Summary
- The best parody movies take the most outrageous aspects of movie genres and make them even more ridiculous, without mocking the genre itself.
- Great parody movies have a clever sense of humor and intelligent jokes that appeal to people's love for the genre they're spoofing.
- Some of the best parody movies, like Airplane! and Shaun of the Dead, have become iconic and have even received critical acclaim and awards recognition.
The best parody movies take the best and most outrageous parts of movie genres and change things up to make them even more ridiculous. Sadly, over the years the idea of spoof movies gained a bad name thanks to an endless supply of spoofs of practically every genre in existence. However, it wasn't always that way. There is also a difference between the best spoof movies and the best parody movies. A spoof movie is something like Airplane!, where it takes the tropes of the action genre and shows how ridiculous they can be. A parody movie is one that plays within a genre, without taking itself that seriously, similar to Shaun of the Dead.
Some of the best parody movies started coming out in the 1970s and while they ended up falling on hard times in the 2000s, they remain a part of movie history. Some of the movies ended up as Oscar and Golden Globe nominees and others have entered into the Library of Congress as some of the most important movies in history. What separates the great parody movies from the bad ones is both the sense of humor on display and the brains behind the jokes. These movies don't really make fun of the genre, they simply show humor in the parts of the genre that people love the most.
20 Team America: World Police (2004)
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Trey Parker and Matt Stone took a break from South Park to write and direct the action movie spoof of the sci-fi Thunderbirds TV marionette series with Team America: World Police. Team America hilariously parodied the premise of Thunderbirds - a highly trained squad of heroes with special vehicles - while also lampooning overly political celebrities and U.S. foreign policy while featuring a groundbreaking use of puppetry. The movie failed to reach the level of Parker and Stone's previous movie, South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut, which itself picked up an Oscar nomination. It still picked up positive reviews and ended up as a minor box office success.
19 What We Do In The Shadows (2014)
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Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi's What We Do In The Shadows is one of the best movie parodies in the form of a mockumentary. The movie follows a group of New Zealand Vampires who are struggling with modern life just the same as everyone else. There are also werewolves and more than enough jokes to throw around. The 2014 movie was so popular, it led to the hit TV adaptation on FX from Clement that follows a new trio of vampires located on Staten Island, as well as a spinoff called Wellington Paranormal that follows the officers from the movie as they encountered further supernatural occurrences.
18 Tucker And Dale Vs Evil (2010)
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Tucker and Dale Vs Evil is a hilarious comedic horror spoof movie that turns the table on the slasher genre. Tucker and Dale are trying to enjoy a vacation at their cabin in the woods when they're ambushed by a group of college students who can't seem to stop dying in horrific ways. The students believe Tucker and Dale are serial killers hiding out in the woods and targeting them, while Tucker and Dale are horrified to see the college kids continually dying in accidents. It's a hilarious twist on the typical "hillbilly killers living in the woods" and an enjoyable parody movie. It was a minor success that became a cult classic.
17 This Is The End (2013)
- Stream now on Netflix
This is the End spoofs the apocalyptic genre where characters try to survive the end of the world. The movie sees several celebrities portraying exaggerated fictional versions of themselves as they try to survive the end of the world. The rapture happens and some are swallowed by massive sinkholes while others are brought into heaven. The rest, including some of Hollywood's top actors, are left to fight each other on Earth. The cast includes everyone from James Franco and Seth Rogen to Emma Watson and Channing Tatum. The movie was a box office success, making $126 million on a $32 million budget (via The Numbers).
16 Sausage Party (2016)
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There are elements of the Toy Story series all over the R-rated animated parody movie Sausage Party. However, where that series accessed childhood ideals, this one hits at adolescent yearnings. Drugs, sex, and a surprising amount of graphic food dismemberment are all at play here. Based on a script by Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, and Evan Goldberg, Sausage Party follows anthropomorphic food in a grocery store that learns their purpose is for humans to eat them. This means they have to escape, or at least have as much fun as possible before they meet their end. It ended up as the highest-grossing R-rated animated movie at the time of its release.
15 Hot Shots! (1991) / Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)
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Jim Abrahams and Pat Proft were responsible for a number of the best parody movies that helped define the genre in the 80s and 90s, which included Hot Shots!, which starred Charlie Sheen, Valeria Golina, Cary Elwes, and Lloyd Bridges in a parody of Top Gun. Hot Shots was a huge hit, making $176 million, making it successful enough for a sequel called Hot Shots! Part Deux, which spoofed action franchises like Rambo. It was also a huge success and proved Charlie Sheen's comic timing, something he would come back to years later in television sitcoms.
14 Tropic Thunder (2008)
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2008's Tropic Thunder was directed by Ben Stiller, who also starred in one of the best parody movies of action cinema. It follows actors filming a war movie in Vietnam that turns deadly and hilarious when they are lost in the jungles of Cambodia. Tropic Thunder lampoons films like Platoon while the stereotypical cast of extreme method actors, washed-up action stars, hopeful rookies, one-note comedians, and a rapper-turned-actor perfectly tears apart Hollywood with an honest look at the industry and its players. Robert Downey Jr. picked up an Oscar nomination and Tom Cruise's hilarious Len Grossman role picked up a Golden Globe nomination.
13 The Cabin In The Woods (2012)
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Cabin in the Woods is one of the best parody movies in horror, and it is not even a comedy. The movie starts as a typical horror movie playing into the stereotypical character archetypes from the jock to the final girl, but it becomes a meta-movie once the plot behind the stereotypical characters is revealed. Written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard, and directed by the latter, the movie focuses on the victims of the slasher killers, but in the background are scientists who control the monsters and sacrifice the kids to stop the end of the world. This remains one of the best parody movies thanks to its status as a cult classic and a subversion of the genre.
12 Galaxy Quest (1999)
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One of the best parody movies is a Star Trek parody that is so beloved, some Trekkies voted it one of the best Star Trek movies of all time (via IGN). A ridiculously talented cast is brought together for this examination of faded fame, nostalgia, space adventures, and convention culture, all wrapped in classic Star Trek tropes. Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Sam Rockwell, Tony Shalhoub, Justin Long, and Rainn Wilson, are among the recognizable names and faces, and all get big laughs. The inimitable Alan Rickman as Shakespearean misanthrope Alexander Dane deserves all the praise he received in this cult classic.
11 Borat (2006) / Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (2020)
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Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat has been a staple in popular culture since its release in 2006 and most people have an impression of his character whether they've seen the movie or not. The first movie has great reviews and the second movie, released in 2020, is not far behind. Cohen portrays Kazakhstan reporter Borat in the mockumentary and gets himself into insane situations as he interviews people and purposefully tries to cause chaos and shock people in the movies. What makes it one of the best parody movies is that Cohen never breaks character and many people he approaches have no idea they are in a parody movie.
10 Shaun Of The Dead (2004)
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Edgar Wright bit into the zombie and romantic comedy genres with Shaun Of The Dead. With Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in the lead roles, they played with every romantic comedy trope with hilarious results in the first half of the movie, then just when they invested in their intermingling lives, a zombie apocalypse breaks out, and they play with all of that too. The oblivious one-shot repeat is among the best moments in cinema, and it's one among many in this infinitely rewatchable movie. Not only was it one of the best parody movies in the zombie genre, but George Romero loved it so much, he cast Wright and Pegg for cameos in Land of the Dead.
9 Hot Fuzz (2007)
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Hot Fuzz refined Wright's art to a fine point, arguably more so than even Shaun of the Dead. Taking a Michael Bay Bad Boys approach to a little English village and adding the horror of The Wicker Man resulted in an instantly quotable movie that remains one of the best parody movies ever made. From the action montages to the convoluted real-estate red herring plot being just about petty vanity, Hot Fuzz has layers upon layers to enjoy. Action blockbusters could learn from this movie's intricate scripting, excellent use of foreshadowing, and satisfying payoffs. The fact that it's all that and hilarious from start to end is astounding.
8 Deadpool (2016) / Deadpool 2 (2018)
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Ryan Reynolds spent a lot of years trying to make it in a comic book movie. After turns at Green Lantern, Blade: Trinity, R.I.P.D., and even in X-Men Origins: Wolverine as Wade Wilson, he finally found success with Deadpool. It is the same character from the X-Men movie but done right this time around. What resulted was a funny, violent movie that was one of the most successful X-Men movies at the box office. Its sequel was just as good, and it was enough to make Disney decide to allow a third from the MCU to become its first R-rated Marvel movie. It is also one of the best parody movies, with Deadpool constantly talking to the audience.
7 The Austin Powers Franchise (1997-2002)
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Michael Myers starred in 1997's Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, a parody of classic British spy movies like the James Bond franchise in the same vein as films like In Like Flint, which Austin claimed was his favorite movie. The character and film were inspired by the music of the 60s and 70s and lampooned Bond villains and gadgets in the first of a successful franchise of some of the best parody movies that included The Spy Who Shagged Me and Goldmember. The movies also provided Mike Myers a chance to take on several characters, each becoming iconic on their own merits.
Other than Austin Powers and Dr. Evil, Myers also played Fat Bastard and Goldmember, while Robert Wagner, Seth Green, Verne Troyer, Michael Caine, and Rob Lowe added to the great cast. The first movie was critically acclaimed, with the last the lesser appreciated. However, as a whole, the movies made $676 million at the box office and remain Myers' most successful film franchise.
6 The Naked Gun Franchise (1988-1994)
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The Naked Gun is one of the most quotable comedies of all time, with everyone playing it straight as an arrow for maximum laughs. The incompetent cop bumbling his way through a life-or-death investigation offers constant opportunities to mock other cop films beyond repair. Leslie Nielsen became such a fixture of comedy movies that it is almost hard to believe he started out as a dramatic actor. This franchise remains his most beloved. There were two sequels, neither as good as the first, but all remained very funny thanks to Nielsen giving himself completely to the role. The first is still one of the best parody movies ever made.
5 This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
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In one of the rare moments where one of the best parody movies of all time ended up influencing real life, This is Spinal Tap created one of the most ridiculous fake rock bands of all time, and they soon became a real rock band that remains played today on classic rock radio. Directed by Rob Reiner, This is Spinal Tap based its band on Black Sabbath and the story played out like most rock documentaries of its era, mostly allowing a cast that included Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer to improvise the dialogue. The movie was added to the Library of Congress in 2002, and it even received a Criterion release.
4 Blazing Saddles (1974)
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Preserved in the National Film Registry in 2006, Blazing Saddles remains one of the best parody movies of all time and one of the most respected. Directed by Mel Brooks and starring Gene Wilder, it is not only a parody of classic Western cinema, but also as close to a live-action cartoon as a movie can get. All the archetypes are present, from the evil tycoon to the famed, alcoholic gunslinger to the brutish enforcer and the seductive honey-pot. Wilder, Cleavon Little, and Madeline Kahn help ensure the comedy is delightful and uproarious throughout. The all-out spoofing of Hollywood at the end just added to the allure of the movie.
3 Holy Grail (1975) / Life Of Brian (1979)
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Monty Python got their start as a British comedy troupe in 1969 and created one of the best sketch comedy shows in television history. In 1975, the Monty Python troupe took their talents to the big screen with Monty Python and the Holy Grail and followed that up with Life of Brian in 1979. Both of these ended up as two of the best parody movies of all time. The first was a parody of the medieval epic movies and the second was a spoof of the Biblical epics. Holy Grail remains listed as one of the best British comedies ever made while Life of Brian remains critically praised, both movies getting Criterion Collection releases as bonafide classics.
2 Young Frankenstein (1974)
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Mel Brooks most lauded comedy when it comes to pure laughs, Young Frankenstein remains one of the best parody movies in the history of cinema. Gene Wilder stars in this parody of Frankenstein as Victor Frankenstein while Peter Boyle is the Monster. Marty Feldman's Igor is hilarious, while Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr, Kenneth Mars, and Gene Hackman are all in top form. The gags range from the silliest to profoundly sophisticated. This is one of the rare parody movies that received high critical acclaim, including two Oscar nominations, one for the screenplay by Wilder and Mel Brooks.
1 Airplane! (1980)
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When looking at the best spoof movies, everything is measured up against Airplane! It also ranks as one of the best parody movies when it comes to big-budget action movies. Airplane! took most of its script from an existing film (Zero Hour!) and turned everything on its head. The preceding decade's obsession with plane disaster movies got lovingly parodied like never before, including revitalizing Leslie Nielsen's career. There are countless legendary bits in Airplane! that every spoof movie made after it tried to replicate. The movie was added to the National Film Registry in 2010 and even picked up Golden Globe, BAFTA, and WGA award recognition.