I’ve always been a little dismayed that most people seem to strongly dislike my fave Woody Allen movies. For example, I know that most people seem to count Annie Hall and Manhattan among their most favorite. They were fine films - to be sure. But my two faves are Small Time Crooks (2000) and Everyone Says I Love You (1996).
IMO, Small Time Crooks mixes physical and cerebral comedy in the perfect proportion. I have never laughed longer or harder at any scene as I did when they were in the basement and began to drill the tunnel and immediately hit a water main - comedy gold (again, just IMO). Everyone Says I Love You begins with a wonderful song and dance number. I have never seen anything like that in any other W.A. film and I loved it.
Interestingly enough, IMO, Annie Hall also has one of the funniest scenes ever and that is when Alvy and Annie are standing in line at a movie theater and a college teacher who is standing behind Alvy starts to loudly express his opinions on several media related topics. The man seems to be a real boor and he eventually criticizes Marshall McLuhan. Alvy (Woody Allen), then says, “Well, I just happen to have Mr. McLuhan right here” and he walks behind some sign and comes back arm-in-arm with Marshall McLuhan who tells the teacher, “You know nothing of my work. It is beyond me how you ever got a job teaching anything.” Woody then breaks the third wall by looking into the camera and wistfully explaiining, “If only life was like that”! That might have been the funniest thing I have ever seen in a movie.
But Everyone Says I Love You also has the silliest scene I’ve ever seen in just about any film. It comes near the end of the movie where we travel to a contest where everyone dresses up as Groucho Marx and imitates Groucho in any kind of routine they like (usually a song or dance). I couldn’t believe that. It was one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever seen in a quality film. Or perhaps the reason is that I’ve never found Groucho funny - just a real pain in the neck.
But how about you? I’d really like to know what you consider to be the silliest scene you’ve ever seen in an otherwise quality film. I would hope the scene would be completely out of place and there is no good explanation for why it appears in that film. But any reason you have for feeling the scene is silly will do.
Speaking of Woody Allen, when my grandson started playing cello in middle school I asked him if he was going to be in the marching band. He of course had no idea what I was talking about, so I showed him the clip from “Take The Money And Run.” We both got a good laugh out of that.
King Arthur & Co’s first visit to the French-held castle in MP&tHG. Even beats out the bridge keeper scene. And the monster rabbit scene. And the constitutional peasants scene. No, wait. That one. That’s the silliest one. Help, help, I’m being repressed.
Wasn’t sure if the title meant “intentionally” silly, or “un-”. I’d personally find the latter more interesting. Mine would be the Starship Troopers landing on an alien planet to fight the bugs–with tactical equipment hopelessly inadequate to the task, and even inferior to what a modern day 1st world soldier would have available.
Right troupe, wrong film. I don’t think movies get any sillier than the end of Life of Brian; a hilltop full of people being crucified and they break into song. Python didn’t do punchlines very often, but this one was amazing.
The silliest scene I can think of is in Rock and Roll High School Forever, where Jessie Davis and his friends do a dance to convince someone that they think the refrigerator she’s selling is important to their religion, the First Lithuanian Church of Appliance Worship.
But since the OP started with Woody Allen, allow me to mention a scene in Deconstructing Harry when Robin Williams comes home from an audition ‘out of focus’ (as in, he’s literally just a blur on the screen). He’s understandably bummed, but his kids start mocking him by singing “Daddy’s out of focus! Daddy’s out of focus!” I found it absurdly hilarious.
The original Bedazzled movie with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, co-starring Raquel Welch in her signature role as the personification of Lust, and horse-faced Eleanor Bron as the aspirational girlfriend. The scene in question is near the end of the movie.
In a movie called “Rad” the hero and heroine perform a bicycle dance so moving that the (in-movie) audience is mesmerized, and no one laughs at all RAD - Bike Dance Off - YouTube
“The dance of the Oprichniki” in Ivan the Terrible, Part 2.
The Oprichniki were Ivan’s goon squad. They wore black monks’ habits. They rode black horses. They massacred people in droves. Five centuries after they were disbanded, Russian mothers still invoke their name to frighten naughty children.
Ivan The Terrible is Serious Drama, filmed in black and white. Suddenly, in the middle of the movie, it switches to color, and the Oprichniki do a Busby Berkely-style song-and-dance number. Then it switches back to black and white, and back to Serious Drama.
The Wiki page for the film claims that it is making some deep Artistic Statement. Personally, I think Eisenstein was just flipping the bird to some commissar that was looking over his shoulder.