Comedy movies aren’t just played for laughs. Okay, so they pretty much are. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have any depth to them.
By depth, I of course mean details and references that take the story, comedy, and overall aesthetic over the top. Like the details in this list that might not be easy to spot , but are totally worth looking out for.
“In ‘Billy Madison’ (1995), when Danny (Steve Buscemi) crosses off Billy’s name off of his ‘people to kill’ list…”
…”the remaining names on the list are the producer of the movie and various other production crew members.”
I wonder which crew member was responsible for that.
“In ‘Deadpool 2’ (2018) there’s a drawing of Wolverine tagged ‘Prisoner 24601.’
“That’s Jean Valjean’s prisoner number in Les Miserables , also played by Hugh Jackman.”
This one’s for the comedy/superhero movie fans who also happen to be fans of dramatic musicals.
“In ‘The Sandlot’ (1993), the actor who plays Benny Rodriguez as an adult is Pablo Vitar, the IRL big brother of young Benny’s actor, Mike Vitar.”
There’s nothing better than getting an actor’s actual relative to play an older/younger version of them.
“Recognise the orderly from the opening of ‘Hubie Halloween’ (2020)?”
“That’s Ben stiller reprising his role as Hal L. The mean orderly from Happy Gilmore (1996).”
Because let’s be honest, who doesn’t love a good callback from time to time?
“In ‘Palm Springs’ (2020), Nyles is drinking ‘Akupara’ beer.”
” In Sanskrit, Akupara means ‘unlimited, unbounded’ and in Hinduism, it’s the name of a tortoise described as ‘one who is without death.'”
Because, you know, the Groundhog Day of it all.
“In the movie ‘Semi-Pro’ (2008) when Rob Corddry’s wife is cheating on him with Monix (Woody Harrelson) his ‘Kentucky’ jersey just says ‘cuck.'”
In case you didn’t know (or you did), “cuck” is short for “cuckold,” which is just an old-timey word for a man whose wife is cheating on him.
“In ‘The Truman Show’ (1998), we see Truman taking high dose vitamin D at breakfast time.”
“This is to counteract the deficiency he would have because there is no real sunlight in the constructed world he inhabits.”
But of course, he doesn’t know that.
“In ‘Mean Girls’ (2004), we learn that Regina, leader of the Plastics, told Gretchen that she couldn’t wear hooped earrings because they were her thing.”
“Later in the movie, when Cady becomes leader of the Plastics, we see her wearing hooped earrings, showing that she became just like Regina.”
There are actually a lot of little details like that throughout Mean Girls !
“In ‘Mean Girls’ (2004), Regina forbade Gretchen to wear hoop earrings. Once they broke up, she is seen wearing hoop earrings.”
And the hoop earrings make a comeback. It’s amazing how such a tiny detail ends up being super important in the end.
“Ryan Reynolds’ boat name in ‘Red Notice’ (2021).”
This, of course, is a reference to Titanic , when Jack famously doesn’t stay on the door with Rose in the end. Whether they could both fit or not, it became quite the meme in the years following the film’s release.
“In Free Guy (2021), the calendar in Guy’s apartment is missing the number 4.”
“This was added by the production designer, who wanted Guy’s apartment to reflect his status as a ‘half-developed character.'”
Not that the missing day would make a difference in Guy’s life. At least, not early in the movie.
“In ‘Don’t Look Up’ (2021) Shovels are $599.99 as people have panic-bought them to assumingly build bunkers.”
If 2020’s toilet paper and hand sanitizer scarcity taught us anything, it’s that people are gonna hoard stuff they might find useful (and stores are gonna take full advantage of that).
“Rewatching ‘Scary Movie’ (2000), never noticed this before.”
Parodies like Scary Movie might not be for everyone, but they definitely have some good gags that we can all appreciate. They did warn us that it was for immature audiences…
“In ‘The Truman Show’ (1998) the boat that Truman sails on to escape is named Santa Maria…”
“…the same name of one of Christopher Columbus’ ships, signifying that Truman is heading to a ‘New World.'”
Definitely a blink and you’ll miss it moment!
“In ‘Mr. Bean’s Holiday’ (2007), the girl with the stereo is played by Lily Atkinson, the daughter of Rowan Atkinson. In the movie, she is also named Lily.”
It must be nice, being able to include your actual family in film projects.
“In ‘Don’t Look Up’ (2021), astronomers appear on a ‘Morning Joe’-style cable news talk show.”
“Though not explicitly noted as liberal, their logo reflects their slant. A clever detail!”
Plot twist: It’s called Don’t Look Up because you’re actually supposed to look closely at all the details they stuck in the film.
“In ‘Free Guy’ (2021), you can see a bottle of gin labelled ‘Subtle Product Placement.'”
“This is actually a bottle of Aviation Gin…a brand which is partially owned by Ryan Reynolds.”
This really seems like the most Ryan Reynolds thing.
“In ‘Step Brothers’ (2008), Brennan Huff has a Hugalo’s Pizza sign which is the restaurant Will Ferrell’s character Ricky Bobby works at in ‘Talladega Nights.'”
I feel like this one is more of a “how could you miss that” kind of moment.
“In ‘Don’t Look Up’ (2021) just as Kate is telling her boyfriend that ‘A comet bigger than the one that destroyed the dinosaurs is headed directly at Earth…'”
“…right at the moment that a guy wearing a dinosaur outfit is seen in the background.”
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I never would have clued in if someone hadn’t pointed it out.
“In The ‘Big Lebowski’ (1998), Jesus Quintana is wearing rings from the American Bowling Congress that certify his ability to roll a perfect 300 game, a 299 game and an incredibly difficult 800 series.”
“Those rings tell you that creep can roll.”
