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G E N E R A L
GOLDMEMBER
In this trio of psychedelic pspoofs, Mike Myers pokes bawdy fun at both 007 and 60s culture. When a frozen 1967 secret agent is defrosted thirty years later, his outdated attitudes and ego render him clueless to battle Dr Evil and an equally laughable posse of super villians. Stars include Elizabeth Hurley, Michael York, Robert Wagner, Will Ferrell and Seth Green.
GET SMART
Another secret agent spoof, which of course takes it cue from the hit 1960s TV series. Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart heads an inspired cast that includes Anne Hathaway as the lovely but lethal Agent 99, and Alan Arkin as The Chief. This clever retelling borrows from several episodes while additionally recalling sequences from MOONRAKER and MISSION IMPOSSIBLE. In GET SMART the movie, we learn how Max, a lowly but ambitious government administrator, earns his undercover stripes. Bill Murray and Larry Miller show up for this action-filled homage to the spy genre. GET SMART will soon Get Sequel.
ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY
Will Ferrell comedies have lampooned race car drivers, football players, Olympic skaters and the President of the United States. In ANCHORMAN your local news team is the target, and he is aptly joined by Steve Carell, Fred Willard and other faces frequently seen in satire cinema. When Ron Burgundy's ranking as San Diego's top anchorman is threatened by a comely newcomer (Christian Applegate), it's headline news as they each attempt to claw their way to ratings victory. Fred Armisen, Chris Parnell and other Saturday Night Live alumni share comic duties, as do Vince Vaughn and Luke Wilson. A sequel is on the way.
DICKIE ROBERTS: FORMER CHILD STAR
A burned-out TV star who now parks cars, Dickie Roberts (David Spade) needs a comeback. After much effort, he is granted an auditon with producer Rob Reiner, but is turned down for the major movie role because he is wrong for the part, having never had a real childhood. Desperate to have a family, Dickie decides to rent one. They're only in it for the money, and his hot new 'mom' (Mary McCormack) is younger than he is. Jon Lovitz plays Dickie's agent, while an impressive galaxy of former TV stars provide very satisfying cameos. (If only we could all play poker with Danny Bonaduce.)
HIGH ANXIETY
Alfred Hitchcock himself would be proud of Mel Brook's suspense sendup. A treasure-trove of Hitchcockian humor, HIGH ANXIETY makes light of VERTIGO, PSYCHO, THE BIRDS, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, DIAL M FOR MURDER and
nearly two dozen other classics of the genre. As the administrator of the Psychoneurotic Institute for the Very, Very Nervous, Brooks himself suffers from an acute case of high anxiety, with no small assistance from Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Harvey Korman and Dick Van Patten. Nearly all Brooks films includes a song he composed, and in this one he sings the title song in best Frank Sinatra style.
ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS
The 1975 TV series WHEN THINGS WERE ROTTEN is where Mel Brooks cut his teeth on the Robin Hood legend, but the whole Sherwood Forest thing hits a new bulls-eye in his 1993 parody ROBIN HOOD: MEN IN TIGHTS. THE PRINCESS BRIDE's Cary Elwes takes up bow and arrow to lead a merry cast that includes RIchard Lewis, Isaac Hayes, Dave Chapelle and Dom DeLuise. Patrick Stewart plays King Richard, and Tracey Ullman is on hand to cast her spell as a witch. Several other cast members went on to appear in the Brooks horror parody DRACULA: DEAD AND LOVING IT.
M O R E M O V I E G E N R E S
P A R O D Y C A T E G O R I E S
THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE / A VERY BRADY SEQUEL
Unlike most movie adaptions, this one actually makes fun of its own roots. From sugary songs to the overdone "special Hawaii episode", no sitcom sacred cow is safe when the groovy 70s family tries in vain to fit in with the 90s. The dead-on cast features Shelly Long and Gary Cole, with Michael McKeon as an unscrupulous real estate developer bent on getting the Bradys out of his neighborhood. Everything is here, from Marcia's broken nose to Greg as "Johnny Bravo".
AUSTIN POWERS, INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY / THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME /
THE PRINCESS BRIDE
Why is this gentle fairy tale keeping company with the other sardonic titles of biting humor shown here? Because THE PRINCESS BRIDE began its life as a parody. Its origin, a William Goldman book by the same title, was mean to satirize European royalty and its excesses. And indeed, the film abounds with brilliant caricatures of medieval princes, princesses, heroes and villians played by Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal and Carol Kane. Ultimately it is a delightful family film with memorable characters and a tender heart.
IDIOCRACY
The dumbing-down of society is the focus of this clever and sometimes disconcerting look into the future, based on the premise that stupid people procreate faster than intellectuals, until eventually the world will be populated by morons. Mike Judge (of Beavis & Butthead/King of the Hill/Office Space fame) wrote and directed this story in which Luke Wilson, an army librarian, becomes a test subject in a government hibernation experiment. Scheduled to be reanimated in one year, the program instead goes under and he wakes up 500 years later, in a world of idiots.
AN AMERICAN CAROL
David Zucker, whose film parodies include AIRPLANE!, THE NAKED GUN and SCARY MOVIE 3 and 4, satirizes the sagging American spirit in this 2008 comedy. When a cynical Hollywood filmmaker seeks to abolish the 4th of July holiday, he is visited by three ghosts intent on teaching him the true meaning of patriotism. Kevin Farley (younger brother of comedy legend Chris Farley) stars, along with Kelsey Grammer, Trace Adkins, Dennis Hopper, Jon Voight, James Woods, Paris Hilton, Gary Coleman and Leslie Nielsen, among others. Impressionist Fred Travalena even shows up as Jimmy Carter.
NOT ANOTHER TEEN MOVIE
Two decades worth of postpubescent cinema get a facial scrub in this 2001 parody. With shades of AMERICAN PIE, FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, FERRIS BEULLER'S DAY OFF, SIXTEEN CANDLES, THE BREAKFAST CLUB, SHE'S ALL THAT, NEVER BEEN KISSED and the countless movies where ugly duckling becomes prom queen, NOT ANOTHER TEEN MOVIE also boasts its share of gross-out humor. All of the cliches are present: the jock, the cheerleader, the weirdo, the old undercover reporter, the naked foreign exchange student ... wait, what?
