Fox

In the new thriller "Stoker," there's a scene involving Mia Wasikowska playing piano with her uncle, played by Matthew Goode. During this incredibly sophisticated duet he puts his arm around her back to play some keys at a higher octave, and they both start breathing heavily…

That's right, it's a sex scene with NO SEX!

This is not an innovative conceit, though, since we have nine other examples of this titillating tactic on display for your viewing pleasure. It's all of the hanky with none of the panky.

Enjoy.

9. 'Titanic' (1997)

Before Jack and Rose had their sweaty tryst in the backseat of that old jalopy, Kate Winslet commissioned Leonardo DiCaprio for a nude modeling session where his pencil is making love to every luscious curve of her body. As for what happened next… "You mean, did we 'do it'? Sorry to disappoint you Mr. Bodine, but Jack was very professional."

8. 'Amelie' (2001)

In Jean-Pierre Jeunet's intoxicating romantic fantasy there's an almost nuclear level of sexual buildup between Amélie Poulain (Audrey Tautou) and her object of stalk… er, affection, Nino (Mathieu Kassovitz) as they endlessly flirt without ever having a proper date. One such rendezvous involves Amélie entering a tunnel ride (as if it wasn't symbolic enough) and having Nino breathe on her creepily while caressing her earlobe with his skeleton hands. If that ain't love…

7. 'Ghost' (1990)

This would be a quintessential example of a sexless sex scene if it didn't lead directly into the deed itself. Still, the image of Demi Moore at the pottery wheel rubbing her hands over the spinning, wet clay phallis between her legs while Patrick Swayze manfully gets in on the action is supremely stimulating. The Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody" became a bedroom standard (and top 20 hit again) in the aftermath of this messy mating ritual.

6. 'Sleeper' (1973)

Decades before Sun-Yi, Woody Allen found immense gratification with another taboo object: THE ORB. In "Sleeper" he plays a Greenwich Village clarinetist who is frozen and wakes up in the far future, and while posing as a robot at an orgy he winds up passing around a metallic ball that seems to possess erotic powers. The resulting overstimulation of the orb provides Allen more satisfaction than Mia Farrow ever could.

5. '40 Days, 40 Nights' (2002)

Remember when Josh Hartnett was, like, the next big thing? Sure you don't, but this comedic vehicle had the "Pearl Harbor" hunk gallantly giving up sex (including self abuse) for the entirety of lent, leaving him frustrated and frenzied when he falls in love with the dizzyingly attractive Shannon Sossamon. They manage to get around his purity pledge through clever use of flower petals, which takes them to new romantic heights.

4. 'The Thomas Crown Affair' (1968)

Set to the sensuous sounds of jazz great Michel Legrand, the infamous chess scene in this caper flick is a tour-de-force of suggestiveness as crafted by director Norman Jewison and his editor Hal Ashby. The players: Steve McQueen's cunning thief and Faye Dunaway's nubile insurance investigator. The strategy: lots of arousing gazes, splayed legs and fondling of Bishops. Who scores? EVERYONE.

3. 'Walk Hard' (2007)

Innuendo, anybody? Judd Apatow co-wrote and produced (along with director Jake Kasdan) this Johnny Cash parody starring John C. Reilly as a perpetually horny/stoned musician named Dewey Cox who has a wild rise and fall and rise-again career. A duet montage built around his budding relationship with June Carter stand-in Darlene Madison (Jenna Fischer) walks the line (get it?) between suggestion and full-on explicit canoodling through clever use of ice cream, sawing wood, etc.

2. 'Lady and the Tramp' (1955)

Yes, the Disney camp of horn dog illustrators have been known to slip in a penis drawing every now and again (eh-hem, "The Little Mermaid"), but this 50's-era romance between two star-crossed pooches has an undeniable undercurrent of canine eroticism. Case in point: the famous spaghetti scene, where Tramp gives her a meatball, not so subtly suggesting the other meat he wants to slip her. The scene transitions into the two of them at some kind of "lovers lane"-type situation… c'mon! You know he left his tramp stamp on her hindquarters.

1. 'When Harry Met Sally' (1989)

Perhaps the most famous of all sexless sex scenes involves Meg Ryan teaching Billy Crystal a thing or two about the theatricality of the fairer sex in the sack. Proving a point of how easy it is to fake a BIG O, Ryan sets down her pastrami sandwich and builds to a thunderous, earth-shaking climax… then, without batting an eye, has a dainty bite of potato salad. For those of you wanting to know, yes, the pastrami at Katz's Delicatessen is that good.

MGM

Ah, New Year's Eve — a magical evening filled with champagne, kisses at the stroke of midnight and, of course, a fresh start to the year ahead. Too bad in real life it's so much more often filled with overpriced dinners, obnoxious drunks and broken resolutions. (Yes, we often do manage to break our resolutions before even crawling into bed.) In other words, New Year's Eve almost always blows … yet somehow in the movies it's so damn perfect.

In honor of Hollywood's optimistic vision for the year's most stressful night, here's a compilation of the nine greatest moments caught on celluloid as the clock strikes 12. It may not be as good as the real thing … because it's even better. Happy New Year, indeed.

1. 'Sleepless in Seattle' (1993)

This romantic comedy actually (gasp!) gets it right. After some ill-fated back-and-forth, Sam (Tom Hanks) and Annie (Meg Ryan) finally unite — in large part thanks to Sam's scheming son — atop the Empire State Building just before closing. So, the music's kind of a cheese-fest, and we're not sure how we feel about Ryan's braid, but these two so clearly belong together that we couldn't be happier that they've found one another. It's almost enough to give us hope for our own New Year's romance. Almost.

2. 'The Apartment' (1960)

Written and directed by the legendary Billy Wilder, "The Apartment" might have been ahead of its time, as C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) quits his job and hooks up with his (ex-) boss's girl (Shirley MacLaine). Sounds like a great New Year's Eve to us — though we're not sure about those repercussions once the morning of the first rolls around.

3. 'When Harry Met Sally' (1989)

After years of friendship, followed by a night of awkward sex, Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) are in … let's just call it … a weird place. Until Harry has an epiphany, jogs across a freezing New York City (no cabs on New Year's!) and confesses his feelings for his ex-BFF. Featuring some of the most romantic and funniest dialogue that's ever graced the silver screen, "When Harry Met Sally" is truly one for the ages. Gentlemen, take note. This is how it's done.

4. '200 Cigarettes' (1999)

Technically speaking, Monica (Martha Plimpton) has a New Year's Eve that's not so great, since she decides no one is coming to her party and boozes it up until she blacks out. However, when she awakens, she finds Polaroids proving she was wrong. Lots of peeps came to her soiree. How great is that? Plus, like, a lot of the Affleck boys are in this one, which pretty much guarantees it needs a spot on this list.

5. 'Radio Days' (1987)

Even Woody Allen can't resist waxing poetic on New Year's Eve. Narrating from high above a Times Square rooftop, Allen gives a touching speech about his childhood. "I never forgot that New Year's Eve when Aunt Bea awakened me to watch 1944 come in. And I've never forgotten any of those people or any of the voices we used to hear on the radio. Although the truth is, with the passing of each New Year's Eve, those voices do seem to grow dimmer and dimmer." If we could be half as insightful on our own New Year's Eve, we'd be … way more insightful than we usually are.

6. 'Bridget Jones's Diary' (2001)

Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) is ready to close the year with an impromptu trip to Paris with her pals when lo and behold who should show up but her would-be paramour, Mark (Colin Firth), who cancelled his trip to America to profess his love for the eccentric beauty. A potential session of necking in Bridget's apartment is foiled by Mark reading her diary, in which she describes him as "rude, unpleasant, dull" and as having a "giant gherkin thrust up his backside." "Double s**t," indeed! Luckily, Bridget chases after her man down snowy streets wearing little more than her underwear so he can finally "stick his f**king tongue down her f**king throat," as one of Bridget's friends so delicately put it. A very romantic — if a little chilly — way to end the year.

7. 'About a Boy' (2002)

Is there anything better than love at first sight? How about love at first sight with Hugh Grant? That's exactly what happens at the pivotal turning point in "About a Boy" when Will (Grant) meets Rachel (Rachel Weisz) at a New Year's Eve party. So, Will does sort of lie about having a son (though, as he points out, it was Rachel's own assumption), but false representation aside, it's a pretty awesome moment.

8. 'Entrapment' (1999)

Romance not your thing? No problem. How about celebrating New Year's Eve by pulling off the biggest bank heist in history ... with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Sean Connery, no less? As the party reaches full swing below, Virginia (Zeta-Jones) and Robert (Connery) scale one of the tallest buildings we've ever seen, crossing with the help of some festive strands of lights. They're about to become rich beyond their wildest dreams. Which sounds pretty good to us.

9. 'An Affair to Remember' (1957)

Terry (Deborah Kerr) falls for Nickie (Cary Grant) and the two share a perfect kiss on New Year's Eve — even though they're both engaged to other people. (Sigh.) They decide to meet six months later at the top of the Empire State Building ... if they're both still interested, that is. Wondering what happens in the end? Uh, you saw "Sleepless in Seattle," right?

NextMovie

Admit it. You've had relationships that turned into horror shows. The screaming, the crying, the panic, the knife-wielding ... well, we can only take this metaphor so far.

'Tis the season for horror, romance and comic hijinks in equal measure. Love a good scare? In honor of Halloween, we've reimagined six romantic comedies as outright horror movies — courtesy of our friend Old Red Jalopy. 

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YouTube

For centuries, music, art and poetry have revered the human body, but no one did it quite like rapper Sir Mix-A-Lot in his classic 1992 hit "Baby Got Back." Now, 20 years later, the song gets the cinematic treatment in a new video that features 295 movies singing the lyrics to everyone's favorite ode to the derriere.

Many of your movie favorites express their booty adoration in this video by dondrapersayswhat, including the horny "American Pie" crew, seemingly straight-laced Atticus Finch from "To Kill a Mockingbird" and Sally Albright from "When Harry Met Sally...," letting out her famous groan, of course.

Check out the video below, and see if it makes you appreciate the song — and the backside — anymore than you already do.

Getty Images

Nora Ephron, the celebrated writer and director of romantic comedies such as "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail," died on Tuesday. She was 71.

Ephron died in a New York City hospital after a long battle with leukemia, according to The Hollywood Reporter. News of Ephron's passing away follows reports from earlier this afternoon that she was gravely ill and almost certainly in her final hours.

Nora Ephron was a celebrated screenwriter, playwright and director and considered a Hollywood pioneer for being one of the first women to write and direct her own films.

Ephron made her feature screenwriting debut with "Silkwood" (1983), which earned her an Oscar nomination. One of her most beloved screenplays was another Oscar nominee, "When Harry Met Sally" (1989), the highly influential romantic comedy that chronicled the longtime friendship and later romance between two New Yorkers (Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan). Ephron went on to direct Ryan and Tom Hanks in both "Sleepless in Seattle" (1993) and "You've Got Mail" (1998).

Most recently, Nora Ephron wrote and directed "Julie & Julia" (2009), starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. Her other writing and directing credits include "Mixed Nuts" (1994), "Michael" (1996), "Lucky Numbers" (2000) and "Bewitched" (2005).

Ephron was married to writer Nicholas Pileggi ("Goodfellas," "Casino") and has two sons, Jacob and Max, from her previous marriage to investigative reporter Carl Bernstein.

Universal

Relationships can turn us into self-involved, sentimental wrecks. But throw on a good romantic comedy and suddenly it's tough to take yourself too seriously. With life back in perspective, you laugh away your tears and regain the certainty that love will conquer all.

Well, unless you're a guy.

Men seem more immune to the mirror these movies hold up, perhaps because they rarely see themselves reflected. It's the infrequent film that makes a guy nod his head and say "Yup, that's me in love. Aren't I silly?"

Because the hilarious new flick "The Five-Year Engagement" fits the bill, here are our favorite rom-coms that aren't just for chicks.

9. '(500) Days of Summer' (2009)

Fox Searchlight

In a bit of postmodern role reversal, Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a hopeless romantic who's sure that true love is his only shot at happiness. Zooey Deschanel plays Summer, a pragmatist who doesn't believe true love exists. As Tom retells the story of their doomed romance to his friends, his memories and self-deceptions are displayed before us in all their fantastical, musical and surrealistic glory. If "Annie Hall" and "Glee" had a baby, it would be this -- and it would be a dancing baby.

8. 'Some Like It Hot' (1959)

Billy Wilder's classic screwball comedy asks the question: Would you dress up like a woman for a few of weeks for a shot at Marilyn Monroe? Had it been any other actress, the premise might not have flown. But it's Marilyn Monroe. So we totally get why Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis dress in drag, trip in heels and suffer endless come-ons from dirty old men, just to steal a few more moments with the blonde bombshell. This pic is often cited by film theorists for its subversive, cross-dressing, subtextual implications. But for most audiences, it's just funny seeing Jack Lemmon in lipstick.

7. 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' (2008)

Universal

Jason Segel plays a broken -- often nude -- man in this underrated gem marking Russell Brand's (and Segel's penis's) debut on the big screen. After being dumped by his TV star girlfriend, Sarah (the lovely Kristen Bell), Segel takes a consolatory trip to Hawaii. But Sarah happens to be staying at his hotel with Brand -- the sort of VD-infused sex god every guy has nightmares about his girl hooking up with. It's hard not to love Segel, who isn't afraid to play the sad sack we've all been at one time or another. And it's hard to get over his awesome Dracula rock opera with puppets.

6. 'Roxanne' (1987)

A must-watch for males disenchanted with romance. Steve Martin proves language is the key to a woman's heart, even when the poet's saddled with the world’s biggest schnoz. Daryl Hannah is elegant as the beautiful Roxanne, who thinks she's hot for a hunky fireman, but learns the frilly words he seduced her with were fed to him by his long-nosed co-worker. An added bonus is that guys watching this flick can feel super classy 'cause the story's based on the French play "Cyrano de Bergerac." And French stuff is super classy.

5. 'Annie Hall' (1977)

If you don't get Woody Allen's opening joke about not wanting to belong to any club that would have you as a member, then "Annie Hall" isn't for you. Allen resembles what a man's super-ego might look like if it grew limbs and purchased some glasses. And his obsessive dissection of his relationship with the wonderfully scatterbrained Annie (Diane Keaton) is an acquired taste. But if you're the type who too often feels with his head instead of his heart, nothing will help you laugh your way through a break-up like this Academy Award-winning masterpiece.

4. 'The Wedding Singer' (1998)

New Line

When it's boys-night-in (Wednesdays, traditionally), this Adam Sandler/Drew Barrymore '80s flashback is sure to please the fellas. Few dudes can resist curling up on the couch in their jammies and singing along with Sandler as he ruins weddings with tunes of bitterness and despair. And let's not forget Barrymore, who was at her scientifically confirmed zenith of adorkableness, resembling a sort of...sexy Tweety Bird. And just when you thought it couldn't get better, that grandma performs "Rapper’s Delight."

3. 'When Harry Met Sally' (1989)

Billy Crystal gave up the male race's secret that all men want to sleep with every female friend. And never before has a movie led to so many awkward conversations in the car ride home from the theater. Meg Ryan gave up the female race's secret that all women fake orgasms. And never before has a male audience so enjoyed a point being proven. Sometimes honesty needs to be screamed -- and moaned a little.

2. 'There's Something About Mary' (1998)

This Farrelly Brothers tour de force might best be remembered for its outrageous scenes of zipper-meets-testicle mishaps and canine CPR miracles. But it's far superior to other gross-out films of its day. At its core lies the sweet story of a sentimental guy (Ben Stiller) who refuses to end his search for his high school crush, even after being falsely informed that she's a 250-pound, wheelchair-bound mail-order bride. Cameron Diaz shines brightly at the center of the film, and it's easy to understand why Stiller must compete with every creep under the sun (including that perv, Brett Favre) to win her affections. It's the rare comedy that can be earnestly high-minded and hilariously lowbrow at the same time.

1. 'High Fidelity' (2000)

Buena Vista

Rob (John Cusack) and Barry (Jack Black) work at a record store and waste innumerable hours ranking music as if taste could be accounted for (yes, like we're doing here...). When Rob's girlfriend leaves him, he acts like a guy. He begs for her to return, even though he wanted to see other people. He sleeps with Lisa Bonet (who wouldn't?) but is filled with sanctimonious rage upon learning his ex is shagging Ray (Tim Robbins), a cheesy guru who's into tantric sex and world music.

By the conclusion, Rob's back with the girl and makes her a mixtape she'll like, rather than imposing his own tastes. This small leap of maturity feels representative of the real life self-improvements men hope to make. And it's this realism, along with its wit, that makes "High Fidelity" a favorite amongst menfolk everywhere.

Originally published Nov. 24, 2011.

TriStar

The best thing about our list of the nine greatest karaoke scenes in movies? That the scenes we've chosen are not only fun to watch, but they can also provide helpful hints to real-world karaoke singers (even those who happen to be movie stars).

From the sincere crooning in "Duets" and Chris Tucker's committed Michael Jackson cover in "Rush Hour 2" to Hilary Swank's sexy Prince jam in "P.S. I Love You" and the deliciously over-the-top performance of our number one pick, these are some movie karaoke moments that might just inspire you to rock the mic yourself.

9. Andre Braugher and Paul Giamatti in 'Duets' (2000)

The whole movie's about karaoke, so of course, we had to include one of its many karaoke performances to get this list started. Do we still giggle a bit at the mere idea of a plot that revolves around Huey Lewis as a road-tripping karaoke hustler? Yeah (come on, the term "karaoke hustler"?). But there's nothing funny, and a lot completely delightful, about Braugher and Giamatti's singing "Try a Little Tenderness." In karaoke, there are several ways to wow with your performance, and sincerity is one of those ways. These "Duet" dudes? They've got it (plus pretty good voices, too).

8. Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz in 'A Life Less Ordinary' (1997)

He's a fired janitor, and she's the spoiled daughter of his wealthy boss. Why are they doing karaoke? He kidnapped her, and their performance of "Beyond the Sea" takes place when she, bored with her life, decides to go along with the 'napping. She's fully embracing it at the bar where they enthusiastically sing (and dance) while posing as newlyweds. And this brings us to karaoke method No. 2: If you haven't got the vocal chops (and Diaz, especially, does not), enthusiasm can sell a bill of goods when your voice can't.

7. Chris Tucker in 'Rush Hour 2' (2001)

See, enthusiasm. Chris Tucker is no Michael Jackson, nor even a reasonably talented MJ impersonator; but he tackles "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" with enough zeal, and sincere attempts at Jacko dance moves, that his karaoke performance is pure entertainment. And those ladies in the club sure seem to dig his action.

6. Hilary Swank in 'P.S. I Love You' (2007)

Warner Bros.

Uptight woman (Hilary Swank), raucous party guy man (Gerard Butler) ... It's soooo chick flick-y to have him dare her -- bet her $200, actually -- to get up and perform a bit of karaoke in a crowded bar. But Swank's Holly takes it one step further by hiking up her shirt, lowering her skirt and belting out Prince's naughty "Gett Off" with a sexy dance to boot. Well, it was sexy, until she tripped over those mic wires. Still, an A for effort!

Watch the scene

5. Bill Murray in 'Lost in Translation' (2003)

Bill Murray singing Roxy Music? As if we need say more. But we will. This rocks. Because as funny as Murray is, he is exactly that great when he turns it around for the drama. We're not saying his voice is great, but there could have been no better way to show his character Bob's connection with Scarlett Johansson's Charlotte than his singing of "More Than This." Classic.

4. Joseph Gordon-Levitt in '(500) Days of Summer' (2009)

There's another way you can go with karaoke: You can actually be a good singer. Such is the case of JGL performing the Pixies' "Here Comes Your Man." Though his Tom is supposed to be very drunk -- which is the only way he can screw up the courage to take the karaoke stage -- the actor (who is also a singer a real life) kills it, egged on by the beautiful Summer (Zooey Deschanel), the girl he hopes to impress enough that she'll eventually break his heart.

3. Cameron Diaz in 'My Best Friend's Wedding' (1997)

Ooooh, that Julia Roberts! She was a bully, that's what she was. And she tricked poor Kimmie (Cameron Diaz) into picking up the karaoke mic, knowing Kimmie was deathly afraid of singing in front of a crowd (and with good reason ... Kimmie = terrible). But the joke was on Roberts' Julianne, because she forgot one important rule of chickflickdom: People love an underdog. When Kimmie works up the nerve to warble "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself," she wows the crowd (and her fiancé, played by Dermot Mulroney) and leaves Julianne faced.

2. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan in 'When Harry Met Sally' (1989)

This karaoke scene is so old-school that Harry (Crystal) doesn't even call it karaoke. He calls it a "singing machine." And we love when he and Sally, while shopping for a wedding gift at a Sharper Image-y store, fire it up and take it out for a spin with that "Oklahoma" gem "Surrey With the Fringe on Top." Harry even does some theatrical gesturing during the song for bonus karaoke, err, singing-machine points; and no, no one really knows what a surrey is.

1. Jim Carrey in 'The Cable Guy' (1996)

Jim Carrey throws his whole body into his best comedy bits, and that's why this karaoke movie moment, in which he literally throws his body onto the floor, tops our list. His TV-obsessed cable guy, Chip Douglas, is trying to impress new friend Steven (Matthew Broderick) with a swingin' soiree, and that means a rowdy performance of "Somebody to Love," complete with leather pants, fringe jacket, gyrating hips and a version of the song that's so good it ended up on the movie's soundtrack.

Funny Or Die

How do you improve on Rob Reiner's 1989 romantic comedy classic "When Harry Met Sally?" The same way you improve every other movie: add vampires and zombies.

So goes the thinking in Billy Crystal's hilarious, high-profile short film for Funny or Die. With Reiner and Crystal playing themselves, the duo pitches a sequel to Adam Scott -- playing a smarmy Hollywood d-bag as only he can -- that presupposes Sally's death and how Harry can find love again. The d-bags love it, with one minor (read: major) tweak. Enter Helen Mirren and her vampiric fangs.

The film co-stars Maya Rudolph, Rob Riggle, Mike O'Malley and a very special cameo. We won't ruin that part. Just watch.

Relativity Media

The new comedy "Take Me Home Tonight" celebrates the 1980s and all its excesses, from Mercedes-worship to Frankie Goes To Hollywood telling us all to relax.

The '80s was a time of rampant materialism and mohawks, and the only way people got through it -- like WWII -- was with laughter. 

In honor of Topher Grace's nostalgic comedy, we're celebrating the 25 most-uniquely only-in-the-80's comedies, the ones where the hair was froofy, Eddie Murphy still brought the funny, and the geek inherited the Earth. 

25. 'The Naked Gun' (1988)

Paramount

The same team that made "Airplane!" decided to bring their anarchic brand of humor to the small screen with "Police Squad" (In Color), but the satire of TV cop shows only lasted a measly six episodes. After the show gained a cult following, the trio decided to resurrect Leslie Nielsen's accident-prone Lieutenant Frank Drebin to surprising success and a comedic trilogy, starting with this one. It involved a plot to have ballplayer Reggie Jackson assassinate Queen Elizabeth II, as well as Drebin's attempt to clear his partner of criminal charges. That partner is played by O.J. Simpson. 'Nuf said.
Best Line:  "Jane, since I've met you, I've noticed things that I never knew were there before... birds singing, dew glistening on a newly formed leaf, stoplights."  

24. 'Better Off Dead' (1985)

Paramount

Before he auditioned to be Peter Gabriel's publicist by holding up that boombox outside Ione Skye's window in "Say Anything," a dough-faced young John Cusack was a geek du jour, particularly in the two camp masterpieces he made with writer/director Savage Steve Holland, "Better Off Dead" and "One Crazy Summer." While "Summer" has its moments, "Dead" helped define Cusack as the sympathetic everydork in his role as Lane Meyer, a nice guy who turns suicidal when his girlfriend dumps him and he can't deal with his absurdly dysfunctional family. With the help of best friend Curtis Armstrong, he reinvigorates his lust for life through a beautiful French foreign-exchange student, a ski competition, and various flights of imagination, including a hamburger singing Van Halen's "Everybody Wants Some!!"
Best Line: "I want my two dollars!"

23. 'Beverly Hills Cop' (1984)

Paramount

Synthesizers. Shoulder pads. Yeah, this was the '80s. Detroit cop Axel Foley is a fish out of water in high-tone Beverly Hills, but his wise-guy attitude and willingness to bluff his way through any situation makes him Eddie Murphy's signature role. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer hit the sweet spot with the Number 1 movie of 1984, and concocted his winning formula of action, comedy, and music video style that would give birth to Michael Bay a decade later. Murphy somehow took a script written for Sylvester Stallone and made it his own with snappy improvised one-liners like…
Best Line: "Disturbing the peace? I got thrown out of a window! What's the charge for getting pushed out of a moving car, huh? Jaywalking?" 

22. 'Can’t Buy Me Love' (1987)

Touchstone

Before he was Dr. McDreamy, "Grey's Anatomy" star Patrick Dempsey was giving the Coreys a run for their money as teen-hearthrob-of-the-moment in this 1987 comedy. He plays a (suspiciously handsome) nerd who, in true sociopath fashion, takes advantage of popular cheerleader Amanda Peterson's dire straights and offers her $1000 to pretend to be his girlfriend. Look for an early Seth Green appearance, plus bonus '80s points for using Billy Idol's "Dancin' with Myself" on the soundtrack. This was recently remade with Nick Cannon as "Love Don't Co$t a Thing," while "Easy A" took their "riding lawnmower into sunset" ending.
Best Line: "I mean, he went from totally geek, to totally chic!" 

21. 'Revenge of the Nerds' (1984)

Twentieth Century Fox

The movie that DEFINED nerd culture. Clearly neither the kung-fu coolness of his brother David, nor the musical hipness of his bro Keith rubbed off on Robert Carradine, who embodies dorkiness incarnate as Lewis Skolnick. Skolnick's dweebiness is matched by future "ER" MD Anthony Edwards as Gilbert, and the go-to '80s comedy guber Curtis Armstrong ("Risky Business," "Better Off Dead") as Booger, while they face off against the ruthless jockocracy at their university. It's brains vs. brawn!
Best Line: "NERDS!"

20. 'The Breakfast Club' (1985)

Universal

Five disparate high school students in detention: a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal. No it's not a trendy reality show, it's John Hughes' teen angst magnum opus, the film that made him the defining voice of the MTV generation. Their Saturday afternoon locked in the Shermer High library leads to antics, but also soul searching and moving beyond stereotypes to some greater mutual understanding. Unfortunately, by the end Anthony Michael Hall is the only one without a date. We won't forget about you, Anthony.
Best Line: "Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?" 

19. 'Weird Science' (1985)

Universal

Since breaking into secret government files was way easier during the '80s era of the internet, ultra-dorks Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell-Smith use a PC with a dial-up modem to somehow create the girl of their dreams, played by Kelly "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful" LeBrock. Having their own live-in sex goddess turns out to be more than they bargained for, and the naïve boys somehow learn about self-confidence and stuff. Dig that crazy themesong by Oingo Boingo, whose frontman Danny Elfman later became the house band for Tim Burton movies.
Best Line: "If you ever get the chance, shower with them. I did. Mmm, it's a mindscrambler. Hurts so good." 

18. 'Risky Business' (1983)

Warner Bros

Sure, there's Tom Cruise dancing in his underwear, and, yes, he does turn his house into a brothel while his parents are out of town, but this is serious business. Writer/Director Paul Brickman made the unusual choice to shoot and score his teen sex comedy like some kind of French art movie, and despite its wild reputation this flick has much more in common with "The Graduate" than "Porky's." Looking back, "Risky Business" defines the capitalism run amok of the Reagan-era better than "Wall Street," and Rebecca De Mornay made a ride on the Chicago L train very appealing.
Best Line: "I am NOT the house." 

17. 'Trading Places' (1983)

Paramount

Eddie Murphy had just scored a hit with his movie debut in "48 Hours," but "Trading Places" was his first out-and-out comedy smash. John Landis directs his Blues Brother Dan Aykroyd as a stuck-up douchenozzle who loses his job as a commodities broker to a wise-crackin' street hustler (Murphy) after his bosses make a wager. Jamie Lee Curtis is the original hooker with a heart of gold, who helps Aykroyd and Murphy get revenge. This film actually formed the basis of a Wall Street regulation known as the "Eddie Murphy Rule," which deals with insider trading.
Best Line: "Hey, baby, what's happening? How are ya doing? Once you have a man with no legs, you never go back, baby." 

16. 'National Lampoon's Vacation' (1983)

Warner Bros

Harold Ramis continued his streak as reigning creative genius of '80s comedy by directing John Hughes' script for the first of many vacation adventures for the Griswold family. Chevy Chase's bumbling Clark Griswold is in many ways the forerunner to Homer Simpson, the great American dolt who brings one disaster after another, despite good intentions. Their trip to Disneyla… er, Wally World leaves a trail of destruction along the Midwest, from a dead aunt to a terrorist attack on a theme park. Uptown girl Christy Brinkley makes a memorable impression as the Ferrari-driving dream girl.
Best Line: "I'm gonna have fun and you're gonna have fun. We're all gonna have so much f**king fun we'll need plastic surgery to remove our goddamn smiles." 

15. 'When Harry Met Sally' (1989)

Columbia

New York's legendary Katz's Deli in the East Village became immortalized when Meg Ryan decided to fake a Big O in the middle of their crowded restaurant opposite Billy Crystal. Guess that makes it okay for them to charge $17 for a sandwich now, right? Director Rob Reiner and writer Nora Ephron basically took the Woody Allen formula of pithy NYC intellectuals + romantic neuroses and streamlined it for mass consumption, but this parable about male/female friendship still sparkles with wit and fabulous chemistry. 
Best Line: "I'll have what she's having."  

14. 'Airplane!' (1980)

Paramount

Fresh off "Kentucky Fried Movie," the wackypants team of ZAZ (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker) channeled the satiric gag-a-second spirit of MAD Magazine with this spoof of all-star disaster movies. Robert Hays plays a traumatized former pilot onboard a plane to win back his girlfriend (Julie Hagerty), but when the fish dinner fells the crew, he's forced to pilot the aircraft come hell or high comedy. The real stroke of genius was hiring veteran character actors like Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, and Leslie Nielsen to spout absurd lines ("And don't call me Shirley") with dead seriousness.
Best Line: "Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit amphetamines." 

13. 'Beetlejuice' (1988)

Warner Bros

The ghost with the most gave us a guided tour of the afterlife, and introduced us all to the pleasures of a good calypso tune. Michael Keaton arguably reached the peak of his manic abilities, giving the most wild and unhinged performance of his career as the titular bio-exorcist who agrees to help a pair of ghosts (a really skinny Alec Baldwin and a still-hirable Geena Davis) to rid their home of the living. Tim Burton clearly had a field day playing in the world of the dead, like some kid in a goth candy store.
Best Line: "Go ahead... make my millennium." 

12. 'Stripes' (1981)

Columbia

Writer Harold Ramis and director Ivan Reitman clearly understood what made the best Marx Brothers movies work: You put those lunatics somewhere very stodgy and respectful (the opera, university, etc) and let the insanity ensue. Now where could you put Bill Murray where he would cause the most trouble? THE ARMY. Murray's John Winger is a New York slacker who just can't get his act together, and who convinces his best friend (Ramis) to join the military with him on a whim. Basic training turns into an ordeal between the sassy, disrespectful Winger and Warren Oates' discipline-obsessed drill sergeant Hulka.
Best Line: "No, we're not homosexual, but we are willing to learn." 

11. 'Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure' (1985)

Warner Bros

Paul Reubens had been performing some iteration of his man-child persona Pee-Wee Herman since the late '70s, but with the help of weirdo animator Tim Burton (making his feature directorial debut) he launched Pee-Wee into the pantheon of '80s pop culture icons with this movie. A deranged play on Vittorio De Sica's "Bicycle Thieves," it tells the story of Pee Wee's cross-country quest to find his precious stolen bike, during which he meets a motorcycle gang, the ghost of a dead trucker, a starry-eyed waitress, and Milton Berle. A cameo by Twisted Sister confirms the deep '80s-ness of the whole thing, but Reubens' dance to "Tequila" is for the ages.
Best Line: "You don't wanna get mixed up with a guy like me. I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel." 

10. 'Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure' (1989)

Orion Pictures

Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter launched their way into superstardom (well, one of them did) with this rollicking blend of "Time Bandits" meets "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." The title duo are a pair of California airheads who get George Carlin to loan them a time machine so they can collect famous historical figures like Abraham Lincoln and Genghis Khan for their school report. "Bill and Ted" is pure bliss, so long as we pretend the aptly titled sequel ("Bogus Journey") never existed.
Best Line: "San Dimas High School football rules!" 

9. 'Big' (1988)

Twentieth Century Fox

Rival studio executives must have made a drunken bet, since the tail-end of the '80s saw an inexplicable string of body-switching comedies, including "Like Father Like Son" (Kirk Cameron), "Vice Versa" (Fred Savage), and "18 Again!" (George Burns). All of them made you want to switch bodies with a dead person. From out of the muck came the mighty "Big," towering above the rest with its charming story of a young boy who doesn't so much switch bodies as become an adolescent in an adult's body, probably what he'll look like in 20 years. Lucky for him he looks like future double-Oscar-winner Tom Hanks, who played giant piano "Heart and Soul" straight into our… heart and soul. Lucky kid, at least he didn't look like Steve Guttenberg.
Best Line: "Shimmy, shimmy, cocoa pop. Shimmy, shimmy, rock. Shimmy, shimmy, cocoa pop. Shimmy, shimmy, rock." 

8. 'Sixteen Candles' (1984)

Universal

Making his directorial debut in the first of his series of loosely connected movies taking place in fictional Shermer, Illinois, John Hughes made the unusual step of making his alienated protagonist a young girl (Molly Ringwald) whose family forgets her birthday. Even though there's a wild party, and the immortally "un-PC" Long Duk Dong (to put it, uh, kindly), Hughes is clearly inspired by a Hallmark card/Norman Rockwell mentality towards adolescent turmoil, with much sweetness permeating the raunch. This is also the movie that made Ringwald the aspiration poster girl for a generation of young women, and the fantasy of many young men.
Best Line: "I can't believe I gave my panties to a geek." 

7. 'Ghostbusters' (1984)

Columbia

When somebody asks you if Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson are movie gods you say "YES"! Those four gents crossed the streams into pop culture legend as the paranormal eliminators for whom "no job is too big, no fee is too big." Between "Back to the Future," "Real Genius," and this sci-fi comedy classic, the '80s were clearly the era of mad scientist chic. If you don't know every line of this movie by heart, don't know Stay Puft from a hole in the ground, then you were clearly in some coma or state of pre-birth for this entire decade.
Best Line: "Nobody steps on a church in my town!" 

6. 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High' (1982)

Universal

This protoype for the 1980s coming-of-age film first sprang from sneaky Rolling Stone writer Cameron Crowe's time spent enrolled undercover at a high school, turning his experience into a book, then a screenplay. The ensemble overlaps into three different plots surrounding a nice guy (Judge Reinhold) who can't hold down a job, a naïve freshman (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who gets an abortion, and a perpetually stoned surfer dude (Sean Penn) who only needs some tasty waves and a cool buzz to be fine.
Best Line: "Hey bud, let's party!" 

5. 'This is Spinal Tap' (1984)

MGM

When it comes to '80s comedy, this one goes to 11. A chronicle of the waning British heavy metal group Spinal Tap as infighting, mismanagement, and general stupidity threaten to sink their career. One of the first films to perfect the mockumentary subgenre, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer improvised most of the loosely-scripted proceedings, and returned to this format a decade later for a trilogy of fake docs starting with "Waiting for Guffman." Despite an initial lukewarm reception, "Spinal Tap" has become a classic, synonymous with many of the pretentious groups of the '70s, '80s and 90s. Eddie Van Halen actually said, "Everything in that movie had happened to me."
Best Line: "If I told them once I told them a hundred times to put 'Spinal Tap' first and 'Puppet Show' last." 

4. 'Coming to America' (1988)

Paramount

John Landis re-teamed with Eddie Murphy for what may be the high point of both their careers, in which Eddie plays a good-natured prince of the fictitious African nation of Zamunda. To avoid an arranged marriage, the prince (along with trusty servant Arsenio Hall) travels to New York for the perfect place to find a queen… Queens! This was the test-run for Murphy's now-stand-by schtick of playing multiple characters in funny makeup, including a barber, an old Jewish man, and of course Mr. Randy Watson of the band Sexual Chocolate… SEXUAL CHOCOLATE!
Best Line: "The royal penis is clean, your highness." 

3. 'Caddyshack' (1980)

Orion Pictures

This "Cinderella story" once again tells the immortal tale of slobs versus snobs, a tale screenwriters Harold Ramis and Doug Kenney had successfully told two years prior for "Animal House." Here they traded college for golf by teaming up with former caddy Brian Doyle-Murray (and his little bro Bill) to turn a picturesque country club into pure pandemonium. The highly improvised (emphasis on the word "high") dialogue between superstars like Rodney Dangerfield and Chevy Chase paved the way for the Judd Apatow bunch of today.
Best Line: "Last time I saw a mouth like that, it had a hook in it." 

2. 'Back to the Future' (1985)

Universal

What isn't '80s about the greatest time travel comedy of all time? You've got Pepsi Free, a suped-up DeLorean, and HUEY LEWIS! Most '80s comedies based around teenagers typically involved the lead trying to pop his cherry with some hot babe, but this one takes it to the next level by making the babe the kid's mother. Sheesh, talk about family ties. You've also got Marvin Berry's band smokin' reefer, Biff attempting to rape Lorraine, and Doc Brown buying plutonium from Middle Eastern terrorists, all rated "PG"! Imagine this film getting made today, say with Michael J. Fox's fellow Canadian Justin Bieber… oh that's right, you can't, because it would never happen. We love you, '80s.
Best Line: "So, why don't you make like a tree and get outta here?" 

1. 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' (1986)

Paramount

John Hughes just couldn't do anything within his powers to keep Mr. Bueller and friends from playing hookie on such a lovely day. There's something refreshing about the wholesomeness of Hughes' vision, where the most scandalous thing he can imagine teenagers skipping school for is going to a museum, lip synching to "Danke Schön" in a parade, or posing as The Sausage King of Chicago at a restaurant. Clearly he hadn't seen "Less Than Zero" yet. In the ensuing years no one has broken the fourth wall quite as convincingly as Matthew Broderick, given killer lines to espouse to the audience, including the immortal refrain…
Best Line: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Disney

In case you haven't noticed, "TRON" is everywhere these days.

Editors are Tron-ifying classic movie scenes, music fans are gobbling up Daft Punk's soundtrack and collectors are scurrying to find the 1982 cult classic on DVD. Finally, this guy's not alone.

We kick off "12 Days of TRON" – our countdown to the Dec. 17 release of "TRON: Legacy" -- with this Tron-itization of a very memorable scene from the rom-com fave "When Harry Met Sally." Have what we're having and come back here everyday through opening for more "TRON" goods.

Photoshop Wizardry by Dustin Glick