Top 10 Funniest Scenes in Parody Movies
Check out the voting page for this list and add your picks: WatchMojo.comsuggest/Top+10+Funniest+Scenes+in+Parody+Movies. Special thanks to our user NickSpake1 for suggesting this idea!
Script written by Nick Spake
#10: Cruelest Kiss
“Not Another Teen Movie” (2001)
This was one of the last parody movies that succeeded in tickling our funny bones. Perhaps that’s because it actually stuck to satirizing a genre as opposed to simply referencing whatever was popular at the time. A sendup of teen movies, the film wouldn’t be complete without a steamy kiss. This scene puts a spin on the same-sex smooth from “Cruel Intentions,” although instead of Sarah Michelle Gellar and Selma Blair, it’s a seductive young woman and an old lady who’s never been kissed. Embracing saliva, gum, and tongue, the filmmakers make the kiss look as sloppy as possible, but cut away (thankfully) before Catherine can show her elderly friend how to “go down”
#9: Stonehenge
“This Is Spinal Tap” (1984)
This mockumentary feels so authentic that it nearly tricks the audience into believing Spinal Tap is an actual heavy metal band. Not only do their songs strike a perfect balance between parody and legitimate rock, but the behind-the-scenes problems they endure seem strangely real. In this absurdly believable sequence, the band decides to incorporate a Stonehenge megalith into their performance with Nigel sketching the prop on a napkin. He confuses feet for inches, however, resulting in a meager megalith that looks even smaller when stacked up against dancing little people on a stage. It’s a scene that kicks the comedy up to eleven… or perhaps, in this case, eighteen inches.
#8: I Shag Dead People
“MacGruber” (2010)
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What started as a “SNL” sketch parodying “MacGyver” eventually evolved into a feature film that pokes fun at the entire action genre. MacGruber has all the criteria of an action hero: a dark past, a nemesis with an accent, and a fiancée who was tragically taken away from him. Speaking of which, the film also plays with the trope of communicating with a dead loved one. At Casey’s grave, MacGruber is visited by his fiancée’s ghost, who gives him permission to move on. Before letting go, however, MacGruber takes Casey for one last roll in the graveyard. Whether this is real or a deranged fantasy, their awkward sex provides the movie’s most explosively funny moment.
#7: I Am Your Daughter
“Scary Movie 3” (2003)
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After being accused of child abuse, Michael Jackson jokes were everywhere and we mean everywhere in the early 2000s. Before the subject matter was parodied to death, though, “Scary Movie 3” delivered this memorable sendup of the controversial musician. What starts as a satire of “The Others” takes a bizarre turn when Charlie Sheen goes looking for his daughter and instead uncovers Michael Jackson. Yeah, it’s incredibly immature, but this scene packs in several great gags, from Jackson’s dance fighting skills, to his infamous baby dangling incident, to his plastic surgery, to the conspiracy that he was an alien. The fact that Edward Moss can impersonate MJ to a T only adds to the hilarity.
#6: Bridge Fight
“Robin Hood: Men in Tights” (1993)
You can’t have a list like this without director Mel Brooks - and “Robin Hood: Men in Tights” is widely considered his last quality spoof movie. The film is primarily a parody of “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” but also the Disney and Errol Flynn versions. This scene reenacts Robin and Little John’s iconic bridge fight to hysterical effect as the two quickly realize that their sticks aren’t as sturdy as they seem. What starts as a rousing duel deteriorates into a couple of grown men whacking each other with tiny pieces of wood. As if that’s not childish and silly enough, Robin ultimately pushes John into a puddle, which inexplicably almost causes him to drown.
#5: Kickboxing
“Hot Shots! Part Deux” (1993)
Where the first “Hot Shots!” was mostly a parody of “Top Gun,” “Part Deux” takes on “Rambo.” For the sequel, Charlie Sheen actually went through weight training to better resemble Sylvester Stallone. Having someone with an action hero’s physique perform such ridiculous stunts makes the comedy all the more hilarious. Nowhere is this more apparent than in this scene, as Topper Harley enters a kickboxing fight where anything goes; nunchaku, lassos, and candy toppings are all fair game. As is the case with the rest of the movie, the sequence has a joke per second, from an audience member getting casually decapitated, to an ingenious plug for Subway sandwiches, to the literal anticlimax.
#4: Men in Tights
“Robin Hood: Men in Tights” (1993)
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It wouldn’t be a Mel Brooks movie without an uproarious musical number and this is one of his best. There seems to be a preconceived notion that tights aren’t manly, but this song argues otherwise as the Merry Men break out into a merry melody. Singing like the ensemble of a Broadway musical and even doing a can-can dance, the men note that their tights might not be the most intimidating apparel, but that this doesn’t make them any less butch. They vow to protect the poor and knock out anybody who mocks their wardrobe choices. On that note, Blinkin also gets in a few good punches as he stumbles throughout the wonderfully choreographed number.
#3: Mustafa’s Death
“Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery” (1997)
Throughout this spy spoof, the not-so-subtly-named Dr. Evil demonstrates just how impractical James Bond villains can be. For example, a chair that reclines into a pit of fire sounds like a pretty cool way to dispose of insubordinate minions. What happens if the victim doesn’t die instantly, though? The threatening atmosphere Dr. Evil was trying to create is completely derailed as a very badly burnt Mustafa cries out in pain. The evil mastermind tries ignoring the pleas for help at first, but soon gives in and acknowledges the elephant in the room… well, under the room. Even then, it takes multiple gunshots to silence Mustafa for good, giving new meaning to beating a dead horse.
#2: Keep Firing!
“Spaceballs” (1987)
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Considering that the characters watch the film while it’s still being made, “Spaceballs” might be the most meta movie of Mel Brooks’ career. If we had to single out one scene we would re-watch over and over again, however, it would have to be this priceless moment. Frustrated with one of his Spaceballs, Dark Helmet is taken aback to learn that his subordinate is literally named “asshole.” He got the job from his cousin, who’s also an asshole. It then dawns on Dark Helmet that almost every crew member aboard his ship is an asshole in every sense of the word. Anybody who has to work with people they can’t stand undoubtedly references this scene frequently.
Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
Before I Walked in the Room
“Black Dynamite” (2009)
Campfire
“Blazing Saddles” (1974)
Inflating the Autopilot
“Airplane” (1980)
Record Toss
"Shaun of the Dead" (2004)
Puppet Love
"Team America: World Police" (2004)
#1: Bookcase
“Young Frankenstein” (1974)
“Young Frankenstein” set the gold standard for modern parody movies, recreating the look and feel of the original horror classic, but then turning it into something absolutely ludicrous. The comedy especially springs to life in this scene, as the doctor and his assistant stumble upon a secret room behind a bookshelf. The passageway isn’t without a few kinks, though, as Frankenstein gets stuck and attempts to give Inga instructions on how to free him. Each attempt only puts Frankenstein in a more uncomfortable position, eventually sandwiching his body between the bookcase and a hard place. Gene Wilder’s delivery is nothing short of genius as Frankenstein tries to keep it together while nearly losing his head.
