20 parodies that were as good or even better than the genre they were mocking

The murder mystery is one of Hollywood’s most enduringly popular genres, which makes it an ideal target for parody. Murder by Death perfectly captures the various beats associated with the genre, and it includes parodies of some of the most famous fictional detectives of both page and screen, including Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Charlie Chan, Nick and Nora Charles, and Sam Spade. Moreover, it also includes an appearance by the irascible Truman Capote himself, who portrays the host of the party that is the setting of the mystery. It's delightfully humorous for anyone who is a fan of a good old-fashioned murder mystery.

The late Leslie Nielsen was one of the masters of comedy, as he demonstrated time and again, perhaps nowhere better than in the first of the Naked Gun movies. His Frank Drebin is one of a kind and, in some ways, the epitome of the bumbling policeman that Hollywood loves so much. Nielsen’s brilliance lies in his ability to mine the comedy by playing the character completely straight. And, while The Naked Gun is definitely a spoof from top to bottom, it also makes a pretty decent cop movie in its own right, and Nielsen is a big part of the reason why.

Given its large scope and often pretentious self-seriousness, the biblical epic has often rendered itself susceptible to camp and parody, and perhaps the most effective example of this is Monty Python’s Life of Brian. It relentlessly and quite ruthlessly pokes fun at the plodding piousness of so many midcentury biblical epics, and it focuses on the travails of Brian Cohen, who has the misfortune of being born on the same day and in the house next door to Jesus himself. The film certainly doesn’t shy away from controversy. While it certainly succeeds as a parody of the biblical epic, it is also just as thoughtful in its own way as any of its big-screen predecessors.

Christopher Guest has certainly carved out a space for himself as one of Hollywood’s foremost directors of the mockumentary. Best in Show is a remarkably hilarious film, focusing on the various contestants in a dog show. It boasts quite a talented cast, too, many of whom had worked with the director on other projects, including Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, and Parker Posey, and it also features a performance from the great Jennifer Coolidge. The film so successfully captured the spirit of the dog show and the documentary in general that it was even the inspiration for the subsequent Thanksgiving broadcast of the National Dog Show.

As one might gather from the title, Kung Fu Hustle is a parody of the Hong Kong films that were very much all the rage in the 1970s. Adding to the levels of humor and self-reflexivity is the presence of many stars in such films. Like the best parodies, it has a great deal of affection for the object of its sly mockery, which helps it achieve its goal of being a great kung fu action movie in its own right. The assured presence of Stephen Chow, who starred in and directed it, adds another layer of enjoyment.

If there’s one Hollywood star whose name is synonymous with the action film, it would have to be Arnold Schwarzenegger. What makes him such a likable star is the extent to which he has long proved quite willing to poke fun at himself, as can be seen very clearly in Last Action Hero, in which he portrays Jack Slater, a character in a fictional universe who has more than a few similarities to the actor’s other famous roles. It’s an undeniably messy movie, but this is actually one of the most enjoyable things about it, and Schwarzenegger at least knows how to hit the right notes to keep this spoof afloat.

The musical biopic was all the rage in the 2000s, which, of course, meant that it was particularly ripe for parody and satire. Enter Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, which has as its most immediate reference point the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line. In this case, the story's center is John C. Reilly's Dewey Cox, who ends up becoming a rock and roll star. Even though it didn't fare at all well at the box office, the film is remarkable in that, like the biopics that it lampoons, it actually manages to have a character and a story in which it is possible to get invested.

The mockumentary is one of the genres that is easiest to do poorly, but when a skilled filmmaker comes together with a great cast and talented writers, the results can be electric. This is Spinal Tap,  directed by Rob Reiner, co-written by Christopher Guest (who would go on to direct many mockumentaries of his own), and starring the likes of Guest, Reiner, and Hank Azaria, accurately spoofs the rock documentaries of the 1970s. Even though the viewer knows the whole thing is fiction, the film is so convincing and skilled at capturing the story beats of the documentary that it’s almost possible to believe that the whole thing is real, after all.

As one might guess from the title, Airplane! parodies the many disaster films that were much in vogue in the 1970s, particularly Zero Hour! and the various Airport  films. It’s a wickedly funny film with some extraordinary comedic performances from the likes of Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, and Robert Stack. It’s a film that leans into its silliness, but it also has a keen understanding of the genre it’s parodying and the star personas of its various performers. As a result, it manages to hit all the right comedy notes while also being exciting and adrenaline-rushed in its own right.

The horror film has proven remarkably amenable to spoofing, and one of the more notable examples is The Cabin in the Woods. Its story is about a group of teens who end up being terrorized at the titular cabin, which clearly means it evokes the various tropes associated with the genre. However, its true appeal lies in its cleverness and its ability to call attention to the actual mechanisms behind horror films as a mode of film storytelling. It also features one of the bleakest endings one can imagine, with the entire planet seemingly destroyed by a vengeful and hungry god.

Even though it wasn’t a success when it was first released, Clue has rightly come to be regarded as a cult classic in the intervening decades. It’s based, of course, on the board game of the same name, but within that context, it is also a parody of many other similar mystery films. It wears its silliness on its sleeve, thanks in no small part to the zany performances from the likes of Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Eileen Brennan, and Christopher Lloyd. The inclusion of three different endings might strike some as a little odd, but taken in the context of the film’s general zaniness, it somehow works just the same.

In Young Frankenstein, Mel Brooks turned his attention to the horror film, and the movie stars Gene Wilder as Frederick Frankenstein, the grandson of the infamous Victor, who is drawn back to Transylvania, where he soon begins his efforts to create a monster. The film never loses sight of the fact that its primary goal is to make the audience laugh, but it mimics the conventions of the 1930s horror movies so well it’s sometimes easy to forget that it actually is a spoof and not the real thing. As always with Brooks, much of the film’s success can be attributed to his assemblage of a great cast, which, in addition to Wilder, also includes Madeline Kahn, Teri Garr, and Cloris Leachman. 

While DreamWorks might not be quite the powerhouse that Disney is, it has nevertheless managed to carve out its own success in the animation realm. One of its most enduring successes, Shrek, is very much a parody of the conventions of the Disney fairytale film, and it delights in turning expectations upside-down. The beauty of Shrek is that it more than manages to succeed on its own terms, largely because the curmudgeonly title character — voiced by Mike Myers — is the kind of character that it’s impossible not to love. It’s no wonder that the first film spawned a franchise of its own, which retains its popularity today.

Melissa McCarthy is one of the best comedic actresses of her generation, and she is the undisputed master of physical comedy. In Spy, one of the few films to make adequate use of her talents, she portrays Susan Cooper, a CIA agent who goes from a desk to a field agent, with hilarious results. Susan is one of those characters that it is impossible not to love, and the audience cheers her on from beginning to end. What’s more, despite (or perhaps because of) its comedic trappings, the film also manages to be a very entertaining and compelling spy caper in its own right.

Scary Movie is unabashedly crude and ridiculous, but therein lies the pleasure in it. Its most immediate reference is, of course, the Scream franchise (itself something of a self-referential take on the slasher genre), but it also draws liberally from a number of other horror film franchises that were popular at the turn of the millennium. And, when it comes down to it, it has to be said that there is something more than a little horrifying about the extent to which the film sees no joke or attack as too far out of bounds.

If there’s one thing that Disney is known for, it’s for its various princess movies. Fortunately, the studio hasn’t been above spoofing its own catalog, most notably in Enchanted,  which boasts the tremendous talents of Amy Adams as Giselle, who goes from the animated world of so many Disney films to the real one of New York City. Once there, she falls in love with Patrick Dempsey’s dashing Robert Philip. The film works because it has such a keen understanding of the mechanics and beats of the Disney princess film. What’s more, it ends up being a pretty great one in its own right, replete with an evil queen villain, Narissa, portrayed by Susan Sarandon.

If there’s one director who has always excelled at creating spoofs that double as the films they’re parodying, it would have to be Mel Brooks. In some ways, Blazing Saddles is his finest creation, with its relentlessly side-splitting take on the classic Hollywood western. It certainly helps that it boasts a talented cast that includes the likes of Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, and Harvey Korman. However, it’s also one of those parodies that clearly has a great deal of affection for the object of its spoofing. While some of the film’s efforts to engage with racism may seem a bit jarring to modern sensibilities, Blazing Saddles retains its ability to amuse and provoke.

Mike Myers is at his absurd best in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, a very obvious spoof of the spy films of the ‘60s (particularly those featuring James Bond). Austin Powers is a libidinous womanizer who manages to steal hearts despite his lack of conventional handsome looks. The film ably sends up all of the conventions of spy films, up to and including having a nefarious villain, Dr. Evil, who is as unabashedly silly as Austin Powers. The movie’s brilliance lies in its ability to be both a hilarious and uncouth comedy and a very entertaining spy film in its own right.  

As its title implies, Shaun of the Dead  is a tongue-in-cheek take on zombie films, particularly George Romero's. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are comedy gold as Shaun and Ed, two friends who find themselves caught up in the chaos and bloodshed of zombie armageddon. Like the best horror comedies, Shaun of the Dead manages to keep the horror and comedy elements in perfect balance, and it doesn't shy away from some of the darker elements of its story. While it is definitely funny, there are genuine emotional stakes, which is what makes it so effective as a horror film in its own right.

Galaxy Quest is one of those films that truly boasts an embarrassment of riches when it comes to its cast, which includes the likes of Tim Allen, Alan Rickman, and Sigourney Weaver. As fans of the film know, it’s a send-up and a love letter to shows like  Star Trek, focusing on the cast of a fictional sci-fi show who unexpectedly become part of an intergalactic conflict. It’s an undeniably silly film, but the marvel of it is that it also manages to be an entertaining sci-fi adventure story. Moreover, it does so while engaging with the vexed question of franchise fandom.