Top 10 Fictional Movies Within Movies
#10: Rick Dalton Movies
Top 10 Things We Want to See in the Rick Grimes Movies
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (2019) Quentin Tarantino has always gotten a kick out of old movies, so we knew he’d have something in store for us when his latest protagonist was to be an actor in 1960s Hollywood. That actor is Leonardo DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton, a soon-to-be washed up Western serial actor who has a few low-budget action movies to his name, including a World War II film, “The 14 Fists of McCluskey.” From there Dalton sojourns in Italy to make a series of Spaghetti films, like “Operazion Dyn-O-Mite,” for which Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth serves as his stunt double. We even get to see an alternate version of “The Great Escape” wherein Dalton subs in for Steve McQueen. Too much good stuff.
#9: Robert Zemeckis Romantic Comedy
Top 10 Best Robert Zemeckis Movies
“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” (2020) Like much of Charlie Kaufman’s filmography,“I’m Thinking of Ending Things” is a rather surreal and inaccessible film. But one thing most people can get on board with is a purposely cheesy romantic comedy sandwiched in the middle of it. Watching it is our unnamed janitor as he enjoys his lunch in a classroom. We only catch the final scene, in which the male lead makes a grand, romantic gesture during the female lead’s work shift at a diner. The customers enjoy his speech, but his stunt gets her fired. The abrupt ending then reveals that it was directed by none other than the legendary “Forrest Gump” director Robert Zemeckis. It’s totally random, but a fun detour.
#8: “See You Next Wednesday”
Top 10 Fictional Rags-to-Riches Stories in Movies
John Landis Movies A running gag, this is the Wilhelm Scream of movies-within-movies. In most John Landis movies, dating back to his first feature, “Schlock,” there are references to a fake film called “See You Next Wednesday.” Most commonly in poster format, the actual content of the film seems to change each time, from Western to giant monster movie to skin flick to space opera. It’s even the werewolf movie playing at the beginning of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” As Landis explains, “See You Next Wednesday” was the title of a script he wrote as a teenager, taken from a line of dialogue in “2001: A Space Odyssey.” You know, we might just need to see that script to get some closure on this whole saga.
#7: “Hamlet”
Top 10 Notes: Hamlet
“Last Action Hero” (1993) The entire plot of “Last Action Hero” is a movie-within-a-movie— the cliché-ridden “Jack Slater IV” (x-ref). But for our money, we want something more than a familiarly over-the-top action movie landscape. Yep, you guessed it: Arnold Schwarzenegger playing Hamlet. Even in the world of “Last Action Hero”, this film is fictional; it’s merely Danny’s daydreamed update to Laurence Olivier’s 1948 version. But we think Danny has a keen producer-like instinct! Obviously, if there's anything William Shakespeare’s creation is missing, it’s a cigar-chewing, machine-gun firing Schwarzenegger livening up the proceedings. To be or not to be? Yeah, we say this needs “to be.”
#6: “Mant!”
“Matinee” (1993) This forgotten Joe Dante movie is arguably one of his best, and that’s largely due to its delicious sendup of Cold War anxieties juxtaposed against cheesy sci-fi / horror. In “Matinee,” John Goodman plays a wannabe Alfred Hitchcock-esque producer whose latest B movie schlockfest, “Mant!,” stirs up a frenzy in the town of Key West when it premieres. In case the portmanteau went over your head, “Mant!” details the shocking story of a man whose DNA is infused with that of an ant at the hands of some pesky radiation. Reminiscent of “Them!” or “The Fly,” the character becomes bigger and less human before wreaking havoc on the city. Dante and company even shot approximately fifteen minutes of this would-be cult classic for our viewing pleasure.
#5: “Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season”
Top 10 Movies That Were So Good They Launched Careers
“Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” (2001) Jay and Silent Bob find themselves on more than one movie set during their trip to Hollywood, even getting to play the stoner superhero versions of themselves in “Bluntman and Chronic” (x-ref). But the fake movie that made us laugh the most was the totally unnecessary sequel to “Good Will Hunting” titled “Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season.” Bringing back Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to star (and director Gus Van Sant to count his money), the snippet we see is a rehash of the first film’s scene in which Will schools the snooty bar patron. Only this time there’s way less pontificating and way more action. Actually, you know what, we take it back; this sequel is totally necessary.
#4: “Stab” Franchise
“Scream” franchise (1996-) The first “Scream” was meta enough when it came out in 1996, but that was nothing compared to where the sequels would take it. From the opening scene in “Scream 2,” we learn that the events of the first film have since been made into a movie called “Stab,” starring Heather Graham as the original Drew Barrymore character, Luke Wilson as Billy and Tori Spelling as Sidney. After “Scream 3” detailed the murders of the cast of “Stab 3,” “Scream 4” upped the ante by including two movie-with-a-movie fakeouts in the opening scene starring Lucy Hale, Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell. Apparently at this point the “Stab” series has seven installments, one of which involved time travel. Can we pleeeeaaasse see these?
#3: “Grindhouse” Trailers
“Grindhouse” (2007) For some of us, the best part about going to the movies is getting sneak peaks at what’s to come in the form of two-minute trailers. As part of the “Grindhouse” double feature, however, filmgoers got five pulpy, over-the-top fake trailers—each made by a prominent director. There was Rob Zombie’s “Werewolf Women of the SS,” Edgar Wright’s “Don’t,” Eli Roth’s “Thanksgiving,” Jason Eisener’s “Hobo with a Shotgun,” and Robert Rodriguez’s “Machete”. The latter two of which were later made into actual movies! They’re just the right mood-setters for such gleefully trashy features, so much so we wish they were all real.
#2: “Angels with Filthy Souls”
Top 10 Movie Angels
“Home Alone” (1990) This is the movie-within-a-movie that had audiences thinking it really existed. Upon being left home alone, Kevin takes it upon himself to eat barrels of ice cream and watch “rubbish.” His VHS of choice is “Angels with Filthy Souls,” a gangster flick that’s a sendup of the 1938 film “Angels with Dirty Faces.” It features a gangster named Johnny who’s perhaps a bit too familiar with his tommy gun. The fun doesn’t stop there, however, as the sequel “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” gave us the appropriately titled “Angels with Even Filthier Souls,” which led to one of the funniest scenes in the movie. Not restricted to the “Home Alone” universe, the film was also seen playing in “Pokémon Detective Pikachu.” Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions: Previews of Coming Attractions - “History of the World, Part 1” (1981) “Jews in Space” Sounds Like Something Mel Brooks Would Actually Make “The Night the Reindeer Died” - “Scrooged” (1988) “Die Hard” at the North Pole? Sign Us Up! “The Case” - “Super 8” (2011) We’re Glad an Alien Attack Didn’t Keep Them From Making Their Zombie Movie George Simmons Movies - “Funny People” (2009) “Re-Do” Would Be Right on Par for an Adam Sandler Movie “The Three Amigos” - “Three Amigos” (1986) Steve Martin, Chevy Chase & Martin Short Are Charismatic Even in a Silent Movie
#1: “Tropic Thunder” Trailers
Top 10 Tropic Thunder Jokes That Wouldn't Work Today
“Tropic Thunder” (2008) The fake trailers strike again. The entirety of this movie centers around the ill-conceived filming of a Vietnam war epic starring some outlandish actors. As such, opening with some fake trailers for those actors only makes sense. First there’s “Scorcher VI: Global Meltdown” starring Ben Stiller’s Tugg Speedman, an overly serious sequel for a franchise that’s so uninspired it’s resorted to reversing its own formula. Then it’s “The Fatties: Fart 2,” a “Nutty Professor” parody wherein Jack Black’s Jeff Portnoy plays all the flatulent family members. But perhaps the funniest comes in the form of “Satan’s Alley,” the over-the-top drama about two monks starring Robert Downey, Jr.’s Kirk Lazarus and MTV Movie Award “Best Kiss” winner Tobey Maguire.
