SPOOF and movie are two words that just don’t go together these days. A succession of downright deplorable productions that have been served up like a quickly slapped together Big Mac have given the entire genre a bad name.
They just get worse and worse. In 2008 we were fed the terrible trifecta of Disaster Movie, Superhero Movie and Meet The Spartans.
In the two years before that there was Epic Movie, Date Movie, My Big Fat Independent Movie and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
The ‘Movie’ set, which has followed the lead of the actually watchable Scary Movie franchise, is more like a big screen version of Mad TV, but even less amusing, and that’s saying something, because that particular skit show is really just a shit show.
And there’s more to come, with Dance Flick, Sci-Fi Movie and Farce of the Penguins to be released in the very near future. I believe filming on those movies is almost complete though the actual writing of the scripts is yet to start.
Would you believe the spoof movie has become so popular (withHollywood producers, not the general public, judging by box-office numbers) that a spoof movie of spoof movies is also beingmade called Not Another Not Another Movie, starring the once-great Chevy Chase, as well as other washed-up has-beens Michael Madsen, Burt Reynolds and Vinnie Jones.
It’s not the first time we’ve had a spate of shocking spoofs though. In the ’90s an aging Leslie Nielsen, riding on The Naked Gun trilogy wave of success, appeared in Repossessed (1990), Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995), Spy Hard (1996), Wrongfully Accused (1998) and 2001: A Space Travesty (2000).
Other forgettable entries in the spoof hall of fame were Fatal Instinct (1993), The Silence of the Hams (1997), Plump Fiction (1998) and Not Another Teen Movie (2001).
There was a time though when the spoof movie presented some of funniest comedy on screen, usually thanks to the outstanding talents of the Monty Python team and Mel Brooks, and more recently, but to a lesser extent, Mike Myers, the Wayan Brothers and Simon Pegg.
So, let’s now take a look at the films that actually had time and effort put into them.
These are more like the Big Mac’s that you see in the photos on the wall at McDonald’s. Fat and fresh.
9. SCARY MOVIE (2000)
FROM … the writing-directing-acting Wayan Brothers.
STARRING … Anna Faris, Marlon Wayans, Shannon Elizabeth, Regina Hall, Jon Abrahams, Shawn Wayans and Rick Ducommun.
SPOOFS … recent horrors in particular, such as Scream (1996), I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), The Blair Witch Project (1999), and Final Destination (2000), as well as older slasher films such as Halloween (1978), Friday The 13th (1981) and A Nightmare on Elm St (1984); but generally anything and everything, even American Pie (1998) – “Say my name!” – and American Beauty (1999) – yeah, the bedroom scene … with the you-know-what.
FUNNIEST SCENE … could be the moment pot-smoking, comb-wearing Shorty Meekes (Marlon Wayans) gets the dreaded phone call from the Ghost Face Killer (directly ripped-off from Scream). But instead of being toyed with and then sliced, he and his roommates engage in some obnoxious ‘Wassup!’-ing. Later, the Ghost Face Killer takes a little time-out from killing to get a little wasted. Classic.
WATCH >>>
BUT … while the film is not everyone’s cup of tea, and did spawn a succession of the aforementioned ‘Movie’ movies, the Wayans deliver the goods through Carmen Electra’s unfortunate demise no thanks to her ‘distracted’ father, Grandma getting thrown down the stairs and then getting smacked by a piano, PE teacher Miss Mann, Ray’s gay ways, the killer’s really bad hiding places, anything with Shorty in it, anything with Shannon Elizabeth in it; and of course a brilliantly-done Usual Suspects-type twist involving officer Doofy, who likes to vacuum his room at night in his underwear and lets everyone know “Gail swallows”.
WATCH >>>
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlEYYcxjGI4
END QUOTE … ”Look, if it’s about that time I puked green slime and masturbated with a crucifix, it was my first keg party, Bobby!” – Cindy Campbell.
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8. AUSTIN POWERS (1997)
FROM … writer-star Mike Myers and director Jay Roach
STARRING … Mike Myers, Liz Hurley, Mimi Rogers, Robert Wagner, Michael York and Seth Green.
SPOOFS … every James Bond movie, well those featuring Sean Connery and Roger Moore anyway, and just about any other secret agent-related flicks from the ’60s and ’70s, as well as the freezing process of Sylvester Stallone’s Demolition Man (1993) and the infamous ‘Fembots’ of television series The Bionic Woman (1976)
FUNNIEST SCENE … could be the one in which the villain, Dr Evil makes “one simple request and that is to have sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads”. But all he gets are mutated sea bass, bad-tempered mutated sea bass, to use to kill his arch nemesis Austin Powers.
WATCH >>>
BUT … in a film that was almost matched by its sequels, The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) and Goldmember (2002), the laughs just keep coming via Austin’s constant references to sex – and his “bits and pieces” – his dancing and his attempt at turning a motorised cart in a narrow corridor, Christian Slater’s hypnotized security guard – “I brought you a Sher-bert” – and of course the stupidity of Dr Evil, not to mention his relationship with his son, Scotty. Oh, and Liz Hurley just being there makes the film highly enjoyable as well.
WATCH >>>
END QUOTE … “I’m going to place him in an easily escapablesituation involvingan overly elaborate and exotic death.” – Dr Evil after capturing Austin.
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7. HISTORY OF THE WORLD: PART 1
FROM … writer-director-actor Mel Brooks.
STARRING … Mel Brooks, Gregory Hines, Dom DeLuise, Harvey Korman, Madeline Khan, Sid Ceaser and Pamela Stephenson.
SPOOFS … a number of historical events, as well as early films Roman Sandals (1932) and Road To Morocco (1942), with the Road To Judea song sung by Brooks and Hines copied from Road To Morocco; the story of Jesus and the films King of Kings (1961) and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), particularly the Last Supper sequence; and of course the opening of sci-fi great 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).
FUNNIEST SCENE … could be anything from the first segment featuring the cavemen and their hilarious gradual increase of intellect, from the moment they discover fire to the moment they discover critiquing art.
WATCH >>>
BUT … this fast-paced segmented movie has an abundance of brilliance, including the French Revolution, the Piss Boy, the King’s ‘hands-on’ chess game – “It’s good to be the King”; the Roman Empire, Brook’s stand-up philosopher Comicus, DeLuise’s grape-munching Ceaser, the one-track mind of Empress Nympho; the 15 Commandments that turned into 10; and of course the Eunuch Test.
WATCH >>>
END QUOTE … ”Yes, citizens, plumbing! It’s the latest invention to hit Rome! It moves water from one place to another! It’s astounding, it’s amazing! Get on the bandwagon! Pipe the shit right out of your house!” – Plumbing salesman.
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6. THE NAKED GUN (1988)
FROM … writer-directors David Zucker and Jim Abrahams.
STARRING … Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalban, George Kennedy and OJ Simpson.
SPOOFS … vintage cop shows, most notably the Lee Marvin-led M Squad (1957-60), as well as a number of hard-edged films like Dirty Harry (1971). Lt Frank Drebin’sline, “When I see five weirdos dressed in togas, stabbing a man in the middle of the park in front of a full view of 100 people, I shoot the bastards, that’s my policy,” is a send-up of a line delivered by Clint Eastwood’s Harry Callahan.
FUNNIEST SCENE … could actually be the first in which Lt Drebinwins the War on Terror by infiltrating a ‘meeting of the evil minds’ attended by the Iranian Ayatollah Khameni, Palestinian Yasir Arafat, Libyan Colonel Khadafi, Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev and Ugandan Idi Amin.
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BUT … then there is of course other stupid, but hilarious moments like the car chase involving the L-plater, the lucky-to-be-alive Nordberg (played by a then popular Simpson), the explosion Drebintries to ‘hose down’ – “there’s nothing to see here” – Drebin’s mauling of the American national anthem, Drebin’s unfortunate accident with the Queen of England, and of course Drebin’stoilet break duringa press conference. Nothing like a bit of toilet humor.
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END QUOTE … “No… you’re right, Ed. A parachute not opening… that’s a way to die. Getting caught in the gears of a combine… having your nuts bit off by a Laplander, that’s the way I wanna go!” – Drebin.
SEE ALSO
5. BLAZING SADDLES (1974)
FROM … writer-director-actor Mel Brooks.
STARRING … Gene Wilder, Cleavon Little, Harvey Korman, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Khan and Mel Brooks.
SPOOFS … the entire Western genre, in particular Stagecoach (1939), High Noon (1952), Gunfight at the OK Corral (1957), Rio Bravo (1959) and High Plains Drifter (1973); and in true Brooks fashion, takes a big swipe at racism, largely due to the exploits of the ‘first black sherriff’.
FUNNIEST SCENE … could be the infamous moment when the scheming Hedley Lamarr’s rough and ragged cowboy henchmen are sitting around a campfire eating baked beans and farting ’til the cows come home.
WATCH >>>
BUT … Brooks’ greatest triumph, which was nominated for three Academy Awards, is also memorable for Wilder’s sharp-shooting, sharp-witted, sharp-drinking gunslinger Jim, new Rock Ridge sherriff Bart’s less then warm welcome from the townsfolk – and his inventive LooneyTunes-type getaway when they want to string him up – Mongo’s knocking out of a poor defenseless horse, Lili Von Shtupp’s entertaining caberet act, and the constant stupidity of Lamarr’s right-hand man Taggart – “God darnit, Mr. Lamarr, you use your tongue prettier than a twenty dollar whore”.
WATCH >>>
END QUOTE … “As honorary chairman of the welcoming committee, it’s my privilege to present a laurel and hearty handshake to our new … (looks up and sees Bart) … nigger.” – Howard Johnson.
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4. SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004)
FROM … co-writer-director Edgar Wright and co-writer-actor Simon Pegg.
STARRING … Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Dylan Morgan and Bill Nighy.
SPOOFS … most formulaic zombie-based movies of the last 40 years including the early works of George A. Romero, Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Dawn of the Dead (1978), and Danny Boyle’s more recent, and brilliantly-done, 28 Days Later (2003).
FUNNIEST SCENE … could be when Shaun and best mate Ed stumble upon a zombie for the first time in a dark street but think it’s just some drunk. They even sing along with the creature. It takes the pair a while to notice that the world has just erupted into dead-set chaos.
WATCH >>>
BUT … there are so many funny moments from the best comedy of the past decade, such as when Shaun and Ed are trying to determine which albums they should throw at the two walking stiffs out in the backyard, when Shaun is dreaming up ways of rescuing his dear old mum – and killing off his step-dad, or at the end when it is revealed Shaun has Ed, now a zombie himself, tied up in the back shed so he can continue playing computer games with him.
WATCH >>>
END QUOTE … ”We take Pete’s car, we drive over to Mum’s, we go in, take care of Philip – “I’m so sorry, Philip” – then we grab Mum, we go over to Liz’s place, hole up, have a cup of tea and wait for this whole thing to blow over.” – Shaun’s plan.
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3. AIRPLANE (1980)
FROM … writer-directors Jim Abrahams and David Zucker.
STARRING … Lloyd Bridges, Robert Hays, Robert Stack, Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves and Julie Hagerty.
SPOOFS … Zero Hour! (1957) about a routine flight that turns into a major emergency when the crew succumbs to food poisoning, but also borrows from everything from classics Casablanca (1942) and From Here to Eternity (1953) to ’70s icons Jaws (1975) and Saturday Night Fever (1977).
FUNNIEST SCENE … could be the moment experienced pilot Rex Kramer (a brilliant Stack) arrives at the airport, making his way through the crowd towards the air traffic control centre to help bring down the plane, but is met with an array of overzealous religious nuts keen to get their message out.
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BUT the film is littered with crazy laugh-aloud situations and dialogue. Who can forget the Jive Dudes, Otto the smokin’ automatic pilot, nancy boy Johnny and his description of a plane, the fueding airport announcers, Captain Oveur and his conversation with little Joey, Dr Rumack who doesn’t like being called Shirley, the suicides, the beating of the hysterical wife, and of course the fighting girl scouts.
WATCH >>>
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-xHPU6NulM
END QUOTE “There’s no reason to become alarmed, and we hope you’ll enjoy the rest of your flight. By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?” – Elaine Dickinson.
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2. LIFE OF BRIAN (1979)
FROM … the Monty Python team.
STARRING … Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam and Sue Jones Davies.
SPOOFS … the stories of Jesus Christ and Ben Hur, including the Charlton Heston film of 1959, as well as Kirk Douglas’ Spartacus (1960), in particular the scene in which all the men proclaim to be Brian, ‘I’m Brian’, ‘No, I’m Brian!’.
FUNNIEST SCENE … could be when Brian of Nazareth (Chapman) looks out of his bedroom window – stark naked I might add – and sees the mass of people staring up at him in awe, believing him to be the Messiah. Of course his mother is having none of it, “He’s not the Messiah. He’s just a naughty boy.”
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BUT … the film (also the second funniest of all-time) is filled with an endless array of incredibly comical and classic moments. There’s the lame attempt to haggle, the UFO ride through Jerusalem and outer space, Mr and Mrs Big Nose, the stoning, Biggus Dickus, the weleasing of Wodger, the ex-leper, and of course the musical number ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life’.
WATCH >>>
END QUOTE … “I was hopping along, minding my own business, all of a sudden, up he comes, cures me! One minute I’m a leper with a trade, next minute my livelihood’s gone. Not so much as a by-your-leave! “You’re cured, mate.” Bloody do-gooder.” – The Ex-Leper referring to Jesus.
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1. MONTY PYTHON & THE HOLY GRAIL (1975)
FROM … the Monty Python team.
STARRING … Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam and Connie Booth.
SPOOFS … the entire legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table – and any movie based on their deeds – as well as the likes of William Shakespeare’s tragic Romeo and Juliet.
FUNNIEST SCENE …. could be when The Black Knight (Cleese) loses a duel with Arthur (Chapman) – not to mention his arms and his legs – in ridiculously hilarious fashion. The scene itself directly spoofs a moment from the French film Lancelot du Lac (1974).
WATCH >>>
BUT … how can you name just one memorable moment? There’s Lancelot’s killing spree to save a prince who he thought was a princess; the Knights Who Say Ni!, the taunting French soldiers, the coconuts used for the clattering of horses hooves, the burning of the witch who isn’t a witch, Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir Launcelot and of course the terrifying monster that looks like a defenseless little white rabbit. The list is endless.
WATCH >>>
END QUOTE … “I don’t want to talk to you no more, you empty-headed animal food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.” – a French soldier.
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JUST MISSED THE CUT …
14. Young Frankenstein (1974)
13. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
12. Spaceballs (1987)
11. Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
10. Hot Fuzz (2007)
SEE ALSO
Austin Powers was fantastic, as was Scarey Movie, theres a great quote where they call Dewey a “retarded retard”
i also liked Not Another Teen Movie
Loved Dewey in Scary Movie!
All three Austin Powers movies were great, which is rare.
Id second not another teen movie.. probably the last good “not anothers”.
Hmmm, seems I’ve underestimated Not Another Teen Movie. I’ll have to give it another look.
I agree with the list. These are all great spoofs. My favourite is Shawn of the Dead. Great movie!
I enjoyed High Anxiety.
Top Secret was quite funny too. It’s also Val Kilmer’s 1st movie.
Ah yes, Top Secret … came in at no.15 on the list Astidkalis. Very funny film. I remember the cow scene the most.
And of course, High Anxiety was thereabouts too John. Another Mel Brooks classic.
what about Wet Hot American Summer!?