In the Interest of Poor Taste, Here Are Six of the Funniest Car Crashes in Movie History
Some figures suggest that for every 1,000 miles driven there’s a 1 in 366 chance of getting into a car accident. While these odds are still infinitesimal, they’re enough to terrify some overly cautious drivers or keep folks from jumping behind the steering wheel at all.
Thankfully, movie directors don’t share this fear, and have orchestrated plenty of car crashes that are certified knee-slappers. Sometimes this comedy is intentional, while other times, the humor derives from how absurd the collisions look.
In the interest of poor taste, here are six of the funniest car crashes in movie history…
Toy Story 2
Why did the toys cross the road? To get to the chicken on the other side! As a part of their rescue mission to retrieve their friend Woody in Toy Story 2, some of Andy’s toys play a game of Frogger to traverse a busy intersection. Despite a few close calls, they make it unscathed to Al’s Toy Barn. Several cars and a tractor trailer couldn’t say the same, however.
Amsterdam
David O. Russell’s mystery-comedy is a clunky mess that drags on for much of its two-hour runtime. To make matters worse for the Silver Linings Playbook director and, frankly, everyone involved, the star-studded film peaks early on with its most memorable scene being Taylor Swift getting hit by a car. It’s so cartoonish that you have to hope Russell is in on the joke.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Much of the underlying tension of Ferris Bueller's Day Off rests on getting a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder back to its pristine resting place in one piece. But when Ferris et al surprisingly return the car without damage, they discovered one tiny issue: the odometer went up significantly. After failing to reverse the mileage, Cameron decides to take out his daddy issues on the car. But just when he thinks he’s done enough damage, the jack holding up the car gives out, and the Spyder lurches out of the control. While it’s not your traditional car crash, it’s a liberating moment of automobile destruction that’s equal parts funny and touching.
Live Free or Die Hard
John McClane metaphorically went to hell and back in the Die Hard franchise. Over the course of five films, he scales exploding buildings, crawls through ventilation shafts and even launches a car into a helicopter. That last feat of strength originated in the fourth film, Live Free or Die Hard, and proved to be one of the most hilarious ways to defy the laws of physics and look badass while doing so.
An American Werewolf in London
In John Landis’ 1981 horror comedy An American Werewolf in London, a werewolf bite is enough to drive anyone insane. It’s also enough to cause a double-decker bus to skid, a motorcyclist to slide and a seemingly record number of people to fly through glass.
The Blues Brothers
Prior to touching down in Piccadilly Square, Landis mastered the art of the over-the-top car crash in Chicago with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd in The Blue Brothers. The musical comedy developed from the Saturday Night Live characters of the same name features a high-speed chase that reaches 120 miles per hour and ends with a police car pileup that looks like a toddler haphazardly playing with Legos.
