5 Comedy Movies With Behind-The-Scenes Moments Funnier Than Anything Onscreen
We all love a unintentionally funny movie moment. In the case of The Room, that was the whole movie. But sometimes, movies that sell themselves as comedies can’t even pull that off.
But luckily for wily readers of internet content, a lot of truly funny things happen behind the scenes of terrible comedies that are way more hilarious than anything on screen. Stuff like…
Caddyshack II Needed A Separate Budget for Jackie Mason’s Pants
Calling Caddyshack II a cursed film sells it short. The original Caddyshack, of course, remains a beloved comedy for golfers and people who liked quoting Chevy Chase without knowing how terrible he is. The Harold Ramis laugher was a career highlight for stars Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, and Bill Murray.
Eight years later, Caddyshack II starred Jackie Mason and was directed by Allan Arkush. There’s a reason you probably don’t recognize those names.
The production started off on the right foot, with Ramis (on the script), Dangerfield and Chase signing on, but even after Dangerfield got the studio to agree to build him an on-set sauna, he bailed. Ramis left soon afterward, leaving the production what we can charitably call “cobbled.”
Here’s a shortlist of the behind-the-scenes hilarity of what many call the worst comedy sequel ever made:
* After seeing Mason perform, Arkush said, “The thing that occurred to me was that he didn’t connect with the audience in any sort of personal way. That’s not necessarily a good thing for someone who’s supposed to be your lead. At least when Rodney says, ‘I get no respect,’ there’s an empathy that he evokes from the audience.” (Mason was cast as the lead anyway.)
* When filming began, Mason gorged himself so much at the craft table that wardrobe had to keep letting out his pants.
* Chevy Chase was his normal terrible self, insisting that Arkush block a scene, then later complaining that he didn’t get any input.
* Ramis went with another of the script’s many co-writers to a research screening in Pasadena, “and we literally crawled out of the theater because we didn’t want anyone to see us.”
To summarize: They couldn’t keep the unlikable lead in pants, Chevy pulled vintage Chevy crap and Harold Ramis had to slink away hiding his face.
The Men In Black II Director Had To Explain Something Crucial To Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson was a Men in Black superfan, scoring a sequel cameo as an alien MIB agent stationed in Antarctica. What is certain is that Jackson really, really wanted to wear one of those iconic black suits. What’s unclear is exactly why.
“I had a lovely conversation with Michael in which he told me he had seen the first Men In Black in Paris and had stayed when all the other people left the theatre and sat there and wept,” says director Barry Sonnenfeld. “I had to explain to him that it was a comedy.”
Not sure who was clamoring for a Blues Brothers sequel 20 years after the original blew up big, especially with star John Belushi long gone. But Danny Aykroyd enlisted John Goodman to fill in (we’re guessing brother Jim Belushi is still seething) and terrible follow-up Blues Brothers 2000 went forward anyway.
Something funny happened along the way: The production had to spend big bucks on a towing company to drag an old car out of a river. The reason? They needed to clear the waterway so they could drive another car into it.
The not-so-funny-part: The towing company’s heavy rig was able to pull the car out of the water -- only to drop it onto the leg of a crew member. The leg was later amputated.
The Emoji Movie Made Jordan Peele A Superstar Director
What made Jordan Peele believe his career would be better off spent behind the camera instead of in front of it? The decision was helped when he was offered a real sh-- role.
“The Emoji Movie actually helped me quit acting,” he reveals. “I was offered the role of Poop.”
Really? “This is true. I would not make this up,” he says. His initial reaction: “That’s f---ed up.” Peele decided to sleep on it before seeing if the Emoji people would offer him more money than he could refuse, but it was too late.
“(My manager said), ‘They’ve already given it to Sir Patrick Stewart.’ I was like, ‘F--- this.’”
What else can you do except make Get Out?
The Justice Department Had A Beef With Dumb and Dumber To
The plot behind the supremely stupid sequel was way more captivating than the one that showed up onscreen.
The Justice Department claimed that tens of millions were diverted from a Malaysian government investment fund – and used to make a reviled comedy sequel. The question: Why would someone go to that effort just so they could fund Dumb and Dumber To?
But apparently, that’s what happened. All in all, more than $4 billion was stolen by corrupt finance dudes, who then laundered the money through several shell companies with bank accounts here in the United States and all over the world.
One of the money laundering outfits was Red Granite Pictures, which used the funds to make The Wolf of Wall Street, as well as critical punching bags like Dumb and Dumber To and Daddy’s Home. The Feds filed to get the rights to the movies, as well as any profits. Who wouldn’t want some of that sweet Dumb and Dumber To cash?
Red Granite denied knowing that the money came from illicit investors, and didn’t let the big bad Justice Department from getting in the way of Daddy’s Home 2. But it did end up having to give back $60 million to the government in 2018. It hasn’t made a terrible comedy since.
For more ComedyNerd, be sure to check out:
15 More Jokes For The Hall Of Fame
We Checked, Nothing Funny Happened For Two Whole Years
John Mulaney Could Have Been The Lead In 'Home Alone'
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Top image: Warner Bros.
