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8 Life Lessons Learned from ’80s Movies
You can learn a lot about life from classic ’80s movies. Don’t believe us? Take a look at some of these quotes — you’ll be a better, happier person when you take these cinematic thoughts of wisdom to heart. Also, you will find the meaning of life by religiously watching all of John Hughes’ movies.
1. “Goonies never say die!”
— Mikey, The Goonies
You wanna give up? Think you can’t pull off a permed mullet? THINK AGAIN! Mikey taught us that we are all Goonies deep inside — you just have to believe in yourself. And know the Truffle Shuffle.
2. “When you grow up, your heart dies.”
— Allison, The Breakfast Club
Whether you were a princess or a criminal, an athlete or a nerd, or whatever Ally Sheedy was supposed to be, you knew that whatever you were in high school was probably better than being an adult. So take this lesson as a reminder: YOLO!!
3. “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around in a while, you could miss it.”
— Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
It was tough to choose only one life lesson from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off since there are lots of nuggets of wisdom that hold up today. The entire premise of the movie tells us we need to slow down, call in sick and crash a parade in downtown Chicago. You know, just reprioritize.
4. “Don’t f–k with the babysitter.”
— Chris, Adventures in Babysitting
Stand up for yourself, no matter the situation. Case in point: If you’re up against an inner-city gang on a deserted subway train in the middle of the night, grab a switchblade and speak up. Whether you’re a martial artist or a suburban babysitter, expletives always scare off the bad guys.
5. “She gave me a pen. I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen.”
— Lloyd Dobler, Say Anything
As ’80s icon Def Leppard once sang, “Love Bites.” Sure, Lloyd could’ve given up and spent the rest of his days kickboxing, but this true romantic teaches us that you need to take risks and can never give up on love no matter the odds. He also taught us that wooing works best with a mega boombox and trenchcoat.
6. “Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”
— Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride
There are three life lessons rolled into this one quote. First, family comes first. Second, practice makes perfect. Three, good manners go a long way…even when you’re about to kill someone.
7. “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.”
— Johnny Castle, Dirty Dancing
Johnny Castle is a man of little words but when he speaks, watch out. He reminds us that we should never let anyone dull our shine. Or give us crappy seats to a show.
8. “I can’t believe I gave my panties to a geek.”
— Samantha, Sixteen Candles
This is a life lesson we’ve known for years — no good deed goes unpunished. So before you do a nice thing, like lend your undies to a nerd, think about the possible repercussions. And next time, think of another way you could cheer up the school dweebs.
Did we miss any of your favorite ‘80s movies? Let us know in the comments. And if you still own some ‘80s movies that provided you with bad life lessons, download the Decluttr App and we’ll pay you cash for them! You can also trade in games, sell CDs online, sell textbooks or trade in DVDs. Plus, sell your old tech, including an Apple Watch trade in, sell iPhone, head over to our sell my phone page and more.
