Family/Comedy

Suburban Commando (1991)

Problems with his rocket compel space-traveling vigilante Shep Ramsey (Hulk Hogan) to spend some time on Earth. Plunking himself down in the middle of suburbia, he rents a room from Charlie (Christopher Lloyd) and Jenny Wilcox (Shelley Duvall). Shep attempts to acclimate himself — he skateboards, he accosts a mail carrier — but he’s destined to be a fish out of water. But when his outer space enemies arrive and pick a fight with his new friends, Shep is ready to prove his mettle.

Matilda (1996)

This film adaptation of a Roald Dahl work tells the story of Matilda Wormwood (Mara Wilson), a gifted girl forced to put up with a crude, distant father (Danny DeVito) and mother (Rhea Perlman). Worse, Agatha Trunchbull (Pam Ferris), the evil principal at Matilda’s school, is a terrifyingly strict bully. However, when Matilda realizes she has the power of telekinesis, she begins to defend her friends from Trunchbull’s wrath and fight back against her unkind parents.

Short Circuit (1986)

When a military robot named Number 5 (voiced by Tim Blaney) is struck by lightning, it gains human-like consciousness and escapes from its creators, believing itself to be alive. On the run, Number 5 befriends kind-hearted animal lover Stephanie Speck (Ally Sheedy), while its inventor, Newton Crosby (Steve Guttenberg), races to find the robot before the military does. Short Circuit is a heartwarming and humorous adventure that explores the nature of life and humanity, with a lovable robot at its core.

The Great Outdoors (1988)

It’s vacation time for outdoorsy Chicago man Chet Ripley (John Candy), along with his wife, Connie (Stephanie Faracy), and their two kids, Buck (Chris Young) and Ben (Ian Giatti). But a serene weekend of fishing at a Wisconsin lakeside cabin gets crashed by Connie’s obnoxious brother-in-law, Roman Craig (Dan Aykroyd), his wife, Kate (Annette Bening), and the couple’s two daughters. As the excursion wears on, the Ripleys find themselves at odds with the stuffy Craig family.

Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead (1991)

Sue Ellen Crandell (Christina Applegate) is a teenager eagerly awaiting her mother’s (Concetta Tomei) summer-long absence. While the babysitter (Eda Reiss Merin) looks after her rambunctious younger siblings, Sue Ellen can party and have fun. But then the babysitter abruptly dies, leaving the Crandells short on cash. Sue Ellen finds a sweet job in fashion by lying about her age and experience on her résumé. But, while her siblings run wild, she discovers the downside of adulthood.

The Goonies Lost Treasure and Maritime Law

The Goonies, Lost Treasure and Maritime Law

In The Goonies, would they really have been able to keep the jewels Mikey got off the pirate ship? Or would the State have asserted ownership of the discovered “historical relics”? If you haven’t seen The Goonies, you should.  It’s a classic 80s movie, and although it was directed by Richard Donner,...