For those of you who don’t know what the term means, it’s a device used in TV, movies, and presumably theater, in which a character addresses the audience. For a really good example, watch any episode of Malcolm in the Middle.
I can only recall three instances in movies where one of the characters directly addresses the audience. I’m sure it’s been done more than three times, hence this thread. But here are the three I remember:
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off: Ferris speaks to the audience on several occasions.
Brewster’s Millions (The one with Richard Pryor): Some unsavor character says a few choice words to Richard Pryor and then exits the scene. Pryor looks at the audience and says “Now that guy is an asshole.”
Sixteen Candles: Anthony Michael Hall’s character is driving an expensive convertible with the thoroughly drunk, and thoroughly horny, homecoming queen in the car with him. He turns to the camera and says, “Now this is getting good!”
Bob Hope did it in practically every movie he was ever in. At the end of Casanova’s Big Night, he polled the audience for a show of hands for, IIRC, a decision on which ending to use.
This was a regular thing on both Moonlighting and George and Gracie’s TV show way back when.
And, though I did not actually see the film version of Inspector Gadget (thank God), I seem to recall a heavy 4th-wall gag in the trailer, involving Gadget, Dr. Klaw, and Andy Dick in some supporting role. Bringing Matthew Broderick to a tally of two in this thread alone, it would seem.
Oh, and of course, Wayne and Garth in the Wayne’s World movies. Used to hysterical effect when Ed O’Neill, as the bitter and nutty diner owner, starts monologuing to the camera, and then Wayne jumps back in to steal the spotlight back and gently rebuke him.
I’m sure I’ll think of more…
I can’t believe nobody’s mentioned Fight Club yet. Also, it was done in Monty Python And The Holy Grail, but the Famous Historian doing the breaking was slain by a knight.
For the record, the Fourth Wall is considered far more important in Theatre than in movies or TV, simply because when you’re onstage, the audience is right fucking there.
This is also done quite a bit in Shakespeare (soliloquies or asides to the audience). Often it has the effect of causing the audience to relate to the character in question: this is one reason why Shakespeare’s Richard III is so charasmatic to many audiences, despite his villiany.
From what I’ve read George Burns in “Burns and Allen” did it first. Freddy DeCordova said when Burns first broke the fourth wall on television, people were predicting all kinds of dire problems. None came about so it has been copied again and again. He said Burns wanted to create something of a sureal quality about the program, yet keep it a situation comedy.
If you will remember, he also watched the program on TV while on the program (supposedly to keep track of what Gracie was doing). Also at times, he walked around sets to get to the next scene. When you think about it, it was brilliant stuff especially when you consider it was in the childhood of television.
I barely remember anything about the movie Kuffs with Christian Slater (except that it was very, very lame), but I believe that CS also broke the 4th wall a few times in that movie.
How about Goodfellas.
At the end when Ray Liotta’s on the stand, and all of a sudden he gets up and strolls through the courtroom, addressing the camera about how much it sucks not being a gangster anymore.
In [I}ReBoot,* during a game that parodied first person shooters, (and the Evil Dead movies) Dot wonders “What kind of sick creature could get enjoyment from this kind of game?!” and then stared accuingly at the camera for a few seconds.
Actually, it seems to be a fairly common gag in animation. Most of the Loony Toons cast did it at least a couple of times per cartoon.
I seem to remember that the horrendous piece of phlegm named The Opposite of Sex (starring Arye Gross, Courtney Cox, Julie Brown, Kevin Pollak) did it frequently. And badly.
“Breaking the wall” is hardly new. It’s an ancient device. In the comic plays of the ancient Greek Aristophanes, characters regularly make joking asides to the audience.