8.22.2007

Saturday Night Live Movies

Hot Rod seems like an adequate comedy, but as I sit here debating whether or not to go see it this week - while simultaneously contaminating my fresh oxygen with stinky farts - I’m reminded of some of my favorite Saturday Night Live related movies. I’m also reminded that my bowels hate me.

Where have you gone Chevy?

Vacation – This 1983 “family” comedy hearkens back to a time when shorts were short, cars were ugly, and Chevy Chase was still funny.

Favorite line: “Hey kids, anybody thirsty?!?”

Three Amigos – Three out of work actors get hired by a Mexican village to protect them from bad guys, unaware they'll be fighting for real. Hilarious!

Favorite line: “In a way, each of us has an El Guapo [ed. note: main villain’s name] to face. For some, shyness might be their El Guapo. For others, a lack of education might be their El Guapo. For us, El Guapo is a big, dangerous man who wants to kill us. But as sure as my name is Lucky Day, the people of Santa Poco can conquer their own personal El Guapo, who also happens to be *the actual* El Guapo!”

Fire brings out the best in some people. I call them felons.

Tommy Boy: Probably my favorite movie of the bunch. Chris Farley was a frantic, lovable goof-ball genius and David Spade was his perfect foil.

Favorite line:
Tommy: The point is, how do you know the fairy isn't a crazy glue sniffer? "Building model airplanes" says the little fairy; well, we're not buying it. He sneaks into your house once, that's all it takes. The next thing you know, there's money missing off the dresser, and your daughter's knocked up. I seen it a hundred times.

Ted Nelson, Customer: But why do they put a guarantee on the box?

Tommy: Because they know all they sold ya was a guaranteed piece of shit. That's all it is, isn't it? Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for now, for your customer's sake, for your daughter's sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality product from me.

I used to tell people that I wanted to dress up like this as a joke, but deep down inside I just wanted to look cool

Night at the Roxbury: This is the film that hinted at Will Ferrell’s later flowering. It’s dumb, but funny.

Favorite Line: “Richard Grieco, you see right through me.”

Mean Girls: Ahh, Lindsay, Lindsay, Lindsay. Did you learn nothing from Rick James? At least you gave us Mean Girls before you lost your way.

Favorite Line: “Don't have sex, because you will get pregnant and die! Don't have sex in the missionary position, don't have sex standing up, just don't do it, OK, promise? OK, now everybody take some rubbers.”

Which SNL movies do you like?

8 comments:

Ian said...

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy was brilliant. The Ladies' Man was less so but still had some great lines in it ("Excuse me...can I buy you a fish sandwich?"). Ghostbusters is possibly the best, most quotable movie ever to come out of the SNL actor archives.

Ian

Sarah said...

National Lampoons is rocking...plain and simple. The Christmas Vacation one gets better every time!

Some other favs...The Great Outdoors and Funny Farm.

Sadie said...

I do love Tommy Boy. Hilarious. Let's see... Big Daddy? Happy Gilmore?

SQT said...

I'm almost embarassed to admit how much I like Tommy Boy.

La la la Luuuuuuuke. I am your father......

Matt said...

ian - What I like about Anchorman - and Will Ferrell movies in general - is how fast and loose they are with off the wall lines.

And Ghostbusters... That is a genius film and I can't believe I forgot to mention it.

sarah - I watch Vacation just about every time it comes on television and it never gets old.

sadie - Big Daddy was okay, but I always thought Happy Gilmore was the best of Adam Sandler's early comedies. Plus it had Christopher McDonald. Because of him, Shooter McGavin is part of my everyday vocabulary.

sqt - Don't be embarrassed, I practically broke a dvd of Tommy Boy because I kept watching the scene where Rob Lowe electrocutes himself with his projectile urine. I'm getting tears in my eyes just thinking about it.

Ian said...

Happy Gilmore was the first movie my wife and I went to on a date (before she was my wife).

To this day I still laugh at this exchange:

SHOOTER: I eat pieces of crap like you for breakfast.
HAPPY: You eat pieces of crap for breakfast?

Ian

Fletch said...

I think you need to make a big distinction between true SNL movies (ie, produced by Lorne) like Hot Rod, Roxbury, etc and movies that just happen to star SNL vets.

After all, would anyone in their right mind call Rushmore a SNL movie? Or (god forbid) Dreamgirls?

I certianly can't think of all the true SNL movies off the top of my head, but Wayne's World is probably near the top of the class.

Matt said...

ian - Now that's romantic. Anybody who laughs at Happy Gilmore quotes is automatically deserves marriage consideration.

fletch - Excellent point. I was being lazy so I didn't make the distinction, but I basically just included movies that were either Lorne Michaels produced or featured SNL cast members in the lead role(s). Most of the time (but not always) these conditions led to a similar brand of humor.