Top 10 Hilarious Spoof Scenes in Movies

These movie parodies led us on a hilarious trip down memory lane. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’re counting down the top 10 spoof scenes in movies.

For this list, we’re focusing on movie scenes that parody other movie scenes. Funny or serious; doesn’t matter, as long as one film references another film.

#10: Disco Dancing from “Saturday Night Fever”
“Airplane!” (1980)

Sure, it may be about nothing more than a group of quirky airport employees, but “Airplane!” is one of the greatest and most quotable satirical comedies ever. Even though it mostly parodies the disaster film genre overall, the best spoof in “Airplane!” is its pretty much shot-for-shot remake of a famous moment in “Saturday Night Fever.” In the scene, the main protagonist – Ted Striker – is telling the story of how he met his one true love, Elaine, and it involves a bar, the Bee Gees and a rather silly version of a disco dance number originally performed by John Travolta. From the choreography to the famous zingers, “Airplane!”’s level of comedy stays sky-high throughout, and especially in this scene.

#9: Staircase Shootout from “The Untouchables” & “Battleship Potemkin”
“Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult” (1994)

It may be the lowest grossing “Naked Gun” film, but “33⅓” still brings the spoofs. In fact, the film’s opening is a parody of a parody: it recreates a famous scene from 1987’s “The Untouchables,” which in turn recreated the famous Odessa steps sequence from 1925’s “Battleship Potemkin.” Frank Drebin is waiting for… something when he decides to help a woman with a baby carriage up the many, many stairs – much like Kevin Costner. But once the mobsters show up, Drebin starts a wild shootout that involves multiple falling strollers, President Clinton, the Pope, a suicide bomber, mass murdering mailmen, and – awkwardly – OJ Simpson just before the infamous murder. As if that weren’t funny enough, it’s all a dream.

#8: T-Rex Reveal from “Jurassic Park”
“Wayne’s World 2” (1993)

Whether he’s crashing weddings like Dustin Hoffman in “The Graduate” or pulling off the “Thelma & Louise” ending, Mike Myers is clearly a movie buff. But, for our money, the best spoof scene in “Wayne’s World 2” is his parody of “Jurassic Park” – which was released a mere six months before this sequel. Wayne and Garth and trying to plan a music festival called Waynestock, and they’re scouting the location on a rainy day. But all of a sudden, they encounter a T-Rex, paying homage to an iconic shot in the Steven Spielberg film. How did Wayne and Garth end up in Jurassic Park, you may be asking? We’re not worthy of the answer.

#7: Always Been Here from “The Shining”
“Hot Fuzz” (2007)

Like many movies on this list, this badass British police comedy is a satire of an entire genre’s-worth of films, but the scene we’ve selected parodies something entirely different. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are two police officers trying to solve a mystery in a quaint little village. When Pegg’s character, Nicholas Angel, is checking in to his hotel, he’s met with a line of dialogue eerily reminiscent of “The Shining.” However, whereas Jack Torrance’s hotel chat is with a ghost, Sergeant Angel is just trying to get to his room. Fortunately, the hotel Angel checks into isn’t haunted, and the conversation is followed by a slew of hilarious misunderstandings involving a crossword puzzle.

#6: Head Spin from “The Exorcist”
“Toy Story” (1995)

Like any animated feature worth its salt, Pixar’s breakout movie about the secret life of toys threw in enough jokes for the adults to keep parents entertained alongside their kids. In an effort to teach budding psychopath Sid a lesson and save his buddy Buzz, Woody enlists the help of Sid’s other victims to scare the bejesus out of the toy torturer. During the ambush, our favorite cowboy doll takes a page out of “The Exorcist”’s book, spinning his head around a full 360 – much like the possessed Regan MacNeil does in front of two shaken priests. It may be a little heavy for a kids’ movie, but nonetheless the reference fits perfectly. That’ll teach Sid to play nicer with his toys!

#5: Chestburster from “Alien”
“Spaceballs” (1987)

Following a Han Solo-like character and his half-man, half-dog sidekick as they travel the galaxy to defeat the evil Lord Dark Helmet and save a princess, this Mel Brooks space spoof tackles “Star Wars,” parodying everything from imperial cruisers to near declarations of paternity. But, it’s got a dead-on “Alien” spoof we just can’t forget. In their travels, Captain Lone Starr and Barf stop at a diner, where John Hurt also happens to be eating. What follows is a scene we swear we’ve seen somewhere before… Making this otherwise disgusting “Alien” parody even funnier is the fact that the chestburster then performs a charming musical number, a la Michigan J. Frog. Say what you will, but that’s adorable.

#4: Fatherly Reveal from “The Empire Strikes Back”
“Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” (1999)

One of the most hilarious spoof scenes in this satire of James Bond is actually another parody of “Star Wars.” Austin and Dr. Evil have finally caught up with each other on the villain’s Moon base, when the good doctor makes a stunning reveal. However, unlike “The Empire Strikes Back,” Dr. Evil is of course NOT Austin’s father and admits how ridiculous his claim is. Hey, at least he was honest, right? What ups the funny factor of this scene even more is how out of nowhere it is. And lucky for Austin Powers fans, this spoof scene is one of many.

#3: Bulletproof Vest Trick from “A Fistful of Dollars” (1964)
“Back to the Future Part III” (1990)

The third installment of the BTTF franchise follows Marty McFly and Doc Brown to 1885, where they can reference as many movies as they want and no one’ll know what they’re talking about. In fact, while in the Old West, Marty goes by the name of Clint Eastwood – and that piece of foreshadowing comes into play near the end of the film. Marty, or Clint, has agreed to face Mad Dog Tannen in a gunfight – but, being from 1985, he has a century’s worth of wisdom to help him out at the showdown. Marty taps into his film knowledge, copying the REAL Clint Eastwood’s move in “A Fistful of Dollars,” by taking a boilerplate and using it as a makeshift bulletproof vest. Bad. Ass.

#2: Garage Door Death from “Scream”
“Scary Movie” (2000)

If you remember the ‘90s, you know that teen horror flicks made a big comeback during that decade, and with them they brought the inevitable spoofs. “Scary Movie” takes aim at many popular horror films, but the scene we’ve chosen mocks an iconic death from 1996’s “Scream.” A young partygoer is trapped in the garage by Ghostface. But where things diverge from the source material is when the girl tries to escape through the kitty flap in the garage door: this girl doesn’t get her head crushed by the opening garage; no, due to her weight, she causes everything to collapse on top of her. Seeing Ghostface’s reaction to the incident makes this moment comedic gold.

Before we get to our top pick, here are some honorable mentions:
- Girl-on-Girl Kiss from “Cruel Intentions”
“Not Another Teen Movie” (2001)

- Feeling Lucky from “Dirty Harry”
“The Mask” (1994)

- Warehouse Dance from “Footloose”
“Hot Rod” (2007)

#1: Dafoe Death from “Platoon”
“Tropic Thunder” (2008)

Since this Ben Stiller joint is a satire of the film industry as a whole, it’s littered with hysterical references to past films and actors. But, one of the most memorable spoof scenes comes at the beginning of the movie, when the actors are filming an intense – and expensive – action sequence for their fictional film, also called “Tropic Thunder.” Stiller’s character Tugg Speedman is running out of the jungle, hands to the sky, as he’s shot multiple times. This moment was, of course, originally made famous by Willem Dafoe in Oliver Stone’s “Platoon,” and Stiller and co. do it comedic justice: the scene is so overly dramatic, it’s perfect – and it makes us cry tears of laughter every time.