Damn…these would be two of my top picks as well, along with the already mentioned Arsenic and Old Lace and Dr. Strangelove or: How to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. (While Sellers gets all the publicity for his vaunted three roles, it’s actually George C. Scott–essaying what is essentially the same role that he’d go on to play in Patton–that steals the show with his gum-smacking, “World Targets in Megadeaths” binder protecting, stumbling-and-falling take on General Curtis LeMay.)
One that I don’t believe anyone has yet mentioned is Being John Malkovich; while it does end up being…er…kind of serious, a lot of the earlier scenes, like his competitor performing with a 50 ft tall marionette of Emily Dickenson (“Gimmicky bastard…”), the 7-1/2 floor (“Low overhead, my boy!”) with the associated orientation film ("…so there’ll be one place on God’s green Earth where you and your cursed kind can live in peace!"), and the surprise cameo by Charlie Sheen as John (Horatio) Malkovich’s best friend (“Hot lesbian witches! It’s fucking genius!”) make it ufcking hilarious. I’m usually on the floor by the time Cusack enters the portal, and him or anyone else unexpectedly dropping right out of the sky next to the New Jersey Turnpike (actually the Long Beach Freeway) seals the deal. The chimpanzee PTSD flashbacks and the “Malkovich In Malkovich” scenes are just icing on the cake. It ends quite sadly, though. (“Look away, look away, oh, look away.”)
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