No matter how critically acclaimed or popular a film franchise might be, there will always be somebody out there willing to make fun of it - and when those somebodies are other filmmakers, audiences are blessed with some of the best parody and spoof movies that Hollywood has to offer.
Parody films are all in good fun and are simply meant to be friendly-ribbing between professionals who genuinely respect each others work, just with a little bit more comedy mixed in. Here’s a list of our 10 ridiculous and hilarious big-budget knock-offs that are meant to poke fun at the blockbusters they’re spoofing.
Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
Just a quick heads up that Mel Brooks (the king of spoofs) is going to be all over this list, so we’ll start with his movie centered around one of the most well-known characters in history: Robin Hood. Only in this version, he’s not quite the legend that the fables have made him out to be. He’s still just as good with a bow, but his lovable band of merry men aren’t exactly fearsome warriors themselves, even though they’re all “the best men from every village.”
From Maid Marian’s iron chastity-belt to Dave Chapelle as Robin’s best friend, Achoo, this parody was one of Mel Brooks’ finest pieces of work.
Not Another Teen Movie (2001)
There was an epidemic during the ’80s and ’90s where virtually every other movie that was released was about a group of teenagers (played by adults in their late 20s) set in some sort of small-town high school. So, by the time the new millennium rolled around, audiences were sick and tired of the dragged out premise and were rewarded with a spoof that managed to make fun of just about every single of them.
In one of Chris Evans’ very first film roles, he plays a jock who makes a bet to turn the ugly girl with glasses, overalls, and a pigtail into the popular girl, only to fall helplessly in love with her. Sounds gooey and romantic, but it’s actually obscene and hilarious, and a much more accurate representation of high-school.
Tropic Thunder (2008)
Some movie-goers might argue that Tropic Thunder isn’t an actual spoof, but what would you call a movie that makes fun of the process of making war movies? We’d call it a spoof, especially because everything about the movie is practically flawless. Ben Stiller and company (including a black Robert Downey Jr.) were hilariously believable “make-believe” actors who had to play “make-believe” soldiers in a “make-believe” movie.
Seriously, this movie was the Inception of “make-believe” acting and filmmaking as it seemed to create layer after layer throughout the entire film, and each one was funnier than the last.
Scary Movie (2000)
Horror movies will forever be Hollywood’s bread-and-butter simply because they’re, historically, the cheapest to make with the greatest potential for overall yield at the box office. Due to that fact, horror movies are spewed out and onto the big-screen at such an alarming pace that the highly talented and comedic Wayans Brothers decided to make an entire franchise just about spoofing them!
There are now five Scary Movies in the series and every one of them is centered around a different handful of horror films in history. Whether it was demons, aliens, zombies, or any other form of horror movie shtick, nothing was off-limits for these witty spoofs.
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Back to Mel Brooks, and the earliest made film on this list. The master of parodies has been doing this a long time, and movies about westerns have been around for even longer, so naturally, the director had to take a crack at making fun of the cowboy-thrillers.
The best part about this particular spoof is that Brooks plays heavily on the race aspect, casting a black man as the protagonist and making him the sheriff of a town in the Old-West. The town isn’t very friendly, initially, but they eventually come around and accept the sheriff, and for a film that was made less than a decade after the Civil Rights Acts were passed, this was a truly groundbreaking moment for the spoofs of cinema.
Superhero Movie (2008)
People are beginning to complain more and more often that superhero films are taking over movie theaters and that the excess amount of movies focused on super-strong, technologically-enhanced beings is getting old, and a franchise that has quite a bit to do with that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Well, believe it or not, there was a spoof made about superhero movies before a single MCU movie had ever been released. Starring Drake Bell (of all people) this parody does exactly what you’d expect and follows the superhero “Dragonfly” as he tries to stop the villain “Hourglass” from killing a bunch of innocent people.
A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)
Seth MacFarlane is one of comedy’s greatest geniuses, and with his seemingly endless supply of pop-culture knowledge and lack of conscience at making fun of any particular group of people, it was only a matter of time before he made a full-fledged parody film.
While Mel Brooks centered his western parody around the sheriff/gunslinger aspect of the genre, MacFarlane went full-on hilarity and based his spoof on the fact that virtually everything in the Old-West was made to kill a person. The movie itself might not be MacFarlane’s greatest work, but his true talents are in original ideas so we can’t fault him much.
Spaceballs (1987)
Our last one from the G.O.A.T. of spoofs and parodies, Spaceballs is indisputably considered one of Mel Brook’s masterpieces and rightfully so as it takes the worldwide phenomenon of Star Wars and manages to poke a finger into every nook and cranny of the franchise.
The film includes some of the biggest names of the ’80s with stars Rick Moranis and John Candy playing Dark Helmet and Barf, but the fact that this movie only had three other films to work off of at the time for inspiration is unparalleled in terms of how many jokes the comedic director was able to get in such a small amount of time. May the schwartz be with you.
Monty Python & the Holy Grail (1975)
Tis but a scratch! The Monty Python franchise could have had a few films on this list, but we ultimately chose to go with the best of the series as The Holy Grail is unquestionably the most famous of all the movies (Life of Brian is a close second).
King Arthur is one of histories oldest tales, as well as one of histories most retold tales, and never was it retold more hilariously than when Monty Python chose to spoof it, coming up with memorable moments such as the Holy-hand-grenade, burning witches, and fighting the limbless Black Knight, along with countless other eye-watering moments that this film has to offer.
Airplane! (1980)
Surely, you can’t be serious that Airplane! is one of the most hilarious parodies of all time? It certainly is, and don’t call us Shirley. This film is filled with non-stop jokes from the second that it takes off the runway.
Much like how Not Another Teen Movie came out due to the surplus of films centered around high-schoolers, Airplane! came about due to the increase of disaster movies that were prevalent during the 1970s. The movie’s premise (in case you’re one of the few people who haven’t seen it) centers around a rogue pilot who must work with his ex-girlfriend, a stewardess, to safely land a plane whose crew is incapacitated. Sounds dramatic and unrelenting, when really it’s just comedic and hilarious.
