Spoofs have kind of run their course. Or have they? Once a mainstay of modern comedy, a particular group of filmmakers have continued to run the idea into the ground making us forget why they were funny in the first place. But I'm not usually a worst list kind of guy; and when talking about bad spoofs, my mind reels. It's so rare that anyone gets this kind of movie right, and pointing out the ones that went wrong involves getting bogged down in thinking about hundreds of wasted hours of life.

So, let's keep it positive. Let's talk about why we've loved spoofs, and more specifically, the spoofs we all love. And let's narrow the band just a wee bit further: let's talk about the ones people forget.

Everyone remembers Airplane!! and Top Secret! but what about these:

Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Yep. It's a spoof. Making fun of both historical documentaries and England's fascination with the King Arthur myth. The immortal sketch comedy troupe Monty Python took a stab at the many films on these subjects and created one of the funniest movies ever made. If this doesn't make you laugh, nothing will.

Shrek
Oh, yeah. Remember when Shrek was an incredibly funny animated film making fun of repetitive, corporate fantasy films and fairy tales? You know, kind of like Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third? Well, forget what it became, because there was a time when this was the funniest thing to be found in theaters. Pure genius. Sure, the second one had its moments. But really, which one did you watch more? Which one would you watch right now if you could? That's what I thought.

Hot Fuzz
Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's brilliant comedies are so funny and sharp you almost don't want to call them spoofs. Mainly because they both spoof the genre as well as make perfect examples of films OF their genre. Shaun of the Dead is a true classic, but this is the one that makes me laugh the hardest. If you still haven't seen this, then you've got almost two hours of solid laughs coming your way.

Blazing Saddles
I know. I know. People tend to love Young Frankenstein more, but this is my very favorite of the Mel Brooks movies. This has lines I repeat almost every day of my life. And I still laugh. Every time. I heard you was hung! You heard right!

C. Robert Cargill - - - Email Me
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Austin-based Cargill, who not only loves but owns The Cutting Edge, writes on movies and DVD five times a week.

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