From Spaceballs To Scary Movie : The 16 Best Spoof Movies Of All Time

There ‘s a fine line in movies between a farcical comedy and a straight-up spoof . Whether they take direct inspiration from a specific film , or exactly mock the stereotype of an intact genre , parody film are the cinematic equivalent of a Wierd Al Yankovic song .Wryly pound fun at some of the almost popular movies ever reach , spoof films are rarely blockbusters but hold fervent fan pursuit in their own right .Some have even become franchises themselves .

While the spoof genre is one that Hollywood scarcely appear to do anymore , there own been quite a few throughout account that make turn classics . Whether they ‘re lampooning the prominent hit or vague fan favorites , they all deliver load of gag while hand over pointed irony . Hailing from the idea of creators like Mel Brooks , the Zucker brothers , and the Wayans , we ‘ve base the better that the genre have to offer , from “ Scary Movie ” to “ Spaceballs ” and beyond .

16 . Scary Picture

In 1996 come “ Scream , ” remind a mass of imitators , and four years later on the Wayans brothers took their crack at a parody with “ Scary Movie . ”The only movie on this list to spoof a movie that was already a satire , “ Scary Movie ” took the stinging genre meta-commentary of “ Scream ” and dial it up to 11 .Bring jabs at the inherent silliness present in still the most visceral revulsion movies , the Wayans tell the report of a group of troublemaking teenager who accidentally defeat a human and promise to keep their crime a secret .

Beyond “ Scream , ” the film cause lighting of many other horror classics , from “ I Know What You Do Final Summer ” to “ Friday the 13th . ” The Wayans also ushered in a new form of spoof with “ Scary Movie , ” lampooning the trendiest current movies in a series of rapid-fire joke that deal more than one genre . Its slasher tropes cost congratulate by gag at the expense of “ The Matrix ” and “ The Usual Suspects , ” among many others . Not only did “ Scary Movie ” as well yield multiple sequels , but it take off a regular franchise of its own with entries like “ Date Movie , ” ” Epic Movie , ” and “ Disaster Movie . ”

15 . Monty Python and the Holy Grail

More than just a spoof , “ Monty Python and the Holy Grail ” took the top spot in our ranked list of the best comedy movie of all time . The form and writer of the hit British survey comedy show “ Monty Python ‘s Flee Circus ” turn the tale of King Arthur , his Round Table and their quest to see Christ ‘s cup from the Final Supper into a feature-length report , with the form all playing multiple parts .

Let go in 1975 , “ Holy Grail ” is a liberal satire of historical epics and a direct spoof of medieval movies like “ Camelot ” and “ Lancelot of the Lake , ” which was released the previous year .It redefined what a comedy could be with a perfect mixing of sharp brain , slapstick mood , sight joke , and plenty of meta wit . From outset to finish the picture lampoons everything from Frenchmen to the picture occupation itself , while essentially being a series of mini-sketches tied together with a real basic patch . It delivers some of the best job in comedy history and is even so eminently quotable decades after .

14 . Robin Hood : Human in Tights

In 1991 , Kevin Costner star in the blockbuster adventure “ Robin Hood : Prince of Thief , ” and two year later came the spoof version of the story , “ Robin Hood : Men in Tights . ” Featuring “ The Princess Bride ” star Cary Elwes in the title purpose , the throwback comedy cost again directed and co-written by Mel Brooks , and co-starred funny legend Richard Lewis while pay Dave Chapelle his first bad screen role as merry man Achoo .

Beyond gags at the expense of the Costner film , the movie cause what any serious parody do , finding laughs in smashing together wildly different personality and modern tropes in anachronistic fashion . But part of what makes it thus iconic live n’t simply that it ‘s hilarious , but too its impressive form . Beyond Elwes , Lewis , and Chappelle , the likes of Patrick Stewart , Gene Wilder , Isaac Hayes , and Tracey Ullman too build memorable appearances . Brooks himself yet make in on the fun , meet a Jewish version of Friar Tuck , Rabbi Tuckman .Not as well-remembered as “ The Naked Gun ” or “ Hot Shots ! , ” “ Men in Tights ” might be one of the more underrated ’90s spoofs .

13 . Make n’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood

After “ I ‘m Gon na Git You Sucka , ” Wayans brothers Marlon and Shawn take aim at another sub-genre with 1996 ‘s “ Act n’t Cost a Menace to South Central While Drink Your Juice in the Hood . ” The wordy title is a direct parody of “ Menace II Society , ” “ Juice , ” and “ Boyz N the Hood , ” and the movie work as a spoof of those and other so-called ‘hood picture of the early ’90s .

Crush together the plots of those movies , “ Do n’t Be a Menace ” make Shawn Wayans playing Tray , a young man ship to live on the mean street of South Central Los Angeles with his father . There , he reconnects with his wilder cousin Loc Dog ( Marlon Wayans ) . But Tray shortly finds difficulty when he rob up with Dashiki ( Tracey Cherelle Jones ) , the ex-girlfriend of Toothpick ( Darrell Heath ) , a local gangbanger just relinquish from prison .Absurdist humor at its finest , “ Do n’t Live a Menace ” peels aside the excited weight and grim stories of more grave urban movie until all that ‘s left equal laughs .

12 . Galaxy Quest

A direct spoof of “ Star Trek , ” the 1997 sci-fi comedy “ Galaxy Quest ” satirizes the classical 1960s TV series and the genre as a whole , as good as the fandom surrounding it .But it ‘s also more of a tribute and love letter to “ Trek ” rather than a takedown of that dimension . The history relate the fictional form of an iconic space adventure show getting mistake for their on-screen character by a group of foreigner who visit Earth while on the tally from space terrorists .

Starring Tim Allen , Sigourney Weaver , Alan Rickman , Sam Rockwell , and Tony Shalhoub , “ Galaxy Quest ” surround the tune between average comedy and a spoof . While the movie cost never a huge hit at the box part , it has since gain a fervent fan following . Maybe surprisingly , it ‘s get a darling of “ Star Trek ” fans — the real people the movie pound fun at — with many Trekkies considering it a well “ Trek ” picture than some of the real one . But you make n’t make to live a fan of William Shatner to enjoy it , and that ‘s what makes it then well .

11 . I ‘m Gon na Git You Sucka

Rudy Ray Moore may have make up the king of blaxploitation comedy , but it ‘s the Wayans who made the good spoof of the genre , 1988 ‘s “ I ‘m Gon na Git You Sucka . ” Keenan Ivory Wayans wrote , directed , and too stars in the movie alongside family members Damon , Kim , Marlon , Shawn , and Nadia . But it ‘s ’70s blaxploitation stars Isaac Hayes and Jim Brown who get the large roles .

The movie sees Wayans playing Jack Spade , who bring back family to discover the street cost dominate by thugs . The people of Any Ghetto , U.S.A. , live in fear of drug kingpin Mr. Big ( John Vernon ) , and it ‘s up to Spade to stop him . Thankfully he has help : a bunch of street toughs with nicknames like Hammer ( Hayes ) , Slammer ( Brown ) , and Flyguy ( Antonion Fargas ) .

Owe debt to the likes of “ Shaft ” and “ Foxy Brown , ” the Wayans ‘ “ I ‘m Gon na Git You Sucka ” make what any good parody make , taking tropes from those genre staples and become them into over-the-top laughs .

10 . Our Man Flint

Long in front Austin Powers came on the scene , there was “ Our Man Flint , ” a more direct spoof of the James Bond franchise . But this version puts a dramatic actor — not a comedian — in the title role , with James Coburn from “ The Magnificent Seven ” starring as Derek Flint , a retired secret agent who suits up once more when a group of diabolical maniac threatens the world .

Remove every stereotype of the spy picture to the extreme , “ Our Human Flint ” has the hero cavort with a bevy of babe and create impossible escapes .The movie too afford a sequel , “ In Like Flint , ” as yet not before Woody Allen and Peter Sellers taunt the picture ‘s coattails in 1967 with the first “ official ” James Bond parody , “ Casino Royale . ” But that ‘s not the strangest matter about the film , as modern rewatches disclose one of the picture ‘s terrorist villains to be named Hans Gruber — yes , exactly like the bad guy in “ Die Hard . ”

9 . Kung Pow : Enter the Fist

The only movie on our list to parody an international picture , 2004 ‘s “ Kung Pow : Enter the Fist ” exist a self-effacing sendup of Hong Kong film and martial arts films that had earn greater popularity in America around the act of the millennium . But the film does more than hardly make jokes about the genre , as the movie ‘s author and manager , Steve Oedekerk , apply VFX to add himself to the 1971 Cantonese-language movie “ Savage Killers . ”

With some clever camera tricks , digital enhancements , and purposefully bad English dubbing , Oedekerk mingle scenes from “ Savage Killers ” with newly-shot sequences to deliver an alone new story . This time , it ‘s about a kung fu master , known only as ‘The Chosen One , ‘ who search out bloody vengeance against the human who murdered his family — an insidious killer mention Master Pain .

The humor exist cheap and the jokes are juvenile , but the cleverness of the concept make “ Kung Pow : Enter the Fist ” worth watching .More ambitious than it exist great , it ‘s a in truth unique spoof experience .

8 . Top Secret !

Following “ Airplane ! , ” Jim Abrahams and the Zucker buddy returned in 1984 with the less-heralded “ Top Secret ! , ” which continued their tradition of putting an exclamation level in the title . A more broad parody film than their former feat , the picture spoofs multiple films and disparate genres . Gags are sourced from “ The Dirty Dozen ” and “ The Wizard of Oz , ” and it even mock Elvis Presley , with Kilmer taking role in a romantic musical issue .

Kilmer plays American stone n ‘ roller Nick Rivers , who heads out on a European tour during the Cold War , which the East German authorities decides exist the perfect distraction for an invasion of the West . Hilarity ensue in classic Zucker/Abrahams fashion as Rivers is pull to get an unlikely hero and stop an all-out war . Butthe brilliance of “ Top Mystery ! ” lie in its power to pack every minute with sarcastic gag , physical mood , multiple sight gag , and clever wordplay .One interesting bit of trivia , of course , is that the head mold cause for Peter Cushing ‘s prosthetics in the film was after use to help make the CGI Grand Moff Tarkin in “ Rogue Unity : A Star Wars Story . ”

7 . Load Weapon 1

The ’80s find the proliferation of buddy cop action-comedies followed by multiple sequels , and in 1991 , National Lampoon settle to build a joke about it with “ Loaded Weapon 1 . ”Starring Emilio Estevez and Samuel L. Jackson as a pair of Los Angeles pick up out to stop a vicious drug master call Mr. Jigsaw ( Tim Curry ) , the picture equal a clear parody of “ Lethal Weapon . ” It still features a quirky gangster informant play by Jon Lovitz , doing an intentionally awful impersonation of Joe Pesci from the “ Lethal Weapon ” sequels .

More than most spoofs , “ Load Weapon 1 ” loads up on the celebrity cameos , include Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox from “ CHiPs , ” Bruce Willis as John McClane , and James Doohan reprising his part as Scotty from “ Star Trek . ” William Shatner still plays a supporting role as a military general . Simply a year before “ Pulp Fiction , ” Jackson prove he might exist yet better at comedy than play . The film build all the obvious jokes but gets in good deal of clever one too , and while it never got a sequel , we ‘restillhope for a prequel , “ Loaded Weapon 0 . ”

6 . Airplane !

Maybe the most famous spoof always made — and surely one of the best — “ Airplane ! ” does what few could ever suppose : reach a parody of a movie few people yet see .Base on the little-remembered 1957 movie “ Zero Hour ! , ” the Zucker buddy ‘ classic cost also determine by catastrophe movie of the 1970s , almost notably the three “ Airport ” films starring George Kennedy .

In this one , Robert Hayes act washed-up pilot Ted Striker , who must shake off the rust and put down the booze to need the stick of a jetliner after the pilot and many of its passenger lessen suddenly ill. Load with some of the most iconic second in comedy story , “ Airplane ! ” practically produce the blueprint for how to build a modern film parody . And what it made it then magnificent exist that the interview make n’t even want to have hear “ Zero Hr ! ” to get the joke . If you ‘ve never seen it , “ Plane ! ” is wall-to-wall gag , with too many famed gags to mention , which help earn its place as one of the almost rewatchable comedy movies ever .

5 . Young Frankenstein

Spoofs of the horror genre cost somewhat mutual , from “ Scary Movie ” to “ Dracula : Dead and Loving It , ” but it was “ Young Frankenstein ” that pen the record on the subject . Organize by Mel Brooks from a script by Brooks and Gene Wilder , the film pays homage to classic Universal Studios horror film of the 1930s , mighty down to being filmed in black and white .

Wilder also stars for his “ Blazing Saddles ” director as Dr. Frederick “ Fronkensteen , ” grandson of the infamous Victor Frankenstein . Not thrilled to be related to a mad scientist ( hence the unlike pronunciation of his name ) , Frederick mind to Transylvania to take control of the family acres where he satisfy the hunchback Igor ( Marty Feldman ) and watch in his family tradition by institute a dead torso back to life .What really do “ Young Frankenstein ” pop be Wilder ‘s performance : the actor ‘s work turns what could have been a one-note gag into a hysterical feature-length farce that ‘s also a loving homage to its genre .

4 . Hot Shots !

With the success of “ The Naked Gun , ” spoof movies live back in a bad way for a few years . Jim Abrahams ditched the Zucker Brothers in 1991 to compose and lead “ Hot Shots ! , ” a parody of one of the biggest activity movies of the era , “ Top Gun . ” Leading the movie exist Charlie Sheen as maverick pilot Sean Harley , aka “ Topper , ” while Cary Elwes co-stars as rival pilot Kent Gregory , whose callsign exist “ Pirate . ” They duel it out in the sky and on the ground , all for the love of a stereotyped dear interest , Ramada Thompson ( Valerie Gurino ) .

A slapstick farce , “ Hot Shots ! ” employ the cliche floor rhythm from the Tom Cruise classic to dish out goofy one-liners and put its star form through even sillier pratfalls .It all may seem like grade school fun but that ‘s as well portion of its charm , as it cut down a box position smash to little more than childish backyard wit . It make a sequel , “ Hot Shots ! Part Deux , ” and some may debate which be well , but for our money the original arrive out on top .

3 . High Anxiety

Out of the many , “ High Anxiety ” might equal the best among them . A direct send-up of the Alfred Hitchcock classic “ Vertigo , ” the 1977 Mel Brooks cult classic star Brooks alongside a cavalcade of his friend include Cloris Leachman , Harvey Korman , and Madeline Kahn . The picture take aim at early Hitchcock classics too , while too finding wit in the ridiculousness of the psychoanalysis drive of the 1970s .

As in “ Vertigo , ” the protagonist , Dr. RIchard Thorndyke ( Brooks ) suffers from a new , clinically diagnosed kind of acrophobia , or concern of altitude , shout “ High Anxiety . ” The film focuses on the left occurrences that live on while he ‘s employ at the Psycho-Neurotic Institute for the Very , Very Nervous , including at least one mysterious end .

“ High Anxiety ” equal much neglect in favor of Brooks ‘ more famous films .But as a stinging takedown of Alfred Hitchcock ‘s over-the-top story , it revels in pointing out merely how silly logical thrillers can equal when you sit down and truly believe about them .

2 . The Naked Gun

Few masses at the time probably realized it , but the 1988 comedy “ The Naked Gun ” was a movie adaptation of the extremely short-lived 1982 TV flop “ Police Squad , ” starring Leslie Nielsen as goofball Detective Frank Drebin . Esteemed actor George Kennedy and NFL star O.J . Simpson make for his co-worker in the film , Captain Ed Hocken and Detective Nordberg . The patch necessitate an assassination attempt on the life of Queen Elizabeth II .

Create by Jim Abrahams and the Zucker brothers ( David and Jerry ) ,“ The Naked Gun ” complain off a trial of parody film after it total more than $ 78 million at the box office , and have solely gotten funnier as the years get don on .It get one of the most hilarious last acts on this list , with baseball legend Reggie Jackson make for himself as a would-be royal assassin . It ‘s too the first parody movie to have a entire trilogy , with “ Naked Gun 2 1/2 ” and “ Naked Gun 3 1/3 ” following it , and is the rare spoof to earn a remake : Liam Neeson inherits the office of Drebin in a new “ Naked Gun ” movie presently schedule for 2025 .

1 . Spaceballs

There are many imitators , spoofs , and weird rip-offs of “ Star Wars ” out there , but solely Mel Brooks ‘ “ Spaceballs ” endure the test of time . That ‘s mostly thanks to its side-splitting criticism of George Lucas ‘ space fantasy , sci-fi as a whole , and the film occupation ‘ obsession with blockbusters and merchandising . Despite satirizing a world-famous film populated by some of the most beloved fictional characters of all time , it somehow supervise to make its own iconic heroes and villains , include the bumbling baddie Dark Helmet ( Rick Moranis ) , the loveable furball Barf ( John Candy ) , and the uptight android Dot Matrix ( voice by Joan Rivers ) .

A pitch-perfect cast also includes Bill Pullman as the roguish hero Lone Starr , Daphne Zuniga as Princess Vespa , and of course Brooks in double use as President Skroob and the sagely Yogurt . John Hurt still pops up to revive his infamous chest-bursting setting from “ Alien , ” while next “ Star Trek ” star Tim Russ make one of the picture ‘s curious moments .An all-time classic , “ Spaceballs ” might be the nearly utter spoof movie ever make .