Great spoofs
by Gibsonized | created - 25 Aug 2011 | updated - 25 Aug 2011 | PublicBefore 2000, when "Scary Movie" raped and killed the spoof genre, there were actually a lot of brilliant and clever spoofs. Here is a list of ten great spoof flicks that I would definitely recommend to any person with just shred of a sense of humor.
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1. Spaceballs (1987)
PG | 96 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
A star-pilot for hire and his trusty sidekick must come to the rescue of a princess and save Planet Druidia from the clutches of the evil Spaceballs.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Mel Brooks, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Bill Pullman
Votes: 206,470 | Gross: $38.12M
A masterful parody on the sci-fi genre, this one takes its starting point in the Star Wars franchise, but is full of references to a load of other sci-fi classics.
2. Young Frankenstein (1974)
PG | 106 min | Comedy
An American grandson of the infamous scientist, struggling to prove that his grandfather was not as insane as people believe, is invited to Transylvania, where he discovers the process that reanimates a dead body.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle
Votes: 168,865 | Gross: $86.30M
Any fan of the old Universal horror films is bound to love this spoof which carefully observes the conventions of the genre and masterfully parodies it.
3. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
PG-13 | 85 min | Comedy, Crime
Incompetent police Detective Frank Drebin must foil an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II.
Director: David Zucker | Stars: Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, O.J. Simpson, Ricardo Montalban
Votes: 184,833 | Gross: $78.76M
A classic spoof on the detective genre with one great gag after another.
4. The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991)
PG-13 | 85 min | Comedy, Crime
Lieutenant Frank Drebin discovers that his ex-girlfriend's new beau is involved in a plot to kidnap a scientist who advocates solar energy.
Director: David Zucker | Stars: Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, O.J. Simpson
Votes: 122,161 | Gross: $86.93M
Continues the madness from the prequel (and, of course, the TV-series that came before).
5. Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)
PG-13 | 86 min | Action, Comedy
"Rambo" parody in which Topper Harley leads a rescue team into Iraq to save Iraqi war prisoners and all of their previous rescue teams.
Director: Jim Abrahams | Stars: Charlie Sheen, Lloyd Bridges, Valeria Golino, Richard Crenna
Votes: 97,333 | Gross: $38.91M
Better than the prequel, and allegedly one of the most violent films in cinematic history, this parody spoofs the one-man-death-machine action movie genre.
6. Airplane! (1980)
PG | 88 min | Comedy
After the crew becomes sick with food poisoning, a neurotic ex-fighter pilot must safely land a commercial airplane full of passengers.
Directors: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker | Stars: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Leslie Nielsen, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Votes: 260,985 | Gross: $83.40M
Great gags from beginning to end, this is so much mroe worth watching than the airplane disaster movies that it spoofs.
7. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Horror
The uneventful, aimless lives of a London electronics salesman and his layabout roommate are disrupted by the zombie apocalypse.
Director: Edgar Wright | Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis
Votes: 593,778 | Gross: $13.54M
Not only one of the best British spoof films, "Shaun of the Dead" is also one of the best zombie films of all time, as it faithfully observes the conventions of the genre while still parodying it.
8. This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
R | 82 min | Comedy, Music
Spinal Tap, one of England's loudest bands, is chronicled by film director Marty DiBergi on what proves to be a fateful tour.
Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Rob Reiner, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Kimberly Stringer
Votes: 147,336 | Gross: $4.74M
A spoof? Yes, I would say so. In any case, this is a great parody of the rockumentary genre - "Some Kind of Monster" doesn't hold a candle to this.
9. Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
PG-13 | 104 min | Adventure, Comedy, Musical
A spoof of Robin Hood in general, and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) in particular.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Cary Elwes, Richard Lewis, Roger Rees, Amy Yasbeck
Votes: 136,779 | Gross: $35.74M
Funny and full of gags from beginning to end, "Robin Hood: Men in tights" respectfully spoofs the Robin Hood movies.
10. Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)
PG-13 | 88 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
Mel Brooks' parody of the classic vampire story and its famous film adaptations.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Leslie Nielsen, Mel Brooks, Peter MacNicol, Steven Weber
Votes: 45,181 | Gross: $10.77M
While Francis Ford Coppola's Dracula flick sucks and basically destroyed the vampire movie genre, this "Dracula: Dead and Loving It" is the last real vampire movie.
11. Blazing Saddles (1974)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Western
In order to ruin a western town, a corrupt politician appoints a black Sheriff, who promptly becomes his most formidable adversary.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Slim Pickens, Harvey Korman
Votes: 152,429 | Gross: $119.50M
The story of a black sheriff, "Blazing Saddles" is politically incorrect in a very sophisticated way.
12. Silent Movie (1976)
Passed | 87 min | Comedy
A film director and his strange friends struggle to produce the first major silent feature film in forty years.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Mel Brooks, Marty Feldman, Dom DeLuise, Sid Caesar
Votes: 18,482 | Gross: $36.15M
A modern flick that embraces the aesthetics of the silent movie and infuses it with 70s humor.
13. Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994)
PG-13 | 83 min | Comedy, Crime
Frank Drebin comes out of retirement to help Police Squad infiltrate a gang of terrorists planning to detonate a bomb at the Academy Awards.
Director: Peter Segal | Stars: Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, O.J. Simpson
Votes: 111,824 | Gross: $51.13M
Not up to scratch compared to the two first one, this installment of the Naked Gun trilogy is still very funny.
14. Johnny English (2003)
PG | 87 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
After a sudden attack on MI5, Johnny English, Britain's most confident, yet unintelligent spy, becomes Britain's only spy.
Director: Peter Howitt | Stars: Rowan Atkinson, John Malkovich, Natalie Imbruglia, Tasha de Vasconcelos
Votes: 174,155 | Gross: $28.08M
While perhaps not as well known as the Austin Powers trilogy, "Johnny English" is a better spoof on the secret agent genre - perhaps because of Rowan Atkinson's dry performance.
15. Galaxy Quest (1999)
PG | 102 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
The alumni cast of a space opera television series have to play their roles as the real thing when an alien race needs their help. However, they also have to defend both Earth and the alien race from a reptilian warlord.
Director: Dean Parisot | Stars: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub
Votes: 178,095 | Gross: $71.58M
Not quite "Spaceballs", "Galaxy Quest" is still a true sci-fi film, embracing the conventions of the space opera genre and poking fun at them at the same time.
16. Kung Pow: Enter the Fist (2002)
PG-13 | 81 min | Action, Comedy
A rough-around-the-edges martial arts master seeks revenge for his parents' death.
Director: Steve Oedekerk | Stars: Steve Oedekerk, Fei Lung, Leo Lee, Ling-Ling Hsieh
Votes: 48,515 | Gross: $16.03M
Maybe not a spoof in the traditional sense, "Kung Pow: Enter the Fist" still respectfully pokes fun at the kung fu genre flick.
17. The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977)
R | 83 min | Comedy
The daily programming of a fictional local TV channel presented as a series of highly irreverent skits.
Director: John Landis | Stars: Evan C. Kim, Bong Soo Han, Bill Bixby, George Lazenby
Votes: 20,258
More like a sketch show, "Kentucky Fried Movie" is a tour de force of the elements that characterized the great spoofs of the 70s, 80s and 90s before "Scary Movie" destroyed it all.
18. Mars Attacks! (1996)
PG-13 | 106 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
Earth is invaded by Martians with unbeatable weapons and a cruel sense of humor.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Pierce Brosnan, Sarah Jessica Parker, Annette Bening
Votes: 243,436 | Gross: $37.77M
Another atypical spoof, "Mars Attacks" is a modern and humoristic take on the alien invasion genre.
19. Fatal Instinct (1993)
PG-13 | 91 min | Comedy, Crime, Thriller
A cop who moonlights as a lawyer cheats on his wife, not knowing that she's cheating on him and plans to kill him for the insurance.
Director: Carl Reiner | Stars: Armand Assante, Sherilyn Fenn, Kate Nelligan, Sean Young
Votes: 8,086 | Gross: $7.85M
An average 90s spoof full of laugh-worthy gags.
20. Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)
PG-13 | 84 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
In this Lethal Weapon (1987) spoof, two mismatched LA cops investigate a case involving cocaine-laced girl scout cookies.
Director: Gene Quintano | Stars: Emilio Estevez, Samuel L. Jackson, Jon Lovitz, Tim Curry
Votes: 51,173 | Gross: $27.98M
As if the Lethal Weapon series weren't silly enough, this spoof efficiently pokes fun at it.
21. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
PG-13 | 95 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Dr. Evil is back and has invented a new time machine that allows him to go back to the 1960s and steal Austin Powers' mojo, inadvertently leaving him "shagless".
Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Mike Myers, Heather Graham, Michael York, Robert Wagner
Votes: 248,765 | Gross: $206.04M
Far out, groovy take on the secret agent genre, the Austin Powers series deserves the credit it gets.
22. Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
PG-13 | 94 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Upon learning that his father has been kidnapped, Austin Powers must travel to 1975 and defeat the aptly named villain Goldmember, who is working with Dr. Evil.
Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Mike Myers, Beyoncé, Seth Green, Michael York
Votes: 222,853 | Gross: $213.31M
Far out, groovy take on the secret agent genre, the Austin Powers series deserves the credit it gets. This one is perhaps a bit too bizarre and absurd.
23. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
PG-13 | 89 min | Adventure, Comedy
A world-class playboy and part-time secret agent from the 1960s emerges after thirty years in a cryogenic state to battle with his nemesis Dr. Evil.
Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Mike Myers, Elizabeth Hurley, Michael York, Mimi Rogers
Votes: 257,070 | Gross: $53.88M
Far out, groovy take on the secret agent genre, the Austin Powers series deserves the credit it gets. This one is not quite as funny or far out as the sequels.
24. Scary Movie 4 (2006)
PG-13 | 83 min | Comedy
Cindy finds out the house she lives in is haunted by a little boy and goes on a quest to find out who killed him and why. Also, Alien "Tr-iPods" are invading the world and she has to uncover the secret in order to stop them.
Director: David Zucker | Stars: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Craig Bierko, Bill Pullman
Votes: 129,139 | Gross: $90.71M
While the first "Scary Movie" sucked, this one is not too bad.
25. Superhero Movie (2008)
PG-13 | 75 min | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Orphaned high school student Rick Riker is bitten by a radioactive dragonfly, develops super powers (except for the ability to fly), and becomes a hero.
Director: Craig Mazin | Stars: Drake Bell, Leslie Nielsen, Sara Paxton, Christopher McDonald
Votes: 75,548 | Gross: $26.64M
For a post-2000 spoof flick, this one has a lot of redeeming moments. Still, there is a long way from this one to the great classics of the 70s-90s.
26. Scary Movie 3 (2003)
PG-13 | 84 min | Comedy
Cindy must investigate mysterious crop circles and video tapes, and help the President in preventing an alien invasion.
Director: David Zucker | Stars: Anna Faris, Charlie Sheen, Regina Hall, Pamela Anderson
Votes: 158,317 | Gross: $110.00M
While the first "Scary Movie" sucked, this one is not too bad - but it is far from a spoof masterpiece
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