While this specific genre of movie hasn't been parodied all that often, some of the most mainstream types of movies have, often with great results. From spy films, disaster movies, and horror flicks to period pieces, urban crime dramas, blaxploitation movies, and more, the best spoof movies have a little something for everyone.
Airplane! (1980) - Stream On DirecTV
From the brilliant minds of Jim Abrahams and the Zucker brothers, Airplane! is the definitive spoof comedy that deserves credit for popularizing the cinematic subgenre. Made following a decade defined by star-studded disaster films, Airplane! is a direct parody of the Airport series.
Studded with some epically quotable movie lines and terrific comedic turns by Leslie Nielsen and Lloyd Bridges, the film accurately points out the sheer lunacy of disaster movie plotlines through witty dialogue and hilarious slapstick humor.
Top Secret! (1984) - Stream On Max Go
Although it fared far worse at the box office than the massive hit Airplane!, Abrahams and the Zucker brothers hit comedic gold with Top Secret!, a movie that absolutely skewers the tropes and tenets of Cold War spy movies as well as 1950s Elvis films.
Val Kilmer gives an uproarious performance as Nick Rivers, an American rock-n-roll singer who gets embroiled in an international espionage plot upon traveling to East Germany. With hilarious sight and sound gags that come a mile a minute, Top Secret! outpaces other espionage parodies like Spy Hard and Johnny English.
The Naked Gun: Files From The Police Squad! (1988) - Stream On Fubo
Less than a decade after reaching rarified comedic air with Airplane!, the Zucker brothers reached even greater heights with The Naked Gun, arguably the funniest spoof series ever made. Lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) is such a big-hearted yet oblivious fool that it's hard not to love his dimwitted misadventures as he tries to thwart an assassination attempt.
Loaded with hysterical sight gags and silly quips and quotes, the 1988 movie is adapted from the 1982 TV series Police Squad!, which also starred Nielsen. To this day, no spoof movie has lampooned policework as amusingly as all three Naked Gun movies.
Blazing Saddles (1974) - Stream On HBO Max
The Woman in the House looks to do for paranoid murder witness movies what Blazing Saddles did for the western. That is, rib the heck out of the genre through convention-bucking, stereotype-shattering jokes that are both poignant and irreverent at once. Then again, not everyone has the parodic skills of the great Mel Brooks.
In making fun of the anachronistic western film genre, Brooks subverts the form by empowering a Black man (Cleavon Little) in the lead role as a town sheriff, giving a whole new perspective on life on the frontier.
Young Frankenstein (1974) - N/A To Stream
Mel Brooks wrote, directed, and released Young Frankenstein the same year as Blazing Saddles, establishing himself as the preeminent American film satirist. While Scary Movie has its rightful place, no horror spoof is funnier, more well observed, or as replayable as Young Frankenstein. As such, Brooks earned an Oscar nod for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Deconstructing the laughable nature of the classic Frankenstein movies, Brooks creates a bevy of memorable characters who deliver lines of pitch-perfect comedic timing that emphasize the sheer madness of the titular doctor.
Spaceballs (1987) - Stream On Amazon Prime Video
Attempting to lampoon a cinematic titan like Hitchcock's Rear Window is akin to Mel Brooks taking on George Lucas at the height of his popularity via Spaceballs. Fortune favors the bold, and few films eviscerate the legend of Star Wars in the way Spaceballs does.
From Lone Starr and Dark Helmet to Yogurt and Barf, the hilarious casting of comedic legends at their height of success made audiences rethink how silly the galaxy far, far away truly is and how exorbitant the ancillary merchandising became during the 1980s.
Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery (1997) - Stream On HBO Max
Taking direct aim at the James Bond franchise with hilarious results, Mike Myers hit cinematic paydirt with the Austin Powers trilogy at the turn of the 21st century. With such iconic characters as Dr. Evil, Fat Bastard, and even Gold Member, the series satirizes how wildly unrealistic the plots of most Bond films are. Hopefully, The Woman in the House can do the same for Rear Window and movies of its ilk.
In addition to poking fun at 007, Myers also excels at lampooning the 1960s culture of free love and the sexual revolution, turning Austin into an unlikely sex symbol as he prevents one ridiculous global takeover after another. It's hard not to chuckle at the entire dynamic.
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988) - Stream On Hoopla
The Wayans brothers deserve to be mentioned along with Brooks, the Zuckers, and Monty Python as some of the funniest and most successful film satirists of all time. Their spoof movie run with I'm Gonna Git You Sucka in 1988 is a side-splitting send-up of butt-kicking Blaxploitation movies and pure comedy gold.
Poking fun at movies like Shaft and countless others, Keenen Ivory Wayans wisely casts real Blaxploitation stars like Fred Williamson, Bernie Casey, and Isaac Hayes, which gives the scathing humor even more salience.
Don't Be A Menace In South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood (1996) - N/A To Stream
Indicating its satirical nature through a ridiculously long title (just like The Woman in the House), the Wayans took their parodic brand of humor and applied it to the urban crime dramas made popular in the '90s with such movies like Juice, Boyz N The Hood, Menace II Society, and others.
With mordant takes on gun violence, parenthood, friendship, and survival in the Black community, the rapid-fire jokes and spot-on critiques of the subgenre continue to induce laughter in droves. While their track record hasn't been stellar of late, Don't Be a Menace is one of the Wayans' finest hours.
Monty Python And The Holy Grail (1975) - Stream On Netflix
Indeed the Holy Grail of all spoof movies, Monty Python's parody of the King Arthur legend succeeds at precisely what The Woman in the House aims to — namely, show how ludicrous even the most revered stories can be at times.
Currently rated #135 on IMDb's Top 250 Movies of all time, comedy legends John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, and director Terry Gilliam prove their penchant for top-tier lampoonery in a timeless tale both educational and entertaining. By Monty Python breaking the fourth wall and directly addressing the camera, The Holy Grail redefined how parody movies were constructed, paving the way for followers like The Woman in the House to find their footing.