Looking for a stress buster or something to drive away the blues?
Then there is nothing better than a comedy film of the spoof kind to get back into gear. Spoofs can be loosely defined as those films which often take a particular subject of an earlier film or films and exaggerate, ridicule and poke fun at them.
Such films are never easy to make or please. However, here are five spoofs to guarantee you a belly full of laughter.
Blazing Saddles (1970)
Cast: Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Mel Brooks, Harvey Korman, Slim Pickens
Director: Mel Brooks
Taking a dig at Western films, Brooks is at his brilliant best and tears apart that popular genre with humour and slapstick. All ingredients of classic Western films are there.
From gunfights to bar dancers to the final ride into the sunset – key aspects of the Western genre – are given a new twist. Brooks adds a black sheriff to get a bit racist. Liitle is excellent as the sheriff while Gene Wilder is a good foil as the fastest gun in the West who has fallen prey to drink.
There is a wild finale where everything goes berserk. This is a real treat for Western film fans.
Airplane! (1980)
Cast: Leslie Nielson, Robert Hays, Lloyd Bridges, Julie Hagerty, David Zucker
Directors: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker
If you have watched disaster films like Zero Hour and Airport, this one is for you. The dialogues are wacky and the disaster situations inspired.
It focuses on a jet where the pilot, the co-pilot and many passengers fall prey to food poisoning. The onus of landing the aircraft falls on an ex-fighter pilot who is traumatised by flying.
Leslie Nielson is brilliant as a doctor who ultimately convinces the former pilot to take charge. The film is rated among the best comedy films of all time. Its sequel Airplane 2 is also excellent.
Top Secret (1984)
Cast: Val Kilmer, Lucy Gutteridge, Omar Sharif, Peter Cushing, Michael Gough
Directors: David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker
This film is a takeoff on Elvis Priestley shows and spy movies. Kilmer debuts in this film as Nick Rivers, a rock and roll artist, who visits East Germany for a show and gets trapped in espionage and a resistance movement.
Devious plots, loads of action, a kidnapped scientist and a bit of Blue Lagoon to boot make up for hilarious situations.
Witty dialogues, some inventive slapstick and great music by Maurice Jarre make it a rich brew for comedy lovers.
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Cast: Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr
Director: Mel Brooks
Shot in Black and White to create the surreal atmosphere of classic horror films, Brooks uses the much filmed character of Dr Frankenstein’s monster to give it a tongue-in-cheek twist.
Mary Shelley would probably turn in her grave if she saw this version but Brooks effectively uses Wilder as the mad doctor and Boyle as the monster to come up with a tale which became a big hit with audiences.
Kahn is wonderful as a woman who gets attracted to the monster physically. The film is rated highly among the top comedy films.
Murder by Death (1974)
Cast: Alec Guinness, David Niven, Peter Sellers, Maggie Smith, James Coco, Truman Capote
Director: Robert Moore
The film is a parody on whodunits happening in old mansions and houses.
A great cast, and a rare acting stint by Capote, embellish the dark surrounds of an old house.
All the noted detectives such as Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Sam Spade and Charlie Chan are parodied in the tale wherever everyone concludes as usual that “the butler did it”. The denouement reveals a lot of twists and turns and offers a sarcastic view of many of the great detective writers and their stories.
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