With a newNaked Gunmovie hitting theaters, having movie spoofs back in fashion is refreshing. Keeping up with the times, this latest iteration of the franchise seems as though it’ll mock modern action movie conventions. Since actor Liam Neeson has swum in that soup for years, he’s the perfect man for this wacky job.
The new film will generate some interest in not just theoldNaked Gunmovies, but spoof movies in general. The good news is that there were plenty of these films from the 20th century to choose from. These are the go-to films when craving movie genres to get a pie in the face.
2000
Runtime
1 hour 24 minutes
Horror movies might have been getting smarter with films likeScream, but that didn’t stop the comedic skewering ofScary Movie. The film directly mocks the concept with more absurd characters, cartoonish slapstick gags, and the most ridiculous pop culture references. The underdog teen Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris) must solve the mystery of the Ghostface killer before he kills more of her peers, in between making prank phone calls and smoking weed.
Directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans with a script co-written by the Wayans Brothers,Scary Movieis like cracking open an absurd pop culture time capsule of comedy. There are some jokes only we Millennials will grasp and struggle to explain to our kids. That said, some timeless physical comedy is present, as when Cindy throws her grandmother and a piano down her comically large stairs to stop Ghostface’s pursuit.
Paramount Plus
Scary Moviemocked the horror movies of the 1990s by targeting slasher films and pop culture in general.
1991
1 hour 25 minutes
Although it’s the lesser of theNaked Guntrilogy,The Smell of Fearstill found plenty of fun things to do with the absent-minded Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen). He returns from the previous film to find that his love interest, Jane, has fallen for a corrupt CEO (Robert Goulet). As Frank unravels a terrorist conspiracy, he also ends up crashing parties as a mariachi singer and accidentally battering Barbara Bush in a series of ridiculous physical gags.
The comedy does stumble a bit with how it tries to find the funny in energy conspiracies, but Frank’s silliness holds this film together as much as his cartoonishly long legs on the theatrical poster. There are some more uproarious gags involving fire hoses and tigers, not to mention Robert Goulet making a solid villain. You might have to do a little homework on this one to grasp some of the jokes, but if you don’t catch every dig at George Bush, you’re able to at least delight in the slapstick Frank doles out for Barbara.
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fearfinds the silly cop Frank tackling an energy conspiracy while trying to rekindle his romance with Jane.
2016
1 hour 27 minutes
Popstars get the mockumentary they deserve in the musical spoof ofPopstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. The Lonely Island musical group (Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer) plays the hip-hop group Style Boyz. But the split leads to the top talent of Conner (Samberg) growing more egotistical as a documentary about his career spirals out of control.
While the king of musical mockumentaries remainsThis is Spinal Tap,Popstarborrows more from previous spoof movies to be more goofy than wry. The comedic casting is brilliant, with notable players such as Tim Meadows, Maya Rudolph, Bill Hader, Will Forte, Will Arnett, and Eric André having fun in their roles. The film holds up rather well and was co-directed by Akiva Schaffer, director of the recently-releasedNaked Gunsequel. So if you’re still uncertain about that film, givePopstara reassuring watch.
Netflix
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stoppingstages a mockumentary format for a split musical group and all the absurdity that comes with a solo career in music.
1987
1 hour 36 minutes
After the craze of theStar Warstrilogy, Mel Brooks gave the sci-fi epic a fitting parody withSpaceballs. Adopting a similar plot, the bounty-hunting Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) and Barf (John Candy) aid Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga), fleeing a marriage. But they’ll also have to escape the grip of the egotistical Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis), armed with the mystical power of The Schwartz. Only the teachings of the squat Yogurt (Mel Brooks) can help Lone Starr master the magic and defeat Helmet’s sinister plans involving Mega Maid.
Spaceballssucceeds not only as a parody ofStar Warsbut also of science fiction in general. The mockery of the transporters fromStar Trekto the apes ofPlanet of the Apesis brilliantly woven into the adventure of talking pizzas, a flying Winnebago, and canned oxygen. But the best parody is the spot-onAlienspoof, complete with a singing-dancing xenomorph emerging from John Hurt (“Not again.”). Now is a good time to catch up on this film since Brooks will return toSpaceballswith an upcoming sequel. It’s one of thefunnier things you can watch on HBO Max.
HBO Max
Spaceballsis Mel Brooks’s spoof of theStar Warsmovies, among other sci-fi pictures, mocked.
1988
WhilePolice Squadmight not have taken off as a TV show,The Naked Gunensured that the police detective Frank Drebin’s (Leslie Nielsen) investigations would continue. While trying to uncover a plot to murder the Queen of England, Frank must contend with the conspiring Vincent Ludwig (Ricardo Montalbán) and falling in love with the deceptive Jane (Priscilla Presley). His mission will find him going undercover as an opera singer and getting into high-speed chases with a student driver.
The Naked Gunensured that the Zucker brothers could not only write great parodies but also direct them. Nielsen’s performance was iconic for his dry delivery of absurd lines and his slapstick hijinks involving player pianos and statue penises. As the first of a franchise, it adopted many of the familiar traits from Airplane while establishing many of its own, including the ongoing cameo of Weird Al Yankovic.
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squadfinds the cop Frank Drebin trying to uncover an assassination plot while also falling for the lovely Jane with ridiculous antics amid his investigation.
Hot Shotsset its spoof guns towards the skies by mocking the popularity ofTop Gun. The Navy’s top pilot, Topper Harley (Charlie Sheen), must get over his traumatic past and come out of retirement for a new classified mission. However, his jumping back into the cockpit places him in the middle of a conspiracy involving weapons dealings.
This film has a lot of fun with the tropes of military movies, especially with the expendable pilot given the unfortunate call sign of Dead Meat (in addition to a slew of other bad omens for the character). There’s also a ton of movie parodies in this film, including a comical approach to the sexual food scene of9½ Weeks. Add in Cary Elwes and Lloyd Bridges for comedic support, and you have one of the funniest films involving fighter jets (for whatever that might be worth).
Hulu
Hot Shots!spoofsTop Gunand many other films by mocking pilots and romance.
1994
1 hour 23 minutes
Frank might’ve retired from the force inThe Smell of Fear, but crime never sleeps for the goofy cop. InThe Final Insult, Frank must stop the terrorist Rocco (Fred Ward) from blowing up the Academy Awards with an explosive award envelope. At the same time, he also deals with his fertility issues in his marriage to Jane (Priscilla Presley), leading to many comical spats amid a daring plot to save the Oscars.
Sex and movies occupied the bulk of the hilarity for this third film. This comes in the form of the femme fatale Tanya (Anna Nicole Smith) having ridiculously long legs and the Oscars celebrating such absurd parodies asGeriatric Parkand Spike Lee’sX 2: The Merchandising. The comedic timing is also the best it’s ever been inThe Final Insult, especially for the opening sequence that simultaneously parodiesThe UntouchablesandBattleship Potemkin.
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insultfinds Frank trying to stop a bomb plot at the Academy Awards while also grappling with the prospect of having children.
1993
1 hour 26 minutes
The sequel toHot Shotsswitches gears from mockingTop Gunto the new target ofRambo. Charlie Sheen reprises his role as Topper Harley, but now plays the character as a shirtless mercenary sent into enemy territory. Paired up with his former love interest Ramada (Valeria Golino), he’ll be forced into explosive combat to save hostages from the regime of an over-the-top satire of Saddam Hussein.
Hot Shots! Part Deuxgoes extra goofy with its spoofs, targeting everything fromLady and the TramptoApocalypse Now, complete with a brilliant meta joke of Charlie Sheen and Martin Sheen crossing paths (“I loved you inWall Street!”). In addition to the comedic casting of Lloyd Bridges as the ridiculous U.S. President who gets too involved, the many parodies and juvenile jokes are a hoot, especially for the high body count of a shootout scene treated like a video game, posed as though the film is going for the world record of most people killed on screen.
Hot Shots! Part Deuxmocks the Rambo movies and Saddam Hussein in this action-packed comedy.
1984
1 hour 28 minutes
Top Secretis a spoof movie mash-up that parodies spy movies, war movies, and Elvis Presley. Val Kilmer plays rock star Nick Rivers, sent to perform in East Germany amid a turbulent time for the country. Targeted by the Germans, Nick works alongside the French Resistance to stop a weapons plot, escape the country alive, and fall in love with the dancer Hillary (Lucy Gutteridge).
Top Secrethas plenty of great jokes, but it excels best at its visual gags. You don’t have to be familiar with the legacy of Elvis or the plight of Germany to appreciate gags about tic-tac-toe amid gunfights, bulls humping fake cows, and Peter Cushing having a giant eye for a great depth-of-field joke. For a premise that centers around the 1980s concerns of Cold War terror, there’s a timeless charm to the many ridiculous scenes, with Val Kilmer being perfect for delivering his silly lines straight and his comical renditions of familiar songs.
Amazon Prime Video
Top Secrethas Val Kilmer playing a rock celebrity thrown into the conflict of East Germany with hilarious results.
1980
Directly parodying the classic disaster flickZero Hour, there’s no greater spoof than the endless absurdity ofAirplane!Remaining true to the original film, a traumatized fighter pilot, Ted Striker (Robert Hays), must land a commercial airliner when the pilots and most of the passengers grow ill. It’s a daring adventure with silly dialogue, a musical number, a perverted inflatable pilot, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Airplane!features a comedic take on an airplane disaster presented in the filmZero Hour, loaded with absurd references to other films and pop culture.
Spoof movies feel like a reward for having endured so many films of various genres. Watching something willing to have fun with material that can sometimes take itself too seriously is refreshing. So if you feel like you’ve seen everything and can’t quite muster a laugh, these films find something clever and cartoonish to exploit in everything from cop dramas to sci-fi epics.
