Welcome to an exciting year-long project here at The Nerdy. 1986 was an exciting year for films giving us a lot of films that would go on to be beloved favorites and cult classics. It was also the start to a major shift in cultural and societal norms, and some of those still reverberate to this day.
We’re going to pick and choose which movies we hit, but right now the list stands at nearly four dozen.
Yes, we’re insane, but 1986 was that great of a year for film.
The articles will come out – in most cases – on the same day the films hit theaters in 1986 so that it is their true 40th anniversary. All films are also watched again for the purposes of these reviews and are not being done from memory. In some cases, it truly will be the first time we’ve seen them.
This time around, it’s August 1, 1986, and we’re off to see Apology, Flight of the Navigator, Friday the 13th Part VI, Howard the Duck, and Nothing in Common.
Apology
Sometimes your art is the most dangerous thing about you.
Lily (Lesley Ann Warren) is working on a new art installation that will replay anonymous apology answering machine messages she has recorded. People all over New York City call in, but the project goes off the rails when a serial killer starts calling her. With the help of a disgraced police detective (Peter Weller), they aim to take down the killer and save Lily’s life.
It was made for HBO, and it shows at times. The story is servicable, but nothing special. The eventual climax of the film is telegraphed from a mile away, and the killer never feels especially dangerous or unique. It’s an easy film to skip if you are watching any of the other films from this weekend.
Where to watch: Available to stream.
Flight of the Navigator
There is definitely is something the 1980s got right, and that was films for kids.
David Freeman (Joey Cramer) is sent to collect his younger brother from a friends house, and finds himself returning to his house 8 years later despite it feeling like an hour to him. NASA finds a mysterious craft and quickly connects it to David. With the ship and David in close proximity to one another again, the mystery starts to receive some answers as to what exactly happened.
I haven’t seen this movie in easily 35 years or longer, and I had forgotten just how fun it is. I will say I did find Carolyn (Sarah Jessica Parker) a missed opportunity here. Early in the film they establish a young girl of David’s own age he had a crush on. Why not make her the NASA intern instead of a totally different character? It would have established a connection far faster, but as nitpicks go it was a minor one.
The film is a lot of fun no matter what your age and well worth your time to check out.
Where to watch: Available to stream.
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
Did I actually enjoy a Friday the 13th movie?
Jason is revived. He kills a bunch of people.
There’s your plot synopsis.
All of that aside, something felt a bit different in this one. I actually laughed out loud at once line. As two campers hide from Jason, one turns to the other and asks, “So, what were you going to be when you grew up?” Not sure why, but I got a good laugh out of that line and the silliness of the moment.
This movie breaks no new ground, but it felt like everyone involved was having fun and that came through. Lets face it, there is nothing I can say that will change your mind about this movie. You’re going to watch it or you won’t.
Where to watch: Available to stream.
Howard the Duck
I’ve watched worse.
Howard the Duck is a resident of Duckworld and finds himself unceremoniously pulled across the cosmos to Earth due to a science experiment gone wrong. Once here he meets Beverly Switzler (Lea Thompson), a wanna-be rock-and-roll musician who takes an instant liking for the fowl hero. Howard tries finding his way home, but it turns out he isn’t the only visitor the Earth will be receiving.
This movie received a lot of hate when it was released, and I’m not here to call it great cinema, but on a rewatch it feels as though the hate was a bit harsh. I would have liked to see the character stick closer to the style of the comic, but other than that, it’s pretty much like any other fish-out-of-water style story.
Although what I won’t defend is the topless duck females. That inclusion made absolutely no sense.
As one of the most hated movies of the decade, you probably owe it to yourself ot check it out for yourself.
Where to watch: Available to stream.
Nothing in Common
What happens when three weak scripts get thrown in a blender? You get this movie.
David Basner (Tom Hanks) is an up-and-coming, yet childish, ad executive who has a strained relationship with his father, Max (Jackie Gleason). Just as David is about to land the biggest client of his career, he ends up in a relationship with the client’s daughter, his father begins having multiple health issues, and his high school sweetheart is starting to realize she may still have feelings for him. What is a boy to do?
The film is horrifically confused as to its main plot. Is it David coming to terms with Max? Is it a romance? Is it a man realizing work isn’t everything? Is it all three? Is it one of them?
Your guess is as good as mine, but it was a slog of a film that left me not caring about where any of these people ended up because I never felt like I truly got to know any of them.
Where to watch: Available to stream.
1986 Movie Reviews will continue on Aug. 8, 2026, with A Fine Mess, One Crazy Summer, She’s Gotta Have It and Transformers the Movie.
