- 4 months ago
They made us laugh, but not everyone was amused! Join us as we count down our picks for the comedy films that sparked the biggest controversies. Our list includes films that were banned, protested, and even caused international incidents. Which comedy do you think pushed the envelope too far?
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00:00Now you listen here! He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the comedy flicks that have caused some major backlash.
00:12Come on, let's go, we're running out of time.
00:16Number 10, Pink Flamingos.
00:18The Pope of Trash, John Waters, is a master at the art of ruffling feathers.
00:23Felt are my politics, felt is my life!
00:25His films push the boundaries, giving voice to some of the most taboo stories in American cinema, and Pink Flamingos stands out as one of his most surreal.
00:34I smell deep, dark trouble.
00:36Starring famed drag queen Divine, Flamingos follows Babs Johnson, the filthiest person alive.
00:41When her title is threatened by a jealous criminal couple, things go from filthy to nauseating.
00:46How disgusting! Get this table soaking wet!
00:49Without getting into the gritty details, let's just say Flamingos was slapped with a hefty NC-17 rating when released in 1997.
00:58Kill, kill, kill! Shoot, shoot, shoot!
01:01It was also banned in Australia, Switzerland, and parts of Norway and Canada.
01:06Today, the film has a cult following thanks to its fascinating exploration of objection and an ending so shocking it still drops draws.
01:13What you are about to see is a real thing!
01:17Number 9. Sausage Party
01:19Based on its title, it's clear that Sausage Party isn't your typical cartoon flick.
01:24Did you go to the great beyond?
01:26Don't touch me, man! Ketchup, get your f***ing hands off me!
01:30Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
01:32Released in 2016, Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, and Bill Hader provide the voices to a cast of anthropomorphic food products who discover the truth behind their existence.
01:42It was nearly rated NC-17 due to its crude content.
01:48Nonetheless, Sausage Party was a box office hit.
01:51It even became the highest grossing R-rated animated film ever, a title it held onto until 2020.
01:56However, its success wasn't without backlash.
01:59I am Frank, and I am a sausage.
02:04A little sausage with some pretty big news.
02:08It was reported that many of the film's animators faced grueling working conditions resulting in zero pay for overtime and receiving no credits.
02:16Years later, it was legally determined that the employees were owed compensation.
02:20That was amazing.
02:21I was okay, but you were amazing.
02:24Number 8. Soulman
02:25After hearing the premise of 1986's Soulman, it's astonishing to believe that it was ever made.
02:30Wait a second. Look at this. The Henry Q. Bouchard Memorial Fellowship, full tuition, plus $8,000 annual stipend to the most qualified applicant from Los Angeles, California.
02:41Let me see that.
02:44The most qualified black applicant, you idiot.
02:47Oh.
02:47The movie centers around a young law student who takes tanning pills in an effort to appear African-American so he could obtain a scholarship to attend law school.
02:54You know, there's something really strange about you, and I don't know what it is.
02:57You see? You see? I knew you'd like me once you got to know me.
03:00If the storyline wasn't bad enough, dark makeup was used on C. Thomas Howell, which drew comparisons to blackface.
03:06During its release, the NAACP publicly denounced it, while students at UCLA protested it.
03:12Even future Oscar winner Spike Lee expressed his criticism of the film.
03:15There's no way in the world to see how Thomas looks black.
03:20That being said, the movie does have two staunch supporters.
03:24The film stars Howell and Ray Don Chong, who have publicly supported it.
03:28You've learned what it feels like to be black.
03:33No, sir.
03:34Beg your pardon?
03:35Number 7.
03:36Tropic Thunder.
03:37In 2008, audiences packed the theater to see the comedy event of the year, Tropic Thunder.
03:42Got a bad feeling on this one.
03:45Yeah.
03:45No, that's your line.
03:46With an A-list cast and rave reviews, it seemed like the Ben Stiller-directed flick was unstoppable.
03:52However, that wasn't the case.
03:54Disability activists, including the Special Olympics, called out the portrayal of the character of Simple Jack.
03:58I ain't got a good brain.
04:02Then there was Robert Downey Jr., who played Kirk Lazarus, a white actor who undergoes a surgical procedure to darken his skin to play a black man.
04:10Lazarus underwent a controversial pigmentation alteration procedure.
04:14And lastly, Tom Cruise as Lee Grossman.
04:17A Jewish studio exec was called anti-Semitic as Cruise is not Jewish, with many claiming his portrayal leaned into stereotypes.
04:24Take control of your actors, Rob.
04:25Shut you down.
04:27Take control of your actors.
04:29To this day, Stiller has defended the film, making no apologies for its many controversies.
04:33Number 6.
04:35Dogma
04:35When Kevin Smith's fantastical comedy Dogma came out at the end of the millennium, the Catholic church was none too pleased.
04:41If we cut off our wings and transubstantiate to complete human form, we become mortal.
04:46If we die with clean souls, there's no way they can keep us out.
04:48We won't be angels anymore, but at least we get to go home.
04:52Who sent the paper?
04:53Who hears who sent the paper?
04:54Deeming it as blasphemy, advocacy group The Catholic League was up in arms over the story about two outcast angels on a mission to get back to heaven,
05:02even if that means bidding a due to humanity.
05:04I'm going back to Wisconsin.
05:07We're going home, Loki.
05:09And no one, not you, not even the Almighty himself, is going to make that otherwise.
05:16In fact, things got so heated that its release was delayed by nearly a year.
05:20Fill them pews, people.
05:21That's the key.
05:22Grab the little ones as well. Hook them while they're young.
05:26Smith, who had received threats against his life, took the whole ordeal in stride, even showing up to a protest acting like he was opposing the film.
05:33Number five, Team America World Police.
05:35Trey Parker and Matt Stone are no strangers to controversy.
05:38The terrorists are planning something very big.
05:42And just what does this have to do with me?
05:45Our only hope is to have somebody act like a terrorist who wants to help them carry out the attack.
05:50The duo already stirred the pot with the feature adaptation of their series, South Park, in 1999.
05:55However, their next project came with strings attached.
05:57Enter Team America World Police, an action comedy about an actor who joins a task force to fight terrorism.
06:03Anybody know of any terrorist attacks coming up soon?
06:06Oh, and the entire cast is made of puppets.
06:12While the production was taxing, the real trouble happened afterward.
06:15Look, this is my serious face.
06:18A very intimate scene involving two puppets warrants it an NC-17 rating, going through several edits before being parred down to an R rating.
06:26Also, a slew of celebs are parodied in the film, including a not-so-happy Sean Penn, who famously sent Parker and Stone a strongly worded letter.
06:34Come on, Penn.
06:35We must protect the show.
06:37Right.
06:38Number four, Borat.
06:40Yes, you match.
06:41I'm my name of Borat.
06:43I like you.
06:44I like sex.
06:46It's nice.
06:47In 2006, Sacha Baron Cohen took his co-presonna Borat Skadevev from the small screen to the big screen.
06:54Soon after its release, Borat Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan became a pop culture phenomenon.
07:02I am very excited.
07:04Yes.
07:04Hello, USNA.
07:06Yes.
07:06Hello, USNA.
07:07I am very excited.
07:09The satirical mockumentary sees the Ali G show character travel from his native Kazakhstan to the U.S. to film a documentary on American life.
07:16Borat's regressive views and ignorance translated into some truly shocking moments, and Cohen upset a lot of folks.
07:22Can I say first, we support your war of terror.
07:29From Kazakhstan to subjects featured in the film, Borat faced a wave of complaints and lawsuits.
07:35You want to have a drink?
07:35You can't drink that while you're driving.
07:37Why not?
07:38It's against the law.
07:39What?
07:40Many also believed that the film and the character were anti-Semitic, though Cohen himself is Jewish.
07:44However, the backlash didn't stop Cohen bringing Borat back for a sequel in 2020.
07:49There was a problem.
07:51People make recognize my face.
07:54Number 3.
07:55Blazing Saddles
07:56A satire of the Western genre, Blazing Saddles is one of Mel Brooks' most notable films.
08:01Excuse me while I whip this out.
08:03The story centers around Bart, a black railroad worker who becomes a sheriff of a small town riddled with racists.
08:12On one hand, many see it as biting satire, while many others see it as downright offensive.
08:17I'm rapidly becoming a big underground success in this town.
08:22See, in another 25 years, they'll be able to shake their hands in broad daylight.
08:25A quick Google search, and one will encounter endless disputes about whether its humor is harmful or not.
08:31From race to sex and everything else in between, the jokes are non-stop, proving that No Topics is off-limits.
08:37Oh, you better watch out, big fella.
08:39I think Mongo is taking a little fancy to you.
08:45Oh, Mongo's great.
08:48Decades after its release, Whoopi Goldberg would come to the film's defense on The View, stating that Blazing Saddles is one of the greatest because it hits everybody.
08:57Just give me 24 hours to come up with a brilliant idea to save our town.
09:02Just 24 hours.
09:04That's all I ask.
09:06No!
09:07Number 2.
09:08The Interview
09:09The year was 2014, and the world angiously awaited the release of what might have been the most contentious film of the decade.
09:16Three weeks from tonight, I will be traveling to Pongyang, North Korea, to conduct the first globally broadcast interview with President Kim Jong-un.
09:27The Interview stars James Franco and Seth Rogen as TV host and producer, who are tasked with assassinating North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, caused a media frenzy and global panic.
09:37Saying that the North Korean government was less than thrilled is a massive understatement.
09:41We never got a chance to formally meet Mr. Great Leader.
09:44I just wanted to shake your hand.
09:48Any friend of a Dave is a friend of mine.
09:51The nation threatened to commit terrorist attacks against cinemas, leading to delay its release.
09:55Guardians of Peace, a group suspected to be part of the North Korean government, hacked Sony Pictures Entertainment's data, releasing private emails and top secret info.
10:02Do you think that your people should be rewarded for their resilience and strength?
10:07Eventually, Sony opted to release the film on streaming to avoid any further security threats.
10:20That's the only way out!
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10:40Number one, Monty Python's Life of Brian.
10:45It's no surprise that a film about religion made by Monty Python would cause an uproar.
10:50Before you join us, know this.
10:52There is not one of us here who would not gladly suffer death to rid this country of the Romans once and for all.
10:56Uh, well, one.
10:59Oh yeah, yeah, there's one.
11:01But otherwise, we're solid.
11:02Are you with us?
11:03Yes.
11:03Life of Brian follows Brian, a man who happened to be born on the same day and placed as Jesus,
11:15who accidentally gets confused for the Son of God.
11:17Labeled blasphemous, the film was protested by religious groups in England and America.
11:21I brought forth juniper berries.
11:23Of course I brought forth juniper berries.
11:26They're juniper bushes.
11:27What do you expect?
11:28It was also banned in Norway, Ireland, and some places in the UK.
11:32Objectors especially took offense to the ending, which features a crucifixion.
11:36Up you go, big nose!
11:39I'll get you for this, you bastard!
11:41Even decades later, screenings of the film continued to cause outrage.
11:44That being said, at least we can all agree to always look on the bright side of life.
11:49Always look on the bright side of life!
11:57Which of these films do you think was the most controversial?
11:59Let us know in the comments down below, and don't forget to like and subscribe for more
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