Can a film be too goofy for riffing?

Does Deadpool qualify as unriffable, or should it be considered as pre-riffed direct from the factory?

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It is definitely self-riffed in places…

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You know, I’ve reflected quite a bit on this topic.

Is diegetic dialog about sleeping nose to anus goofy?

Of course not. It’s fascinating.

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“WHAT? It’s fun!”

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Some of these current SyFy movies qualify. I mean , Trailer Park Shark? Really? Need I say more?

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For me it’s usually about the earnestness. If the movie doesn’t take itself seriously, it’s tough. Not impossible, but tough.

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The short answer is, yes, a film can be too goofy.

The long answer is, as others have commented, it helps if a film is earnest and not aware of itself, because if a film is too self-aware, there’s little use for a test subject and Bots. It’s also much harder to riff a film that riffs itself in that way. Joel has mentioned the only films you can’t riff are Marx Brothers films, which I agree with, though I’d also add Muppet films, Mel Brooks films, and Zucker brothers films to that list. There have been a number of films we’ve turned down from including on the show either because they were too comedic or because they were a pastiche of films from years past (for instance, modern films made to look like '50s schlock just don’t work for us).

Man, I wish I could’ve made that reply funnier…

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They can’t all be Duck Soup.

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There’s this show I like that uses “callbacks” to make something funny that isn’t. I could send you a few tapes so you can check it out.

:smirk:

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Yeah you know I was thinking… ‘callbacks’ it just… I mean, not exactly a tongue-roller-offer, you know…, if you get my riff, er drift, sry typo there.

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Yes it can A Goofy Movie - Wikipedia

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To say nothing of An EXTREMELY Goofy Movie.

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I remember a line from the Rifftrax of Avengers:

I keep telling you, you have to make better jokes than Robert Downey Jr. or this whole thing collapses on itself!

The issue with doing a comedy is that if it’s a decent comedy, it will most likely beat you to any joke you think of and a bad comedy by definition is not funny.

So it’s not that it’s impossible, but that it’s not worth it.

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Okay, actually I just watched the movie this screenshot is from the other day and can now confidently say that, at least in this specific case, you’re wrong. It was INCREDIBLY easy to riff Velocipastor. I think because there was an overcorrection situation happening where it was a bad movie making fun of itself for acting like a serious movie but then at a certain point it leaned so far into being bad on purpose that it actually started taking itself serious again. Or maybe I’m over analyzing it. Either way. Easily the second worst movie I’ve ever seen, but my friends and I mercilessly tore it to shreds and had a great time doing it.

(As an aside, I have to recommend this movie to every mstie who considers themselves a bad movie enthusiast. It was godawful but dang, worth it.)

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I completely agree! I’ve referenced it in several threads around the forum. My point was that it was doing such a great job of riffing itself at that moment that not much else could be added. There are plenty of other riffing opportunities in it, and I agree with the tone shift.

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Ah, fair, there were definitely some bits that could not have materially benefited from riffing cuz they were already just bald-faced self-riffs :joy:

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Does this count?:

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Fried Barry

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I think we found the limit:

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Heck, this even happened with The Human Duplicators.

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