From Zoolander to Airplane! Check out our pick of the top 10 spoof movies
With some of the best one-liners and timeless jokes, surely you can't make a definitive list of parody films? Oh yes we can - and don't call me Shirley!
NOTHING tickles the British public quite like a good spoof movie.
From Mike Myers's "Do I make you horny baby?" in Austin Powers to Leslie Nielsen's "..and don't call me Shirley," we round up the best spoof movies of all time.
Airplane! (1980)
The daddy of parody movies, this disaster spoof packs a breathtaking number of laughs into its 88 minutes – and part of what makes it so hilarious is the utterly deadpan delivery of every single one of them.
Plus, it cemented Leslie Nielsen’s position as a comic legend.
Available on Sky Cinema now.
Zoolander (2001)
Ben Stiller has never been funnier – or sillier – than in this acid-sharp skewering of the fashion industry.
From trademarked poses (Blue Steel, Magnum, Le Tigre) that all look exactly the same to an absurd plot involving Will Ferrell and a plan to assassinate the Prime Minister of Micronesia, it’s completely daft and very brilliant.
This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
The spoof rockumentary hits its targets so accurately that many didn’t realise it was a spoof at all.
Yes, Spinal Tap has spawned a mythology of its own – so much so that the fictional heavy metal band have even played sell-out gigs in character.
The amps go up to 11, the epic Stonehenge set is only 18 inches high and the bassist is caught at airport security with a cucumber in his trousers.
It all makes for a must-see movie for any rock fan.
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
The film that introduced us to Mike Myers’ randy, dandyish and inimitably groovy spy is not only a joyous mickey-take of every James Bond film, but somehow also a satire of both the swinging ’60s and the Generation X ’90s.
Cheeky, smutty and very funny (and owing much to the Carry On franchise), it became a cultural phenomenon in its own right, launching two wildly successful sequels.
Related Stories
Team America World Police (2004)
When the twisted geniuses behind South Park turned their attention to creating big- budget action movies, they aimed their sights at pretty much the whole modern world, too – including, controversially, former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
It’s violent and utterly tasteless, but it’s also unrelentingly funny.
Available on Sky Cinema now.
The Naked Gun (1988)
After the success of Airplane!, the same team returned to the big screen with an adaptation of their TV cops-and-robbers parody series Police Squad! And, like Airplane!, the result was a blitz of puns, visual gags and pure silliness.
Also notable is the presence of OJ Simpson as Officer Nordberg.
Available on Sky Cinema now.
Shaun of The Dead (2004)
The film that propelled director Edgar Wright and actor/writer Simon Pegg into the Hollywood big-time is not so much a parody of zombie movies as a loving ode to the genre.
It manages to combine laugh-out-loud moments with scenes of genuine horror.
The relationship between Pegg and co-star Nick Frost is a joy, and they reunited again for the 2007 police spoof Hot Fuzz.
Blazing Saddles (1974)
The great Mel Brooks was at the top of his game in this riotous Wild West tale.
He somehow manages to elevate what is superficially a slew of daft visual jokes, toilet humour and terrible puns into a searing satire of the latent racism at the heart of Hollywood itself.
It also contains the most wonderfully chaotic ending to a film you’re ever likely to see.
Available on Sky Cinema now.
Monty Python And The Holy Grail (1975)
The first of the anarchic comedy troupe’s “proper” films (1971’s And Now For Something Completely Different was simply a compilation of sketches) is a masterpiece of surreal humour underpinned by a keen appreciation of British history and myth.
Hilarious and ridiculous, it regularly tops funniest movies of all time polls on both sides of the Atlantic – and deservedly so.
Scary Movie (2000)
Owing much to the Airplane! and Naked Gun series, Scary Movie’s parodying of just about every horror film has spawned four sequels.
The mickey-taking is more important than the plot here – and its original working title of Last Summer I Screamed Because Halloween Fell on Friday 13th pretty much tells you all you need to know.
If comedy isn't for you, check out our pick of the top 10 horror films of all time instead.
Check out more spoof movies and over 1,000 others on demand on Sky Cinema