Every week at SiftPop.com, we challenge our writers to come up with their favorite answer to a movie-related prompt tied to a recent release. This week, with the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, we’re discussing some of our favorite fourth wall breaks! Let us know your favorites @SiftPop!
My family has the very unique holiday tradition of watching A Christmas Story every year. It’s charming, wholesome fun that captures the spirit of the season as well as, or perhaps better than, any other Christmas movie. And part of what makes it fun is that you’re immediately transported into the mindset of a kid who, more than anything, just wants that specific gift for Christmas. Whether you’re a reminiscing adult, or a kid who’s firmly in that time of life, it’s relatable. So when Ralphie finally gets his BB gun and proves all the adults in his life right by “shooting his eye out,” we’re on his side as he has to fake his injury’s severity. He looks at the camera, gives us a little smile, and we’re brought back to being 9 years old, when there was more whimsy and good, honest mischief in our lives. (Robert Bouffard)
As the reason we’re doing this list (and perhaps the most serial fourth wall breaker in pop culture), Deadpool has to be here. With his long-awaited team-up with both Hugh Jackman and Wolverine coming in Deadpool & Wolverine (that other movie doesn’t count), it only feels right to pick a moment from Deadpool. Despite the multitude of examples, there was really only one choice: our introduction to the true version of the character. With how iconic the character (and Ryan Reynolds’ portrayal) has become, it can be easy to forget how close we came to not getting this movie at all. It’s the very fortuitous, definitely not intentional “leak” of this sequence that’s the reason we even got this film in the first place. It’s easy to see why the opening was such a hit with fans and got the project green lit. It fulfills the potential of the character on the big screen to the fullest. Given the allegation that starts off the fourth wall-breaking monologue, it’s just another reason why this feels like the perfect pick of the many, many options that both Deadpool and Deadpool have provided. (Jake Bourgeois)
If you’ve ever heard about the extensive history of changes, rewrites, and overhauls The Emperor’s New Groove went through before release, then you’re probably still amazed the final film makes any sense at all. One of those decisions was to have Kuzco (David Spade) serve as narrator to tell his tale of going from spoiled royal to lazy llama, and the adventures he has trying to stay alive and get restored to human form. It’s obvious from the start he is outlandishly self-centered, but his breaking of the fourth wall by literally stopping the movie to remind the audience that it is about him after barely five minutes of Pacha-centric (John Goodman) storyline solidifies his extreme narcissistic tendencies as his biggest flaw. This moment was so impactful that it went on to be a signature move in the TV series that followed six years later. In a movie full of moments where Kuzco touts his importance, nothing screams it louder than his stopping to whisper, “It’s about me” as he looks directly into the camera. A creative use of a fourth wall break, made even funnier by the way he crosses out Pacha and circles himself, like a football coach demonstrating a winning play. (Patrice Downing)
In a movie full of fourth wall breaks, it’s Ferris Bueller’s final delivery, a reiteration of his credo expressed earlier in the story, that is the most poignant: “I said it before and I’ll say it again. Life moves pretty fast. You don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Ferris Bueller’s Day Off must be one of the most philosophical teen movies ever made, possessed with the spirit of youthful rebellion from start to finish, brimming with characters who are clever, believable, sympathetic, and sensitive. Matthew Broderick plays the titular role with a delightful sense of charisma, and writer, director, and producer, John Hughes, once again gives voice to the voiceless, allowing the teen angst he popularized in Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club to break forth in Ferris Bueller. I’m convinced that its luster has not degraded in the nearly 40 years since its release, due in large part to the innumerous fourth wall breaks throughout that allow Ferris to directly relate to his audience and apprise them of his plans, whether they be his intention to marry his girlfriend, or help his best friend gain a level of self-respect in the face of his father’s materialism. When the freedom of one’s youth is exhausted, there’s simply no getting it back, and in that way there’s a real poignancy at the heart of the film, a sense of making the most of the present because life is too beautiful a thing to waste. (Jonathan Fedee)
The Muppets were breaking through the fourth wall, in some cases quite literally (I’m looking at you Sweetums and Animal), long before they took to the big screen. For younger viewers, the opening number in The Muppets Most Wanted,“We’re Doing A Sequel,” may be an inaugural experience with a fully choreographed Muppet musical number breaking the fourth wall (and it’s amazing both in it’s accuracy to predict the future and the number of details and Easter eggs it includes), but not everyone may be aware that 33 years earlier, they started out their very first sequel the same way. The opening musical number of The Great Muppet Caper is a cornucopia of winks, nods, references, and camera stares as they sing, “Hey A Movie!” This song does it all, from foreshadowing and exposition, to callbacks, character introductions, car crashes, cops, criminals, and a cavalcade of other calamities. Gonzo (Dave Goelz) sums it up perfectly in the opening line of the scene: “What a fantastic beginning!” (Patrice Downing)
Why do fourth wall breaks work so well in satires? There is already a meta nature to specifically lampooning other works, while actively delivering a cinematic experience of your own. That meta pill of turning to the camera and making comments just fits. Mel Brooks knew this and constantly winked at the camera to let us know it. They literally fought off the set and on the studio backlot in Blazing Saddles. But Brooks has plenty of other fourth wall breaks, including the hilarious historical anthology satire, History of the World: Part I. One of the many characters that Brooks portrays in the film is King Louis XVI. His attitude and arrogance are off the charts. If he wants it, he has it. If he wants to break through the fourth wall to acknowledge the audience, he is going to do it. One of the most iconic lines of the whole film is uttered straight to the audience in the most effective way. Brooks turns to use an arrogant smirk and says, “It’s good to be the king.” (Easy to say when he gropes and humps his way through life.) This hilarious delivery, and the charisma from Brooks, makes it one of the most memorable lines in all of his work. (Shane Conto)
Sometimes a movie lets you know that it knows it’s making a joke. Other times, like in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, it lets you know that you’re in on that joke. Obviously the fact that the entire movie is about Jay and Bob explicitly trying to prevent a movie about them from being made is a joke in its own right. When Holden McNeill (Ben Affleck) expresses some legitimate doubts about anybody wanting to see the Bluntman & Chronic movie, the line, “A Jay and Silent Bob movie? Who would pay to see that?” is followed by Jay, Bob, and Holden turning to the camera with knowing smiles on their faces. Yes, you’re watching a very silly movie that probably should never have worked. And yet, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is seen by many as top tier Kevin Smith. Funny how that works. (Chris Bakker)
The comedy classic, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, has no shortage of meta humor. Look no further than the opening credits. However, if you’re looking for a moment that bulldozes the wall erected between the screen and the audience, that comes later. As the knights disperse to look for the grail, Sir Galahad (Michael Palin) is lured to a castle filled with young women. In the middle of the scene, Dingo (Carol Cleveland) turns directly to the audience to ask their opinion of the scene, if it works, and where they would rank it with the others that preceded it. Eventually, her musings are ended by characters, both familiar and yet to be seen, urging her to “Get on with it!” allowing for the madcap comedy to continue. (Jake Bourgeois)
Spaceballs is the first time I was introduced to the concept of a fourth wall break. I remember watching it with my dad and asking him, “Wait, is he really talking to me?” There was something so incredibly cool about Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis) talking to me directly. It blew my mind! The funniest part about the scene is when they fast forward to the part of the movie where they’re in Now. The dialogue is reminiscent of old school Abbott and Costello skits, and I can imagine it was very tricky to lock down. What I would have given to be a fly on the wall during the production of this scene, though. Mel Brooks’ writing shines so high, and shows why he is the king of the fourth wall break. (Mike Hilty)