I know what many of you are thinking...
"Surely, you can't think movie spoofs are worth an entire column?"
Of course, they are...
..and don't call me Shirley!
(That just about sets the tone for the WHOLE article!)
According to the centre of the web known as Wikipedia, there are 36 dramatic situations in any story. Lucky for us all in so many ways has the formula of Hollywood become so predictable that spoofs over the years have usually come as a refreshing breath of fresh air against the repetitive, rehashed, reused, reimagined dross that we're sometimes offered at the Box Office. What the British public seem to love is a film that doesn't take itself seriously, especially ones that poke at the massive success of something else.
So I present to you a short review of some of the more memorable stabs, in honour of the latest offering of Scary Movie 4.
The Princess Bride
My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father: prepare to die!
If you've never heard of this film, that's simply INCONCEIVABLE! Arguably the finest spoof of all fantasy stories, it's loosely based on Robin Hood where the love interest gets kidnapped, the hero gets killed, but it all ends up okay as he recruits some misfit sidekicks to help him attack the castle and save the day!
Galaxy Quest
I see you've managed to get your shirt off.
Imagine ... William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelly all get instantly transported into a real space adventure. Well, it happens here. Sort of. Although this time it's Tim Allen as the 'Captain', supported with Alan Rickman and Signourney Weaver. Perfect in execution of parodying all the cliche's of Star Trek, the "behind the scenes" and "what if it were real" angles make the film an instant hit with Sci-Fi fans and the general public alike.
Spaceballs!
You idiots! These are not them! You've captured their stunt doubles!
With Star Trek spoofed, there's always Star Wars! Yeah, I know it came before Galaxy Quest, but Spaceballs is of a class of it's own. Complete with it's own scene where Dark Helmet is reviewing the video of the very film he's in, and classic gags like "No, light speed is too slow,we're gonna have to go right to ludicrous speed!" Spaceballs leaves no hallowed Star Wars theme to make a mockery of. Even a lightsabre duel is parodied where the sabres get tangled up!
Airplane!
Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?
Back in 1980, a world first hit the cinema screens. It was filthy, disgusting, irreverant, but also so funny! Some of the more memorable moments in the film is the rip-take of Saturday Night Fever with the gravity defying dancing, the stretchered girl on the airport who's drip gets knocked out, and the amusing voice overs of the White Zone and Red Zone. If you lost concentration for only a second you were likely to miss a gag. One reviewer described it by saying "It’s so funny I thought my pants would never dry." Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker were onto a good thing, so they expanded it into...
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
I think we can handle this responsibly, just like the mature adults we are, cant we Mr. POOPY PANTS?!
From a hit TV Series, the unforgettable Leslie Nielsen comes to the big screen in three classic movies as a clumsy police officer. More visual only gags like dinosaur shadows and crazy street signs (Jim's Gym), and the ever changing newspaper headlines (Trick Cigar Blows Man's Head Off, or Sneezing Increases your bust size) each trick serves to provide a vehicle for slapstick comedy or play-on-words. Just genius! Finally a film we can love wholeheartedly - a good, clean love... without utensils.
Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Because, unlike some other Robin Hoods, I can speak with an English accent.
Whilst supported by a merry-men rap group and training a contingent of village idiots to be heroes of the people, Robin Hood and his sidekick Ahchoo scheme against the Sherriff of Rottingham. With dialogue and visual gags that are clearly a spoof of Kevin Costner's attempt in Prince of Thieves, director Mel Brooks also jokes about some of his previous films as well as others.
Austin Powers
Do I make you Horny?!
Ripping James Bond to shreds, Mike Myers pulls out all the stops in his trilogy of spy-comedies. Throughout the series he's supported by a string of beauties with dubious names: Alotta Fagina, Dixie Normous, Felicity Shagwell, Ivana Humpalott. The second film of the trilogy was apparently renamed in Japan to "The Spy Who Treated Me Nicely" - and rather ingeniously, the trailer ran a voice over saying "If you see one film this year, see Star Wars. But if you see a second, see Austin Powers!"
Shrek / Shrek 2
Don't die, Shrek. And if you see any long tunnels, stay away from the light!
Close to what could be considered the perfect film, Shrek and Shrek 2 managed to have an exciting plot whilst at the same time leave plenty of room not just for spoofing many films, (Austin Powers, Matrix, Lord of the Rings, Zorro, ET, Lethal Weapon, Spiderman) but also for spoofing many businesses - especially in the second. Burger Prince (Burger King), Versarchery (Versace), Farbucks Coffee (Starbucks) to name a few.
Scary Movie 1/2/3/4
Oh, it's okay. I've taken balls to the face before.
Despite the first installment having the tagline "No mercy. No shame. No sequel." there was in fact three sequels. Apparently, it all started from a script called "Last Summer I Screamed Because Halloween Fell On Friday The 13th" and over it's course it took the mickey from Scream, Dawson's Creek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.... and almost everything else to be honest! They've mostly been along the lines of a more crude humour, but it seems to be working!
Date Movie
Galdalf: [Galdalf is hit in the crotch] My precious!
The latest spoof in the offering. Following in the succesful footsteps of the Scary Movie franchise, Date Movie tries a similar idea with the Romantic/Comedy genre. Bridget Jones, Pretty Woman, Notting Hill, The Wedding Planner and Wedding Crashers are among some of the victims
I've missed out lots ... there were plenty more adult themed spoofs like Shaving Ryan's Privates, but obviously wanting to keep this at a certain level of decency. Or something!
So go chat about it in the forums!
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