knightni

44 pitches through 2 innings.

OUCH

WHOOOP WHOOOOP! TED WILLIAMS STORY ALERT!!!!11!11

In case anyone is wondering, I'm not where my lists are.

I wonder how they justify the aftershocks...

Well, Thomas got paid to not play. Simple as that.

Not every guy gets a signing bonus.

QUOTE (CryptviLL @ Apr 23, 2008 -> 08:59 AM) s*** if i was blind i wouldnt be walking into no streets......... So, you'd sit at home and never go anywhere?

The NFL "cuts the cord" on guys due for bonuses all the time and the players don't get guaranteed contract money like they do in MLB. That's not considered unethical. That's standard NFL practices. What's the difference here?

Well, I'll have to post a few more later tonight.

[Jane climbs a ladder] Frank: Nice beaver! Jane: [producing a stuffed beaver] Thank you. I just had it stuffed. 16. (tie) The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!(1988) (6 of 23 lists - 75 points - highest ranking #2 mr_genius) The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! is a 1988 comedy film, the first in a series of movies starring Leslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy, and O. J. Simpson. The three films (the other two being The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear, and Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult) chronicle the adventures of Nielsen's character, the bumbling police detective Lieutenant Frank Drebin. The film's title parodies The Nude Bomb, another film spun-off from a satirical TV series (Get Smart), but could also be interpreted as a general "sex and violence" cliché that is usually expected from a Hollywood film of the era. The film is marketed with the tagline "You've read the ad, now see the movie!" The movie series is based on the character created by Nielsen in the television series Police Squad!. The core creative team behind Police Squad! and the movie series includes the team of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker as well as Pat Proft in varying combinations. The films all feature extremely fast-paced, off-the-wall, slapstick style comedy, including a lot of visual and verbal puns and gags. The plot of the series is a basic parody of detective film clichés, featuring stereotypical characters, settings, and situations. Many other film genres and styles are mocked as well, and the movies are full of references to current events and contemporary pop culture. The movie starts in a meeting in Beirut with a collection of anti-American leaders: Ayatollah Khomeini, Mikhail Gorbachev (who claims he has the Americans believing he is "a nice guy"), Yasser Arafat, Muammar al-Gaddafi and Idi Amin, who are planning a terrorist act. The man who is later shown to be Pahpshmir is seen at this meeting. It turns out that Frank Drebin has been posing undercover as a waiter; he beats up all the attendees, wipes off Gorbachev's forehead birthmark ("I knew it!!!", proclaims Drebin), and escapes/falls out the window. Back in Los Angeles, Officer Nordberg is investigating a heroin drug operation at the docks when he is seen by villain-in-disguise Vincent Ludwig, and is shot numerous times by Ludwig's goons, then accidently runs into a hot stove, a wedding cake, and then a bear trap, before falling into the harbor. (It is a running gag that Nordberg keeps getting badly injured, but somehow manages to survive). After being briefed on the case by his colleague Ed, Frank visits Nordberg in hospital, where there is later another attempt on the injured man's life. Frank chases the assassin (a doctor) in a commandeered car operated by a panicked student driver and Houseman's unflappable instructor, until the luckless assassin crashes an army rocket into a fireworks factory. Over the ensuing carnage, Drebin proclaims "There's nothing to see here!" to the assembled onlookers. Pahpshmir is seen meeting with Vincent Ludwig in his office, where Ludwig says that he will assassinate Queen Elizabeth II (who is on a state visit to the USA) for $20 million. Ludwig demonstrates that he has a way of turning anyone into an unknowing assassin at the press of Ludwig's beeper; it appears that the victims are responding to a post-hypnotic suggestion, but the film makes no effort to clarify the point further (in fact, showing another instance minutes later where a doctor, hypnotized by the beeper, tries to smother Nordberg with a pillow). As he works on the case, Drebin meets and falls in love with Ludwig's assistant Jane Spencer. It is eventually revealed that Jane knows nothing about Ludwig's plot, and after the pair spend the night together, she helps Frank with his investigation. Following Drebin-inspired disasters at a reception for the Queen and Ludwig's penthouse, the climax of the film centers on the Queen's visit to a California Angels baseball game. Frank must find out how Ludwig plans to assassinate her, while also hiding from his fellow policemen, who are now under orders to arrest him. Frank knocks out "renowned opera singer" Enrico Pallazzo, takes his clothes and proceeds to brutally mangle the national anthem, along with Pallazzo's reputation. Frank then pretends to be an umpire to search the players for the assassin. He knows the assassination will take place during the seventh-inning stretch, and when he tries to delay the end of the top of the seventh inning by intentionally making bad calls, he inadvertently triggers an all-out brawl between the Angels and their opponent the Seattle Mariners. He eventually saves the Queen's life by accidentally shooting a fat woman with a sleep-inducing dart fired from his cufflinks; the woman falls on top of the hypnotized player (Reggie Jackson), who was about to shoot the Queen. The crowd cheers "Enrico Pallazzo's" heroics. Ludwig escapes to the top of the stadium, and holds Jane hostage at gun-point, where Frank shoots him with his other cufflink dart. Ludwig falls several stories off the stadium balcony, smashing to earth in the parking lot and getting run over by both a bus and a steamroller. A marching band performing "Louie, Louie" then tromps over his flattened body, pressing the beeper which makes Jane try to kill Frank with Ludwig's gun. Frank talks her out of it, and gives her an engagement ring. His speech is broadcast on the stadium screen, causing the teams to stop fighting and make up. The mayor thanks Frank, saying the whole world owes him a debt of gratitude, and he is also congratulated by Nordberg. The latter, while still wheelchair-bound, seems much better until Frank pats him on the back, sending him zooming down the aisle and up over the edge of the stadium as the movie ends. . . . Major League Baseball players Reggie Jackson and Jay Johnstone have cameo roles as themselves, as do umpires Joe West and Hank Robinson. Professional announcers Curt Gowdy, Jim Palmer, Tim McCarver, Mel Allen, Dick Enberg and Dick Vitale appear as play-by-play commentators, as does Dr. Joyce Brothers. The queen's reception was filmed at the Ambassador Hotel, which closed almost exactly a month after this film opened, so this may have been the last film to feature scenes at the Hotel while it was still in business. The Ambassador is noteworthy for having been the location where Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated. In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted the first Naked Gun the 39th greatest comedy film of all time. It was also voted the 14th best comedy of all time in a Channel 4 poll. The plot is mostly based on the 1977 Charles Bronson movie Telefon, including a word-for-word copy of the scene in which the assassination method is revealed.

You banging the daughter and the grandma? How much jam you got, man? 16. (tie) Wedding Crashers (2005) (5 of 23 lists - 75 points - highest ranking #2 TheBlackSox8) Wedding Crashers is a 2005 comedy film, directed by David Dobkin. The film stars Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, with Christopher Walken, Rachel McAdams, Isla Fisher, Jane Seymour, and Bradley Cooper. John Beckwith (Wilson) and Jeremy Grey (Vaughn), single bachelors, are long-time friends and business partners in divorce mediation in Washington D.C. The friends frequently "crash" (attend as uninvited guests) wedding parties to meet women, working from a set of rules taught to them by Chazz Reinhold (Will Ferrell). The duo always have cover stories for inquisitive guests and inevitably become the hit of every reception, to charm their way into the hearts of a bridesmaid for one night only. After a successful season, Jeremy spots the wedding of the daughter of the Secretary of the Treasury William Cleary (Walken) and his wife, Kathleen (Seymour). After infiltrating the lavish event as brothers, John and Jeremy set their sights on two bridesmaids, also daughters of Secretary Cleary: Claire (McAdams) and Gloria Cleary (Fisher). While Jeremy manages to make it on the beach with claimed virgin and “psycho clinger” Gloria, John works on Claire, who in turn uses his lines to enliven her reception toast. While talking afterwards, John is blocked by Claire's U.S. Naval Academy graduate boyfriend Zack (Cooper). John convinces a resistant Jeremy to break the rules and accept an invitation to an extended weekend party at the Cleary family compound. Jeremy and John are convinced into playing touch football where Jeremy is seriously hurt by Claire's boyfriend. Gloria puts Band-Aids on Jeremy, expecting to have sex with him. However, she is turned down and is given a philosophical love speech. Jeremy is shown to not really like Gloria all that much. At dinner later that day, John proceeds to spike Zach's water which makes him sick, letting John have some alone time with Claire. That night, Gloria ties up Jeremy while he sleeps and then proceeds to have domination sex. The next morning, Jeremy asks John to leave the island with him but John convinces him otherwise. The family takes a boat ride in the afternoon which ends in a hunting trip in which Zach shoots Jeremy in the back, albeit not fatally. John and Claire leave on a bike ride in which they seem to connect deeply. In the meantime, Gloria reveals to relieved Jeremy that she was not a virgin; rather, she merely told him so, as she “thought that's what guys liked to hear.” John and Claire return from their bike ride, after which Zach proposes to Claire, but Claire does not outright accept. John talks to Claire afterwards, as she is apparently discomforted by the proposal. John tries to comfort her but ends up telling her his true feelings for her. They are interrupted by Jeremy running out of the house being chased by the grandmother with a gun. Zach comes out and tells the family what the "brothers" really are, as he had them privately investigated. John and Jeremy are forced to leave the island. John and Jeremy return to their normal lives, however, John is distraught, as he was never given the chance to reconcile with Claire, even though he attempted to contact her multiple times. During one such attempt, he and Jeremy pretend to be waiters at an event the Cleary family is attending. However, John is caught and beaten by Zach. He returns home to find Jeremy locked in a passionate moment with Gloria. This results in an estrangement between the two, as they no longer see eye-to-eye. John crashes several more weddings by himself, but behaves irrationally due to his longing for Claire and fails to score with anyone. Meanwhile, Jeremy continues his relationship with Gloria, culminating in an accepted marriage proposal. Jeremy attempts to reconcile with John, asking him to be his best man, but John cannot bear to think about the marriage and asks Jeremy to leave. John meets Chazz to reaffirm Jeremy's apparent stupidity in getting engaged. During the visit, he discovers that Chazz has moved onto “funeral crashing”, as he believes that grief is the best aphrodesiac. John joins Chazz on an outing, but is taken aback by the amount of love shown by the widow of the deceased. He reconsiders his stance on love and marriage and rushes to Jeremy's wedding. He joins them mid-ceremony as the best man, but disrupts it by attempting to speak to Claire on stage. After intense arguments and a mild scuffle, Claire finally reveals that she, too, has feelings for John, and rejects Zach. The film ends with Jeremy getting married to Gloria, John uniting with Claire, and the two couples driving away to their honeymoon. Along the way, they see a wedding and decide to stop. . . . Bradley Cooper was mentioned in the August 2006 issue of GQ as one of "The Top Twelve Movie Dicks". His character from Wedding Crashers placed Number Two behind William Zabka's character from The Karate Kid. Will Ferrell's line of: "I almost nunchucked you right there, you don't even realize," is taken almost verbatim from Vince Vaughn's line in the film Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Vaughn's line is "I almost killed you right there, you don't even realize." Mr. & Mrs. Smith was released approximately one month prior to Wedding Crashers. On April 24, 2006 Wedding Crashers topped the nominations for the year's MTV Movie Awards with five including Best Movie. It won Best Movie, On-Screen Team (Vaughn and Wilson), and Breakthrough Performance (Isla Fisher).

Hey, why don't I just go and eat some hay. I can lay by the bay, make things out of clay, I just may, what'd ya say? 17. Happy Gilmore (1996) (6 of 23 lists - 68 points - highest ranking #4 Milkman delivers) Happy Gilmore is a 1996 American sports comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and starring Adam Sandler. Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler) is an aspiring ice hockey player who masters a powerful slapshot that his late father taught him as a child. However, his aggression and poor skating ability render it impossible for him to make any hockey team. His grandmother (Frances Bay), with whom he's lived almost all his life due to an unfortunate hockey related incident which killed his father, has not paid taxes on her home for several years. As such, she owes $270,000 to the IRS and the house that Happy's grandfather "built with his bare hands" is about to be seized. A pair of movers challenge Happy to shoot golfballs and he hits 400 yards three times. After making $40, Happy goes to the local country club to make money. When a one-handed ex-golf pro Chubbs Peterson (Carl Weathers) sees Happy's shot, he convinces Happy to join the PGA Tour. Aspiring Tour winner Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald) sees Gilmore as a threat, and tries to thwart any attempt of his to steal his thunder. Although his golf game and his manners on the green aren't rounded (his driving is excellent but he has trouble when it comes to putting), Happy is guided by Chubbs and the tour PR head (Julie Bowen), who help him in finding his own way to win tournaments with a cooler head. Although his time on the course is jeopardized when he was goaded into attacking Bob Barker, Happy manages to make some extra money by signing an endorsement deal with Subway, thus earning the $275,000 he needs to buy back his grandmother's house. Unfortunately, at the auction, he is outbid by Shooter McGavin, who offers Happy the house under the terms that he in exchange quits the tour. Happy initially accepts this offer, citing that his only goal was to save the house, but is persuaded to continue with his new golf career by the notion that his grandmother would rather see him succeed than have the house. Shooter agrees to give Happy the house if he beats him in the tour championship. With some help from Chubbs and some lessons at the nearby miniature golf course, Happy improves his putting skills, but Chubbs subsequently dies in an accident. Determined to win the game for Chubbs, Happy goes head-to-head with Shooter, and- despite Shooter's attempts at sabotage, such as having a deranged fan drive onto the course and topple a TV tower in front of the last hole- wins the championship, thereby getting his grandmother's house back. . . . The RT community gave the film 83%, considering it fresh. It was also placed at #97 on Bravo's 100 Funniest movies. Many Adam Sandler fans see this as the best movie Sandler has ever starred in along with Billy Madison, giving the film a strong cult following. During a 2007 CBS prime-time special honoring Bob Barker's 50th anniversary in television, the clip of the fight from the movie was played. Afterward, Sandler made a surprise appearance to thank Barker and read a poem in his honor. NHL stars Vincent Lecavalier and Joe Sakic make cameo appearances as players at the hockey tryouts.

Thus begins the plummet that is Matt Ryan.

With the 1st pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins select: OT Jake Long out of the University of Michigan

I'm not getting bitter. I almost lost a nipple, okay. 18. The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) (5 of 23 lists - 64 points - highest ranking #1 Controlled Chaos) The 40-Year-Old Virgin is a 2005 comedy film, written by Judd Apatow and co-written by Steve Carell, though it featured a great deal of improvised dialogue.[1] It also stars Catherine Keener, Romany Malco, Seth Rogen (who was also the co-producer) and Paul Rudd, as well as featuring Leslie Mann (Apatow's wife) and Nancy Walls (Carell's wife) in small roles. Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell) is the eponymous 40-year-old virgin. While being a very well-meaning, highly neurotic and something of a stereotypical nerd, he lives alone, collects action figures, enjoys video games, framed a poster of eighties rock band Asia, and his social life seems to consist of watching Survivor with his elderly neighbors. Andy works in the stockroom at an electronics store called SmartTech. His co-workers include the affable David (Paul Rudd), who is tormented by memories of his old girlfriend Amy (Mindy Kaling); the burly Cal (Seth Rogen), a crude, self-proclaimed novelist and stoner; and Jay (Romany Malco), a self-styled ladies' man with the mannerisms of a stereotypical gangsta. When a friend drops out of a poker game, they reluctantly invite the withdrawn Andy to join them. Andy turns out to be surprisingly good at poker due to his playing the game online, but when the conversations turns to past sexual exploits, they quickly realize Andy is still a virgin, and resolve to help him lose his virginity. Andy is at first reluctant to go along with them, but after a heartfelt talk with David, he agrees to give it a try. The gang’s efforts prove to be unsuccessful: they take Andy to a bar, where Jay advises him to hit on drunk women, but this backfires when the girl Andy leaves with drives the two of them home drunk, wrecks the car, and vomits on him; Jay recommends that Andy get his chest waxed, but Andy finds it so painful that he leaves halfway through; David gives Andy his "big box of porn" to help him "loosen up" sexually, but to no avail; they all go to a speed dating lunch, with no success, and at which David encounters ex-girlfriend Amy, sending him into a downward spiral of depression. Later, Cal advises Andy to be mysterious when talking to women, which results in Beth (Elizabeth Banks), a bookstore clerk, taking a liking to Andy. Andy starts to open up and true friendships begin to form with his co-workers, Andy impresses his boss (Jane Lynch) with his salesmanship and she promotes him to floor salesman. Eventually, after Jay hires Andy a prostitute who turns out to be a transvestite, Andy tells them that he is taking matters into his own hands, and he lands a date with Trish Piedmont (Catherine Keener), a mother of three who works in a store across the street from SmartTech. It is later revealed that one of Trish's kids has a kid too, making Trish a "hot grandma" according to Cal. Andy and Trish's first date goes well, and they almost end up having sex, but Andy can't figure out how to use a condom, and they are interrupted by Trish’s teenage daughter Marla (Kat Dennings) outraged at the fact that her mother is allowed to have sex, yet she isn't. On their next date, Andy decides to tell Trish he is a virgin, but just before he does so, she suggests that they postpone having sex, to which Andy enthusiastically agrees; they decide they won’t have sex until their twentieth date. Meanwhile, David's brush with Amy prompts him to become unstable and eventually resort to celibacy, citing Andy as an inspiration, while Jay’s girlfriend breaks up with him when she finds out he’s been cheating on her, leading him to an argument with an obnoxious customer. Andy comforts Jay who reveals his breakup with Jill and advises Andy that sex can ruin a relationship. Andy's friends' problems sort themselves out, however, so they learn nothing. Jay's girlfriend realizes she is pregnant and takes him back; and Cal hires an attractive young woman named Bernadette to work in the stockroom in order to lure David out of celibacy. Andy and Trish’s relationship is a strong one, with Trish even convincing Andy to sell his precious collectible action figures in order to raise enough money to open his own store. While at work, Andy is promoted to floor manager because of his surprising talents as a salesman. Things are going well until Andy and Trish finally reach the twentieth date, at which point Andy panics and they have a big argument which ends with him storming out. He turns up at a nightclub where Jay is celebrating his girlfriend’s pregnancy, and proceeds to get very drunk. Andy runs into Beth at the bar, and they leave for her apartment. Meanwhile, David finally relinquishes his celibacy and hooks up with Bernadette, and Trish’s daughter Marla (who found out that Andy is a virgin) convinces her to go and make up with Andy. At Beth’s apartment, Andy sobers up and starts to have second thoughts. Then, his three friends arrive at the apartment to talk him out of it, so he leaves with them to make up with Trish (although Cal stays behind to hook up with Beth). When Andy gets home, he finds Trish waiting for him; she has found his big box of porn, and now considers Andy to be some sort of sexual deviant, and leaves in disgust. Andy chases her car on his bike (to the music of “Heat of the Moment” by Asia), and gets involved in an accident which results in him being thrown through a two sided billboard truck and landing on the road in front of traffic. She rushes to his side in concern, and he finally confesses to her that he is a virgin. She realizes this is why he has been acting so strangely, and they tell each other that they love each other. They end up getting married with everyone in attendance, with a sidelong mention of Andy's action figures having sold for a total of half a million dollars, and finally consummate their relationship on their wedding night. Andy finally loses his virginity with Trish in their hotel room. The film ends with an over-the-top Hair-style musical scene in which the cast of the film sing and dance to the song “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In”. . . . The film received largely positive reviews: Rotten Tomatoes declared it the "Best Reviewed Comedy of 2005",[3] with 84% of 160 critics giving it a "fresh" review. In December 2005, the film was chosen by the American Film Institute as one of the ten best movies of the year, the only comedy film to be so recognized (though the comedy-drama The Squid and the Whale was also chosen). The film was also ranked #30 on Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies. The studio was worried that Andy looked like Jeffrey Dahmer, a comment that led to multiple improvised references to Andy's similarity to a serial killer. Steve Carell was filmed actually having his chest waxed. He was also presented with the option of trimming the hair before filming to lessen the pain, but declined in favor of authenticity. He further stated in an interview on Australia's Rove Live that the scene was unnecessarily painful because the waxers forgot to oil his nipples.

Who's gonna carjack your f***in' K-Car? 19. Swingers (1996) (5 of 23 lists - 60 points - highest ranking #5 TheBlackSox8) Swingers is a film released in 1996 about the lives of single, unemployed actors living on the 'eastside' of Hollywood, California during the 1990s swing revival. Written by Jon Favreau and directed by Doug Liman, the movie starred Favreau and Vince Vaughn, and also featured performances by Ron Livingston and Heather Graham. Mike has recently broken up with his long-time girlfriend of six years and is still having trouble letting go and moving on. His friend Trent takes him on an overnight trip to Las Vegas in an attempt to get him back in the game. Trent picks up two cocktail waitresses, but Mike's obsession with his ex-girlfriend spoils the one-night stand. Back in Los Angeles, Mike attends various Hollywood and Los Feliz hot spots while his swinger friends coach him on the rules of seduction. Mike makes several awkward attempts at speaking to women, but they all end disastrously. Along the way, the group discusses movies, video games, and their floundering careers in show business. Finally Mike gets the hang of talking to women and connects with a beautiful girl named Lorraine. The next day, he gets a call from the ex-girlfriend he's been obsessing over but rejects her offer to get back together when Lorraine rings in on the other line. While discussing Mike's new situation at a diner, Trent interrupts to make a disastrous attempt at flirting with a woman nearby. As Trent tries to recover from the embarrassment, Mike smiles as the tables turn. . . . The characters in the film idolize the swinging lifestyle of Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack; in fact the number and makeup of the group of friends are an homage to the original group. This film was rated #57 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies." The film was honored on the 2007 Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards. Hollywood and show business is a significant theme in the film, and it makes many references to other movies. Trent's license plate reads "THX1138", a reference to the license plate of a hot rod in George Lucas's American Graffiti, which was itself a reference to Lucas's previous movie, THX 1138. The theme music to Jaws is used when Trent has an unpleasant conversation with a woman. The film also emulates a number of famous sequences from popular movies. The diner scene and slow-motion credit sequence from Reservoir Dogs are emulated as the swingers discuss movies and then walk out to their cars to go bar-hopping. The long following shot through the side entrance of a club from Goodfellas is also emulated by the swingers as they enter a club through the kitchen entrance. Both movies and directors Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino are discussed by the group.

These go to eleven. 21. (tie) This Is Spinal Tap (1984) (5 of 23 lists - 58 points - highest ranking #4 mr_genius, RibbieRhubarb) This Is Spın̈al Tap (officially spelled with a non-functional umlaut over the letter 'n' and dotless 'i') is a 1984 mockumentary directed by Rob Reiner and starring members of the semi-fictional heavy-metal/hard rock band Spinal Tap. The film is a mock rockumentary that satirizes the wild personal behavior and musical pretensions of hard-rock and heavy-metal bands. The three core members of Spinal Tap, David St. Hubbins, Derek Smalls and Nigel Tufnel, are portrayed by the American actors Michael McKean and Harry Shearer and British American Christopher Guest respectively. The three actors actually play their musical instruments and speak credible British English throughout the film. Reiner appears as Marty DiBergi, the maker of the documentary. This Is Spinal Tap chronicles the group's waning popularity during a tour of the United States to promote their latest album Smell the Glove in the fall of 1982. The sexist, misogynist, and overly-masculinized elements the general public associates with heavy metal music are parodied throughout. Marty DiBergi (Reiner), a director of television commercials, films the tour and interviews the musicians. David St. Hubbins and Nigel Tufnel were childhood friends who ran through many band names at the beginning of their career — the initial name of the band was "The Originals", which they had to change to "The New Originals" because there was already another band going by the name — before settling on "The Thamesmen". Under this name, the group found its first fame with the early skiffle/R&B hit, "Gimme Some Money". Invariably, Spinal Tap tried to capitalize on whatever music trend was popular, but always as it was waning. Renaming themselves Spinal Tap, they had another hit with the flower power anthem, "Listen to the Flower People", before turning to heavy metal. Various real bands underwent similar musical development. Status Quo started out as a psychedelic band before turning to the more traditional rock and roll sound that made them famous; Black Sabbath were originally a blues-based psychedelic band before turning to their current heavy metal stylings; while Sweet went from bubblegum pop to hard rock, while Queen did the opposite; started out as a hard rock or metal band before softening their sound. However, their trajectory appears to most closely track that of The Beatles until 1970; that is, they were originally a skiffle band founded by friends that went on to a more psychedelic sound. A theme running through the story is that St. Hubbins and Tufnel possess genuine talent as composers, but have compromised their talents through laziness, stupidity, or through pursuit of commercial success. This idea is demonstrated when Nigel plays a complex new composition for Marty, discusses its minor key and relation to classical music (D minor is the saddest of keys), then reveals that the title is "Lick My Love Pump." The film notes early on that Spinal Tap — "One of England's Loudest Bands" — have had a succession of drummers, all of whom have died under odd circumstances, one in a "bizarre gardening accident". (Since the film's release, Toto's drummer Jeff Porcaro actually died in a gardening-related accident.) Another of Spinal Tap's drummers "choked on vomit", specifically someone else's vomit (several musicians have died after choking on their own vomit, notably guitarist Jimi Hendrix, drummer John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, and Bon Scott, the original singer of AC/DC); and one drummer seems to have fallen prey to spontaneous human combustion. St. Hubbins reports that "Dozens of people spontaneously combust each year. It's just not really widely reported." This run on drummers was a nod towards several bands; both John Bonham and Keith Moon had died years before, while Judas Priest were, for a variety of reasons, on their seventh drummer at the time of the film's release. However, the main inspiration for the running joke is the supposed curse on keyboard players for the Grateful Dead. Spinal Tap's concert appearances are repeatedly canceled due to low ticket sales. Tensions continue to rise when several major retailers refuse to sell Smell the Glove because of its sexist cover art (which was boycotted in stores) and there is growing resentment shown towards the group's manager Ian Faith (played by humor writer Tony Hendra). Nigel becomes even more perturbed when St. Hubbins' girlfriend Jeanine — a manipulative yoga and astrology devotee — joins the group on tour and proceeds to participate in band meetings and attempts to influence their costumes and stage presentation. "Polymer Records" (not Polydor Records) decides to release Smell the Glove with an entirely black cover, though without consulting the band (four years after The Damned's The Black Album some versions of which were genuinely all-black, but embossed; two years after AC/DC's Back in Black, also all black with embossed writing; and seven years before Metallica's eponymous 1991 album, which featured a nearly-all black cover). This prompts more distress from the band, declaring the album cover depressing and reminiscent of death, but they are somewhat mollified after Faith reminds them that so much great art is about death. While studying the Smell The Glove cover, Tufnel says that it seems to ask how much more black it could be (the answer, "none more black", later became the name of an American rock band), and St. Hubbins delivers the memorable observation, "There's a fine line between stupid and clever." In an interlude, Nigel Tufnel is shown during one of his trademarked on-stage guitar solos, playing the guitar first with his feet (parodying Jimi Hendrix's habit of playing his guitar with his teeth) and then with a violin, parodying Jimmy Page's violin bow solo spot on "Dazed and Confused". As resentment towards Ian Faith grows, Jeanine increasingly becomes involved in the group's problems. During a tense meeting where Jeanine's idea for new stage costumes based on astrological signs is rejected, Nigel suggests the band reinstate the Stonehenge set and scribbles out a diagram of Stonehenge on a napkin. Ian agrees he will follow the band's direction to the letter; unfortunately he does not check the diagram properly and presented with an 18-inch (46 cm) model, made exactly as indicated on the original plan by Tufnel (a restaurant napkin with 18" instead of 18' written on it). The band is surprised when the tiny Stonehenge appears in the show, as it is smaller than the two dwarves who arrive on stage to dance around it, and it seems ridiculous to the concert audience who laugh at the band. St. Hubbins laments during the gig debrief, "I think that the problem may have been... that there was a Stonehenge monument on the stage that was in danger of being crushed... by a dwarf", which causes St. Hubbins to suggest that the band remedy the situation by choreographing the dwarves' dance in such a way that the mini-monuments were not in danger of being "trod upon." Black Sabbath's tour for 1983's Born Again album featured massive Stonehenge sets that barely fit on the stages the band played.[2] (Sabbath's management had ordered the set measurements in feet, but the manufacturers accidentally built the set using metres; Sabbath's models would thus have been roughly three times too large, whereas Tap's were one twelfth the desired size). [3] The film may have inspired the real-life band, as the Stonehenge sequence appeared in a 1982 20-minute demo of the film. Led Zeppelin had also had a Stonehenge stage theme in the final US concerts held in Oakland, California in July 1977, so the sequence in the film could have possibly been a reference to that as well. After the Stonehenge debacle, manager Ian Faith quits in disgust when St. Hubbins suggests that his girlfriend Jeanine can co-manage the group. Jeanine takes over management duties and begins plotting astrology charts for the group members and for the group itself, and begins basing their concert appearances on the alignment of stars. Her character is drawn chiefly on the public image of Yoko Ono, Linda McCartney and Nancy Spungen as inexperienced interlopers in their lovers' music careers. The group performs at a US Air Force base, managed by Fred Willard, who calls the group "Spinal Tarp", and requests a Barry Manilow song suitable for slow-dancing. The audience disapproved, not expecting a hard rock group, and Tufnel's wireless guitar-amplification system picks up interference from an air traffic control broadcast. After the various problems of the tour, resentment towards Jeanine, and the general unsuitability of the Air Force gig, this latest problem prompts Nigel to storm off stage. We soon learn that he has left the group; DiBergi asks St. Hubbins how he feels about his longtime collaborator's departure and St. Hubbins replies, "Well, I'm sure I'd feel much worse if I weren't under such heavy sedation." The remaining band members continue the tour. After arriving to play at an amusement park (filmed at Six Flags Magic Mountain) where they are given second billing after a puppet show ("Puppet Show and Spinal Tap") they plan the show omitting all the Tufnel-composed tracks. This leaves them with about 10 minutes of material. Against St. Hubbins' initial reluctance, faced with a dearth of material to perform the group is forced to launch "The new birth of Spinal Tap, Mark 2", with Smalls' fusion-esque, "Jazz Odyssey", which is roundly rejected by their already diminishing fan base. After that, it becomes apparent to the remaining members that Spinal Tap cannot continue as it has been, and consider winding-up the band. St. Hubbins and Smalls reconsider "Saucy Jack", their long-abandoned idea for a musical based on Jack the Ripper (perhaps a jab at any number of overwrought rock and roll concept albums, probably those of the Kinks in the late 70s). Backstage at their last show, before the band takes the stage, Tufnel returns to tell the group that "Sex Farm", one of their songs from the album Shark Sandwich, treated with a frosty reception in the States (with one review only reading "s*** Sandwich") has become a big hit in Japan and that their former manager would like to arrange a tour. His entreaties are initially rebuffed, but later, as Tufnel watches from the wings and mouths the words to "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight", St. Hubbins relents and invites his friend back onstage. The film ends with Spinal Tap performing in Japan with new drummer, Joe "Mama" Besser (a reference to one of the latter members of The Three Stooges as well as a pun on the comic insult standby "yo mama"), after Mick Shrimpton's sudden death from spontaneous human combustion. As the band plays on stage, reinstated manager Ian Faith stands proudly offstage, aggressively brandishing the cricket bat he carries to assert his dominance, while David's girlfriend sits by passively. The revival in Japan is a nod to KISS, who toured extensively in Japan after popularity began to wane in the US in the early 80s. Deep Purple also held a similar embrace of Japanese fans, although they didn't suffer poor popularity like the band. . . . Other actors in the film are Tony Hendra as the group manager Ian Faith and June Chadwick as St. Hubbin's interfering girlfriend Jeanine. Actors Paul Shaffer, Fred Willard, Fran Drescher, Bruno Kirby, Howard Hesseman, Ed Begley Jr., Patrick Macnee, Anjelica Huston, Dana Carvey and Billy Crystal all play supporting roles or make cameo appearances in the film. Scream queen starlet Brinke Stevens appears in an uncredited cameo as a groupie or girlfriend of a band member. In 2002, This Is Spinal Tap was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The movie cut a little too close to home for some musicians. Robert Plant, Dee Snider and Ozzy Osbourne all reported that, like Spinal Tap, they had become lost in confusing arena backstage hallways trying to make their way to the stage.[4] [5] Singer Tom Waits claimed he cried upon viewing it and Eddie Van Halen has said that when he first saw the film, everyone else in the room with him laughed as he failed to see the humor in the film. "Everything in that movie had happened to me," Van Halen said. When Dokken's George Lynch saw the movie he is said to have exclaimed, "That's us! How'd they make a movie about us?"

You guys will kick yourselves when I tell you my #2 on my list that missed the top 50. I think I'll do a few more tonight...

That's all I have time for today. More tomorrow. (or maybe late tonight)

Those aren't pillows! 21. (tie) Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987) (5 of 23 lists - 58 points - highest ranking #1 daa84) Planes, Trains & Automobiles is an American comedy movie produced by Paramount Pictures in 1987. It was written and directed by John Hughes and stars Steve Martin and John Candy. Laila Robins co-stars and the film features cameos by Michael McKean, Kevin Bacon, Lyman Ward and William Windom. The movie also features Ben Stein, Larry Hankin, Edie McClurg, Dylan Baker, Bill Erwin and Matthew Lawrence. Steve Martin plays the tightly wound Neal Page, a bundle-of-nerves advertising executive. John Candy portrays the innocent, but always skewered, Del Griffith (Director of sales, American Light and Fixture, shower curtain ring division), a shower curtain ring salesman who seems to live in a world governed by a different set of rules from those governing Neal Page's marketing life. The movie follows the story of Neal Page as he tries to return to his family for Thanksgiving in Chicago after being on a business trip in New York. The journey is doomed from the outset, with Del Griffith interfering by snatching the taxi cab that Page had hailed for himself. The two inevitably pair up later and begin an absurdly error-prone adventure to help Page to get back to his home. Their flight from JFK Airport to O'Hare is diverted to Wichita due to a blizzard in Chicago, which ends up dissipating only a few hours after touchdown in Kansas. When every mode of transport fails them, what should have been a 1 hour and 45 minute New York-to-Chicago flight turns into a three-day wild goose chase, punctuated by Neal's occasional declarations to no one in particular that, "You're messing with the wrong guy!". As is expected in circumstances like these, Neal frequently blows up at Del, blaming him for much of their misfortunes, though mere fate is more at fault. Del in turn regards Neal as pretentious and uptight, while Del is less afraid to be himself. After much heated arguments between the two men, a bond between them forms, and Neal finally manages to overcome his self-centeredness and both men pull together to finally make their way home. Under the assumption that Del has a wife and family of his own (he frequently mentions his wife Marie and puts a framed picture of her on his various motel nightstands), Neal is taken aback when he later sees Del alone in an empty L train station, after they finally make it back to Chicago. Del tells Neal that he is in fact homeless, and that his beloved Marie actually passed away eight years ago. The bond between the two men strengthens further when Neal invites him into his home for the holidays. . . . In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted it the 10th greatest comedy film of all time. The film is rated R by the MPAA for a scene including a substantial amount of strong language. In that scene, Steve Martin goes on a tirade against a car rental agent (Edie McClurg) and says the "F-word" 19 times in just over a minute. When stuck in Wichita, Ben Stein, the agent at the ticket counter, announces a flight cancellation. In the background on the reader board the destination is listed as "NOWHERE".

Franks and Beans! Franks and Beans! 22. There's Something About Mary (1998) (5 of 23 lists - 57 points - highest ranking #1 ChiSox_Sonix) There's Something About Mary is an American film released in 1998, directed by the Farrelly brothers Bobby and Peter. Starring Ben Stiller, Cameron Diaz and Matt Dillon, it is a combination of romantic comedy and gross-out film. An awkward and shy high-schooler, Ted lands a prom date with his dream girl Mary, just to have it cut short by a painfully humiliating zipper accident. Thirteen years later he's still in love — maybe even obsessed — with her. On the advice of his best friend Don, he hires sleazy private detective Pat Healy to track her down. Healy finds that she is an orthopedic surgeon living in Miami but falls in love with the irresistible Mary as well. Healy resorts to lying, cheating,stalking and druging the dog to win Mary but is exposed by Mary's architect friend Tucker. Tucker, however, turns out to be a fraud himself, who is also in love with Mary and drives potential rivals- including a man named Brett who she almost married- away by slander. Ted (aided by Don) drives down to Florida and seems to have won Mary's love when an anonymous letter exposes his being less than honest about his link to Healy. While Ted confronts Healy and Tucker, Mary is confronted by Don, who turns out to be her former boyfriend Woogie, who "got weird on her" in high school. Having found out that Tucker also lied about Mary's former love interest, football player Brett Favre, Ted decides that Mary should be with him, as he was the only one who did not resort to deceit to win Mary. After reuniting Brett and Mary, Ted leaves tearfully but Mary however chases after him, preferring him to Brett. The film concludes with the two engaging in a kiss. . . . The film was placed 27th in the American Film Institute's 100 Years, 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies (see the 100 Years Series), a list of the 100 funniest movies of the 20th century. In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted it the 4th greatest comedy film of all time. The most notorious scene features Stiller's character masturbating and losing track of his semen. Diaz's character notices it clinging to his ear, mistakes it for extra hair gel, and spreads it in her own hair. The "hair gel" scene spread by word of mouth, and later ads for the movie capitalized on its notoriety. Spencer's Gifts sold bottles of "There's Something About Mary" Hair Gel.

Don't drive angry. Do not drive angry. 23. Groundhog Day (1993) (6 of 23 lists - 54 points - highest ranking #4 knightni, TheBlackSox8) Groundhog Day is a 1993 comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. It was written by Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis and based on a story by Rubin. In the film, Murray plays Phil Connors, an egocentric Pittsburgh TV weatherman who, during a hated assignment covering the annual Groundhog Day event (February 2) in Punxsutawney, finds himself repeating the same day over and over again. After indulging in all manner of hedonistic pursuits, he begins to reexamine his life and priorities. TV meteorologist Phil Connors, his producer Rita, and cameraman Larry from the fictional Pittsburgh television station WPBH-TV9 travel to Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania (which, in real life, as in the movie, holds a major celebration for Groundhog Day) to cover the annual festivities with Punxsutawney Phil. After the celebration concludes, a blizzard develops that Connors had predicted would miss them, closing the roads and shutting down long-distance phone service, forcing the team to return to Punxsutawney. Connors awakens the next morning, however, to find it is again February 2, and his day unfolds in exactly the same way. He is aware of the repetition, but everyone else seems to be living February 2 exactly the same way and for the first time. This recursion repeats the following morning as well, over and over again. For Connors, Groundhog Day begins each morning at 6:00 A.M., with his waking up to the same song, Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe", on his alarm clock radio, but with his memories of the "previous" day intact, trapped in a seemingly endless "time loop" to repeat the same day in the same small town. After briefly trying to rationalize his situation, and then thinking he is insane, Connors takes advantage of learning the day's events and the information he is able to gather about the town's inhabitants, and that his actions have no long-term consequences. He revels in this situation for a time: seducing beautiful women, stealing money, even driving drunk and experiencing a police chase. However, his attempts to seduce his producer, Rita, are met with repeated failure. He begins to tire of, and then dread, his existence, starting the day by smashing the alarm clock and professing the inanity of Groundhog Day as a holiday in his newscast. In a vain attempt to break the cycle, he kidnaps Phil the Groundhog. After a police pursuit, Connors drives a stolen truck into a quarry, causing both man and rodent to die in a fiery explosion; but the loop does not stop. He commits suicide several more times — he electrocutes himself, lets a truck hit him on the road, and jumps from a tall building (other attempts are alluded to) — but mere death cannot stop the day from repeating. After he dies, he simply wakes up listening to Sonny & Cher in the same bed again. He initially tries to seduce Rita by learning as much as he can on a daily basis. This fails consistently. However, he is able to befriend her in a more sincere fashion. He tells her of his circumstances - how he is reliving the day over and over again - and manages to convince her with his extensive knowledge of events to come, the lives of the Punxsutawney townspeople, and Rita herself. He opens his heart to Rita, and her advice helps him to gradually find a goal for his trapped life: as a benefactor to others. He cannot, in a single day, bring others to fulfill his needs but he can achieve self-improvement by educating himself on a daily basis. After seeing an elderly homeless man die, Phil vows that no one will die on "his" day and performs many heroic services each and every day, including performing the Heimlich Maneuver on a choking man and saving a little boy who falls from a tree. He however becomes despondent for being unable to save the homeless man, despite trying to get him medical care. A hospital nurse tries to console him when he wishes to learn the cause of the man's death, saying "it was just his time." Though the film does not specify the number of repetitions, there is enough time for Connors to learn many complex skills, such as how to play jazz piano, speak French, sculpt ice, and memorize the life story of almost everyone in town. He also masters the art of flipping playing cards into an upturned hat, which he offhandedly suggests takes six months. According to author Rubin, his intent in the original script was for the time-frame to be ambiguous, but longer than a single lifetime. The studio objected to this, asking that it be reduced to two weeks. Director Ramis tried to leave the time-frame ambiguous, but intended it to be about ten years.[1] Eventually, Connors enhances his own human understanding which, in return, makes him an appreciated and beloved man in the town. Finally, after professing a true love to Rita, one which she is able to accept, he wakes up on February 3 — again to "I Got You Babe", though alert viewers will note at a different point in the song. It is a new day, with Rita beside him on the bed. Phil suggests to Rita that they live in Punxsutawney, though he suggests (in an improvised line) "We'll rent to start." The closing song is "Almost Like Being in Love" from Brigadoon, a musical which also dealt with a village trapped in time. . . . In 2006, Groundhog Day was added to the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." It is listed as the 181st most popular movie at the Internet Movie Database as of Groundhog Day, 2008. This film is number 32 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies". In Total Film's 1990s special issue, Groundhog Day was deemed the best film of 1993. In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted it the seventh greatest comedy film of all time. The Writers Guild of America ranked the screenplay #27 on their list of 101 Greatest Screenplays ever written. On the DVD, 'Harold Ramis (I)' states that the original idea was for him to live February 2nd for about 10,000 years. Later he says that Phil probably lived the same day for about 10 years.

She's the village bicycle! Everybody's had a ride. 25. (tie) Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) (6 of 23 lists - 53 points - highest ranking #4 ChiSox_Sonix) Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, released in 1997, is the first film of the Austin Powers series. The film was directed by Jay Roach and written by Mike Myers who also stars in the title role. Myers also plays Dr. Evil, Austin Powers' arch-enemy. The movie co-stars Elizabeth Hurley as Vanessa Kensington, Robert Wagner as Number Two, Seth Green as Scott Evil, and Michael York as Basil Exposition. There are cameos by Will Ferrell, Carrie Fisher, Tom Arnold, Rob Lowe, Christian Slater, Neil Mullarkey, and Burt Bacharach, and an uncredited cameo by MADtv star Michael McDonald, among many others. The year is 1967. Dentally challenged British gentleman spy Austin Powers and his nemesis Dr. Evil have faced each other many times during the decade. As Dr. Evil's henchmen have failed to dispose of Austin, he makes his own assassination attempt at a nightclub in London, England. Austin foils the attempt and Dr. Evil escapes in a space rocket disguised as a Bob's Big Boy statue, where he places himself in a cryogenic freezing chamber to return sometime in the future. In return, Austin volunteers to have himself placed in cryostasis in case his services are needed in the future. Dr. Evil returns thirty years later in 1997 with new evil plans for world domination and reunites with his associates, Number Two and Frau Farbissina. During Dr. Evil’s absence, Number Two has developed "Virtucon", the legitimate face of Dr. Evil's empire, into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise, but Dr. Evil prefers to either (a) blackmail the British Royal Family, the wealthiest landowners in the world, by fabricating an extramarital affair involving Prince Charles which would lead to divorce or (B) use several industrial lasers to punch holes in the ozone layer and cause an increase in risks of skin cancer. Yet they are both rejected by Number Two as already having occurred. Frustrated, he decides to "do what [they] always do: hijack some nuclear weapons and hold the world hostage." It is only after Dr. Evil suggests a ransom of $1 million that he learns of Virtucon's revenues, and raises the demand to $100 billion. Having learned of the return of Dr. Evil, the British Ministry of Defence unfreezes Powers. To help him adjust to the 1990s, he is teamed with Vanessa Kensington, the daughter of his 1960s sidekick Mrs. Kensington. After being reunited with his previous belongings, which include a "Swedish-made penis-enlarger pump," Austin and Vanessa jet to Las Vegas in search of Dr. Evil. However, Austin's free love credo from the 1960s does not go down well with Vanessa, who continues to resist his advances. Meanwhile, Dr. Evil learns that during his absence his associates have artificially created his son, Scott, using his frozen semen. Now a Generation Y teenager, Scott resents his father's absence, and they attend a "fathers and sons" group therapy session. Posing as a married couple, Austin and Vanessa check into a hotel and are put on the trail of Number Two. They use the alias' of Richie and Oprah Cunningham. During their time in Las Vegas, Vanessa gradually warms to Austin's charms, but he refuses to take advantage of her while she is intoxicated. Over a game of blackjack, Austin meets Number Two's buxom "Italian confidential private secretary," Alotta f**ina. Under instructions from the British Secret Service, Austin breaks into Alotta's penthouse apartment in search of plans for Dr. Evil's "Project Vulcan". After learning that Project Vulcan involves driving a nuclear warhead into the Earth’s molten core to trigger massive volcanic eruptions, Austin is discovered by Alotta and he watches her strip naked through the door to her bedroom. She walks out wearing nothing but a very small bathrobe, which she takes off and walks into a hot tub. Austin follows her in there, where she learns his true identity and seduces him into having sex with her. Meanwhile, Dr. Evil learns that Austin Powers is after him, but his entourage have identified Austin's libido as his weakness and created a group of fembots: beautiful, blonde female androids equipped with automatic guns concealed in their breasts. Dr. Evil tests his new weapons on his own guards and they perform flawlessly, getting the guards to lower their guns with their looks and then killing them with their breast guns. The British Secret Service discover that Virtucon conducts tourist tours of its headquarters, and this is considered an ideal opportunity for Austin and Vanessa to infiltrate. After bamboozling a security guard to gain entrance to the restricted area, Austin and Vanessa are apprehended by Dr. Evil's henchman, Random Task. Dr. Evil presents his ultimatum to the United Nations (here represented by diplomats seated around a table with stereotypical international figures such as matadors and sumo wrestlers surrounding them) and they concede to his demands. However, he is so evil that he decides to keep the ransom but still destroy the world. Austin and Vanessa are then placed in "an easily escapable situation involving an overly elaborate and exotic death" from which they escape, and Vanessa is sent for help. While Project Vulcan is put into operation, Austin tries to find Dr. Evil but stumbles upon the fembot assassins in fuzzy, see-through lingerie. They seduce him by performing cartwheels, jumping on his shoulders, and eventually knocking him out with a pink gas that "came out of their jubblies" as Austin later explained. Austin lies in bed with the fembots, and tries to snap out of it by thinking of manly things, but the fembots continue to rub their hands over his body, and he keeps caving in, but snaps out of it and eventually overcomes them with the use of his "mojo" in a sex-charged striptease. Led by Vanessa, British forces raid the underground lair, and at the last moment Austin stops the doomsday device. Austin confronts Dr. Evil and is joined by Vanessa, who is being held hostage by Alotta f**ina. They are interrupted by Number Two, who resents Dr. Evil's illegitimate plans after he has been so successful in the conventional business world and wishes to make a deal with Austin. Before he can, Dr. Evil (apparently) kills Number Two and seizes his opportunity to initiate the self-destruct mechanism and, once again, escape in his cryogenic freezing chamber inside the "Big Boy" spaceship. Austin and Vanessa escape in Austin’s conveniently parked Jaguar while the underground lair is destroyed in a nuclear explosion. Austin and Vanessa are later married, but during their honeymoon Austin is attacked by Dr. Evil's henchman, Random Task. Defeated in conventional combat, Austin subdues the assassin through the use of his "Swedish-made penis pump", allowing Vanessa to knock him out with a glass bottle to the head. In a romantic moment Austin and Vanessa adjourn to their balcony to observe the stars. Noticing a rather bright star, Austin pulls out a telescope to discover that it is in fact Dr. Evil's cryogenic chamber in which Dr. Evil vows to "get" Austin Powers. . . . * Austin Powers’ flamboyant fashion sense shows strong similarities to the TV character Jason King, while his copious chest hair is a homage to the Sean Connery-acted version of James Bond and his glasses are owed to Harry Palmer. His main outfit also resembles one worn by George Lazenby in the 1969 James Bond Film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The fact that he is woken up after years of being frozen to fight his enemy again is a parody of the premise of Adam Adamant Lives!. * Dr. Evil is a spoof of James Bond's nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld, and his voice is based on Saturday Night Live creator/EP Lorne Michaels (Mike Myers' former boss on SNL).[citation needed] * Number Two is a spoof of the James Bond villain Emilio Largo who is number two in Blofeld's criminal organization SPECTRE. * Random Task is a spoof of Oddjob from Goldfinger. * Alotta f**ina is a spoof of Pussy Galore from Goldfinger (in some versions broadcast on American commercial television, the name Alotta f**ina is changed to Alotta Cleavaga). * Frau Farbissina is a spoof of Rosa Klebb, the villain from From Russia with Love, and Frau Blücher from Young Frankenstein.[1] * Mr. Bigglesworth (Dr. Evil's cat) is a parody of Bond villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld's white Persian, although it becomes hairless due to the cryostasis. * Mrs. Kensington and her daughter Vanessa Kensington are both spoofs of Emma Peel from the 1960s television series The Avengers. * The characters of Commander Gilmour and General Borchevsky were named after Doug Gilmour and Nicolai Borchevsky, two former players from Myers’ favorite National Hockey League team, his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs. Mike Myers has stated that he was inspired to create the character after hearing the song “The Look of Love” on the radio. “Soul Bossa Nova” - Austin Powers' theme - was composed by Quincy Jones, the man who produced Michael Jackson's Thriller album and Will Smith's TV show, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Mrs. Robinson, if you don't mind my saying so, this conversation is getting a little strange. 25. (tie) The Graduate (1967) (4 of 23 lists - 53 points - highest ranking #7 BigEdWalsh) The Graduate is a 1967 comedy/drama/romance directed by Mike Nichols, based on the novel of the same name by Charles Webb, who wrote the piece shortly after graduating from Williams College. The screenplay is by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry. The film tells the story of Ben Braddock (played by Dustin Hoffman), a recent college graduate with no well-defined aim in life, who is seduced by Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) and then falls in love with her daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross). The film explores the life of 21-year-old Ben Braddock shortly after earning his bachelor's degree from an unnamed college in the Northeast. The school is widely believed to be Williams College, Webb's Alma Mater (in the opening sequence of the movie, Dustin Hoffman, playing Benjamin Braddock, is wearing a Williams College tie). The movie begins at a party celebrating his graduation at his parents' house in Pasadena, a suburb of Los Angeles. Benjamin is visibly uncomfortable at the party attended by his parents' friends. He remains aloof while his parents deliver accolades and neighborhood friends ask him about his future plans. Benjamin escapes from each person who comes to congratulate him, exposing his seeming embarrassment at all the honors he had won at college. Mrs. Robinson, the wife of his father's business partner, asks Benjamin to drive her home, which he reluctantly does. We never learn Mrs. Robinson's first name (or, indeed, the first names of any of Benjamin's and Elaine's parents) during the course of the film (in the novel, we are told that the initial of Mrs. Robinson's first name is G). Arriving at her home, she pleads for him to come inside, saying that she doesn't like to enter a dark house. Once inside, she forces a drink on him, and later exposes herself to him offering to have an affair with him. This scene, known as the "Mrs. Robinson, you are trying to seduce me" scene, as said by Benjamin, is said to be one of the most iconic scenes in the film. Initially flustered, he is immediately shocked by her advances and flees. A few days later he calls her and their affair begins. Benjamin is clearly uncomfortable with sexuality, but he is drawn into the affair with the older, but still attractive, Mrs. Robinson. Their affair appears to last most of the summer. All of their scenes pass in a musically-backed montage, showing the endless pass of time. One scene is edited so that it appears Benjamin is walking directly from his parents' dining room into the hotel room he shares with Mrs. Robinson. This seems to accent the separation of him and his parents, though they still live under the same roof. Meanwhile Benjamin is hounded by his father to select a graduate school to attend. Benjamin, clearly not interested in pursuing his studies, shrugs off his father's wishes and spends his time lounging and sleeping with Mrs. Robinson. His affair may serve as an escape from his lack of direction or ambition, and his fear and anxiety of his impending future. Mr. Robinson, unaware of his wife's budding affair, encourages Benjamin to call on his daughter, Elaine. Benjamin's parents also repeatedly encourage him to date her. During one liaison, Mrs. Robinson forces a promise from Ben to never date Elaine. Whether out of fear of Mrs. Robinson, or sensing that getting involved with the daughter of his lover could be disastrous, he tries to avoid it. However, because of the three parents' persistent intervention, he is essentially forced to date her. Therefore, he tries to ensure his date with her will be a disaster so she would not want to pursue a relationship with him. He drives recklessly, practically ignoring Elaine, and then takes her to a strip club where she is openly humiliated and silently begins to cry. After she storms out of the establishment, he is overcome with guilt and pursues her, apologizes, and then kisses her. What follows is a relationship with the younger Robinson, exactly what Benjamin and Mrs. Robinson were trying to avoid. From here, Benjamin's life falls apart. His affair is discovered and, although he follows Elaine to the University of California, Berkeley, where she is a student, he is barred from seeing Elaine any further. She proceeds to become engaged to another man; one her parents find acceptable. However, Benjamin, believing (with some justification) that she loves him, refuses to give up hope, despite warnings and threats of arrest from Mr. Robinson. In the famous conclusion of the film, Benjamin undertakes a desperate drive across a distance of many miles to somehow head off Elaine's wedding. He is forced to stop for directions, his car runs out of gas, and he is ultimately forced to run the final few blocks. He arrives just as the bride and groom are about to kiss, and stands looking down at the couple from an upper window. He fears for a moment that he is too late, but begins pounding on the glass anyway screaming "Elaine! Elaine!". This does not garner much response at first, but when Elaine gives the return cry "Ben!", mayhem ensues. After a violent struggle with Elaine's parents and wedding guests (Ben armed only with a large cross), Ben and Elaine escape on a public bus. The escaping couple sits smiling at the back of the bus, the other passengers stare at them in mute disbelief. The movie closes with a shot toward the back window of the bus focused on Ben and Elaine's smiles. As the soundtrack fades into Simon and Garfunkel, Ben's smile fades to an enigmatic, neutral, somewhat uncomfortable expression as he gazes forward into the bus. As Elaine looks at Ben's expression, she takes on a similar gaze. . . . The original screenplay had the movie opening with Benjamin delivering a valedictory speech at his college commencement. The ceremony is outdoors and Benjamin is using notes on sheets of paper to aid his speech. Having rhetorically asked what the point of college was he begins to explain the reasons are obvious. At that point a gust of wind blows his note sheets off the podium leaving Benjamin unable to explain what it was all about. He is left stammering at the podium "it's because, it's because..." only to awaken from his dream to find the jetliner he is riding in is about to land. This foreshadowing was not included in the movie and the opening scenes show Benjamin on the airplane as it lands, then standing on the moving walkway in the airport terminal looking lost and forlorn. However, the idea was used for the opening of the film Reality Bites (1994). Warren Beatty was originally offered the title role of Benjamin Braddock, but he turned it down, due to the filming of Bonnie and Clyde. Robert Redford tested for the part, but he and director Mike Nichols decided they needed someone who appeared more uncomfortable with his sexuality. Burt Ward was also offered the role of Benjamin, only to decline because he chose to renew his contract with the Batman television series, subsequently becoming typecast as Robin the Boy Wonder; he has openly regretted turning down the part. Charles Grodin also tested for the role. Natalie Wood tested but was turned down for the role of Elaine. Sally Field was strongly considered for the part, but the role was given to Katharine Ross instead. Ross' screen test with Grodin is a special feature on the Laserdisc release, although Grodin's lines were overdubbed at his request. When work on the adaptation of the book began back in late 1962, Marilyn Monroe was slated to play Mrs. Robinson. Patricia Neal was the first choice of the producers, but she turned the role down because she had not yet fully recovered from a stroke. Actress and singer Doris Day was also approached to play Mrs. Robinson, but passed on the offer.