15 Comedic Train Wreck Legends by Jeffrey Totey l Cult Movies l The Best Comedic Films l The Funniest Comedy Films l Great Movies

Galaxy Quest (1999)

If you consider yourself a “Trekie,” or enjoy attending Comicon, put this one on your list. This family friendly comedy tells the tale of former TV stars who were popular years ago when their show, Galaxy Quest (similar to Star Trek), was on the air. Now, years later, the only work that they can find is making appearances at comic book conventions. However, some space aliens have confused reruns of the show for historical documents and arrive on earth to ask for the crew’s help to save their planet. The TV cast misunderstands the aliens, thinking that they have been invited to relive their roles for a private performance. Won’t they be surprised when they end up in space for real? The cast includes Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub and Sam Rockwell.

Mr. Bean’s Holiday (2007)

This underappreciated movie is actually a charming film with surprisingly little dialogue. It features favorite British icon, Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson), who has won a raffle that takes him on a train journey to Cannes. In typical “Bean” style, things go horribly wrong and Mr. Bean finds himself penniless. He also makes quick friends with a young boy, Stepan Dachevsky (Max Baldry) who gets separated from his father. Mr. Bean is determined to find Stephan’s dad and the two enjoy some adventures together including busking an act to raise some money. This film is very clean and appropriate for all audiences. If you have enjoyed watching the Mr. Bean TV show in the past, you will enjoy this flick as well.

Office Space (1999)

Initially a box office flop, Office Space has become one of the bust known cult classic films. It is a film that anyone who has worked in an office can relate to. At Initech, Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) spends his time staring at his computer screen wondering why he is there, Samir Nagheenanajar (Ajay Naidu) is angry that no one can pronounce his name correctly, Michael Bolton (David Herman) hates the fact that he has the same name as the singer and Milton Waddams (Stephen Root) is the mouse of a man who mumbles to himself and no one listens to. For a retreat away from work, they frequent the nearby Chotchkie's (which looks similar to either Applebee’s or TGIFridays) and chat with the waitress, Joanna (Jennifer Aniston) who gets in trouble for not wearing enough “flair” on her work vest. Together they plot how to get back at their boss, Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole). Unfortunately, this very funny comedy is not appropriate for the whole family.

One Crazy Summer (1996)

This lesser known movie was made by the people who created, Better Off Dead, another popular cult movie. Hoops McCann (John Cusack), a cartoonist, has high hopes of getting admitted into the Rhode Island School of Design, but he must first write and illustrate a love story for his application. He meets and falls in love with Cassandra Eldridge (Demi Moore in one of the first movie roles) who must raise some money in order to keep her grandfather’s house. The Beckersted family wants to demolish the home so that they can build up a hotel in its place. The zany comedy leads to a yacht race against the Beckersted’s for a great bunch of prize money. The best scene involves a large scale model of the proposed hotel and a Bobcat Goldthwait stuck in a Godzilla costume in front of a group of Japanese investors.

Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)

Before Paul Reuben’s fall from grace, he starred in this silly comedy directed by Tim Burton – his first full length movie in fact. Pee-Wee, a full grown man who acts like a child, has a bike that he loves. One day, it is stolen and by following a bunch of clues, Pee-Wee goes on quest across the states to find it. That’s pretty much the whole plot, but what makes it fun is all of the people he meets along the way. Besides Reuben, the movie features a cast of relative unknowns including Elizabeth Daily (Dottie, Pee-Wee’s friend), Mark Holton (Francis Buxton who is envious of Pee-Wee’s bike), Diane Salinger (Simone the waitress) and Alice Nunn (Large Marge the Truck driver). If you are a fan of Pee Wee, this is a must-see.

Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)

The truly awful, anti-classic film by Ed Wood is considered by many to be the number one worst movie ever made, which is why it is so popular. Meant to be scary, it isn’t in the least. The film was shot on a shoe-string budget, the special effects are not so special and the dialogue is terrible. Originally titled, Grave Robbers from Outer Space, Plan 9 is about extraterrestrial beings trying to stop humans from creating a doomsday device by coming up with “plan 9,” a project that requires to resurrect dead people to get the nations’ attention. The film starred Bela Lugosi (famous for his role as Dracula) and Vampira (Maila Syrjäniemi). Lugosi actually died during the making of the movie, so some of his scenes had to be shot using a different actor pretending to be him. Some of the movie’s footage was borrowed from other films and in the end is a complete train wreck that you can’t look away from.

Pufnstuf (1970)

H. R. Pufnstuf was a popular children’s show created by Sid and Marty Krofft about Jimmy (Jack Wild) and his annoying talking flute and how they escape the clutches of the evil Witchie-Poo (Billie Hayes) with the help of the large and friendly dragon, H. R. Pufunstuf every week. The show was so popular, that the pair decided to create a theatrical movie based on the show and features all of the main characters. The movie attempts to tell the story on how Jimmy got to Living Island in the first place. It turns out that Jimmy got kicked out of the school band for a tripping and breaking a drum kit which somehow leads him to a magical boat that takes him to the island. Witchiepoo wants the flute so that she can impress the Boss Witch (Martha Raye). The film also stars Cass Elliott as Witch Hazel.

Rat Race (2001)

Sort of poor man’s version of “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World), it features a group of strangers who under the leading of Donald Sinclair (John Cleese), an eccentric millionaire, go on a quest to find a duffel bag that is filled with money in a locker at a train station in Silver City, New Mexico, 400 miles away. Not as funny as the film mentioned above, but features a likeable cast and some truly unique stunts not seen in other movies including a Jewish family landing in a museum dedicated to Hitler. To top it off, the movies features a surprisingly feel-good ending. The film stars, Breckin Meyer, Amy Smart, Rowan Atkinson, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Whoopi Goldberg, Seth Green, Vince Vieluf, Jon Lovitz, Lanei Chapman, Kathy Najimy, Dave Thomas, Wayne Knight and Kathy Bates. Mostly clean, but be on the ready with your remote if you choose to watch with your kids.

Return to Oz (1985)

During the 1980's, when Disney struggled to make good films, they tackled Return to Oz, a sequel to the books of L. Frank Baum's Oz books, but not the MGM Wizard of Oz movie. Here, Dorothy (Fairuza Balk) escapes a mental institution with her pet chicken Billina and lands again in Oz only to find that the yellow brick road is in disrepair and that many of her friends (Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow) have all been turned into stone. Despite the fact that this film is meant for families, it is pretty creepy with an evil princess Mombi (Jean Marsh) who has a collection of heads that she can change out with her own at will and the Wheelies, a gang of bad guys who have wheels instead of hands and feet. The film did poorly when it was first released and fans of the Judy Garland film can see why. Still, this film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and has picked up a cult following over the years.

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)

This low budget holiday film, intended for the whole family, needs to be seen to be believed. It is considered one of the worst films ever made. Its biggest star was Pia Zadora of all things, playing the role of a Martian girl. The movie begins on Mars where Mom Martian (Momar) and King Martian (Kimar) are worried that their children, Girl Martian (Gimar) and Boy Martian (Bomar) have been watching too much earth television especially. Most troubling is the news about Santa Claus delivering gifts to all of the good boys and girls on earth, but not Mars. Something must be done! The Martians kidnap Santa and take him and two earth children up to space. How will Christmas be saved?

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953)

This film is similar in tone to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and usually provides the same response. Kids either love it or hate it, but regardless, feel strangely drawn to it. It was written by Dr. Seuss (the only screenplay he ever wrote) and co-directed by Roy Rowland and Stanley Kramer. Young Bart Collins (Tommy Rettig), dreads his piano lessons with Dr. Terwilliker (Hans Conried) who has proposed to Bart’s mom. He falls asleep and finds himself stuck in a world where Dr. Terwilliker (Dr. T) is a mad man that has built a “mega piano” that takes 500 boys (5000 fingers) to play it. Bart’s mother is in the dream too working as Mr. T’s assistant. When the boys arrive, they are treated like royalty, not realizing that they have been turned into slaves. With the help of a plumber, Bart is able to create a noise-sucking contraption to sabotage the impending concert featuring the Mega piano.

The Gods Must be Crazy (1980)

A South African comedy where Xi and his tribe literally live in the middle of nowhere and have no knowledge about the world outside of their village. One day, a Cola-Cola bottle gets thrown out of an airplane and lands safely at their feet. Xi thinks that it is gift from the gods above. It becomes very popular amongst the tribal members but since there is only one bottle to go around, members soon become envious and desire to keep the bottle for their own. Xi soon decides that the bottle is actually a curse and begins a journey to get rid of the “evil” thing and gets to experience life outside his village for the first time. The plot sounds more fun than it really is, and yet, it is still a favorite film of many.

Waiting for Guffman (1997)

This quirky comedy was one of the first “mockumentary” style of movies that starred, written and directed by Christopher Guest. Almost all of the story’s dialogue was improvised by a great team of actors including Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Fred Willard, and Parker Posey. They all live in the small town of Blaine, Missouri and are members of a community theater troupe. As they work on a production about the history of the town, they get word that “Guffman,” a famous Broadway producer, has made plans to come see the show. The movie is filled with original music, lots of bad acting and prima donna attitudes. If you liked the TV show The Office, then you will probably enjoy this. There are a few distasteful jokes shared in the movie, but if you can overlook them, you’re in for a good time.