Parody Films to Rent for Action Adventure Fans
Spoof Movies Poke Fun at Hot Shots, Naked Gun, Kung Fu Hustle
May 4, 2009
Let’s face it – as amazing as the movie stunts are in Die Hard or the Lethal Weapon movies, they can also be pretty silly. After all, how many times can you watch Tom Cruise ride a helicopter explosion in Mission Impossible before wondering why his hair (and other parts of his anatomy) don’t get singed?
On the other hand, if you’re the type who likes watching over-the-top movie stunts, odds are you’re a fan of the parody film – spoof movies that ridicule popular films and take action adventure movies to a level that would make Daffy Duck nervous.
Here now, are three funny parodies for fans of action adventure movies that will feed an appetite for sight gags and cartoon violence.
Hot Shots! (1991)
Charlie Sheen stars as pilot Topper Harley in this parody film that ridicules Top Gun, Rocky, and even Dances with Wolves. When Harley (who had been living with the Native Americans as “Fluffy Bunny Feet”) returns to the U.S. Navy, he falls for a psychiatrist (Valeria Golino), who’s so hot Topper can fry an egg on her stomach, but must also deal with her fighter pilot boyfriend (Cary Elwes) who blames Topper for his father’s death.
Many of the flight sequences in this movie are surprisingly good – you almost forget you’re watching a parody film until Topper does something silly like fly through Main Street during a training exercise. Lloyd Bridges also has several hilarious scenes as a scatterbrained admiral who lost most of his body parts in various wars.
In 1993, a sequel, Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993) was made as a parody of the Rambo films and the Apocalypse Now movie Full of even more cartoon violence, the movie actually calls itself “Bloodiest Movie Ever” after Topper ranks up a body count that outstrips Robocop and Total Recall.
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1998)
Born out of the 1980s TV series Police Squad, The Naked Gun stars Leslie Nielson as Frank Drebin, an incompetent cop who must stop an assassination attempt on Queen Elizabeth II. When his partner Nordberg (O.J. Simpson) nearly kills himself trying to arrest a boatload of thugs, Drebin follows up on the case and gets involved with assistant Jane (Priscilla Presley) whose boss has been turning regular people into assassins.
Arguably the king of funny parodies, Nielson is at his best here as he bumbles through the film making dimwitted observations with a straight face. While the movie relies mostly on one liners and sight gags for its comedy, there is a great car chase scene where Drebin chases an assassin through the city, only to have the assassin crash into a gasoline truck, a missile, and a fireworks factory.
Drebin returned in The Naked Gun: 2 ½ The Smell of Fear and The Naked Gun 33 1/3 The Final Insult. Nielson also went on to make other spoof movies including Spy Hard.
Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
One of the most creative spoof movies on this list, Kung Fu Hustle parodies classic and new kung fu movies while paying them respect – partly by bringing back several kung fu stars from the 1970s.
When Sing (Stephen Chow), a small-time thief, tries joining the infamous Axe Gang, he unwittingly brings kung fu masters Chiu Chi Ling, Dong Zhi Hua, Xing Yu, Yuen Qui, and Yuen Wah out of retirement, who pulverize the gang. Humiliated, the gang gets Sing to free legendary assassin “The Beast,” who’s so skilled he can catch bullets fired at point blank range, and send him against the masters. But when The Beast proves too powerful to control, Sing must step up and use his own latent kung fu skills against the assassin.
Both an exciting new kung fu movie and hilarious parody film, Kung Fu Hustle delivers a great one-two punch that will satisfy action adventure fans on multiple levels.
Find more popular films to rent at Parody Films to Rent for Sci Fi Fans, Top "Bad" Movies to Rent, and How Sci Fi Videos Inspired Monsters vs. Aliens.
