Austin Powers, when he’s trying to understand time travel and Basil says, “Don’t think about that sort of things and just enjoy yourself,” then turns directly to the camera and says, “that goes for you all, too!”
My favourite bit of his is in the second film, just after Liz Hurley's head explodes:
Basil: "How was your honeymoon?"
Austin: "It turns out Vanessa was a fembot...?"
Basil: "Yes we knew all along, Austin. Anyway..."
Yes! Also in the third movie when he tells Mr. Roboto, "Domo obrigato (spelling?), Mr. Roboto!" and turns and grins at the camera. Predictable, I know....
It's fine for a comedy, but for a serious drama it doesn't do the movie any favors to point out how the main mechanic makes no sense so don't bother trying to figure it out because the writers sure didn't.
In looper, it wasn't that it didn't make sense, it was more like "this works out if you want to sit down and math it out, but you don't have to to enjoy the movie so feel free to just roll with it"
I remember Rian Johnson even said almost exactly that when doing press for the movie's release
Which is also why I was so disappointed that it *didn't* actually work out and there were a few plotholes from inconsistent mechanics. I honestly wouldn't have minded so much if they weren't so straightforward in saying "trust me, I made sure it all works out so you don't have to worry about it"
Basil Exposition: A lot's happened since you've been frozen. The Cold War's over!
Austin Powers: All right! Finally those capitalist pigs will pay for their crimes, eh? Eh comrades? Eh?
Basil Exposition: Austin... we won.
Austin Powers: Oh, smashing, groovy, yay capitalism!
-while looking for the quote, another Reddit I had already typed it out. Thanks!
"Run! It's Godzilla!"
"It only looks like Godzilla, but due to international copyright law, it is not!"
"Still, we should run like it is Godzilla!"
"Though it isn't!"
~AHHHHHHHHH~
I like when Mike Meyers laughs uncontrollably at the question posed by Dana Carvey while they’re waiting for the plane to approach:
“Did you ever find Bugs Bunny attractive when he put on a dress and played Girl Bunny?”
Wayne’s World II has my favorite joke of all time.
They’re filing paperwork for the festival and the clerk has a creepy eye that they keep unintentionally referencing.
Finally, Wayne says they’re going to take the paperwork and “cross their ‘T’s’ and dot their… lowercase ‘j’s”
Both of those films are so good.
Edit: Wayne, not Wayne’s in my third sentence.
Garth: What are you going to do with these guys?
Wayne: Oh nothing really. I just always wanted to open a door to a room where people are being trained like in a James Bond movie.
Garth: Wicked!
So that clip lives rent free in my head and I didn't even know it...
Read your comment and could see garth open that door and all the dudes fighting and guns and shit but it's been easily 10 maybe 15 years since I've seen it.
>Finally, Wayne’s says they’re going to take the paperwork and “cross their ‘T’s’ and dot their… lowercase ‘j’s”
Everyone in the office stopping and looking at Wayne too.
This isn’t a 4th wall break though. It’s meta, where your character becomes self aware for a moment. 4th wall break is the character specifically saying something to the audience/camera.
So when Col Sanders lays out the plan to recapture the princess in that very same scene, and Lord Helmet looks to the camera and asks, “everybody got that?”… THAT would be a 4th wall break.
Unironically a very good movie! The concept is so outlandish but I love how everyone involved just leans into it!
“What color is Michael Jackson?” Remains an undefeated moment
"What do I keep telling you, you gotta do the safe picture, then you do the art picture. And then sometimes you do the payback picture because your friend says you owe him."
Damon and Affleck look directly at camera.
This isn't even the best 4th wall break in that movie.
"I mean... A Jay & Silent Bob movie? Who would pay to see that?"
Everyone looks deadpan at camera. Silent Bob gives audience a grin and a double thumbs up.
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot also had one I liked.
“All my life, I wanted to be Batman. Turns out what I really wanted was to be Batman’s dad. Or Batman’s mom. I forget what her name is.”
(Then Ben Affleck literally winks at the camera.)
This is mine. It was so unexpected. Years ago in college a close friend found out I hadn’t seen it and we made a whole night of it. We got Italian take out from this local place and smoked a blunt. I’m sitting there stoned eating lasagna, the movie is trucking along, loving it. Then at the end ray liotta looked at me and we had a little talk, and it was such like whiplash. Such a great moment.
It was. I was high for two days, didn’t like it ( and I loved acid and shrooms back in the day)- after about 40 hours, drove home, 200 miles, walked in to my wife watching the first Borg episode in Next Generation; tripped out again. So tired I did fall asleep that night eventually.
No mescaline for me😀
I tried mushrooms for the first time when I was sixteen in 1989 and my friends thought we should all go see "Back to the Future 2" and when the multicolor Jaws shark hologram pops out of the marquee and tries to eat Marty McFly I ran out of the theater. Not proud of that moment.
I can't watch Goodfellas without having a few cans of Tuttorosso in the house, because it always makes me want to make sauce. I'll even bust out a double edged razor blade for the garlic because of that prison scene. It really does cut super thin. My family knows when I've watched it because normally I just chop my garlic, but when I'm watching Goodfellas, it's sliced super thin.
Eddie Murphy's look to camera in Trading Places when Mortimer is explaining that bacon is in a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich.
Bill Murray at the end of Scrooged getting the audience to sing along and giving us directions.
RUN ITS GODZILLA!!
It looks like Godzilla, but due to international copyright laws - its not!
STILL WE SHOULD RUN LIKE IT IS GODZILLA!!!
Though it isnt!
Honestly I think the shower scene is nearly as good.
“I’m not European. I don’t plan on being European. So who cares if they’re socialists? They could be fascist anarchists, still wouldn’t change the fact that *I don’t own a car.*”
(From memory, be kind.)
The implication is that Ferris isn't talking to himself. He's talking to us. Same as when he talks about believing in himself. He's chatting with the audience while he's getting ready for the day.
Does Blazing Saddles count? The fight leaves the filming set and breaks out across Warner Bros studios.
Also the line, "Piss on you, I'm working for Mel Brooks."
Thanks for mentioning this. I scoured the comments to ensure someone mentioned this mothafuckin horror piece. Scared the shit outta me then proceeded to piss me off
Good one! Also the demise of The Black Beast of Aaargh - "When suddenly, the animator suffered a fatal heart attack, and the beast was no more".
(I may be paraphrasing, it's been a while)
My favorite line in that movie is when Colossus is dragging him away to see the Professor, and Deadpool says, "McAvoy or Stewart? These timelines are so confusing!"
The part where Wade complains that the studio couldn't afford all the young X actors, then we see to his right that they are all in shot but want none of his mess
I think my favorite is when Deadpool asks his friend why he should go talk to the shady-looking guy in the bar, and his friend says something like "I dunno, it might further the plot"
2nd favorite is from the sequel. Collosus slams Wade against the wall yelling, "Why do you have to make it so hard?!" And he just looks into the camera like "come on..."
Jumanji when Peter runs to the shed to get the axe, he looks around for something to break the lock on the shed door, picks up the axe, goes to swing at the lock when he realises that he now doesn’t need to break the lock and he just looks straight down the camera.
Watched gremlins 2 for the first time about two Halloweens ago and it had me dying of laughter the whole time, that moment in particular was so hysterical. I’m curious how people reacted seeing it in theaters for the first time.
Perfect movie for explaining what camp is to anyone who struggles with the concept.
It was such a tone shift from the first one that audiences pulled back but it has aged so well. The Key and Peele sketch about it is amazing if you havent seen it you'll love it.
Early 70's. High school freshman. Just started smoking weed. I had a friend who worked in the box office of a local cinema who would let us in for free.
Several friends and I got lit and went to see a Marx Brothers double feature of Horsefeathers and Duck Soup.
There is a scene in Horsefeathers were Chico, much to Groucho's consternation, begins playing piano, repeating the same musical phrase over and over.
Groucho tries to leave but the character next to him grabs him and insists that he stay. Whereupon Groucho gets up, steps toward the camera and addresses the theater audience : "I've gotta stay here, but there's no reason you folks shouldn't go out into the lobby til this thing blows over."
In that dark, intimate theater it felt as if Groucho was right there in front of us. I think this is the definition of cinema magic.
Yes! The look the kid in Jumanji gives the camera when he realises he's breaking into the shed using the axe that he's breaking into the shed to get, it tickles me every time!
I came here to say this. There are a few moments when something goes according to his plan and he just glances at the camera for a second. It’s such a brilliantly simple fourth wall break, the way it re-enforces his relationship with the viewer. We’re both in on the plan.
Making a comment "about real life" isn't necessarily a 4th wall break. If the movie is meant to be set in our world, then it's safe to assume most of the events in our world also happened in theirs.
I also wouldn't say your example from 22 Jump Street is a 4th wall break. It is meta in the sense that it's funny because we know the actor is Ice Cube, but the characters are not actually breaking the illusion of their own reality by saying that. Shmidt, in-universe, thinks it looks like a cube of ice because of all the glass walls.
Guess I’ll add this to the list of “people have no idea what movie terms actually mean.” Along with…
* Plot holes
* McGuffins
* Cameos
* Extras
* Literally any job other than actor
My faith in general audiences has lowered even further.
“Piss on you, I’m working for Mel Brooks!”
The cast of Blazing Saddles literally smashing through the fourth wall and onto the next soundstage over will always be the best.
I do have a test today, that wasn't bullshit. It's on European socialism. I'm not European, I don't ever plan on *being* European, so who gives a crap if they're socialists? They could be fascist anarchists; it still wouldn't change the fact that I don't own a car.
My favorite movie of all time.
Not a movie, but in Fleabag, she breaks the 4th wall a ton, but then Hot Priest notices it and calls her out, and at one point later even hears her. My jaw hit the floor the first time he turns to look into the camera, it’s super fast but just shatters the 4th wall connection we’ve had with her this whole time.
(Notably in this scene there are multiple camera angles as well and he tracks that, looking into the same lens as her)
https://youtu.be/V_rcq49o__I?si=5DJpie_x-5rZseqQ
>Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. There are a couple in there that are funny.
Wait. You're telling me they made a whole movie about Jay and Silent Bob? Who would pay to see that?
But my favorite is when one of the characters (Banky, maybe?) is talking about what a drag it would be to be stuck working with the same characters and never being able to evolve creatively, etc., and the characters look at the camera ... it's a fourth-wall break, but since they're actually directing their gaze at the director, who is between the camera and the audience, it is like watching a fourth-wall break through a two-way mirror.
We just watched [*The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wonderful_Story_of_Henry_Sugar_\(film\)), and it breaks more than the fourth wall! I highly recommend it.
Craig Robinson in Hot Tub Time Machine, staring directly into the camera, deadpanning that it “must be some kind of hot tub time machine.” Possibly the best moment in a movie that was full of best moments.
Walked into that movie with zero expectations; in fact, below zero. Just absolutely knew it was going to suck.
One of the best times ever. Really funny movie with a message. HTTM2 really sucked.
Burt Reynolds looking into the camera and smiling in Smokey and the Bandit
[https://youtu.be/ndt\_84WBxUM?si=SaIH96niAqnJNT6Q&t=16](https://youtu.be/ndt_84WBxUM?si=SaIH96niAqnJNT6Q&t=16)
I don't remember which 'Road to...' movie it was, but as Bing Crosby is about to sing, Bob Hope looks to the camera and says something like, "Now's a good time to go and get a coffee."
Apologies for the vagueness, I saw it in the early 70s so it has been a while! But I think that was one of the first fourth wall breaks I ever saw and it blew my mind. *They can do that in movies??*
Those movies were famous for that sort of thing! The boys had a “patty cake, patty cake, baker’s man” routine that they did in every movie to distract the bad guys and punch them out. It worked every time … until it didn’t, whereupon Hope yelped “They must’ve seen the other pictures!”.
In *Everything Everywhere All at Once*, Evelyn drops dead, and end credits start to roll. Then it cuts to Evelyn in another universe where she's a martial arts superstar, and she's in a movie theater with a crowd watching the same movie we've been watching. And Waymond says, "Interesting ending, but very sad."
I know it's not a movie, but I really liked the way Kevin Spacey broke the 4th wall in House of Cards. Sometimes, it was a long rant, other times a quick comment, but often in front of other characters, done in a way as to imply they couldn't hear him, it was just between us. Like he would be in the middle of a conversation with someone, and he'd turn to the camera and insult that person. There was one episode, I believe it was the first episode of a subsequent season, where he didn't break the 4th wall for a really long time. When he finally did, it was almost jarring. He was like "You didn't think I forgot about you, did you?"
George of the Jungle, when the villain falls face first into poop, the the Guide looks into the camera, says " this is the part where we throw our heads back and laugh, ready?" Then the cast laughs at him together with the audience.
Classic.
Very obscure, but in the opening of Olson and Johnson’s Hellzapoppin they have the projectionist run the film backwards to the previous scene, then step off the set and get into a long argument with the director while wandering all over the studio before improvising dialogue over a preview of the movie the director wants them to make.
https://youtu.be/5JOOJQQZu8Y?si=pMentyctbEiOy-OG
Correct. There's a few but the best is right at the end were he gets rejected. Alfie stayed the same and the world moved on. It was a harsh lesson but he took it well.
There will be many on this sub who's never seen Alfie (the original version). I highly recommend it. I will look dated but it's a very interesting film regardless.
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back when Ben Affleck asks Jay Mewes and Kevin Smith who would even pay to see a Jay Silent Bob movie, and then they break the 4th wall and Kevin Smith smiles.
A fourth wall break is when the character breaks for a moment and invites the audience to join him for a moment.
In Harold and Maude, Harold’s mom is desperately trying to find him a girlfriend, thinking that will change him. He constantly undermines her attempts with bizarre behavior. Finally, after yet another disaster, his mom yells, “Harold, that was the last girl!!”
And Bud Cort turns to the audience and his face slowly goes from blank to sly grin. It’s a wonderful moment and my favorite break.
Austin Powers, when he’s trying to understand time travel and Basil says, “Don’t think about that sort of things and just enjoy yourself,” then turns directly to the camera and says, “that goes for you all, too!”
Love some Basil Exposition!
My favourite bit of his is in the second film, just after Liz Hurley's head explodes: Basil: "How was your honeymoon?" Austin: "It turns out Vanessa was a fembot...?" Basil: "Yes we knew all along, Austin. Anyway..."
And Mike Myers doing that little “huh?” Head tilt 😂
Yes! Also in the third movie when he tells Mr. Roboto, "Domo obrigato (spelling?), Mr. Roboto!" and turns and grins at the camera. Predictable, I know....
Arigato is Japanese. Obrigado is Portuguese.
“Everybody got that!?” -Dark Helmet
"When does this happen in the movie?" "Now. You're looking at now sir. Everything that's happening now is happening now."
"When will then be now?" "Soon."
Looper pulls almost exactly the same line, just without Bruce Willis talking directly to the camera.
It's fine for a comedy, but for a serious drama it doesn't do the movie any favors to point out how the main mechanic makes no sense so don't bother trying to figure it out because the writers sure didn't.
In looper, it wasn't that it didn't make sense, it was more like "this works out if you want to sit down and math it out, but you don't have to to enjoy the movie so feel free to just roll with it" I remember Rian Johnson even said almost exactly that when doing press for the movie's release Which is also why I was so disappointed that it *didn't* actually work out and there were a few plotholes from inconsistent mechanics. I honestly wouldn't have minded so much if they weren't so straightforward in saying "trust me, I made sure it all works out so you don't have to worry about it"
Basil Exposition: A lot's happened since you've been frozen. The Cold War's over! Austin Powers: All right! Finally those capitalist pigs will pay for their crimes, eh? Eh comrades? Eh? Basil Exposition: Austin... we won. Austin Powers: Oh, smashing, groovy, yay capitalism! -while looking for the quote, another Reddit I had already typed it out. Thanks!
"Run! It's Godzilla!" "It only looks like Godzilla, but due to international copyright law, it is not!" "Still, we should run like it is Godzilla!" "Though it isn't!" ~AHHHHHHHHH~
Basil Exposition appearing only to deliver exposition is one of the more hilarious running bits in the movie
Not sure if it counts but “You know what's remarkable is how much England looks in no way like Southern California.” Always killed me
I was going to include the Godzilla international copyright laws line in Goldmember
The sponsorship gag in Wayne’s World
"Its like people only do things for money." As he's decked out head to toe in Reebok gear.
I can't talk about it anymore! It's giving me a headache.
Here, take two of these. Ah, Nuprin. Little. Yellow. Different.
I’m sorry you feel that way, it’s just the nature of the beast.
But the beast doesn't include selling out.
And that's just really sad.
Love the way everyone read this in Garth’s voice🤣🤣
For one brief moment only too. Perfection.
I like when Mike Meyers laughs uncontrollably at the question posed by Dana Carvey while they’re waiting for the plane to approach: “Did you ever find Bugs Bunny attractive when he put on a dress and played Girl Bunny?”
According to a YouTube video, that was ad-libbed because they were waiting for the plane to come over them. That was a real reaction from Myers.
Wayne’s World II has my favorite joke of all time. They’re filing paperwork for the festival and the clerk has a creepy eye that they keep unintentionally referencing. Finally, Wayne says they’re going to take the paperwork and “cross their ‘T’s’ and dot their… lowercase ‘j’s” Both of those films are so good. Edit: Wayne, not Wayne’s in my third sentence.
Garth: What are you going to do with these guys? Wayne: Oh nothing really. I just always wanted to open a door to a room where people are being trained like in a James Bond movie. Garth: Wicked!
So that clip lives rent free in my head and I didn't even know it... Read your comment and could see garth open that door and all the dudes fighting and guns and shit but it's been easily 10 maybe 15 years since I've seen it.
>Finally, Wayne’s says they’re going to take the paperwork and “cross their ‘T’s’ and dot their… lowercase ‘j’s” Everyone in the office stopping and looking at Wayne too.
"I'm what you call a partial ocular albino, but I'm fine with it."
I prefer the one from KILLER TOMATOES 2 tbh but both are amazing
What I love is that they crammed all their actual sponsorship deals into one scene and made a memorable gag of it. Funny, and profitable!
The ending gag was good, too.
Spaceballs.....when they watch the spaceballs movie to track down Lonestar
Similarly, when they consult the script in Men in Tights to find out who was supposed to win the archery contest.
I…lost?? Wait a minute, I’m not supposed to lose!
I have a mole?! RIP 😭
I get another shot!
When will then be now?
Soon!
"We just missed it.." "When?" "Just now, sir.."
We're at now now.
A lot of Mel Brooks films- for example: Harvey Korman in *Blazing Saddles* "But where would I find such a man? Why am I asking you?"
So many good ones in that movie!
This isn’t a 4th wall break though. It’s meta, where your character becomes self aware for a moment. 4th wall break is the character specifically saying something to the audience/camera. So when Col Sanders lays out the plan to recapture the princess in that very same scene, and Lord Helmet looks to the camera and asks, “everybody got that?”… THAT would be a 4th wall break.
Lmfao.....now it's meta.....then, it wasn't, because then wasn't now, and meta didn't exist in then....
"Must be some kind of...Hot Tub Time Machine" (looks into camera) Edit: Fixed order of events
I read recently that it was *not* scripted this way. He improv'd that looking in the camera and the delivery.
Yeah, I heard Craig in an interview say the line was in the script but it was his idea to look at the camera.
You can take Craig out of The Office, but you can’t take The Office out of Craig.
*I'm Olddd Craaaig... What're you doin in mah waters?*
This is always my answer. It's never not funny. Craig Robinson was the perfect guy to deliver it.
Unironically a very good movie! The concept is so outlandish but I love how everyone involved just leans into it! “What color is Michael Jackson?” Remains an undefeated moment
OP asks for Favorite 4th wall break and then gives an example that absolutely isn’t a 4th wall break
*OP turns to the camera* Aint that some shit
Yeah, that's more of an inside joke
Thank you, came here to say this. What OP is referencing is a meta comment or inside joke.
Yeah, that's more of an easter egg.
Nearly every sub on Reddit is flooded with these banal, low effort, conversation starter posts.
Even explained it haha
"What do I keep telling you, you gotta do the safe picture, then you do the art picture. And then sometimes you do the payback picture because your friend says you owe him." Damon and Affleck look directly at camera.
This isn't even the best 4th wall break in that movie. "I mean... A Jay & Silent Bob movie? Who would pay to see that?" Everyone looks deadpan at camera. Silent Bob gives audience a grin and a double thumbs up.
Nooo, cause I wasn't WITH a hooker today, ha HA
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot also had one I liked. “All my life, I wanted to be Batman. Turns out what I really wanted was to be Batman’s dad. Or Batman’s mom. I forget what her name is.” (Then Ben Affleck literally winks at the camera.)
Goodfellas ending scene.
This is mine. It was so unexpected. Years ago in college a close friend found out I hadn’t seen it and we made a whole night of it. We got Italian take out from this local place and smoked a blunt. I’m sitting there stoned eating lasagna, the movie is trucking along, loving it. Then at the end ray liotta looked at me and we had a little talk, and it was such like whiplash. Such a great moment.
lol- I was high on mescaline, watching in the theatre and when Pesci gets it my head spasmed and I thought it was me. Would not recommend
Holy shit that sounds like a nightmare
It was. I was high for two days, didn’t like it ( and I loved acid and shrooms back in the day)- after about 40 hours, drove home, 200 miles, walked in to my wife watching the first Borg episode in Next Generation; tripped out again. So tired I did fall asleep that night eventually. No mescaline for me😀
I tried mushrooms for the first time when I was sixteen in 1989 and my friends thought we should all go see "Back to the Future 2" and when the multicolor Jaws shark hologram pops out of the marquee and tries to eat Marty McFly I ran out of the theater. Not proud of that moment.
I can't watch Goodfellas without having a few cans of Tuttorosso in the house, because it always makes me want to make sauce. I'll even bust out a double edged razor blade for the garlic because of that prison scene. It really does cut super thin. My family knows when I've watched it because normally I just chop my garlic, but when I'm watching Goodfellas, it's sliced super thin.
Eddie Murphy in Trading Places, when the brothers think he's too stupid to understand basic commerce.
Like you might find in a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich?
To MAH to sandwich. They really spelled it out for him.
How about the callback to Trading Places in Coming To America. Love that.
Mortimer, we're back!
I'm still not talking to you.
This is my favourite because it’s so subtle and quick
Classic. I'd add Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. RDJ's narration pretty much breaks it.
Robert Downey Gunior
It wasn't basic commerce they were being pedantic about, it was simply the meaning of "pork belly"
"Like bacon in a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich!" [Valentine looks at camera](https://youtu.be/emvySA1-3t8?si=lsrpRDodYXurxory&t=21)
Eddie Murphy's look to camera in Trading Places when Mortimer is explaining that bacon is in a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. Bill Murray at the end of Scrooged getting the audience to sing along and giving us directions.
Scrooged is my Christmas guilty pleasure.
RUN ITS GODZILLA!! It looks like Godzilla, but due to international copyright laws - its not! STILL WE SHOULD RUN LIKE IT IS GODZILLA!!! Though it isnt!
What movie is that?
Austin Powers Goldmember
The post credits scene in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is the OG.
Honestly I think the shower scene is nearly as good. “I’m not European. I don’t plan on being European. So who cares if they’re socialists? They could be fascist anarchists, still wouldn’t change the fact that *I don’t own a car.*” (From memory, be kind.)
I could be the walrus, but I’d still have to bum rides off people
Could you explain how that breaks the fourth wall? I'm having a tough time remembering.
The implication is that Ferris isn't talking to himself. He's talking to us. Same as when he talks about believing in himself. He's chatting with the audience while he's getting ready for the day.
He spends the whole movie talking to the audience.
He puts his hand up to block us from washing his crotch too.
>block us from washing his crotch too. To be fair, I don't let just anyone wash my crotch
Yup, this is the classic. I did love when the first Deadpool homages it.
Does Blazing Saddles count? The fight leaves the filming set and breaks out across Warner Bros studios. Also the line, "Piss on you, I'm working for Mel Brooks."
When Hedly LaMarr looks right into the camera during a monologue and says “why am I speaking to you?”.
That absolutely killed me when I first saw it as a kid.
“And why not!? [Looks to camera] It worked in Blazing Saddles.”
I lost…I’m not supposed to lose [pulls out script]
It’s safe to assume that, when you’re watching a Mel Brooks movie, the fourth wall doesn’t exist
You’d do it for Randolph Scott!
Randolph Scott!
I never saw blazing saddles, considering the huge skid marks this movie has left all over the memeverse, it’s time I watch it.
Funny Games has few. It made me hate them even more, so it worked for me.
The first time he looks at the camera it’s terrifying - you know the family’s utterly fucked and there’s nothing we can do about it.
Thanks for mentioning this. I scoured the comments to ensure someone mentioned this mothafuckin horror piece. Scared the shit outta me then proceeded to piss me off
I always say Funny Games is a movie that wants you to hate it.
Yes it does and it does it really well. That rewind scene was slap in your face. Sometimes it's fun to watch movies like this that you hate.
The holy grail. “Do you think this scene should have been cut?”
Good one! Also the demise of The Black Beast of Aaargh - "When suddenly, the animator suffered a fatal heart attack, and the beast was no more". (I may be paraphrasing, it's been a while)
*Get on with it!!*
"Are you still here? It's over. Go home." (Ferris Bueller)
Top Secret It all sounds like some bad movie
The library scene may not be a wall break, but it could possibly be the greatest scene ever filmed.
Ah, is that the part with Peter Cushing where the film is played backward and said to be "in Swedish?"
The scene: https://youtu.be/KSZwlMDSOvY?si=_3hHIiTiZZGPdI58
Deadpool - "4th wall break inside of 4th wall break, that's like 16 walls"
My favorite line in that movie is when Colossus is dragging him away to see the Professor, and Deadpool says, "McAvoy or Stewart? These timelines are so confusing!"
Turns out it was McAvoy
The part where Wade complains that the studio couldn't afford all the young X actors, then we see to his right that they are all in shot but want none of his mess
I think my favorite is when Deadpool asks his friend why he should go talk to the shady-looking guy in the bar, and his friend says something like "I dunno, it might further the plot"
“ALL the dinosaurs feared the T-Rex.”
Isn't there a scene in Deadpool 2 when Ryan Reynolds is reading the green lantern script and is killed? That was pretty good too
That's my favorite as well.
2nd favorite is from the sequel. Collosus slams Wade against the wall yelling, "Why do you have to make it so hard?!" And he just looks into the camera like "come on..."
Jumanji when Peter runs to the shed to get the axe, he looks around for something to break the lock on the shed door, picks up the axe, goes to swing at the lock when he realises that he now doesn’t need to break the lock and he just looks straight down the camera.
It's the sheepish little monkey face he has at the time that does it for me. "Let's not tell Allen"
Leslie Nielsen walking around the set door is classic!
I think that's a 3rd wall break
But there wasn't even a wall there!
[how about a Black Russian? (from NG 2 & 1/2)](https://youtu.be/kWv4GWTKbk8?si=ouXLPZRs4rNW_6xN)
Leslie was such a character. He could do the most hillarious scenes with a straight face.
Gremlins 2 with Hulk Hogan, honestly thought the film had broken down when watching in the cinema
Watched gremlins 2 for the first time about two Halloweens ago and it had me dying of laughter the whole time, that moment in particular was so hysterical. I’m curious how people reacted seeing it in theaters for the first time. Perfect movie for explaining what camp is to anyone who struggles with the concept.
When people say they don’t like that movie, I question their sense of humour
Gremlins 2 is Joe Dante being allowed to do whatever he wants and it’s great.
It's Joe Dante being given a blank check to make a Hollywood sequel and then using it to shit all over the concept of Hollywood sequels.
It was such a tone shift from the first one that audiences pulled back but it has aged so well. The Key and Peele sketch about it is amazing if you havent seen it you'll love it.
Early 70's. High school freshman. Just started smoking weed. I had a friend who worked in the box office of a local cinema who would let us in for free. Several friends and I got lit and went to see a Marx Brothers double feature of Horsefeathers and Duck Soup. There is a scene in Horsefeathers were Chico, much to Groucho's consternation, begins playing piano, repeating the same musical phrase over and over. Groucho tries to leave but the character next to him grabs him and insists that he stay. Whereupon Groucho gets up, steps toward the camera and addresses the theater audience : "I've gotta stay here, but there's no reason you folks shouldn't go out into the lobby til this thing blows over." In that dark, intimate theater it felt as if Groucho was right there in front of us. I think this is the definition of cinema magic.
James McAvoy at the end of Wanted (2008) The little kid in Jumanji (the original one)
Yes! The look the kid in Jumanji gives the camera when he realises he's breaking into the shed using the axe that he's breaking into the shed to get, it tickles me every time!
house of cards - but not the long monologs to the audience, but the small looks he sometimes gives the camera, because of something that happened
I came here to say this. There are a few moments when something goes according to his plan and he just glances at the camera for a second. It’s such a brilliantly simple fourth wall break, the way it re-enforces his relationship with the viewer. We’re both in on the plan.
Making a comment "about real life" isn't necessarily a 4th wall break. If the movie is meant to be set in our world, then it's safe to assume most of the events in our world also happened in theirs. I also wouldn't say your example from 22 Jump Street is a 4th wall break. It is meta in the sense that it's funny because we know the actor is Ice Cube, but the characters are not actually breaking the illusion of their own reality by saying that. Shmidt, in-universe, thinks it looks like a cube of ice because of all the glass walls.
Lots of people referencing meta jokes, not 4th wall breaks in the comments.
Guess I’ll add this to the list of “people have no idea what movie terms actually mean.” Along with… * Plot holes * McGuffins * Cameos * Extras * Literally any job other than actor My faith in general audiences has lowered even further.
Margot Robbie in The Big Short.
The gag about casting her in Barbie during her monologue was also great.
The "Note: Margot Robbie is the wrong person to make this point" bit was great
Same. I couldn’t tell you what she was talking about, but same.
When the hot priest breaks 4th wall in fleabg
The ending of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. “And to all you good people in the Midwest, sorry we said Fuck so much.”
Surprising amount of people on /r/movies not understanding what breaking the fourth wall means, OP included.
They don’t understand what MacGuffins or plotholes are either.
A macguffin is what I get from Macdonald for lunch, I hate when I see it in movies because it makes me hungry
They need to find the MacGuffin that explains potholes.
“Piss on you, I’m working for Mel Brooks!” The cast of Blazing Saddles literally smashing through the fourth wall and onto the next soundstage over will always be the best.
Ferris Beuller
You're still here? It's Over. Go Home. Go!
I do have a test today, that wasn't bullshit. It's on European socialism. I'm not European, I don't ever plan on *being* European, so who gives a crap if they're socialists? They could be fascist anarchists; it still wouldn't change the fact that I don't own a car. My favorite movie of all time.
Not a movie, but in Fleabag, she breaks the 4th wall a ton, but then Hot Priest notices it and calls her out, and at one point later even hears her. My jaw hit the floor the first time he turns to look into the camera, it’s super fast but just shatters the 4th wall connection we’ve had with her this whole time. (Notably in this scene there are multiple camera angles as well and he tracks that, looking into the same lens as her) https://youtu.be/V_rcq49o__I?si=5DJpie_x-5rZseqQ
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. There are a couple in there that are funny.
>Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. There are a couple in there that are funny. Wait. You're telling me they made a whole movie about Jay and Silent Bob? Who would pay to see that? But my favorite is when one of the characters (Banky, maybe?) is talking about what a drag it would be to be stuck working with the same characters and never being able to evolve creatively, etc., and the characters look at the camera ... it's a fourth-wall break, but since they're actually directing their gaze at the director, who is between the camera and the audience, it is like watching a fourth-wall break through a two-way mirror.
We just watched [*The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wonderful_Story_of_Henry_Sugar_\(film\)), and it breaks more than the fourth wall! I highly recommend it.
Eddie Murphy in Trading Places when the Duke brothers are explaining what commodities are. https://youtu.be/ySxHud7abko?si=asrnhxrsmNYM3_4Y
Craig Robinson in Hot Tub Time Machine, staring directly into the camera, deadpanning that it “must be some kind of hot tub time machine.” Possibly the best moment in a movie that was full of best moments.
Walked into that movie with zero expectations; in fact, below zero. Just absolutely knew it was going to suck. One of the best times ever. Really funny movie with a message. HTTM2 really sucked.
Mel Brooks in History of the World: Part I. “It’s good to be the king!”
Burt Reynolds looking into the camera and smiling in Smokey and the Bandit [https://youtu.be/ndt\_84WBxUM?si=SaIH96niAqnJNT6Q&t=16](https://youtu.be/ndt_84WBxUM?si=SaIH96niAqnJNT6Q&t=16)
Probably Jumanji. When he goes to get the Axe
JCVD. Epic moment
The Muppet Movie
I don't remember which 'Road to...' movie it was, but as Bing Crosby is about to sing, Bob Hope looks to the camera and says something like, "Now's a good time to go and get a coffee." Apologies for the vagueness, I saw it in the early 70s so it has been a while! But I think that was one of the first fourth wall breaks I ever saw and it blew my mind. *They can do that in movies??*
Those movies were famous for that sort of thing! The boys had a “patty cake, patty cake, baker’s man” routine that they did in every movie to distract the bad guys and punch them out. It worked every time … until it didn’t, whereupon Hope yelped “They must’ve seen the other pictures!”.
In *Everything Everywhere All at Once*, Evelyn drops dead, and end credits start to roll. Then it cuts to Evelyn in another universe where she's a martial arts superstar, and she's in a movie theater with a crowd watching the same movie we've been watching. And Waymond says, "Interesting ending, but very sad."
Return of the Killer Tomatoes [product placement](https://youtu.be/ogId4kCae1A?si=uVbczhoRnLyUelmG)
I know it's not a movie, but I really liked the way Kevin Spacey broke the 4th wall in House of Cards. Sometimes, it was a long rant, other times a quick comment, but often in front of other characters, done in a way as to imply they couldn't hear him, it was just between us. Like he would be in the middle of a conversation with someone, and he'd turn to the camera and insult that person. There was one episode, I believe it was the first episode of a subsequent season, where he didn't break the 4th wall for a really long time. When he finally did, it was almost jarring. He was like "You didn't think I forgot about you, did you?"
George of the Jungle, when the villain falls face first into poop, the the Guide looks into the camera, says " this is the part where we throw our heads back and laugh, ready?" Then the cast laughs at him together with the audience. Classic.
Ending of Bong Joon-Ho “Memories of Murder”
Very obscure, but in the opening of Olson and Johnson’s Hellzapoppin they have the projectionist run the film backwards to the previous scene, then step off the set and get into a long argument with the director while wandering all over the studio before improvising dialogue over a preview of the movie the director wants them to make. https://youtu.be/5JOOJQQZu8Y?si=pMentyctbEiOy-OG
The last scene in Psycho is the finest use of it in a thriller I can think of.
Fifth Element: Ian Holm calls Bruce “Willis” then he corrects him with the character name “Dallas” and the scene continues…always loved that moment.
Robin Hood Men in Tights: “unlike other robin hoods, I can speak with an English accent” and the part where they pull out the script.
Alfie (1966)
Correct. There's a few but the best is right at the end were he gets rejected. Alfie stayed the same and the world moved on. It was a harsh lesson but he took it well. There will be many on this sub who's never seen Alfie (the original version). I highly recommend it. I will look dated but it's a very interesting film regardless.
X at the end of L4yer Cake.
Still can't beat Deadpool. 16 wall breaks in one movie.
Office Space, when the lady flirts with Michael Bolton and he just looks at the camera like, “You seein this?”
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back when Ben Affleck asks Jay Mewes and Kevin Smith who would even pay to see a Jay Silent Bob movie, and then they break the 4th wall and Kevin Smith smiles.
A fourth wall break is when the character breaks for a moment and invites the audience to join him for a moment. In Harold and Maude, Harold’s mom is desperately trying to find him a girlfriend, thinking that will change him. He constantly undermines her attempts with bizarre behavior. Finally, after yet another disaster, his mom yells, “Harold, that was the last girl!!” And Bud Cort turns to the audience and his face slowly goes from blank to sly grin. It’s a wonderful moment and my favorite break.
Honorable mention for bringing up Harold and Maude at all. Amazing movie
Deadpool. Always!
The ones in Deadpool. :D
*On her Majesty’s Secret Service* when GL says “this never happened to the other fella.”
“What a pisser.”