The spoof movie is a greatly under-appreciated genre, with many critics assuming they try to take the easy way out by merely referencing the films they target without putting much effort into actual jokes. While those kinds of parodies do exist, there are more than enough classics that make up for them. Let's celebrate the all-time best parody movies by recounting some of their funniest lines and most uproarious sight gags.
Farts Around The Campfire (Blazing Saddles)
These days, flatulence is widely considered a lazy and infantile way to get a cheap laugh, but it was revolutionary in Blazing Saddles. A scene from writer, director, and star Mel Brooks' classic Western movie send-up in which Hedy— er, Hedley Lamarr's (Harvey Corman) cowboys take turns expelling gas around a campfire marked the very first time any fart had ever been depicted in a feature film.
Dead Meat's Foreboding Signs (Hot Shots!)
In 1991's Hot Shots! (which mostly takes aim at the '80s movie classic, Top Gun), Dead Meat's (William O'Leary) wife, Mary (Heidi Swedberg) shows up just as he is about to go on a flight and, as they walk to the plane, a black cat crosses their path, he walks under a ladder, and she breaks a mirror while giving him a life insurance form to sign. However, he says there will be more time to sign it afterward and also says he has an idea to reverse global warming and evidence about JFK's assassination which he will discuss after he comes back because "what could go wrong" in his jet?
Mortars' Men Accidentally Destroy John McClane's House (National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1)
While the Lethal Weapon movies are the main target in 1993's National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1, there is a memorably hilarious reference to the Die Hard movies, too. William Shatner's Gen. Mortars orders his henchpeople to destroy what they believe is Jack Colt's (Emilio Estevez) house, only for Bruce Willis to appear from the wreckage as John McClane, informing them that they have the wrong house.
Ludicrous Speed (Spaceballs)
In order to catch up with Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) and Barf (John Candy), Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis) orders to put his ship beyond lightspeed and engaged "ludicrous speed," which he comes to regret when the ride proves too intense. This could be one of the few concepts from Spaceballs referenced more often than anything from the actual Star Wars movies, which Mel Brooks' 1987 favorite sends up.
Ashtray's Impossibly Young Father (Don't Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood)
One of the Wayans Family's best movies, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, pokes fun at Black dramas like Menace II Society and Boyz n the Hood by sending up the way they portray real-life urban issues. For instance, co-writer, Shawn Wayans' character, Ashtray, goes to stay with his dad (played by Lahmard J. Tate), who is a bit young to be his father. In fact, he is only a couple of years older than his son.
Drew Follows The Death Sign (Scary Movie)
While none of the best horror movies are safe in 2000's Scary Movie, the cold opening is a direct parody of the first kill in Scream (not to mention how the entire movie heavily follows the 1996 slasher's story). As Drew Decker (Carmen Electra) tries to outrun her killer, she is faced with two signs — one that points to safety and another to her death. Needless to say, she takes the wrong turn.
King Arthur Vs. The Black Knight (Monty Python & The Holy Grail)
One of the most widely celebrated moments from 1975's Monty Python & the Holy Grail sees King Arthur (Graham Chapman) engage in a duel with a knight in black armor (played by John Cleese), who proves to be quite the sore loser, to say the least. After lobbing all four of the Black Knight's limbs off, Arthur decides to call it a draw and leaves while the obliviously defeated opponent calls him a coward for running away so soon.
Robin Checks The Script (Robin Hood: Men In Tights)
In 1993's Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Mel Brooks' version of the legendary thief, portrayed by Cary Elwes, is so shocked that he has lost an archery tournament that he looks to the screenplay for his own movie to make sure there is no mistake. He then discovers that he has another chance to win and proves victorious.
Janey Receives Misguided Fatherly Advice (Not Another Teen Movie)
In Not Another Teen Movie, Janey Briggs (Chyler Leigh) tells her dad (Randy Quaid) she suspects something is amiss about popular jock Jake Wyler (one of Chris Evans' most underrated roles) and his sudden interest in her, feeling he may only be looking for a good time. In other high school movies, the fatherly character would tell her to follow her heart and not give in to such a thing but he insists she go for it, believing his daughter could use the "popularity points."
"Don't Call Me 'Shirley'" (Airplane!)
One of the most famous WTF moments from 1980's Airplane! is an exchange between Ted Striker (Robert Hays) and Dr. Rumack (Leslie Nielsen) on a doomed commercial flight. When the doctor asks the disgraced former fighter pilot if he can take over for the ill pilots, he says, "Surely you can't be serious," which convinces Rumack that he was calling him by the name "Shirley."
Frederick Gets Stuck In The Revolving Bookshelf (Young Frankenstein)
In one of the best Mel Brooks movies, 1974's Young Frankenstein, Gene Wilder's Dr. Frederick Frankenstein ("fronk-en-steen") and Inga (Teri Garr) search for a secret passage behind a bookshelf and accidentally discover it rotates by removing a nearby candle from its holder. When Frederick becomes trapped behind the bookshelf, he attempts to block it with his own body, which he immediately regrets.
Topper's Body Count (Hot Shots! Part Deux)
In one of many uproariously gratuitous scenes from Hot Shots! Part Deux in which Charlie Sheen's Topper mows down enemy soldiers, a counter appears on the screen to keep track of how many he has killed. Captions also appear, comparing his body count to that of classic action flicks like RoboCop and Total Recall.
The Large-Eyed Bookstore Proprietor (Top Secret!)
Jim Abrahams and David and Jerry Zucker's 1984 follow-up to Airplane!, Top Secret!, puts the spy movie genre in the hot seat. One of the funniest moments sees Peter Cushing as a bookstore owner holding what appears to be a magnifying glass up to his eye, making it appear larger than average. It is actually window glass and his eye is truly that large.
Gary's Song For Lisa (Team America: World Police)
Like many of the best movies by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, 2004's action-packed, puppet-tastic Team America: World Police is a musical and one of its funniest tunes is a love song about Lisa (Kristen Miller) by Gary (Parker). However, in a moment of unapologetic brilliance, the lyrics become more preoccupied with savagely roasting Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor, which he claims "sucks a little more than" he misses his girlfriend.
The Youth Gang Competition (I'm Gonna Git You Sucka)
Writer and director Keenon Ivory Wayans' underrated '80 movie, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, is a clever send-up of Blaxploitation cinema. One of the best bits sees Wayans' character Jack Spade going to the neighborhood Youth Gang Competition, where petty street crimes like robbery and junking cars are treated as a sport.
Tom Vs. Michael Jackson (Scary Movie 3)
In a Scary Movie 3 scene poking fun at a memorable moment from The Others, Tom (Charlie Sheen) walks into his daughter's room and suspects the person under the sheet is not her. It turns out to be none other than Michael Jackson (portrayed by impersonator Edward Moss), with whom Tom engages in a fight that most consists of classic dance moves on King of Pop's end. In the end, Tom gives him a taste of his own medicine by holding him outside the window.
"Lend Me Your Ears!" (Robin Hood: Men In Tights)
In Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Robin (Cary Elwes) stands before a group of potential recruits for his band of Merry Men, whom he asks to lend him their ears. He is disgusted to see them take this command literally, pulling their ears from their heads to throw at him.
"I Fart In Your General Direction" (Monty Python & The Holy Grail)
In Monty Python & the Holy Grail, King Arthur (Graham Chapman) and his knights ask a French guard (John Cleese) if they could seek shelter in his master's castle. Instead, he refuses to allow them in and showers them with insults, including what might be the all-time greatest in cinematic history: "I fart in your general direction."
Frederick And The Creature Perform "Puttin' On The Ritz" (Young Frankenstein)
When Frederick (Gene Wilder) decides to unveil his creation (played by Peter Boyle) to the public, he does so by performing a dance number to Irving Berlin's "Puttin' on the Ritz." Until an electrical fire frightens the Creature and puts everything to a halt, the show goes quite well, save the Creature's failure to properly pronounce the song's title through his screeching.
Benson's Sensitive Ear Canal (Hot Shots!)
After showing off his stainless steel ear canals, due to a bullet that passed "right through," by running a cloth between his ears, Admiral Benson (Lloyd Bridges) is offered earplugs to muffle the jet engine sounds by Smalley. However, he mistakes them for pills and pops them right in his mouth in a gut-buster from the first Hot Shots!
Moviegoers Gang Up On Brenda (Scary Movie)
Everybody can, unfortunately, say they have encountered a disruptive audience member at the movies like Brenda (Regina Hall), who makes comments out loud, takes a phone call, and even tries to film a bootleg in Scary Movie. Usually, all it takes to solve the problem is asking the person to keep it down or talking to management but these people go to the extreme and take turns stabbing her to death in a spoof of the Scream 2 cold open.
Nick Fights Nigel At An Underwater Bar (Top Secret!)
In the final act of Top Secret!, rock-star-turned-secret-agent Nick Rivers (Val Kilmer) chases after Nigel "The Torch" (Christopher Villers) after he is revealed to be a traitor. Their quarrel reaches its peak when fall into a river with a fully operational, western-style saloon at the bottom floor, where Nick manages to defeat Nigel.
Malik Meets Another Black Party Guest (Not Another Teen Movie)
In Not Another Teen Movie, Malik (Deon Richmond) openly acknowledges that he is the movie's token Black character, which he has to explain to another Black teen he spots at a party. They both acknowledge that the situation is "wack" and the other guy (played by Sean Patrick Thomas from dance movie favorite, Save the Last Dance) graciously accepts and sees himself out.
"Walk This Way" (Young Frankenstein)
When Frederick meets Marty Feldman's Igor ("eye-gore") at the train station in Transylvania, the humpbacked assistant tells him to "Walk this way" as he hobbles down the stairs. However, he repeats it again to indicate that he wants Frederick to mimic his hobbling. The classic Young Frankenstein bit actually inspired the title of a hit Aerosmith son, according to bass player Tom Hamilton.
The Jailers Feign Inarticulation (Monty Python's Life Of Brian)
In Monty Python's Life of Brian, a Roman guard played by John Cleese goes to the prison and asks two jailers (Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam) where a prisoner has gone but they are unable to form complete sentences. When he leaves, we discover their brutish accents and communication struggles were all a front when Idle's character says, "Anyway, get on with the story."
The Johnsons (Blazing Saddles)
In Blazing Saddles, the citizens of Rock Ridge hold a town hall meeting where Gabby Johnson (Jack Starrett) delivers some "authentic frontier gibberish" about not letting his home be taken advantage of that is praised by Olson Johnson (David Huddleston). Dr. Samuel Johnson (Richard Collier) stands up to voice his agreement, and then another Johnson, and another. It then becomes apparent that just about every citizen of Rock Ridge has the same last name.
Trooper Champlin's Hat Keeps Growing (Scary Movie 3)
Similar to a scene from the M. Night Shyamalan movie, Signs, Tom (Charlie Sheen) invites Trooper Champlin (Camryn Manheim) to his farm to check out the crop circles in Scary Movie 3. However, as she is leaving, the brim of her hat inexplicably grows larger each time the camera cuts back to her.
"I Can Speak With An English Accent" (Robin Hood: Men In Tights)
When Prince John (Richard Lewis) asks Robin (Cary Elwes) why the citizens would listen to him, he says that he can speak in an English accent, "unlike some other Robin Hoods." This is a clear jab at the film that Robin Hood: Men in Tights is poking fun at, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, which stars the American Kevin Costner in the title role.
The Runaway Bus (Spy Hard)
Probably the funniest sequence in what is believed to be one of Leslie Nielsen's weakest spoofs, 1996's Spy Hard, takes aim at the unstoppable bus plot from Speed. When Dick Steele (Nielsen) and Veronique Ukrinsky (Nicolette Sheridan) board a city bus with a cut brake line, he attempts to stop with his feet while her driving causes issues for a dentist trying to give a root canal and a baker decorating a cake. Why they chose a public transit vessel to perform those hasty acts is anybody's guess.
"It's Good To Be The King" (History Of The World: Part I)
In the "French Revolution" segment of History of the World: Part I, Mel Brooks plays King Louis XVI, who seizes the opportunity to have his way with a woman every chance he gets, and much to the ladies' amusement. Each time, he breaks the fourth wall to remind the audience that this is why he believes, "It's good to be the king."
Dracula's Shadow Takes A Tumble (Dracula: Dead And Loving It)
Mel Brooks' retelling of Bram Stoker's seminal novel, 1995's Dracula: Dead and Loving It, sees Leslie Nielsen play the titular bloodsucker, whose own shadow can move separately from his body, which he demonstrates when he meets Renfield (Peter MacNicol). After slipping on a patch of bat guano and falling down the stairs, the Count assures Renfield that such a tumble could not hurt him, but the same cannot be said about his shadow, seen holding its sides and making sounds of discomfort a moment later.
"Somehow The Killer Always Knows Where We Are" (Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday The Thirteenth)
Released in the same year as Scary Movie, 2000's Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth is a horror movie parody that is also largely inspired by Scream. In one scene, the five young main characters are sitting at a picnic table discussing the killer who always seems to be one step ahead of them as one points out. The camera then cuts to underneath the table where the film's version of Ghostface is just chilling out, completely undetected.
