Rock Minutes

A few months ago Nick wrote a great article about the best movie moments that were interwoven with great music. It’s a rare combination with music and movie come together so perfectly that every time you hear that song, you think about that movie scene…they co-exist in a perfect symbiotic relationship like the conjoined twins Wang and Chang. Like Clapton’s reprise of Cocaine at the end of Goodfella’s or Stillwater’s acappella rendition of Tiny Dancer in Almost Famous these moments make the movie better. This article is a variation of that article with a more specific focus; this article will focus on the greatest comedy scenes of all time.

I love a good comedy, probably better than any other type of movie. And, I love rock and roll better than any type of music. When these two elements come together in the perfect storm, it is synapses magic. These are my top 10 favorite music-comedic movie scenes of all time. Please feel free to add to this list if I missed your favorite. I will also restrain myself from using any scene’s that Nick used in his article, which sucks because I LOVE the pool scene in Fast times at Ridgemont High!

10. Wayne’s World – Bohemian Rhapsody

This would have been number one on my list in 1991. Over the years of FX channel repeats and gagging on this song being chronically overplayed, it has lost its glided luster, but when I saw this scene in 1991, I almost sharted myself. I was the those guys, actually and in all honesty, I was the guy in the middle of the back seat ready to puke, but hey we were all 21 year old college students at one time right?

9. Swinger’s – You and me and the Bottle makes three

I remember my life before Swinger’s and it did not include any, and I repeat any part of big band’s swinging sound. That changed after I watched this movie. When a movie can influence a whole retro-musical movement the way Swinger’s did, it deserves a place in the top 10. This is such a great moment in musical-movie history, when the Mikie comes out of his heart-break funk to sweep Heather Graham right off her feet… oh if it were only that easy. If it were, I would be flying to Holly-weird and buying a map to the stars and finding Heather Graham’s dump and pull a “Say Anything” moment. But I would be swing dancing off her B-star-privacy gates trying to get a boobie shot at the minimum (by the way, in the Hangover you do see her boobs…talk about some man hole covers! Good God she needs a nipple reduction)

8. Road Trip – I Wanna Rock

I love this movie; it truly is a real sleeper. It’s a really funny movie and also represents the only time in my life that Tom Green has made me laugh. This is the part of the movie where the guys are in the middle of the road trip, after stealing the short bus from the blind girl. The weed is being smoked and the music is flowing; and Twister Sister is in the back ground blowing. Now, every time I hear this song I think of getting high on the short bus with my best buds. (No, I never rode the short bus, but Nick says it wasn’t that big of a deal).

7. Tommy Boy – Don’t you remember you told me you love me, baby

I have to have a Chris Farley movie in my top 10 because I love Chris Farley’s work on SNL. And, I wasn’t going to use Beverly Hills Ninja or Black Sheep in my top 10 list, sorry if you are fans of those movies. The greatest element of this scene is the element of surprise. The fact that Spade and Farley are crying to this song in their ass-beat GTX is funny all by its self, but when the hood pops up in the middle of their tears and the car goes into the death spin, that is just perfect comedy mayhem.

6. Office Space – Damn it feels good to be a Gangsta

Anyone who has ever worked in an office and has had to deal with a touchy printer or fax machine felt the pain in this movie moment. When they are out in the field taking a baseball bat and a boot heel to the face of that printer, a clam passed through my body, followed closely by a hint of jealously. Man, I would love to beat the shit out of some of the equipment that has fucked with me over the years of my adulthood employment. That moment is pure bliss.

5. Clerk Two – Goodbye Horses

I had to include a Kevin Smith movie-moment on this list. The difficult part was choosing which one. As far as music and comedy are concerned, he is a genius at combining the two. I could have picked the “Bezerker” moment from Clerks or the Bad Medicine (Bon Jovi) moment in Jay and Silent Bob Strike back. But, I have to go with Jay singing and dancing to Goodbye Horses in Clerks Two. For those of you that don’t remember, Jay is reenacting the scene for Silence of the Lambs where Wild Bill is dancing and lip singing into the mirror. I am laughing right now thinking of Jay putting on his lip gloss saying, “Would you fuck me, I’d fuck me.”

4. Superbad – Panama

I love the movie Superbad, and to me, the best characters in that movie were the Cop’s played by Bill Hader and Seth Rogan. They really made that movie a true classic in my opinion. From the shooting at the signs to their pure goofy antics, those two are comedic gold. But my favorite scene from that movie is at the end when they are doing donuts in the parking lot to Panama by Van Halen. That is a perfect use of music and comedy mixed together.

3. Napoleon Dynamite –Canned Heat

When one thinks of Napoleon Dynamite, most of the time they think of it and the final dance scene. Without that once scene with him dancing to Canned Heat, the movie wouldn’t have been so memorable. This scene is classic, My son tried to mimic these dance moves many times to make me laugh; he is actually quite good at it. That one scene made a movie historical, and gave birth to John Heder’s career or lack there of.

2. Caddyshack – I’m Alright

Who will ever forget this song and this movie. A true classic in every since of the word, and the best movie ever made about golfing (sorry Happy Gilmore). That little brown gopher dancing to this song is such an iconic moment in movie history. The only thing I like better than a little furry gopher is a little brown beaver, but that’s another movie all together. “Nunuun, nunuuuun, nunun.” “I want a hot dog; no I want a hamburger, no I want a…” “You’ll get nothing a like it!”

1. The Big Lebowski – Just Dropped In
“Sometimes there’s a man… I won’t say a hero, ’cause what’s a hero? But sometimes, there’s a man – and I’m talkin’ about the Dude here – sometimes, there’s a man, well, he’s the man for his time and place. He fits right in there. And that’s the Dude. In Los Angeles. And even if he’s a lazy man – and the Dude was most certainly that, quite possibly the laziest in Los Angeles County, which would place him high in the runnin’ for laziest worldwide – Sometimes there’s a man… Sometimes, there’s a man. Ah, I lost my train of thought here. But… aw, hell. I done introduced him enough.”
The Dude abides…

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