Spoilers for Netflix's recent original movie Like Father can be found throughout this piece. Also a minor Bridesmaids spoiler, but you've had since 2011 to see that...
Montages have always been a quick and easy way to move the plot of a movie forward, and in comedy, present a bunch of jokes in rapid succession. There are myriad awesome comedy montages out there, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a great one in the middle of Netflix's Like Father. The movie is more of a dramedy than a straight comedy, yet it hits every comedic note when it comes to getting cruise ships down pat. This is present at its highest level of perfection during Game Show Night on the Royal Caribbean ship.
First, if you aren't familiar with the plot ofLike Father, you need a little backstory. Kristen Bell plays work-obsessed Rachel, an advertising maven who is left at the alter when she brings her work with her to her own wedding. She ends up spending the evening with her estranged father, who had shown up for the first time in years to see his little girl get married. In a drunken haze, they decide to rekindle their relationship by taking the cruise she had planned for her honeymoon.
This leads to people assuming over and over again that Rachel and her dad Harry (Kelsey Grammer) are newlyweds on the cruise ship, a funny premise in and of itself. They are even tasked with competing as newlyweds during Game Show Night on the cruise. Harry and Rachel might not get along, but Harry has a brilliant plan for winning in the game, which is a The Newlywed Game knock off. They memorize set answers, agreeing based on the types of questions to choose common words like "pizza" and "black." Again. It's a really funny setup, and it pays off just a few minutes later when Harry and Rachel dominate the competition.
If you've ever been on a cruise, there's a lot I can guarantee you'll find to be hilarious about Like Father in general, but the Game Show Night montage really amps that up tenfold. Of course, the guy hosting Game Show Night is exactly the right type of character to run game show night on a cruise ship, with goofy suits to boot. The game itself is both over-the-top and endearing. And the audience responses really are perfect. The movie even gets that thing right about cruises where for one week people are in a community together and Harry and Rachel get recognized after winning the whole shebang. As far as montage scenes go, this is probably the best I've seen in years, and it's certainly the best I've seen on Netflix.
I see a lot of movies every year, but I certainly can't claim to be an expert on every movie montage out there. However, the last time I can remember laughing so much at a movie montage was that scene in Bridesmaids where Kristin Wiig's character is trying to get the attention of irritated cop Rhodes by driving back and forth past him and doing as many illegal things as she can think of.
There's a plethora of great movie montages out there, and maybe one day CinemaBlend will do a ranking of our favorites. Until then, let us know about your favorites, from Wet Hot American Summer to Billy Madison and everything in between, in the comments, below. And be sure to catch Like Father on Netflix. It's good for a few laughs and also finds the right balance between serious and light-hearted.
