Classic Comedies:

Funniest Movie
Moments and Scenes


A1



A
Title Screen
Movie Title/Year and Scene Descriptions
Screenshots

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

  • in this classic horror-comedy hybrid film from director Charles T. Barton, a satire of Universal’s horror films based upon the characters created by Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker, there were a multitude of Universal's horror characters cast for the film, including Lawrence Talbot/Wolfman (Lon Chaney, Jr.), Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi), and Dr. Frankenstein's Monster (Glenn Strange); [Note: the film's title was a misnomer - they actually met "The Monster" created by mad scientist Dr. Frankenstein]
  • in the film's title credits opening, animation was used to spell out the film's title in cartoon bones, and the silhouetted figures of the main horror characters were introduced and paraded across a backdrop of a moonlit sky
  • the story opened in London where, as the night progressed, Larry Talbot/the Wolf Man was attempting to put a phone call through to the express postal office in the village of Islamorada, Florida (in the Keys); in the baggage room, two unsuspecting, dim-witted handling clerks Wilbur Grey (Lou Costello) and Chick Young (Bud Abbott), were beginning to work on a cart stacked with luggage and crates unloaded from a train; during the slapstick scene, Wilbur removed one piece of luggage from the bottom of the cart, and sent the whole load of cargo onto his head; Wilbur was infatuated with beautiful and classy dark-haired "dame" Dr. Sandra Mornay (Lenore Aubert) who happened to arrive to comfort Wilbur and his injured head; in many scenes, Wilbur was foolishly infatuated and in love with Sandra
  • the phone call from Larry Talbot finally connected and was received by Wilbur as he and Chick were in the midst of preparing to unload the cart; Talbot was desperate to warn Wilbur about not delivering two crates addressed to Mr. McDougal's House of Horrors wax museum: ("Under no circumstances are you to deliver those crates until I arrive")

Wilbur's Phone Call with Larry Talbot

The Wolf Man's Transformation During Wilbur's Call
  • mid-call as the moon was rising in London, Talbot was transformed into the Wolf Man; Wilbur mistook the Wolf Man's noisy growls, garglings and snarls as bad manners: "Mr. McDougal, will you stop gargling your throat?...Hey, you'll have to get your dog away from the phone, I can't hear a word you're sayin'. You're awful silly to call me all the way from London just to have your dog talk to me"
  • after the call, McDougal (Frank Ferguson) arrived at the baggage office and demanded the immediate release and delivery of the crates, insured for $20,000 dollars, to his wax museum; McDougal boasted to Sandra that the crates held two new attractions: the coffin of the original Count Dracula, and the body of Dr. Frankenstein's dormant Monster
  • inside the baggage office, after almost crashing the large crates with the two valuable items inside, Wilbur joked to wax museum owner McDougal about working many hours (and possible overtime) for two unions: "Well, that's gonna cost ya overtime because I'm a union man and I work only sixteen hours a day"; when corrected by the exasperated McDougal: "A union man only works eight hours a day", Wilbur noted: "I belong to two unions"
  • after the delivery of the first large crate into the wax museum through its back entrance, as Wilbur was unboxing the contents of the first crate (a coffin), lightning struck and caused a blackout; partner Chick lit a candlestick and then left to bring in the second crate
  • Wilbur gave hysterically beserk reactions of terror and frozen fright as he read aloud in the candlelight from a placard about the Dracula Legend (Dracula's rising every night at sunset, his changing into a vampire bat, his drinking of blood of his victims to keep himself alive, etc.); shortly later behind him, Dracula rose and draped his hand out of his creaky opened coffin lid; when Wilbur claimed to Chick that he saw Dracula's hand from the partially-opened coffin or that a candlestick moved on its own atop the coffin, Chick was disbelieving; he accused Wilbur of being imaginatively "excited"; by himself again and totally frightened and nervous, Wilbur attempted to call out for "Chick," but couldn't be heard because he was at a loss for words; Chick returned and showed Wilbur that the coffin was empty (Dracula had emerged momentarily, but then returned later to hide in his coffin)

Moving Candlestick on Dracula's Coffin Top

Wilbur Softly and Nervously Calling Out: "Chick, Chick..."

Wilbur's Fear when Opening the Coffin Lid and Seeing Dracula Emerging For the Second Time

Wilbur's Frozen Reaction to the Sight of Dracula
  • before removing the top of the second boxed wooden crate, Chick read its placard for Frankenstein's Monster, who was created by stitched-together parts of other bodies and then animated and given "eternal life" via electricity; some claimed the Monster was "not dead even now, just dormant"
  • while Chick went to speak to McDougal, Wilbur opened the coffin lid to hide a decapitated wax dummy head inside, and spied Dracula emerging from his coffin; the Count was able to hypnotize Wilbur into a trance with his piercing eyes; nearby, Dracula reanimated Frankenstein's scarred-faced Monster (Glenn Strange) with electrical jolts to the bolts in his neck; afterwards, Dracula and the Monster snuck away to an island castle surrounded by water (with Frankenstein carrying the Count's coffin), while McDougal accused the two baggage agents of robbing him - his evidence consisted of two empty crates; Wilbur was disregarded and ignored as he pantomimed what had actually happened; the two baggage clerks were arrested and jailed for over a day on suspicion of theft
  • meanwhile, Dracula knocked on the front door of the nearby castle, where he was revealed to be associated with diabolical mad lady scientist Dr. Sandra Mornay; her her technical assistant was Professor (Dr.) Stevens (Charles Bradstreet) working diligently in a laboratory; the Monster was in a weakened condition, and Sandra vowed with Dracula to not repeat the mistakes of Dr. Frankenstein by creating a "vicious, unmanageable brute" with a will of its own .- she proposed that they operate with a scalpel and give the Monster an implanted brain from a "simple" and "pliable" individual; she assured him that she had already chosen Wilbur's ideal and simple "brain" for the Frankenstein Monster's body
  • in the meantime in their hotel room, Wilbur attempted to convince his disbelieving partner Chick that there were two creatures - an 8 feet tall figure walking with stiff legs, and another with staring eyes that were "balls of fire"
  • Larry Talbot arrived directly from London and explained he was the one who had phoned about the two delivery crates with Dracula and the Monster inside; he took a room across the hall at Wilbur and Chick's hotel, and asked for their assistance to help him prevent Dracula from reanimating the Monster and carrying out his evil plans; he insistently ordered them to lock him inside his room, so that if he transformed when the moon rose, he wouldn't hurt anyone
  • the next day, McDougal's blonde insurance inspector Joan Raymond (Jane Randolph) for Shippers Insurance, Inc., who had bailed Wilbur and Chick out of jail, vowed to McDougal that she was tracking down where his two missing wax museum exhibits had been hidden: "I'm quite sure I can persuade the chubby little fellow to lead me right to them"; Joan convinced Wilbur to invite her to join him and Chick and attend a masquerade costume ball that evening
  • while leaving the hotel, they visited with Larry Talbot across the hall, and noticed his room was in disarray; he admitted to lycanthropy as the Wolf Man (turning into a beast in the light of a full moon), when Wilbur joked: "I'm sort of a wolf myself," since both Joan and Sandra had expressed an interest in having Wilbur as their date to attend the masquerade ball
  • before the ball, Talbot again phoned and warned Wilbur and Chick that a "Dr. Lejos" (aka Dracula) had ordered electrical equipment at his castle's 'House of Dracula' needed to "revive the Monster"
  • while searching in the castle's basement, in a funny revolving door sequence, Chick and Wilbur were on one side of the stone door-wall, while the creatures (Dracula and the Monster) on the other side rotated the wall to try and capture them; Chick played the straight man - who never saw the creatures and didn't believe any of Wilbur's fears, while Wilbur was tormented and haunted non-stop by creaking noises and the threatening presence of the creatures
  • as the group prepared to leave for the ball from the castle, Sandra introduced everyone to Dr. Lejos (Dracula in disguise); he noted to Sandra that he approved very highly of her choice of Wilbur: "What we need today is young blood. And brains!"; worried that his plan would be delayed, Dr. Lejos hypnotized Sandra to force her to immediately operate on Wilbur's brain, and then bit into her neck to compel her to do his will as a vampiress
  • at the costume ball held on a large waterfront dock area featuring big band music, Chick was planning to don a "Wolfman" mask, while Wilbur had a "Devil" mask; when Talbot told them he would soon transform into a Wolf, Wilbur joked: "You and 20 million other guys"; Count Dracula arrived and fit in perfectly amongst the costumed guests
  • controlled by Dracula, Sandra led Wilbur aside to a garden area and tempted to whisk him away to the island castle - with a sexy come-on: "I want to be the only one in your life. I want to be part of you...You are so full-blooded, so round, so firm"; she placed him in a trance and was about to bite his neck when Talbot and Chick interrupted
  • as the group looked for Joan in a wooded area, Talbot transformed under a full moon and attacked Wilbur, who chastised him, thinking it was Chick with a mask-disguise: "Didn't Mr. Talbot tell you not to put that mask on anymore? Now, what'd you put it on for?...Now take the mask off! Come on!"; shortly later, McDougal was found with a neck-wound inflicted by the Wolf Man; both Wilbur and McDougal blamed the innocent Chick for their attacks
  • meanwhile, Count Dracula transformed into a vampire bat and put both Chick and Wilbur into a trance; Wilbur was taken away in a motorboat (with an already-hypnotized Joan) to the island castle to be detained, as Chick and the Wolf Man joined forces to rescue them - they returned to the castle in a rowboat
  • Dracula insisted to Sandra that Wilbur must be operated upon immediately, and Dr. Stevens was knocked unconscious to prevent interference; Wilbur was placed into a trance and tied down on an operating table in the laboratory inside the island castle; he was saved from having his brain removed by Sandra (to be transplanted into the Monster), first by Chick, and then by Talbot as he transformed

Wilbur on Operating Table for Brain Transplant

Sandra Operating on Wilbur to Surgically Remove His Brain

Sandra Thown Out Window by the Monster, as Chick Freed Wilbur from Operating Table
  • as the Wolf Man and Dracula were fighting against each other, the Monster freed himself from his restraining straps on the operating table, grabbed Sandra, and threw her from a window; Chick was able to free Wilbur, who exclaimed: "Do you believe me now?"; they evaded the Wolf Man and Dracula who were continuing to fight inside the castle until both plummeted into the ocean; with Dracula's demise, the trance-like Joan woke up and helped Dr. Stevens set the Monster on fire on the pier, allowing Chick and Wilbur to finally escape in a rowboat after untying themselves from the dock
  • they were relieved and thinking that they were safe from any more attacks or excitement, when Chick assured Wilbur: "Now that we've seen the last of Dracula, the Wolf Man, and the Monster, there's nobody to frighten us anymore"
  • however, they found a disembodied Invisible Man (voice of Vincent Price) making a surprise, curtain-closing appearance in their rowboat; the two were dismayed by the Invisible Man's words: "Oh, that's too bad, I was hoping to get in on the excitement.... Allow me to introduce myself. I'm the Invisible Man"

Baggage Clerks Chick (Bud Abbott) and Wilbur (Lou Costello) - Tumbling Luggage

Dr. Sandra Mornay (Lenore Aubert)

Mr. McDougal (Frank Ferguson) - House of Horrors Owner Demanding Two Crates

Wilbur Atop Two Large Crates in the Baggage Office

Delivering the Crates to the Wax Museum With Scary Wax Figures


Dracula's First Emergence From His Coffin


Dracula Reanimating Frankenstein In the Second Crate With Electrical Jolts


Wilbur Hypnotized and In a Trance


Island Castle of Dr. Mornay and Dracula

Count Dracula (aka Dr. Lejos)


Wilbur Attempting to Convince His Disbelieving Partner Chick of the Creatures' Existence

Insurance Investigator Joan Raymond (Jane Randolph)

Wilbur Threatened by the Monster in the Castle

The Revolving Door-Wall Sequence

Wilbur With Dr. Sandra Mornay and Dr. Lejos (aka Dracula): "What we need today is young blood and brains!"

Wilbur Chastising the Wolf Man: "Take the mask off!"


The Monster Burning Up on the Wooden Dock-Pier

Last Scene: The Invisible Man in the Rowboat with Chick and Wilbur

About Last Night... (1986)

  • director Edward Zwick's R-rated romantic comedy-drama (his directorial debut film) was based on David Mamet's 1974 play "Sexual Perversity in Chicago." It starred two celebrated members of Hollywood's 'Brat Pack' at the time, Rob Lowe and Demi Moore. [Note: They were two of Hollywood's infamous 'Brat Pack' who had starred together as Billy and Jules in the earlier pre-Generation X 1980s flick, director Joel Schumacher's St. Elmo's Fire (1985).]
  • the perceptive relationship drama set in the summer of 1980 told about the hot relationship between two Windy City twenty-somethings in a singles-crazed world; it was noted for its frank and often vulgar sexual dialogue, four musical montages, a pop-rock soundtrack, sensual love scenes, and the emotionally-honest ups and downs of sexual politics; its lengthy tagline was: "It's about men, women, choices, sex, ambition, moving in, no sex, risk, underwear, friendship, career moves, strategy, commitment, love, fun, breaking up, making up, bedtime, last night..."
  • the romantic comedy of the mid-80s starred two celebrated members of Hollywood's 'Brat Pack' at the time, Rob Lowe (as 24 year-old grocery wholesaler Danny Martin) and Demi Moore (as 24 year-old ad agency art director Deborah or "Debbie" Sullivan); they flirtatiously met at a softball game, and then at Mother Malone's bar on Chicago's Gold Coast
  • in the lengthy opening sequence (with the characters appearing on-screen and then alternating with voice-over dialogue over blue-on-black title credits), slobbish, sexist, vulgar, loud-mouthed and self-assured pal Bernie Litko (James Belushi) and co-worker pal Danny Martin (Rob Lowe) were walking around various locales in Chicago; Bernie described himself as: "The swarthy type. A man's man. The kind of guy who oozes testosterone"
  • in the funniest segment of the film, Bernie told his enthralled friend about his previous night's outrageous, kinky and wild sexual adventure, involving, among other things:
    • - he bought a pack of Viceroy cigarettes for a 20 (or 19) year-old "broad" at a pancake house
    • - she may or may not have been a 'pro'
    • - she decided they should both go to her room so she could pay him back
    • - she invited him to take a shower with her (and then "f--k")
    • - enthralled by her tits, ass, and legs, he delivered a welcomed towel flick on her ass (producing a red mark and a squeal) and she proceeded to put on a World War II flak suit (from a suitcase under the bed)
    • - as they were making love on her bed, while he cried out "Boom" every 30 seconds and a tape recorder played "airplane noises" (rat-a-tat-tat), she then set herself on fire with a Zippo lighter after dousing herself with gasoline during an aerial bomber reenactment, screaming: "Give it to me now, for the love of Christ!"
    • - firemen arrived from the Chicago Fire Department
  • See entire dialogue here


(l to r): Bernie Litko (James Belushi), Danny Martin (Rob Lowe)

About Schmidt (2002)

  • director Alexander Payne's existential character study and nihilistic black comedy told about a retired man seeking to find meaning in his life - recently-retired and widowed 66 year-old actuary Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson); the Omaha, Nebraska insurance worker viewed his entire life as disappointing; in the opening shot, Schmidt was in his barren, packed-up Woodmen of the World Insurance office building waiting on his last day for 5 PM to approach before his farewell retirement dinner at a steakhouse
  • soon after, Warren discovered his unconscious wife Helen (June Squibb) of 42 years dead in the kitchen due to a stroke from a blood clot; it was a major turning point; during the visit of his only child - mousy daughter Jeannie (Hope Davis) with her fiancee Randall Hertzel (Dermot Mulroney) for Helen's funeral, Warren had already expressed his outright loathing for his prospective or future son-in-law as a "nincompoop" waterbed salesman: ("Maybe Jeannie is a little past of prime, but I still think she could have done a heck of a lot better. I mean this guy is not up to snuff, if you ask me, I mean not for my little girl"); the wedding planned for a few weeks later wasn't postponed although Warren wanted to delay it and have her "rethink things" and keep her "options open"
  • Warren decided to take an early road trip to Denver in a newly-purchased, oversized Adventurer R.V. Winnebago ("She wanted the whole shebang"), to try to convince his daughter to cancel or delay the marriage to the very-average Randall; after a meandering journey through landmarks in his life along the way, he arrived just a few days before the ceremony
  • in Denver, he resided in the home of uninhibited, sexually-liberated, free-spirited, outgoing, flirtatious divorcee (and the middle-aged mother of the groom-to-be) Roberta Hertzel (Oscar-nominated Kathy Bates); after warning Jeannie to not make a mistake and marry Randall, she reprimanded him: "I am getting married the day after tomorrow and you are gonna come to my wedding and you are going to sit there and enjoy it and support me or else you can just turn right around right now and go back to Omaha"
  • while spending time with Roberta, he became very uncomfortable with her description of the "positively white hot" love life of his daughter Jeannie and her son Randall: ("Whatever problems those two kids may run into along the way, they will always be able to count on what happens between the sheets to keep them together")
  • to soothe Warren's aching back after sleeping on a waterbed his first night in Denver at Roberta's house, Roberta invited the very unwilling Schmidt for an infamous, landmark nude hot-tub session in her backyard after the church marriage rehearsal and dinner at Tony Roma's; she casually approached the hot tub, greeted him and asked: "Mind if I join you?" as she stripped off her red robe to reveal her earthy, overweight body; she stepped into the hot tub completely naked; during their conversation, she kept hinting: "Just think, after tomorrow we'll all be one big family. And I'm going to insist that you consider this is your second home" - and then she bluntly proposed: "Here we are, a divorcee and a widower. Sounds like a perfect match to me!" as she reached out to touch his leg under the bubbling water
  • intimidated by her, he jumped out as she asked: "What's the matter?" He gave an obvious excuse as he quickly retreated to his Winnebago RV for the night: "Oh, I have to go to bed now"; she was astonished: "Just like that? Come on. We were havin' such a nice talk"; he added: "I'm all tuckered out"




An Intimidated Warren Hot-Tubbing with Roberta


Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)

  • in director Tom Shadyac's successful action slapstick-comedy film (his directorial debut) - rubber-faced comic Jim Carrey starred as the manic and goofy title character, a Miami-based PI ("pet dick") who specialized in retrieving lost or stolen animals; his trademark quote: "All-righty then!" was from this film. Carrey's transition from TV's "In Living Color" to the big screen was boosted with his first feature comedy, and a sequel followed with Carrey reprising his role in - Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)
  • in the film's main opening sequence, two weeks before the playing of Super Bowl XXVII (between the Dolphins and the Philadelphia Eagles), kidnappers at Miami Stadium kidnapped the aquatic mascot of the Miami Dolphins, a 500-pound rare, trained bottlenose dolphin named Snowflake; the Miami Dolphin's Head of Operations Roger Podacter (Troy Evans), his Chief Publicist Melissa Robinson (Courtney Cox), and Dolphin's owner Mr. Riddle (Noble Willingham) needed to find the missing dolphin and the kidnapping culprit before the upcoming Super Bowl
  • in the silly plot, the famous 'pet detective' Ace Ventura (Jim Carrey), who lived with dozens of animals in his apartment, was hired to investigate the disappearance of Snowflake
'Pet Detective' Ace Ventura (Jim Carrey)
  • Ace screamed out "It's Alive!" as he started his dilapidated 1970s Chevrolet Monte Carlo; in the film's infamous butt talking scene, Ace began his questioning of suspects with: "Excuse me, I'd like to 'ass' you a few questions"

"It's Alive!"
The Infamous Butt-Talking Sequence
  • while investigating the case and posing as an animal trainer to avoid suspicion, Ace found one key clue in the dolphin's tank filter system at the stadium - a rare triangular-cut orange amber stone; it was missing from one of the 1984 AFC Championship rings (each won by the Miami Dolphin players), the year of Super Bowl XVII ten years earlier; he surmised: "I find the ring with the missing stone, I find Snowflake"
  • at the local police headquarters, Ace learned local animal rights groups may have been the abductors; he was thrown out of the office by mean-spirited Miami Police Lt. Lois Einhorn (Sean Young)
  • Ace became suspicious of a billionaire rare fish collector named Ron Camp (Udo Kier), who had donated land to the Miami team for a new stadium; he snuck into Camp's residence disguised as a party guest, and located a large holding tank that he thought held the missing dolphin Snowflake, but was attacked by a shark
  • in a montage, Ventura checked out the rings from all the members of the team of Miami players from 1984 and found no missing stones
  • then, Roger Podacter died mysteriously due to a twenty-story fall from his North Beach luxury condo's balcony; Ace learned that Lt. Einhorn was assigned to investigate, and contrary to her beliefs, Ace Ventura thought it was murder, not a suicide
  • Ace discovered that there was one 1984 Miami player whose ring wasn't checked - ex-Dolphin mid-season replacement kicker Ray Finkle; he had lost the 1984 Super Bowl game for the Dolphins by one point, when he missed a game-winning field goal kick attempt at only 26 yards away - it ruined his career forever; Finkle's contract was not renewed and the kick was dubbed "The Kick Heard 'Round the World." Ventura surmised: "Poor guy with a motive, baby"
  • Ventura drove to visit Finkle's hometown in Collier County; after knocking on a door of Ray's crazed parents, a sliding window opened; he asked: "Hi, I'm looking for Ray Finkle" (the ex-Miami Dolphin's disgraced field goal kicker), when a shotgun was pointed at his head by Finkle's hostile parents - he nervously added: "...and a clean pair of shorts"
  • he learned from Finkle's parents that their son Ray had been incarcerated in Tampa's Shady Acres Mental Hospital, but had escaped eight years earlier and was now missing and seeking revenge; the insanely-obsessed Finkle had blamed the team's loss on the Dolphin's quarterback Dan Marino (Himself), claiming Marino had mishandled the ball during the place-kicking; he had held the ball "laces in" instead of out as he was supposed to
  • Ace was rightly worried about Dolphin quarterback Dan Marino's safety; as the famed player was filming a TV commercial (for Isotoner gloves) at the Bogart Sound Stage, he was carried off by two uniformed Miami ball-players; the crew believed it was part of the ad until everyone realized that the abductors were working for Snowflake's kidnapper; Finkle had a definite reason to be vengeful toward Snowflake because the dolphin had been given Finkle's old jersey number and had been taught to 'kick' a field goal as part of the halftime show - and "Finkle took it personally"
  • in Lt. Einhorn's office, Ace described his theory to her about Finkle's revenge that was timed to occur at the time of the Super Bowl; he also speculated that Podacter was murdered because he recognized Finkle from his previous tenure with the Dolphins; to Ace's surprise, Lt. Einhorn congratulated him for his investigative work with a big sloppy kiss

Ace Ventura - Pretending to be An Ex-Football Player as a Disguise

Ace in Disguise as Patient at Mental Hospital Where Finkle Was Committed
  • to find out more about Finkle's incarceration at the Shady Acres Mental Hospital, Ace decided that he must pretend to be a traumatized, deranged ex-footballer patient who was living out his last game (complete with slow-mos and instant replays), in order to get into the facility; he dressed disguised as a ballet dancer in a pink tutu; he entered the storage room of ex-patients' belongings where in Finkle's box, he found Isotoners, two knitted "Die Dan" hot pads, and a diary with the words: "Laces Out" scrawled within - further evidence of Finkle's deep hatred of Marino; he also found a key piece of evidence - an old Tampa newspaper article titled: "Search Called Off For Missing Hiker"; he read about a massive search that had ended for a missing 28 year-old hiker named Lois Einhorn
  • then inside Lt. Einhorn's desk in police HQs, a thank-you love note sent from Podacter to Einhorn was also found; Podacter thanked her for a lovely evening, just before his death; Ace realized ("Holy S--tballs!") that something was very fishy; Ace asked himself, confusedly: "What the hell does Lois Einhorn have to do with Ray Finkle?"
  • suddenly, Ace had a revelation (about the film's main plot twist) when his shaggy, red-haired dog laid down on a picture of football player Finkle - and the dog's long hairs made Finkle look like a female; he exclaimed: "That's it! Einhorn is Finkle, Finkle is Einhorn! Einhorn is a man. Oh, my God! Einhorn is a man!"; potential suspect Ray Finkle was actually transgendered female Miami Police Lieutenant Lois Einhorn!; Finkle had taken the name (and identity) of the missing hiker Einhorn after escaping from the mental hospital and undergoing plastic surgery; Ace felt disgusted for having kissed Lt. Einhorn!; he washed out his mouth and took a cleansing shower
  • on Super Bowl Sunday, Ace followed Einhorn to a remote warehouse on an abandoned dock at the Yacht Basin Storage Facility, where he discovered that she was holding the two abductees: Dan Marino and Snowflake; while Ace was struggling with Lt. Einhorn, the police arrived, believing Einhorn's accusation that Ventura was the one who had kidnapped Snowflake, killed Roger Podacter, and was about to kill Marino
  • Ace counter-exclaimed that Einhorn's claims were false: "Fiction can be fun." He explained his findings about Finkle, concluding with how: "Finkle had lost his mind, was committed to a mental hospital, only to escape and join the police force under the assumed identity of a missing hiker, manipulating his way to the top in a diabolical scheme to get even with Dan Marino - whom he blamed the entire thing....She's not Lois Einhorn. She's Ray Finkle. She's a man."
  • to prove his theory, Ace forced Lt. Einhorn to disrobe, but was unconvincing when he couldn't tear off her hair or prove she didn't have breasts. When he tore off her dress, Einhorn/Finkle was discovered to be hiding his genitals between his legs, while wearing a bra and panties. Ace knew it was a trick: "If the Lieutenant is indeed a woman, as she claims to be... then, my friend, she is suffering from the worst case of hemorrhoids I have ever seen! (Einhorn/Finkle was turned around to reveal her/his hidden scrotum and penis bulging behind him/her) That's why Roger Podacter is dead! He found Captain Winkie!" - it was finally revealed that 'she' was actually a male; Lt. Einhorn had killed love-interest Podacter, because he had learned that she was actually male
  • Lt. Einhorn never received the penectomy and vaginoplasty necessary to perfect the disguise - the reason earlier in the film that she had killed her date Roger Podacter by pushing him off a balcony after he learned of her confused sexual identity; additional proof that she was the killer/kidnapper was that she was wearing the AFC Championship Ring missing a stone; Ventura declared her a "Loser"
  • Marino and Snowflake were returned to the stadium just in time for the 1994 Super Bowl's halftime show; it was announced to the crowd that Ace was a hero for saving the dolphin: ("The National Football League would now like to offer a special thank-you to the man who rescued Dan Marino and our beloved Snowflake. A great humanitarian, and a lover of all animals: Mr. Ace Ventura!") - although at the time, he was wrestling the opposing team's mascot - a green feathered Eagle named Swoop: (Actually, the Eagle mascot uttered the last few words: "Excuse me! Get off me!")
  • [Note: Before the credits, Carrey's voice-over was heard: "Tone, put that big-ass size 13 on and kick it for the homies."]

Ace's Pet-Filled Apartment


Miami Police Lt. Lois Einhorn (Sean Young)


Bathroom Sequence - Ace Sneaking Into Party Disguised as a Party Guest at the Camp Residence

Ace Confronted by Shark in Camp's Holding Tank


Shotgun Pointed At Ace's Head at Finkle's Home

Ray Finkle's Insane Obsession with Blaming QB Dan Marino

Marino Kidnapped During a TV Commercial by Two Imposter "Dolphin" Players


Ace Received a Congratulatory Sloppy Kiss From Lt. Einhorn for His Investigative Work


Picture of Football Player Ray Finkle - Ace Suddenly Realized that Finkle Had Become Transgendered and Taken On a Missing Hiker's Identity





At the Warehouse, Ace Revealed Lt. Einhorn's Transgendered Disguise: "She's Ray Finkle. She's a Man!"


Ace Holding the AFC Championship Ring Worn by Einhorn/Finkle, Missing a Stone



1994 Super Bowl Finale - Ace Wrestling the Opposing Team's Mascot - Swoop

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)

  • the film's opening credits sequence was a dramatic spoof of Cliffhanger (1993); in the Himalayas, pet detective, animal sleuth and expert zoologist Ace Ventura (Jim Carrey), wearing lederhosen, tragically failed to rescue a raccoon in mid-air after a plane wreck in a mountainous Himalayan area; Ace attempted to recover from the botched pet rescue by meditating with Tibetan monks in a remote monastery

Opening Credits: Ace's Failed Rescue of Raccoon

Ace's Meditation with Tibetan Monks
  • before leaving the monastery, Ace directed a Slinky toy down a lengthy series of stone steps - he missed "some kind of a record" when the Slinky stopped one step from the bottom
  • in this sequel with non-stop physical comedy, facial mugging and sight gags, Ace - a parody of heroic Hollywood adventurers - was summoned to Africa (to the fictional African country of Nibia) in the search for a stolen albino bat, by English correspondent Fulton Greenwall (Ian McNeice); it was unusual that Ace was commissioned on the search because he had a fear of bats; unbeknownst to Ace, the stolen bat was a Great White bat known as 'Shikaka' - a sacred animal of the native Wachati tribe
  • while driving through a Jeep in the African wilderness with Greenwall, they passed an unexpected Subway sign, and Ace began singing spontaneously: "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"
  • after being introduced to members of high society and insulting them (in particular, a bald and skinny husband dubbed the "Monopoly Guy" (Michael Reid MacKay) - whom he dismissed with "Do not pass Go! Do not collect $200!"), Ace was instructed about his expeditionary mission during a briefing in a projection room, where he disrupted the session by making lewd shadow puppets; also after entering a Trophy Room, he screamed out that it was "a lovely room of death"
  • once Ace arrived at the bat cave, he was shocked to find that he was on an expedition to find a rare white bat - a sacred tribal animal; he acted out his fear: "What bat?...You didn't say anything about a bat!...Have you ever seen one? They're hideous. Lifeless, beady eyes, clawed feet, huge grotesque wings. Even fangs. They give you rabies, you know....As a being of light, I must show compassion for all the living things of nature... I'm not touchin' it, though! No, spank you"
  • at the time of the expedition, there were escalating tensions between two tribes - the Wachati and the Wachootoo; the rare missing bat was the dowry to be offered by the Wachati Princess (Sophie Okonedo) who was about to wed the Wachootoo Prince (Tommy Davidson); Ace suspected that the Wachootoo medicine man/shaman (Danny Daniels), who objected to the marriage, had stolen the bat
  • one of Ace's jokes was that upon the utterance of the bat's name 'Shikaka', the native tribespeople would bow; Ace tried to trick two natives into bowing by mentioning similar names, such as "Shikasha," "Shishkebab," "Shawshank Redemption," and "ShicaaaaGO"
  • in order to spy on one of his suspects in the theft of the bat, Ace hid in an animatronic rhinoceros ("I'm just a curious little rhino") - and then discovered that the cooling system had failed ("Kinda hot in these rhinos...Warm"), forcing him to strip completely and squeeze himself out of the mechanical rhino's birth canal in order to get out - in full view of a group of shocked American safari tourists who thought they were witnessing a rhino birth!
  • Ace was shot with poisoned blow-darts, and captured after sneaking into the Wachootoo tribal village with hopes of finding the bat; when his pacifist words were translated as hostile, he faced various trials, including walking across hot coals
  • he was also forced to engage in a dueling fight with the Wachootoo tribe's short statured tribal champion, the Tiny Warrior (also Tommy Davidson), who jumped out of a small backpack worn by a much larger warrior: (Ace (astonished): "This is it? I have to beat him?...Allrighty, then! I must tell you. I do not wish to fight you. Violence is no longer in my nature, but if you want it, you got it, sister")

The Tiny Warrior in Backpack

"Allrighty, then!"
Ace's Battle with the Tiny Warrior of the Wachootoo Tribe, Who Emerged From a Small Backpack - Ace Was Speared in Both Legs
  • when Ace went to punch the Tiny Warrior, he was bitten in the fist, and he exclaimed: "Biting, I see. I was unaware that the Wachootoos were biters!"; then, Ace taunted the warrior: "I'll have you know I have the reflexes of a cat. And the speed of a mongoose. Throw it! I dare ya!" but then was speared in the upper right thigh; and then, after being speared in both legs and by a blow-dart in his buttocks, he cried out: "It's in the bone, it's in the bone" and fell down, causing the natives to laugh out loud at his humiliating defeat
  • before long, Ace discovered that the Wachootoo tribe hadn't taken 'Shikaka' - instead, the thieves were two bat poachers from Australia, who attempted to kill Ace by tying him to a raft and sending it over a waterfall with his pet monkey Spike; after surviving that peril, he also had to wrestle a Nile crocodile, and rode it like a bucking bronco
  • it became apparent to Ace who realized that the bat's theft was part of a corporate plot orchestrated by Nibia's Consul Vincent Cadby (Simon Callow), who wished that the two tribes would destroy themselves, and allow Cady access to guano (bat-poo)-rich caves to financially benefit by selling it as fertilizer
  • as the film came to its conclusion, Cadby was exposed and pursued by both tribes and an amorous silverback gorilla, while Ace was forced to retrieve and rescue the bat bare-handed and return it to the tribes to avert war
  • the marriage between the Wachati Princess and the Wachootoo Prince (the Tiny Warrior) proceeded as planned, although when the Princess revealed she wasn't a virgin (due to Ace who broke his vow of celibacy and deflowered the forbidden virgin), both tribes of angry natives turned on Ace and chased after him once again

Insulting High Society Guests

The Disruptive Ace Making Shadow-Puppets in a Projection Room During a Expedition Briefing


At a Bat Cave ("You didn't say anything about a bat!") With Fulton Greenwall (Ian McNeice)


Ace Attempting to Trick Tribespeople: "Shishkebab"



Ace's Spectacularly-Funny "Rhino Birth"



Wrestling a Crocodile


Two Australian Poachers


Tiny Warrior: "She's not a virgin!"

Adam's Rib (1949)

  • director George Cukor's great, sophisticated battle-of-the-sexes romantic comedy - was one of Hollywood's greatest classics - about husband-and-wife lawyers in the upper middle-class who were forced to compete against each other when they took opposite sides of a front-page court case; it featured a forward-looking, provocative screenplay with snappy dialogue by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin - the husband and wife's second collaboration with director George Cukor
  • the sophisticated film was originally titled Man and Wife, and was later remade into a 1973 TV series spin-off with Ken Howard and Blythe Danner; the comedy was often rated as the best pairing of the nine films of the legendary screen team of Tracy and Hepburn - it was their sixth film together; the film also skyrocketed the career of Judy Holliday who went on to play the lead role in Born Yesterday (1950)
  • in the opening scene located at a busy office/business district at 5 pm - the close of work in NYC, scatterbrained, 'dumb blonde' wife Doris Attinger (Judy Holliday in her debut major film role) followed her philandering, two-timing husband Warren Attinger (Tom Ewell) with a pistol in her purse; she entered a residential Manhattan apartment behind him, took her pistol out and consulted an instruction manual to release the safety catch, and then shot the door lock and entered, to find her husband sitting on a couch embracing negligee-clad mistress Beryl Caighn (Jean Hagen) nestled on his lap; she pointed the gun at Warren, confronting him with her eyes closed: "Shut up, you, Shut up! My dear husband"; as Warren cringed and fled, he was hit in the shoulder by a stray bullet; as Beryl ran for help, the distraught Doris fell to her knees next to her wounded, but conscious husband and protectively hugged him
  • the next day, husband/wife Amanda and Adam Bonner (Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy) reacted to the day's front page New York Chronicle newspaper headlines in their apartment: "WIFE SHOOTS FICKLE MATE IN PRESENCE OF LOVE RIVAL; ARRESTED ON ASSAULT CHARGE"; Amanda took the side of the wronged Brooklyn housewife against her cheating husband: ("Serves him right, the little two-timer") because a man under similar circumstances would be let go, while law-and-order believer Adam disapproved of the vigilante assault with a gun: "I don't approve of people rushing around carrying loaded revolvers"
  • the couple (both New York lawyers) revealed more about their different viewpoints about the Attinger case, and more generally about the sexes during their early morning commute drive into the city: (Amanda: "There are lots of things that a man can do and in society's eyes, it's all hunky-dory. A woman does the same thing - the same, mind you, and she's an outcast...All I'm saying is, why let this deplorable system seep into our courts of law, where women are supposed to be equal?"); Adam was more blunt and wanted to punish the female shooter for disregarding the law, and taking matters into her own hands: "A crime should be punished, not condoned"

Adam Bonner (Spencer Tracy)

Amanda Bonner (Katharine Hepburn)
  • at work, tough, chauvinistic, law and order Asst. District Attorney Adam learned that he had been assigned to prosecute Doris Attinger for the attempted murder of her husband Warren; he mumbled to himself: "The one case I don't want is the case I get," but thought it would be an easy victory in an open-and-shut case; Amanda was outraged when Warren informed her that he had been "elected" by his chief to prosecute the wronged woman ("You great big he-men make me sick"); she hung up after Adam infuriated her even further by laughing and remarking: "You just sound cute when you get cause-y"; she immediately decided to take on Doris' defense - she rushed to volunteer her services with a request to call Legal Aid Society to take the case
  • meanwhile, Adam visited Warren (with Beryl) in his hospital room, who complained that his wife was crazy: "She's nuts, that's my complaint. I like to see her put away somewheres, that's all"; Adam promised to "get a conviction on an attempted murder, or first-degree assault..."
  • during a long, five-minute static camera shot in a women's prison's detention area, Amanda (on the left) interviewed deceived, dumb blonde Doris (at center right); she was aghast that Doris wanted to willingly plead guilty ("No accident. I wanted to shoot him"); Doris delivered her entire rendition of the events of the day of the shooting -- punctuated with eating episodes (two rare hamburgers and lemon meringue pie, for instance, and chocolate nut bars), capped by her final line: (Amanda: "And after you shot him, how did you feel then?" Doris: "Hungry")
  • "That Evening" - as a formal dinner for ten was being planned in the Bonner apartment, the same stationary camera technique was utilized, observing the couple in their bedroom as they prepared for the evening; moving in and out of the camera frame, the camera placement emphasized the dislocation of the married couple's lives
  • the two soon realized to their shock that they would be dueling lawyers - Adam first learned of his independent-minded wife's role as defense attorney against him when she announced loudly: "Well, I got the case....A girl named Doris Attinger shot her husband. I'm going to defend her" - (Adam dramatically toppled and spilled a tray of cocktail drinks); they would be on opposing sides of a murder case and also squaring off against each other in their personal lives at home
  • after the party and while preparing to retire for the night, Amanda claimed to Adam that the "poor woman" Doris had the same rights (an "unwritten law") as a man who shot his spouse when caught in adultery; she was entitled to the same justice usually reserved for men; her position angered Adam who warned: "I am going to cut you into 12 little pieces and feed you to the jury, so get prepared for it"
Dueling Lawyers - The Bonner Couple Battling at Home and in the Court

  • on their first day in court for jury selection, Amanda stated her feminist presuppositions and argued against double standards; Adam felt his wife was making a purely political stance - upsetting sexist double standards by volunteering to defend Doris (pro bono) with feminist, women's rights arguments; after the first day in court, the newspaper reported on her court arguments: "SOCIAL STANDARD UNFAIR TO FEMALE SEX DECLARED IN COURT BY MRS. BONNER"; Adam urged Amanda to give up the case: "Drop the case...I could see in there, even today, it's gonna get sillier and messier day by day by day"; personal tensions began to grow on the homefront each evening between Amanda and Adam as the trial conflict moved into their home
  • during the trial, both Beryl and Warren gave brief testimonies; Beryl testified that Warren was at the apartment to sell her an insurance policy, and that he never touched her except for often shaking hands; Warren admitted that his relationship with Doris had not been loving for three years, and that they often physically fought with each other
  • on the stand to "tell all," Doris delivered a speech in court to defend herself, testifying that she found the two hugging together on the couch, and that she wanted to save their marriage and family (they had three children) - all she wanted to do was frighten Warren (and she did wound him in the shoulder), not injure him or Beryl
  • after the rough day in court, the Bonners engaged in a confrontation on a Swedish massage table at home when he slapped her behind hard: ("What are you - sore about a little slap?" and her reply: "I know a slap from a slug"); she accused him of not understanding her point of view and being disrespectful; when she began to cry, he mocked her, calling her tears a "guaranteed heart-melter. A few female tears...stronger than any acid. But this time they won't work...You can cry from now until the time the jury comes in and it won't make you right and it won't win you that silly case"
  • to bolster her case (although irrelevant), Amanda called three successful female witnesses (including a circus strong-woman who easily hoisted Adam into the air) to demonstrate equality of the sexes - her own political agenda - to prove that women were intellectually and physically equal to men
  • that evening, Adam was smoldering with frustrated anger at Amanda - he exploded with what had upset him - her disregard for the sanctity and rule of the law, her casual manipulation of the legal system, and her disrespect for their marriage contract; acutely embarrassed by the spectacle in court that day, he wanted out of the marriage, now that his wife had become a passionately-ruthless competitor; he stormed off and moved out of their apartment, tearing their marriage asunder with tense violence

Adam Walking Out on Amanda

Face to Face Against Each Other in the Courtroom During Closing Arguments
  • during closing arguments, Amanda gave an impassioned but irrelevant speech to the jury - disregarding Doris' obvious guilt while arguing that her actions were justified: ("You are asked to judge not whether or not these acts were committed, but to what extent they were justified"); she used persuasive theatrical tricks (a role-play scenario with reversed positions for Doris and Warren), to prove that the law would vindicate a man who would try to kill the lover of his unfaithful wife: ("Every living being is capable of attack if sufficiently provoked. Assault lies dormant within us all. It requires only circumstance to set it in violent motion. I ask you for a verdict of not guilty. There was no murder attempt here - only a pathetic attempt to save a home")
  • Adam's closing argument was also weak, due to the fact that Amanda interrupted him with frequent objections to his claims that Doris was a criminal
  • by the end of the trial when the Attinger verdict was announced and the "'Love Triangle' Defendant" learned her fate, Amanda had won an acquittal for her simple-minded client - "a small but important step in woman's march toward equality and justice"
  • still estranged from Adam, Amanda spent the evening for companionship with Broadway song-composing neighbor Kip Lurie (David Wayne in a role modeled on Cole Porter) in his across-the-hall apartment; Adam spied on them from across the street as Kip attempted to seduce and woo Amanda; he entered and caught them in an innocent embrace-tryst; it was a perfect re-enactment of the Attinger case when he assaulted them with a pistol to protect and defend his marriage; to teach them a lesson, he threatened to shoot; when Amanda admitted he didn't have a right to kill, no matter the provocation (contradicting her courtroom defense), Adam raised the pistol to his open mouth as if he was going to blow his brains out, but then took a bite into the muzzle of the licorice gun; Amanda called his tactics to teach her a lesson as "despicable, vile, dirty, low, worthless, corrupt, mean, rotten, dirty, contemptible, little, petty, gruesome, contemptible"
  • Adam and Amanda met at a CPA's office to straighten out their finances - Adam began crying, using 'crocodile tears' to make a point that both men and women often used emotional manipulation to get their way; Amanda was moved by Adam's tears, and the two reconciled and put their bitterness behind them
  • that evening during a visit to their farm after leaving the tax accountant's office, Adam openly admitted: "...I can turn 'em on any time I want to. Us boys can do it, too, you know. It's just that we never think to"; he also finally and conclusively stated that men and women were (and should be) fundamentally different; he also declared, however, that there was very little difference between the sexes (men and women) - but then added that he did like that "little difference": "Vive la difference."

Doris Following Philandering Husband Warren (Tom Ewell)


Opening Assault-Murder Scene: Doris Reading a Gun Instruction Manual Before Wounding Warren

Headlines: "Wife Shoots Fickle Mate In Presence of Love Rival"



Adam and Amanda Bonner: Her Complaint About Different Standards For the Two Sexes ("Deplorable System")


Adam at Hospital with Warren (Tom Ewell) and Mistress Beryl (Jean Hagen)


Amanda at Detention Center with Doris

In the Bonner home, Adam Spilling Tray of Drinks When He Learned He Would Be Facing His Wife in Court

Adam Threatening Amanda: "I am gong to cut you into 12 little pieces"


Amanda Defending Doris

Warren and Beryl in Court




Doris Testifying in Court


Confrontation on a Massage Table ("A little slap")


Circus Strongwoman Lifting Adam into the Air


Amanda Wooed by Neighbor Kip Lurie (David Wayne)

Adam's Trick with A Licorice Gun



"Vive la difference!"

Airplane! (1980)

  • this anarchic, manic comedy by the Zucker brothers and Jim Abrahams - entirely a spoof of Zero Hour! (1957) and later "Airport" films, was filled with many effective puns, sight gags, parodies, wordplays, and other jokes
  • in the opening, a plane's wing-tip or fin was viewed cutting through the clouds to the accompaniment of the theme from Jaws (1975) - it was a Trans-American Airlines passenger plane flying from Los Angeles to Chicago
  • at the LA airport, flight-phobic, ex-Air Force pilot Ted Striker (Robert Hays) who was suffering from a drinking problem had taken a taxi-cab driver job, but then abandoned his taxi (with a passenger) at the curb to book a ticket on the Trans-American Airlines flight of his stewardess ex-girlfriend Elaine Dickinson (Julie Hagerty); his intention was to repair their broken relationship, but Elaine initially rejected him
  • as the plane was taking off, there was continuing confusion between the flight's Captain Clarence Oveur (Peter Graves) and his own second co-pilot navigator Roger Murdock (basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) about the Captain's reply "Roger" with his own co-pilot Roger and navigator Victor Basta (Frank Ashmore) (and other misappropriations, reminiscent of Abbott and Costello's "Who's On First?" routine in The Naughty Nineties (1945)) while talking to ground control during clearance for take-off; later there was a bit about "Vector Victor" and "Roger Roger" -- and further airplane cockpit talk: "We have clearance, Clarence. Roger, Roger. What's our Vector, Victor?"
  • a flashback scene spoofed the disco-era of Saturday Night Fever (1977) when Elaine and Ted were obliviously dancing to the Bee Gee's "Stayin' Alive" in the place where they first met - a Casablanca-style bar in Drambuie off the Barbary Coast; after Striker's lengthy exposition, he looked over at his elderly, long-suffering, bored seat-mate, the Hanging Lady (Ann Nelson) - who had killed herself by hanging
  • during meal service, a well-dressed, very mature Young Boy (David Hollander) carrying a tray offered an equally-mature Young Girl (Michelle Stacy) coffee, and then asked if she wanted cream - she replied: "I take it black...like my men"
  • the in-flight meal (fish) led to numerous difficulties later in the flight - sick passengers and crew
  • Elaine recalled in a flashback how Ted had passionately kissed her on the beach while covered in kelp - a spoof of From Here to Eternity (1953)
  • Captain Oveur delivered dead-panned, sexually-prurient and provocative lines to young boy Joey (Rossie Harris) who was visiting in the cockpit, among others: "You ever been in the cockpit before...You ever seen a grown man naked?" and "Joey, do you ever hang around a gymnasium? Do you like movies about gladiators?" and "Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?"
  • air stewardess Randy (Lorna Patterson) sang River of Jordan with a guitar (borrowed from a nun) while she continually knocked out the I-V drip for heart-transplant patient Lisa Davis (Jill Whelan) - who was on the way to the Minneapolis Mayo Clinic and desperately struggled during the song (a spoof of the earlier film Airport 1975 (1974))
  • to deal with all the food-poisoned passengers, a doctor was obviously identified on board - a stethoscope was prominently hanging from his ears - Dr. Rumack (Leslie Nielsen); navigator Victor Basta and co-pilot Roger Murdock succumbed to the ailment; when Captain Oveur also passed out, Elaine activated the "Automatic Pilot" - an inflatable blow-up, swivel-headed doll in a pilot suit named Otto (credited as HIMSELF) in Roger's seat, and then radioed about the distressed airliner to harried Chicago air traffic controller Steve McCroskey (Lloyd Bridges)
  • drug-addicted Chicago air traffic control tower supervisor Steve McCroskey's running gag was: "Looks like I picked the wrong day to quit smoking / drinking /amphetamines / sniffing glue"
  • in the infamous "fellatio" scene, Elaine was given directions by air-traffic control in Chicago to manually reinflate Otto the Autopilot doll (an inflatable plastic man in a pilot suit, humorously credited as HIMSELF) by blowing air into a nozzle in his belt buckle: ("On the belt line of the automatic pilot there's a tube. Now that is the manual inflation nozzle. Take it out and blow on it") -- Otto suddenly sported a huge satisfied grin and later both Otto and Elaine smoked cigarettes
  • flight attendant Elaine asked a distressing question over the PA: ("By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?"); in the cockpit, Dr. Rumack interrogated Ted about his ability to fly - with plentiful punning: (Dr. Rumack: "Can you fly this plane and land it?" Ted: "Surely, you can't be serious!" Dr. Rumack: "I am serious, and don't call me 'Shirley'!")
  • Mrs. Hammen (Lee Bryant) became hysterical ("I've got to get outta here"); to calm her, Dr. Rumack and other passengers took turns to queue up in the aisle and shake her, slap her, and strike her with various implements (boxing gloves, a giant wrench, a gun, a baseball bat, a whip, etc.)

Dr. Rumack: "Don't call me 'Shirley'!"

Mrs. Hammen Calmed By Other Passengers - With Boxing Gloves, Wrench, etc.

Jive Lady: "I speak Jive"
  • one of the film's running gags involved two jive-talking passengers: Jive Man 1 Holm (Norman Alexander Gibbs) and Jive Man 2 Arthur (Al White); in the "Oh stewardess, I speak jive" scene, elderly passenger Jive Lady (Barbara Billingsley) offered to translate the jive talk of the two black passengers to the flight attendant: ("Cut me some slack, Jack!...Chump don't want no help, chump don't GET da' help!")
  • in the film's conclusion, Ted (with sweat streaming down his face) was coached by his ex-commanding officer Capt. Rex Kramer (Robert Stack) on how to land the plane; as the plane was preparing to land in Chicago, McCroskey ordered all emergency vehicles to race to Runway 9 - multiple vehicles raced by on the tarmac (a fire-truck, an ambulance, and a police car), followed by a Budweiser truck, an Alhambra water cooler truck, a cement mixer, and a tractor)
  • while struggling with the plane's controls, Ted worried to himself: "When Kramer hears about this, the s--t's gonna hit the fan" (literally it did in the air-flight control tower offices!)
  • after the plane landed safely and the passengers were evacuated, Ted and Elaine were reconciled to each other in their salvaged relationship - as "Otto" winked and saluted toward them before taking control of the plane for take-off with an inflated female auto-pilot companion next to him
  • a post-credits comment was made by a long-suffering, mostly-forgotten, abandoned taxi passenger (Howard Jarvis) at the LAX airport curb; he was still waiting for cab driver Striker who had left him at the beginning of the film: ("Well, I'll give him another 20 minutes, but that's it")

"Jaws" Airplane Fin

Saturday Night Fever Spoof


Captain Oveur With Young Boy Joey

IV Drip Knocked Out During Singing of "River of Jordan"


Otto the Autopilot Doll


Drug Addicted Chicago Air Traffic Controller Steve McCroskey (Lloyd Bridges)

"Fly a plane?" Elaine's PA Announcement

.

S--t Literally Hitting the Fan

Alice Adams (1935)

  • director George Stevens' version of Booth Tarkington's 1921 novel of the same name was the poignant story of a likeable, small-town teenager Alice Adams (Katharine Hepburn); she was from a middle-class background in the midwestern town of South Renford, Indiana, in the early part of the 20th century. The socially-ambitious and poor Alice was frustrated because she desperately wished to be accepted by her upper-class peers, but was embarrassed by her family's social status and lack of money, and her invalid father Mr. Virgil Adams' (Fred Stone) unambitious and crude nature. Although her father was hard-working, he was employed in a lowly job as a clerk in a wholesale drug firm. She was determined to convince her friends that she was from a wealthy family

Virgil Adams (Fred Stone)

Mrs. Adams (Ann Shoemaker)
  • with her brother Walter (Frank Albertson) as her escort, Alice attended a high-society party-dance, hosted by debutante Mildred Palmer (Evelyn Venable) from a prominent family. During the party, Alice (with wilted flowers and an outdated dress) put on a play-act that she was wealthy and of high social standing. Although the very vulnerable wallflower Alice was miserable and out of place, she pretended to be having a good time

Alice Waltzing With Her Brother Walter (Frank Albertson) as Awkward Dance Escort

Expectant Wallflower Alice at the Dance - All Alone

At the Dance with New-in-Town Suitor Arthur (Fred MacMurray)
  • finally, she met wealthy, handsome young Arthur Russell (Fred MacMurray), Mildred's cousin. At the end of the evening, Alice wept bitterly at her rain-spattered bedroom window after returning home from the Palmer dance - feeling completely humiliated by her bedraggled bouquet of flowers, her insensitive escort brother Walter, and dashed hopes of respectability with new-in-town suitor Arthur
  • the next day, however, she met Arthur again in town and with more affected mannerisms, she told him fanciful tales of her family's fortunes to convince him of her social respectability, and he seemed to show some interest in getting to know her more. He expressed an interest to visit her home, and they walked together to her house. Over a few days' time, although she refused his entry into their shabby house, he courted her on the front porch
  • ultimately, the pretentious and aspiring Alice was compelled to invite Arthur into her home, to impress her rich new suitor with a "stylish" dinner party - the film's most memorable scene of the ill-fated "formal" event. Alice's mother Mrs. Adams (Ann Shoemaker) had hired a black maid and cook named Malena (Hattie McDaniel) for the evening - on a hot and muggy night
  • the gum-chewing, slovenly and surly Malena valiantly served a heavy menu, starting with caviar sandwiches and hot soup, and then strong-smelling brussel sprouts and other dishes on serving trays; everything went wrong during the sweaty, disastrous, tragically-funny dinner table sequence, as it was painfully obvious what her social circumstances really were. Alice suffered with the maid, her socially-awkward father, and the incredibly inappropriate 'formal' dinner menu, and believed afterwards that she would never see Arthur again
  • (Another added wrinkle during the evening was Arthur's knowledge that Mr. Adams' paternalistic employer J.A. Lamb (Charley Grapewin) had accused Virgil of stealing a glue formula and was planning to open a rival factory to ruin him, and the fact that Walter had embezzled $150 dollars from Lamb's firm. After dinner, Alice interceded and was able to get the two men, Lamb and her father, to work out a harmonious arrangement, to save both him and her brother)
  • immediately after dinner, Alice and Russell were forced to retreat to the front porch, where Alice confessed her feelings of failing and her fears that he would be dropping her: ("I feel as if I were only gonna see you about five minutes more all the rest of my life...You're never coming here again. Why it's all over, isn't it? Why it's finished, isn't it? Why, yes...Yes, you must go. There's nothing else for you to do. When anything's spoiled, people can't do anything else but runaway from it. Goodbye"); Arthur was dismissed

Alice's Confession of Failure to Walter After Dinner
Later on the Front Porch: Walter's Question to a Pensive Alice: "A penny for your thoughts"
  • later that evening outside in the film's fairy-tale ending, Arthur was heard asking Alice on the front porch: "A penny for your thoughts." He had remained quietly behind on the porch swing, and even though he knew the whole truth of the Lamb incident and the dinner, and in spite of everything, he professed his love for her ("I love you, Alice") at the end of the evening. She exclaimed: "Gee whiz!" - and they kissed as the film came to a close


Alice Adams (Katharine Hepburn)


Alice's Weeping at Window After Dance


Alice Later Being Courted on Her Front Porch by Walter


Pre-Dinner Caviar Sandwiches




The Awkward Dinner Party


Ending Porch Kiss with Arthur

All of Me (1984)

  • director Carl Reiner's clever role-reversal fantasy comedy with gender-switching (body and spirit transference) and physical slapstick comedy was his fourth film in collaboration with Steve Martin, following The Jerk (1979), Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982), and The Man With Two Brains (1983)
  • the gender-switching was performed by its comedy stars Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin; they played two parts or personalities of the same person (a left male side and right female side)
  • one of the personalities was unhappy 38 year-old Los Angeles lawyer and aspiring jazz band guitarist-musician Roger Cobb (Steve Martin), who was dating his attorney-boss Burton Schuyler's (Dana Elcar) daughter Peggy (Madolyn Smith); he was upset that she brought him an African grave post for a birthday gift, and stated that he couldn't commit to marriage (the "M" word)
  • Roger's boss represented wealthy, selfish, terminally-ill and dying, bedridden invalid client/spinster Edwina Cutwater (Lily Tomlin)
  • during a meeting with Edwina to take charge of her affairs after her imminent death, Roger learned that Edwina was planning to return from the dead; with Roger, Edwina designated in her amended will that after dying, all of her $20 million dollar inheritance would go to her stableman Fred's (Eric Christmas) beautiful daughter Terry Hoskins (Victoria Tennant)

Dying Millionairess Spinster/Client Edwina Cutwater (Lily Tomlin)

Stableman Fred's (Eric Christmas) Daughter Terry Hoskins (Victoria Tennant)
  • Edwina had made a deal with Terry that her soul would 'transmigrate' or be relocated and enter into Terry's body, while Terry's soul would be released to the universe; Terry claimed that she was uninterested in Edwina's fortune
  • unexpectedly during the soul transfer procedure while Edwina was at the law firm, the millionairess' soul transmigrated into Roger's body through the misguided efforts of her befuddled, incomprehensible but beatific Tibetan shaman/mystic and spiritual advisor Prahka Lasa (Richard Libertini); the sacred bowl where Edwina's soul was temporarily relocated accidentally tumbled out of the window onto Roger’s head as he departed from the building; he asked himself: "What the hell is happening to me?"; afterwards, Edwina could only be seen in mirrors or other reflections; Roger asked when he viewed her in a rear-view mirror ("What the hell are you doing in there?")
  • in a number of hilarious scenes, Roger (on the left side) fought with his female 'Edwina' half (on the right side) whenever he did anything (such as drive, walk down the street, or make love); they had a tug-of-war as they attempted to walk down the street together ("First me, then you, me, you, me, you...")
  • in a bathroom scene shortly later, Roger entered and proceeded to the urinal, where he tried to teach his half-female body what to do (Edwina was instructed to remove his "little fireman" or "Mr. Ed" and "tap" twice afterwards); Roger was overheard speaking strangely as if he was possessed by an invisible spirit by Burton's partner Mr. Mifflin (Michael Ensign)
  • during a misunderstanding and believing that Roger was cheating and having sex with "Edwina" in his office - due to hearing their constant bickering and talking, Peggy confronted Roger; she was even led to believe that Roger had sex with the "dead" Edwina who died that day; she was also incensed that Roger was involved in her family's divorce court proceedings and represented the side against her own mother; she gave Roger an ultimatum ("It's either me or your balls, Roger") and he chose his manhood; when she departed, she claimed that all of her orgasms were faked
  • after attending Edwina's memorial service (with no one in attendance), Terry made romantic overtures toward Roger, but as they were about to make lustful and passionate love in his apartment, Edwina awakened and disrupted their love-making by asking: "What are you doing to her?" but then assisted in some mild S&M spanking; Terry fled from Roger's apartment when she realized he was possessed by Mrs. Cutwater
  • in the courtroom scene when Roger served as his boss' divorce lawyer, during the proceedings, Edwina eventually took control of Roger and won the case for the wife - while representing the husband/boss!; she was able to use her advantage of overhearing Roger’s thoughts and consciousness; as a result, Roger lost his job
  • Terry who had earlier promised to allow Edwina to "transmigrate" into her own vacated body, had only wanted to acquire Edwina's inheritance; she was now shocked that the soul transference actually worked; she reneged on the plan and announced her intentions to spend Edwina's $20 million inheritance while moving into Edwina's mansion
  • Roger attempted to aid Edwina by having the Tibetan shaman Prahka transmigrate Edwina's soul out of him and back into a sacred bowl; however, the soul was misdirected into a bucket, then into a pitcher of water, and finally into the body of his blind band mate Tyrone Wattell (Jason Bernard) who mistakenly drank the water; the guru Prahka finally transferred Edwina's soul back into Roger's body
  • as the film concluded, Terry (to avoid criminal charges) allowed the mystic Prahka to transmigrate Terry’s soul into the body of her favorite horse, while Edwina’s soul was transferred into Terry’s vacated body
  • during a mirror dance in the closing end credits, it appeared that Roger was joyously dancing with Terry after making love to her (and experiencing "tingles"): Roger instructed her: "Oh, it's easy. Now, just put your feet on top of mine. Come on. This is how kids learn how to dance. See? Now try it with your own feet"
  • the two of them danced together in a mirror's reflection to the tune of the crazy and crowd-pleasing song-and-dance number "All of Me"; but when the camera panned to the left over to a mirror's reflection, it revealed that he was actually dancing with Edwina - the end credits began to roll, and culminated with them toppling over each other
  • All of me, why not take all of me?
    Can't you see I'm no good without you?
    Take my lips, I want to lose 'em
    Take my arms, I'll never use them

Dissatisfied 38 Year-Old Lawyer Roger Cobb (Steve Martin)

Roger's Girlfriend Peggy (Madolyn Smith)



Mystic Prahka Lasa With Terry Hoskins

Metal Sacred Bowl


Botched Transmigration - Edwina's Soul Ended Up In Roger's Body - Edwina Seen in Rear-View Mirror


Roger Struggling to Walk Down the Street with Edwina

Bathroom Urinal Scene

Edwina Helping and Interrupting Love Scene Between Terry and Roger


Ceremony to Transmigrate Terry's Soul Into Her Horse, and Transfer Edwina into Her Empty Body

Greatest Funniest Movie Moments and Scenes
(alphabetical order, by film title)
Intro | A1 | A2 | B1 | B2 | C1 | C2 | D1 | D2 | E | F | G | H-I | J-K-L
M1 | M2 | N-O | P1 | P2 | Q-R | S1 | S2 | T | U-V-W-X-Y-Z

Previous Page Next Page