'Now you could study Shakespeare and be
quite elite
And you can charm the critics and have nothin' to eat
Just slip on a banana peel
The world's at your feet
Make 'em laugh
Make 'em laugh
Make 'em laugh'
And you can charm the critics and have nothin' to eat
Just slip on a banana peel
The world's at your feet
Make 'em laugh
Make 'em laugh
Make 'em laugh'
- Cosmo Brown, Singing in the Rain
I might not agree completely with the philosophy of Cosmo Brown, but you
can't help getting impressed by the fact that he's spouting this while
performing gravity-defying runs up walls (all the more impressive, considering
this was decades before The Matrix, Inception and
Rajanikanth had ensured that such antics were greeted with yawns). That being
said, as someone who actually enjoyed her Shakespeare course and who does
(occasionally) enjoy critically acclaimed movies, I am a total sucker for good
LOL moments, regardless of how cliched or mindless they might be.
Here's the list (in no particular order) of my favorites, moments that no matter how many times I see them, always make me laugh.
1. The Emperor's New Groove
Now while this one has many hilarious scenes ('Bewaaaaare the groove,' says the old man after being tossed out of a window by guards as a punishment for wrecking Emperor Cuzco's groove), the ones that stick out the
most for me are the ones with the character Kronk, the right-hand not so bright
muscle of the villain, Yzma, with a penchant for cooking spinach puffs, playing
skipping rope games and an uncanny knack for different languages (including
Squirrel - Squeak squeakity squeakins!). He's got many good moments, but
definitely at the top of the list: his shoulder angel and devil.
The context: Kronk is having a moment of crisis and trying to determine
whether he should save Kuzco when his friendly neighbourhood shoulder angel and
devil appear.
Shoulder Devil (SD): Listen up, big guy. I got three good reasons why
you should just walk away. Number one. Look at that guy! He's got that sissy
stringy music thing.
Shoulder Angel (SA): We've been through this. It's a harp, and you know
it.
SD: Oh, right. That's a harp. And that's a dress.
SA (gesturing down at the 'robe'): Robe!
SD: Reason number two. Look what I can do. Ha-ha, ha! (He does a
one-armed handstand.)
Kronk: But what does that have to do with anything.
SA (grudgingly): No, no. He's got a point
The SA and SD make another appearance later, when Kronk is confronting
Yzma.
Yzma: Kronk! Why did I think you could do this? This one simple thing!
It's like I'm talking to a monkey.
SA: Whoa now!
Yzma: A really, really big stupid monkey named Kronk!
SD: Ouch.
Yzma: And do you want to know something else? I've never liked your
spinach puffs! (Kronk, SA and SD gasp together) Never! (Kronk
starts to cry)
SD: That's it.
SA: She's going down.
Definite honorable mention: While setting up the dinner to poison
Emperor Cuzco, Kronk's response to Yzma's subtle allusion to the poison is
'Riiiight. The poison for Cuzco, the poison chosen specially to kill Cuzco,
Cuzco's poison ... that poison?'
2. The Sound of Music
Granted, this movie stopped holding any charm for me (aside from
nostalgia) a while ago. The somewhat contrived saccharine-sweet cuteness of the
children was all good when I was ten, but now could be ranked on par with bad
Disney movies (High School Musical, all 3 parts, that means you!). It
does, however, have a gem of a moment between Captain Von Trapp and Maria. The
context: Maria, after displaying intelligence worthy of a tourist on Kodai
lake, has managed to overturn the boat bearing her and the seven Von Trapp
children by standing up and yelling 'Oh Captain! You're home!' What follows is
a furious argument between the two, wherein Maria hurls a few home truths at
the Captain about his treatment of his children. At a particularly tense
moment, the Captain tries to cut her off and she responds with a loud 'I'm not
finished, Captain,' to which he quells her with an emphatic 'Oh yes you are,
Captain.' Followed by a sheepish expression. And on Christopher Plummer's face
... priceless!
3. Blackbeard's Ghost
This is another one of my childhood favorites, one of many tapes
brought back by my parents from Kuwait. But unlike The Sound of Music, this
one never gets old. The story revolves around a young coach who moves to a
small seaside town. Once he arrives, he is befriended by the old lady who owns
the inn he is housed in, and claims to be a descendant of the infamous pirate,
Blackbeard. He then accidentally rouses the ghost of Blackbeard, who has been
trapped in limbo by a curse from his wife. The two proceed to become an unlikely duo, albeit a squabbling at-each-other's-throats one. Not an amazing
plot, but the main reason this works can be summed up in two words: Peter
Ustinov, who plays the drunken, brutish yet strangely likeable pirate. Most
memorable here is the furious fight between the coach and Blackbeard,
punctuated by frequent booming yells of 'MYYY BED!' by Blackbeard. They
ultimately decide to share the bed, but the somewhat small-framed coach is
finally driven out by Blackbeard occupying more than three-fourths of the bed
and his loud snores and sleep talking.
4. Stardust
It was watching this movie that actually inspired this post. After
watching it for perhaps the thirtieth time, I realized that I still laughed at
all the same points as I had when I first watched it. These were mainly the scenes with the
seven sons of the king, all of whom are either alive and fighting for the
throne or dead and stuck in limbo. The ghosts of the brothers and their
sarcastic asides and constant bickering add a lot to the movie. One of my
favorite scenes with them, however, is at the start of the film. The scene
opens with the ailing king, surrounded by his three sons, Primus, Tertius and
Septimus. Then the door bursts open and, accompanied by a loud triumphant overture,
Prince Secundus enters.
The King: Secundus, look out the window and tell me what you see.
(Secundus strides over to the window, standing with his back straight and chest
puffed out.)
Secundus: I see the kingdom, Father.
The King: And?
Secundus (hopefully): My kingdom?
The King (chuckles): Maybe. Look up. (Secundus looks up and the King
looks meaningfully at Septimus who smiles, strides over and promptly pushes his
brother out of the window. A few seconds later, Secundus appears alongside his
dead brothers, to be met with hostile looks.
Secundus (trying to laugh off his brothers' frosty stares): Oh, please,
you're not still annoyed at that whole murder thing, are you? I mean, that was
ten years ago.
Quartus (who has an axe embedded in his head): Great deal of good it did
you, killing me, Secundus. Because now, of course, you're King of all
Stormhold. Oh sorry, wait, no you're not - you're dead!
Another scene I just had to include:
Bishop (toasting the princes): To the new King of Stormhold. Whichever
of you fine fellows it might be. (They acknowledge him and sip. The Bishop
chokes and collapses, dead.)
Tertius: Hmmm. (He chortles nervously as he and his brother eye each
other suspiciously. His eyes suddenly open wide, he chokes and falls forward,
dead.)
Septimus (to Primus): You! (He clutches his throat and chokes, falling
backwards onto the floor. Primus smiles, incredulous, picks up the crown as if
to put it on his head. Just as he is about to do so, Septimus bursts out
laughing and rises to his feet.)
Septimus: You really thought you were king!
Primus (accusingly): You killed the Bishop!
Septimus: No, Primus, I think you'll find that you killed
the Bishop by drinking out of the wrong cup.
This one cracks me up every time!
5. George of the Jungle
This is another movie that doesn't get old. There's the ape named Ape,
who acts as a tutor of sorts to George, explaining complex problems such as the
evolution theory and mating rituals (for animals). The movie also spoofs the
whole white-man-worship idea, particularly brilliantly when the villain, Lyle,
tries to impress his African guides with his camera, who pretend to be awed by
it, only to whip out a more advanced one.
Then you also have the omniscient narrator, who interacts with and (on
one particular occasion) punishes the characters. And with that, we come to my
all-time favorite moment of the movie, as the group approaches Ape Mountain.
Narrator: When they approached it, they gazed in awe.
Group: Awwwww
Narrator: I said 'awe' - A.. W.. E!
Group: Ooooooh!
Narrator: That's better.