughs. It felt insulting at first that he would disrespect the genre so dismissively, but as it went on I stopped caring. He plays a mob boss with crippling emotional problems. He believes they can be solved by going to see a shrink. Billy Crystal, the shrink, drifts through the film and thinks he’s in a Woody Allen production much of the time. He was more irritating than irritated. It spawned a sequel. I won't be watching it.

2 hits of the pillow out of 5

Ghostbusters II (1989)

After saving the world the first time around, the Ghostbusters have fallen on hard times. Now, 5 years later, they’re called upon once again to rid New York of paranormal phenomena. I never understood why this movie gets such a bad rap. Yeah, it’s not as good as the original, but few sequels ever are. I still think it holds its own as a great movie, and the living Vigo painting and river of pink slime are classic. More or less follows the pre-established formula of the original, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Aside from that, it’s more fun with Peter, Ray, Egon, Winston and company.

3.5 hopping toasters out of 5

Ghostbusters (1984)

Bustin’ makes me feel goooooood!

Another defining movie of my youth. No matter how many times I watch it, it never seems to get old. And the special effects still look as good as it did back then. SCTV and SNL veterans Aykroyd, Ramis and Murray had no idea what a cultural phenomenon they had on their hands when they made this picture. Since then, it’s literally exploded. There’s not much else I can say about it that hasn’t been said before. It’s quite simply a modern comedy classic.

5 particle accelerator proton packs out of 5